(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest: April 1, 2026 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2026-04-01 Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and FarWestGirl. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man (RIP), wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, JeremyBloom, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP), jlms qkw, and doomandgloom . OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos since 2007, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments. Space To the Moon, No Foolin’ ! Personally, I thought scheduling the launch for today was tempting Fate, especially with all the glitches they’ve already had with this system, but what do I know, they’re on their way in apparent good order. :-) NASA set to launch Artemis 2 moon mission today, the 1st crewed lunar flight since 1972. (Launch came off at 6:35PM local time) Space.com No fooling: Today is a huge day for NASA, human spaceflight and space fans around the world. NASA plans to launch its Artemis 2 moon mission from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today (April 1) at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 GMT). You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, beginning at 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT), and get updates via our Artemis 2 liveblog . Best space pranks: From space apes to smuggled sandwiches. Space.com Exploring space is serious business, but that doesn't mean astronauts are above a cheeky practical joke or two. It turns out the sky is not the limit when it comes to a good old-fashioned practical joke. With April Fools' Day 2026 upon us, we're exploring some of the best pranks carried out in space, from a forbidden sandwich to a gorilla at large on the International Space Station (ISS). Inside Artemis 2: NASA's historic astronaut moon mission explained (video series). Space.com Get to know NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission with Space.com's exclusive four-part video series Inside Artemis II debuting March 25-March 31. Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be nearly 12 billion years old — so ancient its star system may no longer exist. Space.com The interstellar comet that recently dominated headlines, 3I/ATLAS, could be between 10 and 12 billion years old, a new assessment of the comet's isotopic composition has shown. This so-called "invader" in our solar system is only the third object on record to enter our cosmic neighborhood from beyond. If these new age estimates of the comet are true, they would suggest 3I/ATLAS was born within a few billion years of the birth of the Milky Way . When it was discovered in 2025, 3I/ATLAS was speeding in at 36 miles (58 kilometers) per second relative to the sun . It is the fastest comet ever seen, vastly exceeding the velocities of its predecessors 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. And according to theory, the faster an interstellar object is travelling, the older it must be because it must have experienced multiple space-object encounters and gravitational slingshots with other stars that would accelerate it to a high velocity. 'Project Hail Mary' end credits showcase stunning nebula photos captured over 400 hours by a single astrophotographer — here's the inside story. Space.com In August 2024, astrophotographer Rod Prazeres received a strange Instagram message that seemed a little too good to be true — a "small production company" wanted to license his images for use in an undisclosed sci-fi movie. Prazeres ' initially — and reasonably — assumed that he was being scammed. After all, how many production companies and movie studios approach collaborators by sliding into their DMs and asking for space pics? Several months and a binding non-disclosure agreement later, his images would appear on the silver screen as a magnificent backdrop for the credits of Project Hail Mary , the Ryan Gosling-fronted adaptation of Andy Weir's beloved novel of the same name . Project Hail Mary launched to both critical acclaim and impressive box office earnings earlier in March. More impressively, it managed to maintain a sense of charm and wonder at the cosmos throughout its 156-minute runtime that compelled us here at Space.com to praise it as the optimistic look towards the stars that humanity needs right now . The film also drew heavily from real-world biology , space exploration and science, which grounded the blockbuster's fantastic story in reality and an air of authenticity. Prazeres' astrophotography — and the drive to showcase real deep space images over CGI as the credits rolled — added to that sense of authenticity. World/General Pot Noodle pizza to Doctor Who Darlic bread: this year’s best April fools. The Guardian The media ecosystem may have changed since the BBC’s spaghetti harvest report in 1957 or the Guardian’s 1977 travel supplement about the island of San Serriffe, but April fool stories are still with us. Indeed, if you picked up Wednesday’s edition of the Guardian, you may have been taken in by our report that evidence has been found of coffee being consumed in England a couple of centuries before the first known examples, thanks in part to an expert called Macky Arto. Other April fool highlights from the media include the Byline Times story that White House officials have confirmed Liz Truss, the former British prime minister, is to join Nasa at the behest of Donald Trump, in order, she says, to fight “the dark forces of the deep space blob”. The tell in that story? It stretches credulity by claiming the US president is “a big fan” of Truss’s YouTube channel, when clearly, judging by the numbers, nobody is. Pakistan and China propose five-part peace plan for Middle East. The Guardian Pakistan and China have released a joint five-part proposal for peace in the Middle East, after Pakistan’s foreign minister flew to Beijing on Tuesday to seek Chinese support for the country’s faltering efforts to negotiate an end to end the war. The one-day meeting between Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came as Pakistan continues to push for the role of peacemaker between the United States and Iran, even as the war shows little sign of relenting. According to a statement from China’s foreign ministry, the trip was intended to “strengthen” cooperation between China and Pakistan on the ongoing conflict in Iran and “make new efforts toward advocating for peace”. So far, China has maintained a meticulous distance from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf, though it has ties with the regime in Tehran and is the largest buyer of Iranian oil. Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war. The Guardian Governments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks. Across the region, from Bangladesh to South Korea, governments are trying to compensate for a drop off in imported energy, much of which comes from the Middle East. UK food inflation ‘could hit 9%’, trade body warns as Reeves meets retail chiefs. The Guardian Food inflation could hit 9% in the UK this year even if the strait of Hormuz opens within the next few weeks, figures suggest, as the Iran war pushes up energy prices. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents 12,000 food and drink manufacturers, has predicted prices will rise by “at least” 9% by the end of 2026, almost tripling a forecast of 3.2% that was made before the Middle East conflict. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, met supermarket bosses on Wednesday to discuss how to ease any impact of cost inflation on prices at the till, while global markets rallied on remarks from Donald Trump suggesting the war could end in “two to three weeks”. Britain to host 35 countries for strait of Hormuz talks, says Starmer. The Guardian The UK will convene 35 countries – excluding the US – to explore ways to reopen the strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping route for oil and gas that has been blocked by Iran. Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said the next phase of discussions in the joint British and French efforts to secure the waterway would be held on Thursday, with Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, alongside international leaders. Donald Trump has said it will be up to other countries to make the strait safe if the US ceases its strikes on Tehran, criticising the lack of backing for his war from European nations. Starmer said on Wednesday the meeting would bring together 35 countries to “assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities”. KP Sharma Oli: Nepal’s former prime minister arrested over alleged role in deadly protest crackdown. The Guardian Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli was arrested early on Saturday morning over his alleged role in the deaths of dozens of people who took part in the gen Z protest that toppled his government last year. Police detained the three-time former prime minister at his residence in the capital Kathmandu, and also arrested his former home affairs minister Ramesh Lekhak. The arrests came less than 24 hours after Nepal’s new prime minister, Balendra Shah, and his cabinet were sworn into office. Shah, a former rapper turned politician known widely as Balen, won a landslide victory this month with a campaign that promised justice for the killings that took place during the gen Z uprising last year and to crack down on corruption. Iran war live: Pezeshkian urges people in US to question gov’t war motives. Al Jazeera Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in open letter, calls on US citizens to question government motives for war, “look beyond the machinery of misinformation”. A senior Iranian official has denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran’s “new regime president” has asked for a ceasefire, Palestinians in West Bank protest, strike against Israeli death penalty law. Al Jazeera Palestinian shops and public institutions, including universities, across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem were closed as people took to the streets to protest against a new Israeli law that imposes the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. Hundreds of people gathered on Wednesday to march in Ramallah against the law backed by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, chanting slogans condemning the law and calling on the international community to reverse the law’s passage. At a protest in the city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, demonstrators carried signs warning that time was running out. “Stop the law to execute prisoners, before it’s too late,” one sign read, showing an animation of a prisoner wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf next to a noose. Russia says will continue helping Cuba after first oil shipment arrives. Al Jazeera Russia says it will continue to provide assistance to Cuba, a day after a Russian-flagged tanker provided the island nation with its first shipment of crude oil in three months. “Cuba is our closest friend and partner in the Caribbean, and we don’t have the right to abandon it. Assistance to Cuba will continue,” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a weekly briefing on Wednesday. Zakharova also said that Russia stands in solidarity with Cuba and demands that the US lift its “blockade on an independent sovereign state”. Zakharova’s announcement comes a day after United States President Donald Trump’s administration allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing US energy blockade. The Aframax tanker entered the Bay of Matanzas – the country’s largest supertanker and fuel storage port – carrying 730,000 barrels of oil after a three-week journey from Russia. History’s biggest census: Why India’s new population count is controversial. Al Jazeera India launches population count after a delay of five years and will include caste enumeration for the first time in a century. India has begun counting its population in the world’s largest census, which will include caste enumeration for the first time in nearly a century. This year’s census is a $1.24bn exercise during which more than three million Indian officials will spend a year surveying about 1.4 billion Indians about their household composition, living conditions and access to basic amenities. The last census was conducted in 2011. Another one was due in 2021, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving India’s data on such things as its demographics, housing conditions and welfare amenities outdated. How will the gargantuan task of counting more than a billion people spread out across a vast country be carried out, and why is the latest census being watched particularly closely? Minerals for aid: Are new US health deals ‘exploiting’ African countries? Al Jazeera Zimbabwe and Zambia have pushed back against ‘lopsided’ agreements after US asks for health data and minerals. In late 2025 after the United States shocked the world by suspending global health aid and experts said it would lead to 700,000 more deaths, mostly of children, each year, Washington began proposing unusual bilateral health agreements to developing countries that have infuriated officials and health activists alike. Critics said the deals, mostly made with African nations, smack of “exploitation” while at least two of the countries in dire need of health aid have pushed back against them. Who is fighting in Myanmar’s multi-front civil war? Al Jazeera Alliances are fluid in Myanmar’s civil war where a military regime, ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces are battling it out. Myanmar has entered the sixth year of a brutal civil war that the military regime, which seized control of the country in 2021, is increasingly confident it can win. The conflict was triggered when the country’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing ousted an elected government and detained civilian leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. That power grab reversed a decade of fragile democratic transition and produced not only a military dictatorship but a nationwide uprising — neither of which was new to this Southeast Asian nation of about 55 million people. Since Burma’s independence (as the country was then known) from the British in 1948, the state centre has been in near-continuous conflict with ethnic minority communities who call the country’s highland borderlands their home. Why reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force is so dangerous. Deutsche Welle Iran is calling the shots on the global choke point that is the Strait of Hormuz. What would it actually take to force the narrow waterway open again? DW speaks to security analyst Megan Sutcliffe about the risks. The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital oil routes, is effectively shut down, crippling global trade. Iran controls the narrow, shallow waterway, charging ships for safe passage and threatening them with drones, small attack boats and possible sea mines. The United States could escort vessels, but doing so would be costly and risky. Analysts like Megan Sutcliffe warn that reopening the strait quickly and safely is increasingly unlikely. Has Pakistan outplayed India in Iran war diplomacy? DW Pakistan is gaining diplomatic visibility during the Iran conflict, while questions are growing over India's quieter strategy. The US-Israel war with Iran has resulted in mounting fuel shortages in India, its rupee currency is under pressure, and millions of Indians working in the Gulf are watching events unfold with growing anxiety. However, one month into the conflict, it is Pakistan, not India, that is positioning itself as a mediator. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said earlier this week that Islamabad will soon host talks between the US and Iran, although neither Washington nor Tehran have yet confirmed Pakistan's diplomatic role. By contrast, India has stuck to measured messaging. It has kept its head down and urged restraint, working quiet channels and prioritizing energy security and the safety of its diaspora. Opposition turns up the heat on Modi How China's propaganda is spinning the Iran war. DW Chinese state media is subtly framing the US as a belligerent, destabilizing force in the Middle East. One AI-generated video features a Persian cat and an eagle locked in battle, symbolizing the Iran war. Last week, an AI-generated video produced by Chinese state media symbolizing the US-Israel war with Iran by featuring Persian cats and bald eagles went viral, netting nearly a million likes within hours, and filling up comment boards. The video offers a window into how Beijing interprets the Iran conflict to shape domestic public opinion, and the core message fed to the Chinese public aligns with a commonly used narrative that the US is an aggressive, declining hegemon, while China remains a steady, peaceful rising power. The viral video produced by CCTV features the aggrieved "Persian cats" seeking vengeance against the arrogant "white eagle," which dominates a desert realm called the "golden flow valley." The eagle forces the realm to trade scarce resources, called "black iron essence," exclusively using "white eagle gold tickets." After the eagle assassinates the Persian cat leader, an asymmetrical war of attrition ensues where the eagle expends expensive "anti-air golden needles" to shoot down cheap "wooden birds." Germany news: Merz and Syrian president talk refugee returns. DW As Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visits Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says about 80% of Syrians living in Germany are expected to return home. Meanwhile, fears are mounting about inflation. DW has the latest. Syria's interim president is visiting Germany, where talks focused on refugees and reconstruction Chancellor Friedrich Merz says about 80% of Syrians in Germany are expected to return to their home country over ‌the ​next three years return to their home country over ‌the ​next three years Germany's Kurdish community accuses Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa of human rights abuses and war crimes The Munich-based Ifo institute says price pressure in Germany is rising noticeably once again Zimbabwe split as public weighs electoral reforms bill. DW Zimbabwe has begun nationwide public hearings on a proposed bill that could extend President Mnangagwa's term and overhaul the electoral system. Supporters call it stabilizing, but critics warn it threatens democracy. Hundreds turned out as Zimbabwe's parliament began nationwide public hearings on a Constitution Amendment Bill drafted by the ruling ZANU‑PF. The proposed changes, which include extending presidential terms and altering how presidents are elected, have drawn both strong support and sharp criticism. At a rural gathering in Chitungwiza, 25 km (15 miles) from Harare, most speakers supported the proposed bill. Chitungwiza — the third-largest urban center after Harare and Bulawayo — has historically voted for the opposition. However, ZANU-PF has made gains in recent years. Is Pakistan setting up a buffer zone in Afghanistan? DW Tensions on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border are escalating amid claims of a Pakistani "security zone" and civilian casualties. Will calls for a ceasefire have any affect? While Pakistan works on positioning itself as potential mediator in the war between the US, Israel and Iran, its forces continue to wage war on the Afghan Taliban along Pakistan's western border. Pakistani forces are increasingly bombing border regions in Afghanistan. Pakistan is facing accusations of creating spheres of influence along the border, also known by its colonial-era name, the Durand Line. At the same time, a "Pakistan-Afghanistan Peace Jirga" convened on March 31 in Peshawar, Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border. Jirgas are traditional gatherings of leaders in the Pashtun tribal areas to resolve conflicts. The assembly issued a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and urged that the conflict be resolved through dialogue. Whether this resolution has any effect beyond political signaling remains to be seen. Science Chaser Birth without a mother: Who controls reproduction? DW Artificial wombs technologies could save extremely premature babies. But as human trials near, the implications go beyond medicine — it's also about control, equality and what motherhood will mean in the future. Globally, one in 10 babies are born preterm, which means before week 37. Many face long‑term health challenges, from developmental delays to vision, hearing or breathing problems. Survival rates depend on place of birth And there is a dramatic difference in survival rates among premature babies depending on where they are born. In low‑income countries, more than 90% of extremely preterm babies don’t survive, while advanced neonatal care means that figure is lower than 10% in high‑income settings. Special treatments in NICUs (Neonatal Intensive Care Units) can save preterm babies from dying, but those born before 28 weeks are especially fragile. Artificial wombs could serve as a bridging technology, giving these tiny infants the extra weeks they need in a womb-like environment before being transferred to conventional incubators. What is the current state of research? And how could ectogenesis — the idea of gestating a human entirely outside the body — reshape society? With technology maturing and ethical and commercial questions growing louder, now is the time to take a closer look beyond the hype or dystopian sci‑fi. Queen bumblebees can breathe underwater for days. We discovered how. Phys.org In most bumblebee species, the queens spend their winters buried underground in a tiny cavity the size of a grape. For six to nine months, they enter a deep sleep-like state called diapause, waiting for spring. As climate change brings more intense rainfall in many regions, these overwintering queens face increasing risks of unstable underground conditions, including flooding. It's a good thing, then, that these insects can survive days underwater without drowning. Remarkably, our new research reveals they achieve this through a process of continually breathing while submerged for up to eight days. It began with a lab accident. Rethinking Europe's nature reserves. Phys.org Natura 2000 is regarded as a milestone in nature conservation: this network of around 27,000 protected areas across the EU is designed to preserve wild plant and animal species and their habitats. It is the world's largest network of protected areas across countries. However, experts say that many of the species and habitats protected there are not in a favorable conservation status. And in some areas, there is a lack of public support. Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel are now demonstrating how a "biocultural approach" can open up new opportunities by incorporating aspects such as the traditions, values, and knowledge of the local population into nature conservation. The EU's aim to make at least 30% of land and sea areas protected areas by 2030 could contribute to the continuing development of the Natura 2000 Network. The researchers detail measures that take into account natural and cultural landscapes together and involve local people. The perspective article was published in the journal Conservation Letters. Researchers build a robotic swarm with no electronics, no batteries and no brains. Phys.org A LEGO brick is not smart. It doesn't compute. It doesn't plug in. It just fits. A team of Georgia Tech researchers has applied that logic to robotics. Bolei Deng, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech's Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, and Xinyi Yang, an aerospace engineering Ph.D. student, build swarms of tiny robotic particles that latch, release, and reorganize without a single electronic component. No sensors, no processors, and no code. The research appears on the cover of Advanced Intelligent Systems. Deng didn't invent the idea. Novelist Kurt Vonnegut imagined self-organizing machines more than 60 years ago. Thirty previously unpublished verses by Empedocles discovered on a papyrus from Cairo. Phys.org A 2,000-year-old papyrus fragment, discovered in the archives of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, reveals 30 previously unpublished verses by Empedocles, a pre-Socratic philosopher of the fifth century BCE. This discovery offers researchers direct access to a body of thought previously known only through quotations from later authors. The very first edition, translation, and commentary on these verses are published in the book "L'Empédocle du Caire," edited by Nathan Carlig, Alain Martin, and Olivier Primavesi. It was at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo (IFAO) that Carlig, a papyrologist at the University of Liège, identified papyrus P. Fouad inv. 218 as an unknown fragment of the "Physica," the poem by the philosopher Empedocles of Agrigentum. "Until now, our knowledge of Empedocles's work relied exclusively on indirect sources such as fragmentary quotations, summaries, or allusions scattered throughout the works of authors such as Plato, Aristotle, or Plutarch. Papyrus P. Fouad inv. 218 allows us to read the philosopher in his original text, without the intermediary of often partial or biased sources. It is also the only known copy of the 'Physica,' fragments of other parts of which from the same scroll are preserved in Strasbourg," states Carlig. High nickel concentrations in Martian bedrock point to potential biosignatures. Phys.org In 2024, NASA's Perseverance rover found surprising levels of Nickel in the Martian bedrock of an ancient river channel, called Neretva Vallis, which flowed into the Jezero crater. A new study, published in Nature Communications, has taken a closer look at the data collected from the region and researchers are seeing what could be remnants of ancient Martian life. Nickel as a biosignature Although nickel is not typically thought of as a major component of human life, it is important in many microbial metabolism functions. For example, nickel is a requirement for the Wood-Ljungdahl (W-L) pathway—an ancient, energy-efficient anaerobic process utilized by bacteria and archaea to fix carbon dioxide. The reverse of this process also requires nickel and has been observed in some species of sulfate-reducing bacteria, for the decomposition of organic matter. "In particular, Ni is an essential component of enzymes used by methanogenic archaea and many bacterial species. Ni is vital to the metabolism of methanogenic organisms, such that a decrease in the Ni content of Earth's oceans in the Archean is hypothesized to have caused a collapse in atmospheric methane preceding the Great Oxidation Event," explain the study authors. Researchers present first fossilized 'emperor' butterfly. 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