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 JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, 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.
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Chicago Sun-Times: Loop's weekend foot traffic exceeds level before pandemic, but retail vacancies still at record high by Amy Yee
The Loop is showing some signs of a revival as the average weekend foot traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter, the Chicago Loop Alliance said Tuesday. But the group’s report said weekday activity still lags.
The average weekend pedestrian activity on State Street was at 107% of 2019 levels. During the workweek from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., foot traffic was about 91% of pre-pandemic activity.
Total pedestrian activity on State Street was up 7% compared to the first quarter of 2023, representing 1.5 million “impressions” per week, and at 94% of 2019 levels. The impressions are counted by analytics firm Springboard MRI, which collects data daily from counters on top of buildings along State Street, from Ida B. Wells Drive to Wacker Drive, that track silhouettes of people but not any identifying features.
The New York Times: Inside the Week That Shook Columbia University by Nicholas Fandos and Sharon Otterman
Just after 2 p.m. last Wednesday, Nemat Shafik, the president of Columbia University, stepped out of an office building on Capitol Hill and into an idling black SUV.
She had just endured an intense grilling by a congressional committee investigating antisemitism on elite college campuses. Now, a fresh challenge was rapidly building back on her own turf, where pro-Palestinian student demonstrators had staked out an encampment dominating Columbia’s lawn.
For a university trying to reassure Congress that it was getting its campus under control, the timing could scarcely have been worse. With a narrow window to act, Dr. Shafik directed her car to a law firm near the White House, where she set up a makeshift command center.
The secretive deliberations that followed over 24 frantic hours have sent Columbia into a crisis over free speech and safety unlike any the campus has seen since 1968. The events also set off a chain reaction rattling campuses across the country, just as one of the most trying academic years in memory neared its end.
USA Today: Tennessee lawmakers pass bill allowing teachers, school staff to carry concealed handguns by Melissa Brown and Angele Latham
Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday passed legislation to allow some trained teachers and school staff to carry handguns despite pleas from Democrats, students, and gun-reform advocates to defeat the bill.
Dozens of protestors in the galleries began chanting "Blood on your hands" as soon as the legislation passed, prompting Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to order state troopers to clear the galleries. Many protestors continued to chant and stomp down at lawmakers as the House floor fell into chaos over parliamentary issues.
The bill could become law within weeks, as Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee can either sign it into law or allow it to become law without his signature. Lee has never vetoed a bill.
The Washington Post: Senate passes Ukraine, Israel aid bill after months-long debate by Liz Goodwin and Abigail Hauslohner
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill on Tuesday, delivering billions of dollars in weapons and support to key U.S. allies Ukraine and Israel despite some opposition from both parties’ bases. The legislation, which passed by a 79-18 vote, had seemed all but dead for several months due to opposition in the GOP-led House.
The bill will now go to President Biden to sign, helping him deliver on his promise to the nation’s NATO allies to continue to aid Ukraine as it enters its third year fending off Russia’s invasion.
Passage of the legislation marks the first significant new tranche of aid passed by the U.S. Congress to the beleaguered nation in more than a year, as some Republicans aligned more with former president Trump’s “America First” foreign policy waged a fierce battle against it. They ultimately lost out when Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) decided to put the $61 billion in Ukraine aid on the floor last Saturday, citing his belief that Russia posed a serious threat.
BBC News: Huge protest in Argentina against education cuts
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Argentinian capital Buenos Aires on Tuesday to protest against cuts to public universities.
Pictures from the city showed marchers dancing, playing musical instruments and holding banners calling for education funding to be protected.
The country's President, Javier Milei, came to office last year promising to bring its finances under control with sweeping cuts to the public sector.
His government has kept university funding this year at the same level as in 2023, despite inflation having reduced the real value of the budget by as much as 80%.
The rector of the University of Buenos Aires, Ricardo Gelpi, has warned that the institution may have to shut down within three months unless it receives more funding.
Mr Milei has tried to justify the cuts by repeatedly describing state-run universities as centres of socialist indoctrination.
AlJazeera: ‘Infiltrators’: Modi accused of anti-Muslim hate speech amid India election by Yashraj Sharma
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing accusations of spreading hatred against Muslims after controversial comments on Sunday wherein he equated the community to “infiltrators” and peddled anti-Muslim tropes in the middle of the country’s general elections.
Speaking at a crowded rally in the western state of Rajasthan, Modi said if the opposition led by the Congress party came to power, it would distribute the country’s wealth among “those who have more children”, in an apparent reference to Muslims, whom he had spoken about just before.
“Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?” he said to the cheering crowd, before alleging that the opposition would take away even mangalsutras — the auspicious necklace that a husband ties around his wife’s neck in Hindu weddings — if given a chance.
Local poll officials in Rajasthan confirmed to Al Jazeera that they had received at least two complaints against Modi, calling for his election campaign to be suspended and for his arrest.
Guardian: Council of Europe human rights watchdog condemns UK’s Rwanda bill by Jessica Elgot
The Council of Europe’s human rights watchdog has condemned Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme, saying it raises “major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law”.
The body’s human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, said the bill, expected to be signed into law on Tuesday after passing its parliamentary stages on Monday night, was a grave concern and should not be used to remove asylum seekers or infringe on judges’ independence.
“I am concerned that the
Rwanda bill enables the implementation of a policy of removing people to Rwanda without any prior assessment of their asylum claims by the UK authorities in the majority of cases,” O’Flaherty said, adding that the bill “significantly excludes the ability of UK courts to fully and independently scrutinise the issues brought before them”.
Greek Reporter: Photos and Videos Show Intensity of African Dust in Greece by Matthew Arnold
An eerie, apocalyptic-like scene has befallen Greece with all-encompassing African dust sweeping the nation, caught on camera plenty of times – and meteorologists have warned that this phenomenon is set to increase today, until tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday, April 24).
The high concentrations of dust are evident in Attica, with the atmosphere being almost suffocating over the last few hours. The phenomenon is expected to phase out from tomorrow at noon, however, record concentrations have already been recorded in Crete, and also in the Peloponnese.
There has been an increase in the number of patients with respiratory problems in hospitals, while pulmonologists are recommending caution and limited movement for vulnerable groups.
Have the best possible evening everyone!