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. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
BBC
Israel-Gaza war: Three soldiers killed in Kerem Shalom rocket attack
Israel has closed the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza after Hamas fired rockets from within the strip.
Israel said the attack killed three of its soldiers, injuring several others.
The crossing is one of the few routes to get humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, into Gaza.
Mediators in the Egypt have held two days of talks aimed at securing a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
In a statement, Hamas said the latest round had ended on Sunday and that its delegation would now travel from Cairo to Qatar to consult with the group's leadership.
The truce proposal is believed to involve a 40-day pause in fighting while hostages are released, and the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
Hamas said it viewed the current proposal in a "positive light", but the main sticking point appears to be whether the ceasefire deal would be permanent or temporary.
The Guardian
Israel tells Hamas to accept ceasefire terms or risk new onslaught ‘in near future’
Senior Israeli officials ramped up pressure on Hamas on Sunday, saying Israelwould refuse any permanent end to hostilities and threatening a new onslaught “in the very near future” if the militant organisation did not accept recently proposed terms for a ceasefire.
In a televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu once more rejected Hamas’s demands for a definitive end to the war in Gaza, saying that any permanent ceasefire would allow the group to remain in power and pose a continuing threat to Israel.
Speaking a day after thousands of people again rallied in Tel Aviv demanding a deal to free the remaining Israeli captives, Netanyahu also said that his government had “been working around the clock to formulate an agreement that would return our hostages”.
Hours later, Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said Hamas did not appear to be serious about reaching a ceasefire deal. If a deal is not reached, he added, this would lead Israel to launch an often-threatened offensive into Rafah.
NPR
Driver dies after crashing into White House perimeter gate, Secret Service says
WASHINGTON — A driver died after a vehicle crashed into a gate at the White House Saturday night, but the fatal collision is being investigated "only as a traffic crash" and there was no threat to the president's residence, law enforcement authorities said.
The male driver, who was not immediately identified, was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m. at an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement.
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said the vehicle crashed into a security barrier at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
The Guardian
\Flooding death toll in south Brazil rises to 75 as over 100 people remain missing
Seventy-five people are now known to have died in the flooding in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state, while more than 100 people remain missing, local authorities said on Sunday.
The state’s civil defence authority said 101 people were unaccounted for and more than 80,000 had been displaced after record-breaking floods swept across the state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrived in Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday, along with most members of his cabinet, to discuss rescue and reconstruction works with local authorities.
Storms have affected almost two-thirds of the state’s 497 cities, leading to landslides, destroyed roads and collapsed bridges as well as power outages and water cuts. More than a million people lacked access to drinking water, according to Brazil’s civil defence agency.
The Guardian
Clyburn hits out at Trump over Gestapo comment: ‘Incredible but not surprising’
The senior congressional Democrat James Clyburn has responded to remarks made by Donald Trump at a private event on Saturday in which he compared the Biden administration with the Gestapo secret police in fascist Germany, saying it was “incredible, but it’s not surprising”.
The 83-year-old South Carolina Democrat added that Trump “is given to hyperbole on every subject that he ever approaches … The country got off track after that 1876 election and we are approaching the same kinds of elements today.”
Clyburn accused Trump of having an “understanding of this country that I thought we left behind more than 100 years ago. But as I watch things happen in the country today, I’ve been harkening back for some time now, to the 1876 presidential election, and how this country got off track after the civil war.”
He added: “The words are different. But the meanings are the same.”
Christian Science Monitor
Could Nikki Haley be Trump’s running mate? Don’t rule it out.
Who will be Donald Trump’s running mate? With just a few months to go before the Republican National Convention, the search is intensifying, with the presumptive GOP nominee reportedly discussing possible contenders with friends, insiders, and even guests at Mar-a-Lago, while his campaign is quietly compiling dossiers and vetting candidates. Recent reporting has suggested that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio – a former rival once dubbed “Little Marco” by Mr. Trump – is under serious consideration, in part because of his Hispanic heritage. Speculation has also centered on Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, author of a bestselling memoir on his Appalachian upbringing, while other names in the mix include South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Still, one GOP strategist who recently visited Mr. Trump’s Florida estate says Ms. Haley’s name “has been discussed.” While Mr. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base “despises her,” this strategist says, they wouldn’t abandon the former president over it.
Reuters
Thousands protest against Hungary's Orban in ruling party stronghold
DEBRECEN, Hungary, May 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of Hungarians protested against nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a rally on Sunday weeks ahead of European Parliament and local elections due in early June.
Peter Magyar, a former government insider seen by some observers as the first serious threat in years to Orban, staged the rally attended by around 10,000 people in the eastern town of Debrecen, a stronghold of the ruling Fidesz party.
Fidesz candidates have carried the town since the late 1990s with the ruling party winning about 60% of the vote at the last election compared with around a third for opposition parties.
Addressing flag-waving supporters, Magyar took aim at one of Orban's core policies, criticising what he called the extremely low level of child support allowances in Hungary.
"If you tell this story anywhere in Europe, no one is going to believe you," Magyar said.
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera condemns Israeli government decision to shut down local offices
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned the Israeli government’s decision to close its operations in Israel as a “criminal act” and warned that the country’s suppression of the free press “stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law”.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information. Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences,” the network said in a statement on Sunday.
“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law. Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its commitment to cover, whilst more than 140 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza.
Deutsche Welle
China's Xi visits Europe: A divide-and-charm offensive?
When Chinese President Xi Jinping last visited the European Union in 2019, the world was a simpler place. No one had heard of COVID-19, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was far off and Brussels and Beijing were eyeing a trade and investment deal.
Relations are far frostier now: the deal is on ice after an exchange of sanctions, and an increasingly hawkish EU has brewed a list of new laws to decrease dependence on China.
Xi begins his trip in France on Sunday, before heading to Serbia and Hungary. And while he may feel the heat from the EU's toughened stance in Paris, the welcome will be warmer in Belgrade and Budapest, both seen as more sympathetic toward Moscow and Beijing. French President Emmanuel Macron will host his Chinese counterpart in Paris on Monday, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also invited. The French and Chinese leaders will then travel to Macron's childhood holiday destination in the Pyrenees mountains.
ESPN
Record $210.7M bet on 2024 Kentucky Derby
According to Churchill Downs, $210.7 million was wagered on Mystik Dan's win of the Kentucky Derby, besting by $20 million the previous betting record set last year.
Mystik Dan went off as an 18-1 underdog and held off Sierra Leone and Forever Young in what was the closest finish in the Kentucky Derby since 1947, according to the track.
Overall betting on the Kentucky Derby Day card soared to a record $320.5 million, beating last year's record of $288.7 million. Additionally, TwinSpires, an online racebook and official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby, took a record $92.1 million in wagering on Saturday's races at Churchill Downs.
The 20-horse field included two entries from Japan: third-place-finisher Forever Young and T.O. Password running fifth. Churchill Downs reported $10.1 million was bet on the Kentucky Derby from Japan, eclipsing the previous record of $8.3 million in 2022.
Washington Post
Fish are shrinking around the world. Here’s why scientists are worried.
There’s something fishy going on in the water. Across Earth’s oceans, fish are shrinking — and no one can agree why.
Overfishing and human-caused climate change are decreasing the size of adult fish, threatening the food supply of more than 3 billion people who rely on seafood as a significant source of protein.One undisputed reason so much marine life is getting smaller is fishing. Recreational anglers and commercial fishers alike like to catch large fish. That quest for the big ones leaves the small fries behind.
{SNIP}
The scientists kept some of the fish in waters set at 59 degrees Fahrenheit while others at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. All were fed the same diet.
By the end of the experiment, the difference was stark. The trout raised in warmer waters were on average less than half the size as the other fish.
Reuters
French bakers make world's longest baguette, beating Italy
PARIS, May 5 (Reuters) - French bakers cooked the world's longest baguette on Sunday at 140.53 metres (461 ft), reclaiming a record for one of the nation's best-known emblems taken by Italy for five years.
The baguette, about 235 times longer than the traditional one, was made in Suresnes in the suburbs of Paris during an event for the French confederation of bakers and pastry chefs.
The previous longest baguette of 132.62 meters was baked in the Italian city of Como in June 2019.
To better that, the French bakers began kneading and shaping the dough at 3 a.m. before putting it in a specially-built slow-moving oven on wheels.
"Everything has been validated, we are all very happy to have beaten this record and that it was done in France," Anthony Arrigault, one of the bakers, said after the baguette was approved by the Guinness World Records judge.
Part of the baguette, which had to be at least 5 cm thick throughout, was cut and shared with the public.