Some of the headlines we are covering tonight:
- Nightmare scenario: alarm as advertisers seek to plug into our dreams
- Corruption allegations increase pressure on Bolsonaro
- Pro-Trump social media site Gettr hacked
- The Croatian village where the land became 'Swiss cheese'
- Four day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland
- Ethiopia PM defends handling of Tigray conflict after rebel gains
- OPEC+ calls off meeting as UAE, Saudi spat continues
- Pope Francis in 'good condition' after surgery
- Afghan Bundeswehr helpers arrive in Germany for asylum: report
- Movies like Summer of Soul can reclaim America’s important buried history
- It’s incredibly hard to get a rape conviction. Bill Cosby’s release makes it feel pointless.
- Three More Bodies Found As Search Accelerates After Demolition Of Surfside Condo
- Jeff Bezos Built Amazon 27 Years Ago. He Now Steps Down As CEO At Critical Time
This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the happenings of the day. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments
Nightmare scenario: alarm as advertisers seek to plug into our dreams
The Guardian
When brewing giant Coors launched a new advertising campaign earlier this year, the format came as a surprise to many. The company was planning to infiltrate people’s dreams to get them to buy, and presumably drink, Coors beer.
Coors encouraged people to watch a short online video before bed, then play an eight-hour “soundscape” through the night. If successful, this “targeted dream incubation” would trigger “refreshing dreams” of Coors, according to the company.
It’s unclear how many people took part in the dream manipulation – the top Google search result for “Coors dreams” is currently the song Dreams, performed by the Irish pop-rock band the Corrs – but experts warn that the Coors campaign is not just a gimmick, and may have opened a door to a troubling future.
Corruption allegations increase pressure on Bolsonaro
The Guardian
The Brazilian president has come under further pressure after being personally implicated in an alleged corruption racket involving the supposed misappropriation of his workforce’s wages.
Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist who admires Donald Trump, took office in January 2019 vowing to“forever free the fatherland from the yoke of corruption”.
On Monday, however, a leading Brazilian news website published a series of reports that threatened to fatally undermine Bolsonaro’s already tenuous claim to be a clean-living conservative. UOL claimed its reports, called “the secret life of Jair”, suggested he had presided over an embezzlement scheme known as the rachadinha during his almost 30 years as a lawmaker in the lower house of congress, between 1991 and 2018.
Pro-Trump social media site Gettr hacked
C/NET
A social media site launched last week by a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump was briefly hacked on Sunday, with account profiles being defaced with pro-Palestinian messages.
The new Twitter-like social media platform, headed up by Jason Miller, launched Thursday as a "non-bias social network for people all over the world." The accounts of several Trump aides and supporters were compromised, according to Business Insider, which shared screen shots of pages linked to Mike Pompeo, Steve Bannon and Marjorie Taylor-Greene, among others, altered with the message: "@JubaBaghdad was here :) ^^ free palestine ^^."
The Croatian village where the land became 'Swiss cheese'
BBC
Villagers in north-east Croatia feared their homes might be swallowed when almost 100 enormous sinkholes appeared in a month. Now scientists are trying to understand if the land that is left is safe.
It happened suddenly and without warning. Where there should have been the emerging first shoots of potato seedlings behind the orchard in Nikola Borojević's spacious garden, there was now huge hole. Measuring 30m (98ft) wide and 15m (49ft) deep, it quickly filled with water. And it wasn't the only one.
Within the space of a few weeks, dozens of similar holes had opened up around the village of Mečenčani and neighbouring Borojovići in north-east Croatia. The one outside Borojević's home in Mečenčani appeared on 5 January, just six days after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the area around the nearby city of Petrinja. It was the strongest earthquake to have hit Croatia for more than four decades, killing seven people and destroying thousands of homes.
Four day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland
BBC
Trials of a four-day week in Iceland were an "overwhelming success" and led to many workers moving to shorter hours, researchers have said.
The trials, in which workers were paid the same amount for shorter hours, took place between 2015 and 2019.
Productivity remained the same or improved in the majority of workplaces, researchers said.
A number of other trials are now being run across the world, including in Spain and by Unilever in New Zealand.
In Iceland, the trials run by Reykjavík City Council and the national government eventually included more than 2,500 workers, which amounts to about 1% of Iceland's working population.
Ethiopia PM defends handling of Tigray conflict after rebel gains
Al Jazeera
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has defended the decision to fight rebels in the Tigray region and said he wants to foster a period of “silence” in the area.
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner’s remarks came on Monday, one week after Tigray’s capital Mekelle fell to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Abiy’s government declared a unilateral ceasefire. His government has been battling the TPLF since late last year after accusing it of attacking military bases in Tigray.
OPEC+ calls off meeting as UAE, Saudi spat continues
Al Jazeera
OPEC+ ministers called off oil output talks on Monday after clashing last week when the United Arab Emirates rejected a proposed eight-month extension to output curbs, meaning no deal to boost production has been agreed.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Sunday called for “compromise and rationality” to secure a deal after two days of failed discussions last week.
But four OPEC+ sources said there had been no progress. OPEC’s Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said in a statement on Monday the meeting had been cancelled, without a date for the next one being agreed.
Pope Francis in 'good condition' after surgery
DW News
Pope Francis is in "general good condition" after a "scheduled" colon procedure, the Vatican said in a statement on Monday.
The Pope had been admitted to a hospital in Rome on Sunday for the operation.
It is the first time Francis is hospitalized since his election in 2013.
What do we know so far?
The pope's spokesman Matteo Bruni said the Vatican chief "responded well" to the procedure, which was done under general anesthesia.
Bruni said Francis was "in good condition, alert and breathing on his own.''
The spokesperson added that Francis is expected to stay in Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, a Catholic hospital, for seven days "barring complications.''
Francis was admitted to Gemelli Polyclinic "for a scheduled surgery for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon." The intestinal disease can cause pain or fever in the elderly.
DW News
The first six members of Afghan personnel, who worked with the German military during their time in Afghanistan, have arrived in Germany with their families, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Monday.
Their arrival marks the beginning of a program to provide asylum to Afghans who aided the Bundeswehr and who are now fearing for their lives as the Taliban regains control of large parts of the country.
A total of 23 individuals — which includes children — were flown out of the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of the country by Turkish Airlines, Spiegel said. Another 30 are expected in the coming days.
German military officials prepared documents for 471 local workers, such as interpreters, shortly before withdrawing from the country at the end of June. A further 2,380 visa documents were also readied for their families.
Movies like Summer of Soul can reclaim America’s important buried history
Vox
Two summers ago, I wrote about Woodstock. 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the famous (perhaps infamous) music festival, and a ripe time to evaluate its legacy as captured in a landmark concert documentary. After all, it’s iconic; if you mention the place, people think of semi-naked hippies in a field and Jimi Hendrix absolutely shredding “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
But I was writing about the 50th anniversary of Woodstock before Summer of Soul(... Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) came out. In hindsight, after watching this absolutely spectacular barnburner of a concert documentary, I’m sad we weren’t talking about Harlem ’69 alongside Woodstock ’69.
Sad, but not particularly surprised it wasn’t on our collective radar.
It’s incredibly hard to get a rape conviction. Bill Cosby’s release makes it feel pointless
Vox
Is rape a crime?
That’s the question at the center of Michelle Bowdler’s provocative 2020 book with that title — and in light of the news on June 30 that a conviction against Bill Cosby, accused by 60 women of sexual assault and rape, would be vacated on constitutional grounds, Bowdler’s question takes on a new urgency.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center estimates that only a quarter of all rapes committed every year are reported. According to RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network), of every 1,000 sexual assaults, 310 will be reported to the police, 50 will lead to arrests, 28 to conviction, and 25 to incarceration. Although studies estimate that between 2 and 10 percent of rape claims are false reports— roughly the same rate as other crimes — law enforcement officials are disproportionately likely to dismiss rape cases as unfounded.
“Are there other crimes where the first question asked is whether the victim is being truthful,” asks Bowdler in her book, “and where there is no ensuing investigation to determine if that conclusion can be backed up with facts?”
Three More Bodies Found As Search Accelerates After Demolition Of Surfside Condo
NPR
Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava said on Monday morning that three more victims have been recovered from the ruins of the collapsed condo tower in Surfside, Fl., bringing the total death toll so far to 27.
Cava added that the demolition of the rest of Champlain Towers South "was executed exactly as planned" the previous evening, and that it would now allow rescue teams to work on a section of the collapsed building that was previously inaccessible. She noted that 118 individuals remain unaccounted for.
"Truly, we could not continue without bringing this building down," Cava said. "The area closest to the building was not accessible, due to the enormous risk to the team of first responders, because of the instability of the building."
According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the newly accessible section of rubble is also from a part of the building where many bedrooms were located, and may contain the remains of many victims. The building collapsed in the middle of the night.
Jeff Bezos Built Amazon 27 Years Ago. He Now Steps Down As CEO At Critical Time
NPR
Jeff Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO on Monday, exactly 27 years since he started the e-commerce giant in a garage in West Bellevue, Wash.
Bezos is handing day-to-day duties to his longtime deputy Andy Jassy but will continue to hold considerable sway as the company's executive chairman.
Under Bezos, Amazon transformed itself from an online bookseller startup into the world's largest online retailer. Bezos led the company safely through the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s then launched a period of ruthless expansion, pushing its influence far beyond Internet commerce.
Amazon now commands sizable businesses in grocery stores, cloud computing, smart devices, filmmaking and even fashion brands.
FROM BEHIND A PAYWALL:
How Bad Are U.S. Wildfires? Even Hawaii Is Battling a Surge.
New York Times
PA’AUILO, Hawaii — The blaze first swept across parched fields of guinea grass. Then the flames got so close to Emma-Lei Gerrish’s house that she feared for her life.
“I was terrified it was going to jump the gulch,” said Ms. Gerrish, 26, whose Quaker family raises cows and sheep in the hills above Pa’auilo, a ranching outpost on Hawaii’s Big Island. “I’ve never seen a fire this large in my lifetime.”
By the time firefighters got the wildfire under control last month — with a mix of helicopters dropping water while residents drove bulldozers to create firebreaks — more than 1,400 acres had been burned, adding to the tens of thousands across the state since 2018.
Hawaii may be graced with tropical forests, making parts of the islands some of the wettest places on the planet, but it is also increasingly vulnerable to wildfires. Heavy rains encourage unfettered growth of invasive species, like guinea grass, and dry, hot summers make them highly flammable.
In ramp-up to 2022 midterms, Republican candidates center pitches on Trump’s false election claims
Washington Post
A candidate to be Arizona’s top elections official said recently he hopes a review of 2020 ballots underway in his state will lead to the reversal of former president Donald Trump’s defeat there.
In Georgia, a member of Congress who used to focus primarily on culturally conservative causes such as opposing same-sex marriage has made Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen a central element of his bid to try to unseat the current secretary of state.
And in Virginia last month, a political novice who joined Trump’s legal team to try to overturn his 2020 loss in court mounted a fierce primary challenge — and won — after attacking a Republican state House member who said he had seen no evidence of widespread fraud in the election.
The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Rise above the swamp, Besame and jck. 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.
