The US has new intelligence on Russian military capabilities related to its efforts to deploy a nuclear anti-satellite system in space, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence.
The intelligence was briefed to Congress and key US allies, and some lawmakers say it is serious enough that it should be declassified and made public. While the intelligence is concerning, multiple senior members of Congress briefed on the information on Wednesday emphasized that it does not pose an immediate threat to the US or its interests.
The system remains under development and is not yet in orbit, according to three US officials familiar with the intelligence. It’s not clear how far the technology has progressed, one of the officials said. A separate US official told CNN the threat does not involve a weapon that would be used to attack humans.
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.
Let’s show a little love for the Secretary of Homeland Security:
...A wealthy former military man with close ties to the current government, this is Subianto's third bid for the presidency.
He's a controversial figure, having served as a top commander under Indonesia's former long-time dictator Suharto. Subianto was accused of human rights abuses during that period, and was even barred from entering the U.S. at one point during the 1990s.
In 1998, he was dishonorably dismissed from the army after being linked to the abduction of more than 20 student democracy activists — 13 of whom have never been found.
...Subianto used the platform to re-brand himself as a cuddly, cat-loving grandfather — and one who isn't ashamed to cut some pretty awkward dad-dance moves onstage at rallies.
The new image appears to have won over a decisive number of young Indonesian voters, many of whom may not remember his previous incarnations.
New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy may have misread the moment.
Murphy launched her Senate campaign perfectly — at least by conventional standards. When federal prosecutors indicted Sen. Bob Menendez for corruption, Murphy called New Jersey’s extraordinarily powerful county chairs to seek their support. She hoped to become the prohibitive favorite among Democrats when she formally announced in November.
Instead, Murphy is facing resistance, verging on hostility, from the rank and file of her party.
Anti-establishment sentiment that was evident in the last Senate election is now becoming an early and dominating theme of the primary contest between Murphy and her primary opponent, Rep. Andy Kim, who announced his run the day after Menendez was indicted seeking to harness a message of reform. On Saturday, the three-term House member notched a key victory showing that his message is breaking through, handily defeating Murphy in her home county in the New Jersey’s first Democratic nominating convention.
Both houses of the Republican-controlled Legislature on Tuesday approved legislative districts drafted by Gov. Tony Evers as a solution for new election maps, hoping to end the involvement of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The roller coaster of legislative redistricting had at least one more twist, however — many Democrats opposed enacting the maps, even though they were offered by a Democratic governor, because they want the issue to remain in the hands of the liberal majority on the Supreme Court.
...The current district borders have given Republicans a clear advantage for years in elections for state Assembly and Senate seats. As a result, the GOP has held majorities in both houses of the Legislature since 2011, even while Democrats have won a number of statewide races.
...Some have also suggested that Republicans might be plotting a last ditch legal strategy to neutralize new maps — the ones they themselves approved Tuesday — by potentially taking the matter to federal court in search of a more favorable set of judges.
"Forgive me for speculating because this has been happening repeatedly for the last 14 years," said Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee. "(Republicans) will make every attempt after this has passed to continue to try and prevent the public from actually being represented in this legislative body and in the state Assembly."
Just under a fifth of Americans believe Taylor Swift is part of a conspiracy to help Joe Biden win re-election in November, a new poll found.
“The supposed Taylor Swift psyop conspiracy has legs among a decent number of Trump supporters,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement on Tuesday.
“Even many who hadn’t heard about it before we polled them accept the idea as credible. Welcome to the 2024 election.”
According to the New Jersey college, 18% of respondents said they believed in the conspiracy while 46% said they had heard about it.
...According to the Monmouth poll, while 73% of respondents said they did not believe the Taylor Swift conspiracy existed, 9% said they did not know either way.
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of those who said they believed in the conspiracy also identified with or leaned towards the Republican party; 83% said they would support Trump in November.
A new poll found 3 in 5 Americans now say corporate greed is a “major cause” of inflation.
That’s a 15 percent jump to 59 percent from 44 percent in January 2022, according to a new poll from Navigator Research. The left-leaning polling and opinion research group surveyed 1,000 registered voters from Jan. 25-29.
“After more than two years of corporations posting record profits while Americans struggle to balance their checkbooks, it’s no surprise that people increasingly see corporate greed as a problem,” said Maryann Cousens, associate of polling and analytics for Navigator Research.
...The phenomenon has gained mainstream traction even as it remains divisive among economists. Dictionary.com announced Tuesday it added the word “greedflation,” defined as “a rise in prices, rents, or the like, that is not due to market pressure or any other factor organic to the economy, but is caused by corporate executives or boards of directors, property owners, etc., solely to increase profits that are already healthy or excessive.”
The share of respondents who said they believe corporate greed causes inflation is now on par with the share who blame inflation on government spending. While the latter position tends to be favored by Republicans, the rise in Americans blaming corporate greed for higher prices spans party lines.
This is great news, considering that Private Equity funds are bloodsucking vultures that destroy companies (and jobs!) like Sears and Toys R Us.
Private equity funds last year returned the lowest amount of cash to their investors since the financial crisis 15 years ago, according to Raymond James Financial Inc., hampering buyout firms in their efforts to launch new investment vehicles.
...“The cash flow math at the investor level is broken,” Sunaina Sinha Haldea, global head of private capital advisory at Raymond James, said in an interview. Because investors aren’t getting money back from their existing holdings, they’re hampered in their ability to put money to work in new funds or re-top existing investments, she said.
...The impact on fundraising is already visible: The median time to raise a new fund is now 21 months, compared with about 18 months just a couple of years ago, according to the bank’s research. And the number of new funds raised last year dropped 29%.
“This is the worst-ever fundraising market, worse than even during the global financial crisis,” Haldea said, adding that distributions will only likely improve in 2025 as the “tidal wave” of dealmaking forecast for this year is yet to be seen.
An estimated 11,000 sq miles or 28,707 sq kilometers of Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers have melted over the last three decades, according to a major analysis of historic satellite records.
...Over the three decades, the amount of land with vegetation growing on it increased by 33,774 sq miles (87,475 sq km), more than doubling over the study period.
A pronounced increase in vegetation was seen across the south-west, east and north-east. The greatest increase in dense wetland vegetation occurred in the vicinity of Kangerlussuaq in the south-west and in isolated areas in the north-east.
...Carrivick said, "We have seen signs that the loss of ice is triggering other reactions which will result in further loss of ice and further 'greening' of Greenland, where shrinking ice exposes bare rock that is then colonized by tundra and eventually shrub.”
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominations were announced on Feb. 10. Once the 15 nominees were announced, the Fan Vote officially opened.
In case you missed it, the 15 nominees are:
-Mary J. Blige
-Mariah Carey
-Cher
-Dave Matthews Band
-Eric B. & Rakim
-Foreigner
-Peter Frampton
-Jane’s Addiction
-Kool & the Gang
-Lenny Kravitz
-Oasis
-Sinéad O’Connor
-Ozzy Osbourne
-Sade
-A Tribe Called Quest
Fans can cast their vote once a day at Vote.RockHall.com for who they think should be part of the 2024 Rock Hall induction class. This year, voting will last through April 26. Unlike previous years, fans will get to vote for up to seven nominees every day. Previously, the choices were capped at five nominees.
What are you celebrating tonight? Tell us all about your Valentine’s Day in the comments!
The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Rise above the swamp, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) eeff, 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