(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest April 18, 2023 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-18 Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois assault weapons ban withstands appeal in federal court by Matthew Hendrickson The federal appeals court in Chicago on Tuesday denied a request to block the state’s assault weapons ban while it faces legal challenges. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request for an injunction by Robert Bevis, a firearms store owner in Naperville, while he appeals a ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall that found the ban “constitutionally sound.” Bevis sought the injunction last month, asking the appeals court to block the ban for himself and anyone else affected by the law. Illinois banned the sale of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines in a bill signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 10. It required anyone who already owned such a weapon to register it with state police. The law also capped the purchase of magazines at 10 rounds for long guns and 15 for handguns, and made rapid-fire devices, known as “switches,” illegal because they turn firearms into fully automatic weapons. In settling with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox News has avoided an excruciating, drawn-out trial in which its founding chief, Rupert Murdoch, its top managers and its biggest stars would have had to face hostile grilling on an embarrassing question: Why did they allow a virulent and defamatory conspiracy theory about the 2020 election to spread across the network when so many of them knew it to be false? But the $787.5 million settlement agreement — among the largest defamation settlements in history — and Fox’s courthouse statement recognizing that the court had found “certain claims about Dominion” aired on its programming “to be false” — at the very least amount to a rare, high-profile acknowledgment of informational wrongdoing by a powerhouse in conservative media and America’s most popular cable network. “Money is accountability,” Stephen Shackelford, a Dominion lawyer, said outside the courthouse, “and we got that today from Fox.” The terms of the agreement, which was abruptly announced just before lawyers were expected to make opening statements, did not require Fox to apologize for any wrongdoing in its own programming — a point that Dominion was said to have been pressing for. Washington Post: Democrats still face Feinstein dilemma as replacement bid fails by Liz Goodwin, Maeve Reston, and Cleve Wootson Jr. Democrats’ plan to replace an ailing senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee fell apart amid Republican opposition Tuesday, leaving the party still grappling with a dilemma over stalled judicial nominees that has inflamed some in the Democratic base and complicated the Senate race to succeed her in California. Republicans prevented Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) from temporarily replacing Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been absent since February while recovering from shingles, on the panel with another Democrat on Tuesday evening. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) objected to the move, saying it would allow Democrats to “pass out a handful of judges that I think should never be on the bench.” , also lacks the votes to issue subpoenas in her absence. That leaves Senate Democrats still grappling with how to deal with their oldest member’s extended absence, which has resulted in some of President Biden’s judicial nominees stalling out in the Judiciary Committee without her tiebreaking vote. The powerful committee, which is probing allegations of financial conflicts of interest against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas , also lacks the votes to issue subpoenas in her absence. NBC News: Will Ralph Yarl’s shooter be protected by Missouri’s 'stand your ground' law? By Char Adams Is Missouri’s "stand your ground" law applicable in last week’s shooting of a teenage Black boy who knocked on a white man’s door by mistake? Andrew Lester, 84, was charged Monday with two felony counts of first degree assault and armed criminal action after shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, a high school student who rang his doorbell by accident, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference. Thompson said the shooting had a “racial component.” In the aftermath of the shooting in North Kansas City, a growing number of Yarl’s supporters expressed concern that the gunman would be protected by the 2016 Missouri law, in which a would-be shooter defending life or property does not have to retreat before taking violent action. “As a mother of four, I’m completely distraught at the possibility that I could send my child to play with a friend next door and something could happen and that child would suffer instead of holding the adult accountable for their actions,” said Jalisa Davis, an organizer with Decarcerate KC, one of several grassroots groups supporting Yarl and demanding accountability. Guardian: Ukraine criticises Brazil’s peace efforts and invites Lula to see invasion’s effects by Constance Malleret Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has condemned the “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity” by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war, as he came under fire for his previous comments on the conflict. Speaking at a lunch on Tuesday with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. Lula faced criticism from the US over comments he made over the weekend that they were prolonging the fighting by supplying arms to Ukraine. Earlier on Tuesday, Ukraine’s government also criticised Lula for his efforts to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, and invited the Brazilian leader to visit the war-torn country and see for himself the consequences of the Russian invasion. AlJazeera: Fighting continues in Sudan hours after ceasefire was to begin Fighting raged in Sudan hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Loud gunfire reverberated on Tuesday in the background of live feeds by multiple television news channels in the Khartoum capital region minutes after the agreed 6pm (16:00 GMT) onset of the ceasefire. The regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued statements accusing each other of failing to respect the ceasefire. The army’s high command said it would continue operations to secure the capital and other regions. “We have not received any indications here that there’s been a halt in the fighting,” United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York. BBC News: Evan Gershkovich: US journalist arrested in Russia appears in court by Steve Rosenberg and Chloe Kim A Russian court has rejected the appeal of US journalist Evan Gershkovich against his pre-trial detention. He appeared in court in Moscow on Tuesday - the first time he had been seen in public for weeks. He was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg while working for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper and charged with spying. Mr Gershkovich stood with folded arms in a bullet-proof glass enclosure, wearing jeans and a blue checked shirt. He gave a quick smile while standing calmly, but did not say anything to the reporters present. The court rejected his legal team's offer to free him on bail of 50 million roubles ($614,000) or put him under house arrest. Mr Gershkovich will stay at a former KGB prison until 29 May at least. Have the best possible evening, everyone! 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