(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest for June 13 (Plate of Sh*t edition) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-12 Multiple communities across South Florida — including the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas — flooded Wednesday amid bouts of torrential rain that prompted the state’s governor to declare an emergency and stranded drivers across the region. Flood warnings are in effect Wednesday night for parts of Broward, Miami-Dade, Collier and Hendry counties through Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service, which warned “life-threatening flooding” was ongoing earlier in the day. x Notice how the Storms especially fire up along the coast near Ft Lauderdale. That’s common because you typically have a boundary there and/ or coastal convergence https://t.co/Pfy2e0cxg1 — Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) June 13, 2024 “Many areas are inundated with water w/ stalled cars & more rainfall is on the way,” the weather service said Wednesday night. “Stay off the roadways if possible.” Footage on social media showed water levels in the area reaching to vehicles’ windows and filing up parking decks and neighborhood streets. x Aventura, north of Miami. Look at all those stranded/abandoned cars 🌊👀 🎥 Daniel Labatonpic.twitter.com/DpBwzzwDj1 — Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) June 13, 2024 In Miami, video showed stranded cars that were nearly entirely submerged under water. It’s the second consecutive day the Miami area has faced down flooding issues. Storms dropped 2 to 5 inches of rain and flooded streets Tuesday. In Hallandale Beach, where footage showed one man kayaking among cars as high waters flooded parts of the city, officials urged residents to shelter in place and avoid driving or walking through the water. x These numbers are INSANE! https://t.co/4QqC4AMpXM — Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) June 12, 2024 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 Eight years after a credible effort to dump Donald Trump as their presidential nominee because of his vulgarity, Republicans today appear stuck with the newly convicted felon for November, with no realistic means of taking the nomination away from him at their convention next month, even if they wanted to. “There will be no move to, no mechanism for and no interest in removing Trump at the convention,” said Richard Porter, a Republican National Committee member from Illinois. To Fergus Cullen, a former RNC member as a onetime chair of the state party in New Hampshire, the key element of that analysis is “no interest in.” “The residents of Jonestown chose suicide rather than leave,” he said, likening Trump to the infamous cult leader Jim Jones. “He has a death grip on the RNC and the delegates. Even if polls showed him losing 65-35, they would choose to go down with him.” x 7 sisters waterfall In Norway 📹 jakubsedlacek pic.twitter.com/Sb6wofAl1R — Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) June 12, 2024 Axios — House Democrats launch task force to counter Project 2025 A group of House Democrats is launching a task force to take on Project 2025, a sprawling policy roadmap for how right-wing groups envision a second Trump administration. x From implementing tax cuts for the wealthy, to attacking reproductive freedoms, to gutting federal agencies, Trump has a dark vision for America if he's back in the Oval Office. Good thing House Democrats created a task force to take on this threat.https://t.co/RH5WXxC71a — Let America Vote (@LetAmericaVote) June 11, 2024 Why it matters: The Biden campaign and other Democrats have already seized on the Heritage Project plan for its proposed restrictions on abortion and contraception, among other culture war pushes. Project 2025 proposes overhauling or eliminating a swath of federal agencies including the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and FBI, as well as making it easier to fire civil servants. It also proposes a legal interpretation of the Constitution that maximizes the president's power to act unilaterally. Driving the news: Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) announced the formation of the task force on Tuesday, saying in a statement, "We need a coordinated strategy to save America and stop this coup before it's too late." x The difference just one person can make pic.twitter.com/HQOEo1PKF9 — Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) June 11, 2024 Raw Story — 'When reality resembles The Onion': Indicted Trump ally announces bid for MI Supreme Court Donald Trump ally Matt DePerno wants to run for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court — despite facing legal problems of his own. According to The Detroit News, "The decision by DePerno means he'll pursue the Michigan GOP's nomination for one of the two seats on the state's high court that are up for election this fall and adds to the race someone who's been close with Trump, the likely Republican nominee for president." In a statement, DePerno said, "Activist judges, prosecutors and attorney generals are using their power to prosecute their political enemies. This has to stop. And that is why I am running for Supreme Court." x 'When reality resembles The Onion': Indicted Trump ally announces bid for MI Supreme Court https://t.co/Bd1qpFAUlV — Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) June 13, 2024 "The Michigan Supreme Court features seven justices. Four of them were nominated or appointed by Democrats, and three were nominated by Republicans. One Republican seat and one Democratic seat will be on the ballot in November," the report continued. "DePerno is pursuing the seat on the court currently held by Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, an appointee of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer." x NEWS: Republican Matt DePerno, a former attorney general nominee who's been charged with felonies for allegedly mishandling voting equipment, said Wednesday he's running for a seat on Michigan's top court. https://t.co/YK4G8FkKYN — Craig Mauger (@CraigDMauger) June 12, 2024 DePerno ran unsuccessfully for Michigan Attorney General in 2022, while filing litigation to try to get the results of the 2020 election thrown out — litigation that was ultimately thrown out by the state Supreme Court. A year later, DePerno was criminally charged with tampering with voting equipment, for allegedly possessing 2020 voting machines and trying to access their data as part of his crusade to prove the election was stolen. That case is ongoing. x .@Rasmussen_Poll is still somehow treated as a legitimate polling operation, incorporated into mainstream polling averages pic.twitter.com/qOyuUG2uDf — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 12, 2024 ...This requires acclimating ourselves to something we will likely be at for a very long time. When I see some new expose about Alito or Thomas I still see a lot of people who say or at least profess great disappointment. It damages the legitimacy of the Court. My reaction is totally different. I think it’s great. Because the biggest challenge we face is that inertial power of people’s respect for the institution as it used to exist. Yes, it’s bad that we’ve gotten to this point, that we are in the thrall of a thoroughly corrupt institution. But it is corrupt. And people seeing that is a good thing. It is a prerequisite requirement for any possible change or reform. We need to get our game faces on, realize where we are, identify the paths to eliminating the corruption, be running against this corruption in every election, making the case about the Court’s corruption and realizing it will take some time to get things back to where they need to be. Let’s do it. I have a similar thought about the not unrelated possibility of a Trump win in November. I hear a lot that if Trump wins we will lose our democracy or democracy ends. I agree on the stakes. I may see them in more dire terms than some of those who use this formulation. But this isn’t a realistic way of understanding where we are. If we lose it, we will have to get to work on getting it back... Cornel West’s independent presidential campaign is broke. His former campaign manager says he knows nothing about ballot access. And he spent more on graphic design than petition-gathering in his most recent campaign finance report. x GOP operatives are helping Cornel West get on the ballot in key states, in case you had any remaining doubt as to exactly what his "presidential campaign" is about. https://t.co/m0V7ZdXm69 — David Roberts (@drvolts) June 10, 2024 But tens of thousands of signatures have been gathered on behalf of the famed left-wing academic in key states thanks to self-organized grassroots volunteers — and some help from outside operatives tied to a Republican consulting firm. Democrats fear West’s potential to siphon votes from President Joe Biden in places where he is on the ballot in a close election, and some Republicans are publicly discussing ways to boost West and other minor candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Green Party’s Jill Stein in the hopes of splitting the anti-Donald Trump coalition. In North Carolina, for example, a prominent Republican activist was spotted in April outside a Trump rally gathering signatures for West, telling rallygoers it "helps take away votes from Joe Biden." x The cleantech revolution - it's exponential, disruptive, and now. Our annual presentation looks in detail at the story for renewables, electrification and efficiency.https://t.co/pa0AIeRJVK pic.twitter.com/XvTQbfLtcR — Kingsmill Bond (@KingsmillBond) June 11, 2024 On June 2, Iceland elected an amazing climate leader I know and respect - Halla Tomasdottir! Halla and I are members of Project Dandelion, an inspiring women-led global campaign for climate justice. Before running for president, Halla was the CEO of The B Team, a global nonprofit advocating for "economic systems change and new corporate norms" to ensure a livable future for humanity. In her 2021 TED Talk, she calls on people to use their "voice, vote and wallet for climate action." And it sounds like Iceland did! x Iceland will soon have a phenomenal new climate president in @HallaTomas! Read more on this, rising sea levels, and more climate voices to follow here: https://t.co/etuVKAiO3u pic.twitter.com/EZVUvlvz7x — Prof. Katharine Hayhoe (@KHayhoe) June 12, 2024 Research consistently shows women leaders are more likely to support climate action, clean energy, and sustainability. So it’s also hopefully good news that on June 3, energy expert Claudia Sheinbaum was elected as Mexico’s first female president. Despite headlines you may have read, however, Claudia is not a climate scientist and has a patchy record on environmental and climate issues. It's true that she served as an IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) author, and during her campaign she called for investing $13 billion into renewable energy. However, she has supported building transportation infrastructure through wetlands in Mexico City and through the biodiversity haven that is the Maya Forest in the Yucatan Peninsula. She is also in favor of developing new oil resources in Mexico that would prevent the country from meeting their Paris goals. Mexico is very vulnerable to climate impacts – including a deadly heatwave just last week – so it’s my sincere hope that, now that she’s president, she’ll use her position make the right decisions for Mexico’s future. x Greece - Schools shut as temps hit 40C Florida - 11 inches of rain in 24 hours swamping cars and stalling everyday life. Spain - streets turned to rivers after huge rainfall. This is just in the last 24 hours. It’s not even the middle of June yet. This is the consequence of… pic.twitter.com/Sssy96txAc — Matthew Todd 🌏🔥 (@MrMatthewTodd) June 13, 2024 ...Everyone's got a junk-fee. Your bank charges you "paper statement fees" and "returned mail fees." Restaurants created "pandemic fees" to help cover their extra costs during lockdown, and continue to charge them today. Hot NYC restaurants take a $100 deposit with your reservation, and pocket it if you are one minute late showing up at the greeter's podium. Perch, a bar in LA, charges every guest a 4.5% "security fee" x If you ever have the misfortune to do business with Suburban Propane, double-check the price before you order. Suburban's listed prices are subject to "a safety practices and training fee, a tank rental fee, a transportation fuel surcharge, a restocking fee... 1/ pic.twitter.com/03CY4OzLsf — Cory Doctorow NONCONSENSUAL BLUE TICK (@doctorow) June 7, 2024 83% of voters say they'd be more likely to vote for a candidate who'd ban junk-fees ...This is predictable enough, but the wildest part is the big business has figured out how to make paying junk-fees into a culture war issue. They mounted a successful campaign to paint fights against junk-fees as "woke" and convinced low-information culture warriors that paying junk-fees was a way to own the libs. Junk-fee cheerleaders insist that consumers are mistaken in their animosity towards junk-fees. After all, when all the fees are listed on your bill, you can see what you're paying for. Who doesn't like transparency? Here's the thing: the added complexity of junk-fees turns every transaction into a shell game where you have to spot the pea or lose out. Confusion over junk-fees can inflate prices by 70%: x photographer Lassi Rautiainen captured an unlikely duo in the wilderness of Kuhmo, Finland. Over ten days, he documented the extraordinary bond between a bear and a wolf. Typically, wildlife species stick with their own kind for hunting, mating, and territorial protection. Bears… pic.twitter.com/FV1e6weT4l — Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) June 12, 2024 x A bear enjoying its bath pic.twitter.com/c1Yl0ik0Vr — Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) June 12, 2024 What are you doing to make things more… bearable? Tell us all about it in the comments! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/12/2245584/-Overnight-News-Digest-for-June-13-Plate-of-Sh-t-edition?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/