Shumita Basu
Appearances
Apple News Today
On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Ratcliffe said during the hearing it's Hegseth's responsibility as the authority on materials classification to determine what was appropriate to share. Republicans on the committee mostly didn't ask about the episode during the hearing, but two said that they would do so in a classified setting later.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
One Republican, Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska, told CNN that he was very concerned about what he had read.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Trump on Tuesday downplayed the incident and expressed confidence in his national security team, calling it a minor glitch. Meanwhile, Goldberg hasn't ruled out sharing more information from the Signal chat. Although speaking to the Bulwark podcast, he said, just because they're irresponsible with the material doesn't mean that I'm going to be irresponsible with this material.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Now let's continue following efforts by the Trump administration to deport students who have participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses. At least three foreign-born students living in the U.S. legally have already been arrested.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
And Politico reports that at least two more students, both legal residents, are on the run from immigration officials as they pursue legal action to prevent their deportations. Yunso Chung has a green card, and Mamadou Tal is in the U.S. on a student visa.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
The Justice Department says the State Department canceled Tal's visa for his involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations six months ago, which they say created a, quote, hostile environment for Jewish students. And the Trump administration argues Chung, who was arrested in connection with a protest at Barnard College, is a threat to the administration's foreign policy agenda.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Both Chung and Tal say their First Amendment free speech rights are being violated. A judge Tuesday evening ruled Chung can't be detained as she fights her deportation. Tal spoke to The Intercept on Sunday, saying that just a few days before federal agents showed up looking for him, he and two U.S.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
citizens filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the executive orders to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses and expel foreign nationals who the administration says pose security threats.
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The administration's efforts to revoke students' legal status has sparked fundamental questions more broadly about the right to free speech and whether it's reserved for citizens only.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Recently, NPR's Michelle Martin spoke to Troy Edgar, the deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, about the arrest of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the U.S. who was detained earlier this month for his role coordinating anti-war protests. Martin asked what exactly Khalil did that warranted his arrest and qualified as terrorist activity.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Edgar, as you'll hear, struggled to answer her questions clearly.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
But first, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz says he takes full responsibility for a group chat on the messaging service Signal that included several cabinet members, the vice president and a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. The text thread included details about upcoming U.S. military strikes in Yemen.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Martin ended the interview there. Meanwhile, universities and colleges are being pressured by the Trump administration to crack down on student protesters.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
At Columbia University, where the Trump administration recently canceled $400 million in federal funding for failing to protect Jewish students from harassment, the interim president recently agreed to hire an internal security force that will be empowered to make arrests. And she placed the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under additional oversight.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
It's being seen as an effort to get that funding restored. In recent days, faculty members have condemned university leadership's decisions in closed-door meetings and publicly protested them. Catherine Franke is a former law professor at the school who says she was pushed to resign in January over her support of the pro-Palestinian movement on campus. She spoke with Democracy Now!
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Federal civil rights lawyers launched investigations into more than 50 schools last month in response to Trump's orders. Several attorneys with the Office for Civil Rights told The Washington Post the administration instructed lawyers to collect the names and nationalities of students who may have harassed Jewish students or faculty.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
And these attorneys say they're concerned these lists could be used to target or deport more students from foreign countries who participated in protests. A representative with the Education Department told The Post they want the information to assess how universities handled cases related to anti-Semitism.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
They did not directly respond to questions about whether these lists would be used for deportations. When the Trump administration deported more than 200 Venezuelan men from the U.S. to El Salvador earlier this month with zero due process, photojournalist Philip Holsinger was on the tarmac in El Salvador when they arrived.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 26th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the fight over non-citizens' right to free speech, what one photojournalist saw when deported Venezuelans landed in El Salvador, and President Trump signs an executive order to overhaul voting.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
And he documented what they experienced from the time they landed to the time they were thrown into El Salvador's most notorious maximum security prison, known for its harsh conditions. Please be warned, this story involves descriptions of violence. In a photo essay for Time magazine, Holsinger wrote that what he witnessed was a, quote, theater of fear.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
In an appearance on Fox, Waltz said he built the group, called it embarrassing and pledged to get to the bottom of it. Officials who were on that chat deny any classified information was exchanged. Goldberg, in his initial report and again on Tuesday, said the chat did include classified material.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Holsinger describes the men being chained at their ankles and wrists. Many stumbled or fell to the ground as they tried to walk. And as they were falling, they were kicked, slapped or shoved by the guards. They had their heads shaved. One of the migrants sobbed, telling the guards, quote, I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a barber.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
A guard slapped him, he cried out for his mother, and he was slapped again. We caught up with Holsinger to ask about what he saw.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
They were transported by bus to SICAT, short for the Center for Terrorist Confinement. It's a remote facility at the foot of a volcano. El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, has praised its harsh conditions, and Trump has promised to pay Bukele $6 million to hold these men there for one year.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
People detained at SICAT cannot make phone calls, have visitors, participate in recreational activities, or receive education, and they're never allowed to go outside.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Holsinger told us at some point it struck him many of these people don't even know where they've landed.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, 238 men in total were sent to El Salvador by President Trump and his administration. They've accused more than half of being part of the Tren de Aragua gang, a group that Trump has called a foreign terrorist group and wartime enemy. The administration has provided little evidence to support those claims. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
President Trump Tuesday signed an executive order that could have a big impact on elections. The order, which will likely be challenged in court, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote on federal forms. Most people register to vote through their state. It would also bar absentee and mail-in ballots from being counted if they're received after Election Day. The order claims the U.S.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, two other people in the chat, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, were questioned about the incident by Democratic lawmakers in a previously scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday. Both Gabbard and Ratcliffe mostly deflected questions about the group chat during that hearing.
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has failed to enforce basic elections protections, but The Wall Street Journal reports states regularly audit rolls to weed out ineligible voters. The order also threatens to pull funding from states that don't comply.
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Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Bilal, who co-directed the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was released from Israeli custody yesterday after being attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Monday. Bilal was reportedly beaten up by masked settlers before being pulled out of an ambulance and taken into custody by Israeli military and police forces.
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Bilal told the Associated Press he was blindfolded and forced to sleep under an air conditioner while he listened to Israeli soldiers laugh about him. Israeli military officials said that they responded to disperse a confrontation but denied pulling anyone from an ambulance. They did say Bilal was detained for allegedly throwing rocks at IDF police, which Bilal denies doing.
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And finally, today is the one-year anniversary of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after a container ship crashed into it, killing six people. A blistering NTSB report last week said Maryland leadership could have done more to prevent the collision and that the bridge was vulnerable.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
Governor Wes Moore pinned the blame entirely on the ship's operator, telling Fox News they were reckless. Despite all of the finger-pointing, commuters are the ones still feeling the impact. A survey released this week said 60 percent of people who live within three miles of the bridge say that their lives are still being disrupted a year later.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine examines how workplaces in New York City have largely mandated that workers return to offices in a shift from the early days of the pandemic.
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Except now, many are struggling to find adequate space for all their employees. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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On the ground in El Salvador with the men deported there by the U.S.
When Ratcliffe was asked if he agreed the incident was a big mistake, he responded no. In one exchange, Independent Senator Angus King from Maine asked Gabbard about the specifics of the operation and why they weren't classified.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
The tension between these goals can be seen clearly in the math. Collectively, this package could add more than $11 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, and it would aim to reduce spending by about $2 trillion. But all the budget resolution does is tell committees to make spending cuts.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
It's up to the committees themselves to find those cuts, and it's in the specifics where things get tricky. To cut spending by the amount some Republicans want, it's very likely Medicaid, which provides health insurance primarily to low-income Americans, would be a target.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Earlier this week, several Republican lawmakers signed a letter raising concerns about possible cuts to Medicaid to make the budget work. Recently, President Trump told Fox News that wouldn't happen.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Speaker Johnson managed to unite all but one Republican in the House around a plan that would require significantly reducing Medicaid costs and likely won't accommodate all of Trump's desired tax cuts. Bogage told us if Republicans do go ahead and reduce Medicaid, it could be disastrous for their constituents and for their own political futures.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
This is only the beginning of the budget process. Republicans are hoping to pass this agenda through a process called reconciliation, where the House and Senate have to agree on a budget. And if they do that, it would mean Democrats cannot filibuster in the Senate. Lawmakers have until March 14th to agree on a budget. Otherwise, the government faces a shutdown. Now to the state of the U.S.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
economy. Various consumer sentiment surveys show Americans are feeling jittery. Consumer confidence fell for its third straight month in February, marking the largest monthly decline since August of 2021. The latest survey from the University of Michigan found people are worried about Trump's tariffs potentially raising prices and inflation in general.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
CNN reports that this is a dramatic reversal from the brief burst of optimism in the economic mood after President Trump's election in November. You might remember when he won, a number of experts and polls indicated that anger over inflation played a huge role.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Greg Ip is the chief economics commentator for The Wall Street Journal.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
That was one of Trump's promises to lower costs on day one. Lately, officials in his administration have tempered that promise, saying it's unlikely the president can do anything to bring down the cost of things like groceries anytime soon. And Ip told us there's a universal truth in that.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Trump officials say expanding American energy production and rolling back regulations could help lower prices. But Ip told us Trump's agenda of higher tariffs and lower taxes risks making it difficult to keep inflation in check.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Early polling indicates voters want to see prices drop quickly. A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll found that only 32 percent of respondents approved of the job Trump is doing so far on inflation. And a recent Gallup survey found that 20 percent of people rated the economy as excellent or good, which is lower than any point during Trump's first term, according to CNN.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
As Ip explained to us, every president gets a honeymoon period when they're first elected, but Trump's may be wearing off.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
After initially pulling the measure and seeming to not have the votes, Speaker Mike Johnson minutes later brought it back to the floor as members of Congress rushed, in some cases running, back to vote. It passed in a 217 to 215 vote. The budget resolution in the House is one step of a complicated process that would enable Congress to pass much of Trump's legislative goals.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
One of the first actions President Trump took after he was inaugurated was signing an executive order titled Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation. The order banned the federal government from funding, sponsoring and supporting gender affirming care for kids, which includes things like puberty blockers, hormone treatments and certain surgeries.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Shortly after the order was signed, The New Yorker reported major hospitals in blue cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. began canceling appointments for patients receiving this type of care. And despite the fact that this month two separate federal judges temporarily blocked Trump's order, not all hospitals have rescheduled.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Surgeries were canceled at at least two of New York City's biggest hospital systems, NYU Langone and Mount Sinai, as they dealt with pressure from all sides.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Emily Witt is a staff writer for The New Yorker.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
That threat came directly from New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who published a letter reminding hospitals that canceling care on the basis of gender is illegal in New York. Witt told us some hospitals were canceling appointments even before Trump signed the order. And the parents of those kids who had had their appointments canceled were worried about what it all might mean.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, February 26th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how inflation became Trump's problem, where trans kids are left after an executive order banning gender-affirming care, and the White House takes control of the press pool. But first, to Washington, where House Republicans narrowly passed a budget framework bill last night.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
One family Witt spoke with told the story of their child who had exhibited signs of self-harm and other worrying behavior before expressing that in her heart and brain, she was a girl. So the family allowed her to seek medical care and start presenting as a girl.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
She's now 14, and under a doctor's supervision, she takes puberty blockers so she can decide later whether to pursue hormone replacement therapy or undergo natural puberty.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Witt said she spoke to other people who've been receiving care at some of these big institutions for a long time.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
But as they move ahead, Republicans will need to find consensus as much as possible, given their slim three-vote majority in the House. And some GOP lawmakers want completely different things.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. 21 employees from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency resigned yesterday, saying they refused to use their technical expertise to dismantle core government services and jeopardize Americans' sensitive data.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
The people who resigned were part of the United States Digital Service, a department which typically helps federal agencies improve IT systems and websites. It's since been renamed the U.S. Doge Service. In a post on X, Musk said those who resigned were, quote, NPR reports they were mostly software engineers and product managers.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
A federal judge says the Trump administration has until midnight tonight to pay funds to foreign aid contractors and grant recipients. The order is part of a lawsuit brought against the administration by contractors who work with USAID. Reuters reports it's the third time the judge has ordered Trump's team to release aid that was paused under Trump's directive to halt foreign spending for 90 days.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
The administration announced Sunday it would put all 4,700 USAID workers on leave and eliminate 1,600 positions at the agency. And finally, in an unprecedented move, the White House says it will decide which reporters will participate in the presidential press pool, breaking with an almost century-long tradition.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
The rotating pool of reporters who follow the president up close at the White House is usually decided by the White House Correspondents Association, an independent group made up of TV, print, online, and radio journalists. Now the White House says they will pick who gets to participate on a day-to-day basis.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
In a statement, the head of the White House Correspondents Association said, quote, this move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt made the announcement after a judge ruled against the Associated Press, which sued Trump after he denied them access for their refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico by his newly designated name, the Gulf of America. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Jacob Bogage is the congressional economic correspondent for The Washington Post.
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Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Bloomberg Businessweek goes inside the wild world of the massive Chinese e-commerce company Timu, the Americans who love it, and how U.S. trade policy and tariffs could impact its business. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
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And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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The Washington Post reports this is the first known dismissal to come from the campaign to crack down on teachers who recognize alternative gender identities in the classroom. Florida is one of 14 states that now have a rule that bars school staff from using students' alternative names or pronouns.
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President Trump signed an executive order in January that directs the Department of Education to rescind federal funds from schools that don't follow its guidance to eliminate DEI and what it refers to as divisive ideology from schools. But the order itself is quite vague, which some educators say has made it extremely difficult for them to interpret and has left them afraid for their jobs.
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In another incident in Idaho, a sixth grade teacher named Sarah Inama was directed by her district to remove two posters from her classroom. One said, quote, everyone is welcome here above an illustration of hands with different skin tones. The other said everyone is, quote, welcome, important, accepted, respected, encouraged, valued and equal. The backdrop of each word was a color of the rainbow.
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The school district told Inama it wasn't the words on these posters that were a potential problem, but rather the colors of the rainbow and the different skin tones on the illustrated hands. The school district said they violated policy requiring classroom content to remain neutral. At first, Inama took down the posters, but she told NPR that made her feel gross, so she put them back up.
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She told NPR a district staffer confronted her.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
She says she still has the everyone is welcome poster up now.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
As a result of the on-again, off-again tariff policy from the Trump administration, there's been a lot of attention on the fluctuations in the stock market. The market swung wildly at the start of the month, prompting brokerages like J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and S&P to raise their odds of a recession in the United States. And economists are also watching the value of the U.S.
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dollar with growing concern. It dropped to a three-year low at the start of the week. And since Inauguration Day, the dollar has lost almost 10 percent of its value. So what does that mean for the health of our economy?
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We called up David Lynch, a global economics correspondent for The Washington Post, and he explained Trump's tariff announcement in early April was the type of event that usually spurs more investment in treasuries and bonds, which investors typically consider to be more stable assets.
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But that didn't happen in this case.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
Rising yields can drive up interest rates for mortgages, credit cards, and pretty much every type of consumer loan, which can make people hesitant to make big purchases. And long term, it can hurt the financial system by putting a bigger strain on the balance sheets of big banks and firms.
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But first, educators across the country are trying to figure out in real time if their lesson plans, library books, classroom decor, or even how they speak to their students might be perceived as going against the Trump administration or local government's stated goals around eliminating programs that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Now, Lynch told us that it's important to not read too much into what falling bond prices might mean for the future. However...
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
In the meantime, investors are continuing to monitor the situation, looking towards company earnings and economic reports, as well as trade talk developments for signals of what will come next. Lynch writes that, at least so far, there aren't indications that the recent change in the dollar's value will impact the currency's global status permanently.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
Do you know just how much of your personal information is floating around on the Internet for anyone to find? Things like your home address, phone number, birthday or names of family and friends? A recent piece from The Wall Street Journal personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen titled Go Delete Yourself from the Internet tells you how to do exactly that.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
And you better believe that was an instant click from me. Now, I'll get to the tips in just a second. But first, it's important to understand why you should delete personal data from the Internet.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
As Nguyen explains, there are a lot of risks that come with leaving personal data exposed, from relatively benign nuisances like getting more junk mail to much more serious threats like identity theft or impersonation scams.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
A lot of your personal data online can be found by scammers for free through social media and public government records, things like speeding tickets or home sale records. But there's also an entire industry for personal data, where data brokers scrape the internet for information on you,
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
Good morning. It's Wednesday, April 23rd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why economists are worried about the value of the dollar. It might be time to delete yourself from the Internet. And the executive producer of 60 Minutes resigns.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
digging into things like magazine subscriptions, credit card applications, and warranty cards, and then they package that information up for a price. Avoiding the data brokers isn't easy.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
Nguyen recommends using a burner email and phone number to shop online. Don't post publicly on social media either. And try to avoid sharing your birthday with websites.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
Just yesterday, a meeting of the Brevard County School Board in Florida descended into chaos as teachers and others attempted to speak up in defense of Melissa Calhoun, a teacher with over a decade of experience who lost her job in the district after calling a high school student by their preferred name instead of their legal name.
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If you want to figure out what personal information data brokers have collected about you, there are a few tools. Google has a free one called Results About You, which surfaces search results that contain your personal data. You can use it to request to have your data removed from those sites.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
And if you really want to keep your exposure low, you'll have to comb through people search websites and data brokers to request they delete your information too. Now, that can get pretty tedious. There are hundreds of these sites, and you'll need to re-scan the internet a few times a year and repeat the process.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
But there are a couple of tools for a price that can do the work for you on an ongoing basis. The services Nguyen mentions by name in the article are called Optory and DeleteMe.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
And if hearing all of this has you feeling a little overwhelmed, just know Nguyen says the reality is it's really hard to not leave digital breadcrumbs these days. So be patient, be aware, and just do your best to stay vigilant. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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The presidents of more than 200 colleges and universities signed a letter on Tuesday condemning the Trump administration's attempts to shape policy at higher education institutions by threatening to revoke their federal funding.
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The administration has paused billions of dollars in federal grants in recent weeks to pressure some of the nation's most prestigious schools to change hiring and admissions, to shut down DEI programs, and in some cases to hand over disciplinary records for students who participated in protests against Israel's war in Gaza.
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The White House, in response, said the administration, quote, will not be swayed by worthless letters by overpaid blowhards. An unusual moment in a hearing for the gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019. Yolanda Tinajero, whose brother was killed, told the gunman she forgave him and wished that she could give him a hug, and the judge allowed it.
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Patrick Crucias had driven to El Paso to shoot people and stop what he called the Hispanic invasion of Texas. Tinajero said to him in court, if he would have gotten to know their culture, it would have turned his ugly thoughts around. Crucius will serve multiple life sentences after pleading guilty to capital murder and 22 counts of aggravated assault.
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In media news, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, quit yesterday because he said he could no longer run the show with editorial independence. CBS and 60 Minutes have been involved in a legal battle with President Trump since 2024, when Trump sued the network for $10 million over an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
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In a promotional preview of that episode, 60 Minutes shortened one of Harris's answers, which Trump claims the show did to make her look better. 60 Minutes has described it as a common practice. A number of legal experts have called Trump's argument indefensible.
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Let me finish and I'll let you speak.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
After Owens resigned, the president of CBS praised him for his, quote, "...unwavering integrity, curiosity, and a deep commitment to the truth." And finally, an update on the measles. First, in Texas, officials say more than 600 cases have now been confirmed. So far, two unvaccinated children with no underlying conditions have died in Texas.
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Cases in New Mexico and Oklahoma have been linked to that outbreak. Meanwhile, health officials in Montana last week confirmed the first cases of measles in the state in 35 years. Five individuals who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown are currently isolated at home.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
Montana health authorities say those infected are adults and children who were exposed while traveling outside of the state. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has been working on a new drug to address diabetes and weight loss.
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Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
What makes it stand out from other options on the market, though, is that it's a pill, not an injection. The early phase studies of its effectiveness have been promising, and Time magazine spoke to the team behind it. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Why it’s time to delete yourself from the internet
School board members threatened to have meeting attendees removed. A motion to bring back this teacher and, quote, retrain her was brought up at the meeting. It failed. Her teaching credentials are also under review by the state board.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Let's turn to the war in Gaza now, where a wave of deadly attacks by Israeli forces in recent days shattered the country's fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had, quote, resumed combat in full force and that any negotiations would continue under fire.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
A Hamas official said Netanyahu's decision to return to full-scale war will be a death sentence for the remaining hostages. Israel's strikes this week were the largest attacks since the ceasefire started in January, killing hundreds of Palestinians in the first 24 hours. They landed across the Gaza Strip as many people were having their pre-dawn meal for Ramadan.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The Washington Post received voice notes from Palestinians the morning after the attacks. One of them was 22-year-old Wassam Tabet.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The strikes also came two weeks after Israel began a blockade on aid entering Gaza. Israeli officials say the strikes exclusively targeted terror targets and weapons stockpiles. And Hamas has confirmed that several of its leaders were killed in the strikes, including its de facto head of government.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Health workers in Gaza have reported many women and children among the casualties, and hospitals are reportedly struggling to treat the sudden volume of patients.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Medical professionals with Doctors Without Borders, who were working from Nasser Hospital, posted on social media yesterday that the injuries they're seeing are disastrous and that, quote, "...doctors in the emergency room were crying due to the intensity and difficulty of the situation."
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The AP reports the Israeli military has ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza, a sign that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations. With both Gaza and Ukraine, President Trump has spoken about how he plans to swiftly end the conflicts. But so far, the president and his negotiators have not been able to make lasting deals that all parties can agree to.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Two NASA astronauts made their long-awaited return to Earth last night after an unexpected nine-month stay in space.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Last June, astronauts Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station on a Boeing Starliner, the first time the spacecraft launched with a human crew. They were originally slated for an eight-day mission to the ISS, but early on, they ran into problems.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Andrea Leinfelder is a space reporter at the Houston Chronicle.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
That pause led to a decision straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Williams and Wilmore were left behind, and the Starliner returned to Earth without a crew. Now, President Trump has claimed credit for bringing the astronauts home, saying he directed Elon Musk to, quote, go get them on one of SpaceX's Dragon capsules after they were abandoned by President Biden.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Leinfelder told us this plan between SpaceX and NASA was already in the works before Trump came into office.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The astronauts themselves also don't say they were abandoned or needed to be saved. Wilmore recently said in a press conference from the ISS that astronauts are generally prepared for the possibility that they would have to stay longer.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
There's also one small upside to the length of the trip that Leinfelder pointed out.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Let's start with Ukraine. Hours after a phone call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Putin agreed to a halt in attacks on energy infrastructure, that agreement appeared to crumble. Russia launched fresh missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, striking both civilian and energy infrastructure.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Across the country, colleges and universities are scrambling to interpret an executive order issued by President Trump in January, which declared programs focusing on DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, are, quote, illegal. The order instructed schools to stop using DEI principles to shape employment practices and admissions. The president says these policies contribute to discrimination.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
although DEI initiatives were initially created to help close the gap for marginalized groups that have not historically had equal opportunities for jobs or education. There's one place in the country to look to that's had an early start on adopting these kinds of changes and could be an early indication for what campuses might start to look like nationwide.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
That's Florida, where under Governor Ron DeSantis, local Republicans have enacted a series of laws in recent years to dismantle DEI initiatives. One policy bans public colleges and universities from spending on DEI programs. It also bans educators from teaching critical race theory in general education courses.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Doug Belkin, a higher education reporter for The Wall Street Journal, told us how college curricula have changed.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 19th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why a pair of astronauts on an eight-day mission ended up in space for nine months, how Florida's rollback of DEI policies changed college campuses, and some tips for filling out your NCAA tournament brackets. But first, updates on two big international crises, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Belkin recently spent time at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and he told us these laws have transformed the campus.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The university eliminated 28 jobs related to DEI. It scrubbed all DEI language from its websites, changed the name of its Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement to the Office of Community and Belonging. Within that office, photos of civil rights leaders were taken down from a center for Black students. Rainbow flags were removed from the LGBTQ office.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Belkin says the new rules on campus have been welcomed by some students, particularly conservative ones.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Other students and some faculty say these laws have had a chilling effect on free speech.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Ukrainian officials say two hospitals were hit, a violation of international law. Ukraine also launched long-range drones into Russia overnight. Russian officials say one of those hit an oil depot. Before Russia's most recent attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was open to the partial ceasefire and supported continuing negotiations for a full ceasefire.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The new laws also allow students to record classes without professors' consent, which some faculty and students told Belkin makes them worried their comments in the classroom could be shared on social media or used against them by someone with a political agenda. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts yesterday issued a statement, a rare rebuke of a president pushing back against Trump and his allies who have called for the impeachment of judges that have blocked the administration's agenda. Roberts wrote the correct reaction to a ruling that a party disagrees with is to file an appeal. This comes as Trump is calling for the impeachment of the U.S.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
district judge who blocked the deportation of Venezuelan migrants over the weekend. That flight landed in El Salvador despite the judge's ruling. Trump told Fox News on Tuesday he believes the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in his favor on this issue.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Sticking with courts, a federal judge ruled yesterday that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency likely acted unconstitutionally in its shuttering of USAID. The judge, ruling in favor of 26 current and former employees, ordered email access restored to current workers and blocked the Doge Department from taking any action related to USAID.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
The Hill reports it's also the first time a judge ruled that Musk himself might be exercising enough independent authority that would require him to be confirmed by the Senate, rejecting the administration's assertion that he's an advisor and not the head of an agency. A White House spokesperson called the ruling a, quote, miscarriage of justice.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
And finally, the shot clock is winding down to finalize your March Madness predictions. For the men's tournament, you have until around noon Eastern today to submit your brackets in most places. And for the women's tournament, you've got a little more time by 11.15 Eastern Friday morning. To help you figure out your picks, we asked two pros at The Athletic for their best tips.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Here's senior writer Justin Williams, who's covering the men's tournament.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
For the women's tournament, staff writer Sabrina Merchant told us you're going to basically want to do the polar opposite with your bracket for the first two rounds.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
And when in doubt, just get a little silly with it. Pick your favorite colors, your favorite mascots, your favorite cities. Just focus on having fun and you could end up lucky. You can get live tournament scores super fast on the lock screen of your iPhone by downloading the Apple Sports app.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
And if you're listening to today's show in the Apple News app, we've got a narrated article coming up next. What happens when young people aren't interested in dating? The Atlantic has a story on how Gen Z in particular is withdrawing from the dating scene, begging the question, does becoming a well-rounded grown-up require romantic experience?
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Trump described his phone call with Putin as very good and productive, and a Kremlin spokesperson indicated Putin would consider a long-term ceasefire if all foreign military and intelligence aid to Ukraine were halted. But today, Zelensky said Russia's overnight attacks show that Moscow's claimed support for a full ceasefire is not real. Zelensky is expected to speak with Trump sometime today.
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Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
The Social Security Administration is responsible for managing pension payments to more than 70 million Americans. Musk says he's uncovered widespread waste and fraud at the agency, though neither he nor the White House have yet shared evidence to support those claims.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
During a press conference from the Oval Office last week, Musk said his team found examples of people receiving Social Security benefits when they shouldn't have been.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Bogach told us Musk is most likely misreading the agency's data because of a quirk in how birthdates are coded in its very old programming language.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
That was the year of an international standards-setting conference.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
The U.S. already has a policy, which has been in place for a decade, that blocks Social Security payments for anyone in the system recorded as being 115 years or older. The Social Security Inspector General released an audit last year that found from 2015 to 2022, the agency paid almost $8.6 trillion in benefits.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Of those, less than 1% of payments, which is just shy of $72 billion, were classified as improper. They typically involved Social Security recipients getting too much money.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
As another round of brutal winter weather hits a large portion of the country, millions of people are preparing for potential disasters, especially in Kentucky, where a winter storm arrived last night on the heels of deadly flooding over the weekend that caused the deaths of at least 14 people.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
That flooding prompted the Trump administration to authorize a disaster declaration for the state, which unlocked resources and funding from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. President Trump floated the idea of eliminating FEMA altogether during a trip last month to areas in North Carolina damaged by Hurricane Helene.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Trump stopped short of closing down FEMA altogether, but signed an executive order creating a council to review its operations. Trump has said disaster aid should be managed by states instead. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who is a Democrat, says shuttering FEMA would be a very bad idea. His state has seen 12 federal disaster declarations since 2019 for tornadoes, flooding and storms.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Here's Beshear talking with CBS News on Monday.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
FEMA was created in 1979 by Jimmy Carter and became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. The agency essentially works with states before and during disasters. Local officials can apply for disaster declarations, which a president has to approve. That then unlocks federal funds for things like emergency response, debris removal, and restoring infrastructure.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
It also earmarks money for people who need help in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. FEMA has been somewhat of a maligned agency. It famously bungled relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina. And recently, similar criticisms have popped up over its response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which hit North Carolina and Florida last year.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
But first, to the Social Security Administration, where the acting commissioner resigned over the weekend after members of Elon Musk's government efficiency team requested access to the agency's internal data. That includes things like employment information, financial data and medical records.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
That prompted some residents in North Carolina to say they would be fine if President Trump did away with FEMA.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
That's Emily Russell, whose home was badly damaged by Hurricane Helene, speaking to the Associated Press. She said she was quick to file for help from FEMA.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
But, she said, the process stalled, leaving parts of her claim pending or outright rejected.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
One expert told the AP it's important not to mistake the function of FEMA, which is intended to meet immediate needs, with insurance companies, which cover longer-term rebuilding costs. Politico reports it's a tumultuous time for FEMA as it struggles with an increasing amount of major disasters and as climate change makes floods, storms and fires worse.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
And a politically complicated time for leaders in red states, which are experiencing some of the costliest disasters. According to Politico, while some Republican lawmakers have expressed they're open to overhauling FEMA, many are against the idea of eliminating it entirely, saying states alone will struggle to shoulder all of the logistical and financial burdens for disaster recovery.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Congressman Mark Pless, a Republican representing Western North Carolina, told Politico, "'I think FEMA failed me. But if they failed, I want to know why they failed, and I want to know what we can do to make a difference.'" Now to the impact of the 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign aid ordered by the Trump administration last month. USAID has borne the brunt of it so far.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
But today we're going to look at how the freeze has affected a different group, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, or INL. This group, which falls under the State Department, oversees efforts around the world to combat the spread of dangerous narcotics. The Trump administration has said stopping the flow of fentanyl across the southern border is one of its top priorities.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
The president cited it as a key concern when threatening tariffs against Mexico. But Reuters reports that counter-narcotics programs in Mexico are now suffering because of the U.S. foreign aid freeze. We spoke with Reuters Mexico correspondent Laura Gottesdiener, who told us the INL is designed to help Mexican authorities go after pretty much every piece of the fentanyl supply chain.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Good morning. It's Wednesday, February 19th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the debate over the future of FEMA, how Trump's freeze on foreign aid hurts efforts to fight fentanyl trafficking from Mexico, and how everyone survived that upside-down plane crash in Toronto.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Jacob Bogage, The Washington Post's congressional economic correspondent, told us who has been tapped to step in and temporarily lead the agency. Leland Dudek, who managed Social Security's anti-fraud office.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Those drug-sniffing dogs helped Mexican authorities seize millions of fentanyl pills in 2023 alone, according to the Bureau's reporting. Reuters asked the White House for its comment about how the freeze on foreign aid could impede those efforts.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has talked about the possibility of issuing waivers that would unlock some of the frozen foreign aid impacted by Trump's order. But it's unclear if anti-fentanyl programs in Mexico would resume. Some U.S.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
officials and security analysts that Reuters spoke to are concerned the freeze could impact U.S.-Mexico relations and make it more difficult for our countries to work together on combating the drug crisis.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Close to half a million Americans have died of synthetic opioid overdoses over the past decade. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. President Trump last night signed an executive order aimed at making in vitro fertilization treatment more affordable and accessible. CBS reports insurance companies are not currently required to cover IVF.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
And it can get very expensive, into the tens of thousands of dollars. Trump promised on the campaign trail IVF would either be covered by the government or insurance companies would be mandated to cover all costs. His order directs policy advisors to come up with ideas on how to reduce costs and ease regulations within the next 90 days.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
In international news, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement with mediators to expedite the release of hostages agreed to in phase one of the ceasefire deal. Now, on Saturday, Hamas plans to free six living hostages. They were previously planning to release three, which would conclude the release of living hostages. On Thursday, they'll release the bodies of four other hostages.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
In return, Israel says it will free more than 100 detained Palestinians. It will allow heavy machinery into Gaza to help clear rubble. And it will allow hundreds of mobile homes to enter Gaza. Axios reports that this agreement could indicate both sides are feeling nervous that the deal could crumble before phase two of negotiations begin. Those talks were supposed to start three weeks ago.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
And after Monday's plane crash in Toronto, where all 80 people on board survived after the aircraft flipped upside down while landing, aviation safety experts who spoke to The Washington Post are attributing the high survival rate to a number of factors. They say the crash worthiness of this aircraft helped minimize the number of injuries.
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Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
That's a term that means critical safety elements of the plane worked as they should have, like seatbelts staying secure and seats staying attached to the floor of the plane when it flipped. They also credited the four-person crew for their preparedness and getting people out of the upside-down craft quickly. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Since early 2020, car theft has surged by about 30 percent, especially in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg Businessweek found many of these stolen vehicles are being smuggled to Western Africa. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
The Post reports that Dudek had posted positive remarks on social media about Musk's efforts to cut costs at federal agencies before he was tapped for this role, which is, again, a temporary one. President Trump's pick to lead the agency long term, Frank Bisignano, still has to go through a Senate confirmation process.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Notably, Columbia University agreed to the administration's demands in an attempt to preserve some federal funding. Columbia's interim president, who has since resigned, put new restrictions on face masks on campus, gave more power to security officers to remove or arrest people, and changed leadership of its Middle Eastern Studies department.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
The administration paused $400 million in funding anyway. Professors at Columbia held a rally on Monday, demanding that the school do more to stand up to Trump. Here are professors Adina Bargad and Joseph Hawley speaking at that rally.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
But Harvard's decision could shift the tone in how higher ed institutions respond to the administration's threats moving forward. I reached out to Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, who has been very outspoken about pressures from the Trump administration on higher ed. And he told me why federal funding is so critical to these institutions.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Roth also told me he finds the Trump administration's claims that anti-Semitism is running rampant on college campuses to be in extremely bad faith.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
And he says the public should be concerned as more and more students and academics who have been vocal against Israel's war in Gaza are getting detained by immigration authorities and student visas are being canceled.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Let's turn now to tariffs and their impact on international alliances. As the Trump administration's exact targets and numbers change frequently, their highest tariff remains on China at 145%. And China has grown more aggressive in its response to the United States, responding with retaliatory tariffs of 125%.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
This conflict could have repercussions on other negotiations with China, from TikTok to fentanyl and more. If the White House's aim by pausing the so-called reciprocal tariffs on other countries but upping China's was to isolate the Chinese government in global trade talks, it hasn't appeared to work yet. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has said that the U.S.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
could reach a deal with allies and then approach China as a group to address trade. But so far, at least, The Wall Street Journal reports that key American allies are not lining up to join this fight alongside the United States. or at least they're hedging their bets.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
But first, to President Trump's escalating attacks on colleges and universities. Harvard President Alan Garber announced Monday that the university will, quote, not surrender its independence to comply with Trump's demands to change its hiring, admissions, and curriculum. Federal officials moved swiftly to punish the school.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Yaroslav Trofimov is chief foreign affairs correspondent at the Journal, and he told us that a lot of allies are still trying to regain balance after the tariff announcements earlier this month.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Given all of this, some European leaders have signaled an openness to different policy with China. For example, an EU-China summit is set to take place this summer, and talks have restarted over a dispute regarding Chinese electric vehicle imports.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Though at the same time, they have their own issues with Chinese market practices and what they see as the country's support of Russia during its war in Ukraine.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
The White House has dismissed concerns about the possibility of alienating allies, saying they're too reliant on American markets to survive without U.S. trade. But many are trying to figure out how to operate in this world of uncertainty.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Now to some updates on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador last month. Despite a unanimous ruling from the Supreme Court saying the Trump administration should facilitate his release from custody in El Salvador and his case should be handled as it would have been if he hadn't been improperly deported.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
The government has said it's powerless to intervene in the matter since Abrego Garcia is already in El Salvador. The justices also said that the government's argument that U.S. courts can't grant relief once a deportee crosses the border is, quote, plainly wrong.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Yesterday, a federal judge rebuked the Trump administration and said she would compel Trump officials to answer questions detailing what steps they have taken so far to resolve the matter, saying, quote, there will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Good morning. It's Wednesday, April 16th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how U.S. allies are recalibrating after the tariff ramp up and roll back. What we know about conditions at the mega prison in El Salvador, where many deportees have been sent. And how many people in California knew an earthquake was coming seconds before it hit.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
And in a court filing yesterday, the DOJ said if Abrego Garcia manages to return to the U.S., he will be detained and removed from the country. Frustrated with the administration's response so far, some Democratic lawmakers say they're planning to travel to El Salvador.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen says he'll travel there today and hopes to visit Abrego Garcia at the mega prison Cicat, where he's being held, and, quote, check on his well-being. In this prison, Abrego Garcia and more than 235 other men who were deported by the Trump administration against a judge's order last month are being held in the same conditions as convicted gangsters.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Trump threatened Harvard's tax-exempt status, and the government says it's freezing over $2.2 billion in contracts and grants. a move that will most likely impact research at Harvard and the university-affiliated hospital system. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in the country, which gives it some unique leverage that other schools don't have.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
That's what Secott's prison director recently told CNN. And I'll remind you, Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or in El Salvador. When 60 Minutes investigated the criminal records of this group at large, it found no criminal records for 75 percent of them.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
We know very little about the specific conditions this group is being subjected to, but we know there are close to 40,000 people detained at Sakat in all. They're put in communal cells that can hold up to 100 people each. There's no privacy. The toilets are open. The lights are on 24-7.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
People are not allowed any personal possessions, any visitors or phone calls, and they're not allowed to go outside. And some of the people detained there, like Abrego Garcia, are not supposed to be there. That's because in 2022, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency in El Salvador to respond to a surge in gang violence.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
That order is still in place, and it allows police to carry out mass arrests. Violent crime has declined since, but human rights advocates say more than 80,000 arrests happened with no due process, and thousands of innocent people were jailed.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
That's Noah Bullock, the executive director of a human rights organization in El Salvador. He spoke with PBS about the lack of legal protections for people in this prison.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
And he says that judicial black hole and the Salvadoran government's insistence that no detainees at CICOT will be released makes it practically impossible to help people who aren't supposed to be there.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
In recent days, the administration sent 10 more men to El Salvador. And President Trump told Bukele he wants him to build, quote, five more places to hold more people, even going so far as to suggest that Trump is open to sending American citizens there next. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Big Bird and Daniel Tiger are back on the chopping block as the Trump administration plans to ask Congress to rescind nearly all funding for public media, including PBS and NPR. That's according to a memo reviewed by NPR. The order will ask Congress to take back $1.1 billion in federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which partially funds both entities.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
That's two years' worth of appropriations. Trump and other Republicans have accused PBS and NPR of bias against conservatives. In a statement, NPR said cutting CPB funding would have a devastating impact on American communities. In many rural areas, NPR stations are some of the most reliable sources of information, particularly during emergencies when other communications can go out.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Trump reportedly plans to send this memo to Congress when it returns from recess later this month. As the Trump administration continues its crackdown at college campuses, a Columbia student who was one step away from becoming a U.S. citizen was arrested on Monday at what he thought was his naturalization interview.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
And it's now the very first school to hold its ground against the administration's demands. The administration is targeting schools that it claims allowed anti-Semitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israel's war in Gaza, and is pressuring these schools to do things like get rid of DEI initiatives.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Mohsen Madawi, a green card holder, participated in protests at Columbia and founded a pro-Palestinian student group with Mahmoud Khalil, another Columbia student being held by ICE. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he would revoke the student visas and green cards of those who protested in support of Palestinians and who he claimed helped spread anti-Semitic sentiment.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
Madawi spoke to 60 Minutes in 2023 about a walkout on Columbia's campus that fall where he observed anti-Semitic behavior, and he shared how he responded.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
A judge on Monday ordered Madawi not to be deported. And finally, after a 5.2 magnitude earthquake in Southern California on Monday scared residents and even elephants at the San Diego Zoo, the quake is being seen as another success for the state's early warning system. Known as a shake alert, people can download an app called MyShake that warns them when an earthquake is about to hit.
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Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
The LA Times reports people across social media praised the alerts, some which came as many as 10 seconds before the shaking even began. The app is currently active in California, Oregon, and Washington state, and is run by the U.S. Geological Survey. Authorities say the system provides crucial seconds of heads-up time, which may be pivotal in the event of a major earthquake.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine examines the relationship between convicted murderer Robert Durst and his second wife, who stands to inherit his multi-million dollar estate.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Why Harvard is leading the higher-ed fight against Trump
At least seven universities have been threatened with federal funding cuts in recent weeks, but the full list of schools under government scrutiny is actually much larger. A total of 60 received letters from the U.S. Department of Education last month warning them of potential federal action.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
But Flatley told us it's difficult to know if the threats, delays, and reversals are part of Trump's strategy and an indicator that it's working as intended because he's getting some concessions from foreign leaders, or if these walkbacks signal that his plans are flawed.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
In Trump's first term, he did not issue tariffs as widely as he has in this term. But those tariffs didn't result in the promised increase in American factory jobs or heightened inflation that those for and against the tariffs had forecasted. This time, the president has said he believes being more aggressive with tariffs could lead to bigger economic impact.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
He also didn't rule out the possibility of a recession in a recent interview with Fox News.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Trump has claimed credit for the market in more bullish times, but he says right now he's not paying attention to how the stock market reacts to tariffs to consider adjustments to his policy. However, Flatley told us the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries certainly are watching the markets. They say Americans just have to be patient during this period.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
However, economists by and large do not agree with the president's approach to tariffs. They've warned shoring up American manufacturing could take a long time, and the risk of tariffs could scare off companies that are considering making long-term investments in the U.S. Ultimately, Flatley says, Trump's tariff strategy appears to be a big gamble.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Let's turn now to education news. Yesterday evening, the Department of Education said it will cut its workforce nearly in half this month as President Trump works to eliminate the agency altogether.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Meanwhile, the DOE's Office of Civil Rights on Monday sent letters to 60 colleges and universities telling them that they're under investigation or being monitored for alleged violations relating to, quote, anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
And the letters warned further action would be taken if schools do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus. The schools that received this letter include a mix of large, small, public, and private institutions nationwide.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
To name just a few, Columbia University, Middlebury College in Vermont, Ohio State University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Virginia. At these schools over the course of the last year plus, some students have gathered to protest the war in Gaza and express support for Palestinians.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Many demonstrators called on their schools to divest from companies that are profiting from the war. And in some of those cases, like at Northwestern University and Brown University, their efforts succeeded. In an interview with CNBC yesterday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon characterized the protests as attacks on Jewish students and faculty.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
But first, widespread tariffs from the Trump administration on foreign steel and aluminum are expected to take effect today, which would impact all countries the U.S. imports these resources from. Both steel and aluminum will be tariffed at 25 percent.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Some Jewish students at Columbia and other schools told reporters at the height of protests last year they did feel unsafe at times on their campuses. Students reported verbal harassment from protesters. And at Yale, a student says she was hit in the eye by a Palestinian flag. She believed she was targeted for wearing a Star of David necklace.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
But some Jewish students and faculty members have pushed back on assessments of anti-Semitism and say they've supported the anti-war causes on their campuses. And the protesters more broadly have said there is nothing anti-Semitic about protesting Israel's attacks on Gaza, calling for a ceasefire or expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Joseph Hawley, an associate professor at Columbia University who is Jewish, made a similar point in a recent conversation with Democracy Now!.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Columbia is the Trump administration's biggest higher ed target at the moment. The administration recently canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts with Columbia, claiming the school failed to respond to allegations of anti-Semitism on campus.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
And it says a federal task force will be reviewing more than $5 billion in federal grants for the school to make sure it's in compliance with civil rights responsibilities. Last summer, Columbia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, established an Office of Institutional Equity to address reports of discrimination.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
And more recently, when federal funding cuts were announced, Armstrong said in an internal letter that the university was, quote, Trump has vowed to make similar cuts at other schools now under investigation. The measles outbreak in Texas has now infected more than 200 people in the South Plains region of the state.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
And for one of those countries, Canada, Trump initially planned to double the tariff rate in response to a recent surcharge on electricity announced by Ontario. But he withdrew that threat after Ontario rolled back their tax. Trump's tariff strategy has been a roller coaster so far, with threats and reversals. The stock market has been on a similar volatile ride.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
At least 29 people have been hospitalized and one child who was unvaccinated has died. It's been a challenge for state officials to respond. The Texas Tribune reports in rural parts of the state, issues like a shortage of primary care providers and long distances between labs and testing sites have been difficult to overcome.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 12th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the Trump administration threatens big funding cuts for higher education, lessons learned from the last major measles outbreak, and a possible beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Public health officials in Texas can look to the East Coast for some lessons learned from another major, fairly recent measles outbreak, one in which officials were able to stave off a larger epidemic in a much more densely populated area.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Deidre McPhillips is a data editor with CNN's health team. That outbreak was mostly concentrated in two Orthodox Jewish communities, one in Brooklyn and another in Rockland County, north of the city. And it was much bigger than what's happening now in Texas.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
McPhillips reports work had already been underway to reach out to these communities about measles. But once the outbreak hit, one thing that really helped strengthen the response was state officials declaring a state of emergency. That helped unlock resources, fuel outreach, and in some cases even find schools that were letting unvaccinated kids attend.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Some of the most impactful campaigning involved gaining trust in the Orthodox community and understanding what kinds of conversations were happening around vaccines.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
McPhillips says health officials came up with a highly individual approach and went door-to-door to answer questions.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
The city ended up administering 200,000 doses of the measles vaccine in New York City and another 30,000 in Rockland County. A retrospective study said those efforts averted a crisis that could have been 10 times worse, with as many as 80,000 infected. McPhillips says even though New York was somewhat of a success story, how to prevent measles has been known for a long time.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. In Congress, House Republicans passed a bill to avert a government shutdown scheduled to start on Friday. The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. The stopgap measure passed along a party-line vote with the exception of one Democrat voting yes and one Republican voting no.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
And it's left many wondering what exactly the president is trying to achieve with these tariffs. So we called up Dan Flatley, who covers national security and economics for Bloomberg News, for more insight into Trump's goals.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
The measure funds the government through the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30th, and largely keeps spending flat with a slight increase in defense spending. Senate Democrats, the New York Times notes, are in a bit of a bind. Either pass the bill and give President Trump and Elon Musk wider leeway to continue slashing the federal workforce and programs, or be blamed for a shutdown.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
In international news, the United States lifted its pause on military and intelligence aid to Ukraine on Tuesday as Kyiv agreed to a proposed ceasefire that could signal the beginning of the end of its three-year war with Russia. Here's Secretary of State Marco Rubio after negotiating the deal in an eight-hour session with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Apple News Today
Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Russia has not yet signaled whether it will agree to the deal, which proposes an immediate 30-day ceasefire to start. One expert told The Washington Post this is a savvy move by President Zelensky, whose standing in the war was weakened by his Oval Office spat with Trump. The onus, that expert said, is now on Russia to accept or risk angering Trump.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
And finally, the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday released its preliminary report on the D.C. plane crash in late January between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet, in which all 67 people died. It doesn't offer an explanation for the cause of the crash. CNN reports that's expected to take more than a year.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
In this report, the NTSB is recommending a ban on all helicopter flights near Reagan Airport while certain runways are in use and new routes for helicopter pilots, saying the current routes pose an intolerable risk, which should have been recognized earlier.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he will adopt the NTSB's recommendations, saying helicopters no longer will be threading the needle flying under landing planes. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
The New Yorker examines how the battle over free speech and campus activism is playing out at Harvard, another one of the universities that received a letter from the Trump administration threatening to rescind federal funding. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Fosterfrau told us where these migrants are being housed at Guantanamo also has lawyers concerned.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
It's called Camp 6. It's where suspected terrorists were sent after the September 11th attack. Lawyers and aid groups say the living conditions there are inhumane. Some prisoners have called it a tomb above ground. Under U.S. law, this facility is only authorized to be used for suspected members of al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or terrorist organizations affiliated with those groups.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The Trump administration has said the detained migrants at Guantanamo are part of a violent Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua. But that gang has not been designated a terrorist group by the administration or connected to the terrorist groups affiliated with September 11th. So lawyers say migrants at Guantanamo cannot be held at Camp 6 legally.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The Defense Department responded to these allegations by saying they technically consider migrants to be in custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, not the Department of Defense, despite where they're currently detained. But one lawyer Foster-Frau spoke to said that distinction is difficult to make.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Trump says he wants to send up to 30,000 migrants to Guantanamo, and he's ordered the construction of new detention space. This week, a federal court in New Mexico blocked his administration from sending three Venezuelan men to the island. Other legal challenges are expected as well. Let's turn to President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to reshape Washington by gutting federal agencies.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Yesterday evening, Musk joined the president in the Oval Office as Trump announced a new executive order aimed at drastically cutting federal jobs. The White House said agency heads would be ordered to consult with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and prepare to initiate a large-scale reduction in the workforce and limit hiring to essential positions only.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Meanwhile, one of Musk's recent targets is the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency within the Federal Reserve that oversees financial products and services used by Americans and aims to protect consumers from predatory or fraudulent behavior. It was created by the Obama administration in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
That's Brian Schwartz, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal who covers economic policy. He told us about one recent occasion when the CFPB went after a big bank.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
After the CFPB's orders, Bank of America said they voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated insufficient fund fees. But this week, as we mentioned on Monday's show, the entire agency was put on pause when Russell Vogt, the new head of the Office of Management and Budget and acting director of the CFPB, ordered it to close for at least the week.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
But first, just over a week ago, a military aircraft carrying around three dozen detained migrants departed for Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base in Cuba. Officials with the Trump administration say these migrants are dangerous criminals, describing them as, quote, the worst of the worst. But right now, we don't have a way of verifying that.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The agency has a budget of $823 million for the 2025 fiscal year, and the money comes from the Federal Reserve. In his first term, Trump proposed slashing the agency's budget and rolling back regulations. He's raised concerns without providing evidence of possible fraud, and he's accused the agency of weaponizing its power.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Elon Musk, meanwhile, recently proposed on social media to, quote, delete CFPB, calling the work it does duplicative of other regulatory bodies. However, consumer advocates and ethics experts tell CNN Musk's involvement in trying to gut the agency is a concerning conflict of interest because he owns several businesses that could benefit from looser financial regulations.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
There's a financing arm of Tesla, for example, that provides car loans, which are subject to CFPB oversight. Just last month, Musk's social media platform X announced plans to launch a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment platform in partnership with Visa. And there are concerns about whether Musk now has access to information about digital payment systems from his direct competitors.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The CFPB has investigated the owner of Cash App, to name one.
Apple News Today
This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Democrats in Congress say the CFPB's work is critical to protect consumers and it can't be shut down without congressional approval. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who serves on the Committee for Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and who helped create the CFPB, joined protesters and some of the Bureau's employees who were protesting the stop work order in Washington on Monday.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Vote, for his part, has restored at least one key function that the CFPB performs, the weekly publishing of the average prime offer rate. That's a tool used by the mortgage market, signaling that some of the agency's functions are vital to the economy.
Apple News Today
This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, February 12th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why President Trump and Elon Musk want to gut an agency that protects consumers, American teacher Mark Fogel's been released from Russia, and Hollywood hits a promising gender parity milestone.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
But as one industry analyst notes, Vote has broad power over the direction of the agency, including slowing it down or, as this analyst said, putting it to sleep. Now to international news. Mark Fogel, the American teacher imprisoned in Russia since 2021, is back on American soil.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
We know very little about who's been sent there, how long they'll be kept at Guantanamo, or the crimes they're accused of committing. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CNN over the weekend that the administration intends to move people slated for deportation quickly in and out.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
He addressed reporters late last night from the White House alongside President Trump, whom he thanked, with an American flag draped around his shoulders.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The White House called this an exchange, and the Kremlin acknowledged a Russian citizen was being freed from the U.S., but didn't immediately give more details. The White House said it was a show of good faith from Moscow that things are moving in the right direction on efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Vogel was traveling from the U.S.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
back to Russia, where he worked at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, when customs officers at the airport discovered marijuana and cannabis oil in his suitcase. His family said that a doctor recommended it for back issues. Vogel pleaded guilty to charges of transporting and possessing illegal drugs and was sentenced to a 14-year prison term.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The case bore some similarities to that of WNBA star Brittany Griner, who was released from Russian custody in December of 2022. Fogel's 95-year-old mother, Malfeen, worked hard to keep his story in the news and even personally brought up his case with Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last year, the event where there was an assassination attempt on Trump's life.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
She told a local ABC affiliate about finding out that Mark was finally coming home.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Advocates for the family had hoped that Fogel would be included in the prisoner swap deal that brought home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. They were freed six months ago. At least nine other Americans remain in Russian custody. Fogel's release comes as Trump is expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin again soon.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
CNN senior international correspondent Frederick Pleitgen spoke to the network about how the Trump administration is positioning Fogel's release.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
In recent days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he would be ready for talks as well. And according to The Washington Post, Keith Kellogg, the retired three-star general who's been appointed as the special envoy to the war by Trump, is expected to consult with other European leaders about a plan this week in Munich. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're watching.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
President Trump met with Jordan's King Abdullah in Washington yesterday, and the two discussed the ongoing tensions over the ceasefire deal in Gaza. Trump has repeatedly said he wants nations, including Jordan and Egypt, to resettle displaced Palestinians as part of a plan for the U.S. to take over the Gaza Strip, a plan he reiterated on Tuesday.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
In a post on X later in the day, King Abdullah said there was a unified Arab position against the displacement of Palestinians and described talks with Trump as constructive. In other news, everyone you know is sick or getting over something or coming down with something. The CDC says flu cases surged to a 15-year high this winter.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Overall, flu infections are up 31 percent, and almost 50,000 people were admitted to hospitals with the flu this week, according to the CDC. USA Today reports flu shot rates are at a six-year low, and fewer than half of Americans have been vaccinated in 2025. And finally, in the world of movies, at long last, some kind of parody.
Apple News Today
This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Among last year's top-grossing films, there were just as many movies featuring women protagonists as there were male protagonists. That's according to an annual report that tracks this information, which said it's the first time this has happened in recent history.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
The report also said that with the exception of certain movies like The Substance, featuring Demi Moore, an actor over 50, there are far fewer roles for older female actors than male actors. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
But Sylvia Foster-Frau, immigration reporter for The Washington Post, has been talking to some human rights lawyers who say they are troubled by what little they've learned so far.
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This agency protects consumers from fraud. Musk wants it gone.
Bloomberg Businessweek takes us to the Himalayas, where a type of mushroom grows that's revered by practitioners of traditional medicine as a cure-all. and possibly an aphrodisiac. The catch? It costs $136,000 a pound. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
They're the ones who say this isn't about negotiating with other countries, that this is, as Navarro put it, quote, a national emergency triggered by trade deficits caused by a rigged system. Then in the middle, you've got Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, who says tariffs will force other countries to come to the table and offer major concessions.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Musk, who is the world's richest man, has lost an estimated $31 billion since Trump announced his tariffs, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His company SpaceX has said new trade barriers will negatively impact how its Starlink communications service can operate in foreign countries. And although Tesla makes all of the cars it sells in the U.S.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
within the United States, it does get parts from other countries. And this has led to Musk and Navarro, Trump's top trade counselor, openly feuding. On X, Navarro called Musk a, quote, car assembler, not a car manufacturer, calling attention to how Teslas are made. Musk defended Tesla and called Navarro, quote, dumber than a sack of bricks. Here's Sink again.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
While this spat is taking place on social media, Trump says he's open to talking to world leaders to strike deals that he says will be better for America. Specifically, he's indicated he feels confident a deal could emerge with South Korea. He also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
And CINC told us next week Italy's Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni will meet with Trump to talk tariffs, too. The big outlier here, though, is China.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Chinese officials called the U.S. tariff policy, quote, blackmail yesterday and said Beijing would fight to the end. On social media, Trump wrote, quote, China also wants to make a deal badly, but they don't know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call. It will happen.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Let's turn now to the 238 men from Venezuela that President Trump deported to El Salvador last month with no due process, despite a judge's order blocking their deportations. According to 60 Minutes, around 75 percent of these men had no criminal records in the U.S. or abroad.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
And of the roughly 22 percent who did have criminal records, most of their offenses were nonviolent, such as theft, shoplifting or trespassing. And yet the administration has stood by its decision to deport them. And we're starting to learn more about its system for justifying many of these deportations.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
According to recent court filings in a case brought by the ACLU, the government is using a point system to designate people as possible members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and mark them eligible for deportation under the Alien Enemies Act. To be deported, the bar is quite low.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
But first, President Trump's latest round of tariffs went into effect overnight, bringing our total levy against China to at least 104 percent. In response, China raised its retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods to 84 percent starting Thursday. Trump acknowledged that so far his tariffs have been met with a lot of angst, but insisted that he, quote, knows what the hell he's doing.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
On the scoring scale that goes up to nearly 90 points, a person with as few as six points could be flagged for deportation. And in many cases, according to The New York Times, people have reached that number in part based on wearing certain clothing the administration believes to be connected with the gang. Things like a Michael Jordan Bulls jersey or, quote, high-end urban streetwear.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
That's NPR immigration reporter Sergio Martinez Beltran. Clothing deemed suspicious by the government is worth four points, and certain tattoos are worth four points as well. Martinez Beltran told us about the types of tattoos the government is looking for.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
In one case, a man who was deported was accused of having a crown tattoo that symbolizes his involvement with a gang. But his lawyers say the tattoo is actually just a nod to his favorite soccer club, Real Madrid, which has a crown in its logo. In another case, the Miami Herald spoke to a man who had been granted refugee status by the government after a 17-month background check.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
But when he finally arrived in the United States, immigration officials detained him over his tattoos — a crown, a soccer ball, and a palm tree — saying there were sufficient evidence he belonged to the gang. And in yet another case, a family that Martinez Beltran spoke to say their loved one's clock tattoo was misconstrued.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Making the point system even more confounding, experts who have studied Latin American gangs for years say Tren de Aragua does not necessarily use tattoos to identify members. Administration officials have claimed that they are handling these deportations as a national security issue and have largely deflected when asked about releasing more information that supports their claims.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Let's stick with immigration and look at the impact of the Trump administration's crackdown on children who cross the border without a parent or legal guardian. Among the many federal contracts that have been canceled by Trump since he took office is one that provides legal representation to children who are under the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. nearly 26,000 kids total.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Good morning. It's Wednesday, April 9th. I'm Shemita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the point system determining who gets flagged for deportation, what happens when unaccompanied minors cross the border and need a lawyer, and what to know about the upcoming deadline to get your real ID card.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
That decision is now in dispute. Nonprofits representing these kids sued the administration, arguing that an anti-trafficking law requires the government to provide representation. And a federal judge in California last week ordered the administration to temporarily restore funding. The government, meanwhile, has argued the funding is discretionary and part of a contract dispute.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Immigration attorneys told the L.A. Times if the funding is cut, it will have a devastating impact on the children, leaving them more vulnerable to rapid deportation. Many of these kids are too young to read or speak, let alone represent themselves in court, according to one immigration attorney. Here's L.A. Times reporter Rachel Uranga.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
He also said he would soon impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, lamenting that America doesn't make our own medicines. The reaction from Wall Street to Trump's tariff plan has been unequivocally negative.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
In the West Los Angeles Immigration Court, dozens of these cases are heard every month.
Apple News Today
The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Uranga told us about a 16-year-old girl named Itzel who came to the U.S. without an adult from Mexico when she was 14. Her mother is addicted to drugs. Her father left when she was young. And Itzel decided to leave Mexico after members of her family were murdered by a cartel.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Her case is one of roughly 33,000 nationwide, involving unaccompanied kids that immigration courts are trying to work through. One immigration attorney told the LA Times they will continue to fulfill their ethical duty to help with these cases for now, but without new funding, it's unclear how long they'll be able to continue their work.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
On Tuesday, the markets closed down for the fourth consecutive day in a row, and The Wall Street Journal reports that many CEOs are starting to break their silence, with people from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to billionaire hedge fund manager and Trump backer Bill Ackman sharply criticizing the moves, and Republican donor and billionaire Ken Griffin calling them a huge policy mistake.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. As damage from record floods in the central US continues to impact millions of people, the National Weather Service says it will no longer provide automated weather alert translations in other languages. The changes come after the contract with an AI company that provides translation lapsed.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
The weather services turned to AI in 2023 after determining manual translations were too labor-intensive. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English. The director of the Weather Service previously said the AI translations would benefit underserved communities, but the Washington Post reports that could run counter to Trump administration policy.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Trump declared English the official language of the U.S. and has directed agencies to scrub words like diversity and equity from their websites. A National Weather Service spokesperson confirmed translations are on pause, but gave no further comment. An update to some court cases involving the Trump administration that we've been following.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
First, the Supreme Court says Trump can proceed with firing more than 16,000 probationary federal workers for now. The court did not rule whether the firings were legal, but said the nonprofits who brought the cases did not have legal standing to do so. NPR notes the ruling will make it harder for groups to challenge government layoffs.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Washington sided with the Associated Press, who sued after Trump barred the organization from the White House press pool and Air Force One. The judge called it political retaliation and ordered the administration to immediately rescind its denial. The case stems from the AP's decision to continue using Gulf of Mexico instead of Gulf of America.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
The administration has said it's not singling out the AP, but rather narrowing down the number of journalists covering small events and to allow smaller publications to join bigger legacy media. And finally, if you haven't already taken care of this, now is a good time to get your real ID card or risk having your travel plans seriously disrupted.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Starting May 7th, TSA will require all passengers flying domestically to use a real ID card or an approved alternative like a passport in order to go through security checkpoints. To get your real ID, check the rules in your state. They vary.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
But the basic process involves going to a DMV location and providing documentation that shows your full legal name, your birth date, social security number, your lawful residence status, and two forms of proof for your address. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
Rolling Stone traveled to Greenland and spent time talking with locals about what they want for their future as President Trump continues to discuss trying to take over the Danish territory. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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The infighting inside the White House over tariffs
The policy has also led to some infighting inside the White House, with basically three different camps emerging. Here's how Justin Sink, a White House correspondent for Bloomberg News, described the competing schools of thought.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Trump also celebrated Elon Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency, claiming Doge has found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud, a figure that's been hard for journalists to verify, though many outlets have found instances of Doge overstating its savings. Trump attacked federal workers, though notably he didn't mention how much the government is saving with mass layoffs.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
And he said the days of being ruled by, quote, unelected bureaucrats are over, to which Democrats responded by pointing to Elon Musk sitting up in the gallery. Trump later turned to his plans for the future, spending quite a bit of time on tariffs and the economy.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
His speech came just a day after he implemented tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, moves that sent stocks tumbling for a second day and have some notable economists, including from the International Chamber of Commerce, warning of a recession.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
But Trump defended his decision, claimed it will be good for American farmers, even though farmers have sounded the alarm, saying they produce more than Americans consume and need foreign markets to buy their goods. And Trump also announced his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs on a whole host of countries on April 2nd.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Trump spent just a few minutes on foreign policy, with a passing mention of Gaza and calling for the war in Ukraine to end. He tempered the recent hostility we've seen toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, instead noting that he appreciated a letter he recently received from Zelensky, saying he is ready to come to the negotiating table and sign the minerals deal.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
And Trump reiterated his desire to expand the United States, saying he intends to take the Panama Canal and inviting the people of Greenland to join our country.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Since this was, after all, a speech addressing Congress, Trump did call on the lawmakers to support his agenda by removing taxes on tips, among other things, by funding his deportation agenda, quote, without delay, and by agreeing to pass laws criminalizing parents who allow their children to undergo gender-affirming medical operations. Two opposing dynamics were on display all night.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Republican exuberance for the president's agenda and Democratic objection, which Trump called attention to several times. Some Democrats held up signs that said false, acting as a sort of live fact check on Trump. At one point, a small group of Democrats staged a small protest before walking out. Others filed out at various other points during the speech.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Trump's speech was the longest ever given by a president to a joint session of Congress in modern history, eclipsing Bill Clinton's one hour and 29 minute record set in 2000. According to the American Presidency Project, Trump's address clocked in at one hour and 39 minutes. Senator Alyssa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, provided the Democratic Party response following Trump's speech.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Let's start with President Donald Trump's address last night to a joint session of Congress, his first since taking office in January. From the moment he entered the chamber, he was greeted by Republican cheers. And Democrats protesting. Several dozen held up signs reading things like, Musk steals and protect veterans.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
While President Trump touted his popular vote victory in the presidential election, a trio of recent polls found that Americans are largely split on the president so far, and economic concerns still dominate with many. In one of these recent polls conducted by CBS and YouGov, 82% said they want the president to make the economy a high priority.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
And in an NPR Marist survey, a majority of Americans said that they expect prices to climb higher in the next six months. Now to the Middle East, where leaders of the Arab League states held an emergency summit in Cairo yesterday to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza and to counter President Trump's proposed plan for a, quote, Middle East Riviera.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
In January, the president floated the idea of the United States taking control of Gaza to develop the enclave into a tourism destination, forcing millions of Palestinians to leave their land with no guarantees they could return. His suggestions have been widely denounced by leaders across the Middle East and worldwide, with some saying it's equivalent to ethnic cleansing.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
At yesterday's summit, Arab leaders endorsed a plan proposed by Egypt that would allow Palestinians to remain in Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas ends. Egypt, which neighbors both Israel and Gaza, has been heavily involved in peace negotiations since this conflict started. International correspondent Eya Batraoui, reporting from Cairo, explained for NPR what their proposal includes.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Egypt's plan to rebuild Gaza would cost an estimated $53 billion and take about five years to complete, but the plan didn't specify who would fund reconstruction. The Guardian notes it would likely require money from oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 5th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Trump touts his early victories before Congress, the Arab state's proposal to rebuild Gaza after the war ends, and the astronauts stuck at the International Space Station are finally getting ready to come home.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
The first phase of reconstruction would focus on clearing debris and unexploded bombs and creating temporary shelters. The second phase would focus on restoring critical infrastructure and rebuilding homes.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
The Egyptian government presented a 112-page document full of AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens, and community centers, plus plans for a commercial harbor, a technology hub, hotels along the beach, and an airport. But critically, the plan still doesn't give a clear answer to one of the biggest unanswered questions of this conflict. Who will govern Gaza if the war ends?
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Egypt proposed an independent administrative committee will temporarily govern and be responsible for managing aid. while preparing for the return of the Palestinian Authority. This leaves Hamas out of the power equation. United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres, who attended the summit, endorsed Egypt's plan.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
The Trump administration rejected it, saying the president stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza. And The Guardian reports the Arab League-endorsed proposal does not have the support of Hamas or Israel. A senior Hamas official said while they support ideas that do not displace any Palestinians, the group will reject attempts to impose development projects on people in Gaza.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Texas Congressman Al Green stood up to disrupt the president's speech and protest threats to Medicaid, and he was escorted out by the sergeant at arms.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said he wants Israel to permanently control all Palestinian territories. The Arab summit and proposal comes as the delicate ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas reaches a crucial juncture to see whether the parties can agree to proceed with phase two of the ceasefire and commit to ending the war.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The Wall Street Journal reports that Republican leadership in Washington have advised their members to stop holding town hall style events after viral videos of angry constituents confronting their representatives about issues like government layoffs and feared cuts to Medicaid spread across the Internet.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
The guidance came from Representative Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who warned that it could have negative consequences for the midterms. House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, said lawmakers should still communicate with their constituents, but not in ways that, quote, give the other side soundbites.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
In some good news, the American astronauts who've been at the International Space Station since June of 2024, when the original stay was only supposed to last a few days, are finally scheduled to come home. NASA's Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams are expected to return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule later this month.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Recently, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the ISS has served its purpose and should be taken out of orbit as soon as possible. The station is set to be decommissioned in 2030. In a press briefing from Space yesterday, Williams told reporters that she thinks it would be a mistake to halt the work happening on board any sooner.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
And finally, the famous Iditarod dog sled race across the Alaskan wilderness is underway this week after it was delayed for a second year in a row due to warm temperatures and too little snowfall. This year, the lack of snow impacted a particularly dangerous portion of the course, forcing organizers to move the starting line several hundred miles to the north.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
This is the fourth time in recent years organizers have been forced to make changes due to rising global temperatures. And it means the mushers and their dogs will have to race longer. The course change added more than 100 miles to their usual route. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
Throughout his speech, Trump suggested he had a sweeping mandate from the American people to enact broad changes across the federal government. At one point, he said that God had spared his life from assassination in order for him to return to the presidency. With that mandate, Trump touted his long list of early actions. Everything from dismantling DEI programs and U.S.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. A report released last month found the amount of plastic making its way into the human brain today is roughly 50% higher than just eight years ago. Give you a visual that's about the size of a disposable spoon.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
New York Magazine looked into the research and what we know about how microplastics affect our bodies. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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Trump’s speech to Congress is met with cheers and protests
government agencies like USAID to increasing resources at the southern border and renaming key landmarks like the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
The comments are stunning, coming from an American president. And while he didn't offer many tangible details, it suggests a massive reshaping of American foreign policy in the region.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
For decades, it's been American policy that Palestinians have a right to live in Gaza, even as there have been vast disagreements among American politicians about what that should mean and whether it should include a two-state solution. Late last night, some lawmakers offered early reactions to Trump's comments.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Senator Josh Hawley, who is a Republican, said that he doesn't think it's a good use of American resources or money to invest in Gaza and would prefer that investment be spent in the United States first.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Senator John Fetterman, who is a Democrat, said he would support an American occupation of the Gaza Strip, saying that Palestinians have failed to provide security and economic development for themselves. After Trump's remarks, Palestine's ambassador to the UN rejected his suggestion.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Hamas, which controls Gaza, also rejected the idea. In a statement, they said Palestinians will not be, quote, expelled from their land. Many of the people who live in Gaza today are descendants of Palestinians who were forced out of their homes during the 1948 war in an event known as the Nakba, or catastrophe.
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Ever since, many Palestinians have been determined to do all that they can to cede no more of their territory. Jordan and Egypt have also rejected the idea of taking in Gazans. Netanyahu, meanwhile, praised Trump's ideas and applauded him for thinking outside the box.
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Trump's plan would clear a major obstacle for Netanyahu. Many analysts believe it will be nearly impossible for Netanyahu to fully end the war in Gaza if Hamas is still in control of the Strip. This announcement comes at a critical time in a very fragile Middle East. Israel and Hamas are still in phase one of the ceasefire deal.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Israel and Hezbollah are also in a pause of fighting in Lebanon, and there are growing concerns about Iran's nuclear capabilities. Trump's proposal will surely rattle all sides in an already volatile situation. Since President Trump entered office, his right-hand man, tech billionaire Elon Musk, has been on a blitz to reshape the federal government.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
He's led efforts to shut down agencies like USAID and the Department of Education. He's offered buyouts to thousands of federal workers, which over 20,000 have accepted. And he's gained access to core infrastructure of the federal government, like...
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
That's Isaac Arnsdorf, who covers the White House for The Washington Post.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
All of this is raising major questions about the scope of Musk's role in the federal government and has already prompted legal challenges. After all, Musk is the world's richest man, a private citizen who did not get elected or go through congressional hearings to get this role.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
It was only in recent days that the White House said he was acting as a, quote, special government employee, a distinction that's intended for people working for the government in a short-term capacity and meant to put up some guardrails about potential conflicts of interest.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
As a special government employee, Musk will be required to complete a financial disclosure, though Arnstorf says it's not clear if that will be made public.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
In a meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said the United States will seize the territory and have long-term ownership over its future development.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Arnstorf also sees parallels in how Musk is approaching federal staffing cuts to how he's handled things at his companies.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 53 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Musk's role in the government. Trump has said that Musk won't do anything without his approval. But for Trump, Arnsdorff says, there's a benefit here. Musk offers strategic political cover for the president.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Let's turn now to a group of Americans whose lives have been upended by some of President Trump's early actions in office. Transgender people make up less than 1% of the adult population, but the administration has made rolling back their rights one of its top priorities in the first 100 days.
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That's Kate Sossin, who covers issues related to the LGBTQ plus community for The 19th.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Good morning. It's Wednesday, February 5th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Elon Musk's takeover of Washington, how President Trump has rolled back rights for transgender Americans, and the NFL sends a different message ahead of the Super Bowl. But first, President Trump made extraordinary statements yesterday about the future of Gaza.
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On day one, Trump issued an executive order that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female, although scientists and other experts have long said gender and sex are distinct and that gender is not binary.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Trump ordered the Education Department to block federal funding from schools that educate students about the fluidity of gender, also schools that support students who are transitioning. Trump directed his defense secretary to ban trans people from openly serving in the military. He also moved to ban trans women from federal women's prisons.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Today, he's expected to sign an order to ban transgender women and girls from participating in women's sports in schools and colleges. He's also signed an executive order aiming to restrict doctors from giving gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 19, which studies have shown can be life-saving treatment. Sossin told us about the impossible choices medical providers are now facing.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
There have been a number of legal challenges filed so far against these moves. Sossin says trans people are terrified and overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of actions Trump has taken so far to eliminate their rights, even if some of these attempts are ultimately overturned by the courts.
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Washington
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Last night, the Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as the next attorney general. Meanwhile, two other Trump nominees, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services, have advanced out of Senate committees and will head to a full confirmation vote.
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Getting less attention is Darren Beattie, who Trump has appointed to a top role in the State Department. The reason to know his name is because he has a controversial past. He is a former Trump speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after CNN reported he spoke at a conference attended by white nationalists.
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Then just four months ago, Beattie posted on social media that he believes, quote, competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. In his State Department role, Beattie will manage public diplomacy. In legal news, the trial for the man charged with stabbing writer Salman Rushdie began yesterday with jury selection.
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Hadi Mattar, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of stabbing Rushdie 10 times at an event on stage in front of a live audience. The attack damaged Rushdie's liver, left him blind in one eye, and caused nerve damage in his arm. Rushdie, who has written a memoir about the incident, described it to the BBC last year.
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Because of Rushdie's celebrity and the notoriety of the attack, jury selection in the case could take up to two weeks. And finally, just ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, The Athletic is reporting that the NFL plans to remove the end racism message from the end zone. The phrasing has appeared at every Super Bowl since 2021. It'll be replaced with phrases including choose love and it takes all of us.
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Trump also said Palestinians should leave Gaza and go to neighboring Jordan and Egypt. When pressed on this plan by a reporter, he said anyone could eventually return after American development in the Strip.
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The statement from the NFL came the same day that the White House confirmed President Trump will be attending the Super Bowl. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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Vox looks at how a shortage of affordable housing has more Americans moving in with empty nesters twice their age. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
According to the Conference Board, a group that tracks consumer confidence on a monthly basis, the consumer confidence index dropped by 7.2 points in March, its lowest since January of 2021.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Two-thirds of consumers believe that unemployment will increase. And when that happens, people tend to be more conservative with their spending.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
It's easy for Americans to blame or thank the president when it comes to how they feel about their bank accounts. Typically, the president alone doesn't really control the outlook for the economy. But Stewart says we are living in remarkable times.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
President Trump has acknowledged prices will go up, but says the pain of tariffs will be worth it, with his senior trade advisor, Peter Navarro, estimating the U.S. will raise about $600 billion to $700 billion a year from tariffs. But CNBC spoke with some economists who say, in reality, the U.S. will probably bring in less than half of that. Results are in from yesterday's elections.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
All three are being seen as a warning sign for President Trump and the Republican Party. In Wisconsin, Susan Crawford, a liberal circuit court judge, beat her conservative counterpart for a seat on the state Supreme Court. The race drew national attention after Elon Musk and allies spent $25 million backing Crawford's opponent, Brad Schimel, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
history. Here's Crawford at her victory party last night.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
This means Wisconsin's Supreme Court will maintain its liberal majority. This is a nonpartisan office, but the court might take up cases with implications for national politics, like redistricting, abortion rights, and election rules, according to CBS. The court might also hear a case involving a lawsuit brought by Musk against the state of Wisconsin involving Tesla.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Crawford's victory was the latest in a string of small wins for Democrats who recently flipped state legislative seats in special elections in Iowa and Pennsylvania and defeated four Republican-backed referendums in Louisiana. The New York Times notes it's the first time the party has been on its front foot since November.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
But first, today, President Trump will hold an event in the Rose Garden where he'll detail plans for his next batch of tariffs. Now, Trump is no stranger to proposing, delaying, enacting and even dropping tariffs. As of March 21st, tariffs were placed on roughly $800 billion worth of goods, with many countries, including several of our allies, imposing their own tariffs back at us.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Moving on to two special elections that took place in Florida yesterday, both Republican Trump-backed candidates won their races, Randy Fine and Jimmy Petronas, shoring up Republicans' slim majority in the House. As we mentioned on yesterday's show, these are heavily Republican districts, so Democrats weren't expected to flip either seat.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
But what's caught the attention of observers nationwide is the margins of those victories. The word you'll see in most coverage of these races? Underperform. Trump won both of those districts in November by more than 30 points. Patronus and Fine each won by around half of that. Here's pollster and MSNBC analyst Fernand Amandi speaking on the network about what that might mean.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
It's also a reflection of turnout. Off-year, non-presidential elections often have much lower turnout. But so far, as The Times notes, Democrats seem to be doing well in lower turnout elections since Trump returned to office, meaning these types of off-year races could swing their way. CNN's conservative political analyst Scott Jennings says that matters.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Let's turn now to Gaza. Israel's defense minister is saying it plans to expand its military offensive, seize large areas of the enclave, and evacuate people in combat zones. The defense minister also urged Palestinians to remove Hamas from power. This comes on the heels of thousands of Palestinians protesting Hamas last week, holding demonstrations in the streets.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
NPR reports that some people chanted that Hamas are terrorists, while another chant called for the militant group to get out. And it calls this a rare show of discontent, the first major protests in Gaza against Hamas since the war began more than a year ago. We reached out to Daniel Astran, an international correspondent in the Middle East for NPR, to tell us what's happening.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Good morning. It's Wednesday, April 2nd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a trio of election results sends a warning sign to President Trump and the Republican Party. A rare spate of protests in Gaza against Hamas's leadership. And Senator Cory Booker breaks the record for longest ever Senate floor speech.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Typically, Estrin said, Hamas does not tolerate protests without consequences.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Taken all together, economists say there's little doubt consumer prices will go up and could even lead us into a recession.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
The protests have subsided at the moment. There are reports that one protester was killed by Hamas, but NPR couldn't independently verify that information. In recent days, Israel and Hamas have signaled openness to a new ceasefire deal. That comes after Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18th, with surprise airstrikes resuming in Gaza and ground troops increasing their presence.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Meanwhile, CNN reports all bakeries in Gaza have shut down as a result of an Israeli blockade on aid, which some say will deepen famine conditions. Many people are reportedly going hungry as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan drew to a close. And as many Palestinians protested, Israelis have also hit the street to protest their government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Estrin said that it's unclear what will happen with this pressure mounting on all sides.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione. Mangione is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. Mangione, who has gotten support from many Americans who are angry with the health care system, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Bondi said the decision is part of President Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and make America safe again. In Washington, New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker broke the record for the longest ever speech on the Senate floor after he spoke for more than 25 hours, protesting President Trump's agenda.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Booker criticized the administration's, quote, complete disregard for the rule of law, the Constitution, and the needs of the American people.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Tens of thousands of people watched via livestream as Booker discussed health care, immigration, education, free speech, and social security. The previous record was held by South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, a segregationist who in 1957 spoke for 24 hours in a filibuster against the Civil Rights Act.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
And finally, the Trump administration says they deported a man to El Salvador due to an administrative error and that they are powerless to bring him home. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested last month by ICE agents who believed he was a leader of a gang. The Maryland husband and father denied any gang affiliation and hasn't been charged with any crime.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
In fact, in 2019, an immigration judge ordered that he was to remain in the U.S., citing a credible fear that he would be killed or tortured if he returned to his country of origin, El Salvador. An acting field office director with ICE called his deportation a, quote, oversight.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Garcia's lawyer filed a motion asking the Trump administration to work with the government of El Salvador to bring him home. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
Time spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on what it's been like to try and keep Trump on his side and momentum for international support going forward. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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What new election results tell us about how attitudes are shifting
On paper, economic indicators are somewhat mixed. The labor market is, at least for the moment, in pretty solid shape, with unemployment rates low, historically speaking. But the stock market just had its worst month in years. And consumer confidence is way down.
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Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and a review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 25th. I'm Shmeeta Basu.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
And sure enough, he started to see reports on social media about explosions in Yemen's capital. Here's Goldberg talking to PBS.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Both the National Security Council and the White House have since confirmed the existence and authenticity of this group text. However, President Trump told reporters in a press briefing on Monday that he didn't know about the chat.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
In addition to the highly classified military information Goldberg was given access to, this group text also revealed information about the identities of active CIA personnel, and information that Goldberg says could have conceivably harmed U.S. military and intelligence operatives in the Middle East.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
I should note, The Atlantic did not publish any of those plans or other classified details, but former U.S. officials told Goldberg, this is why a messaging app like Signal should never be used for sensitive information. Had any of these officials' phones been lost, stolen, or hacked, the signal messages could have been accessed, which would have been a serious threat to national security.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
That's why the government has its own internal system for sharing classified information, which all cabinet-level members have access to. Raising further legal questions, Waltz, the national security advisor, also set some of the messages in the group chat to disappear after a period of time.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
A former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration told The Atlantic, unless these Trump officials forwarded the messages from the signal chat to an official government account or copied them to one, they may have violated federal records law. Text messages about official acts are considered records that must be preserved.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Goldberg told PBS all of these oversights highlight the recklessness of the group chat.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Retired Army General Barry McCaffrey, who served in the Clinton administration, told MSNBC it's shocking to see that not only a mistake like this was made, but also that it wasn't caught and corrected, calling the group chat, quote, amateur hour.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what we know about legal residents and visitors who've been detained or deported by the Trump administration, how tariffs are hitting consumers and businesses, and why privacy experts say you should delete your 23andMe data right away.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement the administration has, quote, the utmost confidence in its national security team. The White House says it's reviewing how Goldberg was added to the chain. Now to the targeting of legal residents and tourists in President Trump's immigration crackdown.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
In recent weeks, there have been a number of high-profile cases, including a backpacker from Wales who spent nearly three weeks at a detention center, a German woman who spent 45 days in detention, including a week in solitary confinement, and at least two people on college campuses who are in the U.S. legally but were detained for their involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Today, we're going to take a few minutes to run through some of these cases and others. Let's start with the arrest last week of Indian-born Badar Khan Suri, a father of three kids, a husband, and a researcher at Georgetown University. Like Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, Suri is being accused by Department of Homeland Security officials of spreading Hamas propaganda.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
And officials say Suri has, quote, close connections to a senior advisor to Hamas. Suri's wife is a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent. Politico reports her father at one point had a high level role in Gaza's government, a role which he left roughly 15 years ago. Suri's lawyers deny the allegations that he or his wife have any connections to Hamas.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
and say the government is retaliating against them for their support of Palestine. A judge has blocked Suri's deportation. In Khalil's case, the government is now saying his deportation is justified because he misrepresented information on his green card application. A lawyer for Khalil called the government's claims meritless.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
CBS reports that both Suri and Khalil were detained under an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows noncitizens to be deported if they're deemed a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests. Here's CBS legal reporter and attorney Katrina Kaufman.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Meanwhile, in Orange County, California, a couple who lived in the U.S. for 35 years was deported to Colombia. Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez were undocumented when they came to the U.S. in 1989 to escape drug violence. Their children say they followed all of the rules, they committed no crimes, and exhausted all legal avenues trying to become citizens.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
They were arrested last month when they showed up for a routine appointment with immigration officials, who have confirmed the couple had no criminal history. Their daughter, Stephanie Gonzalez, told the Fox affiliate in Los Angeles that her parents' arrest is the opposite of what Trump said he would do on the campaign trail.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
In another instance, a Canadian actress and entrepreneur named Jasmine Mooney, who obtained a three-year work visa last spring, had it revoked after a visit back home to Canada in November. In early March, she tried to enter the U.S. through the Mexico border with her visa paperwork and a new job offer.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
But first, earlier this month, just before the United States launched new strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, top officials in the Trump administration discussed those plans in detail using a non-government-sanctioned group messaging app called Signal. And they added a journalist to their group by mistake, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
But Newsweek reports, since her name had already been flagged a few months prior, Customs and Border Protection officers didn't allow her to go back to Mexico. She was instead detained for almost two weeks. Mooney told CTV in Canada she was held in chains and slept on a mat at a detention center in Arizona.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
There's also a French scientist who was denied entry into the U.S. on March 9th. A minister in France's government told AFP that U.S. border officials found messages on the scientist's phone that were critical of President Trump. A diplomatic source told AFP the messages showed, quote, hatred toward Trump's policies, which they said could qualify as terrorism.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
The acting commissioner of Customs and Border Patrol told USA Today any traveler entering the U.S. is subject to having their electronic devices searched. She said any claims that searches are politically motivated are, quote, completely unfounded. U.S. citizens can reject having their devices searched, but foreign nationals or people with visas do not have the same rights.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Many of the cases we mentioned today are in the process of being appealed in courts. Let's turn now to the state of the economy, particularly when it Tariffs on these countries have been announced, altered, paused, and implemented in the last month or so. Those nations, as well as the European Union, have announced retaliatory tariffs on American goods.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
NPR's personal finance reporter, Laura Wamsley, spoke to us about the impact all of this is having on businesses and consumers.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
The other thing to note is companies stateside that aren't directly impacted by tariffs might raise their prices anyway.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
According to the Tax Foundation, tariffs on Chinese goods alone are estimated to add $329 in costs per U.S. household annually. And Wamsley told us when prices go up, they don't tend to come back down.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Goldberg reports that he has no idea how or why he was added to the group chat, which appears to have been created by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and included the vice president, secretary of state, director of national intelligence and others. Goldberg says he initially wasn't sure it was real. But over the course of several days, he watched the conversations unfold.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Wildfires returned to the Carolinas just weeks after crews battled a number of recent blazes. Now, areas that were devastated by Hurricane Helene last year are being hit with fresh fires, prompting the governor of South Carolina to declare a state of emergency and North Carolina officials to order mandatory evacuations.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Hurricane Helene was the most destructive natural disaster in North Carolina history, and experts say the downed trees and destruction left behind by the storm have made the wildfires spread more easily and harder to fight.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
In other news, a panel of judges in Washington, D.C., did not make a decision Monday on whether to lift a lower court ruling barring the administration from deporting migrants under what's known as the Alien Enemies Act.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Earlier in the day, a judge denied the government's request to lift that hold, saying Venezuelans who the administration wants to deport should be given the chance to defend themselves against allegations they belong to the gang called Tren de Aragua.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Meanwhile, the administration also said Monday it's invoking a rare legal doctrine known as state secrets privilege to avoid handing over flight data that's at the center of a legal dispute over whether the government ignored a judge's order to turn around deportation flights leaving the U.S. And finally, have you ever done one of those 23andMe DNA tests?
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
Well, it might be time to delete your data as the company heads to bankruptcy court to sell its assets. Those assets include genetic samples and DNA testing results. The Washington Post reports the company says nothing will change in the way they handle privacy, but unless you take action, there's a chance your genetic information could end up in someone else's hands. The
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Gossip gets a bad reputation, but for one podcast host and author, it's her life's work, literally.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
The New Yorker spoke to Kelsey McKinney, the former host of the podcast Normal Gossip, about her new book and why she firmly believes gossiping is one of life's greatest virtues. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Top Trump officials leaked war plans to a journalist by mistake
And on Saturday, March 15th, a Signal user in the chat named Pete Hegseth texted the group operational details of planned strikes against the Houthis, what kind of weapons the U.S. would be using, and information about targets. The Hegsath account said the strikes would start in several hours, so Goldberg waited to see what would happen.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
The Washington Post examined one agency within the Defense Department where there's a lot of fear about the impact of cuts to staffing and budget.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Alex Horton is a national security reporter for The Post.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
The agency has around 700 people on staff, and their backgrounds are quite unique. There's forensic anthropologists, historians, even underwater archaeologists. That's because this agency does the difficult and painstaking work of finding, identifying, and repatriating the remains of Americans who died in wars overseas.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Horton told us about one veteran recovered by the agency during Trump's first term when the U.S. struck a deal with North Korea to repatriate the remains of Americans who died during the Korean War. Master Sergeant Charles McDaniel was last seen in 1950 tending to wounded soldiers in battle.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
His remains were identified by the agency in 2018, 68 years later, and parts of his skull, clavicle, and dog tag were returned to his sons. They spoke to the agency that year about what it meant to finally be able to lay their father to rest.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
It's unclear how exactly this agency might be affected by upcoming cuts, but staff are bracing for them to be widespread and indiscriminate. One employee of the agency told Horton, "...out of every DOD agency there is, we're the only one above reproach from a moral standpoint. It's not about making weapons. It's about returning loved ones to their families."
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
While Congress was in recess last week, many Republican lawmakers returned to their districts and held some of their first town halls with constituents since Trump took office. And a lot of them received an earful. People demanded answers about how sweeping budget cuts might impact them locally, about the mass firings of federal workers, and about the authority President Trump has given Elon Musk.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Here's how one town hall sounded in Georgia.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
President Trump's efforts to expand executive powers came up too.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Republican Representative Rich McCormick was hosting this particular town hall, and that woman you just heard who introduced herself as Virginia told McCormick she is a descendant of founding father Patrick Henry, and she quoted Henry.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
McCormick responded.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
He went on to say that he believes executive power should be restricted because it feels out of balance right now with other branches. And he later told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he believes the pace of federal employee firings has been too fast.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Yesterday, the Office of Personnel Management, which is effectively the government's HR department, told federal agencies that they can ignore Elon Musk's email, demanding they outline what they accomplished last week or risk losing their jobs. President Trump commented, too, saying some employees work with sensitive information and should be exempt from the email request.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
In Wisconsin, constituents at one town hall were angry that their Republican representatives weren't pushing back on Trump and keeping executive power in check. On the West Coast, in Oregon, a woman named Sue Oliver expressed similar concerns, speaking directly to her representative, Republican Cliff Bence.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
The White House said these town hall incidents include just a handful of critics. NBC reports that these contentious town halls could be an early sign that the honeymoon period for the Trump administration is coming to an end. And the New York Times notes that with a slim majority in the House, Republicans are in a precarious position, especially for members in vulnerable districts.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
But the fact that this pushback is also happening in deeply red areas... could be a sign of a larger problem for the party down the road. Let's turn now to a recent investigation from ProPublica that found pregnancy in Texas has become much more dangerous in recent years.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
The state implemented a six-week abortion ban in 2021, which became a total abortion ban in 2022, soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But since then, no one at the state or federal level had studied the impacts of the policy on patients. So ProPublica did their own analysis using hospital data from 2017 through 2023. Reporter Lizzie Presser told us what they learned.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 25th. I'm Shamitza Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Republican lawmakers are feeling the heat from their constituents at town halls. A look at how abortion bans affect sepsis rates. And a controversial pick could win the Oscar for Best Actress. But first, to the ongoing fallout from federal job firings.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Developing sepsis is one way the body's immune system responds to infection, and it can be incredibly dangerous.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, the recommended standard of care for patients with pregnancy complications or miscarriages before fetal viability was to offer to terminate the pregnancy because of how dangerous infections can be. But today, under Texas law, a physician cannot terminate a pregnancy unless they can document the patient's life is at risk.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
And doctors face up to 99 years in prison for violating that law.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
But he also suggested employees could still be fired or, quote, semi-fired for noncompliance. One DOJ employee described the past few days to Politico as massive whiplash all the time. The next large scale cuts are coming for the Pentagon. On Friday, the Defense Department announced plans to cut 5,400 probationary workers starting this week, which would reduce its workforce by up to 8 percent.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
According to ProPublica's analysis, that uncertainty physicians are facing could explain why Texas hospitals are seeing rising sepsis rates for pregnant patients.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Between 2019 and 2023, the maternal mortality rate rose in Texas by 33%. Meanwhile, nationwide, it dropped by 7.5%. And Presser says this trend with sepsis is not limited to Texas. Other states that have similar laws banning abortion are seeing sepsis rates climb, too, for patients experiencing complications before their pregnancies are viable.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Texas abortion law is under review this legislative session. As a result of ProPublica's reporting, Presser says Republican lawmakers in Texas, including several of the authors of abortion policy in the state, have expressed a willingness to amend the law to better protect the lives of patients. But it's unclear if proposed amendments will receive a public hearing this session.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're watching. The United States on Monday joined Russia to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning Russia's war against Ukraine. CNN reports the U.N. measure, which was backed by longtime European allies, called for immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and a peaceful resolution to the war now marking its third year.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
The AP called it a sign of a shift in transatlantic relations, with the United States continuing to signal a willingness to split from Europe and refuse to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Now to an update on the closely watched mass rape trial in France, where 51 men were convicted two months ago of raping Gisele Pelico.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Six of the 50 men are already out of jail and living relatively normal lives. The Sunday Times reports the men who have been released were let go because of their poor health or because they'd served their time in pretrial detention. Now many are back in villages in France. Some have returned to their families, to their job.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Giselle Pellico's lawyer says she is trying to return to normal life, too. And the Oscars are this weekend, and after skipping several awards season ceremonies, Carla Sofia Gascon, who is nominated for Best Actress for her role in the film Amelia Perez, says she will attend the Oscars ceremony.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
Gascon was largely left out of Oscar campaigning and has kept a low profile after years-old offensive tweets resurfaced where she made charged statements about Black people, Islam, and immigrants. Gascón is the first openly trans woman to be nominated for Best Actress and said, quote, I'm grateful to be back. Emilia Perez led all Oscar films with 13 nominations.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Popular Mechanics has the story of a puzzling archaeological object that spent 2,000 years at the bottom of the Aegean Sea before some of it got hauled up. It might have been the world's first computer.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Republicans feel the heat from voters over Trump and Musk’s cuts
The Pentagon also said it plans to put a hiring freeze in place and it's proposed cutting 8 percent of its budget per year over the next five years. That's roughly 50 billion dollars a year. However, the Pentagon says a number of defense priorities will be exempt from cuts, like money that goes toward border security and countering China in the Pacific.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
His term doesn't run out until next May, and he's repeatedly said he has no plans to resign before 2026. But he and Trump have bumped heads. Powell has been critical of Trump's tariffs, saying they will likely cause both higher prices and slower economic growth. Trump is upset that Powell hasn't cut interest rates.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
The Fed's role is to keep inflation low and employment levels high, not to keep politicians or even presidents happy. If the court overturns the legal precedent that keeps the Fed politically independent and makes it so that a Fed chair can be fired by the president, Ip says that could potentially affect how the chair sets policy.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
And historically, this has happened before with disastrous consequences. Ahead of Richard Nixon's re-election in 1972, he pressured the Fed chair to keep interest rates low. What followed was a decade of economic damage that stemmed from high inflation. Ip says if we see a repeat of that kind of political pressure, it'll come with several risks.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Keeping the Fed independent is just a part of what's at stake here. This case before the court involves two federal officials, one from the National Labor Relations Board and one from MSPB, the Merit Systems Protection Board, who were fired by Trump. Both are Democrats and both are suing, saying they were wrongfully terminated and can only be fired for cause.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
In fact, MSPB is the agency that's supposed to protect civil servants from politically motivated firings. So if the court rules to expand presidential powers here, we could possibly see Trump start to unravel protections for civil service workers as well. Let's turn now to immigration and the continued aggressive policies of the Trump administration and their impacts. At the U.S.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
southern border, illegal crossings have diminished significantly, with migrant encounters with Border Patrol reaching historic lows in March. Crossings began to drop in the final year of the Biden administration, and The Wall Street Journal notes that some of the policies employed toward the end of Biden's term have benefited Trump's immigration goals.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
At one point during Biden's term, there were about 250,000 Border Patrol arrests in a single month. In March of this year, that number was just over 7,000. Meanwhile, NPR reports that some immigrants in the U.S. without legal status are considering self-deporting or leaving the country of their own volition. It represents an explicit strategic approach from the Trump administration.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Here's NPR immigration correspondent Jasmine Garst.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Like this ad featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that was part of a $200 million ad campaign.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Aside from the ads, the headlines speak for themselves in encouraging people to consider self-deportation. People have been taken off the streets by immigration officers with no warning. Some have been deported and imprisoned in El Salvador with no due process. Others are lingering in ICE detention centers that are becoming overcrowded and unsanitary.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Garst told us that Trump isn't the first to push a strategy of self-deporting. Back during the 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney proposed self-deportations as part of his immigration plan and received wide mockery, including from Trump.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
The question then was for people who had fought so hard to flee danger in their countries and pursue a life in the United States, why would they choose to leave? But Garst told us that now people are in fact grappling with that very difficult choice.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
At least one family she spoke with has had real disagreements about what to do. The father wants to return to Guatemala, while the mother wants her children to continue to go to school in the U.S.,
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Trump has called Powell a major loser and has said that Powell's termination cannot come fast enough. The thing is, the Federal Reserve is one of a few government agencies designed to be entirely independent. The idea is that it allows them to do their work untouched by political pressures. But that could soon change.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
If this family leaves, the kids who are U.S. citizens can come back in the future under current U.S. laws, but the possibility of the parents ever returning is far from clear. Now to an ongoing trial involving Google.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
The Department of Justice argued in court yesterday that in order to break Google's monopoly on the Internet search market, the Silicon Valley giant should be forced to sell off its Chrome web browser and change other key parts of its business. The DOJ argued for years that Google is a monopoly in online search. And last summer, a judge agreed, ruling that it's illegal.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 22nd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why some immigrants are considering self-deportation, Google might have to break up its businesses, and on Earth Day, a look at how clean energy is winning. But first, President Trump is suggesting he wants to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Here he is talking with reporters last week.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Today was the first day in a three-week trial to decide how Google should remedy that and open up competition. This is the second such ruling against Google in the past year. Last week, a judge also ruled Google illegally monopolized certain ad tech markets.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
In that case, the DOJ argued Google maintained dominance with a three-pronged digital ad business that includes technology advertisers use to get their ads in front of people, exchanges to determine which ads people are served, and the platform publishers use to sell ad space on their web pages.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Josh Sisko is a reporter for Bloomberg who covers tech and antitrust litigation. He says much of the government's argument centered around previous acquisitions of companies that are key parts of the online advertising ecosystem.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
And the DOJ has argued if Google weren't allowed to act this way, it would be better for advertisers.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Google says it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal, saying in a statement, publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective. All these court cases could lead to some big changes in how Google operates.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
In addition to potentially being ordered to sell Chrome, which is the world's leading web browser, Google could be told to sell its Android operating system, which is used by more smartphone users than any other OS. And perhaps most importantly, the company could be forced to terminate agreements with other big tech players that make Google the default search engine on smartphones and web browsers.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
In any case, Cisco says what the DOJ is arguing for is all about a more equal internet.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Today, the Supreme Court hears a case over whether parents should be allowed to opt their kids out of reading books in school that include LGBTQ plus characters and themes.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
The case originated in Maryland's largest school district that in 2023 said it would no longer let parents exclude their children from such lessons, saying they're providing a curriculum that represents families in the district. The district is in a deep blue progressive county.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
A group of parents, many of them either Muslim or Christian, argued that taking away the opt-out option conflicts with their religious views and violates their First Amendment rights to practice their faith without discrimination. The results of the case could have broad implications over how much say parents have in their children's public school education. In economic news, the U.S.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
That's The Wall Street Journal's chief economics commentator, Greg Ip.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
dollar fell to a three-year low on Monday, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose as investors weighed concerns about tariffs and the Federal Reserve's future independence.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Also, three weeks after President Trump implemented tariffs on nearly every country in the world before pausing some of them, we're about to get a slew of new economic forecasts and data points that will help us know how the world and investors are viewing the fallout.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Today, the IMF releases its Global Financial Stability and World Economic Outlook reports, while on Wednesday, the Fed will release its Beige Book, a qualitative review of economic conditions in the United States. And finally, today is Earth Day.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
And while President Trump has moved quickly to embrace fossil fuels and unwind environmental protections, Vox has 10 charts that prove that clean energy is on the up and growing the global economy. Take wind power. Despite recent executive actions specifically against wind power, U.S. wind capacity grew 23 times over 20 years, and it's drawn massive capital investment.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
The biggest wind producers are in states that are heavily Republican. The capacity of our electric grids is also improving with advances in battery technology. There's also solar power, where costs to scale have plummeted and growth is on a steep trajectory. The push to more sustainable vehicles is also a big factor.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Cars and other transportation vehicles are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the U.S., but more and more people want and are buying EVs and hybrids. And one more sign that clean energy is thriving, the jobs numbers. In 2023 alone, 150,000 new clean energy jobs were created. The sector now outnumbers jobs in the fossil fuel industry globally.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine describes how a young couple got drawn into a Bay Area based cult with a very specific mission.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Convert everyone to becoming vegans or else risk AI becoming powerful enough to do to humans what we do to factory farmed animals. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
The case before the court is called Trump v. Wilcox. It's being heard as part of what's known as the shadow docket, meaning there are no oral arguments and little public visibility into what each side is arguing or how the justices are thinking about the issue. Now, for some backstory here, Powell was appointed by Trump during his first term. He was then reappointed by President Biden.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
At the start of the ceasefire, people were finally able to return to northern Gaza, and a surge of crucial aid and food started coming in. But in recent weeks, Netanyahu has been threatening to resume the war and has stopped aid from entering to pressure Hamas to accept a new proposal.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Humanitarian organizations, rights groups, and countries in Europe and the Middle East say this violates international law and amounts to collective punishment. This is a developing story, and you can follow the latest in the Apple News app. Now to domestic news.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The executive and judicial branches clashed in a court hearing yesterday where a federal judge pressed Justice Department officials to explain why flights carrying more than 200 Venezuelan migrants were allowed to land in El Salvador despite a ruling he issued to turn the flights back. The Associated Press reports U.S.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
District Judge James Boasberg was incredulous after Trump administration lawyers argued the judge didn't have jurisdiction in the case because the flights had already left the United States when the directive was issued for them to turn around. The government also said it couldn't reveal the timing of the flights, citing national security concerns.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
In response, the judge said he did have jurisdiction and that it would have been better for the flights to turn around and for the government to appeal the issue in court. And he demanded the government provide more information on the flights by noon today. Here's how White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt defended the government's actions in yesterday's press briefing.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
We mentioned the Alien Enemies Act yesterday. It's a somewhat obscure 1798 wartime law that gives presidents broad authority to deport immigrants without them going before an immigration or federal court judge. The Trump administration has said the group that was deported over the weekend were suspected members of a Venezuelan gang that's conducting, quote, irregular warfare in the United States.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Although officials did not provide any evidence, they are in fact gang members or that they committed any crimes. Yesterday's hearing was a critical moment and the latest in a standoff between the Trump administration and the judiciary. And it comes as over the past several weeks, Trump administration officials have suggested they would be OK with defying the courts.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
In fact, early yesterday, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News the administration would continue its deportation actions despite court rulings.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
And on the day of the flight, El Salvador's president seemed to openly mock the judge's order to turn the flights around, posting on social media, quote, Oopsie, too late, with a laughing emoji. That post was shared by Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost spoke to NPR about Trump's recent actions and whether we've entered constitutional crisis territory.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Now, Republicans are also saying words like constitutional crisis, except they're talking about the judge in this case, not Trump. Texas Congressman Brandon Gill, who's a Republican, says he plans to file articles of impeachment against the judge this week.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
But first, after weeks of relative calm in Gaza under the ceasefire deal, Israel launched a series of strikes overnight, killing at least 400 people, according to Palestinian authorities.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
And Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican who is chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said we're headed for a constitutional crisis if the Supreme Court or Congress doesn't step in to check the judge's ruling.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Politico describes this as the sort of crescendo moment of the tension that's been building since Trump took office again, saying the administration's legal tangles underscore its make decisions first, figure out a legal defense later approach to policymaking. Continuing with immigration, The Wall Street Journal has new reporting on how one facet of Trump's immigration agenda has fallen apart.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
His plans to send tens of thousands of migrants to Guantanamo Bay. In recent weeks, Trump sent just shy of 300 Venezuelan migrants to Guantanamo, placing many of them in a military prison meant for suspected terrorists. Others were put in a migrant center. And he promised to build an expansive tent city to house up to 30,000 people total.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
His administration said it would prioritize deporting people with serious criminal backgrounds, people they called the worst of the worst, though the journal reported that a significant number of migrants at Guantanamo were deemed low risk, meaning that a judge had ordered them removed from the country, but they hadn't committed crimes. These days, there are zero migrants detained at the U.S.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
naval base. That's because operational and legal challenges force the Trump administration to largely abandon their plan and move people to facilities in the United States. Shelby Holliday, a senior video reporter with The Journal, told us, "...one reason why the plan failed is because the tent encampment set up by the Trump administration didn't meet government standards for migrant detention."
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The surprise attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and called into question whether this was a one-off pressure campaign to get Hamas to give in to Israel's demands in negotiations or a full-on return to a state of war. Israel says Hamas is stalling progress on peace talks.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The operation was also very expensive. The Journal reports it cost over $3 million just to get the tents out of storage and set up. Government officials who recently briefed lawmakers said the plan has cost at least $16 million so far overall, though that total didn't include the cost of flights to carry migrants, U.S. troops, and supplies to the island.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Some of those flights involved expensive military aircraft before ICE later switched to using cheaper civilian planes.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 18th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Trump's plans to expand Guantanamo Bay are starting to unravel, an investigation into a secretive policing unit in New York City, and how Severance fans are looking for real-world connections.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
And even though there are no migrants being detained at Guantanamo anymore, there are still roughly 1,000 military personnel at the base who had been deployed to guard the facilities. A defense official told the journal there are plans to reduce the number of troops in the coming weeks.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
There are also many outstanding questions about the conditions that people were subjected to while they were detained. We recently told you the story of several Venezuelan men who were held in the military prison known as Camp 6 for weeks. They and other migrants have described inhumane conditions.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Let's turn now to an investigation from ProPublica into a policing unit in New York City and its history of hidden abuse. Please be warned, this story involves graphic descriptions of violence. The NYPD's Community Response Team, or CRT, was founded in 2022, several months after Mayor Eric Adams took office.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Crime in New York was rising at the time, and Adams, a former NYPD captain himself, promised to take action against not just violent crimes, but also general quality-of-life issues that New Yorkers were complaining about. One of this policing unit's first priorities was cracking down on people using motorcycles and ATVs around the city unlicensed.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
ProPublica editor-at-large Eric Umansky told us about one of the most troubling cases he encountered involving a father from the Bronx named Sammy Williams. He took an unlicensed motorcycle out for a ride on Memorial Day in 2023. Officers with CRT saw him approaching and swerved their patrol car into oncoming traffic, hitting Williams head-on.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The AP reports Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is saying Israel will, quote, act against Hamas with increasing military force until it releases all remaining hostages.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The officer who was driving that police car did not respond to ProPublica's request for comment. The NYPD said he forfeited 13 vacation days after William's death, and the department's website shows he's still part of the CRT unit today. Mayor Adams declined to be interviewed for this story, but ProPublica learned that Adams is closely connected to this unit.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
It's been led by close allies of his and often focuses on his priorities. At one point, he had special access to a live stream of the body cameras worn by officers. A former top NYPD official told ProPublica the unit effectively reports directly to City Hall. And when people inside the department raised red flags about officers' conduct, leadership in the unit would complain to Adams.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
On numerous occasions, NYPD officials tried to warn that CRT's policing tactics were too aggressive. In one audit from 2023, one official wrote that officers were wrongfully stopping New Yorkers and failing to document those incidents. ProPublica also learned that many of the officers assigned to CRT had concerning records.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
By comparison, 15% of officers across the entire NYPD have been found to have engaged in misconduct. And Umansky told us he learned that many officers involved with CRT were hired not because of their record, but because of their personal networks.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
An NYPD spokesperson told ProPublica the new police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, is making changes. She ordered hundreds of officers to return to their assigned units. And in January, she ordered officers to curtail high-speed chases. This spokesperson said she's working to ensure accountability and strengthen our ability to fight crime. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The Texas Tribune reports a Houston-area midwife and her employee were arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions. It's the first such arrest since Texas implemented an almost complete ban on abortions when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The Texas attorney general says 48-year-old Maria Margarita Rojas is charged with practicing medicine without a license and the illegal performance of abortion. The charge is a second-degree felony, which means she faces up to 20 years in prison. A lawyer for Rojas couldn't immediately be reached.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Hamas says Israel is trying to sabotage the initial ceasefire agreement and endangering remaining hostages in Gaza.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The astronauts, stranded at the International Space Station for over nine months, are now on their way home. The Crew-9 mission undocked early this morning and is scheduled to splash down off the Florida coast later today.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
Astronauts Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore were initially scheduled for an eight-day mission, but were left behind after the Boeing Starliner they arrived in experienced serious technical problems. And finally, the work may not be mysterious or important, but that hasn't stopped people on social media asking companies named Lumen whether their employees are severed.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
That's a term from the hit Apple TV Plus series Severance, where workers at a fictional company called Lumen have their psyches split between their in-e work personas and their out-e outside work ones.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
The Wall Street Journal looks at several companies in the real world named Lumen who are now trying to figure out if they should ignore or embrace this opportunity to connect to the pop culture zeitgeist. For some, it's an easy call. You've probably heard the saying, there's no such thing as bad press. But let's just say Lumen isn't the hero of this story. So it's not quite that simple either.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
And Hamas instead wants to follow the terms of the original deal reached by the two sides, which calls for negotiations to begin on the ceasefire's second phase, which is supposed to lead to a permanent end to the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a return of all hostages.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Wired investigates how Elon Musk and the Doge team have gained access to dozens of federal agencies and cut tens of thousands of jobs since Trump took office.
Apple News Today
Trump says he’s not defying court orders. A judge says otherwise.
To get more insight into the inner workings of the group, journalists interviewed more than 150 current and former federal employees, experts, and Musk supporters. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Multiple outlets are reporting, however, that Toronto had windy conditions with gusts up to 40 miles per hour at times. Former National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg spoke to CBS News shortly after the crash. He said in strong wind conditions, a plane will start to turn into the wind, sort of like a weather vane because of the tail.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Landsberg said, however, these were his preliminary impressions and investigators will learn more. This comes less than a month after the crash outside of Washington, D.C., when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet, killing all 67 people on both aircraft, an incident which has left many people nervous about air travel right now.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Scott Hamilton, an aviation expert speaking to the NBC affiliate in Seattle, says flying remains an extremely safe mode of transportation.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
This incident also happened as the Trump administration is making cuts to staffing at the Federal Aviation Administration. But Hamilton says that has nothing to do with what happened here.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Two runways remain closed at the airport in Toronto, while American and Canadian officials work together to investigate the crash. Just over four weeks into President Trump's second term, we're getting some early snapshots of how voters are feeling. A recent survey from CBS News and YouGov found slightly more Americans, 53%, approve of Trump's job performance, 47% disapproved.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Polling by Pew Research Center earlier this month revealed a similar narrow margin, though in their polling, slightly more people disapproved of Trump's performance. So people seem to be quite divided at first glance. But we are seeing more alignment on some specific policies.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
For example, when asked about Trump's pardons of January 6th offenders, about three quarters of the people who responded to Pew's survey said they disapproved of pardons for violent crimes. On other issues like immigration, a recent NPR-Ipsos poll found most people said they support Trump's call for mass deportation of immigrants without legal status.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
But far less popular are the administration's effort to end birthright citizenship and its policy of holding immigrants at Guantanamo Bay. Republican strategist Sarah Longwell has been conducting focus groups with voters. She spoke with PBS NewsHour about some of the people she has met. Monty from New York told her he's happy with Trump's work so far.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
But first, a Delta Airlines plane flipped over while landing at Toronto's Pearson Airport yesterday afternoon. Officials say there were no deaths, but at least 18 people on board were injured, three critically, including a child. A man named John Nelson was on the plane and described what happened to CNN.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
The Wall Street Journal recently did a pulse check with roughly two dozen people who voted for Trump. And national politics reporter Eliza Collins told us many of them are excited about what he's doing.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
But a handful of people told Collins while they like the idea of what Trump is doing, they want him to slow down.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
At least one person Collins spoke to said she voted for Trump because she wanted lower prices and to stop fentanyl from coming into the U.S. But now she's worried her family might lose their house if her partner gets laid off from his government-adjacent job.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Of course, these are conversations with a small number of voters. We have only a handful of polls so far, just a few weeks into Trump's term. So we'll have to wait and see how public opinion evolves in the coming months. Let's turn to a series of critical meetings about the future of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia today to meet with officials from Russia to negotiate an end to the war. Ukraine, notably, is not part of this conversation. President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that he will not accept any terms of a deal that's reached without Ukraine's involvement.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Meanwhile, in Paris, the leaders of eight European nations in the NATO alliance held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the fact that they, too, were shut out of the U.S.-Russia peace talks by the Trump administration. Their meeting was called after a series of recent actions by U.S. officials that have raised alarm in Europe.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 18th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a snapshot of how Americans are feeling about Trump's presidency one month in. European leaders worry about being sidelined by the U.S. on talks with Russia. And a polar vortex warning for later in the week.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Last week, on Wednesday, reportedly Trump had a phone call with Vladimir Putin, raising concerns that they might be close to brokering a deal that favors Russia and undermines European security. Then on Friday at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President J.D.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Vance gave a critical speech about the state of European democracy, saying the nation's leaders were suppressing free speech and not taking concerns about migration seriously.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
His speech was widely denounced by European leaders. The German chancellor criticized Vance for meeting with and voicing support for German far-right leaders on his visit. And then over the weekend, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told European allies that the U.S. has bigger priorities in Asia and Europe needs to take care of itself.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
European leaders have said if the Trump administration expects Europe to be the primary source of financial and military support for Ukraine, they expect to be at the negotiating table for peace talks. But with the U.S. sending these signals, NBC reports NATO allies have been discussing the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine for peacekeeping.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Both Trump and Rubio have tried to downplay the recent comments from U.S. officials by saying Ukraine and Europe would be part of real negotiations with Russia, raising further questions about Rubio's goals in his talks with Russia today. As all of this plays out, a recently released poll conducted in November and December on behalf of the European Council on Foreign Relations said,
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
found public perception in Europe of the relationship with the United States has soured since Trump's election. Respondents were more likely to describe the U.S. as a necessary partner than an ally. The exception to the trend were people who support far-right parties in Europe. Before we let you go, a few other headlines we're following.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
He said there was a fireball on the left side of the plane and described it as chaos.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
As authorities prepare to investigate yesterday's Delta plane crash, a team from Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX is being brought into the Federal Aviation Administration to help overhaul its systems. The move was announced as hundreds of FAA employees were laid off, as we mentioned earlier.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
The Department of Transportation said the agency has retained employees who perform critical safety functions. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, the SpaceX team would, quote, envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system. Pope Francis is spending more time in the hospital after doctors diagnosed him with a complex respiratory infection.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
The pontiff was admitted to the hospital on Friday with a case of bronchitis, but doctors changed their diagnosis and said the 88-year-old will remain hospitalized as long as necessary. The pope recently made headlines for criticizing the Trump administration's policy on immigration, saying in an open letter it will end badly. He also condemned Vice President J.D.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
Vance for using the ancient theological theory of ordo amoris, or order of love, to defend mass deportations. And finally, more brutal winter weather is on its way to the central and eastern part of the country.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
The polar vortex, a ring of frigid air found near the North Pole, will cause about 60 million people to experience sub-zero temperatures and might also provide fuel for another ice and snow storm. The Washington Post reports freezing temperatures will stretch from Montana to Maine and could break records for some central and southern states. It's the latest round of bad weather to hit the country.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
A winter storm is also expected to move into Kentucky as early as tonight as the state recovers from dangerous flooding that caused the deaths of 11 people. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Protein is having a huge moment in American food culture.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
New York Magazine examines how the hype has transformed grocery aisles across the country. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
What we know about the plane crash in Toronto
In a statement, Delta said the flight was carrying 80 people, including four crew members, flying from Minneapolis before it crashed on the Toronto runway. Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said during a briefing it's too early to speculate as to what caused the crash.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
And more recently, it has said the language of the Supreme Court's order only means U.S. officials have to allow him back into the country if El Salvador chooses to release him. Here's Attorney General Pam Bondi speaking to reporters on Monday.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer, says their family hasn't heard from him in a month.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Lawrence Tribe is a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School. He told NPR the administration's response runs counter to the Supreme Court's ruling.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
As Abrego Garcia's case continues to play out, Trump says he is considering expanding his partnership with El Salvador by also sending incarcerated U.S. citizens to El Salvador prisons. He told reporters at the Oval Office yesterday he, quote, loved the idea, which has alarmed civil rights advocates. Trump said he would only use this approach if it's legal.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
But legal experts say it would be flagrantly illegal to deport U.S. citizens under both U.S. and international law. Let's turn to Congress, where at the end of last week, House Republicans passed a budget plan that sets the groundwork for President Trump's legislative agenda. On that agenda are tax cuts and additional new tax breaks, which will cost a lot of money.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
And analysis shows there really aren't many places to find that money other than by making big cuts to Medicaid. House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to protect Medicaid, but some Senate Republican lawmakers are eyeing the math and saying they definitely won't support a bill that contains Medicaid benefit cuts.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Joseph Walker, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, says one potential cut that Republicans are considering are what are known as provider taxes. These are taxes that states impose on hospitals, nursing homes, any place that's providing health care.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
So when states levy these taxes on hospitals, that counts toward the state's budget for Medicaid.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
This system has made provider taxes popular among governors and state legislators on both sides of the aisle. And it's why advocates have warned that eliminating or changing them would negatively impact eligible patients. But if Congress were to eliminate just those taxes, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it could save more than $600 billion over the next decade.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
But first, President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele say they will not return a Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to a notorious mega prison in El Salvador. Bukele met with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday and addressed the situation directly with reporters.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Supporters of eliminating provider taxes say they've allowed states to game the system, to artificially inflate their Medicaid contributions, and to enrich politically powerful hospitals. One former Trump advisor called it a kickback. Defenders maintain that it helps hospitals cover what they say insufficient Medicaid reimbursements won't.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Congress is currently in recess, but lawmakers are on a tight timeline. Speaker Mike Johnson wants House members to confer with their Senate counterparts on proposed changes to the bill and have those ready by May 9th. That same week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, is expected to begin identifying more than $800 billion in spending cuts over 10 years.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Pregnancy-related deaths are on the rise, despite the fact that more than 80% of these types of fatalities are preventable, according to the CDC. And a particularly dangerous period that's long been overlooked is finally getting counted. Almost one-third of these deaths are taking place anywhere from six weeks to a year after childbirth.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
That's according to a recently published study looking at CDC data from 2018 to 2022. It found a 27 percent increase in pregnancy-related death rates in the U.S. Anel Oza with Stat News spoke to us about the study.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Last month, much of the CDC department that oversees maternal and child health was put on leave. Some researchers studying maternal mortality have had their funding taken away. This division is aimed at identifying the health gaps that still exist that lead the U.S. to have, compared to all other high-income nations, the highest rate of maternal deaths.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 15th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Republicans look for budget cuts to meet Trump's legislative agenda, why maternal mortality rates are rising in the U.S., and the WNBA gets its latest star in last night's draft.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Also, by expanding the window to up to a year postpartum, the study's authors were able to identify several chronic diseases as the leading causes of late maternal deaths, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mental disorders. Compared to white women, maternal mortality rates are higher among Indigenous and Black women.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
The study found that maternal health disparities also varied by geographic location.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Just last week, Alabama lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to provide immediate access to Medicaid for pregnant women, even as their application for the program is being considered. Medicaid was used to pay for almost half of all births in the state in 2023, and the bill would increase Medicaid spending statewide by about $1 million per year over the course of three years.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
This comes despite a unanimous Supreme Court order directing the administration to, quote, facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. He's originally from El Salvador, but he lives in Maryland under legal protected status with his wife and children, who are U.S. citizens. He has no criminal record in the United States or El Salvador.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Convicted rapist and disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is back on trial starting today. Jury selection begins in New York in a redo of the high-profile Me Too era case where Weinstein was initially convicted of sexual criminal assault in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Those charges were overturned a year ago after an appeals court ruled the judge had unfairly allowed testimony from women whose allegations were not part of the charges. The Guardian reports that this retrial will most likely be an abridged version of the original case, but there will be one crucial difference.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
It includes a new charge based on an allegation from a woman who was not part of the first prosecution. Over the years, Weinstein has argued he is innocent and pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him. His criminal convictions in California still stand, and he remains in prison for those. Now to reporting from The Washington Post on Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
You might remember she was grabbed off the streets by her home near Boston last month and detained by masked immigration officials. The Trump administration revoked her student visa and targeted her for deportation over an op-ed that she co-wrote last year for the student newspaper, which criticized Tufts' response to Israel's war in Gaza.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
The Department of Homeland Security has said that Op-Ed is proof that she engaged in activities, quote, in support of Hamas. But the Post learned of an internal government memo that refutes that narrative. It turns out DHS recommended the State Department to investigate Osterk before she was detained.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
And days before she was arrested, the State Department determined the Trump administration had not produced any evidence showing Ostark engaged in anti-Semitic activities or made public statements supporting Hamas. And the memo concluded Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not have sufficient grounds to revoke her visa. Today, Ostark is being held in a Louisiana detention center.
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Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Neither DHS or the State Department offered comment to the Post. Fresh off of her 2025 NCAA National Championship, former UConn Huskies guard Paige Beckers was selected first in last night's WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings. Beckers averaged just under 20 points per game in her last year at UConn before capturing that elusive national championship.
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Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
The WNBA isn't the only place Beckers is taking her talents, though. She also signed a deal to play in the unrivaled three-on-three league that launched earlier this year, where she'll earn significantly more money than at the WNBA. Unrivaled was established to provide players with sustainable offseason opportunities.
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Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
Its first year was a huge success, and with an average player salary of $220,000, Beckers Becker's could earn more there than her entire four-year WNBA rookie contract combined. And just one quick reminder before we let you go, today is tax day, so don't forget to file your 2024 taxes if you haven't already.
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Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
But if you live in a state or a county where FEMA declared a disaster over the last year, you automatically get a little extra time. Your deadline to file is May 1st, and you can find the list of locations that qualify in our show notes. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Over our planet's vast history, 99.9% of the species that once existed are now extinct. But a genetic startup called Colossal is trying to bring some of them, like the woolly mammoth and the dodo, back.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
The White House has called his deportation an administrative error, but at least one Trump advisor, Stephen Miller, contradicted that, saying, quote, this was the right person sent to the right place. In court filings, the Trump administration has claimed there's nothing they can do to bring Abrego Garcia home because he's no longer in U.S. custody.
Apple News Today
Trump is considering sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador
The New Yorker has the story of how they say they've already succeeded in creating living animals with ancient DNA. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 11th. I'm Shamita Basu.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
The ACLU called Khalil's arrest unprecedented, illegal, and un-American, and called on the administration to immediately return him to New York to his wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Last night, his legal team issued a statement calling it outrageous to try to revoke legal permanent resident status for someone who has, quote, never committed a crime and who has simply expressed his political opinions. Protesters gathered on Monday in New York to demand his release.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Khalil is a recent graduate of Columbia University and was a leader in organizing demonstrations against the war in Gaza on campus last spring. When ICE agents arrested him over the weekend, they told him his student visa was being revoked, which led to immediate confusion because, as I mentioned before, Khalil is not here on a student visa. He's a permanent legal resident.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Khalil's lawyer said agents arrested him anyway, saying his green card was being revoked. The Department of Homeland Security can initiate deportation proceedings for people with green cards who have been charged with criminal activity.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Halil has not been charged with any crimes or crimes specific to the largely peaceful demonstrations on Colombia's campus last spring, where students set up a tent encampment on the quad to demand that the university divest from companies profiting from Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Trump accused Khalil and other protesters of engaging in pro-terrorist activities and of being paid agitators, but has not provided evidence of those allegations. Last spring, Khalil was often the face of the student protest movement, sharing their goals with media and negotiating with university leaders over how to end the tent encampment on campus. Here he is speaking with reporters in April.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
And he went on to say their movement, which was organized along with Jewish students on campus, was not about targeting Jewish people or supporting Hamas.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
On and around Columbia's campus, Associate Professor Joseph Hawley told Democracy Now that Khalil's arrest and the Trump administration's threat to make more arrests has had a major chilling effect.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why Canadians are booing the U.S. national anthem, how much would you pay for a weather report, and a promising new treatment for people who lost their sense of smell to COVID. But first, President Trump is promising the arrest of a pro-Palestinian student activist and organizer at Columbia University over the weekend is the first of many to come.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Let's turn to the growing trade war between the U.S. and one of our primary trading partners, Canada. Yesterday, stocks tumbled sharply as fears over tariffs and a possible recession grew. President Trump on Sunday said he wouldn't rule out a recession as a result of his economic policies, which include aggressive tariffs on Canada.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
One analyst told The Wall Street Journal this is the first time an administration has said with a straight face that their objectives are going to cause pain. Meanwhile, Ontario's premier, Doug Ford, he's the head of government in the province, issued a new 25 percent tariff on electricity exports to the United States.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Ontario provides power to approximately 1.5 million Americans in Minnesota, New York and Michigan. This new tax joins a slew of tariffs Canada had already imposed on U.S. imports, such as orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances and more. They came in response to President Trump's threats to tariff Canadian goods.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Last week, he agreed to postpone a 25 percent tariff on many Canadian products. But Ford said Monday Ontario will not reverse its electricity tax until President Trump fully rescinds his threats.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Canada's incoming prime minister has also been outspoken about Trump's tariffs. Mark Carney was overwhelmingly elected last weekend to lead the ruling Liberal Party, winning nearly 86% of the vote. In his victory speech, he said Trump is trying to weaken Canada.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Carney is new to politics, but he previously led the Bank of England and he led the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis. He will replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January after a sharp decline in his approval rating. In the run-up to Trudeau's decision, polling showed Canadians were eager for change.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
And with a general election set to take place later this year, the Conservative Party seemed poised to win. But sentiment has dramatically shifted since Trudeau's announcement and since Trump took office, in large part due to Trump's tariffs and his repeated threat to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.
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How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Polling averages that showed the Conservative Party with a 20-point lead earlier this year have narrowed significantly.
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How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Amanda Coletta is the Canada correspondent for The Washington Post. She says Trump's actions contributed to a huge surge in nationalism.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Polyev initially sought to make the race a referendum on Trudeau and attacks on carbon. But now, Coletta says, he too is shifting his message to focus more on Trump's tariffs. Here's Polyev speaking at a recent press conference.
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How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Carney, who will be sworn in as prime minister in the coming days, has pledged to keep retaliatory tariffs in place on the U.S. until, quote, America shows us respect. He'll have a few months to prove himself in this role.
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How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Canada's general election is set for October, but it could happen sooner if Carney calls a snap election or the Conservative Party forces one with a no-confidence vote later this month.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Moving on to cuts the Trump administration is making to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the federal agency responsible for producing weather forecasts and leading research on climate change and oceans.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
The latest round of cuts resulted in 800 jobs being slashed at the agency, mostly probationary employees who'd been on the job for fewer than two years. Already, as a result of the layoffs, some weather balloon launches that were scheduled to take place in Alaska were suspended due to lack of staffing.
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How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
And multiple outlets are reporting that NOAA managers have been directed to identify an additional 1,000 potential layoffs. Between this and the Fork in the Road buyouts that Elon Musk's Doge team offered last month, NOAA's workforce could shrink by almost 20%.
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How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Mahmoud Khalil is a green card holder who is in the U.S. legally. He was transferred to an immigration jail in Louisiana after his arrest. A judge on Monday ordered he not be deported while his case is being heard in court. Khalil was arrested under an executive order signed by Trump in January that the administration says is meant to combat anti-Semitism.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
A plan to dismantle NOAA was laid out in Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the second Trump administration. It suggested eliminating the agency and privatizing many of its functions.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Kalma spoke to former agency employees and others familiar with how the agency works who say privatizing weather forecasts could mean people would have to pay for access to vital information that's currently provided as a free public service.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case challenging bans on what is known as conversion therapy for minors. The practice encourages young gay or lesbian kids to change their sexual orientation and for transgender kids to identify as the gender they were assigned at birth.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
A Christian counselor in Colorado wants a state ban overturned, saying it violates the First Amendment by censoring conversations she has with her clients. Colorado officials cite an overwhelming body of evidence showing conversion therapy is harmful to kids and increases the risk of depression and suicide. The justices will review a lower court ruling that dismissed this case in 2024.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
USA Today reports there's an increased interest in these types of bans, which are active in 20 Democratic states. The fentanyl crisis in the U.S. appears to be past its deadliest phase. That's according to new research out of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University. that says all 50 states and Washington, D.C. have now seen some recovery from the epidemic.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Researchers say deaths linked to fentanyl and other street drugs have dropped to levels not seen since before the pandemic. Drug deaths peaked in 2023 at 114,000, but are now under 87,000, according to CDC data. Experts told NPR there's evidence the drop in fatalities is long-term and sustainable.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
And finally, today is the five-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. And there's some good news for people who have suffered from what is known as long COVID. Doctors in London say a new surgery that expands nasal airways has led to recovery of taste and smell for patients.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
About six in every 100 COVID patients develops long COVID, and the loss of smell and taste is one of the more pronounced side effects. Researchers found a way to get more odorants to the roof of the nose where the sense of smell is located, and they believe that doing so kickstarts smell recovery. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The Atlantic examines the mistakes made in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic as experts were still learning how to best address the crisis. And the magazine makes the case for why we should remember this time as a moment of strength and resilience in America, not failure.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
Trump warned he would revoke student visas and deport terrorist sympathizers. On social media yesterday, Trump called Khalil a Hamas sympathizer and warned student protesters on campuses across the country they are in danger of being arrested for what he calls anti-Semitic and anti-American activity.
Apple News Today
How Trump’s obsession with Canada has changed its politics
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
One example Trump's suit gives is a clip of Harris's answer to a question about Israel used on CBS's Face the Nation, which was different from the answer shown in a lengthier broadcast of the same interview on 60 Minutes.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
In December, CBS asked the judge to dismiss the case or move it to New York, where CBS is based and where the show in question was edited. The case was filed in a Texas court that's been friendly to conservative interests. Folk Inflect told us legal scholars and media experts say Trump's argument here is weak.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
CBS says during the campaign, the network also invited Trump to sit down with 60 Minutes, but after agreeing to an interview, he backed out. Further complicating matters, the outcome of this lawsuit will inherently be political. There is a pending sale of CBS News' parent company, Paramount Global, to Skydance Media.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
The Paramount-Skydance merger requires the approval of Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr. The L.A. Times says parties involved in the merger want to have the $8 billion deal wrapped by spring. It's been reported by the L.A. Times that the chairwoman of Paramount has instructed her team to settle the Trump suit.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
But that arrangement doesn't sit well with journalists at CBS who are calling for Paramount to defend their editorial freedom.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Vanity Fair reports that there are multiple other lawsuits against journalists or journalistic organizations pending. Trump has sued longtime reporter Bob Woodward and his publisher for Woodward's book about Trump. He has sued the Pulitzer Prize board for recognizing a story about Trump.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
And he's going after the Des Moines Register and its former pollster, J. Ann Selzer, for publishing a poll ahead of the election suggesting Harris had an edge in Iowa. So far, there are no indications those parties plan to settle. On a recent Sunday in January, Kania Kalindras was at church with her husband and their three children when her husband got a phone call. He didn't answer it.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Soon after, his ICE-appointed ankle monitor went off. That worried him because he always charges it. So he stepped outside to figure out what was going on and to not disrupt the service. Little did he know, immigration agents were there waiting to arrest him and bring him to a detention center to await deportation.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Kenia told WSB-TV in Atlanta that her husband had never been in trouble with the law and that he was given the ankle monitor when he and the family sought asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border two years ago after leaving their home country of Honduras, where she says they were threatened by gangs.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
She also said he was the only one in the family with a work permit, and she worries that she and her children will be threatened with deportation now, too. WSB-TV reached out to Ice to confirm why he had an ankle monitor, but Ice said they couldn't provide a specific reason and they issue monitors on a case-by-case basis. This case and the threat of others like it has houses of worship worried.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
In December, Disney, which owns ABC News, settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump over a false claim made on the air. It agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump's future presidential foundation. In late January, Meta settled a suit with Trump for $22 million and another $3 million in legal fees over suspending Trump's account after the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
For centuries, churches, temples and mosques have functioned as sanctuaries, giving safe harbor to people who were enslaved, people during the Vietnam War who resisted the draft, and in modern times, people facing deportation. But in one of his first actions as president, Trump revoked a ban on immigration arrests in sensitive places, including schools, hospitals and churches.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
And the president has suggested, without evidence, that churches are harboring dangerous criminals.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
That's Andrea Castillo, a federal immigration reporter for the LA Times, who's been speaking with faith leaders in California.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Here's how one religious leader put it to her.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
In the wake of Trump's order, places of worship have been preparing for the possibility of arrests by ICE agents by educating their congregants about their rights. In some cases, faith leaders have accompanied migrants for check-ins with immigration officers. And many, Castillo says, are prepared to do more to protect their community.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 11th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what happens when ICE shows up at church, a pretty compelling argument to quit the penny, and the DOJ moves to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. But first, President Trump is aggressively going after media companies in lawsuits and winning.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
A number of places of worship have sued the Department of Homeland Security over Trump's order, calling ICE arrests at places of worship a violation of religious liberty. And one pastor told Castillo that he would physically get between his congregants and ICE agents if it came to that.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Aside from making a wish, playing a game of heads or tails, maybe stabilizing a wobbly table, what are pennies really good for these days? In a world where a lot of us don't use cash and definitely don't like to carry around change, does making single cents make any sense? Especially when the cost of producing those small coins is more than double their worth.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
That's the argument from President Trump, who is calling to get rid of the penny. And he is far from the first. In 2013, then-President Obama expressed an openness to dumping the penny.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
To all the penny haters, the math speaks for itself. It costs 3.69 cents to make a penny. In 2024, the Mint issued over 3 billion pennies. That means that we lost more than $85 million, making what many people think of as useless coins. And it's not like we've never banished a coin before. Back in 1857, Congress put a stop to the minting of half-cent coins.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
But America has long been resistant to the idea of saying goodbye to the penny. In 1989, Congress considered a bill to eliminate pennies in cash transactions and round to the nearest nickel — It didn't pass. Congressman Jim Colby, a Republican from Arizona, made this his mission.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
He tried and tried to kill the penny, but he said that a couple of things stood in his way, like special interest groups that support zinc mining, which, by the way, pennies are mostly made of zinc, not copper. Also, the fact that the Speaker of the House at the time was from Illinois, the home state of the president whose face is on the penny. Here is Colby on NPR in 2020.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Now, President Trump is suing the owner of CBS News, Paramount Global, and he recently doubled down, literally doubling the damage claim from $10 billion to $20 billion.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Since then, the main opposition has come from the advocacy group Americans for Common Sense, their pun, not mine, which argues that the government wouldn't save money if the penny were eliminated and that the U.S. Mint would have to make more nickels, which is likely true.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
If Congress does decide to get on board with Trump's suggestion and eliminate the penny, we'll almost certainly need to produce more nickels. And we lose far more money making nickels than we do making pennies. Nickels last year cost 13.8 cents each to make. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
A federal judge on Monday found the Trump administration hasn't followed his order to unfreeze federal spending and directed the White House to release billions of dollars. The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling. This is the first time a judge is saying the White House is disobeying a court order.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
The ruling comes after several top Trump administration officials have openly questioned the judiciary's authority to check the president's power. Judges have also blocked, at least temporarily, Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship, Elon Musk's access to Treasury Department records, and a mass resignation plan for federal workers.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
In what is being called the most serious threat to date of the Gaza ceasefire deal, Hamas said Monday it would delay the next scheduled release of hostages set for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the agreement. A Hamas spokesperson said Israel was preventing some displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza and have been targeting them with gunfire and shelling.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Hamas also says Israeli forces aren't allowing relief supplies to enter, as agreed. President Trump weighed in and issued an ultimatum to Hamas on Monday after signing unrelated executive orders in the Oval Office.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Israel's defense minister called the move by Hamas a violation of the deal and ordered the military to be prepared for any situation. And finally, the Department of Justice on Monday ordered prosecutors in Manhattan to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, saying the case was impeding Adams' ability to cooperate with Trump's immigration crackdown.
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It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Adams in recent months has appeared to be cozying up to Trump. He visited him at Mar-a-Lago and attended the inauguration. He also said he wouldn't publicly criticize him.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
Adams was charged last year with soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations and accepting $100,000 in bribes in the form of luxury travel and hotel stays from wealthy Turkish officials for nearly a decade in exchange for favors. Adams has maintained that he's innocent. The charges will have to be reviewed when a new Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in New York is confirmed.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
The charges would be dropped without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled at a later date. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Blood is one of the most valuable substances in the world.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik told us what's happening at CBS is the latest chapter in Trump's attempt to use the power of the presidency to strong-arm the media. In this particular suit, Trump claims that CBS's 60 Minutes aired a deceptively edited interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to boost her election chances.
Apple News Today
It costs 3 cents to make a penny. Trump says it’s time to stop.
And as The New Yorker explains, scientists are getting closer to figuring out how to artificially replicate it. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Gene Whalen is an economics reporter at The Wall Street Journal who recently spent time in Detroit.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
One reason tariffs represent such a threat to Michigan is because many auto manufacturers, through free trade deals like NAFTA, moved production to other countries or states over the last few decades, where they could produce at lower costs. That means Michigan's auto industry today increasingly depends on places like Canada, Mexico, and China—
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Auto parts typically cross the border multiple times as a car is assembled. Whalen told us it's a little too early to say how these tariffs could change Michigan's auto industry at large, but there are some clear impacts so far.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Other local auto suppliers in the Detroit area are talking about possibly raising prices for customers. A major economic group that consults for the auto industry said tariffs could add anywhere from $2,500 to $12,000 to the overall price of many new cars. And Whalen spoke to one economist at the University of Michigan about the potential impact of the recent steel and aluminum tariffs.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
He told her he thinks they'll cost around 600 jobs in Michigan's auto industry by the end of 2026. And the effects of that will ripple out, affecting other kinds of businesses, too.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
At the automakers, workers have had mixed reactions to the tariffs. Some told Whelan they are cautiously optimistic. And Sean Fain, the leader of the United Auto Workers Union, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers in the industry, told NPR he believes the tariffs will help rebuild domestic manufacturing.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
But despite those misgivings about globalized free trade and a desire to return more manufacturing to the United States, some autoworkers Whelan spoke with are feeling less confident.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
And for a lot of people in Michigan, the risk of a recession fueled by tariffs causes extra angst. Detroit and the entire U.S. auto industry almost didn't survive the Great Recession of 2008. Rebuilding took a long time and no one wants to move backwards.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Now to recent reporting from ProPublica that offers a rare window into the conditions experienced by people on deportation flights from the perspective of the cabin crew. Their stories paint a very different picture than the one offered by the Trump administration, which has characterized the deportations as an efficient military operation.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
In reality, the vast majority of these flights have used chartered planes. There are some ICE officers and hired security on board, but these planes are crewed by civilian flight attendants, most of whom didn't knowingly sign up for this work.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
But first, it was another wild day for stocks as the markets continued to react to President Trump's tariff policy. The Dow Jones fell more than 300 points, marking a third straight day of losses and its biggest one-day swing in points ever. The S&P 500 dipped about a quarter of a percent and briefly entered bear market territory. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, rose 0.1 percent.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
ProPublica recently spoke to seven flight attendants with Global Crossing Airlines, known as Global X. It's a startup that promised employees the chance to fly with celebrities and star athletes.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
But today it operates most of the federal government's deportation flights, including the transport of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who were sent to a notoriously harsh prison in El Salvador last month, despite a federal court order blocking the flights and despite questionable evidence to support most of those deportations.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
ICE, Global X and the FAA did not respond to ProPublica's request for comment in the story. But the flight attendants who spoke to reporter Mackenzie Funk told him they don't feel like they can treat passengers humanely or keep them safe.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
The flight attendants told him they had strict rules to follow. No eye contact with migrants, no talking to them, no walking down the aisle without a guard to escort you, and only guards were allowed to take migrants to the bathroom or give them food and water. The thing that disturbed and worried many of the attendants was the fact that most passengers were in shackles.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
All crew members were trained on FAA safety protocol, which says a plane should be evacuated in 90 seconds in an emergency. But the flight attendants told Funk they hadn't been trained on how to evacuate passengers in chains. And some of the attendants said they were horrified by the little bit of guidance that they did get.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
In some cases, they chose to break protocol. In little ways, like returning a hello to a passenger who greeted them. And in big ways, too. On one flight, a little girl with a fever who was struggling to breathe collapsed. Her oxygen levels were dangerously low, so one of the flight attendants raced to help her.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
The plane made an emergency landing in Arizona, where paramedics took the child and her mother to the hospital, but the girl's father had to stay on the plane.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 8th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the flight attendants working ISIS deportation flights, the dark secrets of Johnson & Johnson, and a New York community rallies to bring a mother and her three children home from immigration detention.
Apple News Today
How tariffs could transform the auto industry
This flight attendant said after that incident, she decided to leave the job. She bought her own ticket home. When you think about the opioid crisis in America and the companies responsible, the first name that might come to mind is Purdue Pharma, which makes the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. But there's another major contributor to this crisis that hasn't gotten as much attention.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Johnson & Johnson, which is consistently seen as one of the most admired and socially responsible companies in the country, according to Fortune magazine.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Also exacerbating the volatile trading session today, President Trump continued his back and forth with China, threatening to enact additional tariffs of 50 percent if Beijing doesn't remove its 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods. Beijing issued a statement saying China will, quote, fight to the end.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
That's investigative reporter Gardner Harris, who I spoke to recently on Apple News in Conversation.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Harris is out with a new book today called No More Tears, The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson. He spent five years investigating the company and found two main ways it contributed to the opioid crisis. One was by selling the raw materials needed to make OxyContin.
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The other way J&J contributed to the crisis was by selling a fentanyl patch called Duragesic. It was originally designed for patients to use immediately after surgery or for palliative care. But Harris says J&J saw how Purdue was marketing OxyContin to people with modest and moderate pain. So the company pivoted and started to push this product on doctors, describing it as non-addictive.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Johnson & Johnson's contribution to the opioid crisis is part of a larger pattern Harris found in his reporting. In total, he writes about nine Johnson & Johnson products, including a cancer drug, baby powder, even Tylenol. And he found they have led to the deaths and injuries of millions of people. The company has denied many of these allegations.
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You can hear the full episode on Apple News & Conversation. If you're listening in the News app, we'll queue it up to play for you after today's show. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. President Trump says the U.S. and Iran will hold nuclear talks in a meeting set for Saturday.
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Trump withdrew from the previous nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018 during his first term in office. He has said that Iran would be in, quote, great danger if talks are unsuccessful. The president announced the upcoming meeting with Iran while fielding questions in the Oval Office, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side. Trump also said the U.S.
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is working to negotiate a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas. An update on two immigration stories that we're following. First, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused a lower court order instructing the Trump administration to return a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a Salvadoran prison.
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As we continue to examine the fallout of the Trump administration's tariff policy, let's take a closer look at Michigan. Nearly 20% of the state economy is tied to the auto industry, which is now facing 25% tariffs on imported vehicles. And starting next month, Trump has promised 25% tariffs on imported parts as well.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
Roberts, who handles appeals from Maryland, stayed the order to give the justices more time to consider arguments. Then in an entirely separate incident in Sackets Harbor, New York, three children and their mother, who were detained by ICE on March 27th and sent to a facility in Texas, have been released, according to local officials.
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This comes after about a thousand members of their community rallied on Saturday at the vacation home of Trump's so-called border czar, Tom Homan, in Sackets Harbor. Homan said everything was, quote, by the book. The youngest child was in third grade.
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Efforts to bring the family home were led by the area's superintendent of schools, who called this a quote traumatic experience for the family as well as all students and staff. And as stocks whipped up and down yesterday, you might have noticed a moment where they started to rise suddenly.
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That was the result of a post on X that rocked the markets and sent analysts scrambling to figure out if it was real.
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Only problem was, it couldn't be verified.
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How tariffs could transform the auto industry
It all turned out to be a rumor spread by a popular financial account on social media. And once that falsehood came to light, the markets quickly went sour again. And finally, Florida is the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champion. The Gators fended off Houston in a nail-biter that went right down to the wire.
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It's Florida's third national championship in school history. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., Florida's standout All-American, gave the Gators a much-needed momentum boost down the stretch. He was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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And like I mentioned, if you're already listening in the news app right now, stick around for the rest of my conversation with investigative reporter Gardner Harris about Johnson & Johnson. If you're listening in the podcast app, search for Apple News in Conversation to find that episode. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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Also yesterday, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii told The Wall Street Journal that he would block all of Trump's State Department nominees, effectively preventing Trump from installing his foreign policy team. Schatz said he'll delay those nominations from getting through until the administration's attack on foreign aid agencies ends.
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So how did USAID, which funds disaster relief, medical services, access to clean water and other programs around the world, become the focus of President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to slash federal spending? Here's what Trump told reporters on the tarmac outside of Air Force One on Sunday.
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Foreign aid makes up a very small portion of the federal budget. In the 2023 fiscal year, USAID handled more than $40 billion. That's less than 1% of the federal budget. Musk has claimed without evidence that USAID is corrupt and wasteful.
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The agency does work that many say is essential and that for a long time people of both parties have taken pride in, like treating malnourished children in Sudan, working to eliminate polio in dozens of countries, reducing HIV rates, and providing beds, food, and other critical services to refugees of Russia's war in Ukraine.
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The Washington Post calls it the world's largest provider of food assistance. Democrats say the attack on USAID is a sign of just how much power Elon Musk is wielding in Washington. And they say Trump doesn't have the authority to shut it down on his own. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy spoke about this on Monday.
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But for people who have long followed Elon Musk, this feels like a familiar pattern. CNBC's Steve Kovach points out we saw Musk take a similar approach with his social media platform.
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More than 10,000 people work for USAID in over 100 countries, and they're just the latest targets in Trump's attack against American foreign aid programs. Last week, he also paused programs that provide heat and electricity for Ukrainian refugees and disease monitoring in Africa. ProPublica calls what we are seeing, quote, "...the most consequential and far-reaching shift in U.S.
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humanitarian policy since the Marshall Plan." And ProPublica recently wrote about the impossible position the freeze on foreign assistance is putting aid workers in on the ground.
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In Sudan, staffers at U.S.-funded medical facilities had to make the choice last week between caring for severely malnourished children or following orders to immediately stop their work and possibly let up to 100 babies and toddlers die. They chose to keep working. Let's talk tariffs. President Trump's promised 10% tariffs on Chinese goods went into effect overnight.
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Beijing responded with a number of retaliatory tariffs and restrictions on American goods and companies. This comes after Trump pulled back on his tariff threats against Canada and Mexico, our two biggest trading partners. Those tariffs are on pause for 30 days while mediators negotiate what should happen next. Canada and Mexico have already agreed to some concessions regarding border security.
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Trump's fixation on tariffs as a tool for economic growth and as a way to put pressure on other countries in negotiations has roots in some very interesting history. You'll often hear Trump invoke the name of the 25th president, William McKinley. Trump has praised McKinley many times, saying the country was prosperous under him because of tariffs he imposed.
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After Elon Musk's team entered USAID's headquarters over the weekend and announced his intentions to shut down the agency, staffers were told in a late-night email not to report into work on Monday. Then yesterday, workers showed up to find the lobby entrance was blocked by yellow tape. When some Democrats tried to enter the agency's headquarters, they were initially blocked by federal officers.
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The Washington Post spoke with historians about Trump's reverence for McKinley and his tariffs, and they say Trump's retelling of that chapter of history is not a complete picture. One explained that it's not accurate to say tariffs were the main reason for McKinley's good economic fortune because the U.S. economy was growing pretty steadily before, during, and after McKinley's time in office.
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One Federal Reserve estimate put growth at around 4 percent per year for decades before and after McKinley's term. There were other things going on during McKinley's presidency that fanned an already strong economy. Banks started loaning more money. Unrestricted immigration meant that cheap labor was readily available. And technological advancements like the telephone also played a role.
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While McKinley did work to pass a new tariff law raising average taxes on manufactured goods to nearly 50 percent when he served in Congress, the Post reports that the policy was pretty unpopular. American businesses reaped huge profits, but consumers were upset about rising prices. Newspaper articles from the time blamed the tariffs for the cost of clothing and other items.
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It's one of the reasons historians say Republicans lost midterm elections later the same year and the following presidential race. One big difference between McKinley and Trump, according to a historian and McKinley expert speaking to The Post, is that Trump appears to be using tariffs as a stick to make demands or threats against other countries.
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McKinley used them more as a carrot to incentivize other countries to mutually reduce tariffs. It was a big part of McKinley's reciprocity approach to trade policy. In McKinley's second term, he gave a speech about the need for reciprocal trade agreements, saying the United States can't, quote, forever sell everything and buy little or nothing. He also said the period of exclusiveness is past.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 4th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why Trump keeps referencing the original tariff man president. How worried should we be about bird flu? And a critical meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. But first, it's been a dramatic few days at USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
Have you noticed the price of eggs is up again? That is, if you can find them. My grocery store was out of stock a few days ago. We're seeing this because of bird flu. In the past several weeks, across all 50 states, more than 13 million birds have been affected by it, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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And for a poultry rancher, even one case of bird flu can have devastating consequences. Here's Jess Craig, a fellow at Vox and former infectious disease epidemiologist.
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And to contain the spread of bird flu, any birds that have been exposed must be euthanized, which has been necessary for tens of millions of birds in recent years.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
According to Vox, a carton of eggs has nearly doubled in price from on average about $2.50 a year ago to more than $4 now. But the bird flu scare is going beyond poultry farms. It's now infected cows, which is rare, and even people. There are dozens of current cases in the United States where a human caught bird flu from interacting with an animal, according to the CDC.
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And last month, a person in Louisiana with underlying health conditions died of bird flu after being exposed to chickens and birds, the first human death attributed to bird flu in the United States. So how worried should you be about bird flu?
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
Congressman Jamie Raskin was one of them. Here's what he told NPR.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
Craig told us there are some basic things we can all do to be vigilant and protect ourselves.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
And the good news is most of us do these things anyway. 99% of the country's milk supply comes from farms that pasteurize milk, for example. And Craig says the USDA does a pretty good job keeping tabs on poultry farms and taking quick action when there's a sign of possible bird flu. But the agency is up against some major challenges. Craig reports that a lot of farmers are skeptical of bird flu.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
They think it's a hoax. Some don't trust the government, so they might not report cases if they occur. And other farmers, she says, won't allow veterinarians on site to check for disease. Still, Craig told us she doesn't think that people should panic about this, though there are a few things that she'll be watching closely to see if the risk level changes.
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How worried should you be about bird flu?
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump, becoming the first foreign leader to do so since Trump returned to office. NPR reports that there's a lot at stake in this meeting.
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Most immediately, how to proceed on the second part of the ceasefire deal to end Israel's war with Hamas and release all remaining hostages. Another topic that the Trump White House wants to broach is Israel opening diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia.
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A big obstacle to all of this are Netanyahu's allies in government at home in Israel, who want to see the war against Hamas continue and are threatening to bring down his government if he doesn't go on. In Spain, a trial is underway for Luis Rubiales, the former head of Spanish soccer, who forcibly kissed a female player after the team won the 2023 Women's World Cup.
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Jenny Hermoso, the player in question, said in court on Monday that the kiss, quote, Prosecutors are seeking a one-year prison sentence for sexual assault. They're also pushing for an additional year and a half on coercion charges. They're claiming Rubiales and three former colleagues tried to pressure Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual. Rubiales denies the allegations.
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Hermoso, who has faced death threats since speaking out, has since left Spain to play in Mexico. And finally, we are days away from the Super Bowl when the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles. And if the Chiefs bring it home, this would be their third championship win in a row, commonly known as a three-peat.
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But if they want to use that specific term, they might have to pay big bucks to an NBA legend. Former player, coach, and now minority owner of the Miami Heat, Pat Riley, owns the trademark of the term three-peat and several variations of it, meaning if anyone wants to make hats, shirts, or other memorabilia, they'll have to pay up.
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USA Today reports in the 90s, when the Chicago Bulls pulled off two separate three-peats, Riley profited pretty handily off of both occasions. In 1998 alone, he received nearly $600,000 in royalty fees. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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Ahead of the Oscars, Vogue profiled best actor nominee Adrian Brody. And he told the magazine none of his previous roles pushed him to the extremes as much as working on The Brutalist did. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's the acting administrator of the agency, even though USAID is an independent body and has been for 60 years. And he appeared to walk back plans for a full shutdown, saying the agency's functions should be overhauled.
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According to The Cut, the woman in the Georgia case was taken to jail and released two days later on bond. This is believed to be the first time that officials in Georgia have tried to use a fetal personhood law to bring criminal charges. Here's Gonzalez-Ramirez again.
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In a sign of how Republicans in Georgia are thinking about the future of pregnancy, the state legislature recently held a hearing on a bill that makes abortion illegal from the moment of fertilization. It would also mean women who terminate their pregnancies could be charged with homicide and it could pose a major threat to in vitro fertilization.
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And while the cut explains that timing-wise, there's no chance the bill will pass before the end of this legislative session, Georgia already has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. Opponents warn a measure like this will certainly make the problem far worse.
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Let's turn now to Wisconsin, where a local election has turned into something of a national political temperature check. Today, voters will decide if Brad Schimel or Susan Crawford will be elected to the state's Supreme Court. Currently, the balance on that court is 4-3 in favor of liberal-leaning justices.
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So this race could tip the ideological scale, which would impact rulings on issues like abortion and congressional district maps. But there's been a curveball thrown into the contest. Elon Musk and allied groups have spent an estimated $20 million in support of Schimel, making it the most expensive judicial race in history. Over the weekend, Musk traveled to Wisconsin.
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He put on a signature Green Bay cheesehead and described the stakes of the race as he sees it.
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Others have not put it in such terms, but national liberal groups have poured millions of dollars into the race as well. Patrick Marley, a national reporter for The Washington Post, explained the role the state's Supreme Court typically plays in a tightly divided partisan state like Wisconsin, with a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature.
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There's one other issue the court could take up soon that would be very personal for Elon Musk.
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This segment contains graphic descriptions of a miscarriage. Last month, a 24-year-old woman in Tifton, Georgia, was found unconscious and bleeding. She was transported to a hospital by paramedics who determined that she had miscarried.
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Part of Musk's efforts on Sunday involved giving two voters $1 million and paying other voters smaller sums if they signed a petition and provided their contact information, similar to what he did for November's election. Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general said that Musk was violating a state anti-bribery law.
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The state Supreme Court declined to take the case days before an election that would impact its very makeup. Marley told us voters in Wisconsin are hoping tomorrow's race is a bellwether of what's to come.
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In recent weeks, there have been multiple instances of Customs and Border Protection denying people entry to the U.S. after searching their devices. That includes a French scientist who French government officials say was turned away after a search of his phone revealed messages critical of Trump's cuts to research programs, and a Lebanese physician at Brown University with a valid U.S.
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visa who agents say had content on her phone sympathetic to Hezbollah.
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Gabby Del Valle is a reporter with The Verge covering immigration politics and border surveillance technology.
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We called up Del Valle to ask what travelers should know about their rights.
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Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 1st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why Elon Musk is stumping for a state Supreme Court candidate in Wisconsin, what travelers should know about what border officials can access on your phone, and corporate April Fool's jokes that have failed spectacularly. But first, a warning.
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But instead of having the time to grieve the loss and recover from the trauma, police charged her with concealing the death of another person and abandonment of a dead body.
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CBP device searches have been pretty rare. Less than 0.01% of arriving international travelers had their electronics searched in the 2024 fiscal year. But the recent wave of headlines suggests things are shifting.
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Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
In the past, the Supreme Court has found that cell phone searches that take place without a warrant violate the Fourth Amendment. But border searches are exempt, and airports, regardless of where they are geographically in the country, are considered to be border zones. which means the screenshots, memes, and messages on your phone are all fair game when you enter the country.
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And that's maybe the biggest piece of advice. Some courts have ruled that police and CBP can't force you to enter your password to unlock your phone, but they can use your biometric data like touch or face ID to unlock your phone.
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Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
Del Valle spoke to an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends civil liberties in the digital space, for some tips to keep in mind when you travel. One, back up your phone and then delete whatever data you think you should before you travel. Then, once you're back home, you can restore data from the backup.
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Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
They also suggest that you encrypt your devices, use secure passwords, disable face ID, and turn your phone off while crossing a border. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq capped off the worst quarter in years on the eve of President Trump's so-called Liberation Day for the economy, where a number of tariffs on global goods are set to go into effect.
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The S&P saw a 4.6 percent decline since the start of the year, the worst performance since 2022. The New York Times notes it's also the worst quarter for the S&P at the start of a presidential term since Barack Obama took office in 2009. The Nasdaq also ended the quarter down 10.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.3 percent on the year.
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In other news, the search continues for a fourth U.S. Army soldier who went missing in Lithuania last week after a U.S. armored vehicle became submerged in a bog. The bodies of three other American soldiers have been recovered. NBC News reports the Army soldiers were conducting a training exercise. Their mission was to repair and tow an immobilized vehicle when they went missing on March 25th.
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Muddy and swampy conditions complicated recovery efforts, but a Navy dive team was finally able to attach cables to hoist the vehicle after hours of diving in complete darkness. The soldiers, who are based out of Fort Stewart in Georgia, were not immediately identified. And finally, today is April Fool's Day.
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The Indianapolis Star has a roundup of April Fool's pranks that have gone spectacularly bad and backfired on companies who thought they might get a laugh. A radio station in Bakersfield, California, told a woman she had won a Hummer SUV, but when she showed up, they gave her a toy. She sued for the value of the vehicle.
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Andrea Gonzalez-Ramirez is a senior writer with New York magazine's The Cut.
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Tips to protect the data on your phone at airports
Similarly, a Hooters in Florida told one of their waitresses she had won a Toyota for selling the most beer on April 1st. The real prize was a toy Yoda, as in the character from Star Wars.
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And notably, Elon Musk in 2018 posted on then Twitter that Tesla was bankrupt, sending stocks sliding 5% after an already rough march for the company where bad news stories, recalls, and production issues had plagued the carmaker. That tweet was later revealed to be an April Fool's prank. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine examines why so many heterosexual women keep going back to men, even when they're so unhappy, and what the science says about whether we could ever learn to choose our partners differently.
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If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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Pregnancy loss is very common. About one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage. Some women might miscarry and not even realize it. In this specific case, the woman is not being charged for having a miscarriage, but for not properly disposing of the fetal remains, which were found in the dumpster of her apartment complex.
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How Social Security is changing
The administration has announced plans to eliminate thousands of jobs at the agency, close offices, and eliminate the ability for people to file claims by phone. They initially planned to require all claims be filed either in person or online, but they partially walked back that plan after media organizations started reporting on it.
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Still, The Washington Post reports that the Social Security website has been so overloaded that it crashed at least four times this month. And staffing at the agency has already gotten so low, some offices are struggling to handle the influx of calls. Some callers report being on hold for four or five hours.
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How Social Security is changing
One reason why Musk is so focused on cuts at Social Security is because the agency accounts for about 20 percent of all federal spending. But Washington Post reporter Todd Frankel told us some of the moves the Doge team has made will actually make it more difficult to root out potential fraud.
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Frankel says Social Security is one of the most scrutinized and audited agencies in government.
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How Social Security is changing
Social Security is also subject to frequent probes by its Office of Inspector General, which has 500 people on staff. It pays outside auditors to examine its books. Congress regularly questions agency officials. And government watchdogs have not found fraud anywhere close to the level Musk has claimed exists.
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Frankel reports that the changes to Social Security, both ones that have been considered and those that have been enacted, threaten to disrupt the agency's ability to serve the public. And Social Security is popular among Americans. In fact, an AP-NORC poll earlier this year said two-thirds of Americans think the government is spending too little on Social Security.
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President Trump is threatening and in some cases sanctioning some of the most powerful law firms in the country, firms whose lawyers have challenged him or his administration. Legal scholars are calling this an unprecedented series of actions by a U.S. administration against the legal establishment.
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In a series of recent executive orders, Trump revoked security clearances for a number of lawyers at the firm Covington & Burling, who did work for former special counsel Jack Smith. Trump also took away security clearance for the firm Perkins Coie. Two lawyers who used to work there did opposition research for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.
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The president issued a similar order against the firm Paul Weiss, which had employed a lawyer who spent several years trying to build a criminal case against Trump in Manhattan.
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And the president has directed his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to launch a broad review of attorneys involved in litigation against the government over the last eight years so he can decide if he wants to levy more penalties on other firms. The Wall Street Journal reports that more than a dozen law firms have been identified as possible future targets.
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National legal affairs reporter Erin Mulvaney told us these moves have shocked the legal industry and are intimidating high-profile firms.
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Trump's orders aim to strip these law firms of their business by banning lawyers from government buildings and barring companies that have federal contracts from employing these firms.
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It's rare, but sometimes Social Security overpays someone. It can happen if there's been a miscalculation or if that person didn't update their income. In the past, the agency would withhold 10% of that person's future benefits until they paid back the overpayment. But starting today, the agency will take 100% of future benefits until the overpayment has been corrected.
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Some of the firms named in Trump's orders are losing clients who say they're afraid of being affiliated with a firm he's targeting. Some places like Perkins Coie have sued the administration. A judge issued a temporary restraining order in their case, and the Trump administration is now seeking to remove the judge from that case.
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Meanwhile, the firm Paul Weiss decided they would make concessions and agreed to provide $40 million in pro bono work on issues that Trump says support the administration's initiatives. In return, the president rescinded his executive order targeting Paul Weiss. But Mulvaney reports a number of firms are split on whether they would take a similar deal if targeted or fight back in court.
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Yet another firm was targeted on Tuesday because it had employed a lawyer who worked with special counsel Robert Mueller, who previously investigated Trump during his first administration. The Washington Post reports the effects of the crackdown are just starting to be felt. Some Biden-era officials told the Post they're having trouble finding lawyers willing to defend them.
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And some small nonprofits poised to challenge the Trump administration say the well-resourced law firms that they might have turned to for backing are now steering clear. Yesterday, public media went to Washington to defend itself against calls to defund it. A subcommittee in the House led by Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called on the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify.
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Greene claimed their programming is biased toward the political left and doesn't represent the views of the majority of Americans. The executives of PBS and NPR rejected claims of bias, saying the networks are a crucial source of accurate information for millions in the U.S., particularly in rural areas where people rely on access to emergency broadcasts.
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Good morning. It's Thursday, March 27th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Trump targets law firms that have challenged him, how calls to defund PBS fit into this administration's escalating attacks on the press, and are robot umpires ready for the big leagues? But first, a new Social Security policy goes into effect today.
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The funding bill passed by Congress earlier this month approved funds for public broadcasting through 2027. This is, in some ways, a very old story. Congressional Republicans have tried and failed to cut funding to public broadcasters several times in recent decades.
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That's CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter.
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How Social Security is changing
Stelter told us there's already a noticeable difference in how Trump is positioning himself against news and public media. In the first term, it was more about words, insulting the press, trying to discredit them.
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How Social Security is changing
Let's quickly recap some of what's happened so far. The administration is trying to shut down Voice of America, an outlet that provides news to hundreds of millions of people worldwide, including in countries where governments censor information. That move is being challenged in court.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
The administration has banned the AP from covering White House events after it chose to continue using Gulf of Mexico as its preferred terminology instead of Trump's name, Gulf of America. In other cases, the White House has made moves to limit access. The Defense Department removed several outlets, including NPR, NBC, Politico and CNN, from their workspaces at the Pentagon.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
A 2024 internal audit found overpayments accounted for less than 1% of all benefits paid between the 2015 and 2022 fiscal years, about $72 billion. Two-thirds of that money was eventually recovered. For context, Social Security distributes close to $1.6 trillion in benefits every year. It's also important to note Social Security is paid for by Americans through a dedicated payroll tax.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
The White House broke from protocol and took control of the press pool, which is responsible for following the president almost everywhere he goes and distributing information to other media outlets. The White House instead filled the pool and the press briefing room with outlets that are more friendly to Trump. Stelter told us all of this appears to be a multi-pronged attack on the media.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. President Trump Wednesday announced steep tariffs for the auto industry. A 25 percent tariff will be levied on all cars and some auto parts imported to the U.S. starting April 3rd. The White House says the move will spur domestic production. Carmakers, however, might feel the squeeze since they rely on a global supply chain.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
Earlier reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump on goods worldwide are also expected to go into effect on April 2nd. The latest college student to be detained by U.S. immigration authorities is 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University here legally on a student visa.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
Footage of her arrest was captured by a nearby security camera, and it shows her being startled then led away by masked plainclothes officers. U.S. officials say Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, which is grounds for terminating her visa. Ostark had voiced support for Palestinians in an op-ed piece last year that criticized Tufts' response to the conflict.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
Her lawyer called her arrest unlawful and quickly filed suit. A district judge ordered she be kept in Massachusetts for at least 48 hours. Though the New York Times reports, ICE records show a person with her name was being held in a Louisiana detention center on Wednesday. And finally, today is opening day for Major League Baseball.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
One thing that's getting left behind in spring training but could still play a role in baseball's future, robot umpires. The technology allows batters to challenge balls and strikes. So far, it's had some mixed reviews among players. It's only been tested. The robots spent a few years in the minor leagues. The system isn't quite ready for the big leagues and won't be used in any games this season.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
But The Athletic reports it could be a reality one day. And for all you baseball fans listening, don't forget Friday Night Baseball, a weekly doubleheader on Apple TV+. We'll be back starting tomorrow for the 2025 regular season. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
Let's stay with baseball. Caitlin Tiffany writes for The Atlantic about her love of the game, her experience at a women's fantasy camp where she got to play in a professional facility, and how the sport historically has not opened its doors to women in the same way other sports have. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
Apple News Today
How Social Security is changing
This is just one of many changes President Trump and Elon Musk have made to Social Security in the past few weeks. And in spite of what internal audits like the one I just mentioned have shown, Trump and Musk claim the benefits system, which serves over 70 million retired people, is plagued by waste and fraud.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Hey there, it's Shamitha. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Thursday, February 27th. I'm Shamita Basu.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Even with these recent incidents, the risk of a plane crash is at a 60-year low, Campbell says. And thousands of flights take off and land every day without issue.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Another thing to keep in mind, none of these recent crashes happened for the exact same reason. There were a mix of factors involved, which experts told Campbell indicate there is no single vulnerability in the air travel system that we should be worried about.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
That said, Campbell reports that our aviation safety system is pretty frail at the moment, and there are clear areas where it can be improved. The COVID-19 pandemic caused travel to come to a standstill, which pushed a number of pilots, mechanics and flight attendants to retire early. And airlines have struggled to refill those roles. The nation's air traffic control system is under stress, too.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
And at the Federal Aviation Administration, the Trump administration recently laid off 400 employees, including mechanics, flight operations specialists, and aviation safety assistants. Trump administration officials said none were critical safety personnel. But this comes at a time when aviation experts are saying the FAA really needs more funding to shore up its staff and systems.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to help evaluate and update FAA systems, and Wired reports that a number of SpaceX engineers are already working at the FAA. Campbell says some type of public-private partnership like this could be very promising.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the Supreme Court weighs in on reverse discrimination, migrants detained by the Trump administration at Guantanamo share what they experienced, and one way to counteract the egg shortage. But first, there have been a bunch of worrying headlines about air travel lately.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Aviation safety experts told Campbell, in Canada, a private nonprofit controls airspace, and it now has one of the best-run and most modern systems in the world. Let's turn now to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments yesterday in a case that could change discrimination claims in the workplace.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
It's being brought by a woman who claims that because she's straight, she experienced reverse discrimination. The plaintiff, Marlene Ames, filed a lawsuit against her employer, the Ohio Department of Youth Services, after losing two positions to people who are gay.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
In one scenario, Ames claimed she was passed over for a management role, which was given to a gay woman who Ames said was less qualified. The New York Times reports this woman did not have a college degree, as Ames did, and had not worked at the company for as long as she had.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
In the other scenario, Ames was removed from her job as an administrator and demoted, and her position was given to a younger gay man. Her employer has denied the accusations of bias in court filings. Lawrence Hurley, a senior Supreme Court reporter at NBC News, told us the court isn't being asked to weigh in on whether bias did or didn't happen.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Ames and her attorney say they want to level the playing field in the workplace. And in oral arguments yesterday, the justices appeared to agree that Ames should be allowed to pursue her claim, which was struck down in lower courts, including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The court is considering this case two years after it struck down race-conscious college admissions practices and in a political environment where diversity, equity and inclusion programs are being targeted at the urging of President Trump. America First Legal, a conservative law firm founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller, asked the justices to side with Ames.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
And Hurley told us the Biden administration had also submitted a letter to the court agreeing that the higher standard for majority groups established in lower courts was unequal. So Ames has a politically diverse range of voices backing her cause.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has said it's important to consider the history of discrimination against minority groups and that discrimination against majority groups is quite rare. But legal experts say the court might decide that eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating it equally for all groups, which would invite a wave of change to laws governing the workplace.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Please be advised this next story mentions suicide. In the early weeks of the Trump administration, nearly 180 migrants were sent to Guantanamo, the U.S. naval base in Cuba, where some were put in a military prison intended to be used for suspected terrorists affiliated with September 11th.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
At the time, very little was known about who these people were or the crimes the Trump administration accused them of committing. The administration still has not provided that information, but they've described these migrants as, quote, And now that most people from the first wave of Guantanamo detainees have been deported, we're starting to hear their accounts of what it was like there.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The Washington Post recently connected with three men who were held at Guantanamo. All of them crossed the U.S. border illegally, but the Post couldn't find any other criminal records on file. They shared their stories with reporter Sylvia Foster-Frau.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
They told Foster Frau during their two weeks at Guantanamo they were allowed to go outside for a total of two hours, shackled and placed in what one man described as a cage. Diovar Uskutegi said from his windowless cell inside the prison, he used a Bible to keep track of how much time had passed.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Four commercial jets have crashed in the last 10 weeks, with close to 300 fatalities between them. There have been several private airplane crashes with fatalities in recent weeks, too.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Uzcategui told Foster Frau the detainees were largely kept separate from each other. He overheard people threatening suicide. One man interviewed by the Post attempted it, and the other two said they considered it.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
A senior attorney at the ACLU told the Post that the conditions detainees at Guantanamo have described are, quote, more restrictive, more severe and more abusive than a typical immigration detention facility in the United States.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The Defense Department, which manages the military prison at Guantanamo, and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the Post's questions about the treatment of people detained there.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
When the Trump administration transferred migrants at Guantanamo to Venezuela last week, the men interviewed by The Post were reunited with their families, who have spent the last few weeks worried about their safety. Uzcategui said he's haunted by the memories of what he experienced, but he left Venezuela for a reason, to flee the government there and make ends meet for his family.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Then this week, two planes nearly collided at Chicago Midway Airport, and a flight to South Carolina was forced to return to Atlanta when the cabin filled with smoke, forcing passengers to evacuate when the plane landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Many people want to know, is it safe to fly right now? And do these recent crashes and near misses indicate it's less safe to fly than it was before?
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
And he ultimately hopes to return to the U.S. legally. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The Supreme Court temporarily paused a lower court's order that would have required the Trump administration to release nearly $2 billion in frozen foreign aid funding by midnight last night.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The emergency order from the high court requested by the Trump administration came just hours before the midnight deadline. Chief Justice John Roberts directed the parties in the case to file responses by noon on Friday and as the court seeks more information about the case and decides what to do next.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
Meanwhile, the Trump administration also said late Wednesday it would eliminate 90 percent of USAID's foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, giving a sense of scope to the president's plans for reshaping U.S. foreign aid. Health officials in Texas say a child is the first confirmed death as a result of the state's measles outbreak.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The Houston Chronicle reports the child was not vaccinated against measles. As of Tuesday, the number of measles cases was 124 across nine counties. This is Texas's largest outbreak of the disease in 30 years, and it's spread across the border to New Mexico, where nine cases have been confirmed. School-aged kids account for 101 of the 124 cases in Texas.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The Chronicle says of those, only five had received the measles vaccine. And in an effort to lower egg prices and combat the bird flu, U.S. officials are looking to import eggs. The Department of Agriculture said they will also slow egg exports. USA Today reports Turkey, which is one of the world's largest egg exporters, will increase egg shipments to the U.S.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
from about 70 million to 420 million this year. In addition to increasing imports, the department is also upping spending on biosecurity to help egg-laying farms as well as exploring flu vaccines for chickens. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
The New Yorker examines what happens if birth rates continue to fall around the world. Zooming in on South Korea as an example, where last year strollers for dogs outsold those for babies. One village last registered a birth during the Olympics in 1988. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Yes, it’s safe to fly. So why have there been so many crashes?
So we called up aviation safety reporter Daryl Campbell with The Verge, and he acknowledged seeing so many incidents within a short amount of time is really unusual. Four commercial airline crashes in roughly two months is the largest concentration of crashes we've seen since 2019. But when you look at the bigger picture, Campbell told us the statistics tell a more comforting story.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
A number of countries tightened their travel advisories as a result, warning travelers to, quote, expect scrutiny and comply with U.S. rules or face detention. But for some tourists, the risks of traveling here just don't feel worth it.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
In a recent survey by the travel news site Skift, nearly half of the people who responded across five different countries said they're less inclined to visit the U.S. right now, and 60 percent cited fear and anger for why they've canceled travel plans. Skift's editor-in-chief, Sarah Coppett, told CNN a lot of the hesitation seems to center on Trump.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
As the CEO of one hotel giant put it to Bloomberg, there's a lot of, quote, bad buzz around the U.S. right now. International travelers spent over $250 billion in the U.S. last year, and their vacation choices can make or break entire industries. Goldman Sachs estimates that in a worst-case scenario, reduced inbound travel and boycotts on U.S.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
goods could lead to almost $90 billion in lost revenue. And a handful of states will feel it the most, like Florida, California, New York, and Nevada. Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, recently expressed her frustration about this in a hearing on Trump's tariff policy with Trade Representative Jameson Greer.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Forecasters had initially hoped that inbound travel to the U.S. would return to pre-pandemic levels by 2026. But at this point, they say that seems unlikely. People around the world are mourning the loss of Pope Francis. Tens of thousands of mourners have gathered in Vatican City in recent days to pay their respects.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And there was such a strong turnout that the Vatican kept the doors open through the night last night at St. Peter's Basilica. His final days were consistent with how he has spent his years in the papacy, in service, pastoring, giving blessings, and calling for peace. Francis had only recently gotten out of the hospital, where he spent 38 days battling a severe case of pneumonia.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
His doctors said they weren't sure he was going to survive. And when he was released in late March, they urged him to remain isolated in his residence for at least two months. But Joshua McElwee, the Vatican correspondent for Reuters, told the Reuters Econ World podcast that Francis was eager to return to his normal activities.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
So he chose to resume some of his duties. He greeted Catholics who gathered in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday. On Holy Thursday, he went to a nearby prison to meet people there and told them he was praying for them and their families. Days later, he prayed in front of the main altar at St. Peter's Basilica. And on Easter Sunday, he briefly met Vice President J.D.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Vance, and he greeted the crowds of people who gathered in St. Peter's Square to celebrate the holiday. And through one of his archbishops, he delivered his final Easter blessing, where he repeated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza. That sermon was his final address to the public.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Pope Francis had been outspoken in his opposition to Israel's war in Gaza and repeatedly denounced the humanitarian crisis for Palestinians in the region. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports he maintained a near daily routine over the past 18 months of war. making regular calls to the only Catholic church in Gaza.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
That's the Holy Family Church, where roughly 450 Palestinian Christians have sought refuge. Each time he called, one of the first questions he would ask was, what did you eat today? A parishioner at the church told the Wall Street Journal that his calls always made them feel less alone.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And Father Gabriel Romanelli told CBC News that the Pope's calls were a source of hope, particularly early in the war.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
In his final phone call to the church on Saturday, Francis told the parish he was praying for them, and he told them he needed their prayers. His funeral is on Saturday, and more than 170 heads of state or government are expected to attend, including President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the president of Francis' native country, Argentina.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
The number of tourists arriving in March fell by nearly 12 percent compared to March of last year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. We're seeing fewer tourists from Canada, Mexico, Central America and Europe. This was not expected. In fact, just last month, officials were predicting an increase in international travel this year.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
He will be the first pope in over a century to be buried outside of the Vatican. He asked to be buried at the papal basilica of St. Mary Major, just a few miles away, writing in the instructions for his burial that he had always entrusted himself to the Virgin Mary. He requested a simple tomb, with a one-word inscription, Franciscus.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And in roughly two weeks, the process for choosing a new pope, known as Conclave, will begin. Papal analysts expect that Francis' influence will be heavily felt in that process, in large part because four out of every five votes in conclave will be cast by cardinals he elevated. Tonight is the NFL Draft, the league's marquee event of the offseason.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And if you're into it, you can, in some places, bet on who might be the number one pick and other things. The draft is a unique event to gamble on. Some bookmakers even call it a nightmare. That's because unlike winners being decided on the field, there's a chance that someone knows the outcome of the draft before it happens.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And that brings us to our next story from The Athletic about a major scandal in the world of sports betting and what it says about this increasingly popular and lucrative industry. The Athletic looks at this sprawling federal investigation into a high-profile incident of match fixing in the NBA.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Good morning. It's Thursday, April 24th. I'm Shemita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how Pope Francis spent his last days, a major sports betting scandal, and how the wealthiest people in the country got even richer last year. But first, more and more international tourists appear to be turning their backs on the idea of a vacation in the United States.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Mike Vorkanoff, a national basketball business reporter for The Athletic, told us it all started when sports betting monitors noticed some unusual betting activity around Jonte Porter, a little-known center who at the time was playing for the Toronto Raptors. He worked with several co-conspirators to make sure they would bet on certain outcomes.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Now, he couldn't fix entire games, but he could control his own stats.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And we're not talking about small sums of money on the line here. According to government filings, one wager was more than $100,000, which would have resulted in a payout of more than $1 million. The FBI was notified, Porter was banned from the NBA, and he and three other people have pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And since then, the scope of the federal investigation has expanded into college sports as well. Five schools are being investigated by the federal government for their possible ties to the scheme. And Vorkunov reports that at least seven schools are believed to have drawn attention from the NCAA. Now, match fixing has always been a part of sports.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
The Washington Post spoke to travel experts who pointed to a few reasons for the slump. President Trump's tariff policy has inflamed international tensions. And under his immigration policy, a number of foreign-born tourists have been detained, some even locked up for weeks. A German tourist spent more than six weeks in detention. An actor from Canada spent around two weeks in detention.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
But with sports gambling now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C., Vorkunov points out that various regulators, sportsbooks, and professional leagues are better equipped to catch when potential fixing is going on. And Vorkunov says the investigation into the Porter scheme has posed a really vexing question.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Ukrainian officials say an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv killed at least nine people and injured dozens, calling it the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year. This comes as negotiations to end the war in Ukraine have reached a serious point of contention.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Yesterday, President Trump expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over his rejection of a U.S. proposed peace plan. A U.S. delegation that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff abruptly canceled a meeting in London that was seen as a make-or-break moment in talks.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Zelensky rejected the administration's plan that would see Washington recognize Russian sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, a Ukrainian territory that Russia has occupied since 2014. In recent days, the U.S. has threatened to walk away from the process altogether, as Ukraine sees the currently proposed deal as too favorable to Russia.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Staying with the Trump administration and an interesting 48 hours regarding the economy, on Monday, the CEOs of big box retailers, including Walmart and Target, privately warned the president that while prices remain steady for now, his tariff policy could eventually cause prices to go up, shelves to empty, and supply chains to be disrupted.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
That's when Trump started to turn the dial down, indicating tariffs on China would be lower than the current 145%. And acting on the advice of the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries Tuesday, Trump began backing down on his threats to fire Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell. Markets rallied and the dollar surged as a result of Trump's shifting messages.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
Axios notes, however, this all comes as polls show for the first time in Trump's political life, most voters disapprove of his handling of the economy. And finally, last year, the rich got richer by a whole lot. The Wall Street Journal reports $1 trillion of wealth was created in 2024 for the 19 wealthiest American households. That's more than the value of Switzerland's entire economy.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
It's the biggest one-year increase in wealth for these households. Surging stock prices in 2024, coupled with already sizable gains in 2023, supercharged wealth creation for this very small group. The Journal notes, despite those figures, it's very volatile.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And that's because so much of this money is tied up in stocks, meaning as President Trump's trade war continues, some of this net worth can swing by billions a day. The richest people in the country now control a record share of American wealth. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Mother Jones has the story of how one of the country's biggest for-profit hospital companies, Stewart Healthcare, is bankrupt and responsible for countless mistreated patients, all because of the system's private equity owners.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
She recounted the experience for NPR.
Apple News Today
Their travel generates billions for the U.S. They’re rethinking their plans.
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
Bartlett says Peter's daughter had been sick for three weeks, and she was treated by doctors about an hour away at the closest hospital that could take serious cases.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
Peter's daughter was unvaccinated against measles. And Bartlett reports Peter himself also expressed doubts about the MMR vaccine, saying he considers getting measles a normal part of life and that he heard measles strengthens your immune system, which is not true. In fact, according to studies from the Harvard T.H.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
Chan School of Public Health, measles not only weakens the immune system, it can even result in a complication called immune amnesia, where the body forgets how to protect itself against infections for several years, leaving children extremely vulnerable. Bartlett told us Peter knew why his town was in the news.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
He heard President Trump had been asked about the outbreak there, but Peter said he thought his community was being unfairly singled out.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
And yet vaccination rates are low in this community. The official numbers in Gaines County show just 82 percent of kindergartners have had the MMR vaccine, well below the 95 percent threshold required to maintain herd immunity.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
And most likely that number is inaccurate anyway, because many kids in the Mennonite community there are homeschooled or in private schools that aren't required to collect data on vaccines. Bartlett said people there are also acutely aware of how political the conversation has become.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
For Peter and his family, this girl's death is a private tragedy. But Bartlett says the fact that she died of measles in 2025 is a signal that something has gone wrong in the nation's approach to public health.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
Let's check in on a story we haven't talked about for a minute, TikTok and who's going to own it. You might recall that last year, President Biden signed legislation requiring the Chinese owner of the app, ByteDance, to sell it to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the United States. Earlier this year, President Trump pushed back the deadline for that ban until April 5th.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
In recent days, Vice President Vance told NBC News that he thinks a deal could be in place by that deadline. And Vance has now taken on a direct role in that deal. Don Chmielewski is a U.S. correspondent for Reuters.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
But first, to the measles outbreak that has now infected more than 300 people across West Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Authorities in Texas are now saying the outbreak could take up to a year to contain. The outbreak is centered in Gaines County on the border of Texas and New Mexico. Texas health officials said Tuesday 279 cases have been identified since late January.
Apple News Today
The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
While unusual, it's not entirely unprecedented for the White House to get involved in the dealings of publicly traded companies. Chmielewski cited some other examples.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
The White House and members of Vance's team did not respond to Reuters' request for comment, and neither did TikTok. As for Trump's role in all of this, Trump is the one who kicked off the initial bid to ban TikTok during his first term back in 2020, but he has since reversed his position.
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And more recently, he said he has a warm spot for the app because, as he put it, it helped him win more younger voters in the most recent election. He also has said that the U.S. could take a sizable stake in the company.
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There are many people reportedly in the mix to make an offer for TikTok. One group of interested investors includes Frank McCourt, a former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and Canadian investor Kevin O'Leary. Jimmy Donaldson, the social media star who goes by MrBeast, is also in talks to potentially join that group.
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Beyond that, it's hard to know what sort of deal could or will emerge. But Chmielewski says it is clear that this means a lot to the White House.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
Now to college basketball, where the NCAA tournament starts today for the men, tomorrow for the women. And in these first few days of play, there are a dizzying number of games to follow. So to help orient you before the madness begins, we asked Justin Williams, senior writer with The Athletic, to tell us about some of the big names to watch on the men's side.
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Good morning. It's Thursday, March 20th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Vice President Vance's unusual role in the TikTok talks, the big names to know in the NCAA tournament, and why a government webpage about Jackie Robinson was scrubbed and restored.
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But one big question is how Flagg will perform. He injured his ankle in the ACC tournament last week.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
When it comes to coaches, Williams says pay attention to Michigan State. They're a number two seed led by head coach Tom Izzo. No Big Ten team has won a national title in the men's tournament since Izzo and the Spartans back in 2000.
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and 36 people have been hospitalized. There has been one death in Texas, a six-year-old child, the first measles death in the country in a decade. Tom Bartlett is a freelance reporter and recently traveled to the town of Seminole in Gaines County to write about this for The Atlantic.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
As for the women's tournament, Athletic staff writer Sabrina Merchant says there are two players to keep an eye on, Juju Watkins, a sophomore at USC, and Paige Beckers, a senior at UConn.
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UConn is a No. 2 seed. USC is a No. 1 seed, though it was the last team to get that ranking, which USC head coach Lindsey Gottlieb was not happy about on Selection Sunday.
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For all the latest tournament updates, check out the March Madness hubs on Apple News, and you can get live scores super fast on the lock screen of your iPhone by downloading the Apple Sports app. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. A North Dakota jury ruled against Greenpeace in a case over its role in the 2016 and 2017 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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The company behind the pipeline, Energy Transfer, sued Greenpeace, claiming the environmental group used a, quote, misinformation campaign, which incited people to protest. The Guardian reports that the jury, half of whom have ties to the fossil fuel industry, agreed with energy transfer and ordered Greenpeace to pay more than $600 million in fines.
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Greenpeace, which has denied the claims, has said a large penalty could bankrupt the organization. It also says it will appeal the decision. In economic news, the Federal Reserve says it is holding interest rates steady as Trump's tariff policies create uncertainty around the economic outlook.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
CNBC reports despite inflation easing slightly last month, the escalating trade wars could raise prices for consumer goods. The Fed is expected to cut rates two more times this year, but the rate at which it expects the economy to grow is slightly lower than forecasted in December. Inflation for the year is also expected to end higher than previously thought.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
And the Defense Department deleted and then restored content from its website that highlights Jackie Robinson's military service. The scrubbing of the content comes after a memo from the Pentagon that calls for removing any content that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Robinson, who is best known for breaking baseball's color barrier, was drafted into military service in 1942, but was court-martialed after he refused to sit at the back of an Army bus because of the color of his skin. He was later acquitted and eventually honorably discharged.
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After multiple news outlets highlighted the disappearance of the Robinson webpage, a DOD official told ABC News that it was mistakenly removed and has since been restored. This incident follows the removal of a slew of other content across government websites, including a page that celebrated one of the Marines who was famously pictured raising the American flag at Iwo Jima in 1945.
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You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. It started off as a specialty Korean market, but now H Mart is a beloved billion dollar empire. Bloomberg Businessweek examines how it got so popular.
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If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
There's a big Mennonite community there. The six-year-old who died was part of that community. Bartlett asked locals in the town if they knew the family who had lost their child. And after driving around a bit, he was pointed to a nondescript building that was a Mennonite church. That's where he met a man named Peter.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
In Tuesday's press conference, Trump also incorrectly claimed President Zelensky has a 4 percent domestic approval rating. According to polling from this month, Zelensky's approval rating is above 50 percent. And Zelensky, in response to Trump's comments, accused the president of parroting talking points from the Kremlin.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
During Tuesday's press conference and on social media, in response to that comment from Zelensky you just heard, Trump called Zelensky a dictator and suggested the Ukrainian president should not be in power. Elections in Ukraine were supposed to happen in 2024, but they've been suspended during wartime under martial law.
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A survey of Ukrainians conducted last year found 70 percent of people supported allowing Zelensky to remain in power until martial law is lifted. And Zelensky's administration has said it plans to hold elections immediately after the war has ended. Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired General Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kiev on Wednesday to meet with Zelensky.
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He told reporters upon arrival that part of his mission will be to listen to what Zelensky wants from U.S.-Russia peace talks. Meanwhile, members of NATO held their second emergency meeting this week on Wednesday, this time including nations that were not at the previous meeting, to discuss how to recalibrate their relationship with the United States.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
The Wall Street Journal reports that this moment feels particularly difficult for European members of NATO to navigate. NATO was created in 1949 as a way for the United States to support the rebuilding of Europe after the Second World War. At the time, the U.S. viewed an economically and militarily strong Europe as crucial to preventing communist expansion across the continent.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Now it seems the premise of that alliance is being tested, and European leaders are questioning the U.S. 's leadership in a new way. New York City Mayor Eric Adams still has a job, for now. There's been a lot of talk about whether the mayor will volunteer to step down or if he'll be forced out.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
All of this after a wave of criticism following the DOJ's move to drop federal corruption charges against Adams, charges he pleaded not guilty to. Yesterday, the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, appeared in court before a federal judge to justify why the DOJ was asking to drop the case. Adams was there, too.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Bove said the move to drop the charges was not based on the strength of the evidence, that the prosecution was, quote, politicized and tainted. And he said the case was distracting the mayor from doing his job, which he wrote in an earlier memo included cooperating with Trump's immigration enforcement plans. The judge did not issue an immediate ruling, leaving the charges in place for now.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
The Washington Post describes it as highly unusual for a senior department official like Bove to personally argue a case in court and to do it alone without the assistance of lower-level prosecutors. But since Bove ordered the dismissal of Adams' case, eight veterans of the department resigned in protest, as did most of the senior leadership of the DOJ's Public Integrity Division.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Meanwhile, for Adams, this case and the suggested quid pro quo behind dropping it led to the resignations of four top deputies in his administration this week. There have been numerous calls for Adams to resign, which he has so far refused to do, and calls for Governor Kathy Hochul to remove him from office.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
But first, almost three years to the day after Russian tanks first invaded Ukraine, President Trump shocked Ukraine and European allies by blaming Ukraine for the war, further straining relations between the U.S. and its NATO and Ukrainian allies.
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Katie Honan is a senior reporter for The City, an online news site covering New York. She told us Governor Hochul says she's considering it. The other possible way to remove him from office would involve an obscure body assembled by the city council.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Those five people are the city council speaker, the city comptroller, one deputy mayor, the city's top lawyer and the borough president who served in their position the longest. Honan told us this is all unprecedented.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
We asked Honan, why is Adams so adamant about holding onto an office amidst serious allegations of corruption, low public approval, high-profile resignations, and the prospect of being removed from office? She says the reason is a pretty simple equation.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
The timing of all this matters as well. New York holds a mayoral primary in June, with the general election in November. Adams, a Democrat, has floated the idea of maybe running as a Republican. Should he survive this and run for re-election, Honan says, she wouldn't count him out just yet.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Health insurance companies process more than 5 billion claims a year. Roughly 17% of those claims are denied. That's 850 million every year. But research shows the people who do appeal, which is less than 1% of patients, largely get those claims approved.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Julie Wurnau covers health for The Wall Street Journal. And she told us why, despite this success rate, many people don't file an appeal when their claim is denied. She says some feel like there's no point. Others are daunted by the paperwork. Some are too trusting that insurance companies were right to deny their claim. And many people are simply overwhelmed by the medical issues they're facing.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Remember, Ukraine and members of the NATO alliance were already upset that Russia and the United States excluded them from peace negotiations in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. And Trump's lie about how the war started came during a press conference Tuesday evening in response to a reporter's question about how those talks went. Here's the president.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Good morning. It's Thursday, February 20th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a couple ways New York City Mayor Eric Adams could lose his job, why it's worth your time to fight a denied health insurance claim, and in hockey, the United States and Canada, fresh off last weekend's brawl, face off again tonight.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
She told us about one family's journey through the claims system. Emily Beck contracted COVID-19 and viral pneumonia when she was in kindergarten in 2021.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
By this time, Emily was nine years old, and a specialist recommended an infusion therapy that, according to one study, could potentially improve her symptoms significantly. But their insurer, UnitedHealthcare, wouldn't cover it.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Insurance companies argue to remain solvent, they have to make calls on which types of medical care merit reimbursement and which don't. But with rare conditions, because the number of cases are so small, it can be difficult for patients to find documentation that proves a drug or treatment works.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Paying out of pocket for Emily's treatment would have cost her family close to $36,000, much more than they could afford. It took multiple appeals to UnitedHealthcare and a team of care providers who provided documentation to prove her treatment was necessary and urgent before the Beck family got approved.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Mornau put together a list of tips to make appealing a denied claim less daunting. She said, first, research what your insurance plan covers. Take notes from any calls with insurance that you have, including the name of who you spoke to. And she recommends acting quickly. Many insurance companies have deadlines for filing appeals that you'll want to be aware of.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
We'll link to her reporting and tips in our show notes page in the Apple News app. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages today, including those who are believed to be the youngest and one of the oldest hostages. They include the remains of Ariel and Kafir Bibas, who were four years old and nine months old when they were taken.
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Their mother, Shiri, and 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz. All were taken from their homes in the same kibbutz on October 7th. The Bibas family had come to symbolize the horrors suffered by those captured by Hamas after video circulated showing Shiri clinging to her children while surrounded by militants. Her husband, Yarden, was released alive earlier this month.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Thursday's return of remains and the freeing of six living hostages on Saturday are part of an accelerated exchange by Hamas and Israel announced earlier this week. Israel agreed to free more than 100 Palestinian prisoners and allow mobile homes and heavy trucks into Gaza to remove rubble. On to some immigration updates.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
New data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows the Trump administration is not exclusively arresting criminals, as it promised to prioritize. Data obtained by NBC reveals the number of people detained in ICE custody without a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges represent 41 percent of the total new detainees from the first two weeks of February.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
And yesterday, the administration halted a program that provided lawyers to nearly 26,000 children who are immigrants. Many of them don't have parents or legal guardians in the United States. Some are too young to read or speak. And finally, did you watch the hockey match between the United States and Canada on Saturday where three fights broke out during the first nine seconds?
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
Well, the teams will be back on the ice tonight for a rematch. It's the championship game of the Four Nations Faceoff tournament. The Athletic looks at the biggest surprises and best moments of the tournament so far and makes some predictions about which team has the edge to come out on top. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The Atlantic looks at why, over the past 50 years, Americans have become less likely to move from one state to another or even one city to another, calling this the single most important social change of the past half century.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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Few people appeal rejected medical claims. It’s often worth it.
The war began in February of 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine from three sides with troops, tanks, and airstrikes targeting cities, military bases, schools, and hospitals. Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. It was the biggest attack on a European nation since World War II.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
President Trump on Tuesday vowed to label any violence against Tesla dealerships as economic terrorism, and he told reporters any perpetrators will, quote, go through hell. Tesla's also taken some serious hits in the stock market. It's been down every week since Musk went to Washington. Since mid-December, the company has lost more than half its value. That's around $800 billion in market cap.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
And earlier this week, Tesla's stock experienced its biggest drop in value in a single day since 2020. It rebounded Tuesday, however, after President Trump's comments in support of the company, where he turned the White House driveway into a pop-up Tesla showroom of sorts, lined up several vehicles and made a personal promise to buy one.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
The president also called on Americans to support Tesla and Musk.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
There are ethics rules prohibiting employees of the executive branch from promoting or endorsing products on behalf of their friends or their relatives. But The New York Times reports that those rules do not apply to the president.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
And while it's perhaps not very surprising that Trump is standing by Elon Musk, one of his biggest financial supporters, his support of Tesla in this moment contradicts his administration's goals for EVs more broadly and his own stated opinions on them. Trump has had a lot of harsh things to say about electric vehicles over the years. He's criticized their cost, their mileage, their battery life.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
He changed his tune last August when Musk endorsed his run for president, saying, quote, But since taking office, Trump has rolled back Biden-era incentives that encouraged EV sales and manufacturing. And just this week, Trump's administration halted much of the federal government's efforts to adopt EVs into its fleet of cars and trucks.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Elon Musk has evolved, too, in his politics and in his opinion of Donald Trump. He went from being a one-time Trump critic to now influential advisor. We asked Peterson what were some moments that helped crystallize Musk's political leanings. She said, of course, when he bought Twitter in 2022 and started sharing a lot more of his personal views.
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But also even further back, the beginning of the pandemic, Peterson says, was a real turning point for him.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
And as Musk's politics changed, so it seems has Tesla's fan base.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Now to Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum has stood out among foreign leaders as a skillful negotiator with President Trump. On two separate occasions, she's persuaded him to delay tariffs on her country by making the case that Mexico's efforts to deter people from bringing fentanyl across the border were already having measurable impact.
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and by telling him about a public awareness campaign launched by Mexico to discourage fentanyl use. That campaign, according to a source in Mexican government who spoke to The Washington Post, was largely designed to impress the U.S. government. Mexico doesn't have a fentanyl use epidemic. And it worked. Trump spoke glowingly about his call with Shane Baum to reporters last month.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
But first, to Elon Musk and the growing backlash against him and his electric vehicle company, Tesla. Since President Trump took office, Musk and his Doge team have been the face of efforts to slash federal spending and cut tens of thousands of federal jobs.
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Mary Beth Sheridan, the bureau chief for The Washington Post in Mexico, told us about the dynamic between these two leaders. It's been a surprisingly warm relationship. She told us a lot of Shane Baum's success working with Trump can be attributed to her preparation. Ahead of her meetings, she talks to a lot of advisors and runs through different scenarios.
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She calls it a cool head. She was elected easily by a 30-point margin, and her current approval rating stands at a massive 85%. She came into office with the reputation of being a kind of low-key academic type. She has a Ph.D. in energy engineering. And Sheridan told us that cool-headed approach is serving her well. She's also being praised for knowing when to wait a situation out.
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For example, she hasn't been quick to announce retaliatory tariffs.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Now, Sheinbaum has also made plenty of concessions to Trump. She sent more than 10,000 troops to the border to deter fentanyl shipments and illegal migration. She extradited 29 suspected drug traffickers to the U.S. And despite her diplomatic victories, Trump's threats to impose tariffs on Mexico haven't disappeared.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
The steel and aluminum tariff enacted yesterday impact Mexico, which is one of the top exporters to the U.S., Sheridan reports that Trump has not ruled out using the U.S. military to strike fentanyl targets in Mexico. And Sheridan says Mexican officials are braced for the possibility that their currently positive relationship with Trump could become more volatile.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
In response, Tesla has faced blowback from consumers, some of whom are not happy about the large role Trump gave Musk in the federal government and how his decisions are impacting their lives. Wall Street Journal reporter Becky Peterson covers Musk and Tesla and told us about how consumer sentiment has shifted since Trump's inauguration.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Good morning. It's Thursday, March 13th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how Mexico's president has skillfully negotiated with Trump, reaction from Congress members to Trump's threats to arrest more student protesters, and the White House withdraws its nominee for director of the CDC.
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Detained Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil will remain in a Louisiana immigration jail as his case makes its way through court, a judge ruled on Wednesday. Khalil is a green card holder living in the United States legally and permanently. But he was arrested on Saturday in New York by ICE officials, who said his green card was being revoked.
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He is not charged with a crime. Instead, he's being detained for his role in organizing protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza last year. His detainment is a result of an executive order from President Trump who's calling pro-Palestinian demonstrations that spread across campuses nationwide anti-Semitic.
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Though there has been widespread condemnation of Khalil's arrest by human rights lawyers and First Amendment experts, the Democratic Party hasn't fully rallied around Khalil's case or President Trump's comments that there will be more arrests to come. On Tuesday, 14 House Democrats signed a letter calling on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to immediately release Khalil.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
In the letter, they call his detention a, quote, "...illegal abduction." But as I just mentioned, it was signed by only 14 Democrats. That's roughly 6% of the Democrats in the House. Khalil's own representative, Democrat Adriano Espaillat from New York, did not sign the letter. But he told The Intercept he expects the Trump administration to adhere to the rule of law.
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Meanwhile, in the Senate, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee put out a statement on social media saying, quote, this should terrify everyone. And Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, put out a video calling for Khalil's release.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Senator Chuck Schumer, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, also put out a statement saying that although he, quote, abhors Khalil's political positions, the administration must either articulate what crime he has committed or release him. Schumer also says in that statement that Khalil may well have been in violation of various campus rules, but that that is for Columbia to decide.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
And Schumer dedicated a fair amount of his statement saying, to calling on Columbia to do more to protect Jewish students. According to the Jewish publication The Forward, in the lead-up to Halil's arrest, pro-Israel activists have been compiling a list of student protesters that they believe the Trump administration should detain and deport. Halil has long been on top of that list.
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And the Forward reports that at least one pro-Israel activist was in D.C. recently meeting with aides to members of Congress, including Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Ted Cruz, to discuss this matter. Those aides reportedly promised to, quote, escalate the issue.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Fetterman did not immediately respond to the Forward's request for comment, but in response to the Senate Judiciary Democrats calling for Khalil to be freed, he posted, free all the hostages. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The White House has withdrawn its nomination of Dave Weldon, a physician and former Congress member, to serve as CDC director.
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Axios reported it just hours before he was set to testify at his Senate confirmation hearing. Weldon is a known anti-vaccine advocate, and Stat News delved into congressional records from his time in Washington to examine his history of questioning vaccine safety, in particular the measles vaccine.
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The New York Times spoke to officials who said it became clear that Weldon wouldn't have the votes to get confirmed. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, a House subcommittee hearing came to an abrupt end on Tuesday after Republican Texas Congressman Keith Self misgendered Representative Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, calling her mister.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
He was swiftly confronted by Congressman William Keating, who insisted he correct himself.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Some Tesla owners have been selling or trading in their vehicles because they no longer want to be affiliated with Musk and his politics. In other incidents, things have escalated.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
Self later said on X in response to the incident, quote, it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female, seeming to be referring to an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office. McBride later wrote on X, quote, no matter how I'm treated by some colleagues, nothing diminishes my awe and gratitude at getting to represent Delaware in Congress.
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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
And finally, in a surprise result, Greenland's center-right opposition party won the island's general election yesterday, as talk of a takeover of the territory by Trump and the U.S. dominated the conversation. The Democratic Party, which backs a gradual move toward independence, won about 30 percent of the votes.
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One parliamentarian said while there was a lot of international attention on the election, domestic issues like health care, pensions and fishing policy also played a big role. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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As the Trump administration cracks down on diversity and inclusion policies, The Hollywood Reporter looks at how major movie studios have backtracked. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
According to Mehta's sources who have insight into these canceled contracts, at least one program was already being used in classrooms to help students make up lost ground in math, which schools have struggled to make progress on since the pandemic. An employee of IES told Mehta they don't understand how Musk can defend the cancellations as being efficient.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
McMahon could face questions about this from senators today, along with questions about her limited background in education. She is a billionaire best known for leading WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. But she served on Connecticut's State Board of Education for about a year before joining the first Trump administration as the head of the Small Business Administration.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Mehta spoke with some of McMahon's former colleagues from the SBA who praised her work.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
McMahon has recently voiced support for expanding school choice at the K-12 level and providing more transparency in curricula. In higher education, she supports alternatives to college degrees like apprenticeships, which has bipartisan support.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
And according to The Washington Post, in her previous role on the Connecticut Board of Education, she supported diversity and equity initiatives, which marks a significant divergence from the president's education policy. So far, all of Trump's nominees to cabinet positions have been confirmed by the Senate, including Tulsi Gabbard to lead national intelligence. It was confirmed yesterday.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
When President Trump pulled back from his threat of 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico, he said Mexico must beef up security along the border to stop the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl into the U.S. Trump even suggested the Mexican government is allied with drug cartels, a claim Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum rejected as slander.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
She also brought up an issue that often goes overlooked in the battle against drug traffickers, and it's not what flows from Mexico to the U.S., but the other way around. The Wall Street Journal reports a quarter million American guns are estimated to be smuggled into Mexico every year. It happens so reliably and so quickly, in fact, it's been dubbed the Iron River.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Zusha Ellenson is a national reporter who covers guns and crime for the Wall Street Journal.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Mexican officials say this is a longstanding problem. The Journal reports about 70 percent of guns traced from crime scenes in Mexico between 2014 and 2018 came from the U.S. That's led Mexico to take a new approach.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
But first, President Trump's nominee for education secretary might end up leading a department that's on the administration's cutting block. Linda McMahon's confirmation hearing is today. She'll field questions from senators in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. At the same time, Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency are working to shrink the Department of Ed.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Ellenson says U.S. gun makers argue they're shielded from responsibility by a 2005 law that says they can't be held liable if their guns are used in a crime. And since they manufacture and sell guns legally in the U.S., they're not responsible for how cartels get them or what they do with them. Ellenson told us smuggling weapons from the U.S. into Mexico is a very easy, very straightforward crime.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
The Journal reports cars headed into Mexico are rarely screened by border officials, partly because of fears that cartels will retaliate against those officials if the flow of weapons stops. In 2022, Congress passed a law enhancing penalties for so-called straw purchasers, people who buy guns to be trafficked.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
But Ellenson reports prosecutors are reluctant to go after people in difficult financial situations who don't have criminal records. But Ellenson also says a lot can be done to prevent trafficking on both sides of the border.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
When President Trump issued an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico, which has been called that for more than 400 years, to the Gulf of America, it raised a bunch of questions. Like, is he allowed to unilaterally decide something like that? And do other governments have to follow Trump's lead? Trump has the power to order changes to geographical names as they're used on official U.S.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
maps. But he can't force other governments to adopt those changes. There's really no official, agreed-upon system used to name boundaries and geographical features on our planet. In fact, there's a long history of government disputes over how bodies of water in particular are named. NPR cites a few famous examples.
Apple News Today
How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Good morning. It's Thursday, February 13th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, as America battles the flow of fentanyl from across the border, Mexico is fighting the flow of American guns. Some maps have officially adopted the name the Gulf of America, and Trump assumes a new title as chair of the Kennedy Center.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
There's the Sea South of China, which is known to much of the world as the South China Sea. In Vietnam, it's the Eastern Sea. The Philippines has designated parts of it as the West Philippine Sea. Another example is the water that separates the Arabian Peninsula from Iran, which much of the world calls the Persian Gulf, while Arab nations in the region call it the Arabian Gulf.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
But back to the Gulf in question. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the name change and encouraged other countries to join her.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
She said it's not up to one country to decide what to call an international body of water. And she jokingly shot back at the president that she might start calling North America Mexican America, as she stood before a map from the early 1600s that shows North America was once labeled that way. Some Mexican citizens expressed similar takes.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Here's Trump yesterday answering a reporter who asked, how soon do you want the Department of Education to be closed?
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Reuters spoke to one man on the coast shortly after Trump made his announcement.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
The AP also went to the Gulf to speak to some locals on the U.S. side. One man said his family had a long history of being out on boats in the area, and he welcomes the change.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Wired has been reporting on how digital maps are handling Trump's order. On Google Maps, users in the United States now see this body of water labeled as the Gulf of America. Google users in Mexico see the Gulf of Mexico. And users outside of those countries see both names listed. Apple Maps renamed it to Gulf of America for all U.S. users.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
But MapQuest and a number of map services run by other countries have not made the change. Media companies are in a similar gray area, and the Trump administration has already taken action against those unwilling to comply.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
The president barred reporters with the Associated Press from the Oval Office this week after the organization decided to officially continue using the Gulf of Mexico while also acknowledging Trump's preferred name, Gulf of America. The AP called it a plain violation of their First Amendment rights. Before we let you go, a few other stories out of Washington that we're following.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
A federal judge lifted the pause on President Trump's deferred resignation program for federal employees, and the Trump administration quickly closed the offer to any more workers who might have been considering it. The program had been halted since last Thursday after unions representing government employees sued, saying Trump didn't have the authority to offer such buyouts.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Shutting down the department altogether would require congressional approval. It's an idea that's been floated by Republicans for decades, as long as the Department of Education has existed. Many have argued education policy should be handled entirely at the state level. But recent efforts have failed.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Yesterday, the judge decided the unions lacked the legal standing to bring the suit. According to the White House, at the time when the program was frozen last week, 65,000 workers had accepted the deal. In other D.C. news, a top Democrat in the Senate says Kash Patel, Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, may have perjured himself during his confirmation hearing.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He says he's received credible evidence that Patel has been personally directing a purge of employees at the bureau before being confirmed by the Senate. In his hearing, when New Jersey Senator Cory Booker brought up the topic, here's how it went.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
CNBC notes lying to Congress under oath or not is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison, but charges are rarely filed. In response to Durbin's accusation, a Patel spokesperson dismissed it as, quote, secondhand gossip. Durbin has asked the DOJ to investigate. The Senate votes today on whether to move Patel's nomination forward.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
And finally, the board of the Kennedy Center installed President Trump as its new chairman, carrying out a plan that Trump announced last week to take over the historic arts institution. The board also fired President Deborah Rutter and appointed Richard Grinnell, former acting director of national intelligence, as its interim president.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
Trump had a contentious relationship with the Kennedy Center, bucking the tradition of attending the institution's honors ceremony during his first term. Trump said he was remaking the center because, quote, we didn't like what they were showing and said it's, quote, not going to be woke. CNN reports Trump replaced all board members appointed by Democratic presidents with his own appointees.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
The move also prompted musician Ben Folds to step away as an artistic advisor. Television producer Shonda Rhimes and opera singer Renee Fleming also resigned their positions. The Kennedy Center is funded by a mix of government dollars, ticket sales and private donations. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. More and more people are expected to travel further into space in the coming years. The New Yorker asks, is deep space something the human body can handle? If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
In a vote last year, 60 Republicans joined every single Democrat in voting against abolishing the department. Janaki Mehta is an education reporter at NPR, and she told us millions of dollars worth of contracts for projects that were already underway have been canceled, including at the Institute of Education Sciences, or IES.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Part of that fortification, according to Wei, also has to do with Chinese export controls. In the same way that the U.S. has restricted China's access to high-tech, like semiconductors, China is employing a similar tactic for U.S. access for certain products.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
China is also obstructing deals that could be beneficial to the United States. For example, a recent merger between Intel and an Israeli chipmaker fell through because Chinese authorities dragged their feet on approval. And China has a rule not dissimilar to a rule the United States has that allows it to restrict U.S.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
companies from doing business there if it deems them harmful to China's national security interests.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
With neither country seeming willing to give in, Wei says the world is watching the two largest economies effectively playing a game of chicken. Whichever has less tolerance for economic pain is the one we could see bend first.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
The Department of Homeland Security and the IRS have reached an agreement to provide sensitive taxpayer information to federal immigration officials, according to recent court filings. That will allow the IRS to learn more about immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Washington Post reporter Shannon Najmabadi spoke to us about the change in policy.
Apple News Today
China hits back at U.S. tariffs
There are about 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally, and many pay their taxes, just like U.S. citizens do. In fact, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that in 2022, immigrants without legal status paid close to $100 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. DHS officials said they could use data from the IRS to locate up to 7 million people.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
The sharing of tax data for anyone, U.S. citizen or not, U.S. president or not, has long been a very sensitive issue. So much so that improperly sharing tax information is punishable by civil and criminal penalties, which is why this policy move is considered such a big deal and such a shift from our norms.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
But first, President Trump abruptly reversed course on widespread global tariffs yesterday in the face of forecasts of a potential recession, pushback from the business community, and growing discontent among some Republican members of Congress. Here's how the president put it.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
The Post reports that even though IRS attorneys advised that the deal likely violates privacy laws, the agreement was signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. But one key person was largely left out of the loop.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
After news of the agreement became public, Krause informed staff she is stepping down. Tomorrow, an immigration judge in Louisiana will decide the fate of Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, whether he can be deported or whether his case should be terminated and he should be released. Khalil's story so far offers an alarming glimpse into what could happen to others.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
As reports begin to bubble up of international students learning that their visas are being revoked by the State Department. At least eight students at Arizona State University, six at UC Berkeley, at least three students and two recent grads at Harvard.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
The Washington Post reports it's unclear how many visas in total have been revoked so far, or if all students have even been informed that they must now leave the United States. And it's contributing to an overall sense of dread among foreign-born students that any immigrant could be targeted without warning for anything from protesting the war in Gaza to something minor like a traffic violation.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said two weeks ago that more than 300 student visas had been revoked under his direction. That same week, a video circulated on social media of the arrest of a Turkish student at Tufts University, where the woman was approached on the street by law enforcement agents who were mostly masked and led away.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
At the time, Rubio was asked about her arrest and the detention of other foreign-born students who, like her, have expressed pro-Palestinian viewpoints.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Administrators at colleges have also raised concerns about a federal database where international students' records have been terminated. The CEO of a nonprofit that works on behalf of international and immigrant students called the changes arbitrary and unresolvable and said they're creating havoc for anyone on campus who isn't a U.S. citizen.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Good morning. It's Thursday, April 10th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a change to a longstanding IRS rule, why the State Department is revoking visas for hundreds of international students in the U.S., and the Masters marks a historic anniversary.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Daniel Kanstrom, an immigration law professor at Boston College, told NPR's Fresh Air recently the targeting of these students is an escalation in Trump's deportation plan.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Just this week, a Michigan-based attorney who is a U.S. citizen and is currently representing a student who has been charged in connection to a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Michigan was detained by federal immigration agents at the airport on his way home from a family vacation. Amir Maklid told NPR it was clear that officers were waiting for him.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
After more than 90 minutes of questioning, Mackled was eventually released. He says he was never given a reason for his detainment, but he says he believes he knows why he was stopped.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Now Trump says he's instituting a 90-day pause for most countries while retaining a baseline tariff of 10 percent. The exception? China. Instead of pulling back, Trump doubled down, now saying China will face a 125 percent tariff, a jump up from where he was just two days ago when he promised tariffs of 104 percent. This comes after China, the world's second largest economy, didn't bend to Trump.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Many immigration lawyers are saying they've been getting lots of frantic calls and emails from students who've been notified by the State Department and want to know what's supposed to happen next. The federal government is encouraging them to self-deport or risk getting detained. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
NPR reports that effective immediately, the government will begin screening immigrants' social media accounts for content it deems anti-Semitic and could use those posts to deny immigration benefits. This could impact people applying for a green card or student visa.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
It's not totally clear what constitutes anti-Semitic content in the government's eyes, including whether a post condemning Israel's war in Gaza that's killed more than 50,000 Palestinians could be flagged. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the policy change will, quote, protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens. Earlier this week, the U.S.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Commerce Department abruptly cut $4 million in federal funding for climate research at Princeton University. The money paid for programs studying things like sea level rise and flooding. Administration officials said the research promotes exaggerated threats and, quote, climate anxiety among younger people.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
A meteorologist in one of those programs won a Nobel Prize in physics for work predicting the effects of global warming. The researchers at Princeton are considered by some to be among the best in the world at climate modeling. These are just some of the latest cuts to funding at prestigious universities by the administration.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
And finally, golf's first major tournament of the year, the Masters, starts today and is marking a historic anniversary. Fifty years ago this week, Lee Elder became the first Black golfer to compete in the distinguished tournament, breaking one of American sports' last color lines.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, where the tournament is played, has a long history of racial division. One of its co-founders is quoted as saying, as long as I'm alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
That changed when officials tweaked the rules and awarded a spot in the tournament to anyone who had won a PGA Tour event, which Elder did about a year prior. His inclusion sparked death threats leading up to the tournament. He had bodyguards hanging around with him that week. Elder ended up missing the cut but played the tournament five more times after that.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
It would be 22 years after Elder broke the color barrier that a Black man finally did win the Masters. In 1997, a young man named Tiger Woods. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
New York Magazine spoke with a philosopher who sought to understand why some of us seem to have great luck while others have constant streams of bad luck. Are some of us just truly unlucky? If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Instead of calling up the White House and offering concessions, China retaliated, increasing tariffs on all U.S. imports to 84 percent.
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China hits back at U.S. tariffs
Lingling Wei is the chief China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
The LB&I specialists focus on auditing big businesses like major tech companies, pharmaceutical companies, and oil and gas companies.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
The businesses and individuals that fall under the purview of LB&I, according to a former IRS commissioner, often have access to the most sophisticated tax preparers and lawyers. So, he told ProPublica, they're typically, quote, pushing the envelope as much as they can on their taxes.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
In some cases, LB&I agents discover that the government actually owes the taxpayer more money than expected. But with fewer people on staff, the people ProPublica interviewed warned that these types of complicated returns will inevitably receive less attention.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
One report from 2024 from the Nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found, for every additional hour spent on audits for very wealthy taxpayers, the IRS found savings of $13,000. Now to the Supreme Court, where justices are being asked to weigh in on an important environmental question, where should dangerous nuclear waste go?
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This is a problem the federal government has been trying to solve for decades. It spent almost 30 years trying to develop a permanent underground storage location for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. But there was pushback from the state and local communities, funding dried up, and eventually the project fizzled out during the Obama administration.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Dylan Badour is a reporter with Inside Climate News who told us, as a stopgap measure, thousands of tons of nuclear waste are stored on site at power plants across the country. And more recently, the debate over where to store nuclear waste turned to Texas as a possible solution.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
A company called Waste Control Specialists filed an application in 2016 to temporarily store nuclear waste in the western part of the state. But just like Yucca Mountain, it was met with resistance. First from a local oil company that owns land near where the project would be located. Then Texas officials joined them in suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
In this case, the Supreme Court is considering two questions. First, whether Texas and the oil company are allowed to petition the court. Second, whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowed to grant licenses to temporary nuclear waste storage facilities that are not located near reactor sites.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
The court's conservative majority has generally been skeptical of federal regulation in recent years. Bedore says if the court rules in Texas's favor, it would largely maintain the status quo, with no long-term solution to nuclear waste. But a ruling in favor of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could change how nuclear waste is stored, not only in Texas, but nationwide.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Tax season is upon us, but roughly 7,000 employees were recently fired by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Doge team. They've said their goal is to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the government.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Both Texas and the federal government want to expand nuclear power. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former fossil fuel executive, told senators in his confirmation hearing expanding domestic energy production would be among his first priorities. And Texas is trying to position itself as a national leader in nuclear power.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
But Badur says the state has no interest in dealing with the waste, which is a problem both the state and federal government will need to address eventually.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
The court's ruling is expected by the end of June. Let's turn now to a story you might remember seeing pretty much everywhere just before the holidays. A study that examined the toxicity of black plastic in kitchen tools led to a flurry of headlines like, throw out your black plastic spatula, it's probably leaching chemicals into your cooking oil.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
In fact, we reported on this very same study for Apple News Today.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
That's Leslie Patton, a consumer reporter with Bloomberg News. And the backlash was swift. By the end of January, sales of stainless steel kitchen products climbed more than 13 percent year over year, and silicone products were up by about 70 percent. Now, there was a problem with the study. It contained a pretty significant math error.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
The IRS has been hit especially hard by these cuts, ProPublica reports, because it did a lot of hiring and training in 2024, which means a lot of people were still in their probationary period a few weeks ago when they found out they were being cut.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
But the authors say even after correcting their calculations, they stand by their initial conclusion that the levels of toxic chemicals in certain black plastic cookware are still concerning. And there's been a wave of other research in recent years about the dangers of plastic. Studies have found microplastics in our food and drinking water.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Good morning. It's Thursday, March 6th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the debate over where to put the country's nuclear waste, consumers are taking the risk of plastics more seriously, and how scientists are trying to revive the woolly mammoth. But first, to the Internal Revenue Service.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
One study from 2021 concluded that microplastics are so small that even freshly grown fruits and vegetables are not always safe. They can absorb these small plastics through their root systems. Now, a lot is unknown about the impact of all these tiny plastic particles on human health. The FDA says the presence of plastics in food alone does not indicate a risk.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
But science journalist Matt Simon, who I spoke to for Apple News in conversation a few years ago, told me the risks are not well understood because not enough research has been done.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Looking at plastic kitchen tools in particular, many companies insist their products are safe. Still, some are moving away from plastic products. Leslie Patton with Bloomberg told us about the company OXO, which by one estimate sells roughly one out of every 12 kitchen utensils in the United States.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
OXO says their plastic kitchen utensils are safe as long as they're used correctly. But ultimately, what this so-called Black Spatulageddon saga reveals is that consumers are beginning to take more seriously the risks of plastics, and manufacturers are taking notice by investing in alternatives. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Last year's hiring wave came after Congress had underfunded the agency for a good part of the last decade, which led to chronic understaffing, poor customer service, and plummeting audit rates.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
First, to a flurry of updates from the Trump administration in Washington. The Supreme Court denied the president's request to cancel $2 billion in foreign aid, siding with a lower court judge who recently ordered the administration to immediately release the money owed under existing contracts.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
In further fallout from Friday's disastrous meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump ordered the CIA to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The U.S. has shared intelligence with Kyiv since the early days of the war to help Ukrainian forces target invading Russian forces more effectively. And it's not clear if the pause will be temporary or permanent.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
And less than 48 hours after imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump agreed to make an exception for one month for automobile imports that qualify for duty-free treatment under a trade agreement negotiated during his first term. This move came after he spoke with executives from three of the largest automakers in the U.S., General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Staying in Washington for a moment, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed that the city will remove Black Lives Matter Plaza, a two-block stretch in downtown D.C. near the White House, which got that name along with a mural after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
This week, a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill to the House requiring Bowser to rename the area or risk losing federal funding from Congress. And when the local NBC affiliate asked her why she agreed to make the change, the mayor said it was fair to say the White House didn't like it. And finally, the woolly mammoth is making a comeback of sorts.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Scientists are working toward that goal, but in the meantime, they've made some significant strides in genetically engineering mice that carry some of the key characteristics of the extinct woolly mammoth, like their thick, hairy coats. Picture a normal lab mouse, but poofier. Here's what one of the researchers, Beth Shapiro, told NPR.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
ProPublica spoke with more than a dozen current and former IRS employees, most of whom worked for the Large Business and International Division, or LBNI, which audits some of the highest dollar amount tax returns filed in the country.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
The company says reviving extinct species like the mammoth and the dodo could help repair ecosystems. But critics have questioned if they'll be able to thrive in today's environment and if that money is better spent trying to save species currently at risk of extinction. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine takes you behind the scenes of how this one-stop shop that sells everything from cashmere to caviar recruited a generation of consumers. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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The black-spatula debate changed our kitchens. Companies noticed.
Almost half of the engineer positions in LBNI, that is people who have specialized expertise and can weigh in on more complicated tax returns, appear to have been eliminated in the recent cut. And these current and former employees told reporter Andy Kroll that that could make it more difficult for the agency to audit some of the wealthiest people and businesses in the country.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
In the years since, his wife, who is an American citizen, says Abrego Garcia attended regular check-ins with ICE, followed the rules, and is the family's main breadwinner, working five days a week as a sheet metal worker while also attending college classes. Abrego Garcia is the father of several kids, also American citizens, including his five-year-old son who has disabilities.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Despite never having been charged with a crime, the Trump administration alleges that Abrego Garcia ran a gang. His attorney says that that label is the result of an incident in 2019 where he and three other men were detained. One of the men allegedly said that Abrego Garcia was a gang member, but didn't have proof. And Abrego Garcia maintained that he was not affiliated with a gang.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Here's his wife, Jennifer, speaking with CBS News.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Abrego Garcia's attorney is pushing for the courts to order the Trump administration to bring him back to the United States and to even withhold payments to the Salvadoran government, which is charging the United States to imprison deportees. Miroff said there is a process to deport someone with protected status, but the administration isn't following that protocol here.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Miroff expressed concern about the kind of precedent Abrego Garcia's case could set.
Apple News Today
How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Attorneys for other men who have been deported say their clients have also been wrongly accused of being gang members and are now languishing in one of El Salvador's harshest maximum security prisons. And yet, despite mounting reports of the questionable legality of some of these deportations, Immigration and Trump's handling of it is still his most popular policy.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
A late March CBS News YouGov poll found when asked about the administration's program to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, 58 percent said they approve. President Trump announced a new round of tariffs at an event at the White House Rose Garden yesterday.
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A 10% tariff will be placed on all of the U.S. 's trading partners, with the exception of Canada and Mexico. Dozens of other countries will also see double-digit tariffs, with China taking a big hit, a 34% tariff on all goods. Meanwhile, in a vote late Wednesday, a handful of Republicans joined all Democrats in the Senate to pass a bill that would block some previously announced tariffs on Canada—
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It's symbolic, but Politico notes it's a rare rebuke by some Republicans of one of Trump's signature agenda items. The Wall Street Journal recently checked in with one core constituency that has largely supported Trump in the past, but is now feeling nervous about how his tariffs might affect them, American farmers.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
An average of 78 percent of voters in rural, farm-dependent counties backed Trump in the 2024 election. But the Journal's Christina Peterson, who joined us from the Capitol, reports that some have concerns now.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
But first, the Trump administration says they've deported a man from Maryland to El Salvador in error, but that they stand by the deportation and are powerless to bring him home. The man's name is Kilmar Abrego-Garcia. Atlantic reporter Nick Miroff was the first to report on the so-called error.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
In a survey cited by the Journal, 54 percent of farmers said they did not support Trump's use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. According to USDA research, Trump's trade policies in the first administration led to more than $27 billion in losses. But Peterson said even before these latest tariffs were enacted, farmers were struggling.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Other major policy decisions impacting farmers have to do with federal spending. The Agriculture Department said that it was phasing out programs used to buy local produce for food banks and schools. There's also been some money frozen from a Biden-era climate project. That's having an impact on farmers like Jim Hartman in North Carolina, who Peterson spoke to.
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The Agriculture Department cuts alone are costing just Hartman an estimated $100,000 in revenue. He told the Journal that despite being a lifelong Republican who voted for Trump in November, these policies are, quote, pushing him left.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
The administration has said that they have farmers' backs, and Trump himself has talked about the upside of tariffs allowing for more agricultural products to be made in the U.S. But Peterson said there's one big wrinkle in that plan.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Let's turn now to the headwinds facing Planned Parenthood. Last month, the organization announced it would sell the historic building that houses its Manhattan Clinic, reducing the total number of Planned Parenthoods to just three total in the city. Meanwhile, the organization is caught in the middle of legal battles and threats to its funding from the administration and from states.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Good morning. It's Thursday, April 3rd. I'm Shmeetha Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, some farmers start to fear the squeeze from Trump's tariffs. Planned Parenthood faces threats to its funding on multiple fronts. And why every allergy season feels worse than the last.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Just this week, Politico reports the Trump administration announced it would withhold tens of millions of dollars from nine planned parenthood state clinics across the country. Alice Miranda-Alstein is a senior health care reporter for Politico, and she told us these are dollars that come from the Title X family planning program.
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Alstein reports these Planned Parenthood chapters received notices earlier this week saying their funding is being temporarily withheld.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
The organizations were given 10 days to show they will comply with Trump's orders. After that, the administration will let them know whether the grants are suspended or terminated altogether. Other providers that receive money through the federal family planning program received similar notices and had their funds frozen or received less than expected.
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Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood also appeared before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. NPR described it as a case that isn't really about abortion, except that it is. The court is considering whether a state, in this case South Carolina, can remove Planned Parenthood clinics from its state Medicaid program and bar patients from suing to enforce their right to pick a medical provider.
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Alstein reports the conservative justices seem sympathetic to South Carolina's argument, and she says the result of this Supreme Court decision, along with the previously mentioned cuts, could have a big impact on the organization's future.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The price of gold is hitting all-time highs this week as investors are growing worried about market instability and the impact Trump's tariffs may have on the economy. Gold futures are up more than 18 percent since the start of the year, with some analysts predicting the price will continue to soar over the next few months.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
The S&P 500, meanwhile, is down more than 4% over the same period. While gold frenzies in times of economic uncertainty are nothing new, a financial planner who spoke to NPR urged caution. He said, remember that gold doesn't pay interest, it doesn't pay dividends, and like anything else, what goes up can always come back down.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
In international news, people in Myanmar are continuing to dig through the rubble after a devastating earthquake left more than 3,000 people dead and destroyed thousands of buildings, homes, and other structures. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake took place along Myanmar's Segang Fault.
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an 800-mile fault line that scientists say has uncanny parallels to the San Andreas Fault in the western United States. Both fault lines measure around 750 to 800 miles and have plates passing by one another at equally fast rates. They're also both in extremely densely populated areas.
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The Washington Post spoke with geologists who say the similarities between the two should serve as a warning sign for California and the big one everyone knows will come eventually. And finally, do your allergies feel worse this year? If so, you're not alone.
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Vox reports that once again, we are facing the worst allergy season of our lives, with multiple cities reporting record high pollen count, largely driven by the effects of climate change. It's hitting the southern United States the worst. And because so many people's allergies are acting up all at the same time, Vox says allergies could cost the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
According to court filings, Abrego Garcia came to the United States almost 15 years ago as a teenager after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador, the very country where he is now detained. In 2019, Garcia received protected legal status after a judge determined that he could be a target if he were deported back to El Salvador.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
Their tips to reduce your suffering, keep doors and windows closed when there's high pollen count, leave your coat and shoes outside if they're covered in pollen, and wipe down your pets before you bring them inside. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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How an “administrative error” sent a man to a Salvadoran prison
The New Yorker investigates the popular wedding website, The Knot, and growing complaints about the, quote, fake brides problem. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Another pollster also found Fein's lead a lot tighter than expected. Meanwhile, in Florida's other congressional race, Democrat Gay Valamont also outraised Trump's endorsed candidate, Jimmy Petronas, about 7-1. That race is to replace former Congressman Matt Gaetz. Republicans have a 218-213 edge over Democrats in the House, so every seat and every vote matters.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
NBC national political correspondent Steve Kornacki broke down the race on the network and said it's a big ask for Democrats to flip these seats, given just how Republican these districts are. But these are the exact types of elections where they have a shot.
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The president has acknowledged the importance of holding on to these and other Republican seats. It's the reason he gave reporters last week for pulling the nomination of loyalist and New York representative Elise Stefanik for U.N. ambassador.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Most observers think these seats will likely remain with the GOP. And the campaign arm of House Republicans called talk about it, quote, noise. Democrats have said if their candidates overperform in these races, which minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said shouldn't even be on the radar, it's a sign some attitudes might be shifting.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Trump, who won both districts by 30 points, spent part of these final days in teletown halls for both candidates, shoring up support. Let's turn now to recent actions the Trump administration has taken that are impacting science and research.
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The administration has ordered major cuts to the workforce and funding at the National Institutes of Health and huge reductions of NIH grants to universities. These are institutions that lead research on a huge array of diseases and conditions, everything from pediatric brain cancer to heart disease and asthma.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
And because of Trump's crackdown on DEI, NIH employees are being told not to approve grants that include words such as women, trans, or diversity. Shefali Luthra is a reproductive health reporter for The 19th who's been talking to researchers about the fallout.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
And Luther says if they can't get that funding back, it'll be a waste of, in some cases, years of research.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
One of the gaps in health care that these kinds of studies seek to address is our understanding of conditions that impact women. Research on women's health already lags far behind men.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
That's in part because for a long time, the FDA actively discouraged researchers from including women who could become pregnant in clinical trials, which means we have less reliable data when it comes to how a lot of medications might impact women or for women-specific conditions. Luthra told us the story of one researcher at Columbia University.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Tomorrow we'll break down a crucial contest in Wisconsin for a state Supreme Court vacancy that's attracted the attention of Elon Musk. Today we're going to look at two House seats up for grabs in Florida that are making Republicans nervous about their slim majority.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
This researcher says she recently got a call from her advisor that her federal funding had suddenly been cut.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Luther told us that the opposition to funding research on women is rooted in the culture wars we're seeing play out, but also in a misunderstanding of the research.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
The NIH did not respond to the 19th's request for comment. In 1975, a mother in South Korea named Choi Young-ja reported her son had gone missing. She told PBS's Frontline her son had been outside playing with neighborhood kids when he disappeared. She went to the police. She checked orphanages and adoption agencies.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Good morning. It's Monday, March 31st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what happens to health research when studies that use the word women are cut? South Korea's dark history of adoptions. And in men's college basketball, it's an all number one seed final four. But first, there are a couple of important special elections this week that we're following.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Years later, she got a phone call that would change everything she thought she knew about her son's disappearance. I got a call.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
She had submitted her son's DNA to an agency that works to reunite adoptees and birth parents. And she says there to Frontline that she got a call from someone saying they found her son. Her son, named at birth Sangyeol, was now named Frank. She was overwhelmed. She hung up and burst into tears. A few weeks later, she videoconferenced with her now-adult son for the first time.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
One of those races in Florida's 6th congressional district is to replace Mike Waltz, President Trump's national security advisor, who's been in the headlines over the Signal Group chat, where he and several other top officials discussed military strike plans in Yemen. Running to replace Waltz is Republican State Senator Randy Fine.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
She says there she was shocked. The boy she last remembered at the age of four had become an adult with gray hair. Her story is just one of many that's come to light in recent years about fraudulent Korean adoptions. Kids and infants who were stolen without the consent of their biological parents.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
For the families who adopted them, they too were lied to, told that the children were abandoned or orphaned, and that their identities and information about their birth families was lost or fabricated. Kyawin Lee, a former health ministry official who oversaw adoption policy starting in 2010, told Frontline that she questioned whether so many children were in need of adoption.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
For the South Korean government, foreign adoptions had become a way to reduce social welfare spending. Recently, Lee has played a significant role in passing adoption reform in South Korea. As these children have grown up, and with the help of DNA websites like 23andMe, some of these adoptees have come to find out their true identities. And they've pushed South Korea to reckon with this dark past.
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Last week, they got a major victory when South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into this matter. For the first time, they acknowledged that human rights abuses took place and that the government failed to protect the rights of adoptees. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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President Trump is threatening new sanctions on Russia if it doesn't agree to a deal to end the war in Ukraine. He told NBC News he was, quote, very angry at Russian President Vladimir Putin for his comments calling for an interim governance in Ukraine to push out Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy.
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Putin said Zelensky lacks the authority to sign a peace deal because his term expired last year. Ukraine is under martial law, and according to its constitution, national elections can't be held while it's in effect. Zelensky has vowed to call elections as soon as the war ends.
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In Myanmar, the death toll continues to rise as the country accounts for the destruction from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the nation on Friday. Many people are thought to still be trapped under collapsed buildings. The earthquake struck near Mandalay, which has a population of 1.5 million people. Years of civil war are complicating recovery efforts.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
A Red Cross regional spokesperson called it not just a disaster, but a complex humanitarian crisis layered over existing vulnerabilities. And finally, the men's NCAA basketball Final Four is set, and perhaps in not-so-climactic fashion, all four No. 1 seeds are headed to San Antonio to compete for the national championship. It's the first time all four No. 1s reached the Final Four since 2008.
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Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked about the contest.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
The matchups will be Auburn versus Florida and Duke versus Houston. Those games tip off next Saturday. Meanwhile, the women's Final Four will be set tonight. USC takes on UConn and Texas takes on TCU. UCLA and South Carolina punch their ticket to the Final Four on Sunday. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The Wall Street Journal has the story of Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist that some consider the world's leading thinker on decision making. Last year, at the age of 90, he decided to go to Switzerland and end his own life via assisted suicide.
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He informed his friends, but many are still struggling with his decision. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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How Trump’s DEI crackdown is impacting women in science
Fein's opponent, Democrat Josh Wheal, has out-fundraised Fein by 10 to 1. And according to CNN, those figures sent shockwaves from Florida all the way to Washington. CNN also reports senior GOP leadership intervened, calling Fein and saying he needs to step up his efforts in the race. One poll showed Fein's lead within the margin of error.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Armed officers showed up at their Texas home and brought all four of them to a detention center. Yamarte's family told the Post he and his friends were asked to sign deportation papers, and they agreed to it, thinking they were going home to their loved ones in Venezuela. But that wasn't the case.
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Yamarte's mom realized her son was in El Salvador from seeing a video shared by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that depicted gang members being violently pulled from airplanes and brought to this infamous prison.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security would confirm whether Yamarte and his friends had ties to gangs.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
The administration has so far provided no evidence supporting their claim that the men on these flights had gang affiliations. And it's becoming increasingly clear some, if not many, likely were not gang members. Still, the administration has continued to defend the deportations.
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Meanwhile, the judge who ordered the administration to turn around the planes flying these men to El Salvador in order that was not followed, he said in a separate hearing on Friday that he was skeptical the Justice Department has grounds to invoke the Alien Enemies Act at all, saying the administration has stretched and distorted the intent of the statute.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
As President Trump makes moves to end the Department of Education, even though Congress is supposed to get the last word on eliminating it, let's talk about what kind of impact that might have on students, particularly in low-income districts. We've said it before, but it's worth saying again, the DOE isn't in charge of curricula. That's up to the states.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Funding also largely comes from states, with only about 8 percent coming from the federal government. And the Trump administration has said it would maintain federal funding streams for two of the DOE's key programs, Title I, which serves low-income communities, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
But first, we're learning more about the Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States and sent to El Salvador with no due process.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
But some educators and policy experts worry that disruptions to these and other programs are inevitable if the DOE is eliminated and its functions assigned to other parts of state and federal government.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
One coming change with the potential for big impact, a data arm of the Education Department called the National Center for Education Statistics will soon see its staff reduced from more than 100 earlier this year to just three employees. This is a department that tracks the condition of education in the country, identifies gaps in achievement, and assigns grants for rural and low-income schools.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
But with a severely short staff, it's unclear how money will be allocated in the future. And that money is really important. Title I and rural schools can use it for basics like teachers' salaries, technology, and school buses. Axios reports the states that have the most to lose if the DOE is dismantled are mostly states that voted for Trump. Take, for example, Mississippi.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
In the 2021 to 2022 school year, about 23 percent of its public school funding came from federal dollars. One policy expert told Axios lower wealth states like Mississippi will struggle to make up for lost federal funding. Meanwhile, educators themselves, many who are already tired of super tight budgets in the classroom, say that they're fed up.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
CBS News has obtained an internal government list with the names of the 238 men, more than half of whom President Trump and his administration have accused of being part of the Tren de Aragua gang, a group that Trump has called a foreign terrorist group and wartime enemy. He used those terms again when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Chloe Eierman is a third grade teacher in the Denver area. She spoke with NBC News at a teacher's rally against federal cuts to education last week.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
The administration, for its part, says this is all about eliminating bureaucracy and returning power to the states. Here's Education Secretary Linda McMahon speaking to Fox News after Trump signed the order.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
But even officials in some Republican states say they aren't sure Trump's order actually does that. Kevin Huffman led Tennessee's education department under a Republican governor. Here's what he told NPR.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Aside from administering federal aid to K-12 schools, the education department is also the largest source of loans for college students. The Trump administration says loans will instead be overseen by the Small Business Administration, which McMahon headed up during Trump's first term. Let's turn now to egg prices, an American staple that's been causing a lot of pain for grocery shoppers.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Good morning. It's Monday, March 24th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what closing the Department of Education would mean for low-income school districts, why American chicken farms are particularly vulnerable to bird flu, and a community rallies behind a teacher who was told her classroom decor violates policy.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
It feels like people are eating gold now. Now, there is some good news on the horizon. The Department of Agriculture reported last week that Americans should soon start to see the price of eggs come down a bit. They're saying wholesale egg prices have fallen significantly and consumers should start to notice it on their grocery shelves in the next few weeks.
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Meanwhile, NPR looks at our neighbor to the north, Canada, and how they have managed to keep egg prices at bay. According to NPR, Canadian chickens haven't been affected by bird flu the way American chickens have. That's primarily because egg farms in Canada exist on a much smaller scale. The typical egg farm up north has around 25,000 egg-laying hens, while many farms in the U.S.
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have more than a million. Here's how Mike von Massau, a food economist in Ontario, put it to NPR.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Since the 1990s, the average farm in the U.S. has quadrupled in size. That's because pressure to produce cheap goods meant that farmers had to make up the difference with volume. Dairy farmers in Canada don't have the same incentive to produce more because they're protected by a federal system that sets production quotas. It keeps prices stable. Here's Vaughn Massow again on NPR.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
a move that allowed him to give these men no chance to defend themselves in court and has set off a legal battle. And now many of their family members and friends are speaking out, saying they are not part of any gang and have committed no crimes. Washington Post immigration reporter Sylvia Foster-Frau told us about 29-year-old Mervin Yamarte, who came to the U.S.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
There are a few more factors beyond size. Barns in Canada are sealed more tightly because of the colder weather. That's also kept out the virus. There are fewer free range chickens in Canada, a group that's more likely to become infected. Also, Canada doesn't allow the import of eggs and dairy from the U.S., which is a source of contention in the ongoing trade war.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Now, while the Department of Agriculture reports that American prices should drop soon, there's also an effort underway in Congress to get egg prices under control. A bipartisan bill was introduced in the House that proposes reining in regulation for farmers, which currently requires them to discard eggs that don't meet certain refrigeration requirements.
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Supporters of this bill say that rule has led to hundreds of millions of eggs each year being thrown away. And at a time when there's fewer to spare, every egg counts. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Canadians are headed to the polls early after newly sworn in Prime Minister Mark Carney called for snap elections to be held in April.
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Carney on Sunday asked Canadian voters to send a strong mandate to deal with an escalating trade war over tariffs with President Trump, saying Trump wants to, quote, break us. Carney and Canada's Liberal Party will face Conservatives and their leader, Pierre Pauliev, who has sought to distance himself from Trump.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
Since Trump announced steep tariffs, Canada's Liberals have done increasingly better in national polling. In other news, Pope Francis is out of the hospital. The 88-year-old pontiff thanked the crowds and gave a blessing in a brief public appearance on Sunday after his discharge from a hospital in Rome.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
The pope has been hospitalized for five weeks, first with a microbial infection, then double pneumonia. Officials say he'll continue his recovery at his residence in Vatican City. And finally, a teacher in Idaho is refusing to take down classroom signs that her district said violates policy on content neutral displays.
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The poster reads, everyone is welcome here and has hands in an array of skin tones. Sarah Anama teaches world civilizations at Lewis and Clark Middle School. Here she is talking with MSNBC.
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Today, local advocacy groups have encouraged people to wear Everyone is Welcome Here t-shirts to work or school. A local screen printing shop worked through the weekend to try to meet demand with thousands of shirts ordered. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
The New Yorker examines why the MAGA movement has appealed to so many young men in recent years and what it might take for the left to reach them again. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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What dismantling the Education Department means for students
to escape Venezuela's political and economic crisis and to send money to his partner and child back home.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Republicans have been critical, too. Here's Senator John Curtis on CBS.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
In response to criticisms, Musk posted on X on Sunday that the email is a, quote, This email is the latest in Musk's efforts to drastically reduce government staffing levels. More than 200,000 workers across more than a dozen agencies have already had their jobs eliminated. That figure includes around 1,600 U.S.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
AID jobs cut as of yesterday, as well as 75,000 federal workers who voluntarily resigned, though it remains unclear whether they'll receive the buyouts they've been promised. Many federal employees say this firing spree has been personally devastating and doesn't seem to be in the interest of reducing fraud or waste, as Musk has claimed.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Sydney Kerman is a soil conservationist who, until recently, worked for the USDA in Rhode Island. Kerman told a local NBC affiliate that the Trump administration's decision would have far-reaching effects for farmers.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
In some instances, the Trump administration has had to backtrack on firings. For example, Musk's team recently fired roughly 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees whose staff entrances maintain the parks and rescue hikers who are hurt or lost. Some parks and national monuments announced they would have to reduce hours due to lack of staffing. There's been widespread public outcry.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
And now, according to the AP, at least 50 jobs are being restored. And separately, in a memo put out last week, the Park Service is being authorized to hire up to 7,700 seasonal workers. That's about a 20 percent increase in seasonal positions.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Termination letters are also being rescinded for some workers who oversaw America's nuclear weapons, though officials said last week they were struggling to get in touch with some former employees to let them know that they are in fact needed in their jobs. As for the legality of what's happening, it's unclear how today's email deadline will play out.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
The largest federal workers' union posted on social media that they do not believe Musk has the authority to carry out today's threat of firing employees who don't respond to his email. But the last time unions tried to intervene, they lost.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Last week, a federal judge ruled that he didn't have the authority to block the administration's downsizing attempts, saying this is an employment dispute that must follow a different legal process. Just days into his presidency, Donald Trump began sending active duty troops to the southern border to stop incoming migrants from crossing illegally.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
According to the Defense Department, roughly 3,600 service members have been deployed. So The Washington Post's Arelis Hernandez traveled to the Texas town of Del Rio to see it for herself.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
The reason locals are asking that question is the border has been incredibly quiet lately.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
But first, over the weekend, about 2.3 million federal employees received an email with the subject line, What did you do last week? The email instructed federal workers to list what they have accomplished at work in the past five days. Elon Musk, the head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, said anyone who doesn't respond by the end of the day today is effectively resigning.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Agents that patrol this part of the border say they're apprehending fewer than 50 people a day. That's a major drop from 2023, when agents were stopping closer to 5,000 people a day.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
One reason is because Mexico has been cracking down more heavily on migrant caravans trying to cross through Mexico into the U.S. The other big reason is because under President Biden, the asylum rules changed. Then when Trump took office, he declared an emergency and effectively closed off the border. What that means is that border crossings are way down.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
In fact, Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks told CBS News last week that unlawful crossings at the southern border are down 94 percent from the same period last year. Things are so quiet that many Texas migrant shelters are close to empty. In one county along the border, a local sheriff told the Post they are back to, quote, getting cats out of trees and helping little old ladies with their groceries.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
At the same time, the number of troops at the border has surged. Between America's deployment of troops and Mexico's deployment of 10,000 more, there's roughly one soldier or officer for every migrant trying to cross each month. Now locals told Hernandez they are happy to have active duty troops in town. They're good for the economy. At least two hotels are sold out.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Some stores are offering discounts for them. But other than that, locals say there doesn't seem to be very much for them to do. U.S. Northern Command, which is in charge of the deployment, told the Post that troops are reinforcing border barriers and helping with intelligence on cartel activity. And there are limits to how they can be used.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Hernandez also reports this quiet period for the border could change. There are some 300,000 people in Mexico waiting and watching to see if and how U.S. policy will shift in the next few months.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Good morning. It's Monday, February 24th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, American troops deployed to the border find a relatively quiet scene. What Germany's election means for Europe and the Western-led global order. And skier Michaela Schifrin claims a historic 100th World Cup win.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Now to Germany, where citizens went to the polls this weekend and voted for sweeping change as concerns over a stagnating economy, an immigration crisis and deteriorating international alliances led leaders to call for a snap election.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
The center-right Christian Democratic Union led exit polling Sunday with a commanding 28 percent of the vote, making party leader Friedrich Merz the likely next chancellor of Germany. He declared victory on Sunday. Perhaps the more surprising result, however, is the rise of the far-right party called Alternative for Germany, or AFD.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
The AFD, which was once considered a fringe movement, doubled its support from the last elections four years ago to about 20%. It's the party's largest election victory in its 12-year history, though it was lower than many in the party were hoping, especially after receiving endorsements from Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Here is Musk during an AFD rally he joined virtually about a month before the election.
Apple News Today
Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Reuters reports that workers at the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education and Commerce, as well as at the IRS and National Institutes of Health, were told not to respond, pending further guidance. ABC News reports some officials in the White House were even caught off guard.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
And here's Vice President Vance a few weeks ago speaking in Munich, chiding European leaders for excluding far-right parties from power.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
The firewall he's referring to is an agreement between mainstream German political parties to not work with the far right for fears of allowing extreme political parties to take over, as the Nazi party did decades ago. Merz, for his part, has already said he will not work with the AFD. That means despite their electoral success, they will likely be shut out of whatever coalition government forms.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
As for the future of Germany, there is still a lot that's not known. Merz has vowed to crack down on immigration, cut taxes, and be a voice of strong leadership in Europe, particularly on the issue of Ukraine, which is about to enter its third year of war. The same night Merz's party declared victory, Russia launched the largest drone attack against Ukraine of the conflict.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
And despite his long championing of U.S.-German ties, Merz has been critical of Trump and pledged to help Europe achieve, quote, real independence from the U.S., Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Six hostages were freed by Hamas over the weekend. But on Sunday, both sides of the ceasefire agreement accused the other of violating it.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
And Israel delayed the expected release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the prisoners won't be freed until Hamas agrees to releasing future hostages without, quote, "'humiliating ceremonies.'" Reuters reports that's in reference to recent handovers of hostages that U.N.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
officials said went against international law because they were not respectful. Hamas has made hostages appear on stages and coffins containing remains have been passed through crowds. Hamas denies humiliating hostages and says any ceasefire talks are now dependent on the release of those prisoners.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
Meanwhile, CNN reports Israel is expanding its operations in the occupied West Bank, sending tanks in for the first time in decades. In domestic news, it's been less than a month since an American Airlines plane collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., killing everyone on board both aircraft. One of the victims, Kia Duggins, was a young lawyer traveling back to D.C.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
after visiting family in Wichita. Her boyfriend, Adrian Ma, is a host for NPR's Planet Money. He recently returned to the air after taking a little time off and spoke in an emotional interview about the crash, his grief, and what he wants the world to know about who his girlfriend was.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
And the move is raising more questions about the extent of Elon Musk's authority and whether firing government employees in this way is even legal. Here's Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen speaking on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
You can find Ma's full interview linked in our show notes page. And finally, American alpine skier Michaela Schifrin collected her 100th World Cup title over the weekend, topping the podium in slalom in Italy. The win came just a few months after a bad crash on the slopes left her with a puncture wound in her abdomen.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
The Athletic has a story about Schifrin's journey to becoming the winningest alpine skier ever and the team of mostly women she's assembled over the past few years to do it. From her coaches to physical therapists, The Athletic reports Schifrin was intentional about putting women at the forefront of her team and how the results speak for themselves with dominance on the mountain.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Bloomberg Businessweek asks if Trump supporter Dr. Phil's TV network can make it in a saturated news marketplace. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
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Musk’s latest email to federal employees sows more confusion
And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Francis was often referred to as the people's pope, but his openness to modifying the church's teachings made him a controversial figure to many.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Two of the issues Francis was most outspoken about were climate change and the plight of immigrants.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
He even took on President Trump.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
In that letter, the pope specifically called out Vice President J.D. Vance, who is a Catholic, for defending Trump's deportation plans on theological grounds. Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, the two met, with Pope Francis presenting the vice president with three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance's three kids, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries. Vance told the pope he prays for him every day.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
The Pope was also outspoken about the war in Gaza and has called for an investigation to determine if Israel's attacks constitute genocide. And he has said he remains in near daily contact with a parish in the Gaza Strip. These positions and his general approach to the papacy earned him many admirers, McElwee told us.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
The College of Cardinals will soon convene a papal conclave to elect Francis's successor. Let's turn now to new reporting, which found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive military information using the Signal app in a second chat. Here's CNN's senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak speaking on the network last night.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
That includes flight schedules for fighter jets attacking Houthi rebels. These were the same attack plans shared over Signal with other high-level cabinet leaders and, mistakenly, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg last month. This chat, however, did not include any other cabinet officials.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Hegseth's brother and lawyer both have jobs at the Pentagon, but it's not clear either have security clearance for this level of military information. Hegseth's wife, a former Fox News producer who's accompanied him on travels overseas, has been criticized for attending sensitive meetings with foreign leaders.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
A Defense Department spokesperson denied that Hegseth shared any classified information, and a White House press person downplayed the significance of the second group chat. The first Signal group chat we learned about was created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
This second group chat, again reportedly created by Hegseth, was formed before his confirmation and continued after his confirmation. The New York Times reports it was created at first for routine administration and scheduling. Here's Liptack again.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
He was 88 years old. Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, had been discharged from a hospital just last month where he was diagnosed with double pneumonia. He died after the holiest weekend in the year for Catholics. Just a day earlier, Pope Francis oversaw Easter mass services and blessed thousands of worshipers in St. Peter's Square.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
The chaos he's referring to has to do with a few recent high up firings in Hegseth's office. Former top Pentagon spokesperson John Elliott wrote in an op-ed piece for Politico that the last month at the Defense Department has been a, quote, full blown meltdown, saying leaks and dysfunction have now become a major distraction for President Trump. Elliott himself resigned last week.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
And he criticized Hegseth for firing three officials for reportedly leaking sensitive information, a move that left the defense secretary's already dwindling leadership team short-staffed. Those three officials recently said they don't know what exactly they were being investigated for or if there was a real leak investigation to begin with.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Former Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh went on MSNBC, saying the firing of those officials is unusual.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Good morning. It's Monday, April 21st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth sent war plans in a second signal chat, the Supreme Court issues a rare overnight ruling on deportations, and the world's oldest marathon, the Boston Marathon, is today. But first, Pope Francis has died. His death was announced early this morning by the Vatican.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Meanwhile, in another case involving the alleged improper disclosure of sensitive government information, The Washington Post reports officials under President Trump and President Biden inadvertently shared sensitive documents, including potentially classified White House floor plans.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
The information was sent via a Google Drive link to all employees of the General Services Administration, which provides administrative and tech support for the federal government and employs more than 11,000 people. This revelation spurred a cybersecurity incident report and investigation last week and was found to have continued over at least four years, spanning administrations.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
The White House did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment on Sunday. One security expert told The Post the breach indicates, quote, a general need to strengthen safety training measures for government workers who must live and work in a digital age.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Now to a major and rare ruling this weekend on President Trump's deportation and imprisonment policy for people the administration claims are Venezuelan gang members.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Early Saturday morning, the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration cannot deport a group of migrants being held in Texas under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century law that Trump invoked to remove certain immigrants without due process.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
It was a 7-2 ruling, with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting, and Alito saying the rushed overnight ruling was neither, quote, necessary or appropriate. It comes less than two weeks after the Supreme Court said the administration does have the authority to invoke this law to speed up deportations, at least for now.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Francis had many firsts to his name, including being the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pontiff, and the first non-European to lead the Catholic Church in close to 1,000 years. He was elected in 2013 and was seen as a fresh voice attempting to modernize the papacy.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
In this case, the Trump administration attempted to load dozens of men from an immigration detention center in Anson, Texas, onto planes, presumably to be sent to El Salvador's harshest prison. The ACLU sued, and lawyers for the migrants say they were given paperwork to sign in English indicating that they were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren del Aragua.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Some do not speak English, and according to the federal judge who heard their case, the paperwork didn't include an option for the men to indicate they wanted to go to court and challenge their removal. That would violate the spirit of a ruling from the Supreme Court earlier this month that said immigration detainees should be given reasonable time to appeal their deportations.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
A key hurdle for the ACLU and other attorneys representing the migrants is that they're having to file requests for emergency orders in courts all over the country within different jurisdictions. And according to the ACLU, in this case, the administration moved migrants from one jurisdiction where a judge had banned deportations to a different one where it wasn't banned.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
MSNBC legal affairs correspondent Joyce Vance explained this is why the Supreme Court is being forced to take on so many last-minute requests.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
In the meantime, there may be even more rulings in different places.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
As all of this was going on, busloads of what were reported to be migrants, mostly or all from Venezuela, were seen headed toward an airport in North Texas before being abruptly turned around. In response to the Supreme Court ruling, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt posted on X, quote, that the administration is confident it will prevail.
Apple News Today
The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Google is back in court today for the final phase of a major antitrust suit. The Justice Department has been making the case for years that Google is acting like a monopoly. And if the DOJ ultimately prevails, it could force Google to break up its businesses.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Just last week, a judge ruled Google illegally monopolized some online advertising technology markets. Google has already said it plans to appeal, saying in a statement they disagree with the judge's decision and that publishers choose Google over its rivals because it has superior ad tech tools.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
He said the Vatican needed to evolve from its strict orthodoxy on abortion, birth control, and homosexuality, and embrace being more merciful. Joshua McElwee is the Vatican correspondent for Reuters and spoke to us about Francis's legacy.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Last week's decision marked the second time in a year a judge ruled that Google operates as an illegal monopoly. In international news, over the weekend, the Israeli military said that it had reviewed an incident last month during which Israeli forces killed 15 emergency responders in Gaza.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
Their review found several professional failures, and the military says a commander would be dismissed as a result. The incident took place on March 23rd, when 15 paramedics and other rescue workers were killed in three separate shootings in Rafah, which is in South Gaza. Their bodies were buried in a shallow grave and discovered a week later by officials from the U.N.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
and the Palestine Red Crescent. Cellphone footage recovered from the phone of one of the killed men showed he and his colleagues wearing uniforms that clearly identified them as rescue workers and their vehicles with emergency lights on. The president of the Palestine Red Crescent Society said there are a lot of contradictions in Israel's account and called the killings a war crime.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
And finally, today is the Boston Marathon, and Boston Public Radio station WGBH has the story of Bob Hall, who became the first wheelchair competitor in the race 50 years ago. Hall was told by the race's organizers that his marathon would only be recognized if he could complete it in under three hours. He beat that by two minutes.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
And this was 50 years ago, so he was using a far less fast or efficient wheelchair than the ones made today. Since his race, nearly 1,900 other wheelchair athletes have competed in marathons, including five-time Boston winner and eight-time Paralympic gold medalist Tatiana McFadden. She told The Washington Post that she and so many wheelchair racers credit their success to Hall, who paved the way.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The New Yorker investigates why dozens of people in recent years starved to death while detained in county jails across the United States. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
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The pope’s legacy, plus a second Signal chat with war plans
And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
The family's been informed he's being held at an ICE facility. A customs spokesperson said Schmidt was detained because of a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge from 2015, a charge that was dropped. It is possible for green card holders like Schmidt to be stripped of their legal permanent residency status, but U.S. law states they need to appear before a judge before that can happen.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Some people being arrested aren't legal residents, they're tourists. In San Diego, two German tourists, Jessica Broesch and Lucas Siloff, were apprehended separately as they each tried to return to the U.S. from Mexico. Both had tourist visas. Siloff's fiancé, Lennon Tyler, told the San Diego NBC affiliate they traveled together often and never had issues re-entering the U.S. before.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Nikita Loving was traveling with Jessica Broch when she was detained, and she told NBC her arrest stemmed from Broch's plans to tattoo Loving. Broch is a tattoo artist, and she'd been working on various tattoos for Loving for years. Immigration authorities said that plan qualified as work, which meant Broch's tourist visa was invalid.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
But Loving told NBC Broch was planning to tattoo her as a gift with no money involved.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
There's Rebecca Burke, a British tourist who was backpacking through the U.S. She tried to cross into Canada, the Seattle Times reports, but Canada rejected her because she planned to stay with a host family and do chores in exchange for food and lodging. Canadian authorities said she needed a work visa for that, not a tourist visa.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
But when Burke tried to go back to the U.S., her father says she was handcuffed and taken to a detention center. ICE officials say she was detained for violating terms and conditions of her admission, but they didn't immediately provide more information about what that meant. Burke's father spoke with Sky News.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration's hardline stance on immigration has impacted tourism overall. The number of overseas visitors to the U.S. fell 2.4 percent in February compared to last year, according to government data.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
And the research firm Tourism Economics estimates over the course of this year, tourism will decline by 5 percent as a result of Trump's, quote, polarizing policies and rhetoric. That would have a significant economic impact, potentially billions of dollars lost at a time when the U.S. economy is already on shaky ground due to Trump's tariffs and escalating trade wars.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Let's stick with President Trump's crackdown on immigration and look at a specific law being cited in some deportation orders that hasn't been invoked since World War II. Over the weekend, Trump deported about 238 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, despite a court order blocking the flights.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
They were sent to El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele says they will be held in a terrorism confinement facility for one year. Immigration and politics reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez said on CBS News Trump's deportation directions to the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice cited the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
The Alien Enemies Act is a wartime power most famously used in the internment of Japanese Americans, as well as Germans and Italians during World War II, and it gives the president and government broad powers. It's only been used three times during the War of 1812 and both world wars. Here's Montoya Galvez again.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
The White House argues it didn't violate a court order because it's up to the president to decide who poses a significant risk to the United States and whether to expel them. The ACLU, in a challenge to Trump's actions, said the act shouldn't apply here since the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela. The timing of the flights could become a big issue.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Since then, it's been reported that more people who, like him, were in the U.S. legally, either through green cards or valid visas, have been detained or deported in recent weeks as well. Let's start in Boston with a doctor who was returning to the U.S. from visiting family in Lebanon.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
The New York Times reports the judge's ruling was issued shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday. The ruling even said, if necessary, planes should turn around. But it's unclear when exactly the planes landed in El Salvador. If it turns out the planes touched ground after the judge's order was filed, that could set up a constitutional showdown between the president and the judiciary.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Now to Washington, where lawmakers in the Senate voted Friday to pass a Republican stopgap spending bill preventing a government shutdown. The bill will fund the government until September. Republicans say the bill won't affect social safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
But the Congressional Budget Office has said this budget will be impossible to execute without cutting into at least one of those. The bill also targeted a bucket of spending that has long been treated as its own entity, the local budget for Washington, D.C.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Good morning. It's Monday, March 17th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the wartime law that Trump used to deport hundreds of Venezuelans, how Congress put D.C. 's budget in limbo, and NCAA tournament brackets are here. But first, it's been just over a week since immigration authorities arrested Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
See, even though the district has its own mayor and council who enact their budget, Congress has ultimate authority over it because it's not a state. And in this federal spending bill, the budget for D.C. was cut by $1 billion, even though Congress had already approved that money several times and local officials had already started to spend it.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
On Friday, senators unanimously passed a separate piece of legislation to allow the district's 2025 budget to stand after D.C. leaders and residents protested the decision. But with Congress now in recess for the week, the House will not vote on it until next Monday at the earliest. So the district is still in limbo for now.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
We spoke with Washington Post reporter Megan Flynn about the impact this cut could have on the city, residents, and the tens of millions of tourists who visit the nation's capital every year.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Stopgap spending bills typically exclude money related to D.C. 's budget. But in this bill, House Republicans removed that exception.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
We're already halfway through the fiscal year, so Flynn told us city officials will most likely have to resort to immediate layoffs and furloughs of essential workers, people like teachers, firefighters, police officers, public defenders, and transit workers. The public transit system, which serves D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, could alone face a $200 million loss.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Rasha Alouia, who lives in Rhode Island, was stopped at the airport where immigration authorities told her she would be deported. Her lawyer told the Providence Journal Alouia initially had some challenges applying for her H-1B visa, but those were resolved and she'd been cleared to return to the U.S. legally.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Some lawmakers who want to see D.C. 's budget restored are arguing making cuts there does effectively nothing to balance the federal budget or reduce federal spending.
Apple News Today
Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following, starting with tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms tearing up the country. At least 40 people are dead, hundreds injured and many without power after a streak of damaging weather events. In Kansas, at least eight people were killed after dozens of vehicles were involved in a crash caused by a dust storm.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Mississippi's governor said at least six people were killed by tornadoes in the state. And in Missouri, at least a dozen people died as twisters spread through the state overnight on Saturday. In international news, the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen over the weekend, killing 53 people, including five children. That's according to the rebels' health ministry.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
The Trump administration said the strikes were in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and also issued a warning to Iran. The Houthis have vowed to target U.S. ships in the region as long as the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox Business there would be an unrelenting missile campaign until the attacks stopped.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
And finally, March Madness begins this week as the NCAA basketball tournament gets underway. In the men's bracket, the Auburn Tigers were selected the No. 1 overall seed and are joined by Duke, Florida, and Houston as the other top seeds. The Southeastern Conference, which Auburn is a member of, is fielding a record 14 schools in the 68-team bracket. Meanwhile, on the women's side, UCLA is the No.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
1 overall seed with South Carolina, Texas, and USC taking the other three No. 1 spots. The men tip off on Thursday, the women on Friday. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
With health systems hollowed and public trust on the decline, New York Magazine explains that our ability to fight a possible bird flu pandemic if things get worse may not be enough. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
When she was detained, the journal reports that Alawiya had no access to her lawyer or phone. A federal judge issued an order to stop her deportation, but her flight back to Lebanon ended up taking off anyway. A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection said their officers adhered to protocol.
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Why immigration agents detained tourists and green-card holders
Also in Boston, the family of Fabian Schmidt, a green card holder from Luxembourg, said he was returning to the U.S. from Luxembourg. His partner was waiting to pick him up for hours, but he never came out. When his family called authorities, they learned he had been arrested by immigration officials. His mother told GBH in Boston they stripped Schmidt naked and violently interrogated him.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
This outbreak comes as the nation's leading health official, newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faces ongoing scrutiny for his long history of anti-vaccine activism. He downplayed that history in his confirmation hearings and told senators he believes vaccines play a critical role in health care.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
And NPR reports that Kennedy now has influence over a key panel called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which guides U.S. policy on vaccines and recommends the vaccine schedule for kids and adults. Public health reporter Ping Wang explained for NPR how that could impact vaccinations nationwide.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Shortly after his confirmation, Kennedy told Fox News he doesn't trust people who serve on advisory panels like this. NPR notes the people on this particular panel are typically experts with advanced medical degrees who specialize in vaccines, pediatrics and the immune system. They also hold regular public meetings to discuss what the latest science says on the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
But Kennedy has questioned the motivations people have for joining these kinds of panels.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Former CDC director Tom Frieden has said that's not true. He said committee members are vetted for conflicts of interest and ties to vaccine manufacturers. And once they're on the panel, they're required to file annual disclosure reports.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Wong on NPR said during the confirmation hearings, at least one senator expressed concerns that Kennedy could replace all of the panel members with vaccine skeptics like himself.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Let's turn now to the wave of resignations that rocked the Justice Department at the end of last week. It started when prosecutors were ordered to dismiss charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, which include bribery, fraud and conspiracy to personally enrich himself by working with foreign nationals, charges that he has pleaded not guilty to.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The person who directed prosecutors to drop the case is Emil Bove, the number two ranking official at the Justice Department. Bove said the DOJ's prosecution of Adams would interfere with Adams' upcoming mayoral campaign and impact the mayor's ability to take action on crime and illegal immigration, as the Trump administration has directed.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
So far, at least seven officials at the Justice Department chose to quit following Bove's order to drop the charges. Reuters reporter Sarah Lynch covers the DOJ, which is supposed to be an independent, apolitical arm of government. And she told us the country hasn't seen something like this in decades.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The resignations started with Danielle Sassoon, the former U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, who was Manhattan's top federal prosecutor. She previously clerked for conservative judges, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In a letter to the attorney general, Sassoon wrote she believed the law does not support dismissing the charges against Adams.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
And she felt, quote, confident that he committed the crimes. Beauvais responded by saying he would strip the case from Sassoon's office. He opened an investigation into her conduct. And Lynch said he kept pushing to get the case dropped.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
State health authorities report at least 48 confirmed cases, but say as many as 300 people might be infected. It's Texas's worst outbreak of the highly contagious disease in 30 years. The majority of confirmed cases are in Gaines County, along the New Mexico border.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
One lawyer who resigned wrote that only a, quote, fool or coward would obey Beauvais' order. But one person ultimately did, Edward Sullivan. The Washington Post spoke to sources who said, at first, all the lawyers who were asked to do this agreed to resign rather than follow the order.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
But Sullivan, who is close to retirement, offered to be the one to sign the dismissal motion to save his colleagues from being fired and give them time to find new jobs.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Prosecutors have argued that Beauvais' reasoning for dismissing the charges against Adams so the mayor could work with the Trump administration on immigration initiatives appears to be a case of quid pro quo, which both Beauvais and Adams have denied.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
However, Trump's border czar, Tom Holman, who appeared on Fox & Friends alongside Mayor Adams just before the weekend, described what sounded like a quid pro quo type of agreement.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Lynch told us this incident has amplified existing concerns about the DOJ's conduct as the Trump administration continues to fire and reassign career officials.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The motion to dismiss the charges was filed on Friday and signed by Beauvais himself. A judge needs to review it before Adams' case is officially dropped. Now to a state that could feel the sweeping effects of Trump's immigration crackdown harder than most, Nebraska. Immigrants make up the backbone of Nebraska's meat processing industry.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The state is one of the top meat producers in the country, but it has one of the worst labor shortages of any state. A study released last year by Nebraska's Economic Chamber found there are only 39 workers for every 100 open jobs. And the report concluded there's really only one way to fill all these roles.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Good morning. It's Monday, February 17th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, protest resignations at the Department of Justice. Nebraska, a state that relies on an immigrant workforce, braces for deportations, and disaster in Kentucky after deadly floods. But first, an outbreak of measles is sweeping through parts of Texas.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Jasmine Garst is NPR's immigration correspondent.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
At the same time, Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted for President Trump. And if his mass deportation plans impact Nebraska, it would not only affect the state's economy in a major way, but also our wider food system. Some residents told Garst they're not convinced Trump's efforts will actually impact them.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The Texas Department of State Health Services says every infected person is either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. Most of the confirmed cases are school-aged children.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
But as she traveled through Nebraska for her reporting, she noticed how fear has transformed communities already.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Since Trump's inauguration, immigration raids have been concentrated in major cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. According to ICE, immigration officials are making anywhere from 600 to 1,100 arrests a day. The Washington Post reports the town of O'Neill, Nebraska, is still recovering from a raid during Trump's first term in 2018.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
A number of businesses closed after they couldn't find workers to replace people who were detained, and at least 100 families moved away. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're watching. The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on his firing of Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee who leads the Office of Special Counsel.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The OSC is an agency that investigates whistleblower reports filed by government workers. Dellinger turned around and sued the Trump administration, saying his termination violates a law protecting leaders of independent agencies from being fired by a president without good cause.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
As The Washington Post puts it, this is the first time Trump is appealing to the Supreme Court for help in his efforts to seize greater control of the federal government. Meanwhile, Trump posted this phrase to social media over the weekend, quote, he who saves his country does not violate any laws.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
That's Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins, speaking to CBS.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
This comes as some of the president's allies have challenged the legitimacy of judicial checks on Trump. The original quote has been attributed to French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, who declared himself an emperor. In New York, five people were charged with second-degree murder in the death of a transgender man authorities said suffered prolonged abuse and torture.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
One state police captain called it, quote, one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated. Authorities said 24-year-old Sam Norquist was abused between December and February, which led to his death. All five suspects are being held without bail. And heavy rain and extreme flooding led to eight deaths in Kentucky this weekend.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said most fatalities were due to people getting trapped in their water-submerged cars. Tens of thousands of people were without power. President Trump approved the state's request for a disaster declaration and authorized FEMA to coordinate relief efforts. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Time magazine spoke with researchers who are racing to understand why more young adults are getting diagnosed with cancer. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
The measles virus can live in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours. That means an unvaccinated person can catch the illness even without being in the same room as an infected person.
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Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
According to the Dallas Morning News, the outbreak in Gaines County is largely concentrated in the Mennonite population, a religious sect that one Texas health official described as close-knit and under-vaccinated. In the county, nearly 18 percent of all kindergartners were exempt from the measles vaccine in the 2023 to 2024 school year. That's much higher than the national average of 3.3 percent.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
It's important to point out that the acquisitions in question were vetted and cleared by the FTC more than a decade ago. The government, however, now says Meta may not have been forthcoming during that process. As all of this is going on, Zuckerberg has sought to curry favor with President Trump. Meta settled a previous lawsuit over the banning of Trump's accounts.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
And Zuckerberg reportedly made trips to Mar-a-Lago and the White House to personally lobby Trump to direct the FTC to drop this antitrust case. Feiner says it's yet to be seen whether or not that investment will pay off for Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs who have lobbied Trump. Feiner says a recent decision against Google also matters here.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
A judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized the online search market, which could open the door for other important cases to go against big tech companies.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
If Meta loses this case, the government could force it to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp into separate companies. They currently generate billions of dollars for Meta. For consumers, Feiner told us, it could mean potentially better social media platforms in the future.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
The trial is expected to last several weeks. Big name current and former Meta executives like Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg are expected to take the stand. Let's turn now to several big changes at the Social Security Administration.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Wired reports that the agency plans to move all public communications to Elon Musk's social media platform, X. That's raising questions and concerns, considering many U.S. residents, particularly seniors who rely on this information to better understand their benefits, do not have accounts on the X platform. The agency called this claim false on X, but Wired says they stand by their reporting.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Also at the Social Security Agency, The Washington Post is reporting a new Trump administration tactic targeting mostly Latino immigrants is cutting people off from benefits by purposely and falsely labeling them dead. At the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
The Social Security Administration entered the names and legally obtained social security numbers of more than 6,000 immigrants who entered the country during the Biden administration into a database that the agency uses to track and cancel benefits for dead people.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
But first, social media giant Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is in court starting today in a massive antitrust trial that could change the entire social media landscape. The Federal Trade Commission alleges the company violated antitrust laws when it acquired Instagram in 2012 and the messaging service WhatsApp in 2014.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
That effectively canceled their social security numbers, meaning they could soon no longer have the ability to work legally in the United States, open bank accounts and credit cards, secure housing and more.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
That's Lisa Rine, a federal government reporter for The Washington Post. She spoke with us about the White House's motivations for this move.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
A White House official told The Post that the people whose social security numbers were canceled had ties to terrorist activity or had criminal records, though Ryan told us they didn't provide evidence to support those claims. They also said nearly 1,000 of these people were receiving benefits through Medicaid, 41 were collecting unemployment, and 22 had student loans.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Ryan told us the administration's move here is trying to push people to leave the country by cutting off their access to critical financial services.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
This represents a stunning turn in data privacy at the Social Security Administration, where under previous administrations, personal information had been closely guarded. It's just the latest example of the extraordinary measures Elon Musk and his Doge team have employed to access and share personal data that had historically been off limits to immigration authorities.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
It comes on the heels of another unusual agreement that we talked about on this show, where the IRS recently agreed to share information with the Department of Homeland Security for undocumented immigrants. In recent weeks, President Trump has tried to exert more influence on institutes of higher education by withholding financial support schools have relied on for decades.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
The Trump administration paused over $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University. It announced plans to pause an additional $790 million to Northwestern and more than $1 billion to Cornell. And it's threatened to cut $9 billion in contracts and grants at Harvard.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
This money helps schools do things like keep the lights on at labs, pay salaries to educators and researchers, and fund research projects. Without it, much of that work comes to a halt. At Northwestern, for example, researchers with federal grants received 100 stop-work orders in recent days, which will impact studies related to Parkinson's disease, nanotechnology, and foreign military training.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Good morning. It's Monday, April 14th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why the Social Security Administration is declaring some people dead falsely and on purpose. Higher ed institutions are doing disaster budgeting. And those tariff exemptions for smartphones and other electronics will be short-lived.
Apple News Today
The legal fight that could reshape social media
Over at the University of Missouri, Bloomberg reporter Elizabeth Rambert spoke to a researcher named Carrie Clark, who recently lost funding for a project that she spent a decade on that took up about a quarter of her work, developing machines to make harvesting processes for farmers in Africa more efficient. Rambert told us about her work.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Lauren Feiner is a senior policy writer for The Verge, and she told us the government is arguing Meta with those acquisitions essentially became a monopoly.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Clark says losing her research funding, which came from USAID, felt like losing a child. And Rembert told us the impact of these kinds of funding cuts could hit far beyond college campuses.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
And there are other ways higher ed institutions are being impacted by the administration, through efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, plans to raise endowment taxes, threats to cut funding for schools that support transgender athletes or diversity initiatives, and at schools where students and academics have been outspoken against the war in Gaza.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Behind the scenes, colleges and universities are scrambling to figure out what they would do if a large chunk of their budget suddenly gets cut. An expert in higher ed told Rembert administrators are likely working on two versions of their budgets right now. One that assumes the status quo stays and another that's a, quote, disaster budget that accounts for losing government support.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. First, to the latest on tariffs.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
After the Trump administration said electronics like smartphones and computers would be exempt from steep tariffs on China, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick now says that move will be temporary and that President Trump in about a month or two will impose a, quote, special focus type of tariff on those items. Trump posted on social media that he is looking at the whole electronics supply chain.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
He says the administration plans to target semiconductors and pharmaceuticals next. some significant developments in Gaza over the weekend. Israel says it has completely encircled the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt and established a security zone separating it and the city of Khan Yunus.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said Israel would create the corridor to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages being held. The government in Rafah called the zone illegitimate and condemned the move.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike destroyed part of a hospital in northern Gaza early yesterday, effectively incapacitating the last fully functioning hospital in Gaza City, as Israel's military operation continues to expand and intensify. And a man in Pennsylvania has been charged with attempted murder, terrorism, and other offenses in connection with a fire set at Governor Josh Shapiro's residence.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Shapiro and his family were sleeping at the time. There were no injuries, but a significant amount of damage. The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting the 38-year-old man turned himself in to police and told them he did it because he hated Shapiro and had intended to harm him. The incident occurred on the first night of Passover.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
When asked if the fire is being investigated as a hate crime, state police told the Philadelphia Inquirer, quote, all avenues will be explored. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. There are just shy of 150 working payphones left in Los Angeles.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
The FTC cites a 2012 email in its argument where Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg names startups like Instagram as potentially disruptive to its business. Meta says the company always competes fairly and is facing punishment for its success in growing those apps into major players in the social media world.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
And thanks to a pair of artists, one way that you can use them is to record a farewell message to say goodbye to a loved one or thank you or just to turn a new page. It's called The Goodbye Line, and the LA Times sat down with the creators of this project to learn more about their mission to make goodbyes less lonely.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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The legal fight that could reshape social media
Feiner says the crux of the FTC's argument is that Meta monopolizes personal social networking services, a definition that will matter a lot in this case. The way the FTC views it.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Musk, in his role as chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, has referred to USAID as a criminal organization and said that he was, quote, feeding USAID into the woodchipper. Last week, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt listed some examples of expenditures by USAID that she says prove that it's full of waste and corruption.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
The Washington Post and PolitiFact have fact-checked those claims. It is true that USAID provided $1.5 million to a group in Serbia to reduce discrimination against the country's LGBTQ community, but the $70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland is false. That grant came from the State Department, not USAID, and it went toward a music festival, not a musical, to, quote, promote the U.S.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
and Irish shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. As for the opera in Colombia, that money also came from the State Department, not USAID. And the Fulbright program, not USAID, provided the grant that went to the comic book in Peru, which more broadly featured an LGBTQ plus character. Meanwhile, President Trump claimed USAID gave $8 million to Politico.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
This is also not true. Staffers at USAID spent $40,000 on Politico subscriptions. In surveys, Americans believe the U.S. spends roughly 25% of our budget on foreign aid. The truth is, foreign aid is less than 1% of our budget. And The Washington Post reports that American farms supply about 41% of the food aid that USAID sends around the world each year.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
In raw numbers, that totaled more than $2 billion in food bought from American farmers in 2020. So the impacts of the cuts would be felt here at home as well. Even Trump's own Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has been outspoken in the past about the need to maintain America's foreign aid and the influence that comes with doing so. Here he is speaking in February of 2013, for example.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
And here's Rubio again in August of 2019.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
So we asked the Atlantic's Russell Berman, why does the Trump administration see it as advantageous to slash USAID?
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
But first, President Trump on Sunday gave an interview with Fox News' Brett Baier and discussed Elon Musk's efforts to cut back on what they see as government waste.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
It's unclear if the courts will allow these cuts to go forward. A recent paper published by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service says USAID cannot be moved, abolished or consolidated without approval from Congress. But Trump's allies say the Constitution allows Trump to gut this agency and that it's the courts, not the president, who are overstepping by trying to stop him.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Just this weekend, Vice President J.D. Vance said on social media judges are not allowed to, quote, control the executive's legitimate power. Here's a name of a recent cabinet appointment that you should know. Russ Vogt, who was confirmed last week as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Vogt served in this role for two years during Trump's first term, during which time he froze military aid to Ukraine and delayed funding for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. And while the budget office isn't as glamorous as some of the other departments we've talked a lot about, it has a tremendous amount of power.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Vogt has described OMB as, quote, a president's air traffic control system and the nerve center of the federal government. Here he is in an interview with Tucker Carlson last November.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
The other reason to know Vogt's name? He was one of the chief architects of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for Trump's second term.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
That's Megan Messerly, White House reporter for Politico.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Though Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he had nothing to do with Project 2025.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Messerly says we're already seeing so much of it unfolding.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Good morning. It's Monday, February 10th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a key architect of Project 2025 has a big role in Trump's cabinet. Why Super Bowl chicken wings are cheap as egg prices skyrocket. And a night the Chiefs and Drake may never recover from.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Some of the other goals laid out in Project 2025, disbanding the commerce and education departments, undoing climate protections, and redefining marriage and family according to the Bible. During the 2024 presidential campaign, these ideas polled extremely unpopular with voters. In fact, an NBC News poll from last September found that just 4% of voters viewed the plan favorably.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Last week, every Democrat in the Senate voted against votes nomination. All 53 Republicans voted to confirm, with Politico reporting that Republicans in both chambers are feeling enthusiastic about vote and his ability to enact Trump's agenda.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
The day after he was confirmed by the Senate, the Trump administration tapped vote to be acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and his first email to the staff instructed them to stop work immediately. He has since said the bureau will be closed for at least a week.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
The CFPB is a watchdog agency intended to look out for American consumers and shield them from misleading or fraudulent practices by banks, credit cards or loan agencies. Just a few weeks ago, before Trump took office, the CFPB sued Capital One, alleging the bank cheated customers out of $2 billion by underpaying the interest on savings accounts. Capital One says it disagrees with the claims.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
It's estimated that 1.47 billion chicken wings were consumed over Super Bowl weekend, according to the National Chicken Council, which led NPR to ask the very good question with bird flu going around. How come we're seeing such high prices on eggs, but not the same kind of scarcity with chicken wings?
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Well, as it turns out, it's because chickens raised for meat live on different farms than the chickens raised for laying eggs. And even though the chickens that become our wings aren't immune from bird flu, they haven't been hit as hard by the current outbreak. The farmers who raise eggs, on the other hand, are scrambling.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Here's one farmer who has a flock of 14 million egg-laying hens across three states speaking to NPR.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
So far, Trump and Musk have moved to freeze most foreign aid for 90 days and reduce USAID's workforce of 10,000-plus to around 600 people. On Friday afternoon, a district judge nominated by Trump temporarily halted those plans until a hearing later this week. But that didn't stop the Trump administration from sending crews over to the agency headquarters to remove their name from the building.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
That farmer told NPR that it can take six months to a year to recover after a flock of hens is wiped out from bird flu. So far, there are no signs of bird flu easing up. In fact, it seems to be spreading. Last week, we learned that a new strain of bird flu has infected dairy cows in Nevada. And this weekend, bird flu was detected in poultry markets in New York City.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Here's Elizabeth Walters, deputy commissioner for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, addressing the outbreak.
Apple News Today
How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Bird flu is also responsible for the death of three ducks at the Queen's Zoo and as many as 12 birds at the Bronx Zoo. There's no evidence yet that there's a widespread risk to humans, but Scientific American's chief opinion editor says she's concerned about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention being muzzled.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
The Trump administration has ordered the agency not to release any communications that aren't first approved by Trump's team. Several studies about bird flu haven't been published, including one about the number of veterinarians who've contracted the virus. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're watching.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
On his way to the Super Bowl, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States starting today, and that we should expect to see more action on tariffs later this week. Trump said the tariffs apply to all countries, including Canada and Mexico, our largest trading partners.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
So far, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all products coming from China. He also threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico before backing down and putting that decision on pause. At the Super Bowl, meanwhile, the Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in a lopsided victory, defeating the two-time defending champs 40-22. The Chiefs fell behind early and were never able to recover.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
It means they failed to accomplish the rare and coveted three-peat. Apple Sports editor Shakur Saman was at the game.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts led the Eagles' charge with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. He took home Super Bowl MVP honors. The last time the Eagles won the Super Bowl was in 2018. At the time, Donald Trump was president, and the team decided not to attend a ceremony at the White House. Last night's other big winner, halftime performer Kendrick Lamar.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Lamar didn't just become the first solo rap artist in history to headline the Super Bowl. He brought his world-renowned Drake diss track, Not Like Us, to one of the world's biggest stages. That's after it already won five Grammys last Sunday, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. There were big questions about whether he and the NFL would avoid the song altogether.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Drake is suing Lamar's record label for allowing Lamar to call him a pedophile on the track, an accusation which Drake denies. But to fans' delight, Lamar performed it, leaving out that key word. And when he got to the song's most famous line, the entire stadium sang along.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
As we've mentioned on this show before, USAID provides about 40 percent of the world's humanitarian aid. While some conservatives have grown increasingly critical of sending American aid abroad, The Atlantic's Russell Berman told us people on both sides of the aisle have been surprised.
Apple News Today
How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
Lamar's dancers wore the colors of the American flag, and he recruited some heavyweights in what felt like a nod to Compton, the takedown of Drake, and a scathing review of race relations in America. DJ and record producer Mustard and SZA performed. Samuel L. Jackson played the part of Uncle Sam. Serena Williams made a surprise appearance dancing on stage.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
She and Drake are rumored to have once dated, the implication being that she is now on Team Lamar, too. The 13-minute show ended with the words, Game Over, lit up. A message clearly to Drake, but it also worked in the context of the actual game, when the Chiefs were already down 24-0 by the half. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine has a story about yonder pouches, security devices referred to as phone prisons, meant to keep students from using their phones while at school. Turns out, though, students have already figured out how to get around them.
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How the Eagles, and Kendrick Lamar, won the Super Bowl
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
Besant also claimed that over 50 countries have been in contact with the United States since the announcement in order to begin trade negotiations. President Trump on social media said Americans need to, quote, hang tough and wait for the end result. He also recently said that it could take two years for American manufacturing to grow as a result of this policy.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
Sean Donnan, a senior writer for economics at Bloomberg News, told us that in the short term, a recession could cause companies to rethink their investment strategies.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
As the White House tries to kind of shock the economy into submission and reshape a global trade order, Donnan said it's going to be key to watch how other countries respond. China has already said that it will impose reciprocal tariffs of 34 percent on all imports from the U.S. beginning this week. The European Union is reportedly preparing a response as well.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
As Donnan points out in his reporting, when the U.S. imposed new tariffs in the 1930s, it sparked a broader trade war that is a historical reason for the concern here.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
There are some industries like steel and aluminum that have welcomed tariffs. They've watched their cheaper foreign competitors win business in their markets, and they're eager for change. Some Republican leaders are already expressing worries about future retaliatory tariffs the U.S. could face. And some parts of the organized labor sector that have voiced support are doing so with some caveats.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
Let's turn now to immigration, where the future is uncertain for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States legally under TPS, short for temporary protected status. TPS is a government designated protection for people who have fled countries that U.S. officials determined are not safe to return to, like Venezuela. And it allows them to work legally in the U.S.
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without the risk of deportation. The Department of Homeland Security initially planned to end TPS for around 350,000 Venezuelans today. But a federal judge last week paused that plan, saying deporting them would cause irreparable harm to families and cost billions in economic activity. One industry that could be seriously disrupted by more deportations is caregiving.
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Foreign-born workers make up a significant portion of caregivers in the United States. More than 40% of home health aides, close to 30% of personal care workers, and just over 20% of nursing assistants. That's according to data from 2022 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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And because these jobs are so demanding and relatively low paying, NBC and KFF Health News report they often struggle to attract enough American born workers to fill roles. So KFF Health News reporter Vanessa Sanchez told us increasingly immigrants are taking them.
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But first, businesses, economists and governments across the world are still digesting and reacting to sweeping tariffs enacted by the Trump administration. The announcement last week sent markets careening with the S&P 500 hitting the lowest level in almost a year. Last week was the worst for American stocks since the beginning of the pandemic five years ago.
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Sanchez told us about one woman living through this uncertainty. Alanis Ortiz is a Venezuelan immigrant and caregiver in New Jersey with TPS.
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Josephine's family told Sanchez Ortiz plays a critical role in her well-being, and they've been trying to win a reprieve for Ortiz. They've called congressional representatives. One family member wrote a letter to President Trump asking him to reconsider revoking TPS.
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And Josephine's mom, Krista, told Sanchez if anything happens to Ortiz, their family, and especially Josephine, would be, quote, gutted beyond belief.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
As for Ortiz, the possibility of losing her job and being deported has brought a lot of anxiety.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
The judge who paused the Department of Homeland Security's plan to revoke TPS gave the government until today to file notice of an appeal. On March 23rd, a few days after Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas and fighting resumed, a group of aid workers in ambulances approached an area in the town of Rafah, which borders Gaza, to assist people wounded by an Israeli airstrike.
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That's when Israeli soldiers opened fire. The Wall Street Journal reports after several hours, more vehicles, including a fire truck, more ambulances and a U.N. vehicle, showed up to look for their missing colleagues. And they, too, were fired upon. Now, so far, these facts of what happened that day, Israeli and Palestinian officials agree on. Israel's military says the event is under examination.
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Good morning. It's Monday, April 7th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States legally might be sent back. The U.N. learns more about what happened to rescue workers killed by Israeli troops. And UConn wins its record 12th women's basketball national championship.
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But in the meantime, it wasn't clear what had happened to the bodies of these rescue workers. After days of searching by the U.N., a phone call came in from an Israeli military official who directed them to a mass grave. Buried under sand were 15 bodies and their crushed vehicles.
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Eight were paramedics with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and six were from the Palestinian Civil Defense, which included firefighters and emergency responders. And one was a U.N. employee. Here's Jonathan Whittle, the head of the U.N. 's humanitarian office in Gaza and the West Bank, who took that phone call speaking at the gravesite.
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Over the weekend, thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C. and in cities across all 50 states to demonstrate against President Trump and Elon Musk in what organizers dubbed hands-off protests. Demonstrators told reporters they were motivated by a diverse list of issues, from Musk's overhaul of government agencies to cuts to medical research to tariffs.
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The audio quality isn't so great, but what he said was they were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave. Video of the incident contradicts the IDF's initial account of what happened. Here's Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkle speaking on the network about what the video shows.
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The Israeli military has since said their first account of what happened was a mistake. It claims nine Hamas militants were killed in the incident, including one who took part in the October 7th attacks in 2023. Reuters reports the Israeli government gave no evidence of how it made those identifications. Israel is expected to share more conclusions from its report sometime this week.
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Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Trump today to discuss the war as well as other topics like Iran and tariffs. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. A second child has died of measles in West Texas. The Houston Chronicle reports an eight-year-old girl died of measles pulmonary failure in Lubbock last Thursday.
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And Axios reports the death prompted a last-minute trip to Texas from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He says the most effective way to prevent measles is the MMR vaccine. The health publication Stat notes Kennedy stopped short of recommending the vaccine, which in the past he has falsely characterized as dangerous.
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500 cases of the measles have been reported across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The majority are in the South Plains and Panhandle region of Texas, where 481 confirmed cases have been reported since late January. A federal judge says the Trump administration must take steps to return a Maryland man who was erroneously deported to El Salvador.
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The administration last week said the judge had no power to order the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and that the judge was intruding on the president's power to direct foreign policy. The judge rejected that notion in an overnight opinion Sunday, saying Abrego Garcia was seized without lawful authority and that the U.S. government has the power to facilitate his return.
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Meanwhile, Politico reports that in addition to backlash from congressional Democrats and the courts, this case has also caused turmoil within the Justice Department.
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The career DOJ attorney who argued the case for the government was put on administrative leave after expressing exasperation about the department's unwillingness to provide more information to the court or take steps to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the attorney was put on leave, saying, quote, he shouldn't have taken the case.
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The administration filed an appeal on Sunday asking for an emergency stay of the judge's order. And finally, UConn is the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball National Champions. The two-seed Huskies dominated South Carolina on Sunday.
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This is a record 12th national championship for the UConn women, who were led by senior guard AZ Fudd and freshman Sarah Strong, who combined for 48 of the team's total points. Senior guard Paige Beckers, who's likely to be the first pick in the WNBA draft, scored 17. The men's championship game is tonight. Houston, who pulled off a big upset of Duke Saturday night, takes on Florida.
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And yet on Sunday, administration officials remained defiant and waved away forecasting that has shown the tariffs could tilt the U.S. economy into a recession. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant made the case on Meet the Press that there are long-term gains to be made here for the U.S. economy.
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As Trump’s tariffs take hold, how much pain can Americans handle?
You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. It's been three months since devastating wildfires erupted across Los Angeles, and there's still a long road ahead to recovery. But California's insurance market isn't making things any easier.
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The San Francisco Chronicle examines how faulty algorithms and a broken process have left scores of homeowners underinsured and unprotected. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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French President Emmanuel Macron told the newspaper Le Figaro that the peace proposal will include a one-month ceasefire by air, sea, and for energy infrastructure. But he said for now, no European troops will be deployed. And Starmer told the BBC that Trump has agreed to discuss the proposal.
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All of this comes after an explosive meeting at the Oval Office on Friday, where Trump and Vance reprimanded Zelensky, at times shouting.
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The White House asked Zelensky to leave after the meeting, and the leaders did not end up signing a mineral extraction deal. Zelensky has said, despite the blowup, he is still willing to sign that deal. But Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, who was heavily involved in negotiations, told CBS the agreement is no longer on the table.
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Some in Washington are supporting Trump and Vance in the way they handled the exchange, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in the Oval Office during the meeting and spoke with ABC News on Sunday.
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But some other Republicans have criticized the president, like Senator Lisa Murkowski, who posted on social media, quote, And Democrats have widely denounced Trump and Vance's conduct. Speaking to CBS yesterday, Senator Mark Kelly called them bullies.
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Prior to Friday's meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to pause offensive cyber operations against Russia, but didn't offer further explanation as to why. The Washington Post reports a Russian official on Sunday said the Oval Office blowup was seen as a gift to the Kremlin and that the Trump administration's foreign policy now aligns with Russia.
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Tomorrow night, President Trump is scheduled to make his first address of this administration to a joint session of Congress, where he's expected to outline some of his plans for the year ahead, which could give the American people more insight into where he sees the relationship with Ukraine going. Senator Alyssa Slotkin will deliver the Democratic Party's official response.
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She's a first-term senator from Michigan, a state that split the ticket in sending her to the Senate and Trump to the White House. Now to a recent investigation from The Washington Post on Elon Musk's business empire and the government funding that helped build it.
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The Post combed through government data to track how much state and federal government money Musk's companies received over the last two decades. Investigative reporter Desmond Butler told us what they found.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
Nearly two-thirds of that money was promised to Musk's companies over the last five years.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
But first, after a disastrous meeting on Friday between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European allies rushed to support Ukraine. And by Sunday, the U.K. announced plans to give Ukraine access to nearly $2 billion to bolster its defenses as a first step toward a peace agreement that the U.K. plans to present, along with France, to Trump.
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That money will come from 52 contracts Musk has already signed with seven different government agencies, including NASA, the Defense Department, and the General Services Administration. All of this money propelled Musk to becoming the world's richest person. And the Post found this government funding helped Musk's companies survive their early years, particularly Tesla and SpaceX.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
With SpaceX, both NASA and the Defense Department also granted contracts that helped the company build its infrastructure. And they were aware of SpaceX's failure to meet required milestones, according to congressional investigators. These days, however, Musk has called to end some of the very benefits that helped his company's flourish.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
Musk has also called to end consumer credit for electric vehicles that experts say helped boost sales for Tesla. His Department of Government Efficiency, meanwhile, is trying to cut staffing, budgets and contracts at every single agency Musk has ongoing contracts with.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
The government has clearly benefited from these partnerships too, Butler points out. But if Musk continues to pursue large-scale cuts, that could hurt other companies trying to follow in his footsteps.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
Now to the Oscars. The biggest winner last night was Anora, a film about a sex worker who impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. It was awarded five Oscars, including the marquee prize of the evening Best Picture. Director Sean Baker accepted the award.
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Good morning. It's Monday, March 3rd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how government funding helped build Elon Musk's business empire, the big winners from Hollywood's biggest night, and the figure skating community pays tribute to victims of January's mid-air collision.
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The dramedy had only a $6 million budget. And Baker told NPR it was a major feat to get that funding because the cast was made up of mostly, in his words, quote, unknown Russians and Armenians, plus American actress Mikey Madison. When Baker was shopping the project around, potential funders asked him to find more recognizable names. But Baker told NPR he chose to stick to his guns.
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He took home the Oscar for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing, becoming the first person ever to win four Oscars in one night for a single movie. But perhaps the biggest shock of the night was Madison, who's 25 years old, winning Best Actress for her role in the film.
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Here's U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
Madison, who is one of the youngest actresses to win the prize, beat out favorite Demi Moore, whose performance in The Substance was widely celebrated in the run-up to the Oscars. One of the other big winners was No Other Land, which took home the prize for Best Documentary.
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The film was directed by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli activists, and it documents Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank to make room for a tank training ground. While accepting the award, directors Basil Adra, a Palestinian activist, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist, directly addressed Israel's war in Gaza.
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No Other Land was the highest-grossing Oscar-nominated documentary of the year, but if our American listeners are not more familiar with it, that's because it was never distributed in the United States. The filmmakers only managed to self-distribute to just a few theaters.
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It was a darling of the international film festival circuit, but Abraham told Variety, because the film is very critical of Israeli policies, it struggled to get pickup in the U.S., where he says there is, quote, less space for this kind of criticism.
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His and Azra's speech was arguably the most political moment of the night, where the policies of the Trump administration and politics in general were largely left out of the conversation. The night's other big acting prizes went to Zoe Saldana for her performance in Amelia Perez. The Netflix film was nominated for 13 awards, the most of any other movie, but only took home two.
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Kieran Culkin won for his supporting role in A Real Pain. And Adrian Brody took home Best Actor for The Brutalist. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu halted all humanitarian aid going into Gaza on Sunday as phase one of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came to an end.
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Starmer also offered a nearly $3 billion loan for Ukraine that would be paid back using profits from sanctioned Russian assets. And he promised Ukraine that European nations would keep aid flowing and keep economic pressure on Russia. He said a, quote, coalition of the willing would commit to defend Ukraine, though he didn't say which nations would be involved.
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Negotiations for phase two of the deal, aimed at ending the war and negotiating the release of all the remaining surviving hostages in Gaza, had just started. The White House in a statement said they support Israel's decision and said Hamas was no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.
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Hamas said it's ready to continue ceasefire negotiations and called Israel's blocking of aid, quote, a war crime and a blatant coup against the agreement. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio used emergency authorities to send $4 billion in weapons to Israel.
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The New York Times reports it's the second time in a month the administration bypassed rules requiring congressional approval to send arms to Israel. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action and that the MMR vaccine is crucial.
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Writing in an opinion piece for Fox News, Kennedy acknowledged that many of Texas's current cases are affecting kids who were not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. And he said while these vaccines are a personal choice, they can protect not only individual children from measles, but also contribute to widespread immunity.
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And just over a month after the fatal collision between an Army helicopter and American Airlines plane over the Potomac River, members of the figure skating community remembered those who were lost on that flight with a tribute show in Washington, D.C.
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Among the people who died that day were 11 young figure skaters, four coaches, and 13 of their family members who were returning from a training camp in Kansas. The tribute show featured some of the most legendary names in the sport and was co-hosted by Olympic champions Brian Boitano and Christy Yamaguchi.
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In all, more than 40 current and retired Team USA skaters participated, each starting their routine by placing a white rose on a rinkside table. The sold-out show also raised funds to support the victims' families, first responders, and U.S. figure skating.
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NBC's local station reports another big theme of the night was aviation safety reform, with a message up on the Jumbotron asking Congress to pass bipartisan safety legislation to prevent future tragedies. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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New York Magazine has a story on the mystery of a famous footless goose from the 80s. He became a celebrity of sorts when he was given new feet in the form of a pair of baby sneakers filled with rubber padding. He even appeared in People magazine and on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. But he was brutally murdered. And one reporter tries to figure out what happened.
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If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
He did say, however, that Ukraine's participation in peace talks would be non-negotiable.
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The Skating Club of Boston is one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in the country. It's produced Olympic and world champions like Nancy Kerrigan, who won the silver medal in the 1994 Olympics. She joined Zeghaib in addressing the crash while holding back tears.
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Kerrigan also spoke about how close this community is.
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What we know about the figure skaters lost in the plane crash
This is not the first airplane tragedy to hit the figure skating community. Many recalled an eerily similar event that took place 60 years ago on Valentine's Day that killed 73 people, including all 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team headed to the World Championships in Prague. Here's Doug Zeghaib again reflecting on the parallels between the two events.
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We're still learning more details about all of the victims of this crash, and it's too early to know what caused it. A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration found that staffing at the air traffic control tower was, quote, not normal at the time of the crash, and that just one controller was doing work that's typically assigned to two.
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Let's turn now to the Senate confirmation hearings yesterday for three of President Trump's more controversial cabinet nominees. That's Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who's nominated to lead Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for director of national intelligence, and Kash Patel, who's been tapped to lead the FBI.
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Patel, a lawyer and former Republican staffer on the House Intelligence Committee, has been a Trump loyalist for years and has in the past courted parts of the QAnon community. As a congressional aide in 2016, he helped the GOP defend Trump during investigations into Russian election interference.
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Patel was a board member of the parent company for Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, and he has a side hustle selling pro-Trump T-shirts and children's books.
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However, during questioning by Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Patel broke from the president slightly when Durbin asked if Trump was wrong to issue a blanket pardon for over 1,500 people charged in connection to the Capitol attack.
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That's not entirely true. Patel's personal foundation has worked to support families of January 6th rioters, including some accused of and convicted of violent felony crimes against police. In the past, Patel has described January 6th rioters as political prisoners and promoted conspiracy theories that falsely claimed undercover FBI agents instigated the riot.
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But first, the elite ice skating community is reeling after the crash between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday night. All 67 people on board these aircraft died. Fourteen of the victims were en route to Washington from a national figure skating development camp in Wichita, Kansas.
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If confirmed, Patel could serve up to 10 years in the role of FBI director. In Gabbard's hearing with the Intelligence Committee, senators from both parties pressed the former Democratic congresswoman on her qualifications. As director of national intelligence, she would oversee 18 intelligence agencies, including the NSA.
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She was asked about her previous comments expressing sympathy for Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor responsible for one of the largest intelligence leaks in U.S. history. Gabbard testified that Snowden broke the law, but she repeatedly deflected questions about whether she believes he's a traitor. Things got tense during this exchange with Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennett.
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And in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's second and final day of hearings, he faced more questions about his history of anti-vaccine activism, which included petitioning the FDA, an agency he would oversee if confirmed, to revoke the COVID-19 vaccine. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked Kennedy if his position on the vaccine has changed.
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These three nominees might face skepticism from some of the same Republicans that had issues with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which could complicate their path to confirmation. One senator who didn't vote for Hegseth was Mitch McConnell, who, as a survivor of polio, may not back Kennedy's nomination.
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One of President Trump's core campaign promises was to deport millions of migrants living here without legal documentation. Hundreds have been deported already since he took office. Trump says he's focusing on people with criminal records. But Juan Ferrero, bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal in South America, told us that isn't always what's happening.
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Good morning. It's Friday, January 31st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, inside the tense hearings for some of Trump's more tenuous cabinet nominees. Some migrants say they're being subjected to inhumane conditions while being deported. And practical tips for navigating this overwhelming moment in the news.
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In the case of a large group of Colombian migrants who were recently deported, over 100 men, more than 70 women and 16 children, the Colombian government says none of them had criminal records. Here's Ferrero.
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Many people are being transported not on commercial planes, but on military cargo jets. And that comes at a significant cost. One military deportation flight to Guatemala earlier this week was estimated to have cost at least $4,675 per migrant, according to data provided to Reuters by U.S. and Guatemalan officials. That's much higher than the cost of a commercial charter flight by ICE.
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Among them, two sisters, 14-year-old Everly and 11-year-old Lydia Livingston, and their parents from the D.C. area. Six of the victims were from the skating club of Boston. 13-year-old Gina Hahn and 16-year-old Spencer Lane were described as the future of the sport. Their mothers were also on board, as well as two coaches at the club, Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
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Some deported people are sharing their stories and saying U.S. authorities mistreated them. Some say they were put in handcuffs or shackles, making it difficult and painful to move or eat. Immigration officials told the journal it's longstanding U.S. policy to handcuff deported migrants in order to prevent outbursts while in the air.
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Ferrero spoke with a 23-year-old from Colombia who was on one of these flights, who described the conditions as humiliating.
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Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has criticized the Trump administration for the treatment of Colombian migrants, as has Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Ferreira told us about a plane of Brazilian deportees that recently got stuck on the tarmac in the Amazon during sweltering heat with no air conditioning due to technical issues with the plane.
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According to local media, a number of people fainted, children were crying, and people were begging to be let off the plane before some finally used emergency exits to get out, still bound in handcuffs. Some say U.S. officials physically assaulted them. U.S. authorities have not commented on that. But it was Brazil's federal police who eventually removed their cuffs.
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Costly flights aside, holding immigrants in detention facilities before deporting them is by far the most expensive part of the deportation process, according to Axios. Earlier this week, Trump announced an order to address that by opening a detention center at Guantanamo Bay that he says will be able to house up to 30,000 people. Here are some other stories we're watching today.
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First, a little meta commentary on the news. It's been an incredible newsy few weeks. I've been seeing lots of essays and opinion pieces about how to not feel overwhelmed by it all. So here are just a few tips that my team and I have appreciated reading and are trying to remember ourselves. First, you don't have to follow every breaking story.
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The news will break whether you're there to stress about it or not. Instead, try to take in what feels important to you and don't feel pressure to read up on the rest. Another tip? Let trusted sources that show their reporting work do the heavy lifting for you. It's far more productive than doom-scrolling on your own.
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And remember, the hours immediately following a breaking story are usually filled with questions and hypotheticals. But if you wait 12, 24... even 72 hours later, you're more likely to come across measured, researched analysis. These tips are from the publication Lawfare, and we'll link to their longer list in our show notes page. Moving on to some sports news.
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The National Women's Soccer League decided yesterday to award Denver the league's 16th franchise. The new team will begin to play in 2026. And the Wall Street Journal has an interesting story about some of the negotiations that happened behind the scenes.
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WNBA star Kaitlyn Clark was part of a bid to give Cincinnati the next franchise soccer league, but her star power wasn't enough to close the deal. And the journal says what helped tip things in Denver's favor was their ability to offer the team its own stadium. And finally, only three Black women have ever taken home the top Grammy Award Album of the Year.
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What we know about the figure skaters lost in the plane crash
But this weekend, Beyonce could become the fourth, while at the same time breaking a personal drought in the ceremony's biggest category. Beyonce is already the winningest artist in Grammy history, with 32 awards. But she's never taken home Album of the Year, despite four previous nominations. If she wins, she'll join Natalie Cole, Lauryn Hill, and Whitney Houston as the only Black women to win it.
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What we know about the figure skaters lost in the plane crash
Her country album, Cowboy Carter, is up for the prize. The Grammy ceremony is on Sunday in Los Angeles. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And check out our weekly interview show, Apple News in Conversation. This week, I talked to tech writer Nicholas Carr about social media and the fundamental problem with platforms today.
Apple News Today
What we know about the figure skaters lost in the plane crash
They were married, and they won the world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994 in Paris. Doug Zegheib, the CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston, addressed reporters yesterday.
Apple News Today
What we know about the figure skaters lost in the plane crash
If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Right. Right. Meanwhile, we're hearing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others try to deflect blame onto the journalist here, Goldberg, attacking his character, attacking his credentials. And then you have President Trump saying the whole thing is being overblown. But I mean, you and I and everyone can read the messages that were exchanged with our own eyes.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
We can clearly see that there was extremely sensitive material involved behind the scenes. Are you hearing more concern from people close to the administration than they're letting on?
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
You know, when Hexeth was an on-air analyst at Fox, he was very vocal in criticizing Hillary Clinton for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
And many other people in the Signal chat group, including Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio and others, have been on the record saying that anyone who breaches security protocol should face harsh consequences. So will we see consequences?
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
You know, congressional Republicans have also been so far extremely loyal to Trump in these first few months of his administration. Where are they at on this?
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Let's shift gears a little bit and move on to another big, big story from this week. More students have been detained by ICE. A young woman from Turkey who attends Tufts University and a young man at the University of Alabama. There is a video of the student from Tufts. Literally being pulled off the street. Yeah.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
It's been another busy week in Washington as the administration deals with the fallout from mistakenly inviting Atlantic journalist and editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg into a Signal group chat in which they explicitly debated and laid out detailed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen, an attack which killed dozens of people, including children.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said more than 300 student visas have been revoked by the department and they're looking for more. What is the administration's strategy here in targeting foreign-born people here legally? And what's the intended effect?
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Yeah. And there's certainly there's that aspect of it cracking down on foreign born people, students, people attending these universities. There's also the lack of due process part, which I think most people would point to as the most concerning aspect of all these.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Good morning. It's Friday, March 28th. I'm Shemitah Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, senior administration officials have been ordered to preserve the signal group chat involving military strikes on Yemen. Trump pulls his nominee for United Nations ambassador. And major cuts are coming to the Department of Health and Human Services. Let's start with the Signal chat.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Well, one last thing, Dasha, before I let you go, I do want to take a moment to talk about the story that hasn't gotten quite as much attention this week, which is President Trump signed an executive order that seeks to mandate proof of citizenship for voter registration in federal elections. What should we know about this effort and its legality?
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Yeah. You know, one thing I was trying to parse when looking at this executive order, most people register to vote with their state. And it seems like this order impacts federal forms to register to vote. I'm trying to understand how much impact would this executive order actually have if it's allowed to stand?
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
The story prompted questions in congressional hearings, denials and mixed messaging from the administration, and a bipartisan request for an inspector general to investigate the matter. On Thursday, a judge ordered administration officials to preserve the messages on that chat.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Dasha, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. President Trump on Thursday pulled the nomination of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik was expected to have a relatively easy path to confirmation.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
But because Republicans have such a razor thin majority in the House, Trump said on social media that he didn't want to take a chance on anyone else running for her seat. Meanwhile, two special House elections in Florida are set for Tuesday, one to replace former Congressman Matt Gaetz and another where Governor Ron DeSantis said he expects the Trump-backed candidate to, quote, underperform.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
That's in a district that Trump won in November by 30 points. Mass job cuts are coming to the Department of Health and Human Services. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced 10,000 staffers will be laid off. Combined with previous buyouts and other departures, about one in four jobs at federal health agencies will be eliminated. The cuts will hit the FDA and the CDC hardest.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
They're each expected to lose about 20 percent of their staff. Kennedy said this is a realignment under new priorities, that he'll be doing more with less and acknowledged it would be, quote, a painful period for HHS. Democrats came out strongly against the move, saying the cuts would decimate agencies protecting people's health and safety.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
And finally, archaeologists say a set of footprints confirmed to be the oldest ever found in North America are even older than previously thought. Found in White Sands National Park in New Mexico, the prints are roughly 23,000 years old, 10,000 years before it was believed humans stepped foot on the continent.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
Scientists say the footprints and other evidence give us a glimpse of our ancestors, not only hunting and surviving, but but also playing, running, a mix of age groups together. These researchers hope more discoveries will lead to the telling of a larger story of what life was like for these early humans in North America. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
This all comes as the administration continues its immigration crackdown, and the president suggests fundamentally changing the rules around voting. To help us take stock of a flurry of news stories this week, we called up Politico's White House bureau chief, Dasha Burns. Hey, Dasha, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. Let's begin with the fallout from this Signal chat.
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Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, stick around for our weekly interview show, In Conversation. I talked to Zoe Schiffer and Leah Feiger from Wired about their reporting on what they describe as Elon Musk and Doge's digital coup of the federal government.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
That episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Inside the fallout of a stunning national-security leak
It does seem like the administration has been scrambling in their response. Mike Waltz, the national security advisor, has taken responsibility for the mess up. Responsibility-ish, I would say. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he did say, I built the chat. And he also said that we will look into the matter further. Right. Doesn't know how the number got into his phone or how the number got into the group chat.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
The new version of the deal that could be signed today does not include that revenue stipulation, and it also still does not include security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump has said that it would include a form of peacekeeping that's acceptable to everybody, but did not specify what that meant.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
However, The Wall Street Journal's Ian Lovett told us Ukraine ultimately agreed to this version of the deal in the hopes that it could reset the relationship with Trump.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
So far, the Trump administration has seemed to reverse the U.S. 's position as a strong ally of Ukraine. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that Ukraine will have to accept that it will not get back the land that Russia has seized. That's roughly 20 percent of the country. Last week, Trump falsely suggested that Ukraine, not Russia, was the aggressor.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
And in his first cabinet meeting this week, Trump said that Russia will have to make concessions to end the war, but did not specify what kind. Trump has maintained that his objective is to establish peace in the region, but Lovett told us it's not entirely clear what that means.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Trump has also been meeting with European allies. Yesterday, he met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House, who urged the president to stand by Ukraine.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
In that same speech, Starmer said the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a peace deal. If the US and Ukraine sign today's mineral deal, one outstanding question will be how the US plans to extract the resources. Up to 40 percent of Ukraine's rare mineral deposits are in parts of the country currently under Russian occupation.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations told the journal that means if the U.S. wants to access these deposits, it'll have no choice but to get involved in defending and protecting Ukraine's physical security. Now to a trial that started this week involving Greenpeace, which environmentalists have warned could bankrupt the group and threaten the future of advocacy work.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
That's Mary Stoyer, a reporter at the North Dakota Monitor who's been following the trial. This is a civil case related to the Dakota Access Pipeline that was brought by the company Energy Transfer, which sued Greenpeace for $300 million, alleging the environmental advocacy group disrupted construction of the pipeline, which was completed in 2017.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
That dollar amount, according to The New York Times, is more than 10 times the group's annual budget. Protests against the pipeline project started the year prior, when the Standing Rock Sioux tribe said a portion of the pipeline would endanger their water supply and sacred sites in the area. The demonstrations gained international attention, especially after clashes between police and protesters.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Police used water cannons on protesters in freezing temperatures, deployed tear gas, and shot them with rubber bullets. Medical professionals supporting the protesters say dozens of people were hospitalized and more than 300 people were injured. Police at the time said that protesters set fires in the area and threw rocks at officers.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
But first, to Washington, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet with President Trump to discuss and potentially sign an agreement for Ukraine to share rare minerals with the United States, which are estimated to be worth trillions of dollars.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
In their lawsuit against Greenpeace, Energy Transfer claims the group supported protesters and encouraged violence.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Greenpeace denies those claims and says it played a very small role in the protests. And the group says energy transfer is unfairly targeting them in an effort to intimidate environmental activists.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
An associate law professor at Pace University told NPR this case appears to be an example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation, otherwise known as SLAPP. Those are anti-free speech cases that are typically designed to cost the defendants both time and money in court.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
More than 30 states have protections against these types of lawsuits, but The Washington Post reports that North Dakota is not one of them.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
A spokesperson for Energy Transfer told The Post they do not believe this case is about free speech, but about Greenpeace, quote, not following the law. Greenpeace tried, unsuccessfully, to move the case to another court because the jury pool was drawn from a community where many people work in the oil and gas industry.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
The Guardian reports more than half of the seated jurors have ties to the fossil fuel industry. The trial is expected to last at least five weeks. Sunday is the movie industry's biggest night, the Oscars. The ceremony caps what's been an interesting awards season.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
This was an idea proposed by Zelensky last fall, though at the time he suggested Kyiv would, in return, want assurance that the U.S. would provide ongoing support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Trump has criticized U.S. aid for Kyiv as a drain on resources.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
A number of controversies have dominated the conversation, including the use of AI in The Brutalist, backlash over the absence of intimacy coordinators on the film Onora, and the past use of blackface by one of this year's best actress nominees.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Good morning. It's Friday, February 28th. I'm Shmeeta Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a lawsuit that could sink Greenpeace. This year's Oscars wildcards. And Katy Perry is going to space.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Glenn Whipp covers film and television for the LA Times.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
One of the most talked about storylines heading into the awards is the star of Amelia Perez, Carla Sofia Gascon, who, after old racist and Islamophobic tweets of hers resurfaced, deleted her social media accounts and was scrubbed from Netflix's awards campaign. Gascon is the first openly transgender woman ever to be nominated for an Oscar.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Aside from the controversies, the absence of a big-budget frontrunner also makes this year's ceremony unique.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
We asked Whip who he thinks is taking home the night's biggest prizes.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
The Oscars start Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were all found dead Thursday at their home in New Mexico. Authorities have opened an investigation after the bodies were found, quote, in a state of decomposition.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
And disagreements over the terms of this mineral deal are a big reason why the relationship between the United States and Ukraine has soured in recent weeks. Zelensky rejected an earlier version of the agreement because it didn't include security guarantees for Ukraine.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Initially, a gas leak was suspected, but the Associated Press reports no signs of a gas or carbon monoxide leak were detected. Hackman had a decorated acting career, from his Oscar-winning roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven to the title character in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums. In space news, the planets are aligning, sort of.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
In a phenomenon known as a planet parade, all seven of the other planets in our solar system will be visible in a line in the night sky. Astronomers say to look for the planets about a half hour after sunset. And hey, it's Friday, so let's do some more space news. Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin announced it's sending its first all-female flight crew into space.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
That crew will include singer Katy Perry, and getting extraterrestrial with her will be Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sanchez and CBS anchor Gayle King. The flight will take the crew to the Karman Line, which is the boundary line between Earth's upper atmosphere and space.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Reuters reports when they reach the line, the crew will experience a few minutes of microgravity before returning to Earth in a parachute-assisted landing. And last thing, here's what's coming up on this week's episode of Apple News in Conversation.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
A look at how Donald Trump and Dana White, the CEO of the ultimate fighting championship, the UFC, go way, way back and how they've helped each other rise. For a story in Rolling Stone, Jack Crosby tells me when Dana White was building up the UFC and struggling to find venues for it, Trump welcomed him at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
And then many years later, Trump called in a favor to White that would end up taking their friendship to the next level.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
And the United States initially asked for the rights to up to $500 billion in revenue from mineral development, which is roughly five times more money than the U.S. has contributed to Ukraine during the war so far. Zelensky spoke at a news conference about why he rejected the initial offer.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and a review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Friday, April 25th. I'm Shamita Basu.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
So let me ask you, as we approach the 100-day mark of Trump's second term here, what specific actions are you observing that concern you?
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a stark warning about the state of democracy in the United States, a number of setbacks for President Trump in court, and why you might want to stop saying please and thank you to ChatGPT. Let's start with the warning about democratic norms in the U.S.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
Mm-hmm. A lot of people are quick to pin this to Trump and characterize this as a Trump v. Democrats or even Trump v. Democracy issue. But to what extent is the deterioration of democratic norms in the U.S. something that can be tied directly to Trump? And to what extent is it connected to other longer standing trends that we've seen in our politics?
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
So from your experience writing about how these moments in history have played out in other countries, can this kind of backsliding be stopped? And if so, who would need to play a role in that?
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
As we approach President Trump's 100th day in office for the second time, a survey of more than 500 political scientists found the vast majority believe the United States is quickly swinging from a liberal democracy to some form of authoritarianism.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
But, you know, Ruth, what I keep thinking about is you're right to point out that the United States is unusual in many ways when comparing to other countries. It's hard to do. But we're also unusual in that President Trump served a first term, was not voted back into office. And was reelected then to come back and serve a second term, disjointed from the first. So I don't know.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
I take value in looking back at history, obviously, and trying to see the parallels and learn the lessons. But at the same time, there's clearly something completely different happening here, too. There's an unprecedented element.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
In the months ahead... What are two or three things that you think the American public should be really paying close attention to as we think about the health of our democracy?
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
Ruth Bengiat, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. In the past 24 hours, a number of President Trump's policy initiatives were dealt setbacks by courts. First, a federal court rejected his attempt to require documented proof of citizenship from people who are registering to vote.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
It's an assessment that depending on who you stop on the street in any town USA, someone might completely agree with and share the alarm of these academics. Or someone might disagree entirely, even say that President Trump is saving our country. I decided to call up NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
In another case, federal judges temporarily blocked his administration from enforcing its demands that public schools eliminate anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Another federal judge ordered the administration to bring back yet another man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
And the judge in the Kilmar Abrego-Garcia case agreed to give the DOJ one more week to fulfill her order to provide information on their efforts to bring him back, but wrote, quote, their refusal to do so can only be viewed as willful and intentional noncompliance.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
A new report says pregnant people in states that have enacted abortion bans are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth. Conversely, pregnancy-related deaths dropped in states that have enacted measures to protect access to abortion.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
The 19th reports that for years, health providers have warned that bans on abortion access pose a serious threat to the lives of pregnant patients. And even though some bans provide exceptions in cases where the person's life is at risk, they're often vague and confusing, resulting in late or no care. And finally, do you say please and thank you to your AI chatbot?
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
It turns out all those little interactions add up and end up costing a lot. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the figure is in the tens of millions of dollars. But perhaps more costly is the impact to the environment. Quartz reports extra words increase the computational load, therefore requiring more electricity and more water, which is used to keep the computer servers cool enough to function.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
The New York Times points out from a monetary and environmental standpoint, there really is no good reason to be polite to your AI of choice. But some argue it's good that we have this impulse. Recent studies show how we treat AI translates to how we treat each other. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Bloomberg Businessweek has a profile of the man they say is the brains behind President Trump's, quote, imperial presidency, Russell Vogt, who is currently the director of the Federal Office of Management and Budget, but also a chief architect of Project 2025.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
An alarm bell for American democracy
She's a historian and expert on authoritarianism and the author of the New York Times bestseller, Strongmen, Mussolini to the Present, which tells the history of authoritarianism over the last 100 years. And I asked her to start, what would she say to these two groups of people, the people who deeply believe that we're already in the throes of an autocracy and the people who say the opposite?
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
To help us take stock of this moment and where it goes from here, I called up Ankush Kadori. He's an attorney, a former federal prosecutor, and senior writer with Politico. And I started by asking him how close he thinks we are to a crisis point.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
So at this point, Trump has really towed the line. You know, the administration hasn't outrightly said we are not going to listen to the courts. They've instead argued that the courts are wrong in many of these cases. But I guess my question to you is, is it even worth distinguishing these?
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Like, how different is it to say the courts don't have jurisdiction to weigh in on the president's decisions versus I am rejecting the courts authority? Right.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Well, another part of the deportation story that's maybe getting a little bit less attention is how these deportations and detentions are happening largely without due process, right?
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
That was the case for the plane of Venezuelan migrants, but also in cases that we're now seeing for green card holders, for visa holders, people who are in this country legally who have been detained and in some cases deported even. Meanwhile, we're also seeing reports about Free speech really being under threat. I mean, the administration is going after Palestinian protesters.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
What happens if these kinds of fundamental rights are eroded?
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
You know, it's interesting that you brought up public opinion earlier. Public opinion is a little hard to gauge in something like this because you ask people in America, are you for democratic processes, right? Are you against the taking away of due process, for example, and that will pull unpopular.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
At least that's the warning coming from the Varieties of Democracy Project, which measures the health of democracies around the world. The head of that program warns that, quote, if it continues like this, democracy will not last another six months.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
But then again, when you have something like this, a concrete example of people being deported, how is that kind of idea pulling? Because I think these things can exist at the same time in America.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Let's talk about recourse in Congress a bit. I mean, we talked a few weeks ago about how Trump's expansion of executive powers is really cutting into and taking away a lot of power from Congress. What does it mean if Congress continues to allow Trump to exercise this kind of power, really taking it away from them?
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Good morning. It's Friday, March 21st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, growing concerns that our democratic norms are eroding, what Trump's order to close the Department of Education actually means, and a big privacy breach in the JFK assassination papers. We begin with growing concerns that the checks and balances that define American democracy are breaking down.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
His warnings come as President Trump's administration is taking actions that, historically and constitutionally, have been outside of the executive branch's power, like significantly shrinking or trying to eliminate agencies established by laws passed by Congress. The legality of some of those moves are being challenged in multiple lawsuits.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Well, actually, I was going to say, I know that you're saying this would happen, it would be like this, but in a sense, it is like this, right? We're not talking about a hypothetical here. This is what we're seeing actually play out.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Ankur, thank you so much for speaking with me again.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following, starting with President Trump's move to close a federal agency.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Yesterday's executive order called for moving education policy to the states, even though state governments are already primarily in charge of things like curricula. Trump's order doesn't completely eliminate the Department of Education. Since it was created by Congress, only Congress has the authority to eliminate it.
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Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Instead, the order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take, quote, all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the department. And it leaves in place what the administration calls critical functions like student loan management and funding for special education. Trump's order is expected to run into legal challenges.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
But while normally the courts would adjudicate disagreements over what the Constitution allows, the Trump administration has flirted with ignoring court orders. And last weekend seemed to outright defy an order from a federal judge to turn around a plane deporting migrants.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
The response from the president of the American Federation of Teachers, a major teachers union, was, quote, see you in court.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
In other news, earlier this week, when the Trump administration released tens of thousands of unredacted files about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, it also released the social security numbers and other private sensitive information belonging to several hundred former congressional staffers and others.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
The Washington Post made this discovery while analyzing the contents of the files. Some of the people whose information was leaked include high-ranking officials in Washington, such as a former assistant secretary of state and a former U.S. ambassador.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
A former lawyer for the Trump campaign interviewed by The Post, whose private information was released in the JFK files, described the oversight as outrageous, sloppy and unprofessional. The Department of Justice and National Archives did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
According to The New York Times, the White House directed the Social Security Administration to issue new numbers to the affected people and offered them free credit monitoring. And finally, Zimbabwean swimmer Kirstie Coventry was elected the first-ever woman president of the International Olympic Committee.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
The Guardian reports the voting was expected to last a few rounds with some stiff competition, but Coventry won a majority on the first ballot, making her the 10th president in the IOC's 131-year history. Coventry is also the first African to lead the organization. And as the Guardian notes, she is now the most powerful woman in global sport.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
Coventry won seven medals in her Olympic career, including two gold medals in the 200-meter backstroke in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app, stick around for our interview show in conversation. This week, I spoke to Brian Kelly. You may know him as the Points Guy.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
He's made a career out of helping people travel the world more affordably, and he gave me some of his best tips.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
That episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Are democratic checks and balances breaking down?
That judge gave the administration a Thursday deadline to hand over flight data and yesterday described the administration's response as, quote, At the same time, Trump and some Republicans have called for impeaching judges who slow or stop the administration's proposed policies, a threat that was met with a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
One person wrote, help us, on their window using lipstick. Another held up a message that said, we are not safe in our country. Panama's government previously said these migrants had no criminal records. Reporters at The New York Times were able to contact some of them. Here's Andy's bureau chief, Julie Turkowitz, speaking with MSNBC.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Some people in this group, including eight children, were recently moved to a camp on the outskirts of the jungle in the Darien province. That's a region connecting Panama and Colombia, infamous as a dangerous crossing route for migrants traveling north to the United States. One Panamanian official insisted it's not a detention camp, but a migrant camp. Here's Turkowitz again.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
These people told The Times the camp looks like a zoo and described sweltering conditions with little food and fenced cages. Panamanian officials have disputed that account. Panama's security minister said in an interview on Wednesday that migrants were being held, quote, for their own protection. And because officials need to verify their identities.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
But lawyers told The Times it's illegal to be detained in Panama for more than 24 hours without a court order. And in Costa Rica, NBC reports that the country typically allows up to 30 days to repatriate deported migrants, although officials say that timeline could be extended.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
For the United States, sending migrants to Panama and Costa Rica effectively means these people are no longer subject to U.S. law. Analysts told The New York Times that Panama is under intense pressure by Trump, who has threatened to seize the Panama Canal. So Turkowitz explained to MSNBC this agreement could be an effort to appease him.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Similar questions have been raised about Costa Rica's motivations for entering into this agreement. The Costa Rican president in a news conference on Wednesday spoke about his fears that the United States could impose a tax and said this is a way of helping their, quote, economically powerful brother from the north. International authorities are now responsible for transferring them.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
The United States is paying for all costs in Panama, and it's footing the bill for every flight, including those that will eventually take migrants to their home countries. It's been just about a month of Trump's second term in office.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
And so far, we've seen him make big moves, implementing deportations, as we've mentioned, freezing foreign aid, proposing an end to birthright citizenship, making sweeping cuts to federal agency workforces and spending.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
The legality of some of these actions is being brought before federal courts, and some lawmakers are fighting Trump on the issue of frozen funds that were already approved by Congress. If this seems like a big shift in the balance of our government, well, it is.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
That's Ankush Kadori, a former federal prosecutor and a senior writer at Politico magazine. He's my guest this week on Apple News in Conversation.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
But first, as the Trump administration continues to deport undocumented immigrants, some are being flown to places they never called home and getting detained upon arrival. One flight that landed in Costa Rica on Thursday carried about 135 people. Almost half were children and there were at least two pregnant women. They're mostly from countries like China, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
He told me that impoundment, which is when the president essentially overrides Congress by deciding not to spend money that's already been appropriated by the legislature, this tension in his mind is the one that's most worth paying attention to because it could radically change the relationship between the three branches.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
There's a law in place to prevent presidential impoundment. Back in the 70s, under Nixon, Congress passed an Impoundment Control Act. President Bill Clinton tried to amend it in the 90s by introducing line-item veto power, which allowed him to reject specific parts of a bill without having to veto the whole thing.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
That law had broad bipartisan support, but the Supreme Court struck it down after just two years, ruling that it was unconstitutional. However, if the issue of presidential impoundment ends up back in front of the highest court during this administration, Cardori told me Trump might find this court to be much more open to the idea.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Kadori says changing how our government decides to spend its funds has broad implications, ones that will carry over into future administrations.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
To hear our full conversation, stick around after today's show. If you're listening in the News app, that episode of Apple News in Conversation will be queued up to play for you next. Yesterday, the Senate voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Good morning. It's Friday, February 21st. I'm Shamitza Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, testing the boundaries of executive power, why Trump's labor secretary nominee might not win full Republican support, and a change in the asteroid forecast means we're safe for now.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
That means up until this point, all of Trump's nominees have been confirmed, most with relative ease, despite some facing questions about their character or lack of experience, which speaks both to the numerical advantage Republicans have in the Senate and their eagerness to appease President Trump. But one nominee is getting more pushback from Republicans than others.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Former Representative Lori Chavez de Riemer, a Republican who served for one term in the House. When Trump nominated her for labor secretary, some Democrats were pleasantly surprised because in Congress, she was a co-sponsor of a piece of legislation called the PRO Act, a sweeping labor bill that aimed to strengthen collective bargaining rights.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
She was one of just a few Republicans to back the bill. A number of unions were excited about her nomination, too, including Teamster President Sean O'Brien, because Chavez de Riemer's father was a Teamster himself. In her hearing on Wednesday, she was asked how she feels about the PRO Act now.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
She called the bill imperfect and avoided saying much else about it, like in this exchange with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
NBC reports that some of those countries, like China and Afghanistan, will not easily agree to repatriate people. So U.S. officials say Costa Rica is a bridge arrangement until international authorities can figure out how to get people back to their home countries. None of these migrants have criminal records, but they are undocumented, according to Costa Rican authorities.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Several senators asked her about her stance on right-to-work laws, which limit union organizing. Here's her exchange with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
The overall impression of her hearing, according to The Washington Post, was that Chavez de Riemer was distancing herself from her past support of pro-union legislation. Democrats in the Senate who initially seemed ready to support her now appear less likely to.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
And interestingly, Republicans are torn between her pro-union voting record as a one-term congresswoman and what she's now saying about letting states decide their own labor laws. Meanwhile, advocates for workers' rights have questioned how much power Chavez de Remer might have as labor secretary in an increasingly diminishing landscape of federal oversight.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
In his first few weeks in office, Trump fired two of three Democratic commissioners on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces civil rights in the workplace. He also fired the acting chair of the National Labor Relations Board, which protects employees' rights to organize and fight unfair labor practices. Chavez de Reimer's nomination will be up for a committee vote next week.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're watching. Israeli officials say a body handed over by Hamas on Thursday isn't who Hamas claimed it is. Authorities confirmed the identities of remains belonging to two children, Kafir and Ariel Bibas, but say the body reportedly belonging to their mother, Shiri, was not hers or that of any other hostage. That's according to the Associated Press.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
The Israeli military called it a violation of the utmost severity and demanded Hamas return Shiri Bebus' body. As of Thursday night, Hamas had not commented. It's unclear what this means for Saturday's scheduled release of the six remaining living hostages. New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she will not remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Hochul said she will let New Yorkers make their choice clear at the polls and announced an inspector general to oversee the mayor. Adams is charged with a number of corruption crimes, which the Trump administration says it will drop.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
In a statement responding to Hochul's announcement, Adams said he believes there is no legal basis for the governor to place limits on his power, but he is willing to work with her. The former head of the Spanish Soccer Federation, Luis Rubiales, was convicted Thursday of sexual assault for forcibly kissing player Jenny Hermoso after the team won the Women's World Cup in 2023.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Rubiales was fined but not sentenced to any prison time. He was also acquitted of a coercion charge for allegedly trying to get Hermoso to say the kiss was consensual. And lastly, if you've seen headlines about an asteroid potentially coming for Earth in a few years, you can rest easy.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that around 300 deported people, predominantly from Asian countries, are being held in Panama under a similar bridge agreement with the U.S. At first, they were locked up in a hotel for roughly a week, with no access to phones, internet, or legal counsel. Images emerged in recent days of people standing by the windows, trapped in their rooms.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
Just a few days ago, the odds of the roughly football-field-sized rock colliding with Earth were at about a 3.1% chance, but that number has since dropped to essentially zero, according to scientists at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Objects Studies.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
The Washington Post reports chances of this asteroid impacting Earth were always low, but it was important to track because its size triggered a global warning for the first time since the warning system was created in 2012. So the good news, the system works. Even better news, turns out we don't need it, at least not this time. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
Trump’s labor pick backed unions. It might cost her votes.
And if you're already listening in the news app, stick around for my full interview with Ankush Kadori about how we're watching Trump expand the reach of presidential power. If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode of Apple News in Conversation is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy your weekend, and we'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and a review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Friday, April 18th. I'm Shamita Basu.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
For more about the rise of Bukele and how he became one of Trump's most crucial and supportive foreign allies, I called up Vera Bergen-Gruen, a national security reporter at The Wall Street Journal who profiled Bukele for Time last year. I started by asking her to give me some background on Bukele and how his relationship with Trump initially started.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
I'll just say this stat from your Peace Fair is it was kind of mind boggling. You write that Bukele has incarcerated one out of every 57 people in his country.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Well, what I thought was interesting also in your piece, you mentioned how some of his harshest critics, even some people within the Biden administration at the time, were kind of courting Bukele's favor. Help me understand why.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how the Salvadoran president found an ally in President Trump, a federal indictment in the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, and why some people are painting potatoes for Easter.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Very complicated. So what do you make of the way that Bukele has been handling this storyline now of Venezuelans being deported to El Salvador by the U.S., agreeing to incarcerate them in El Salvador? I mean, what is in it for Bukele? Why strike this deal with Trump?
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Well, so the Trump administration has been claiming that there's nothing that they can do to bring back the man who was wrongfully deported, as they have acknowledged, mistakenly deported, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who ended up in this prison in El Salvador and is still there. The administration says now they cannot do anything to bring him back.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
When the Supreme Court weighed in on this earlier this week, even they said that the government's argument that the U.S. courts cannot do anything once a deportee has crossed the border is, quote, plainly wrong. And now Trump is talking about expanding this relationship, as you said, sending U.S. citizens to be incarcerated in El Salvador.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
If that were to happen, which just to be clear, is illegal, what he is talking about, what are the possible options for recourse in the U.S. courts, maybe even in international courts?
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Mm hmm. You know, I was struck when I was rereading your time piece, which, again, you wrote last summer before Trump had been reelected. You wrote, for Bukele's admirers, El Salvador has become a showcase for how populist authoritarianism can succeed.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
And his second term will be a test of what happens to a state when its charismatic young leader has an overwhelming mandate to dismantle its democratic institutions in pursuit of security. Again, you wrote this before Trump was back in office for his second term. What do you think are the risks for other countries for the world if the U.S.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Let's start with the big story all this week, which has been Trump's defiance of a Supreme Court order to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father of three kids living in Maryland with no criminal record, who was wrongly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador's harshest prison. Yesterday, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, visited Abrego Garcia, who is his constituent.
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The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
continues to legitimize the Bukele regime as it creeps toward authoritarianism?
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Vera, thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The United States will soon abandon its efforts to end the war in Ukraine if no progress is made in the next few days.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
That's the latest from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to reporters early this morning before departing from Paris, where high-level talks took place yesterday with European leaders.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
That's a major reversal from what Trump told us when he was running for office, when he said he would end the war immediately.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Rubio said the talks this week between American, European and Ukrainian officials were constructive, but that Trump is losing patience. In Gaza, Hamas says it's ready to engage in negotiations to release all remaining hostages and end the war. A senior Hamas official said in a televised speech that it will no longer agree to interim deals.
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The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Mediators have been working to revive the ceasefire, but there's been little progress. Israel recently proposed a 45-day truce to allow for hostages to be released and to engage in talks to end the war. Hamas rejected one of the conditions, that it lay down its arms. Reuters reports Israel has vowed to continue fighting until all hostages are released and Gaza is demilitarized.
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The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
In recent weeks, Israeli troops have seized more than a third of the Gaza Strip. At Florida State University yesterday, at least two people who were not students were killed and at least six others were hospitalized after a gunman opened fire Thursday morning. Local authorities have a suspect in custody. He is the son of a sheriff's deputy.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
He initially tried to visit him at the prison, but says he was denied entry. Hours later, Van Hollen was able to meet him at a nearby hotel and said he just wanted to confirm Abrego Garcia is doing OK and underscore that he deserves due process.
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The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Authorities on the scene recovered a handgun that belonged to the suspect's mother, who served in the local county sheriff's department for 18 years. The suspect was shot and wounded by police before being taken into custody. Luigi Mangione, the man charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was indicted on federal murder charges Thursday.
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The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
The charge carries a maximum penalty of death if convicted. The Justice Department said it will seek the death penalty. Mangione pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and terrorism. And finally, with the price of eggs still stubbornly high, it's a tough year to plan an Easter egg hunt on a budget.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
So people celebrating Easter this weekend are turning to some creative alternatives to keep traditions going. Painting potatoes is one suggestion. I'm not saying it's a good one, just that it's being floated. Marshmallows in particular are having a moment. The city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is very busy churning out peeps.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
Did you know that every single marshmallow peep you buy comes from this place? I didn't. ABC News has a guide to how you can dye marshmallows and other alternatives to eggs that we'll link to in our show notes. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, stick around for our weekly interview show, In Conversation.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
As Harvard's dispute with the Trump administration escalates, I spoke with Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth, who's been a vocal opponent of recent threats to higher ed, about what the administration is trying to achieve and the implications for our country.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
The foreign leader helping Trump defy the Supreme Court
The man behind Abrego Garcia's detention, as well as the detention of hundreds of other migrants deported by the Trump administration, is El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, who's become a key ally of Trump's and has said that he'll take no action to release Abrego Garcia.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
So it sounds like you're saying message is consistent. Circumstances have changed, which has made the message more effective.
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The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Right. Kind of let Republicans squabble it out.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Well, so let's actually stay with Bernie Sanders for a moment and talk a little bit about him. I mean, he's been holding these major rallies, pulling significant crowds. Most of his appearances have been in swing districts represented by Republicans. What is his message to voters and how is it resonating?
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The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, tell me, though, is Sanders' message resonating with people? Obviously, he's drawing huge crowds, but what does it all mean? What's the effect that he's having?
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
And it sounds like, as you've mentioned, Sanders is very much sticking to his long running message, but maybe it's an effective time to be hearing and receiving that message for voters. Let's turn now and talk about Gavin Newsom and what he's been up to. I mean, he just launched a new podcast.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
So far, he's had on some pretty hard right leaning guests, people like Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser. He's had on Charlie Kirk. He himself, Newsom, drew some backlash for some of his comments about transgender athletes on his podcast. What is Newsom's strategy right now?
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Let's start with a pulse check on Democratic Party leadership and opposition to President Trump seven weeks into the new administration. In the flurry of early actions by Trump, Democratic voices were largely sidelined by a barrage of daily headlines.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Interesting. Well, maybe we should talk about what might be seen as the sort of Democratic Party establishment choice to elevate in this moment. We saw Senator Alyssa Slotkin was tapped to give the party's official response after Trump's joint speech to Congress. How does she fit into all of this? Or just maybe where more broadly is the party establishment in this moment?
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
But in the past few weeks and days, we've seen a number of Democrats and at least one independent step forward and position themselves as messengers for voters who are feeling disillusioned with Trump. For more on what the opposition looks like and how it's taking shape,
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Good morning. It's Friday, March 14th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, politicians on the left are testing out different resistance messages against Trump. Senator Chuck Schumer gets on board with Republicans' funding bill. And a giant of the fashion industry steps away.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Are there any other Democrats you're watching right now who seem to also be emerging as people who can rally the opposition with a particularly strong message? I'm thinking of people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Tim Walz has been speaking out. Pete Buttigieg. Who has had something effective to share right now?
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
I called up Dave Weigel, national political reporter at Semaphore, and I asked him if it feels like the Democratic response to Trump is only starting to gel in the past few days.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
That's Dave Weigel, national political reporter at Semaphore. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he believes enough Democrats will back a budget resolution passed by House Republicans earlier this week, potentially averting a government shutdown.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
Schumer had initially said Democrats would block the bill in a show of resistance against Trump, but changed his mind, saying he thinks the bill is a terrible option, but believes a government shutdown would give President Trump more power, which would be a, quote, far worse option. A critical procedural vote is scheduled to take place this afternoon.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
An American Airlines plane caught fire while on the tarmac at Denver's airport yesterday, prompting passengers to evacuate on the plane's wing. The flight was diverted shortly after taking off from Colorado Springs on its way to Dallas after experiencing what American Airlines called an engine-related issue. It landed safely but caught fire while taxiing to the gate.
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The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
ABC News reports there were only a few minor injuries the FAA is investigating. President Trump's efforts to end birthright citizenship has reached the Supreme Court. On Thursday, the administration filed a series of emergency appeals asking the high court to limit lower court rulings that have blocked his efforts.
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The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
If the justices decline to take up the case or reject Trump's efforts, the court could still take up the central question of whether birthright citizenship is guaranteed in the Constitution. once lawsuits make their way through the appeals process. A landmark case in 1898 affirmed birthright citizenship, and CNN notes the modern court hasn't signaled a desire to revisit the issue.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
And finally, it's the end of an era for one of fashion's most storied houses. Donatella Versace is stepping down as creative director of the brand after 28 years. She took over after her brother Gianni, who founded Versace, was murdered in 1997. Versace posted on social media, quote, It's been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Gianni's legacy.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
It's the first time a Versace will not be in charge of the label's designs in nearly 50 years. Dario Vitale, a former executive at Miu Miu, will replace her. Bloomberg reports it's a crucial time for Versace as it's being eyed for sale to rival brand Prada for $1.6 billion, a deal that could close this month. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
And check out our interview show, In Conversation. This week, we look at the U.S. military's recruitment crisis. New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Dexter Filkins tells me why fewer people are joining the armed forces today and what it could mean for military preparedness in the future.
Apple News Today
The key Democrats forming a resistance to Trump
If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend and we'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
President Trump made the precarious ceasefire deal even more delicate by saying last week, while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, that the U.S. will take over Gaza, displacing millions of Palestinians so the U.S. could build on their land. And the president recently told Fox News' Brett Baier that Gazans would not be allowed to return home.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
The reconstruction of Gaza was something Israel and Hamas agreed to discuss for phase three of the ceasefire agreement, at least before Trump weighed in. Lonsdorff told us many Palestinians are extremely upset by what Trump is suggesting.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Hamas has said Trump's plan would, quote, put oil on the fire in the Middle East, and it's been rejected by a number of countries in the region. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said Trump's proposal could change history and called it worth paying attention to.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
So far, nearly a month into the ceasefire agreement, 16 out of 33 hostages who were scheduled for release have been freed by Hamas, and over 600 Palestinians have been released by Israel. Let's turn now to air travel and new details about the very complicated airspace around Reagan National Airport, just outside Washington, D.C.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Last month, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane that was coming in for landing. All 67 people on both aircraft were killed. As we've mentioned before, air travel is one of the safest transportation methods. But in this region, the airspace is particularly complex given the number of civilian and military aircraft sharing space.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
And The Washington Post reports that air traffic controllers have been warning about the high number of near collisions in the area for years. The Post found over the last decade, airline pilots received over 100 warnings that they were in danger of a possible mid-air collision with a helicopter near Reagan National. The most recent came just a day before the fatal crash in January.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Ian Duncan covers transportation for The Post.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Some air traffic controllers suggested the need to move helicopter routes farther from airplane flight paths. The routes that were taken by the plane and helicopter in January's crash had only a 15 foot margin of distance at their closest point.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
But first, to the Middle East, where Hamas has agreed to release three Israeli hostages on Saturday as scheduled in the planned ceasefire deal. Earlier in the week, Hamas threatened to postpone their release, accusing Israel of violating terms of the agreement related to humanitarian aid and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
President Trump recently made changes at the FAA. Last month, he eliminated all members of an aviation security advisory group that examines safety issues at airlines and airports. In order to move a flight route, the FAA would need to go through an internal process and review what's possible in this airspace, which has been tightly controlled since September 11th.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
And there would also be impacts on people living in the region.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
At the end of this month, the National Transportation and Safety Board is expected to release a preliminary report on what caused last month's crash. But Duncan told us he doesn't expect all of the outstanding questions to be answered.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
The trial of Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, ends today after two weeks of testimony. He's accused of sexually assaulting Spanish soccer player Jenny Hermoso by kissing her without consent after they won the World Cup in 2023. Hermoso testified about the incident in a Spanish court. She says the kiss stained one of the happiest moments of her life.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Ruby Alice on the stand testified the kiss was spontaneous and consensual.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
He says, I asked her if I could give her a little kiss and she said yes. Hermoso refuted that account.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Dermot Corrigan with The Athletic has been in the courtroom throughout this trial.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Good morning. It's Friday, February 14th, Valentine's Day. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a complicated airspace around Reagan National Airport. The trial of Spain's former soccer chief ends. And in 50 years of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels has never missed a show.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
The prosecution, meanwhile, also argued that Rubiales and three other employees of the football club, who were also on trial in this case, tried to coerce Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
A number of Hermoso's teammates took the stand during the trial to support her. Two of them testified that she cried on the plane ride home from the World Cup because she felt pressured to support Rubiales. Because the incident happened in Australia, this case is being heard by a special court in Spain.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Hamas also said some Palestinians are still being targeted by gunfire. Israel denied those claims and had threatened to resume attacks on Gaza if Hamas refused to release the hostages as planned.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
There's no jury involved, but Corrigan says the case will be decided by the judge over the next few weeks. Rubiales faces at maximum a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Key resignations at the Justice Department yesterday, including Manhattan's top federal prosecutor and five other senior officials, after they refused to follow through with an order from the department to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Manhattan U.S.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Attorney Danielle Sassoon said she's confident Adams committed the crimes spelled out in his indictment and accused Adams' lawyers of proposing what amounted to a quid pro quo, suggesting Adams could help carry out Trump's immigration agenda if the indictment were dismissed. A lawyer for Adams called the idea of there being a quid pro quo a total lie.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emile Beauvais accepted Sassoon's resignation and put the team who worked on prosecuting Adams on administrative leave, saying they'll be investigated by the attorney general. The New York Times notes this spree of resignations is the most high-profile repudiation of President Trump's tightening control over the Justice Department.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
In other news, President Trump is proposing that the U.S. increase its tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on American imports. Reuters reports that the move toward reciprocal tariffs could set the stage for a global trade war. The administration says this will level the playing field for American companies and kick off new trade negotiations with other countries.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
But as the AP notes, it might drive up prices and could backfire if it pushes up inflation and slows growth. And finally, this weekend, Saturday Night Live turns 50. And on Sunday, it'll broadcast a three-hour live anniversary special featuring dozens of stars and musical guests. The show has come a long way from its very first chaotic episode in 1975.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
The man behind the scenes for all 50 years is creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, who, if you can believe it, has never missed a single Saturday night. Susan Morrison, an editor at The New Yorker, got unique access to the show for her new biography on Michaels.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
And she told me, despite having run the same production for five decades, the show is so ambitious and hard to pull off that it still comes down to the wire every week.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
One of the things that people in the current group of writers said to me is they would see him on Friday looking at the index cards on his bulletin board where he has the sketches arrayed in three acts and still seem scared. The idea that after 50 years he cares so much that he could still feel on Friday morning like, oh my God, I don't have a f***ing first act.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Morrison is my guest on this week's episode of Apple News in Conversation, where she told me all about Michael's singular vision for a new kind of comedy show. And of course, we talked about our favorite SNL sketches. If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that's queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Kat Lonsdorff is NPR's Middle East correspondent and spoke with us from Tel Aviv. She says although this recent dispute appears to be resolved, there are still questions about how phase two of the ceasefire deal might move forward. We know some of the big picture goals. More Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians could be released. Israeli troops could withdraw from Gaza.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
And the terms of a permanent ceasefire could be explored. But we don't have many specifics.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
Thanks. Good morning. It's Friday, April 11th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, a look back at this week in tariffs. The Supreme Court says the Trump administration must help bring back a man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador. And why some foreign musicians are thinking twice before coming to play shows in the U.S.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
Yeah. Well, that moment that you're describing on Wednesday, it sounds like that was a turning point for a lot of people watching closely this tariff policy. I mean, we heard Fox Business senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino, who's been a big supporter of President Trump's, basically say this is not sustainable.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
So was this actually a strategy of Trump's? Are we seeing something that suggests this is a strategy that unfolded in the way he had planned? Or is this really Trump conceding and walking something back because it clearly was too unpopular and unsustainable?
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What is the market mayhem all for?
So, you know, I mean, he was even admonished in that hearing. It sounds like you're sitting here in front of us. Why is there a big movement on trade policy? Absolutely.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
Mm-hmm. Let's go back to this idea of concessions for a moment, because we're hearing President Trump say this, some of his team is saying this, that they have managed to get dozens of countries to engage with them since the tariffs, new tariffs were introduced, and that they're hopeful that this will now lead to serious concessions. What concessions is he hoping to get?
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What is the market mayhem all for?
How much of the concession talk to you appears to be substantial versus PR, basically?
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
Mm-hmm. Well, so the administration's stated goal and goal, at least, is to bring American manufacturing back to the United States. Can I ask you to just evaluate that vision for a moment? I mean, how realistic is that? What would it look like? How long might it take?
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
Let's start with the biggest story all week, President Trump's tariff policy. Today, China announced it will raise tariffs on the United States to 125%. That comes after the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 145% on China.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
Just to bring us to an end here, to an end point of reflection, I mean, we've talked about there being these two competing narratives of what happened this week. I think we're going to be hearing about this for a long time. The Trump administration is touting this week as a victory, as this was our plan all along. Others are calling it a capitulation, a real walk back after so much backlash.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
How would you advise people who are listening to think about these dual narratives and decide which one is closest to true?
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
The tit-for-tat retaliatory measures are just the latest in an unnerving week that started with widespread tariffs against dozens of countries, sending markets nosediving, only to be pulled back a few days later on all countries except China. To understand the impact of all of this and what comes next, I called up Sean Donnan, a senior writer for economics at Bloomberg News.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
John Donnan with Bloomberg. Thank you so much for your time.
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday the Trump administration must facilitate the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador back to the United States. A lower court judge ordered the administration to return Kilmar Abrego-Garcia by Monday night.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
But Chief Justice John Roberts paused that order so the court could have time to review the case. The administration accused Abrego Garcia of being a gang member, but so far has not publicly provided any evidence of that. They admitted he was erroneously deported, but said there was nothing they could do to return him. And they argued the judge who ordered his return had no power to do so.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
In addition to saying the government should help him return, the justices also ordered his case to be handled as it would have if he had not been deported. There were two aviation incidents on Thursday. First, in New York, a helicopter carrying six people went down into the Hudson River. ABC News reports all six people on board, including a pilot, two adults, and three children, were killed.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
Meanwhile, in Washington, a plane carrying a number of members of the House from New York and New Jersey was clipped by another plane while on the ground at Reagan National Airport. Both were American Airlines aircraft. Reagan Airport has been in the public eye ever since an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter in January, killing 67 people.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
And finally, the first of two weekends of the Coachella Music Festival kicks off today. The LA Times reports recent high-profile incidents at the U.S. border where people were denied entry has some foreign artists worried about traveling to the United States, especially if they've been critical of President Trump. The U.S.
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What is the market mayhem all for?
is the biggest touring market, and festivals like Coachella attract music acts from all over the world. According to The Times, this general feeling of unease, plus recently increased visa costs and longer wait times, are making some artists call their lawyers or even think twice before coming to perform in the U.S. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
And check out our interview show In Conversation. This week, I talked to New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer about the recent deportation of more than 200 Venezuelan migrants to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. Blitzer spoke about what he sees as the near silent democratic response to the Trump administration's immigration agenda.
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
And I started by asking him why the White House reversed itself in the way that it did and what, if anything, this chaotic week has actually accomplished.
Apple News Today
What is the market mayhem all for?
If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, that episode is queued up to play for you next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Similar reversals have happened at the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy, and other agencies. Some of the firings are being challenged in federal courts. And Washington Post reporter Aaron Wiener told us they reveal some of the flaws in Musk's thinking, applying private sector strategies to the federal bureaucracy.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Federal workers Weiner spoke to say the whiplash has been difficult to navigate. In some cases, they've been ordered to return to work in the office, only to find that their agencies will no longer occupy the buildings they were reporting to. Musk's team has canceled hundreds of leases.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
In one case at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Weiner reports managers were directed to flip a coin to determine who should use the limited available workspaces. Other workers said they've been instructed to kill time in hallways while they wait for desks to open up.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
After the cabinet meeting, Trump described in a social media post a more precise approach to job cuts than the administration has taken to date, writing, we say, the scalpel rather than the hatchet.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Now to reporting from ProPublica that examines the unusual relationship between Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, one of the most powerful politicians in the country, and a conservative evangelical pastor named Steve Berger. They are housemates in Washington, D.C.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Joshua Kaplan is a reporter for ProPublica.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Speaker Johnson has been staying in the House since earlier this year, and Kaplan told us the pastor, Berger, had been working for several years to develop a political influence campaign with the explicit goal of building relationships with lawmakers and using those connections to influence policy. Kaplan walked us through some of Berger's positions.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Johnson, like Berger, is an evangelical conservative. And according to House ethics rules, the speaker and other lawmakers are allowed to live anywhere they want if they pay fair market rent. Otherwise, it would be considered an improper gift under ethics rules. A spokesperson for Johnson says he pays fair rent for his portion of the townhome.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
And this spokesperson told ProPublica that Johnson and Berger have never discussed legislation or public policy.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
But first, since President Trump took office, he and Elon Musk have been working to dramatically reshape and shrink the federal workforce. In less than two months, they've fired over 60,000 employees across at least 17 different agencies. The speed of the firings has led to some confusion and mistakes.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Berger did not respond to ProPublica's request for comment, but he has claimed previously to have personally motivated legislation on Capitol Hill.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
ProPublica reports Berger has had close relationships with other conservative politicians. Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff, has said that he and several members of Congress attend weekly Bible study with Berger.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Another person who's known to have lived in this townhome, former Congress member Dan Bishop, who is President Trump's nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also did not respond to ProPublica's request for comment.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch turns 94 next week, and his family is more divided than ever. Last year, he attempted to change the family trust. It's designed so that when Rupert dies, control of his global print and broadcast empire will be shared equally between four of his children.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Rupert wanted to take voting power away from three of his kids in favor of his eldest son, Lachlan, who currently runs Fox News. He felt he could trust Laughlin more to carry on his legacy and maintain the right-wing and, in some cases, far-right slant of his brands.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
But a court official in Nevada rejected his bid to make that change, and the bitter legal battle laid bare the dysfunction within the family.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Good morning. It's Friday, March 7th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, house speaker Mike Johnson's pastor roommate, Rupert Murdoch's youngest son addresses the family's succession drama for the first time, and how daylight saving time affects your health.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
That's McKay Coppins, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and my guest this week on Apple News in Conversation. He spoke with Murdoch's youngest son, James, extensively about his rivalry with Lachlan and the battle for control of his father's businesses.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Politico reported yesterday that Trump convened his cabinet to make clear that they should make the final calls on hiring and firing within their departments, not Musk. But he also said if cabinet secretaries aren't willing to make cuts, Musk will do the cutting. The meeting came after a flood of concerns from lawmakers and cabinet secretaries over who has final firing power.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
The whole idea of the trust initially, James told Coppins, was to incentivize the siblings to cooperate and make them less competitive for their father's favor. But in reality, the siblings have very different viewpoints on where the businesses should go. Lachlan is reportedly even more conservative than his father.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Meanwhile, the other siblings have indicated that they would make efforts to tone down the political rhetoric at their father's outlets.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Coppin's reporting on James Murdoch, titled Growing Up Murdoch, was the Apple News Story of the Month for February. If you're listening in the Apple News app, we'll cue that up to play for you next. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
President Trump on Thursday postponed the implementation of tariffs on Canada and Mexico for goods that are part of a trade agreement he signed during his first term. That applies to about 50 percent of Mexican imports and 38 percent of Canadian imports. The pause is for one month. Tariffs that Trump imposed on China earlier this week remain in effect.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
This is the second time in less than two months that Trump has announced and then backtracked on tariffs on the United States' neighbors, moves that have rattled the stock market and caused concern among some economists. The exemption is in place until April 2nd. That's when Trump plans to announce another round of retaliatory tariffs on goods from a range of countries.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
In South Carolina, the first execution by firing squad in the United States in almost 15 years is scheduled to take place this evening. Brad Keith Sigmund was convicted of double murder and sentenced to death in 2002. He chose the firing squad rather than lethal injection or the electric chair, which is South Carolina's default method.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Problems with the state's recent lethal injections made Sigmund fearful that he might experience pulmonary edema, a condition that can develop due to a drug given during a lethal injection that can create the feeling of drowning. Only three people in the past 50 or so years have been executed in this way in the United States.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
And finally, clocks change this weekend as we move forward by one hour for daylight saving on Sunday. Time magazine reports there are a number of ways losing an hour of sleep can affect your health, including throwing off your circadian rhythm and exacerbating anxiety and depression symptoms. There are some ways to deal with it.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
One doctor told Time since this is a biological change, simply giving your body time to adjust could help by exercising and adjusting your bedtime gradually over the course of several days. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app, stick around for my full interview with McKay Coppins about the Murdoch family.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
That episode of Apple News in Conversation is coming up next. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
Apple News Today
Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
Musk was also in the room for the cabinet meeting, according to Politico's reporting, and acknowledged that the Doge team has made some missteps, something he also said to members of Congress this week. Some of those missteps have led to rehiring workers who were let go.
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Speaker Johnson has a roommate — and he has a big agenda
At the Department of Agriculture, for example, scientists trying to fight the spread of bird flu were laid off as part of the mass firings, and the administration struggled to rehire key employees working on the virus outbreak. The Department of Veterans Affairs fired 1,000 probationary employees one week, then sought to rehire employees who worked on the veterans' crisis line.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and a review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Friday, April 4th. I'm Shamita Basu.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Global reaction to the tariffs has been mixed. China quickly retaliated, hitting all U.S. imports with a 34 percent tariff. But The Wall Street Journal reports that other countries for the moment aren't jumping to retaliatory measures. The prime minister of Australia, for example, said his country wouldn't join a, quote, race to the bottom by retaliating.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Likewise, Japan and India, which both face tariffs upwards of 20 percent, have so far indicated no plans to invoke their own tariffs back at us. Today, American leaders and economists are watching for two key moments, a jobs report out this morning and later a speech on the economic outlook by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, particularly after the worst day for the markets in five years.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
On Fox News earlier this week, Vice President J.D. Vance was asked how Americans who are sitting at home worried about their bank accounts should prepare.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
He went on to blame Joe Biden for our economic woes.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Meanwhile, there are broad consequences for some of the world's smallest and poorest nations. Reuters reports on the impact to Lesotho, a small African nation that Trump ridiculed as a country nobody has ever heard of last month in his joint address to Congress. The administration placed a whopping 50% reciprocal tariff on the country, the highest on the list.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Exports to the U.S., primarily diamonds and textiles, make up more than 10% of Lesotho's GDP — An economist told Reuters that the tariffs will effectively kill the textile industry in the country. Due to the formula the administration used to calculate percentages, some of the poorest nations are facing the highest tariffs.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Reuters also explains how some largely uninhabited territories and islands are facing tariffs, with some joking about penguins having to pay the cost. Now, if you are feeling nervous about the possibility of a recession, you're not alone. But it's not too soon or too late to start preparing your finances so you're in the best possible position.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
USA Today's personal finance reporter recommends you first focus on paying off any credit card debt or high interest debt as soon as possible. As needed, try transferring that debt to another loan that has a lower interest rate. And if you're debt free, try to make sure you have enough money in savings to cover at least three months of living expenses.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
One way to grow that reserve of money more quickly, USA Today says, try putting it in a high yield savings account. Let's spend the rest of today's show talking about some other news out of Washington. It's been a pretty remarkable week for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, from two women representatives who effectively shut down the House to a marathon speech on the Senate floor.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
This is Apple News Today. We begin with the immediate fallout from Trump's sweeping tariffs enacted on Wednesday. Markets slid with U.S. stocks seeing their steepest decline in market value since March of 2020. JPMorgan economists said yesterday they believe there's a 60 percent chance of a global recession.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
To help us take a step back and take stock, I called up Alana Shore, senior Washington editor at Semaphore. And I started by asking her about a push led by Representative Brittany Patterson, a Democrat from Colorado, and Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Both are moms, and both came together to demand a change in the rules to allow new parents to vote by proxy in Congress, something President Trump came out in support of yesterday.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Incredible. And we should say that this whole saga effectively meant that the House was out of business for two days this week. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, there was another moment that's gotten a lot of attention. Democratic Senator Cory Booker broke the record for the longest speech ever given on the Senate floor. It clocked in at 25 hours and five minutes.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
President Trump defended the tariffs while standing outside Air Force One yesterday, saying they put America in the driver's seat.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Here's just a little bit of it where he spoke about being inspired by the late Representative John Lewis.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
So, Alana, what's been the reaction among Democrats to Booker's marathon speech? Democrats are thrilled.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
And not to mention, I mean, the way that he did it, he literally did not step away. Right. He didn't sit the entire time. He could not use the bathroom during that entire time. And just to say he wasn't, you know, up there reading Green Eggs and Ham, as we have seen some representatives do. Right. Yeah. He spoke on the issues pretty consistently for that whole 25 hour period.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Does it represent a change for how Democrats might be thinking about confronting this administration?
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Okay. Alana, we can't end without quickly touching on this week's special elections, where Republicans appear to underperform. As the week closes out, how are you reflecting on what these races might tell us about what's to come?
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
But lots of economists, from more liberal ones to more conservative ones, are waving red flags, saying the math just doesn't add up. Here's some reaction from CNBC's Jim Cramer on CNN yesterday.
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Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Hmm. So by that, do you mean different voters, like a different makeup of voters? Yes. I mean, certainly fewer. Fewer, yes. But by proportion, it means the makeup is just different.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Alana Shore with Semaphore. Thank you so much for joining me. Thanks for having me. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Less rain and more drought have made it harder for coffee producers to contend with the never-ending demand for beans.
Apple News Today
Markets plummet, a House revolt, and other big Washington news
Smithsonian Magazine spoke to a botanist who is scouring remote corners of the earth in search of new alternatives. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. Enjoy the weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.