Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning. It's Monday, November 17th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, why the American pope is criticizing the American president. Silicon Valley's pitch for genetically engineered babies. And as we head into awards season, are judges actually watching the movies? But first, to a weekend of unexpected reversals.
Late on Sunday evening, President Trump posted on social media that House Republicans should support a vote to release more files on Jeffrey Epstein. He said, quote, because we have nothing to hide. This is the first time he's shown a willingness to support the measure, one that he would ultimately have to sign.
It's an indication that in the House, at least, momentum was growing from within his own party to back it. The issue has driven a wedge into the GOP, with Trump clashing with some members of his party, most notably Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's long been one of Trump's most loyal and outspoken backers.
But her support for a vote to release the files appeared to strain their relationship to a breaking point over the weekend. Trump withdrew his endorsement of her and described her as, quote, wacky. Yesterday, Greene responded to his remarks about her on CNN.
He called me a traitor. And that is so extremely wrong. And those are the types of words that can radicalize people against me and put my life in danger.
Greene said she would not apologize for her position on Epstein, but she did apologize for the way she conducted herself at times in office. CNN's Dana Bash raised offensive posts and remarks that Greene had made over the years, including personal insults, outright lies, and conspiracies. And she asked Greene if she was only speaking out against Trump's rhetoric now because it was aimed at her.
I think that's fair criticism. And I would like to say humbly, I'm sorry for taking part in the toxic politics. It's very bad for our country. And it's been something I've thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, is that I'm only responsible for myself and my own words and actions.
And I am committed, and I've been working on this a lot lately, to put down the knives in politics and
Greene's dramatic about-turn has left many wondering what is motivating her current position. Will Sommer is a reporter at The Bulwark, a conservative publication founded by Trump critics, and has covered the MAGA movement in depth. He told us that some of Trump's recent policies have placed him increasingly against Greene's priorities.
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Chapter 2: What caused the split between Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Summer told us this shift for Greene was due to a mix of the ideological and the personal. The administration had reportedly advised her against running for governor or the Senate in Georgia because she couldn't win a battleground state. Greene has ruled out both, but denied it was because of Trump.
Summer says her seat is relatively safe, but she'll almost certainly face a primary challenger now. And for now, Summer says Greene continues to wield some influence in MAGA commentator circles.
A lot of them are not turning on her. They aren't saying Trump gave you the burn notice. You know, it's over for you. They're saying, well, maybe we support her in this. And, you know, maybe Trump should back down. So, I mean, she only has one vote in the House. Even, you know, the Republicans have a slim majority. She's only one member of Congress. But she has an enormous platform.
Green says she still ultimately supports the administration and is open to finding a way to move forward with the president. Let's turn now to a look at how the American Pope is influencing some Catholics on the policies of the American president. Last week, the Conference of U.S. Catholic Bishops delivered a special message condemning indiscriminate mass deportation.
We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vivification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.
Bishops backed the statement 216 to 5 in a vote. They didn't mention President Trump specifically in their message, and a White House spokesperson responded to it by saying Trump is carrying out a promise made to American voters.
The last time this group delivered this kind of message was over a decade ago, when they criticized the government's contraceptive mandate requiring health plans to cover a range of birth control options at no cost to patients. Observers say the Conference of Bishops is following the lead of its new head.
Earlier this month, Pope Leo was asked about the conditions of migrants held in a facility in Broadview, Illinois, near Chicago, where he's from.
Jesus says very clearly at the end of the world, we're going to be asked, you know, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there's a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what's happening. Many people who've lived for years and years and years never causing problems have been deeply affected by what's going on right now.
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Chapter 3: How did Marjorie Taylor Greene respond to Trump's remarks?
Right now, scientists in the U.S. and elsewhere use gene editing technology to clip and insert DNA after a child is born. But the practice is banned when it comes to editing embryos and creating babies from them.
Preventative's CEO says regulatory constraints force the company to work outside the U.S., and the company is focused on research that would prove embryo editing is safe before attempting to bring a baby to term. But many experts warn that the science is too unpredictable to be deemed safe.
and could normalize human experimentation by private companies without input from scientific oversight bodies. And some are concerned at the idea of editing for parental preferences, so-called designer babies.
There are a number of scientists, doctors, and others in this field that are quite disturbed that this is going on. And they feel that until there are resolutions and global regulations, safety considerations, ethical considerations, so it doesn't create two different types of societies with better humans and those that have less desirable traits, then it shouldn't be pursued.
Preventative and other companies working to commercialize reproductive genetic technology say their goal is to produce babies free of genetic disease and resilient against illness. There's only been one known instance of children being born from edited embryos.
In 2018, a Chinese scientist announced that he'd created three healthy children who were genetically altered as embryos to be immune to HIV. He was sentenced to prison in China for three years for the illegal practice of medicine. The idea of screening embryos for potentially desirable traits is already happening. Glazer told us about companies providing something called polygenic screenings.
The process takes DNA from an embryo and analyzes it to provide insight into the kind of characteristics a child might have.
So for example, various tests might show an embryo projected to have an IQ of 130 or an embryo with a 1.5% chance of developing schizophrenia or an embryo that might be 14% more likely than its siblings to suffer from anxiety. And there are all of these different probability scores that are also available for things like ADHD, bipolar disorder, diabetes, and even male pattern baldness.
Some scientists warn that we still don't understand everything about the human genome and that any edits or changes, including unintended mistakes, could end up being passed down to future generations. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
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