Shumita Basu
Appearances
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Greg Ip is the chief economics commentator for The Wall Street Journal.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Emily Witt is a staff writer for The New Yorker.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
Jacob Bogage is the congressional economic correspondent for The Washington Post.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Inflation helped Trump win. Now it’s becoming a headache.
And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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."
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Their mission was eight days. They ended up in space for nine months.
Andrea Leinfelder is a space reporter at the Houston Chronicle.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
Here's Beshear talking with CBS News on Monday.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Unpacking Elon Musk’s claims about Social Security
But, she said, the process stalled, leaving parts of her claim pending or outright rejected.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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!.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
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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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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%.
Apple News Today
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
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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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.
Apple News Today
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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The family mourning America’s first measles death in a decade
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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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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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
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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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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Protests, arson, trade-ins: inside the Tesla backlash
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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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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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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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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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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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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
Turmoil at the DOJ after prosecutors quit in protest
Jasmine Garst is NPR's immigration correspondent.
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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.
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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.
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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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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How Musk built his empire off of government contracts
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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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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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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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.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
In their lawsuit against Greenpeace, Energy Transfer claims the group supported protesters and encouraged violence.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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Why environmentalists are so worried about this lawsuit
Glenn Whipp covers film and television for the LA Times.
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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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Aside from the controversies, the absence of a big-budget frontrunner also makes this year's ceremony unique.
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We asked Whip who he thinks is taking home the night's biggest prizes.
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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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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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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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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.
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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.
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And then many years later, Trump called in a favor to White that would end up taking their friendship to the next level.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Why D.C.’s airspace is riskier than we previously thought
Ruby Alice on the stand testified the kiss was spontaneous and consensual.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
Apple News Today
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.
Apple News Today
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.