--:-- Mark Garrison: Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 27th. I'm Mark Garrison in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Mark Garrison: On today's show, Michigan Arab Americans upset over Gaza could threaten Biden's re-election. Florida health policy under fire during a measles outbreak. And how our names might influence our careers. But first, let's take a quick look at some other stories in the news.
--:-- President Biden: [audio clip] President Biden says there could be a Gaza ceasefire deal in place as soon as Monday. Reuters reports that a draft proposal includes new aid for civilians in an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Biden told late-night host Seth Meyers about what Israel is potentially willing to do. Ramadan's coming up, and there's been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well in order to give us time to get all the hostages out.
--:-- [Audio clip continues]
--:-- Mark Garrison: Biden may have sounded optimistic about a deal coming together soon, but Hamas officials said there are still big gaps between Israel and Hamas. Today, Biden is hosting congressional leaders at the White House for talks on aid to Israel, Ukraine, and avoiding a partial government shutdown.
--:-- Mark Garrison: In Europe, Sweden is set to join NATO as early as this week. For many years, the country avoided membership, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to the major policy change. Allies say Sweden's well-equipped military will be a good addition to NATO.
--:-- Mark Garrison: And in New York, exciting news for some medical students. I'm happy to share with you that starting in August this year, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will be tuition-free. Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a former professor there, announcing her $1 billion donation to the institution. It's one of the largest donations to a school in American history.
--:-- Yasmin Abu-Talib: When I was in Dearborn at the end of January, I was really struck by how much the Israel-Gaza war has just consumed the community. It is all people think about. It's all people talk about.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Yasmin Abu-Talib covers the White House for The Washington Post. She spoke with Arab Americans who plan to flex their power as a voting bloc. Activists backed by local politicians are encouraging Democrats to choose the option uncommitted on their ballot instead of Biden.
--:-- Yasmin Abu-Talib: The goal is to have at least 10,000 of these votes sending a message. Tilting too far toward Israel could cost Biden the White House. They want Biden to call for a full ceasefire in Gaza. They want him to stop vetoing these resolutions at the U.N.
--:-- Mark Garrison: And beyond that, you know, they say he can't just call for a ceasefire and then come and campaign the next day. There are a lot of Democrats who are saying there's a lot of trust rebuilding that needs to happen in this community over the next few months.
--:-- Yasmin Abu-Talib: There are over 300,000 people in Michigan with heritage from the Middle East or North Africa. The majority voted for Biden in the last election. Some are waiting to see if he can earn their vote by the general election. But others told The Post they're done supporting the president.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Polls pitting Biden against Trump show a tight potential race in Michigan. If Biden loses a significant amount of support among Arab American voters, Abu Talib says that could complicate his campaign.
--:-- Yasmin Abu-Talib: If he can't win that state, I think there is a deep, deep fear that that means he is not going to win the election. And I think the voters there are well aware of it.
--:-- Mark Garrison: In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Michigan by 10,000 votes. That's why organizers in the state have been pushing to get that many Democrats to vote uncommitted in today's primary.
--:-- Daniel Engber: In the U.S., multiple states are reporting infections. There are a few dozen cases this year, a relatively large number compared to recent years in America. Florida is at the center of the outbreak with a large share of those cases, and public health experts are criticizing the state's Surgeon General.
--:-- Mark Garrison: The Surgeon General in Florida chose not to do that, but actually to say, given the burden of having your kid home from school for three weeks, he was going to leave it up to parents to decide.
--:-- Daniel Engber: Ingber says this is similar to Dr. Joseph Latipo's approach on other issues. He was appointed during the COVID pandemic by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Ingber says Dr. Latipo got a lot of criticism for questioning COVID vaccination recommendations and other common policies.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Measles can lead to severe and potentially deadly complications. Engber explained that at the hard-hit Broward County public schools, the overall vaccination rate is high, and it's unclear how many families will decide to send unvaccinated kids to school because of Dr. Latipo's guidance.
--:-- Daniel Engber: Lots of parents are still going to be making their own decisions based on what they hear more generally about the life-saving value of these vaccines. Still, experts worry that if Dr. Lattipo's guidance spreads and more unvaccinated kids are in school during a measles outbreak, that could be a major problem.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Doctors say the safest bet for parents is to make sure they get their kids vaccinated against measles.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Finally, a story about people who seem destined to do what they do. Let's start on the track at the 2012 Olympics in London. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Usain Bolt of Jamaica is the fastest man on the planet.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Even his name sounds fast, like what else could a guy named Bolt be but a champion sprinter? The term for that is aptonym, a name that's especially well-suited to the person's career.
--:-- Mark Garrison: And there's research showing that there may be more to these names than just coincidence. National Geographic spoke to a lot of people whose professions match up with their surnames. There's Carla Dove, who studies birds at the Smithsonian.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Greg Pond is an aquatic biologist for the EPA. There's also an ecologist who's done research on skunks, Ted Stankowicz. Researchers looked at census data and found that people with last names like Baker, Carpenter, or Painter were overrepresented in those professions.
--:-- Mark Garrison: This may be evidence of what psychologists call implicit egotism. That's where people are drawn to things that resemble them. So someone's name might give them the tiniest nudge toward a career choice.
--:-- Mark Garrison: If nothing else, people with aptonyms say it gives them extra recognition. Betsy Weatherhead is an atmospheric scientist. She says people naturally remember her because of her name, and she's grateful for that.
--:-- Mark Garrison: 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 from Wired. A Russian journalist tells his story of fleeing and eventually returning to Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
--:-- Mark Garrison: He left because he was worried his political views and LGBTQ plus identity would make him a target. Now he worries about what Russia is becoming. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Mark Garrison: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
