--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, August 2nd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: We're starting with two big international stories today. One involving China that we'll get to in a moment. First, the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri by American forces. He was the one we often saw sitting next to Osama bin Laden in al-Qaeda videos. He took control of the terror group after the U.S. killed bin Laden.
--:-- President Biden: He was deeply involved in the planning of 9-11, One of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was a mastermind behind attacks against Americans, including the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, which killed 17 American sailors and wounded dozens more. He played a key role, a key role in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 and wounding over 4,500 others. He carved a trail of murder and violence against American citizens.
--:-- Shamita Basu: CNN looks at the months of planning that went into the drone strike on Zawahiri in downtown Kabul. There was a focus on avoiding civilian casualties. A mistaken U.S. drone strike killed 10 civilians in Kabul last year. U.S. intelligence officials built a model of the house Zawahiri was staying in and tracked his movements. They found out that he would sometimes sit on the balcony. From there, they figured out they could hit that balcony without potentially killing others in the building.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: Biden approved the plan. The White House says no civilians were killed in this attack. The Taliban calls the attack a violation of the deal it signed with the U.S. on the pullout of American troops. That deal also included a promise by the Taliban not to let Afghanistan be used as a base for al-Qaeda.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Wall Street Journal reports that senior people in the Taliban were aware that Zawahiri was hiding in Kabul. When the Afghan government collapsed, the U.S. estimated that it could take just a year or two for al-Qaeda to regain enough strength to pose a serious threat to America. The fight against al-Qaeda dominated American foreign policy in the early 2000s. But as it and other terror networks declined, this decade has been about dealing with big, powerful countries. You see that with Russia and its attack on Ukraine.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Today, the focus is tension with China, stirred up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Reuters reports that multiple Chinese warplanes flew close to the middle of the sensitive Taiwan Strait. The Taiwanese military says it'll dispatch forces to respond to any threats.
--:-- John Kirby: Ahead of Pelosi's visit, the Biden administration tried to discourage China from overreacting. Yesterday, I said American policy about Taiwan has not changed. And Pelosi could visit if she wants to. A Speaker has the right to visit Taiwan, and a Speaker of the House has visited Taiwan before, without incident, as have many members of Congress, including this year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That's an attempt to play down the visit. But in many ways, it is a big deal. The last time a House Speaker visited Taiwan was 1997, Newt Gingrich. Understanding why China is so angry requires some context. Taiwan sees itself as independent, but China believes the island is part of China.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: It's not clear what the U.S. would do if China tried to take over Taiwan by force. And we mean it's literally not clear. U.S. policy on the issue is known as strategic ambiguity, which means U.S. diplomats are intentionally vague, never saying how they would respond.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Tension over Taiwan has troubled the U.S.-China relationship for decades. For a long time, there was a belief that business forces could keep things calm. China is heavily involved in the global economy, which benefits it and America. Both sides would have a lot to lose economically if they came into conflict.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But now there are signs that China may be getting more aggressive about Taiwan. Xi Jinping wants an unprecedented third term as president, so he may be looking to flex his muscles, and a Pelosi visit could give him that opportunity. One China expert tells Vox that a visit could be the straw that breaks the camel's back, saying, "there's bad timing and worse timing, and this is certainly worse timing."
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's turn now to U.S. politics. Today is primary day in several states. We're going to look at Kansas because voters there will make a decision on abortion rights. It's the first state since Roe was overturned to let voters weigh in on this question directly. In this case, it's a state constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to ban abortion.
--:-- Dylan Lyson: It's basically taken over the whole state. This is definitely the biggest political question of the summer, for sure. Even though Kansas is a heavily Republican state, its Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the right to an abortion is protected by the state's constitution.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the vote is going to matter beyond Kansas. A number of neighboring states banned abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That means Kansas is now one of the few options for abortion services in this area of the country. The stakes are high, which is why big money is pouring in on all sides.
--:-- Dylan Lyson: The Catholic Church and Susan B. Anthony pro-life America on one side, Planned Parenthood on the other. I've talked to political scientists. They say, money is not going to necessarily change people's minds on how to vote on this. But what it does is definitely help the get-out-the-vote efforts. So it really is going to be pushing people to make sure they vote.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It appears that definitely working. Lyson says based on early voting numbers, turnout is expected to be high. If voters agree to the amendment, Republicans in the Kansas legislature are expected to push for an abortion ban. The state's Democratic governor could veto it, but that depends on whether she wins her race in November.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it's possible that Republicans who support a ban could win enough seats in the legislature to override her veto. This is just one of many storylines that we're watching in today's primaries. You can find coverage of all the races in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's end today with a very different kind of story, one that goes beyond international affairs and politics and looks at space and time itself. The Guardian explains how earlier this year, Earth experienced the shortest day on record. On June 29th, midnight technically came early, 1.59 milliseconds early. And it's because the planet spun faster.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's a lot of reasons why this can happen. Everything from the moon to earthquakes to El Nino can influence how fast the Earth turns. So what does this mean? Is the world starting to spin faster? Not exactly. In fact, the larger trend is the Earth is spinning a little more slowly than it used to.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This throws off our clocks just a bit. The international body that governs time has sometimes added what it calls a leap second, you know, like a leap year, to keep our clocks in line with the planet's spin. It's all a reminder that time is made up and the world keeps turning.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can get into the details in The Guardian story and all the articles that we talked about today on the Apple News app. And when you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I'll talk with you again tomorrow.
