--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, June 16th. I'm Shamita Basu. And I'm Duarte Giraldino. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Today, President Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This will be Biden's first time meeting with the Russian leader since he took office.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The summit in Geneva is expected to go on for hours. We'll have coverage throughout the day on Apple News.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza today. Israel took aim at Hamas sites in Gaza after incendiary balloons were launched from this area.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: These are the first attacks since last month's ceasefire. This latest violence is an early test for Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's also a reminder to President Biden, this situation is volatile. LA Times reporters in Jerusalem and Washington took a look at what the new Israeli administration means for U.S. interests in the area.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Middle East experts say the Biden administration is relieved to see anyone but Netanyahu in charge. He had a testy relationship with Obama and went on to embrace Trump, which signaled a shift.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Instead of relying on the long-held bipartisan support for Israel and American politics, Netanyahu aimed his message at the Republican right. Trump's loss made that path a riskier one.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So now there's new leadership, but it's not like the new Israeli prime minister is in line with Biden's vision. He comes from a right-wing party that's against a Palestinian state or any deal with Iran.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Bennett's key trade? He's not Netanyahu. This fresh leadership has U.S. and Israeli political observers predicting both countries will develop a better relationship.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: That's not to say anyone's expecting quick progress. Israel's new prime minister is held up by a coalition with an unusual mix of parties representing left, right, and center views.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They've agreed on much other than the desire to knock out Netanyahu. The U.S. wants a nuclear deal with Iran, and Israel can play a key role in that.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now the question is whether new faces around the table will be enough to make progress on this and other tricky issues in the region.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There was a time when the phrase "critical race theory" was rarely heard outside of university circles. It refers to the academic study of systemic racism.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But something changed in the last year or so. You now hear the phrase debated on cable news shows, thrown around in angry social media posts, even used by national politicians.
--:-- Shamita Basu: NBC News looks at how critical race theory became the center of a political firestorm.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The reporters for this piece interviewed conservative activists who say this academic framework shouldn't be taught in public schools.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the thing is, local school districts say they're not teaching it. But critical race theory has become sort of a generic term for whatever these activists are fighting against, which includes teaching children about race and gender equity.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: It's gotten to the point where critical race theory now comes up in local school board meetings. These are typically really dull proceedings, and they're now being interrupted by fiery speeches from protesters and campaigns to remove school board members.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And heavy hitters in the GOP, they are seeing an opportunity here. According to NBC News, they want to turn this passion at a local level into a national campaign.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon praised the fight against school boards. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is also backing the movement.
--:-- Shamita Basu: These activist networks have been successful in making noise, raising money, and getting attention in conservative media.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But it's not clear how much popular support they have. NBC profiles one community in Maine where critical race theory became a hot issue in the local school board elections.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Conservative parents targeted one board member and called for her to resign. But she won re-election.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The school superintendent said he was surprised by how much hate can be generated by a small group of people.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So let me know if this sounds familiar. You're locked down, spending a lot more time at home, sitting on your sofa, and you realize you've had this couch for years.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And then inspiration strikes. You go online and splurge in a brand new one.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now you're vaccinated. Lockdowns are starting to end. But that wonderful sofa you paid for six months ago, you still don't have it. It still hasn't arrived.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The design magazine House Beautiful explains why furniture delays are so bad right now.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it involves everything from, of course, the pandemic to global trade to weather to the simple anatomical fact that what our butts need from couches and what our backs need from couches are two very different things.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: We'll explain that more in a minute. First, when you tap by on a sofa, you go to the back of a line in a very complex process.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Even though you may not be ordering a fancy custom piece, most quality sofas have to be built for you.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: There aren't giant warehouses with sofas finished and just ready to ship. Once companies get your order, workers have to put the wood and the parts and the fabric all together for you.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But right now, they can't find the wood because there are lumber shortages.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Is your dream sofa covered with silky smooth fabric, a sumptuous leather? All of those materials are scarce right now because manufacturers in places like Belgium, India, and Italy have lost months of production time because of COVID.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And don't forget about the butts and backs. Furniture designers, they think long and hard about them.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: You sit in a soft cushion, right? But you lean back on a firm one. The difference is the foam, which comes in different densities.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Foams are incredibly tough to find right now. That's in part because of the big ice storm in February.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Texas and Louisiana are key parts of the foam supply chain. And when the Gulf region froze, the foam industry froze along with it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So if you're eager to change out your couch sometime this year, you might want to start shopping today. Or better yesterday.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The U.S. track and field trials for the Olympics start on Friday.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A lot of runners will be wearing Nikes. What's strange is that even many of the runners who have sponsorship deals with other shoe brands are wearing Nikes.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The latest track shoe is believed to be so fast that runners are begging to wear it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the Wall Street Journal reports competing shoe brands are allowing it, not wanting their runners to miss a chance at making the Olympics.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Keep in mind, when a runner is racing, she's spending a lot of energy. These shoes use a new super light foam, and they're also designed with a special plate in them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That combination is thought to return more energy to the runner as she's running.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The track world doesn't agree on how much the shoes can affect speed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it is true, other factors could be having an impact. Still, when you consider how fast some of these runners wearing these shoes reach the finish line, you just can't deny how impressive their numbers are.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: In less than a year, runners wearing Nike Super Spikes have broken multiple world records.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Just this month, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan beat the women's 10,000-meter record. Two days later, Ethiopian runner Letesabet Gide shattered that time.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Both of those women were running in Nikes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: These super spikes, they're bringing up questions of fairness. Some people worry the winners might not be the people with the most talent, but rather the runners with the best shoes.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Other sports also had to deal with this. A while back, high-tech swimsuits were banned.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But track and field leaders, they're embracing this new technology. And right now, Nike has some hot tech.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So when you look at the feet of top runners, you're likely to see a lot of those swooshes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And while you're there, check out some of our audio stories.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We'll talk with you again tomorrow. Thank you.
