--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Friday, September 30th. 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.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Atlantic coast is bracing for the next hit from Ian. The storm strengthened back into a hurricane after tearing through Florida. It's forecast to hit South Carolina today, with Georgia and North Carolina feeling the impact. Florida faces a long recovery from the storm. At least 10 people are reportedly dead, and the numbers could rise as search teams get further into the disaster zone. Hundreds of people have been rescued so far. There are widespread power outages, and some places don't have safe drinking water. A new government study says climate change added at least 10% more rain to Hurricane Ian.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can keep an eye on the Apple News app for the latest on the storm and the recovery throughout the day.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Vladimir Putin's amped-up war efforts this week are causing people to run, literally uproot their lives and leave their homes. Some are running from Russia to avoid the military draft. Some are running from parts of Ukraine to flee areas where Russia is claiming victory. Today, Russia is taking steps to formally annex parts of Ukrainian territory, places where the Kremlin backed sham referendums.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Reuters spoke to Ukrainians about the fake votes and illegal land grab. People are opposed to the referendum. No one wants to join Russia. But with this pressure, people are scared, scared of everything. Hundreds of Ukrainians have fled the areas in the east and south that Russia is trying to claim.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One woman told Reuters that she decided to leave after her kid's school was ordered to switch to a Russian curriculum. She says as soon as they passed the checkpoint she took a picture of the Ukrainian flag and she felt happy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Over in Russia the Washington Post reports on waves of people leaving the country so that they aren't forced to die for it. At least 180,000 Russian men have gone, often leaving behind their families or jobs, ending up in nearby countries, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Georgia. And the total number is likely higher. Dodging the draft could mean up to 10 years in prison. So people who are fleeing are trying to keep a low profile.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Post spoke to one person, a construction worker, who flew through two countries in four days. He was in an airport in Turkey with no idea where he'll go next. But that wasn't the point. He said, the main task is to save your life.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from opioid overdoses in the past 20 years. There have been lawsuits and billions of dollars in settlements holding drug companies and big pharmacies responsible. But a recent Supreme Court ruling may make it tougher to convict doctors who prescribe the painkillers.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In a unanimous decision in June, justices said prosecutors not only need to prove a doctor overprescribed opioids, but also that the physician knew it was wrong or dangerous. Essentially, prosecutors need to prove the doctor's state of mind.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Brett Kelman is covering the ruling's impact for Kaiser Health News. He says it won't make a difference in every case. Now, that's not a get-out-of-jail-free card. That doesn't mean that any doctor who's accused of these crimes can just argue, I thought it was okay. It's just a burden that prosecutors need to overcome.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But some defense lawyers think that the court ruling gives them an edge. Kelman searched court records and found it's already been cited in more than a dozen cases. He focuses on the case of one doctor in Oklahoma, Nelson Inaro. Last year, he pleaded guilty to six counts of drug dealing. But recently, he changed his mind.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling days before Dr Inaro is set to be sentenced and is probably going to get close to three years in prison He makes a motion to withdraw his plea agreement saying now that SCOTUS has changed the rules I ready to go to trial
--:-- Shamita Basu: Kelman said since his story was published, Inaros struck a better plea deal with no prison time. That kind of turnaround is why this ruling is seen as a powerful weapon for doctors. It's a game changer. It will influence how the Department of Justice tries these doctors and how these doctors defend themselves.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If the changes of this ruling have percolated through the medical community and is actually changing how doctors operate is a thing that I don't know yet, and I think we'll really have to wait and see.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We now know the official cause of death for Queen Elizabeth II, old age. That announcement yesterday got us thinking about a Wall Street Journal story that got a lot of attention from Apple news readers. It's the headline that really draws you in. Can you die of old age?
--:-- Shamita Basu: More doctors are saying yes. You might think, sure, plenty of people die of old age, including 96-year-old monarchs. But actually, CDC data doesn't list old age as a leading cause of death in the United States. Doctors here are often more specific on death certificates. For elderly people, the most common reasons are respiratory disease and pneumonia.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But in Japan, old age is the number three cause of death. Now, this might sound like a bureaucratic difference, but it's more than that. When doctors choose to single out underlying causes, the focus is more on how to treat the patient, prolong their life.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But when a doctor chooses to say it's old age, it's sort of accepting that death is inevitable. Now, this is where the question of how to track deaths affects the living. When an older person gets sick, they face questions about how far to go with treatment.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A culture that recognizes death from old age may focus less on treating them aggressively and more on their comfort and dignity. This article seems to have gotten a lot of people thinking about other perspectives The journal speaks to a Japanese end care doctor He sees dying of old age as a natural ending And he says it a part of Japanese culture that might be something the rest of the world could embrace.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's a new must-have accessory for celebrities, Professional sports teams. Not necessarily a big one, sometimes even just a stake in one. And if it's done right, it might even make a little money. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhaney have a new docuseries out about buying and trying to turn around a struggling Welsh soccer team.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Natalie Portman is a co-founder of a new women's pro soccer team in L.A. Sometimes actual pro athletes buy pro teams. The latest is LeBron James. And it's not a basketball team. It's on a different kind of court. That's the sweet, sweet sound of pickleball. One of the fastest growing sports in the country. Sports Illustrated has the story of how LeBron James and other NBA stars are investing in Major League Pickleball.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yes, you can go pro at this sport, which is described as being easy on the knees. A mix between badminton, ping pong, and tennis. Now, this new deal will give James and his partners a team of their own. The league's founder says this deal is the latest sign of the sport's growth. He's got plans to expand the league from 12 teams to 16, and he's hoping to reach 40 million pickleball players by 2030.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And check out our weekend interview show, In Conversation. This week, I talk to NPR's veteran Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg. We talk about her new book and how she first became friends with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, long before she joined the court.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We were all women with our noses up against the window saying essentially to the guys, hey, let us in. We weren't trying to break a glass ceiling. We were just trying to get a foot in the door.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Enjoy that weekend listen. We'll be back with the news on Monday.
