--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Thursday, June 24th. I'm Shamita Basu. And I'm Duarte Giraldino. 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.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Britney Spears says she wants her freedom back. In a much-anticipated court appearance, she confirmed what her fans have long suspected, that she's unhappy, angry at the legal conservatorship that binds her to her father. And she wants out. She called the arrangement abusive and said she cries every day.
--:-- [The L.A. Times reports on how Spears went on the record in court. It's been two years since she did that.]
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Her estate is estimated to be worth $60 million. More than 10 years ago, her father requested and was granted temporary control of her person and finances. This all happened after she was reportedly behaving erratically and was held for two mental evaluations. She's been living under the restrictions of a conservatorship since 2008 now.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Conservatorships are generally designed to protect people who cannot take care of themselves because of illness or old age. In court, Spears says she was put on lithium, a medication that made her feel drunk. She talked about how she had no privacy with people entering her home and that she wasn't allowed to leave. She also told the court she wanted to have her IUD removed so that she could try to have another child, but that she wasn't allowed to do that.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: We may not hear from Spears again anytime soon. Her lawyer said now that her comments are on the public record, she wants future legal proceedings to be sealed.
--:-- [The discussion shifts to the U.S. military and its handling of serious crimes like murder and sexual assault.]
--:-- Shamita Basu: Murders, sexual assaults, when crimes like these are reported inside the U military commanders decide which cases go to trial. Critics of the system say it gives too much power to people without legal experience and is not serving crime victims. Reports from the Pentagon show sexual assault cases are at record highs, while prosecution and conviction rates are falling.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Three out of four women that arrive at Fort Hood ages 18 to 24 were sexually harassed or assaulted. One of those women was my sister. That's Lupe Guillen speaking to lawmakers yesterday. Her sister Vanessa was killed in 2020 at her base in Fort Hood.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is rallying a bipartisan group of lawmakers. And change could be happening soon. NPR has some details about this proposed legislation. It would remove serious crimes from the military's chain of command. And attorneys experienced in criminal justice would oversee these cases.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Earlier this year, Gillibrand joined forces with Republican Senator Joni Ernst. Ernst is a survivor of sexual assault herself. She's also a military veteran. NPR is calling this moment a game changer that helped drive senators to co-sponsor this bill. Gillibrand now has enough Senate sponsors to clear a filibuster. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed support for the bill, too, saying she's confident it will pass in the House.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's also a shift in the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin backed some change in House testimony yesterday. I know enough at this point to say that I fully support removing the prosecution of sexual assaults and related crimes from the military chain of command.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: NPR says Gillibrand's bill will likely be brought up later this summer when the Senate takes up annual defense spending legislation.
--:-- [The discussion shifts to parents experiencing separation anxiety as children return to pre-pandemic activities.]
--:-- Shamita Basu: Families who've spent months living on top of each other are now starting to experience something new, personal space. As more people get vaccinated, families are finding themselves inching back into their pre-pandemic rhythms, including time spent at the office, daycares, summer camps. But in some cases, the new separation is leading to tears. Not necessarily for the kids, but for parents.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: It turns out, many families who are returning to life outside the home are experiencing a form of temporary separation anxiety. NBC News spoke to psychologists who say it'll take some time for parents to get used to being away from their kids again.
--:-- Shamita Basu: After months of close quarters, it's perfectly normal to worry a little bit more than usual about how your kids are doing when you're not with them. One expert said don't make a big deal out of being apart. Your kids look to you for cues, so if you tell them I'm gonna miss you when you drop them off, that might make your child feel distressed.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Instead, keep the focus on their excitement to be back at a relative's house or at swimming lessons. As for parents who have butterflies, try not to be glued to your phone in case you get a call or a text about how your child is doing. One parent said the most helpful thing she did to ease her own separation anxiety was keep herself busy. She met with co-workers for lunch who she hadn't seen in person in a long time, and that let her enjoy her time away from her family.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Experts say gaining independence is a normal and necessary part of childhood, and it got disrupted this year. So don't worry too much about the tearful drop-offs that are going on right now there are some positive life lessons to learn in this new chapter.
--:-- [The discussion shifts to Rembrandt's painting "The Night Watch" and its restoration using artificial intelligence.]
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: 300 years ago, Rembrandt's massive painting, The Night Watch, had its edges chopped off so that it could hang between two doors of Amsterdam's City Hall. Movers took a total of more than two feet off the sides, about another foot off the top and the bottom.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, the staff of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have come up with a pretty cool solution. With the help of advanced AI, they've recreated what they say is a true representation of the painting's missing parts.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Guardian explains how they did it. It turns out, a few years after Rembrandt finished his painting, another artist created a copy. See, art historians have always thought that this duplicate must have been done from an angle. The perspective is kind of off, and the color palette is a little bit different. Passable, but clearly not a Rembrandt.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The team at Reich's Museum fed high-resolution images of the painting, plus the copy, into a computer. And what it did was recreate the missing pieces pixel by pixel. It was able to simulate Rembrandt's signature brushstrokes.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The painting depicts a historical scene, a militia being sent off to protect the city from Spanish forces. The full version is a different experience. You gotta see this Rembrandt. The crop version puts the lieutenants in the center, but in the complete piece, there's a new sense of movement. It's a depiction of a group being sent out into the unknown.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can see the full uncut painting through our show notes page in the Apple News app. And while you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Goodbye for now.
