--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Good morning. It's Monday, March 22nd. I'm Duarte Giraldino. Shibita Basu is out. 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: Last night, CBS's 60 Minutes interviewed Michael Sherwin. He's the former head of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. He was also leading the federal government's investigation into the Capitol insurrection. He tells 60 Minutes he believes there is likely enough evidence to charge multiple insurrectionists with sedition. And in particular, he named far-right militia movements.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The 10% of the cases, I'll call the more complex conspiracy cases, where we do have evidence, it's in the public record, where individual militia groups from different facets, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, Proud Boys, did have a plan. We don't know what the full plan is to come to D.C., organize and breach the Capitol in some manner.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Sherman pointed to video evidence showing suspected militia members in tactical gear engaging in a clear military style assault. These suspects stayed in close formation, walking through the Capitol complex in a way that displayed military training. That's what you learn in close order combat, how you stay with your team to breach a room where maybe there's a terrorist, to breach a room where maybe there was an Al-Qaeda operative.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: This apparent military experience points to a troubling trend. A USA Today analysis shows, of the 324 people who have been arrested so far in connection with the Capitol insurrection, 43 are current or former officers, first responders or military veterans.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Bureau plans to go after every officer who found themselves on the wrong side of the law that day. As we're continuing to investigate the January 6th attack, there have been some instances of current or in particular former military or law enforcement who participated. And we want to pursue those cases just as aggressively as we would anybody else
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: USA Today reports police officer involvement in extremist behavior is not just isolated to the Capitol insurrection White supremacists have successfully infiltrated police departments for decades. This has some lawmakers worried about the safety of our government and the willingness of officers to properly assess threats from white supremacist groups.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: USA Today also cites the 2006 FBI report that now seems eerily prescient. Back then, it warned, and I'm directly quoting here, White supremacist presence among law enforcement personnel is a concern due to the access they may possess to restricted areas vulnerable to sabotage and to elected officials or protected persons whom they could see as potential targets for violence.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: USA Today connects this report with what happened on January 6th. This is what the streets of Miami sounded like this weekend. What you're hearing is thousands of spring breakers drinking, partying in the streets and not wearing masks. The Miami Herald is reporting.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Spring break crowds have been so violently rowdy that the longest continuously open restaurant and bar on Ocean Drive, the Clevelander, announced it was closing into March 24th. The business did this after a neighboring restaurant was trashed during a street fight.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber has been trying to get things under control. Here he is talking to CNN over the weekend. We're getting an enormous amount of people here, more than we can handle. Too many are coming really without the intention of following the rules. And the result has been a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The mayor is trying. He's imposed curfews, closed streets, even declared a state of emergency, one that was extended Sunday night for an additional three weeks. This city has tried a lot of tools to enforce its 8 p.m. curfew, including SWAT teams, a military-style vehicle, and pepper spray balls. But it doesn't seem to be doing much.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: It feels like a rock concert wall people over blocks and blocks The other last night somebody shot a weapon up in the air and there was a riot As the Miami Herald explains part of the reason why it been so difficult to get things under control is Mayor Gelber and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are not on the same page.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: From the start, DeSantis has been against COVID restrictions. He even passed an ordinance early in this month saying Florida would cancel any fines local authorities impose on people or businesses violating emergency COVID-19 orders. And last week, DeSantis was even spotted celebrating St. Patrick's Day at a packed Jacksonville bar. No masks in sight.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Local officials in Miami say all this has them feeling pretty powerless. Mayor Gelber put it all out there when he spoke with Shepard Smith on CNBC last week. We have a huge problem right now. We seem to be one of the only places that's opened, even if we don't want to be as opened as we are. Governor's made it that way. So everybody's coming here. There are discount fares.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Have you talked to him? No, I haven't talked to him in months. Why? He's not really talking to the local mayors. Most of us have not been able to talk. Have you tried? I've sent him letters. I've sent his chief of staff information. I've asked them for help. And what do you hear? I hear crickets.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: CNN is reporting police have made more than 1,000 arrests since February 3rd. The pandemic has created a tale of two housing markets. On one hand, you have people struggling to pay their rental mortgage, just trying to keep a roof over their heads. On the other, you have white-collar Americans who've saved more money than ever before, and they're looking to trade up.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The purchasing power of this group has led to a housing boom like we haven't seen since 2006. Make no mistakes. This is a COVID housing boom. The Wall Street Journal points out, there are a few factors making it easier for wealthier people to buy second homes. First, banks are being strict about who can borrow money. You have to have a steady job, often W-2 income, or meticulously kept accounting records for your small business.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So even though interest rates are at historic lows, not everyone is able to reap the benefit Also the pandemic stalled construction so the supply of houses is tight There are a lot of white workers leaving expensive cities for quieter often cheaper options. That's rocking the real estate market.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: In California, home sale prices are down 2% in San Francisco, but they're up 21% in Sacramento. Or take New York City, where home prices fell 3%, while in other areas of the state, prices are up. One real estate CEO told the journal, because of the pandemic, housing has become a luxury good.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: If you filled out a March Madness bracket this year, I'm sorry. According to MarketWatch, after yesterday's games, out of the 20 million filled out online, there are officially no more perfect brackets left. This is all about the upsets.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: After the first weekend in the men's tournament, there were some big surprises. In the second round, the number one seeded Illinois lost to Loyola Chicago. West Virginia, which is the number three seed, also lost in the second round. Other top-ranked teams like Texas, Purdue, and the defending national champions Virginia were also sent packing earlier than expected.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But the biggest story of yesterday was definitely Oral Roberts. The Oklahoma University became only the second 15th seeded team in NCAA history to make it to the Sweet 16. Look at the Tulsa reaction. Enjoy it. Soak it in.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Golden Eagles made it to the second round after knocking out the number two ranked Ohio State on Friday. It was spectacular. Last night, they earned their place in the history books after defeating the seventh-seeded University of Florida. After today's games, we head into the Sweet 16.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The men's tournament has been defined by surprises both on and off the court, including Virginia Commonwealth University withdrawing because of a COVID outbreak. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And while you're there, check out some of our audio stories.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Shemitah and I will talk with you again tomorrow.
