--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Thursday, February 9th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, an innovative new way to cut insulin prices. Inside the political protest that's closed Machu Picchu. And two brothers going head-to-head in this weekend's Super Bowl. But first, families who have lost homes and loved ones in Turkey and Syria are getting frustrated at the slow pace of aid following the deadly earthquakes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The numbers keep climbing. Close to 20,000 people have been killed. Thousands more are injured, and waves of people are now homeless in winter weather. And search teams are still trying to find people who may be alive under the rubble.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Turkey is a NATO member that's gotten international support and aid. But Syrians say they're being left out. The civil war, damaged roads, and Western sanctions have combined to make it hard to get supplies and rescue workers in.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Reuters spoke to a man named Youssef in Aleppo. He's been waiting for days for someone to rescue his family from a collapsed building.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I talked to them and heard their voice. But unfortunately, as you can see here, they're very slow at work and they don't have enough equipment.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Getting aid to Syria requires navigating complications of the civil war. As we mentioned yesterday, part of the affected area is controlled by the Assad regime and part by the opposition.
--:-- Shamita Basu: For years, Assad's government has been under heavy sanctions. Now the regime is insisting that all aid, including for opposition areas, must first go to Damascus, the capital that Assad controls.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Aid workers say this is slowing down the process and will keep aid from people who need it. The United Nations said yesterday that very little aid has gotten into Syria.
--:-- Mohamed Hadi: I think we have a glimpse of hope there that the road is accessible and we can reach the people.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There is a lot of focus on the dead and the missing, but many, many people are severely injured. Doctors in Syria say they desperately need supplies to handle the influx of patients.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Some say they can last more than a week without critically needed medicine and equipment.
--:-- Shamita Basu: During his State of the Union address, President Biden singled out the high costs of insulin, the essential drug for millions of Americans living with diabetes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It cost the drug companies roughly $10 a vial to make that insulin. Package it in all, you may get up to $13. But Big Pharma has been unfairly charging people hundreds of dollars, $400 to $500 a month, making record profits.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Not anymore. Not anymore. It's a financial burden that Clayton McCook knows well.
--:-- Shamita Basu: His 14-year-old daughter, Lily, has type 1 diabetes. He told NPR the family spends thousands of dollars out of pocket each year on insulin.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I could go to Canada right now and get my daughter's insulin, the same exact drug, for $35 to $40 a vial. Because the Canadian government says this is it. This is the most you can charge.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They're still making a profit at that price. They're still making a handsome profit.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This is a very visceral thing for me. Without insulin, my daughter will die.
--:-- Shamita Basu: New legislation will soon cap insulin costs at $35 a month for Medicare patients. But that's no help for half of Americans who have private insurance.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The cost can lead to terrible trade-offs. One in six Americans with diabetes say they have to ration their insulin supply.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And this issue is getting more important as the number of Americans with diabetes is expected to keep growing, from about 37 million now to 55 million by the end of the decade.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Vox looks at how some states are trying to save their people money by getting into the business of making insulin.
--:-- Shamita Basu: California is leading the effort with plans to manufacture and sell insulin for about what it costs to make it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: California lawmakers approved a bill setting aside $100 million for the program.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The short-term plan is to pay manufacturers to make generic insulin. The long-term plan is to make it in a government-run factory.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One reason insulin is so expensive is because drug manufacturers have been able to extend their patents, often by making minor chemical changes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That makes it harder for cheaper generics to get into the business. And only three manufacturers dominate the insulin market so there's not a lot of competition to drive down prices.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If California succeeds in saving residents money, there could be big national implications. Other states may follow it into the generic drug business.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Washington and Maine are already taking steps, and Michigan lawmakers are interested in doing the same.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's look now at a developing story abroad, where a bitter political dispute is tearing the country apart with an important cultural site caught in the middle.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's happening in Peru, home to Machu Picchu. Anti-government protesters have forced the site to close for weeks.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Demonstrators are betting that cutting off a place that's vital to the country's tourism industry will draw attention to their cause.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, understanding their cause is complicated, so here's a very quick version.
--:-- Shamita Basu: These protesters support the former president, Pedro Castillo. He was impeached and arrested in December, charged with rebellion for attempting to dissolve the parliament and rule by decree.
--:-- Shamita Basu: His vice president, Dina Boloarte, took over. She's in the same left-wing party as him, but Castillo supporters still want her out with new elections.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They've held massive demonstrations criticizing her. Dozens of people have died in weeks of protests.
--:-- Shamita Basu: People who live around Machu Picchu blocked roads and train tracks around the famous ruins.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Washington Post reporter Samantha Schmidt wanted to get the perspective of the people there.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it wasn't easy with transportation blocked. For much of the journey, the only way in was to hike on foot.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But Schmidt told us when she finally got there, people said they are fighting to be heard.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's always been, in different communities, frustrations with a government that they see as indifferent to the poor, as corrupt, basically having forgotten a lot of the rural indigenous poor people of Peru.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And there's always been this kind of big divide between Lima and the rest of the country.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Cutting off tourists was no small decision. They drive the economy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So right now, hotel and restaurant workers are losing a lot of money. The tourism industry estimates that the political crisis has cost the country millions.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But Schmitz said protesters are standing firm. They basically giving up their livelihoods in order to send a message to the government.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But they think that this is, one, an important way to kind of stand in solidarity with protests across the country, especially those in the southern part of Peru, where the majority of the deaths have taken place.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They feel they have a responsibility to stand with them, especially in a place that has the attention of the country and of the world.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Political analysts don't see a quick end to this crisis. President Baluarte refuses to step down.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's not clear how long the protesters around Machu Picchu will hold their ground.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Train service partially resumed yesterday, but the historic citadel remains closed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Super Bowl weekend is approaching. The Philadelphia Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And while this time of year is always exciting for NFL fans, there's one person out there who's going to feel proud no matter what happens.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So this is going to be just pure joy. I mean, we're going to really enjoy this. Have a great time.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That's Donna Kelsey. She is the first mom to have two sons playing against each other in the Super Bowl.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Jason Kelsey plays center for the Eagles. Travis Kelsey is tight end for the Chiefs.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Because they're both on offense, they won't be on the field at the same time.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Donna told NBC that makes it easier to cheer for both of them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Obviously, there's going to be somebody that's going to go home heartbroken, but they won't have the bragging rights at the Thanksgiving table.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You know, this is going to be an awesome event, and I'm really looking forward to it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Donna's schedule sent her crisscrossing the country to watch her sons play, but this year she'll watch both of them comfortably from the stadium in Arizona.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And to be perfectly fair, she'll be rocking her custom split jersey, half Chiefs, half Eagles, with the family's last name on the back.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And if you're already listening in the news app right now, stick around.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We've got a narrated article coming up next from The New Yorker.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It looks at how imposter syndrome went from being an obscure academic idea to a topic lots of people are discussing.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So sit back, enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Thank you.
