--:-- Shamita Vasu: Good morning. It's Thursday, October 17th. I'm Shamita Vasu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: On today's show, Harris tries to reach Republican voters in a contentious interview while Trump repeats false claims in a town hall, how hurricane-battered North Carolina is preparing for the first day of early voting, and we're going back to the moon in designer spacesuits. But first, the state of Texas is set to execute a man today, even though the lead detective on his case is convinced he got it wrong. Robert Leslie Roberson was convicted for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2002. If the state goes ahead with it, he would be the first person in the United States to be executed for a death attributed to shaken baby syndrome.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Shaken baby syndrome is a serious and often fatal kind of brain injury, but the way it's been diagnosed and used to prosecute people has come under a lot of scrutiny in recent years. In fact, a few weeks ago, we brought you the story of another man imprisoned on similar charges. Some medical experts now believe there are other reasons besides violent shaking or abuse that could result in this kind of brain injury. In this case, Roberson said all along that his daughter fell from her bed and he's maintained his innocence.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Brian Wharton, the former police detective who led the investigation, said on the USA Today podcast excerpt, Roberson should be free. There is plenty of doubt that we got it wrong, that Robert is a completely innocent man and we got it completely wrong because we were looking for the wrong things. And because they were looking for the wrong things, he says, they missed huge clues. For example, Nikki, the baby, had pneumonia in both lungs, pre-existing conditions that necessitated heavy drug prescriptions and undiagnosed sepsis.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Also, the detectives assumed Robertson's emotionless demeanor in the hospital was a sign of guilt. Wharton later learned Robertson has autism, a diagnosis he was given years later. We fell into the trap of confirmation bias. That emotional charge in the hospital that here is a two-year-old little girl that is about to die. Somebody did this to her. Who did it? How did it happen? And the first thing you hear is abuse, shaken baby syndrome, and we just take it and run with it. And we find all the facts that we need to make it stand up.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Wharton told CNN this case would go very differently if it were tried today. Essentially, where we're at now is we're at a place where everything that we relied on for a conviction has been debunked as junk science. And so, you know, I think if we were to bring the same set of facts forward for a case now, it would be an entirely different outcome. It certainly wouldn't be a death penalty case, which is where we are now as the only one in the United States.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Last month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Texas urged the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency for Roberson. Yesterday a Texas board rejected it If Roberson is put to death today as planned he would be the sixth person in Texas to be executed this year and the 20th person in the United States.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: With just about 20 days to go until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris sat down yesterday with Fox News' Brett Baer and tried to appeal to Americans on the other end of the political spectrum. It was a combative 26-minute interview. The two spoke over each other, often, and nearly half the interview focused on immigration and border security.
--:-- Brett Baer: Madam Vice President. To ensure that no future harm would occur.
--:-- Kamala Harris: Let me just say, first of all, those are tragic cases. There's no question about that. There is no question about that. And I can't imagine the pain that the families of those victims have experienced for a loss that should not have occurred. So that is true. It is also true that if a border security had actually been passed nine months ago, it would be nine months that we would have had more border agents at the border, more support for the folks who are working around the clock, trying to hold it all together.
--:-- Brett Baer: Baer also pressed the Vice President on her campaign slogan, turning the page, and asked how she will be different from Joe Biden.
--:-- Kamala Harris: Let me be very clear. My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency. And like every new president that comes in to office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences and fresh and new ideas. I represent a new generation of leadership.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump appeared in a Univision town hall in Florida to appeal to Hispanic voters. Harris has had an edge over Trump with this group. In a recent Times-Siena College poll released on Saturday, 56 percent of Hispanic voters surveyed said they would vote for her, while 37 percent said they would vote for Trump.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: At the town hall, Trump repeated his false claims about Haitian migrants in Ohio eating pets. He refused to take responsibility for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, referring to it as a day of love. And he criticized his former vice president, Mike Pence.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: The vice president, I disagree with him on what he did. I totally disagreed with him on what he did. Very importantly, you had hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn't come because of me. They came because of the election. They thought the election was a rigged election. And that's why they came.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: As for Trump's current vice presidential pick, J.D. Vance answered a question that he has dodged for weeks now on the campaign trail. Do you believe Donald Trump lost the 2020 election?
--:-- J.D. Vance: I answered this question directly a million times No I think there are serious problems in 2020 So did Donald Trump lose the election Not by the words that I would use OK, so look, we can. But look, I really couldn't care less if you agree or disagree with me on this issue.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: This confirms that Vance is willing to repeat the lie that the 2020 election results were not legitimate, despite the fact that dozens of judges have dismissed Trump's lawsuits contesting the results, and the fact that Trump has been indicted in two separate criminal cases related to election interference.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: This response raises real concerns about what Vance might stand for, more importantly, who he might stand by if Trump were to lose again in November and refuse to accept the results.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: In-person early voting begins today in North Carolina historically voters there have been enthusiastic about casting their votes ahead of election day in 2020 65 percent of voters opted to vote early but this year is different in the western part of the state communities are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which is particularly concerning in this crucial swing state.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: We caught up with election reporter Sarah Michaels with Carolina Public Press, who told us how voters and election workers there are preparing.
--:-- Sarah Michaels: I've heard from county boards of elections that actually they've seen a lot of requests for absentee ballots, people making sure that they're registered to vote even after the tragedy that hit there.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Last week, the state legislature approved $5 million for election administration in the 25 counties that are in the federally declared disaster area. Those funds will be used for things like hiring temporary election staff, training new poll workers or precinct officials, and buying emergency communication systems.
--:-- Sarah Michaels: Those emergency measures cover a lot, but in general, they allow county boards of election to change early voting sites, to add sites, reduce sites, move them for election day. They allow county boards of election to transfer voters from one precinct to another to add precincts, maybe other places in the county or even in a neighboring county, just depending on where the hurricane impacted the county.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Roads may be closed, sewers may be backed up, trees might be downed, but elections workers say they are determined to make the election run smoothly. They're working long days, long nights, working weekends. I've talked to many county boards of elections officials, and the overarching message I get is they are determined to put on this election no matter how hard it is.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: This is not the first time they've dealt with an obstacle. One member of the state elections board said they would do whatever it takes to make voting accessible to people, whether they need four-wheelers, horses, or helicopters.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: There are concerns, too, about the wave of misinformation in the aftermath of Helene that resulted in FEMA workers being threatened. Some election officials worry that might impact voting.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Michael says the state board of elections director has warned against treating election workers badly or harassing them. And she is emphasizing that you are treating people badly who are the people you see in the grocery store and who are your former teacher and that we should all have a greater respect for each other
--:-- Shamita Vasu: But election officials have said that that has been a distraction as they have been trying to do all this work that they have to do before the election starts today.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: If you are in North Carolina or any state that has early voting, Apple News has a how to vote guide made in partnership with NBC News. It's available in the Election 2024 section of the Apple News app and in our show notes page.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Before we let you go, a few other stories that are being featured in the Apple News app. First, to two major rulings on who is and isn't allowed to vote. In Alabama, a federal judge temporarily blocked an effort to purge people from the voting rolls.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Wes Allen, the secretary of state who is a Republican, said the process was meant to remove non-citizens. But the Justice Department and civil rights groups say it was removing thousands of citizens. Federal law bans states from systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of the federal election. Alabama announced its purge with 84 days to go.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: The judge, who was appointed by Trump, ordered Alabama to pause the removals until after the election. Then the second ruling in Nebraska, where a judge upheld a law that clears the way for people with felony convictions to register to vote immediately after completing their sentences.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: Previously, people would have to wait two years, including probation and parole. As NPR notes, this change could be a big deal in the state, where there's a competitive House race and abortion on the ballot.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: In other news, the FTC has finalized a proposal to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up for one. They're calling it Click to Cancel, and the whole point is to make it easier for Americans to cancel subscriptions for everything from the gym to a streaming service.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: The FTC says it gets roughly 70 complaints a day about this issue. This rule isn't enforceable yet. It typically takes six months for FTC proposals to go into effect.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: And finally, from the catwalk to the spacewalk, NASA's new spacesuits are here, and they're Prada. They're still the classic white that you're used to seeing, but with more technology, more range of motion, and more safety features, including the ability to withstand some of the coldest temperatures on the moon for two hours.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: It's the first redesign of NASA's spacesuits in more than four decades. And clearly, NASA is making sure that the next time we go to the moon, which is scheduled for late 2026, we do it in style.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, Bloomberg looks at how Starbucks became a go-to place for teens to hang out. and how the company is trying to keep it that way with colder, colorful, and more sugary drinks.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: That Narrated article is queued up to play for you next. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamita Vasu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
