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--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, August 21st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, why tax dollars from Missouri are paying for anti-abortion efforts outside the state, a controversial Florida congressman survives a revenge primary, and new moves to ban phones in schools. But first, last night, Democrats brought out two of their most popular figures, the Obamas.
--:-- Shamita Basu: America, hope is making a comeback. Michelle Obama and the former president both got huge responses in their hometown of Chicago as they made their case for Kamala Harris. There was also respectful praise for Obama's former VP, President Biden, and, of course, plenty of criticism of former President Trump.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. America's ready for a new chapter. America's ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.
--:-- Shamita Basu: My colleague Gideon Resnick is at the DNC and he's joining me now.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Hi, Shamita.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So I'm hearing some people comparing this year's convention to the first Obama convention in terms of energy and excitement. And of course, this year is exceptional in a lot of ways. Democrats are rallying around a candidate that basically launched her presidential bid about a month ago. What are you gathering from talking to people there?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Yeah, Shamita, that's definitely right. There is definitely a lot of pent-up energy that is getting released right now. I talked to Eugene Daniels yesterday ahead of the speeches from the Obamas. He is a White House correspondent for Politico, and he's been covering Harris for a while.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And what did he say?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: He told me that the Harris campaign doesn't necessarily want to be drawing these comparisons, though. I mean, these are the two most popular Democrats in the party, in the country, in the world, right? I think the campaign is always not trying to be compared to anybody else because it kind of raises the bar, right?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Vice President Harris has continued to tell people that they are underdogs, they should run as underdogs. And so being told it's the 08 campaign all over again or the 08 convention all over again, it's not something they're looking to engage in.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But Shamita Eugene also did say that he talked to some people who have been coming to conventions since the 70s and 80s. And they are saying they haven seen anything like this other than in 2008. And the way someone described it to me was that both the base is excited and moderates and independents are excited.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And that's something that isn't always happening with the Democratic Party. So it is a convention that is built on the idea that all of a sudden, Democrats feel like they have a real chance to win in November.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: So, Gideon, given all of that, how is this impacting the strategy for the Harris campaign?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yeah, it's a great question and one I think everyone's asking.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: I did ask Eugene that as well. And he said the Biden campaign at one point, while they were making their case to Senate Democrats for him to stay in the presidential race, we're saying, you know, he is still competitive in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, that blue wall that gets talked about all the time that Democrats rely upon to win presidential elections.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But that also means that was the only path, and it was a narrow one. Now, Eugene said this new campaign has changed that. Now you have a campaign and a party that believes that Arizona and Nevada are back in play, that Georgia's back in play, that North Carolina is more interesting, there might be playing in Florida.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And what you see in the Sunbelt in southern states is a coalition in electorate that's Blacker, browner, younger, right? That's what they're looking at. And those are the kind of people that she can probably get that Biden could not.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Right. The kinds of ads that they can run, the kinds of people who might be interested in a Vice President Harris being president as opposed to bringing back President Biden. That's a different list.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And in terms of the different approach we're seeing, there has been a lot written about how the party is trying to reach younger and more diverse voters.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There was a content creator who spoke at the DNC on Monday. Hundreds more of these people who make stuff on TikTok and YouTube or wherever were credentialed at the convention.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Yeah, I mean, it was a really visible presence. There was a blue carpet, you know, like a red one laid out for content creators in the arena to make content, videos and the like.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Outside of the convention, the Harris campaign has booked something like $200 million in digital ads, the largest in presidential campaign history.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: They tout this young staff that run her TikTok account. Now, the Trump campaign, too, has made a big play for younger voters on social media.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The former president, has talked to some young influencers as well. You know, for the Harris campaign, though, this is a play for the streaming era, as it were, particularly with those ad buys.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And clearly, as Eugene mentioned, this campaign does think that it can get more people out there and involved that maybe before were thinking about not participating.
--:-- Shamita Basu: All right Gideon Resnick thanks so much for checking in.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Of course. Thank you.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's turn now to a story about one of the most consequential issues this election, abortion.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Every year, Missouri provides millions of dollars in tax credits to anti-abortion groups. One of them is called Coalition Life. It's a nonprofit that sets people up outside clinics that provide abortions to try to talk to patients and change their minds.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Ever since Roe v. Wade was overturned two years ago, abortion has been effectively illegal in Missouri. So not much work for this group to do. But ProPublica reports the anti-abortion group is now taking its mission and Missouri taxpayers' money to other states.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Coalition Life says that it has adapted by sending their staff members to abortion clinics in Illinois and in Kansas where abortion is still legal. And so they actually have paid staff members who are outside of these clinics.
--:-- Shamita Basu: ProPublica reporter Jeremy Kohler investigated how Coalition Life is dramatically increasing its budget and footprint by taking full advantage of the state's tax laws.
--:-- Jeremy Kohler: Under the Missouri tax credit, donations that are made to this group and several other pregnancy resource centers in Missouri can get a 70 percent tax credit.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So in other words, if someone gives this group $1,000, they would get a $700 tax credit from the state of Missouri.
--:-- Jeremy Kohler: And so this has allowed them to market this tax credit and to get much larger donations than they would have before.
--:-- Shamita Basu: When ProPublica did the math, it found that Missouri taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $20 million a year. That makes Missouri a top state in terms of how much public money goes to anti-abortion groups.
--:-- Jeremy Kohler: Kohler spoke to two Missouri lawmakers who were in office when the expanded tax credits were passed, a Democrat who voted against it and a Republican who voted for it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Both disliked the idea of Missouri money being spent out of state.
--:-- Jeremy Kohler: Both of them kind of had a similar comment, which was this was not how we envisioned the money was going to be spent, that subsidies were going to be spent in Missouri.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We envisioned that this was going to help these groups, you know, provide diapers and aid and counseling and support in Missouri, you know, for people who would be forced to carry babies to term in Missouri and dealing with those consequences.
--:-- Jeremy Kohler: We did not expect that they would be literally in other states fighting abortion in states where abortion was legal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska and North Dakota have also introduced tax credits for donations to pregnancy centers in the last two years. And other states are considering it.
--:-- Jeremy Kohler: As for Missouri, coalition life may have to pivot again soon.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This November, Missouri is one of several states where residents will vote on protecting abortion rights.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Before we let you go, here are some other stories being featured in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz is the winner of a Florida primary that was something of a grudge match by proxy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Gaetz was an enemy of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and worked hard to kick him out of the job last year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In this race, a McCarthy-aligned group poured $3 million into attacking Gates, but he still managed to win by a large margin.
--:-- Shamita Basu: McCarthy had his sights on sinking eight Republican rivals in primaries. Only one lost, Virginia Congressman Bob Good, earlier this summer.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's turn from politics to policy and a big idea around banning phones in public schools.
--:-- Shamita Basu: New York Magazine talks to Governor Kathy Hochul, who's considering a statewide ban.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A few places in New York state have done this on their own, saying it helps kids concentrate and reduces bullying.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hochul's been meeting with superintendents, teachers and union officials in the hopes of getting a law passed as early as next year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This would follow similar bans in Florida, the first state to do it, along with L.A. County, Louisiana, Indiana and South Carolina.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If New York and other states considering phone bans all pass them, it would mean about a quarter of American kids would live in places where schools restrict phones.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And finally, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are divorcing after two years of marriage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Celebrity relationships come and go. The Washington Post looks into why this one got so much more attention than most as they drifted together and apart over the years.
--:-- Shamita Basu: When they originally got together, more than 20 years ago, the world got its first big celebrity portmanteau, Bennifer.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They called off their 2003 wedding days before it was supposed to happen. So when they got back together again in 2021, there was an explosion of nostalgic coverage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: People had so many different ways to relate to this connection. It was hope for romance during the pandemic. It was a second chance with the one who got away.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It was early 2000s culture roaring back, along with low-rise pants and trucker hats.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But alas, it was short-lived.
--:-- 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, we've got a Narrated article coming up next.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Town and Country investigates programs that promise to help troubled teens. And it finds that these expensive outdoor experiences face serious accusations of abuse.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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