--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Good morning. It's Friday, June 21st. I'm Yasmeen Khan, in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: On today's show, why some Democrats are fixated on repealing a law from 1873, the connection between social media and cosmetic surgery, and why it's hard to agree on the song of the summer. But first, let's take a brief look at some other stories in the news.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: The Supreme Court is upholding a federal ban that prevents people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns. The 8-to-1 ruling was a win for the Biden administration, which argued that the law kept guns out of the hands of people likely to commit violence.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: In the U.S. and many countries around the world, extreme heat is a major safety concern. It's been deadly in Saudi Arabia, where temperatures soared as nearly 2 million Muslim visitors arrived for the Hajj pilgrimage.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: More than 600 people are reported dead, and the final number is likely higher, with many pilgrims still missing. There has also been hazardous heat in parts of Europe and Africa. And in India, New Delhi has clocked 38 consecutive days with temperatures at or above 104 degrees.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: In diplomatic news, the U.S. is criticizing the new defense pact between Russia and North Korea. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller talked about President Vladimir Putin's suggestion that Russia may ship arms to North Korea.
--:-- Matthew Miller: It is incredibly concerning. It would destabilize the Korean Peninsula, of course, and potentially, depending on the type of weapons they provide, might violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself has supported.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Putin signed the pact during a visit to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It commits each side to provide military assistance to each other if they're attacked. North Korea has backed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: And there's a busy weekend happening in sports. The U.S. track and field trials starting today will set the stage for who goes to the Paris Olympics. Among the competitors is sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who was disqualified from the last Olympics after testing positive for marijuana.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: There also Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final The Florida Panthers could become champions with a win over the Edmonton Oilers And in soccer Copa America tournament Lionel Messi Argentina squad started with a win over Canada, and the U.S. team plays Bolivia on Sunday.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: You can find full sports coverage in the Apple News app.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Yesterday, Democrats in Washington introduced legislation to repeal a very old law. The Comstock Act is a relic from another era. It was enacted in Congress 151 years ago.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: That's Washington Post health care reporter Dan Diamond. The law banned the mailing, among other things, of abortion-related material. But the law also has been long forgotten.
--:-- Dan Diamond: The provisions haven't been invoked in about a century. When the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade in 1973, the Comstock Act was effectively barred from being enforced.
--:-- Dan Diamond: But the Dobbs decision overturning Roe changed that. And now Democrats worry that a potential Republican administration would use the law to crack down on abortion access.
--:-- Dan Diamond: According to one recent study, about 8,000 women a month get abortion pills by mail in states with abortion restrictions. Medication abortions now account for the majority of abortions in the U.S.
--:-- Dan Diamond: Some Democrats feel the urgency to act now to get ahead of a possible victory by Donald Trump in November. He was seen by the anti-abortion movement as their best ally ever, the most anti-abortion president in history.
--:-- Dan Diamond: So there is a track record for Donald Trump, if he goes back in the White House, to pick up where he left off and do more things that are anti-abortion.
--:-- Dan Diamond: And I have seen some abortion opponents are already encouraging Trump to use the Comstock Act to block the mailing of abortion pills if he's reelected.
--:-- Dan Diamond: They say it's effectively a national abortion ban without having to go through Congress. That if you invoke this law and say that people can't send abortion-related material through the mail, well, you can't send abortion medication. You can't send other supplies related to abortion.
--:-- Dan Diamond: So it effectively shuts down access to abortion in a new and different way than, say, telling clinics that they can't open in certain states.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Still, not all Democrats agree that repealing the Comstock Act now is the right move. There are so many priorities for Democrats this election year They not sure that trying to put effort behind a Comstock repeal especially given that Republicans control the House would probably block that whether that is a good use of the limited time they have
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: At its best, social media can connect you with friends and family, maybe serve up a video that'll make you laugh. At its worst, it can mess with the way you see yourself.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: I call social media a necessary evil. It can do great things. It can bring people together. We can communicate. But there's also a lot of negativity that comes with it.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: That's Dr. Neelam Vashi. She's a dermatologist and the director of the Boston University Cosmetic and Laser Center. And she studies the effects of technology on beauty.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: So she's thought a lot about the impact of social media on how we think about our appearance. When people are using filters and editing, there's many more dynamics at play.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: So firstly, there's a comparison to others. There's the social standards. But then there's also a comparison to oneself.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: Vashi published a study that looked at social media use and the desire to have cosmetic procedures. So the big overall finding is that social media is clearly a determinant in the desire to have a cosmetic procedure.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: And what's really influencing is people who are using more photo editing and filters have more of this desire to pursue cosmetic treatments.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: Vashi has seen the impact of this in her own dermatology practice. In the past, she says that patients used to bring in photos of celebrities to show how they'd like to change their appearance.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: Now, more and more people are bringing in images of themselves put through photo filters.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: Vashi is also seeing more people coming through her doors. We just have seen an increase in people wanting cosmetic procedures.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: Yes, I have younger patients now than 10 years ago coming in for injectables like Botox and other types of cosmetic procedures.
--:-- Dr. Neelam Vashi: But I also have older patients who may not have thought about this. So the constant viewing of oneself is push people to pursue cosmetic procedures.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: To hear more about how our technology is changing us and how we can navigate these fleeting beauty standards check out this week episode of Apple News and Conversation
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: You hear more from Vashi and also from Elise Hu the author of the book Flawless Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: If you're listening in the news app, we'll have that queued up to play after today's show.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Finally, to a very very serious and heavily debated topic this time of year the song of the summer some years the answer feels more obvious than others but this summer it's hard to argue there's one true summer anthem because there's a whole slew of contenders from sabrina carpenter's Espresso. To Nasty by Tinashe. And Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Apple Music's Brooke Reese keeps an ear on what's getting traction. She hosts the Global Chart Show.
--:-- Brooke Reese: There are definitely too many good choices for Song of the Summer this year. I mean, the amount of music that has come out in 2024 is absolutely ridiculous.
--:-- Brooke Reese: We turned to Reese for help on understanding why song of the summer has always been an elusive declaration with passionate debate.
--:-- Brooke Reese: She says these songs come to symbolize a lot for each of us. You hear those songs and you have those moments and it immediately takes you back to what you were doing during the summer.
--:-- Brooke Reese: Who were you hanging out with? Where were you vacationing? What was your life like? These songs are really capturing a moment in time for us.
--:-- Brooke Reese: So I think that we all love these songs so, so much and we have a special relationship with them.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: So maybe you'll have a special relationship with this catchy hit from a group of kids in Ireland called The Spark.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: You can read about summer music and much more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: As we mentioned, the new In Conversation episode is playing there next.
--:-- Yasmeen Khan: Have a nice weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.