--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Good morning. It's Tuesday, October 26. I'm Duarte Giraldino. And I'm Shamita Basu. 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.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Next Tuesday is Election Day. But since it's an odd-numbered year, there aren't a lot of races to watch. That's why there's a focus on governor's races in Virginia and in New Jersey. Political experts follow these off-year races for signs of what might happen nationally in the midterms in 2022 or even in the presidential election in 2024.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Vox explains what to look out for and also the danger of putting too much stock into this. The sitting president's party often loses these types of races. They may not actually say that much about how voters feel about Biden, but they will offer a first glimpse of each party's strategies heading into the midterms.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's start with Virginia. Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin is trying to tap into culture war issues. He's attacking teaching critical race theory in school. And then there's Democrat Terry McAuliffe. He's trying to tie Youngkin to Donald Trump. It's a pretty similar playbook in New Jersey. The incumbent Democrat, Phil Murphy, is telling his supporters that a vote for his opponent, who is former state assemblyman Jack Cittarelli, is a vote for Trump.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Cittarelli says spending got out of control under Murphy. Still, both states are more or less blue these days, which makes it hard for anybody trying to see these results as indications of a bigger national trend.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Vox says if Republicans win, they could try to claim momentum heading into next year's elections. But if Democrats sweep both races, it may be harder to make the same case.
--:-- Jose Olivares: Thousands of migrants have been held in detention by U Immigration and Customs Enforcement In 2018 a man named Efrain Romero de la Rosa who been diagnosed with schizophrenia died by suicide after 21 days of solitary confinement at a detention center in Georgia.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I'm joined now by Jose Olivares, who has been following this case for The Intercept. Since 2019, he's been fighting to uncover details surrounding Efrain's death.
--:-- Jose Olivares: We pushed for records and fought for records that really kind of demonstrated what happened behind the scenes, why Efrain was placed into solitary confinement in the first place, and what exactly happened that led to his death.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Documents show Efrain's mental health declined as he was repeatedly put in isolation. During that time, his delusions worsened. He had this really intense fixation on death. He would constantly tell correctional staff, nursing staff, and even mental health professionals, He would constantly tell them that God was talking to him, that he would die three terrible deaths, that he was the Antichrist. Just these really intense delusions.
--:-- Jose Olivares: I managed to get a hold of the results of an ICE investigation into Efrain's death. That investigation found some staff didn't follow proper procedures. And during this time, some nurses were falsifying documents saying that Efrain was being provided his medication, even though there was no proof that that was actually happening. Or they would sign documents saying he refuses medication and then walk away. When in reality, if someone is refusing to take their medication, higher level immigration and customs enforcement officials and higher level detention officials should be intervening to figure out what exactly is going on. Why is this person not taking their medication?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Efrain's family is suing CoreCivic, the private company that runs the detention center. It has denied the allegations and told The Intercept it runs a safe facility that follows federal standards.
--:-- Jose Olivares: As you know, immigration has been national news for decades. It affects countless lives. And it's one thing to see all of this from a high level. But as I explained to you, there is journalistic value in focusing on just a single person. I think the importance of these stories is it really helps us put a face and name to some of the more abstract numbers that we seeing when it comes to speaking about immigration detention right So when we see the number 27,000 immigrants detained by ICE, there are real people in this immigration detention system.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Sudan is back in the news as public protests against a military coup stretch into a second day. It's been years since the killings in Darfur drew the attention of global politicians and celebrities. The country had fallen out of the headlines recently, in part because things were getting better. NPR has a good story that explains what's happening and why it matters to America.
--:-- Jeffrey Feltman: NPR spoke to the U.S. Special Envoy to the region. I was just in Sudan over the weekend talking with the military and civilian leadership. He says he was feeling mildly encouraged, but by the time his plane landed, he was reading about the coup.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The U.S. has invested a lot of money in Sudan's stability, but now it's putting $700 million in aid on hold. Just months ago, Sudan was seen as a success story, a country transitioning from decades of brutal dictatorship on its way to democracy. But now its future is in question.
--:-- National Security Expert: NPR spoke with one national security expert who frames what's happening in Sudan as a test of American influence in a key strategic region. He calls it a reflection of the limits of American leverage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Remember, Russia and some nearby Gulf states, they weren't exactly fans of democracy in Sudan. If the country deteriorates, Sudan could again become a center of weapons smuggling and human trafficking.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Game one of the World Series is tonight And even if you're not a baseball fan, you might get a kick out of this story about Jim McInvale a Mattress Mac He is known in the Houston area. He's a Texas furniture tycoon, a huge Houston Astros fan, and a legendary gambler.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This guy could make sports betting history if Houston beats the Atlanta Braves. McInvale is aiming for what the New York Post explains could be a record payout. He put $3.3 million down that his hometown team is going to win. If Houston wins the series, McInvale will take home $36 million.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Yeah, that's an amount that you and I might gasp at, but I don't think he even blinks these days. He is notorious in the high-stakes sports betting world. The Post says he made headlines recently after betting nearly $3.5 million that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would win the Super Bowl.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yeah, but Mattress Mac, he also brought in a special cheering section with ties to the Almighty. The Houston Chronicle's reporting, he bought 55 tickets to tonight's game for nuns. This is not a new move for him. He also brought the sisters to game one of the Astros series with the Boston Red Sox. In that game, the Astros made a late comeback. So fans started calling them the rally nuns. A sister later threw out the first pitch at the game that the Astros won to get to the World Series.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: That means the Astros are 2-0 in playoff games when the Dominican sisters of Mary Immaculate Province are in the house. So tonight, Mattress Mac is hoping will be a good luck charm.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And while you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners. We're also growing our local journalism on the app. You'll now find expanded coverage of Washington, D.C., Miami, and Charlotte, along with many other top local news outlets from across the country.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
