--:-- Shumita Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, November 19th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shumita Basu: On today's show, women in Idaho give emotional testimony against the state's strict abortion ban. Rafael Nadal takes the court for his final tournament. And why you probably shouldn't mug one of the fastest men on earth. But first, to the nominees for Trump's cabinet, whose qualifications have raised questions on both sides of the aisle.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: To lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic. To lead national intelligence, Trump chose former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who has never worked in an intelligence role. His pick for Secretary of Defense, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, served in the military but does not have senior military experience and has made critical statements about women serving in combat. Trump's nominee for Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, has never worked in government. And to lead the Justice Department, he's tapped former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who up until recently had been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations of drug use and sex with a minor. Gates has denied wrongdoing.
--:-- Shumita Basu: All of Trump's nominees will need to be assessed by the Republican-led Senate when the new Congress is sworn in in January. And there are very real questions as to whether some of his nominees, most notably Matt Gaetz for attorney general and possibly also RFK Jr. for HHS secretary, are going to make it through the Senate.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: That's NBC's national political reporter Sahil Kapoor.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: In recent days, Trump has been promoting the idea of going around the Senate confirmation process by using what's known as recess appointments. A recess appointment is an authority that exists in the Constitution for presidents to appoint a nominee to a position when Congress is not in session.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: In modern history, we've seen a number of presidents use recess appointments. George W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama did, but not for top-level cabinet posts. In fact, when Obama used recess appointments to fill out the National Labor Relations Board, he was sued. And the Supreme Court ended up putting a check on that power, saying the Senate must break for at least 10 days before a president can justify making a recess appointment.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: Republican Senator John Thune who will take over as Senate Majority Leader in January said Republicans were going to explore all options when asked by ABC News if he would be OK with recess appointments.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And his support is essential because for Congress to adjourn there has to be a vote in the Senate.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: So in this case, it's an extremely important test of how submissive or authoritative the Senate Republican majority will be with Donald Trump. Are they going to accept nominees of his that many of their own members have serious concerns with and don't believe should be in a role.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Kapoor told us that Trump's call for recess appointments might be a signal that he's not confident he'll get the votes. He'll need at least 50 senators to approve, with his vice president, J.D. Vance, casting a tie-breaking vote. And that means only three Republicans can defect.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: Democrats, meanwhile, are mostly staying on the sidelines. They're holding their fire, for the most part, on these nominees because right now they see Republicans battling each other on this.
--:-- Shumita Basu: If they start to make this a fight between Republicans and Democrats, that makes it a lot easier for Donald Trump and his allies and for Matt Gaetz and the others to rally off of that Democratic opposition and make this a litmus test as to whether you're for Trump or you're for the Democrats.
--:-- Sahil Kapoor: So, so far, I see the Democrats playing this somewhat intelligently, letting Republicans battle this out, recognizing that there are serious divisions within the party about at least some of these nominees.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Voters in seven states approved ballot measures to protect abortion access. But in more than a dozen states, a near-total ban is still in place. That's the case in Idaho, where abortion restrictions are being challenged in court.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Four women are suing the state after they were denied abortions and had to travel out of state to end non-viable pregnancies. Each of the women gave emotional testimony in court last week, saying they wanted to carry their pregnancies to term, but learned that they were facing serious complications.
--:-- Jelaine St. Mitchell: If I were to continue the pregnancy, not only would I be risking my life of developing preeclampsia, but I was not willing to watch my son suffer and essentially gasp for air. We were given all of those diagnoses, and I knew that remaining pregnant was inherently more risky than not being pregnant.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Right now, abortions are illegal in Idaho except to save the life of the mother. The Idaho Capital Sun reports that the plaintiffs in this case are asking the state to broaden the exceptions and allow doctors to intervene in cases where the fetus won't survive or the pregnancy poses a health risk to the pregnant patient.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The state of Idaho is arguing that its abortion bans are clear.
--:-- Jelaine St. Mitchell: [Speaking outside the court] There was no option for us that would lead to a healthy baby. But because of Idaho's cruel abortion bans, instead of mourning our loss at home with family and friends, we had to figure out how to scramble to get out of state, how to pay for it, and how to travel with a toddler to receive the essential medical care that I desperately needed in that moment.
--:-- Shumita Basu: She called it the worst four days of her life.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Another woman, Kayla Smith, was also pregnant with a toddler at home when she and her husband found out that their fetus had several fatal conditions. She told CBS she ended up driving over 500 miles from Boise, Idaho to a hospital in Seattle. And they had to take out a $16,000 loan to pay for the procedure because her Idaho-based insurance wouldn't cover it.
--:-- Kayla Smith: I never thought I would need an abortion. It was the most traumatic experience that I've had in my whole life.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Smith and her family have since moved to Washington state, and they said their decision was largely because they wanted to grow their family in a state where basic reproductive health care is legal and protected.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Each of the four women plaintiffs already had a child when they saw an abortion, and each has since welcomed a healthy baby.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The trial continues this week with more testimony expected from physicians.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Tennis star Rafael Nadal is competing this week in the final tournament of his career in front of a home crowd at the Davis Cup being hosted this year in Spain.
--:-- Matthew Fetterman: There was no way anyone could get on top of his ball consistently, and it just ended up smothering people. And he combined that with incredible speed, incredible defense, and as he got older, the ability to finish points and play much more offensively. And that's what made him the greatest player in the world for a while.
--:-- Shumita Basu: For much of his career, Nadal was part of an elite group of male players often referred to as the big three. Roger Federer retired two years ago. And with Nadal exiting the tennis stage this week, that leaves just Novak Djokovic standing.
--:-- Matthew Fetterman: It's rare to see so much talent at the same time. Tennis is such an incredible grind, especially the way tennis is played today, where it is so incredibly physical.
--:-- Shumita Basu: I mean, it's hard to see three players at the same time hogging all the Grand Slams. I mean, they've won 66 Grand Slams among them. And that a pretty outrageous figure if you think about how little everyone else was able to win during that period
--:-- Matthew Fetterman: And Fetterman says the Davis Cup is a fitting place for Nadal to end his career After all, it's where he broke out on the scene in 2004 as a teenager, when the U.S., with Andy Roddick on the team, was heavily favored to win.
--:-- Matthew Fetterman: Spain comes out with, you know, this 18-year-old named Rafael Nadal, And no one really knew who he was. And sure enough, you know, he beat Roddick in four sets. So that was sort of where the kind of legend of Rafa began.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And so it is, I think, very fitting that it ends there.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Before we let you go, a few other stories being featured in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shumita Basu: A court in Hong Kong has sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to 10 years in prison on subversion charges. It's the single largest sentencing of its kind, and one that critics say is designed to eliminate political dissent.
--:-- Shumita Basu: NBC News reports that the opposition politicians, academics, and activists were charged and sentenced under a national security law, which Beijing imposed in response to pro-democracy demonstrations.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The U.S. government has called the trial politically motivated and called for the defendant's release.
--:-- Shumita Basu: CNN refers to the mass sentencing as the, quote, biggest single blow to the city's already shrinking political freedoms.
--:-- Shumita Basu: For the first time, an at-home test can tell you whether you have the flu or COVID. This could be a game changer heading into flu season.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Instead of having to visit a doctor's office or urgent care to find out whether you're sick with the flu or with COVID, you can test yourself at home and know your results within 30 minutes.
--:-- Shumita Basu: According to the FDA, these new kits are very accurate. They're available over the counter and they cost about the same as a COVID test.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And they work just like COVID tests, too, with a nose swab.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And finally, to a story about muggers who picked the wrong victim. The Times of London reports that last week, two people were driving a van through a wealthy neighborhood in England.
--:-- Shumita Basu: When they saw a couple jogging, one of them jumped out of the van, stole a phone, jumped back in the van and took off. Little did they know, the person that they robbed was Mo Farah, one of the most accomplished track athletes in the world.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Farah, who's been retired for about a year, caught up with their getaway van on foot, catching them and retrieving his phone before the thieves drove off again.
--:-- Shumita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Time magazine takes a deeper look at how Trump won the election and the choices he could now make about how to wield his power.
--:-- Shumita Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
