--:-- Shamitza Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, June 3rd. I'm Shamitza Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: On today's show, what we've learned about Sean Combs halfway through his trial, the blunt extortion threats against high-profile crypto investors, and reparations planned in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But first, to an unlikely alliance in Congress that aims to lift a huge burden off of families in the United States by radically reducing the cost of having a child.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: If you have kids, then you know it's incredibly expensive, starting from day one. A hospital birth can cost tens of thousands of dollars. And while people with insurance get some of that covered, the final price tag can still cost thousands. Not to mention, child care in the U.S. is more expensive than any other developed country.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: A bill introduced by the Senate last month wouldn't solve for that last issue, but a group of bipartisan lawmakers want to make all costs related to childbirth, from prenatal care and ultrasounds to delivery and postpartum care, completely free. No co-pays or deductibles involved, which would put private coverage on par with Medicaid, which already covers those costs.
--:-- Rachel Cohen: I think it really speaks to the fact that across the political spectrum, across the ideological spectrum, people recognize that the cost of giving birth in America is so just ridiculously high and it's not like this across the world.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The bill is being sponsored by Republican Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith from Mississippi and Josh Hawley from Missouri, as well as Democratic Senators Tim Kaine from Virginia and Kirsten Gillibrand from New York.
--:-- Rachel Cohen: Their bill delivers wins for both parties. It can be championed as a pro-family policy that potentially reduces abortions, and it's a way to expand health care access.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And Cohen reports that a companion version of the policy is expected to be introduced to the House in the next few weeks.
--:-- Rachel Cohen: The bill proposes having insurance companies and people insured by private plans cover the cost of childbirth through small increases in premiums for everyone. According to analysis by the libertarian think tank Niskanen, premiums could go up by approximately $30 a year.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Obviously, one upside from the politician's perspective is this means that there's no budgetary cost to Congress. And that's a big plus, considering the debates Republican lawmakers are having right now around how to cut federal spending in President Trump's spending and tax package.
--:-- Rachel Cohen: Something else Cohen says appears to be promising for this legislation moving forward. It's been endorsed by organizations on opposing ends of the reproductive health conversation, like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association, plus anti-abortion groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Students for Life.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: One big catch, however, is that most people's private health insurance is tied to their employment, And that's never guaranteed. Lots of people lose their jobs. And so they lose their health insurance along with it.
--:-- Rachel Cohen: A lot of people lose their jobs when they're pregnant. Even if it's illegal, there's a lot of discrimination against people who are pregnant. So I think everyone sees this as definitely better than the status quo but there are tons of problems just associated with having all of these health benefits of all kinds tied to our jobs.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The White House has not weighed in on the proposal yet, but it has entertained a number of ideas in recent months aimed at raising birth rates, including baby bonuses. And Vice President Vance was a supporter of the ideas underpinning this bill back when he was a senator.
--:-- Rachel Cohen: His office was preparing bipartisan legislation on this issue last year before he was tapped to join Trump's campaign.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Cohen reports that the upcoming reconciliation process will test whether Republicans ultimately choose to prioritize family policy or fiscal restraint. There are some fiscal conservatives who consider any insurance mandates as market interference.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Now, let's check in on the federal criminal trial of music mogul Sean Diddy Combs, which is in its fourth week and approaching the halfway point. And please be warned, this segment includes descriptions of violence, including sexual violence.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Remember, government prosecutors have accused Combs of using his music empire to carry out a sex trafficking and racketeering operation, which he denies. His defense team, meanwhile, is arguing that Combs is just a bad-tempered swinger who has committed acts of violence, not a criminal mastermind.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: Make no mistake, she is the star witness of this case. This trial would not be happening without her.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Ventura testified to the jury that Combs forced her to orchestrate and participate in group sex events called freak-offs that involved male sex workers, heavy drug use, and were often recorded on video.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: She said they were painful and degrading. And she told the jury, quote, the freak-offs became a job that she felt she couldn't say no to because she was afraid Combs would release the videos to the public.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Wagmeister told us the jury has now heard from other corroborating witnesses, and the prosecution's strategy is becoming more clear. They are testifying to threats. They are testifying to other people at the organization witnessing much of this behavior.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: So it's not just Cassie. In the last few days, we've also heard from one of Combs' former assistants, known only under the pseudonym of Mia, who has accused him of violence and rape.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And in her cross-examination, we saw how the defense is managing those allegations. The common thread is they are asking why these people continued to stay in touch with Sean Combs.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: So we're hearing a lot of if he was so terrible and if he did all these horrible things and he terrorized you and he sexually assaulted you and he was physically violent with you why would you continue to be in touch with him years later with loving happy kind messages.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: As a response, the prosecution says this does not disprove the allegations.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: The courtroom heard from trauma expert Dr. Dawn Hughes, who outlined how people can maintain attachments to people or present an alternative public-facing reality despite suffering abuse from them.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Remember, the challenge of this case is that it goes beyond simply proving assault or rape, it needs to prove racketeering and an organized conspiracy.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: And while it's too early to know if the jury members are convinced, Wagmeister has witnessed the prosecution's case build slowly as more and more witnesses take to the stand.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: As this case is developing, everything is building on Cassie. And you're hearing from former employees who say, I witnessed this and so did every bodyguard who worked for Sean Combs and so did his chief of staff and nobody did anything.
--:-- Elizabeth Wagmeister: This picture, this world of Sean Combs that was built on control, that was built on threats, and that was being witnessed by many members of his organization. So the racketeering claim is really coming into clearer picture as this case develops.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Let's turn now to a series of crimes that sound like they've been ripped from the pages of a Martin Scorsese script. But they are very real, and they're targeting crypto executives, crypto holders, and their families.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Cryptocurrencies have soared in value in recent months. Bitcoin alone was up 54% in the last year, and that's increasingly turned crypto investors into targets for criminals.
--:-- Sam Schechner: Oftentimes, they keep their keys offline. They keep physical wallets, the sort of crypto equivalent of putting your money under your mattress, but with a little bit more security behind it.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And so that basically means that if you want to steal that person's crypto, you have to do it in person. That habit of carrying a physical key for a digital wallet is something that many in the crypto world consider to be one of the best safeguards against a different type of threat, hacking.
--:-- Sam Schechner: These in-person incidents are basically the opposite end of the spectrum. In fact, they've earned the nickname wrench attacks because of how blunt and unsophisticated they are.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Cybersecurity investigators told Schechner that recent hacks of cryptocurrency companies where names, emails and addresses were obtained might have made it easier for criminals to locate crypto investors to extort them.
--:-- Sam Schechner: I think for a long time people thought well the danger here is you know maybe some identity fraud at the highest end which is pretty scary or possibly just you know I going to get a lot of spam or something like that.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: If the personal information of big holders of crypto leaks, then that can obviously, we're learning now, can have really dramatic real-world consequences.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The suspect in the Colorado attack is facing a federal hate crime charge as well as state charges, including attempted murder in the first degree.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Mohamed Sabri Suleiman is alleged to have sent eight people to the hospital with burns and other injuries after using incendiary devices on a group of advocates who were marching on behalf of the Israeli hostages in Gaza.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Department of Justice officials say one of the people injured was a Holocaust survivor.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The acting attorney general for Colorado told reporters that Suleiman, quote, said he wanted them all to die. He had no regrets.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Suleiman was living in the U.S. with an expired visa after entering the country in 2022 and applying for asylum.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The FBI says he told investigators that he'd been planning the attack for a year.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: On to weather. Hurricane season is upon us, with meteorologists predicting it'll be an above-average season that could bring 13 to 19 named storms.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: But in an exclusive report from Reuters, staff say the new head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Richardson, told colleagues he had no idea the U.S. had a hurricane season, shocking many members of the disaster relief team.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: A spokesperson later said it was intended as a joke.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: This period will be a difficult one for the disaster relief agency, and it comes after losing around a quarter of its full-time staff under the new administration.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And finally, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the city's first Black mayor is to deliver $105 million in reparations to address the harms caused by the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The money will go toward community redevelopment and does not involve direct payments to descendants or the two remaining survivors of the attack.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The incident was one of the single bloodiest days against Black Americans in the 20th century, in which a mob destroyed more than 1,000 homes and structures and an estimated 300 Black residents were killed.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Mayor Monroe Nichols made the announcement on Sunday where he asked the audience to picture a city that had never endured the massacre.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Imagine what it would have meant for outcomes for our children. Imagine what it would have meant for public safety. And most importantly, imagine the trust and faith we would have built in each other over these last 104 years.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: 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, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Men's Health spent a day playing disc golf with Bill Nye the Science Guy, where they talked about, what else, science. Also family and a genetic health condition that runs in his family called hereditary ataxia.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
