--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Friday, December 9th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, how staffing shortages at nursing homes put vulnerable residents at risk, why everyone in South Korea is about to get younger, and the big matches ahead in the World Cup. But first, a look at what's happening inside and outside of Iran, where the regime is cracking down on protesters in the country, but also increasingly targeting dissidents living around the world.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Inside Iran, things took a darker turn this week when Iran executed Mosene Shekari. It was the first execution of a protester connected with the recent anti-government demonstrations, although many people have died under questionable circumstances. Human rights activists say that this verdict came from a sham trial.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Outside the country, the Washington Post reports on the rise in Iranian assassination and kidnapping plots targeting people living in the West, activists, journalists, government officials, and others who've spoken out against the regime. National security reporter Shane Harris spoke to people who've been singled out and to Western intelligence agencies.
--:-- Shane Harris: In targeting some of these individuals, officials said, what the government in Tehran is hoping is that we'll have a chilling effect on other activists. Western security and law enforcement agencies say they disrupted a plan to assassinate John Bolton. He was a sharp critic of Iran as Trump's former national security advisor.
--:-- Shane Harris: But many targets are Iranians living in the West who don't have the kind of protection that a high-level former American government official does. Harris says many of them now live in fear.
--:-- Shane Harris: It is overwhelming for so many of these people who are really trying to live a normal life and are very outspoken because they want to see change in Iran, but feel almost like prisoners in their own home. Critics of Iran have been followed and sent intimidating messages. They worry that their phones could be hacked. And they're on guard for people trying to trick them.
--:-- Shane Harris: People have been warned about something called a honey trap or a honeypot operation. This is where an intelligence service uses somebody as a kind of romantic lure to try and physically, you know, get you into a compromising position where you could be kidnapped or perhaps, you know, you could be surveilled more easily.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Iranian officials didn't respond to the Post's requests for comment. Harris explains why Western intelligence agencies are sounding the alarm about Iranian plots.
--:-- Shane Harris: The United States and Great Britain in particular right now very much want Tehran on notice. We see what you're doing. We're tracking it very closely, and we're prepared to respond to it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A quick update on some news breaking just as Washington was waking up. Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is changing her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent. It's a move that chips away at Democrats' narrow majority in the chamber, just after the party thought it locked up 51 seats in the Georgia runoff.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She says she does not plan to caucus with Republicans and that nothing will change about her values or behavior. Still, it's a political earthquake. You can read more about the implications from Politico, which has an interview with Sinema, in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In the U.S., thousands of nursing homes are chronically understaffed, in violation of federal rules. USA Today found a pattern of failure by regulators to hold nursing homes accountable for putting vulnerable people at risk. Investigative reporter Jamie Frazier says worker shortages force nurses into terrible situations.
--:-- Jamie Frazier: You have multiple call lights and you have to decide which resident to get to now and which one has to wait. You might have to decide what kinds of care are most urgent and which just gets skipped.
--:-- Jamie Frazier: There are federal guidelines for staffing, but Fraser says the rules are rarely enforced. USA Today analyzed data and found thousands of nursing homes that failed to meet standards for having a registered nurse on duty. But just 4% were cited by government inspectors. Even fewer received fines.
--:-- Jamie Frazier: And that really shocked us. Data shows understaffing is especially severe at nursing homes that serve mostly low-income residents and people of color. Frazier says misconceptions about people who live in nursing homes can sometimes play into failures to address problems.
--:-- Jamie Frazier: The perception that everyone in a nursing home is really old and on the edge of death is flawed. There are a number of people who live in skilled nursing facilities that are younger, who have disabilities and just need that extra help to get through their day and live a life.
--:-- Jamie Frazier: And I personally think that people who are older still have a lot of value in our society, besides the fact they deserve basic dignity as a human.
--:-- Shamita Basu: President Biden promised sweeping reforms to nursing homes during his State of the Union address this year. But as USA Today points out, it's hard to make any reforms last if there's no enforcement.
--:-- Shamita Basu: South Koreans will soon, instantly, become a year or two younger, thanks to new legislation. It's news that might break your brain if you're not familiar with how the country has traditionally tracked age.
--:-- Shamita Basu: When babies are born in South Korea, they're considered one year old already. And everyone gains a year on New Year's Day, regardless of your birthday. So a baby born on December 31st would be considered two years old the following day.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If this sounds confusing, it's because it is. Even within the country, people are asked to report their age in different ways for different purposes, like for medical documents or figuring out the cutoff for drinking, smoking, or military service.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Not to mention, in Korean culture, age plays a big role in language. Even if you're one year younger than an acquaintance, some might say you're really expected to use a more polite form of speech.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yesterday, South Korea's parliament passed bills to standardize things. Starting next summer, newborns will start at zero and become one year old on their next birthday, just like in most other countries.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Government polling shows the majority of the public is in favor of adopting the international standard. Of course, they may just like saying that they are one year younger. Something we can all relate to.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Quarterfinal matches start today at the World Cup in Qatar. Apple News sports editor Shakar Saman is with me now to talk about it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hey Shakar, how's it going?
--:-- Shakar Saman: I'm good. I know that you're just back from Qatar. You were there watching the matches right?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yeah, I caught uh six games in five days. Good tournament so far so tell me which matches are you most looking forward to in this next stage of the tournament?
--:-- Shakar Saman: You know, we have four really good quarterfinal matchups. We've got Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France, England, and Morocco, Portugal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I am really keying in on France, England. In France, you have Kylian Mbappe, maybe the best player alive, playing at the peak of his powers. And in England, you have a really talented, balanced team with a manager, Gareth Southgate, who says he spent the last few years devising a plan to stop Mbappe.
--:-- Shakar Saman: You know, Morocco has had a really amazing run so far, too. They beat Spain earlier in the week on penalty kicks, and tomorrow they face Portugal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So do you think they have a shot?
--:-- Shakar Saman: I really think they do. The Atlas Lions are not the team that have the most impressive or intimidating attack but they're so consistent.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, the biggest star in this World Cup seems to be, of course, Messi. Now, Argentina has had a pretty major turnaround in the tournament after losing to Saudi Arabia early on. And now they're back on the upswing.
--:-- Shakar Saman: So will this be Messi's World Cup?
--:-- Shamita Basu: You know, Lionel Messi somehow keeps shoving father time just right out of his way. Every single World Cup, every single international tournament, we say, oh, you know, his team still doesn't have any help.
--:-- Shakar Saman: But and then, you know, two weeks later, they're in the knockout rounds. They keep progressing. The Netherlands will be a tough battle for them. But he's so good that it might not even matter.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So, Shakar, I have to ask you for your predictions that mean nothing at all, no stakes, no money on the table, which team do you think will make it all the way?
--:-- Shakar Saman: I have to go with France. When they are hitting that next level that I think only they and Brazil can reach, I'm not sure there's a team in the world who can beat them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Okay, so you've gone right from the beginning and you've kept the same, which is absolutely admirable. I, on the other hand, change like the wind. And I am going for a Brazil-England final.
--:-- Shakar Saman: I did have Brazil circa four weeks ago. And I'm now changing it, Brendan. And it's happening. And that naked hope reappears and shows itself once more. And I'm going, what on earth am I doing?
--:-- Shamita Basu: But I'm doing it. I'm going for England to win the World Cup. I'm just doing what everyone has done down the years and it ends in tears, but I'm doing it. England to win the World Cup. Oh, it's coming home. Oh, it's coming home.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Rebecca's rooting for England. You're pulling for France. Chalker, thanks so much. Thanks for having me.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find World Cup coverage and all the stories we talked about today on the Apple News app. And also, you'll find this week's episode of our interview show, In Conversation. I speak with Nobel Peace Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa. Her new book is about how social media has been weaponized in the Philippines to give rise to authoritarianism.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And she explains the connection between freedom and free press all around the world. If you don't have integrity of facts, you can't have integrity of elections. And what we have seen is that 60 percent of the world today lives under autocracies. And we're rolling back the number of democracies to 1989 levels.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We are electing illiberal leaders democratically because they get the widest spread. Make sure to check that out over the weekend. And I'll be back with the news on Monday.
