--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, June 4th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, the controversial Gaza aid site closes for the day as deaths and chaos continue. Trump grapples with deporting migrants rejected by their home countries. And after a 32-year drought, could Canada finally bring home the Stanley Cup? But first, to Elon Musk, who has been using his newfound freedom from government to openly criticize Congress and the president's agenda.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On Monday, he attacked Republicans' signature tax and spending bill as a, quote, outrageous, pork-filled abomination. Musk was, until recently, largely loyal and enthusiastic about the president's agenda. But in a recent interview with CBS, he alluded to some discontent.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We have differences of opinion. There are things that I don't entirely agree with. But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention. So then I'm a little stuck in a bind. With this latest post, Musk appears to be stuck no more.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The shift coincides with his return to his business empire demanding more attention and less controversy. Musk's brief entry into politics appears to have had swift impact on his most famous brand, Tesla.
--:-- Becky Peterson: [Guest] Tesla has really been through it over the last few months while Musk has been away in D.C.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That's The Wall Street Journal's Becky Peterson, who shared a Pulitzer Prize for her recent reporting on Musk.
--:-- Becky Peterson: One of the biggest things that we're seeing right now is a decline in sales, which is hurting its revenue. It's hurting its net profit.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She says the car company's decline in sales has been a pattern across the U.S., Europe and China, and that its stock remains volatile and prone to, as she puts it, vibe shifts.
--:-- Becky Peterson: Peterson says Musk's political activity is at least partly responsible, especially in states where the once ubiquitous car is now the target of vandalism.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In the first few months of the year, it seemed that Tesla's reputation was declining among liberals and in liberal states like California, but it was improving in more Republican areas and with Republican buyers.
--:-- Becky Peterson: That said, Republicans aren't necessarily more likely to buy EVs, so it's not translating into success for sales.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, ordinarily, investors might see having a CEO with the ear of the president as a positive sign for the company, but Peterson notes that the political winds haven't been blowing in Tesla's favor.
--:-- Becky Peterson: Congress just blocked a California EV mandate, and the GOP's proposed bill will cut the EV tax credit.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And in a sign of Musk's waning influence at the White House, Trump recently withdrew his nomination for close Musk ally Jared Isaacman to run NASA.
--:-- Becky Peterson: If Musk has any regrets about how his political work has affected his business, he has so far kept them private.
--:-- Shamita Basu: He's dismissed Europe as a weak market, criticized the decline in shares as a form of political pressure, and blamed faltering sales on a change in inventory releases.
--:-- Becky Peterson: But he has conceded he needs to devote more time to his vision for Tesla's future.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Elon's been trying to transition Tesla into being an AI and robotics company.
--:-- Becky Peterson: He sees this optimist humanoid robot as being a product that people buy for their homes, that companies buy for their factories.
--:-- Shamita Basu: He sees a future where we're living among robots.
--:-- Becky Peterson: Peterson also notes that when you take a step back and away from Tesla, Musk other ventures are holding up well even accounting for the occasional rocket malfunction.
--:-- Shamita Basu: For all of the potential damage to Tesla bottom line and the concerns that people going to want to buy his products anymore Musk has actually seen his companies grow in value during his time in the administration.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So Musk's wealth is secure. Now to Gaza, where over the course of several days this week, dozens of desperate Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution sites, according to the Red Cross and Gaza Health Ministry.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: [Guest] The Palestinians gather about a kilometer away, quite early in the morning, until they're allowed to move forward to the hubs.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That's Barbara Plett-Usher, reporting from Jerusalem, told the BBC how the aid has been getting distributed.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: And they have to pass through territory that is controlled by the Israeli military because the Israeli military is securing these aid hubs.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So with the UN, the aid is brought to their homes or brought to their communities. This is a different system.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: And it means that civilians are put in quite close proximity to Israeli soldiers for this period while they're getting to the aid hub.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It has been difficult for journalists to verify what exactly happened in each of the deadly incidents this week, in large part because Israel has not allowed outside journalists into Gaza for months.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: The BBC has been working to review video footage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In the first deadly incident on Sunday, their journalists tried to geolocate video footage of gunfire near the aid site, which Gaza's health ministry says killed 31 people.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: The IDF said it fired what it described as warning shots, but denied its troops fired at civilians, quote, near or within the site.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it said reports blaming the IDF were false.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: The BBC concluded the gunfire seems to have occurred about half a mile from the aid site.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On Monday, the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross, reported that three people were killed waiting for food near the aid site.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: The IDF said it fired what it described as warning shots at people they believed to be threats.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Then on Tuesday, Gaza's health ministry said at least 27 people were killed.
--:-- Barbara Plett-Usher: And the ICRC said one of its field hospitals in South Gaza received nearly 200 patients in a mass casualty event.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Mandy Blackman is a doctor who treated some of these patients.
--:-- Mandy Blackman: [Guest] We've seen gunshot wounds. We've seen some stabbings. People beaten by what they said were bricks.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And we've seen people who have had pepper spray as well.
--:-- Mandy Blackman: But also those who managed to get some food from the food days on their way back from there.
--:-- Shamita Basu: People have taken that from them and they received injuries after that as well.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hada Oda a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza interviewed by the BBC told them gangs and looters have routinely targeted people to steal aid.
--:-- Hada Oda: [Guest] It happens all the time. You know there is no government here no policeman no security.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you don't give them they can shoot you or kill you.
--:-- Hada Oda: So they are trying to steal as much as they can, and they are selling it in local markets with high prices.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One reason Israel insisted on this new aid system is because it claims Hamas is stealing aid.
--:-- Hada Oda: But this journalist told the BBC it's often impossible to distinguish between gang members and members of MS.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But one thing is clear. This aid program has gotten off to a chaotic start.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Two top executives within GHF have resigned already, and a leading U.S. management firm hired to help design the program and run its business operations recently withdrew its team from Tel Aviv.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A spokesperson for the firm, the Boston Consulting Group, told The Washington Post the company terminated its contract with GHF.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's turn now to a tactic the Trump administration is increasingly turning to for deportations, so-called third country removals.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: [Guest] What we're seeing with this Trump administration is a supercharged use of third country removals.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And not just in terms of like quantity and how many people are being sent, but in terms of the kinds of countries that the United States is looking to make deals with to send migrants out to.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: Many migrants have been sent to countries in Central America.
--:-- Shamita Basu: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras made up more than half of all deportations back in March.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: The administration has also struck deals with other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In these cases, the administration has argued that people with criminal records shouldn't be allowed to stay in the U.S. just because their home countries refuse to take them back.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: In several cases, however, people have been sent to countries where they face persecution.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A gay man from Guatemala was sent to Mexico, where, according to court documents, he says he was raped and extorted while trying to seek asylum in the U.S.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: The administration says it's working to bring him back.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And in another case, the administration sought to deport seven men to South Sudan, a country facing food shortages, ethnic conflict, and violent crime.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: Nha Kha Phan, a U.S. citizen from Vietnam, about her husband, who was one of the men on this flight to South Sudan.
--:-- Nha Kha Phan: [Guest] He had recently finished serving a 25-year prison sentence for assault and murder.
--:-- Shamita Basu: His green card status was revoked.
--:-- Nha Kha Phan: They expected he would be deported when he was released, but they thought the administration would send him to Vietnam.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They were preparing documentation, travel paperwork.
--:-- Nha Kha Phan: She was getting a cell phone, connecting with family abroad to pick him up at the airport.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And then she gets a call from her husband.
--:-- Nha Kha Phan: He told her he was being sent to South Sudan instead.
--:-- Shamita Basu: He and the other migrants on the flight were only given about 12 hours notice, and Politico reports that they weren't allowed to consult their lawyers.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: Their lawyers later sued, arguing that they weren't given sufficient time to challenge the deportations.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled in their favor.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: This all happened about two weeks ago.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And back in April the same judge had already placed restrictions on the Trump administration efforts to deport people to third countries
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: But the administration went ahead with the flights anyway
--:-- Shamita Basu: And so now we're seeing that Nha's husband never made it to South Sudan but has instead for more than a week been stuck at the military base in Djibouti.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Nha told Bustillo she hasn't heard from her husband since he got on that plane.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Meanwhile, the Trump administration has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
--:-- Ximena Bustillo: They say it impedes their ability to carry out their immigration policy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Supreme Court gave the lawyers representing the migrants until today to respond to the appeal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The family of the suspect in the Colorado attack has been detained by ICE officials as the FBI expands its investigation to question what, if anything, family members may have known about his plans.
--:-- Shamita Basu: According to local media reports, Mohamed Sabri Suleiman's family included two teenagers and three younger children.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Federal officials say he was living in the U.S. illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said his family was in custody for expedited removal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Suleiman is being charged with attempted murder and also faces federal hate crime charges after he allegedly set fire to people demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages.
--:-- Shamita Basu: He is said to have told authorities he acted alone.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Next to Saudi Arabia, where the annual Hajj has begun, where Muslims journey to Mecca, the pilgrimage brings millions of people to one place, and the chaotic numbers combined with extreme heat led to over a thousand deaths last year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This time, Saudi Arabia is stepping up efforts to curb unauthorized visits with threats of fines and deportations.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But the Saudi government faces a tricky balancing act.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Hajj is crucial to its strategy to boost tourism, and it can be big business.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Packages vary, but according to one comparison tool, it can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 per person for travel from the U.S.
--:-- Shamita Basu: As of the start of the week, Saudi officials say they have stopped a quarter of a million people without hodge permits from entering Mecca.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And finally, tonight, the Stanley Cup begins pitting the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers for the second year in a row.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Last year, the Panthers won.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And as The Athletic notes, there is a lot at stake not only for these two teams, but the countries they represent.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Specifically, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup in 32 years, which seems kind of hard to believe for a country that feels so synonymous with the sport.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Athletic says there are many reasons why this drought has gone on for so long.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Some players want to play in the Sun Belt for better weather and tax perks, and many of the Canadian teams have not drafted that well.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But if any team is going to break the drought, it could be the Oilers, who were just one goal away from winning the title last year, and they're back with a stronger roster and home ice advantage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Atavist has the remarkable story of a skier who embarked on a dangerous and difficult 1,600-mile journey from Vancouver to Alaska, and how the tragedy she experienced changed how she saw the mountains and the world.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
