--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Monday, November 27th. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving break.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, an extended pause in fighting in Gaza. How to raise less materialistic kids when they're surrounded by holiday shopping hype. And what happens when airlines lose your luggage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We'll start in the Middle East, where Qatar's foreign ministry says Israel and Hamas will halt fighting for an additional two days.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Qatari diplomats have been working with both sides and the U.S.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The original four-day pause was scheduled to end today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hamas has been gradually releasing some hostages in waves, with Israel freeing Palestinians held in Israeli jails in return.
--:-- Shamita Basu: President Biden spoke about the release of American Abigail Edam.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She turned four years old while held captive.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She was taken after both her parents were killed by Hamas militants.
--:-- Shamita Basu: What she endured is unthinkable.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Abigail was among 13 hostages released today from Gaza, under the brokered and sustained, though intensive U.S. diplomacy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She's now safely in Israel.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And we continue to press and expect for additional Americans will be released as well.
--:-- Shamita Basu: As of early this morning, Hamas released 58 hostages.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They're arriving home now with stories of harsh conditions.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Little food, minimal access to bathrooms.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Some are getting medical treatment and have lost weight from malnourishment, but most appear to be in stable condition.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Palestinians released under the deal say they're victims of an Israeli system that's heavily tilted against them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Israel often holds Palestinians accused of crimes for months without trials.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Maysoon Al-Jabeli is one of more than 100 Palestinians released by Israel.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She told Al Jazeera that Palestinian prisoners are treated poorly.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They gassed us and took some of us to solitary confinement.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It was really dire.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Prison officers used to tell us, "Keep silent. We have the green light to do anything to you."
--:-- Shamita Basu: We were treated very badly.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There are dozens more Hamas hostages still held in Gaza.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But some are believed to be held by other militant groups, not under Hamas' direct command, which is complicated negotiations.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to resume attacks on Hamas once exchanges are over.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now let's take a brief look at some other stories in the news.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's now a suspect under arrest in the Vermont shootings of three college students of Palestinian descent over the weekend.
--:-- Shamita Basu: He has pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempted murder and is being held without bail.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The victims survived, but one was seriously injured.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Investigators are looking into the suspect's potential motive.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Burlington police chief says it's understandable that so many people in the community believe this is a potential hate crime, and federal investigators are involved.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In waters off the coast of Yemen, an Israel-owned tanker is now safe after the U.S. Navy responded to a distress call.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The vessel was seized by armed hijackers, who eventually fled and were captured by the U.S. warship.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This follows the recent seizure of another Israel-length cargo ship by Yemeni fighters with ties to Iran.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020, is expected to survive the recent stabbing attack in prison.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Minnesota's attorney general says the incident is regrettable and that any convicted person should be able to serve their sentence without violence.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And in New Zealand, a groundbreaking ban on cigarette sales is being canceled.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We talked about this on the show a while back.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The policy was originally planned for next year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It would have banned selling cigarettes to anyone born after 2008.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It was supported by the previous government, led by Jacinda Ardern.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But her party is now out of power and the more conservative coalition is getting rid of the ban on cigarette sales in order to bring in more revenue and make tax cuts possible
--:-- Shamita Basu: Moving on now to a story about holiday spending.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's that time of year when stores are amping up their Black Friday through Cyber Monday sales.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And every online purchase you've ever made comes back to haunt you in your email inbox with some kind of screaming discount.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Maybe helpful if you have holiday shopping to do, but also aggressive and easy to end up buying things that you don't really need.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Vox has a nice series out called Buy Less Stuff for anyone looking to break up with modern consumer culture, or at the very least be more mindful about it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One of the pieces is focused on how to talk to your kids about all this.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It looks at how materialistic culture can be really damaging for young minds.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Research shows a focus on money and buying stuff is linked to lower academic achievement and engagement, as well as anxiety, depression, and selfishness.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Vox spoke with experts and came up with some tips on how to help kids deal with the onslaught of marketing.
--:-- Shamita Basu: First, talk to your kids about ads.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Even if they're watching shows on ad-free streaming services, they're still exposed to a lot of consumer content on social media or through those creepy unboxing videos.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Having honest conversations early about when something is designed to sell to you can help children develop some healthy skepticism.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's also a good exercise to ask kids why they want something.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One marketing professor says a good question to ask is, "What changes do they expect in their life after they get something?"
--:-- Shamita Basu: This exercise forces people to think harder about material possessions.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They might wind up more determined to have it, or they may realize they don't really need the thing after all.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And like all things in parenting, we need to model the behavior we want to see in our kids.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So if you want to teach them to be more mindful about accumulating stuff, they can't see packages showing up for their parents every day.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's so much more in this series that's helpful as we get deeper into the holiday season.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can read more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Apart from shopping, another big part of the holiday season is travel.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, hopefully you made it home from Thanksgiving with all of your luggage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The vast majority of luggage gets where it's supposed to go.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But U.S. airlines lose two million bags a year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: NPR looks at what happens to the bags that never get reunited with their traveler.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They're ultimately put up for sale at a giant store in Scottsboro, Alabama.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Airlines take three months to try to reunite lost luggage with owners.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They're on the hook to reimburse travelers for up to $3,800 for lost luggage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But for suitcases that don't make it home, this store, which is called Unclaimed Baggage, buys the stuff and sells it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's one of the top tourist destinations in Alabama, with a million people stopping by every year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's laid out kind of like a department store.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's got fitting rooms and everything, and all the items are priced at a steep discount from retail.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So you can find some high-end goods for pretty cheap, like Louis Vuitton handbags and Prada shoes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Employee Sunny Hood told NPR, the electronics section is particularly popular.
--:-- Shamita Basu: All the devices have been wiped of any personal data.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So anything from cell phones and laptops, tablets, headphones, you name it, this is where guests are going to find these items.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And some pretty unusual stuff shows up too, from a Jim Henson puppet to a suit of armor.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The store has had enough bizarre things pass through to start a museum inside, celebrating the most interesting items left behind.
--:-- 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 from Vogue.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It talks to Lauren Sanchez, fiancé of Jeff Bezos, about space exploration and life in the spotlight.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
