--:-- Shumita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, October 2nd. I'm Shumita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, understanding the latest escalations in the Middle East, putting numbers to the devastation from Helene, and the unusual reason Italy and Switzerland had to redraw their borders. But first, to last night's first and only vice presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The two candidates from the Midwest battled for the votes of their region and for their ticket in arguably the most stereotypically Midwestern way, pretty darn politely.
--:-- Tim Walz: First of all, Governor, I agree with you. We got close to an agreement because all those things are happening.
--:-- Shumita Basu: [pauses] Much of what the senator said right there, I'm in agreement with him on this. And I think that Governor Walz and I actually probably agree that we need to do better on this.
--:-- J.D. Vance: I agree with that.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Tim just said something that I agree with.
--:-- J.D. Vance: I agree with a lot of what Senator Vance said about what's happening.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And they hit on a lot of issues, from abortion to immigration to guns, the economy, and the recent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. With me to help break it all down is my colleague Gideon Resnick, who was at the debate.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Hey, Shumita. So this was definitely a very cordial debate and, dare I say, maybe even boring at times. I don't mean that that's a complaint by boring. I mean, we heard a lot of substantive policy talk. It wasn't exactly the combative clash that some people expected, right?
--:-- Shumita Basu: No, not at all. I mean, Walls and Vance came out with a handshake from the start. They address each other by first name quite often. And as we heard there, a lot of the debate was them trying to point out common ground in their exchanges.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: It also became clear pretty early on what Vance and Walls' strategies were. You know, with Vance, it was to keep pointing out that Vice President Kamala Harris has been in office these past few years and that if she really wanted to deliver on the promises she's making on the campaign trail now, she could have done them at this point.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And with Walls, it was to convey former President Trump as a kind of chaos agent and Harris as someone who would provide stable leadership.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: OK, well, let's get into specifics on policy, because they covered some ground that we don't typically hear in forums like these. For example, the two of them had a pretty substantial debate over gun control and mass shootings.
--:-- Shumita Basu: They did. NBC reporter Tom Winter, who's covered lots of mass shootings, called it the most, quote, nuanced and holistic debate on this issue that he's ever heard.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The two candidates acknowledged how terrible these events are. They both reflected on it in personal capacities, too, as fathers who have to send their kids to school every day. Walls even talked about his son being a witness to a shooting.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And there was a moment where Vance reacted in real time to hearing that.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: I didn't know that your 17-year-old witness is shooting. I'm sorry about that.
--:-- Shumita Basu: On policy, though, Vance didn't make any arguments for gun control. He mostly stuck to Republican talking points calling for more beefed-up security in schools.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: We have to make the doors lock better. We have to make the doors stronger. We've got to make the windows stronger. And of course, we've got to increase school resource officers because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn't fit with recent experience.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Vance also talked about paying more attention to mental health.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Walls pushed back, cautioning people not to stigmatize mental health and saying that even as a gun owner himself, sometimes it's important to acknowledge, as he put it, that guns are part of the problem.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Sometimes it just is the guns. It's just the guns. And there are things that you can do about it.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And there are things that you can do about it. But I do think that this is one and I think this is a healthy conversation I think there a capacity to find solutions on this that work protect the Second Amendment protect our children That our priority
--:-- Shumita Basu: Walls also mentioned his own record on this, saying that he changed his own opinion on guns after meeting with Sandy Hook families, and that as governor, he signed red flag and background check bills into law.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: OK, now let's turn to abortion, another big topic of the night. Did we learn anything new about the candidates' positions here?
--:-- Shumita Basu: In a sense, yes, and in a sense, no. I mean, Vance has historically taken a hard line against abortion, saying in the past that it should be illegal nationwide.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: He said that he has since moderated that stance and explained that he did so after Ohio's referendum on the issue.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The people of Ohio voted overwhelmingly, by the way, against my position. And I think that what I learned from that, Nora, is that we've got to do a better job at winning back people's trust.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: That was something Vance said a few times. We have to earn back people's trust on this issue. We being Republicans there, which I think was a concession in the sense that it's an issue that Republicans have struggled with.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And that answer from Vance feels different than Trump kind of asserting that the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was something that American voters wanted.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Now, for Walls, this was probably among his strongest moments of the night. He was clear in defining his ticket stances on the issue, saying time and time again, this is about giving women the freedom to make choices that are good for them.
--:-- Shumita Basu: He also pushed back against the idea that Trump is really championing that abortion should be left up to the states.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The fact of the matter is, how can we as a nation say that your life and your rights, as basic as the right to control your own body, is determined on geography?
--:-- Shumita Basu: Now, we should also note that as this all was going on, Donald Trump posted on social media that he would veto a federal ban on abortion if he were president. That is something that he has not said until last night.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Another notable moment in the debate was when Walls pushed Vance to say whether he accepts the fact that Trump lost the election in 2020.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Let's listen to that exchange.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This was a threat to our democracy in a way that we had not seen. And it manifested itself because of Donald Trump's inability to say he is still saying he didn't lose the election.
--:-- Shumita Basu: I would just Did he lose the 2020 election? Tim, I'm focused on the future.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation? That is a damning non-answer.
--:-- Shumita Basu: It's a damning non-answer for you to not talk about censorship.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Gideon, how did that hit you?
--:-- Shumita Basu: It was extremely notable that Vance wouldn't answer that question.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: I think most observers thought that was the case, particularly given the fact that former Vice President Mike Pence was not on the debate stage because he refused to attempt to overturn the election.
--:-- Shumita Basu: That's the whole point of Vance being on this ticket, in a sense.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And in this answer, Vance tried to turn it into a conversation around censorship that felt like kind of an abrupt dodge.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Well, Gideon, the candidates covered so many more issues, more than we'll have time to talk about right now.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But one thing I do want to ask about is crime and immigration. This came up quite a few times. Vance repeating a frequent Trump campaign line about violence and crime being up because of illegal immigration.
--:-- Shumita Basu: So help us fact check this. What does the data say?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The specific allegation the Trump and Vance campaign are making is that allegedly 13,000 convicted murderers have crossed into the country during the Biden administration.
--:-- Shumita Basu: They're leaning on a report from the Department of Homeland Security, which just put out new statistics on this last week and has since said in a statement that the data is being misrepresented.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Homeland Security says those numbers span decades, going back over the past 40 years, and that the vast majority of homicide convictions of immigrants are not people who came in during the Biden administration.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Just to say there no evidence that undocumented immigrants commit violent crimes at higher rates than U citizens
--:-- Gideon Resnick: So really, Gideon, the question at the end of this is how much can we expect this to move the needle for voters? How much do VP debates ever really move the needle?
--:-- Shumita Basu: Well, it's a bit early to know for sure, but they don't really move the needle. And I mean, keep this in mind even about the last presidential debate between Trump and Harris.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: While that had its dramatic moments, it barely impacted polls. Not much has overall in the course of this race.
--:-- Shumita Basu: In fact, The Washington Post again asked a group of swing state voters in real time to react to this vice presidential debate.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: 14 of the 22 people they surveyed said they thought Vance performed better overall. Eight people thought Walls did better.
--:-- Shumita Basu: But interestingly, it didn't really change their positions much. It mostly just reinforced how they were leaning before the debate even started.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Also to note here, after the debate was done, Vice President Harris once again asked former President Donald Trump to debate her later this month.
--:-- Shumita Basu: He once again said that he would not do it. All right. So if that holds, this is very likely the final debate of this campaign.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Gideon Resnick, thank you so much.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Yeah, of course. Thank you.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Let's turn now to the Middle East, where things have escalated dramatically over the past 24 hours.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Yesterday, Iran launched a barrage of missiles into Israel.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Residents fled to shelter as air raid sirens and explosions could be heard overhead.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The entire operation was over in under an hour, after which Israeli airspace was reopened.
--:-- Shumita Basu: An Israeli spokesperson told reporters that there were no reports of casualties.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This is the second time in just a few months that Iran has launched missiles at Israel.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The first time was in April, when Iran sent missiles and drones in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed several top military operators.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The Wall Street Journal explains what's led to this latest round of fire exchange.
--:-- Shumita Basu: In recent weeks, Iran has accused Israel of killing key leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah, which are both backed by Iran.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: In July, Hamas's top political leader was killed while in Tehran.
--:-- Shumita Basu: In September, there was the mass attack on pagers and walkie-talkies, which exploded and killed a number of Hezbollah members, as well as dozens of civilians, including children.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Military and intelligence experts have widely attributed that attack to Israel, though Israel has not claimed responsibility.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Last week in Lebanon, Israel killed a Hezbollah leader in a massive airstrike.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And then yesterday, Israel sent troops into Lebanon and took out another Hezbollah commander in an airstrike.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Hours later, Iran responded with missiles, which U.S. officials say were mostly intercepted by Israeli defense with help from the U.S. military.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: An Israeli military spokesperson, Peter Lerner, told MSNBC Israel is prepared to retaliate.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Iran should not mess with us. We have shown that we have the abilities, the capabilities, and that we have the resolve to defend the people of Israel.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Meanwhile, President Biden reaffirmed America's commitment to defend Israel and protect U.S. personnel in the region.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Both vice presidential candidates echoed that sentiment in last night's debate.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: For months, there have been concerns about the risk of a broader regional war.
--:-- Shumita Basu: But this latest escalation has turned up the temperature substantially.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: I mean, this is really scary stuff we're talking about here. Really, really scary stuff.
--:-- Shumita Basu: That's Zach Beauchamp, a senior correspondent with Vox, who covers global politics and democracy.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: We're at a tipping point right now where things could tip in one direction or the other with potentially severe consequences.
--:-- Shumita Basu: I feel like someone has knocked down a domino and I don't know which direction the rest of the dominoes are going to fall.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: I asked him why he thinks Israel is launching these attacks now
--:-- Shumita Basu: My guess honestly is opportunity
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Since October 8th Hezbollah has been firing rockets into northern Israel Something like 60,000 Israelis are displaced from their homes in northern Israel.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Israel had a very good reason, I think probably a justified reason, in attempting to get Hezbollah to stop doing that, right?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: They're firing rockets indiscriminately into Israeli communities.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Now the question becomes, is their response going to be one that is proportionate and one that accomplishes the aims that it needs to without dangerous escalation?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Beecham says this timing also makes sense as Israel's strikes on Gaza have slowed down.
--:-- Shumita Basu: That has meant Israel has more military assets available to focus on Hezbollah.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And it's an operation that he says is turning out to be relatively popular among the Israeli public.
--:-- Shumita Basu: But trading attacks with Iran is risky. Not just for the region, but for the world.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: It could, and this is to me one of the scariest possibilities, it could dash for a nuclear bomb.
--:-- Shumita Basu: It is very, very close to building one as a result of the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said that Iran is about a week or two away from compiling enough fissile material to produce a bomb if it wants that.
--:-- Shumita Basu: This is a quickly developing story, and you can find the latest in the Apple News app.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Before we let you go, a few other stories being featured in the Apple News app, starting with a wave of new sexual assault accusations against hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs.
--:-- Shumita Basu: A team of lawyers announced 120 new lawsuits will be filed in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami in the coming weeks.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The biggest secret in the entertainment industry that really wasn't a secret at all has finally been revealed to the world.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The wall of silence has now been broken, and victims are coming forward.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The Washington Post reports that the alleged assaults go back decades, involving both men and women, with at least one victim as young as nine years old.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Combs has denied the accusations against him.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: He's currently being held without bond in a Brooklyn jail.
--:-- Shumita Basu: In the South, rescue efforts are underway in cities and towns hit by Hurricane Helene.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The death toll is rising.
--:-- Shumita Basu: As of Tuesday, at least 137 people have been confirmed dead, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the U.S. this century.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The News & Observer reports that North Carolina's attorney general's office has received dozens of complaints about businesses price gouging on everything from food to fuel to groceries, something that is illegal to do under the state's emergency declaration.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Meanwhile, the insurance industry's early estimates put the total damage done by the storm at around $35 billion.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And finally, melting glaciers in the Alps are forcing Switzerland and Italy to redraw their shared border.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The BBC reports on how a large portion of the shared border runs along ridgelines in the mountains, which are packed with snow.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But because of climate change, that snow is rapidly melting and moving the border so much so quickly that the two countries have to come together to discuss a new map.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Researchers tell the BBC if these weather patterns continue, the thaw will only accelerate.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: 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.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The Atavist magazine looks at an insurrection attempt and how it was foiled.
--:-- Shumita Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
