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--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, February 22nd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, rail workers speak out after the Ohio train derailment, the impact of the Adderall shortage, and surprising new research on four-day work weeks. But first, the fight over an AP African-American history course for high schoolers is spreading far beyond Florida, with more state leaders questioning the class and others rallying to support teaching Black history.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's a debate kicked off by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who said the new course goes against state law on teaching about race. When you look to see they have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prisons, that's a political agenda.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Scholars say the course gives high school students the chance to study an essential part of American history that typically isn't covered in detail until college.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Washington Post reports that at least four more states are planning to review the course and see if it conflicts with their policies or laws. That's Arkansas, Virginia, North Dakota, and Mississippi. Several other states tell The Post they may consider reviewing it in the future.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At least 18 states have laws that restrict the teaching of race. Other states are taking a different approach. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced an expansion of teaching African American history across the state schools.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the governors of California and Illinois criticized calls to block or water down the AP course.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Meanwhile, the course is still being piloted in around 60 classrooms across the country this year, including Little Rock Central High, the school in Arkansas where, in the 1950s, white protesters tried to block the arrival of nine Black students.
--:-- Ruthie Walls: I'm a social studies teacher at the school. I don't believe the course violates state law, and the pilot has been popular. Every seat is filled, and there's a wait list.
--:-- Ruthie Walls: I just teach history. I don't add anything. I don't take anything away. History will stand by itself.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The EPA is ordering rail company Norfolk Southern to pay for cleanup of the derailment that released toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Federal investigators are looking into the causes. Train workers and their unions have been critical of Norfolk Southern and the rail industry over the years.
--:-- Aaron Gordon: I've talked to hundreds of workers across the industry who have warned me that a catastrophe is going to happen if nothing changes.
--:-- Aaron Gordon: Employees say the company made cuts that prioritized speed over safety, which the company disputes. They say they're discouraged from speaking up about problems, and those who do speak out are often ignored.
--:-- Aaron Gordon: The way this gets put into practice is basically by making everyone do more with less, which slashes inspection times, which cuts maintenance, which just basically erodes the safety practices that have been longstanding in the railroad industry over the last several decades.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Since the derailment, two workers spoke anonymously to me. They said this train route called 32N was a known safety risk. They said there were multiple issues, including two mechanical problems that were ignored or missed just hours before the derailment.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One worker told me that 32N was so notorious for problems that workers nicknamed it 32 Nasty.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Norfolk Southern disputes Vice's reporting on worker claims about 32N's safety.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Meanwhile, residents of East Palestine worry about their health. And people in other communities along rail lines want to know how this disaster happened and what's being done to prevent another one.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Millions of Americans rely on Adderall and generic versions to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. For months, the medication has been in extremely short supply.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Some people say they're being forced to ration pills. Vox looks at the factors driving the supply crunch.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One is rising demand. The expansion of telehealth during the pandemic led to more ADHD diagnoses. And a rule change allowed providers to prescribe drugs like Adderall remotely.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Also, manufacturers say they're facing a shortage of the active ingredient, which is tightly controlled by the DEA.
--:-- Shamita Basu: When people can't access this medication, there are serious risks. Vox spoke to a doctor in Wisconsin who has ADHD and narcolepsy.
--:-- Doctor: Without treatment, my ADHD can make doing routine tasks difficult. And my narcolepsy can cause me to fall asleep in five minutes after sitting down.
--:-- Doctor: I need my medication to be able to safely drive and work. So this shortage is very dangerous for me.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Drug makers are unable to say when they'll be able to increase supply. As Vox puts it, we know the shortage will end, but we don't know when.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Until things get better, patients face unfilled prescriptions and difficult choices.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We've talked on this show before about four-day workweek experiments happening at companies around the world.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Well, new results from dozens of companies in the UK are in. It's the biggest trial yet, organized by a nonprofit that supports four-day workweeks.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Many companies say they saw sharp drops in worker turnover and absences, while productivity largely held up.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There was one finding from this trial that really jumped out to us. It involves child care.
--:-- Shamita Basu: As you might expect, people on four-day work weeks had more time to look after their kids. But men stepped up a little more. They spent 27% more time caring for children than they did when they worked five days a week.
--:-- Shamita Basu: For women, it was a 13% increase.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can read more about the findings on the Apple News app, which might even give you some arguments to pitch your boss on a four-day work week.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And if you're already listening in the News app right now, don't go anywhere. We've got a narrated article coming up next from Time about AI.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It looks at the promise and the risk as tech companies bet big on artificial intelligence.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So sit back, enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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