--:-- Shumita Basu: Good morning. It's Monday, September 29th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what we know about yesterday's shooting at a Michigan church, why autism diagnoses are rising, and a dramatic and rowdy finish to the Ryder Cup. But first, the federal government is set to shut down this week if Congress fails to pass a spending bill before a midnight deadline tomorrow.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: The bill Republicans passed in the House would fund the government until November 21st, broadly at current spending levels. Republicans will likely need eight Democratic votes. But leaders on both sides of the aisle are pointing the finger at each other, blaming the other party for playing shut down chicken.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: On NBC's Meet the Press, Senate Majority Leader John Thune was asked if there would be a deal.
--:-- John Thune: Totally up to the Democrats. The ball is in their court. There is a bill sitting at the desk in the Senate right now. We could pick it up today and pass it.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And on the same show, Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer addressed the upcoming meeting between top congressional leaders and President Trump scheduled for today.
--:-- Chuck Schumer: We need a serious negotiation. Now, if the president at this meeting is going to rant and just yell at Democrats and talk about all his alleged grievances and say this, that and the other thing, we won't get anything done. But my hope is it'll be a serious negotiation.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The Democrats have demanded an extension of subsidies for Americans who are insured under the Affordable Care Act as a condition of their support. Sophia Kai is a White House reporter at Politico.
--:-- Sophia Kai: They're set to expire at the end of this year. And they matter because Democrats and some Republicans, frankly, they want to make sure that millions of people's insurance bills don't increase. And that's what will happen if there's not an extension to these ACA subsidies.
--:-- Shumita Basu: More than 20 million people receive those subsidies. And research from the nonprofit KFF suggests that in some cases, premiums might jump from $0 to as high as $1,500 a month for people who get insurance via the ACA.
--:-- Sophia Kai: The threat of shutdown has almost become a congressional tradition in recent years, but this one could be different. I report that the administration is planning to use the shutdown as a justification for large-scale cutbacks of the federal workforce. Not just furloughs, but firings.
--:-- Shumita Basu: She says that Russ Vogt, director of the Office of Management and Budget, has instructed agencies to prepare for a reduction in workforce should lawmakers fail to meet their funding deadline.
--:-- Sophia Kai: And he's warned that departments that didn't get funding from Trump's mega bill earlier this year would bear the brunt of the cuts. They're permanent firings of federal employees who, in Russ Vogt's view, they don't contribute to President Trump's priorities.
--:-- Shumita Basu: So there's a couple of buckets of workers and programs that they will keep going in the event of a shutdown. But now we're talking about mass layoffs that go beyond what Elon Musk did previously.
--:-- Sophia Kai: The White House hasn't published its plans for the shutdown yet, and they have some leeway on what they could decide to keep open.
--:-- Shumita Basu: For the last shutdown during Trump's first administration, nearly half of the workforce was furloughed. But essential services continued. The armed forces continued to operate as did air traffic controllers and airport security. Seniors on Medicare could continue to see their doctors, and mail was still getting delivered.
--:-- Sophia Kai: But many other federal services could get shut or drastically pared back. And the U.S. Travel Association estimates that a shutdown could bring losses of $1 billion to the industry each week.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Kai says what happens next hinges on the outcome of today's meeting. If Trump wants to cut a deal, then Republicans will cut that deal. The fact that there is a meeting happening is a promising sign because it means that at least that there will be a discussion.
--:-- Sophia Kai: Whether or not they'll come out with a solution is really up in the air. And I think at this point, probably a 50-50 chance of government shutting down.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Now let's turn to Michigan and to what we know about yesterday's shooting.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: At least four people are dead and eight others wounded after a gunman crashed his vehicle through the front of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, where Mormons gathered. Hundreds of people were attending a service.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: Authorities say the gunman opened fire, then deliberately set the church ablaze. Police were nearby and on the scene within one minute. They exchanged gunfire, and the shooter was eventually killed.
--:-- Shumita Basu: He has since been identified as 40-year-old military veteran Thomas Jacob Sanford, and he lived close to the church. Police have not confirmed any motive and urged people to be patient as they work through the investigation.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: In a press conference, the FBI said they were investigating it as an act of targeted violence. And Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Rene paid tribute to the heroism on display.
--:-- William Rene: Not only the first responders, but the people who were inside that church at the time. They were shielding the children who were also present within the church, moving them to safety. Just hundreds of people just practicing their faith. Just extreme courage, brave, and that's the type of community that we are.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Authorities warned that they may find more victims as they clear the wreckage of the burned-out building.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: A woman named Paula was inside the church worshiping when the shooting happened. She spoke to WXYZ-TV.
--:-- Paula: One of our counselors was up speaking and we heard a big bang and the doors blew. She ran out into the parking lot and escaped with others but said she had lost friends and children she taught at Sunday school had been hurt. It's just devastating. Everything was going well. We were worshiping our Savior, Jesus Christ, and then this happens. But it's not shaking my faith. I don't know what happened, and I don't know why, and probably never will.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Churchgoer Brian Taylor was shot at while escaping in his car with his wife and other church members. He spoke to Fox 2 Detroit.
--:-- Brian Taylor: As soon as I saw the door open with the shooter and with his rifle, that's when I tried to drive away. And that's when he shot at us. He and his family survived, and he said he was grateful for the police acting so fast.
--:-- Shumita Basu: I sure in the future we going to start figuring out protocol for in churches what to do with this kind of thing. And even though we really shouldn't have to, it should not be something that you have to be afraid of when we go to worship.
--:-- Shumita Basu: President Trump said that quote the epidemic of violence in our country must end and described it as yet another targeted attack on Christians. To be clear, we still don't know why the shooter targeted the church.
--:-- Shumita Basu: But Sunday's attack is only the latest to take place at a religious institution, and the second in Michigan this year, after someone opened fire at a Bible school in Wayne, a suburb of Detroit, in June.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Last month, two children were killed at a school mass in Minnesota, and a month before that, two women were killed in a shooting at a Baptist church in Kentucky.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Health experts are trying to clear up misconceptions caused by the Trump administration's announcement last week linking autism to the use of Tylenol during pregnancy.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: Scientists say those claims are not backed up by research. One thing not in dispute is that the number of people being diagnosed with autism is on the rise.
--:-- Shumita Basu: But according to Corinne Pertil, health and science reporter for the Los Angeles Times, that's partly because what we think of as autism has changed.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: When autism first entered the psychiatry profession's diagnostic Bible in 1980, it was a very narrow range of criteria. Before the age of two and a half, a child had to have significant differences in their development and language abilities.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Pratil says the most recent diagnostic definition dates back to 2013. It took what had been four different neurodevelopmental disorders and all put them together into a single diagnosis.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: So Asperger's syndrome used to be its own diagnosis. Now that is part of autism spectrum disorder. So what we call autism spectrum disorder encompasses an incredibly broad range of people.
--:-- Shumita Basu: In his press conference, RFK Jr. falsely suggested that most cases are now severe. That's just simply not the case. At best, it's about a quarter of the children who have an autism diagnosis today are considered to have profound autism.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: Pratil says the other major factor at play here is increased screening. And there have been major steps forward in detecting the condition early.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Not every pediatrician necessarily was familiar with autism or what it looked like in a very young child. Starting in 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics started recommending universal screening for all children during their well-child checkups.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: So we look now for autism at every child's normal pediatrician visits. And Pratil says that schools and child psychiatrists have gotten much better at detection.
--:-- Shumita Basu: She pointed to the most recent CDC report looking at data from 2022. That was the first year in which diagnoses of autism in children of color were higher than the rates of autism diagnosis in white children.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: And the psychologists that I've spoken to say this is actually a really good thing. What we're seeing here is that children of color, many of whom might previously had their needs sort of shunted aside with diagnoses of intellectual disability or behavioral challenges, people are accurately recognizing now that they have autistic traits and are in need of more specialized support.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Less covered but worth noting is that as part of the Trump administration announcement the National Institutes of Health granted $1 million for research projects a move many scientists praised.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: And Pratil said that while the press conference itself was at times controversial journalists noted that the letter the FDA administrator actually sent to physicians was much more nuanced.
--:-- Shumita Basu: It acknowledged the evidence around Tylenol was inconclusive and that not treating fevers in pregnant patients carries significant risks.
--:-- Corinne Pertil: The Wall Street Journal reported this week that officials had urged Kennedy to place less emphasis on the Tylenol element of the announcement.
--:-- Shumita Basu: So really the bottom line that the rest of the administration, as well as the medical community, is urging people to take from this is if you have a question about how to treat pain or fever during pregnancy, talk to your doctor.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he's ending his re-election bid.
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--:-- Shumita Basu: The embattled mayor's campaign struggled to gain traction after numerous scandals surrounding him and his inner circle. Adams faced a federal indictment, which included charges of bribery, accepting illegal campaign donations and conspiracy.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Those charges were ultimately dropped after the DOJ ordered local prosecutors to dismiss the case. He did not endorse any other candidates, but without naming him seemed to issue a warning about leading mayoral candidate Zerhan Mamdani, saying that change is necessary, but, quote, beware of those who claim the answer is to destroy the very system we built.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The state of Oregon has sued the Trump administration in an attempt to block the deployment of 200 National Guard troops to Portland.
--:-- Shumita Basu: President Trump authorized members of the Oregon National Guard into federal service for a period of 60 days, citing recent protests at ICE detention facilities.
--:-- Shumita Basu: But the Democratic governor, Tina Kotek, said she told President Trump in a phone call she believed there was no threat to public safety.
--:-- Shumita Basu: And finally, Team Europe was victorious once again at this year's Ryder Cup.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The biennial event pits the best men's golfers from the U.S. against their European counterparts. This year it took place in New York at Bethpage State Park, and as many predicted, the crowds were rowdy and quite boozy.
--:-- Shumita Basu: There was plenty of heckling on both sides as the American team struggled to keep up most of the weekend.
--:-- Shumita Basu: The Athletic reports the trash talking at one point got so ugly an increased police presence was required around Team Europe star Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland.
--:-- Shumita Basu: He later spoke to reporters and was critical of fan behavior, saying his wife got hit with a beer.
--:-- Rory McIlroy: I don't think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.
--:-- Shumita Basu: Team Europe ultimately had the last laugh winning the cup after a valiant comeback attempt by Team USA.
--:-- Shumita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Fast Company has the story of how the largest private prison company in the U.S. came to hold 15,000 people in detention for ICE and is now at the heart of the Trump administration's immigration machine.
--:-- Shumita Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
