--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Monday, August 21st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, President Biden visits Hawaii as Maui recovers from the wildfires, how women are fueling the summer's economy, and soccer's new World Cup champions. But first, Southern California and Nevada are feeling the powerful winds and heavy rain of Hillary.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm over the weekend, but it's still strong enough to bring potentially historic levels of rainfall to the area, and that could lead to dangerous flooding and mudslides.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There could also be impact well beyond that area, including hazardous rain up through Idaho and Oregon. Californians are used to living with a lot of kinds of severe weather.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But this year was the first time a tropical storm warning was issued for Southern California. Volunteers filled sandbags for protection. Shoppers bought up water, canned goods, and batteries.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Many schools, roads, and attractions were shut down. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass warned residents to take the storm very seriously. Stay safe, stay home, and stay informed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hillary made landfall in Mexico, where authorities had closed schools and beaches along the coast. In Tijuana, the country's second largest city, many people were moved into temporary shelters.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Southern California also was hit by an earthquake Sunday. The 5.1 magnitude quake hit in Ventura County, west of Los Angeles.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Powerful aftershocks were felt in L.A. and Santa Barbara, just as residents were dealing with the early effects of the storm. For millions in the area, this meant getting back-to-back emergency alerts on their phones yesterday.
--:-- Shamita Basu: First, about flash flooding from the storm, and then about the earthquake. Let's take a quick look at some other major stories in the news.
--:-- Shamita Basu: President Biden and Jill Biden meet with survivors and first responders in Maui. The wildfire death toll is now at least 114. Hundreds of people are still missing.
--:-- Shamita Basu: FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell previewed the president's trip on ABC News, including a visit to Lahaina. He's going to be able to see what I saw when I went to Maui last week.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And just really experienced the complete and utter devastation that this town had experienced. But he's also going to be able to talk with people and hear their stories and provide a sense of hope and assurance that the federal government is going to be with them as he has directed,
--:-- Shamita Basu: and we will continue to bring in resources to support the requests of the governor and the needs as they go through their recovery process.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Moving on to 2024 news, former President Donald Trump is now confirming that, as expected, he won't be in the upcoming Republican primary debates.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The first one is on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Early polls show Trump with a strong lead over the rest of the field.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In global politics, Ecuador's presidential election will head to an October runoff following Sunday's results.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Luisa Gonzalez, leftist protege of former president Rafael Correa, will face off against the center-right candidate Daniel Naboa, son of a prominent business leader.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The race was marked by the assassination of a candidate, Fernando Villavicencio. And in Guatemala's election over the weekend, an anti-corruption candidate is the landslide winner.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Bernardo Arevalo defeated former First Lady Sandra Torres. Violence and food shortages have resulted in many people leaving the country.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Guatemalans are now the largest Central American immigrant group seeking to enter the U.S.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, on to a story about what some of the big headlines in summer entertainment all have in common. There's the Barbie movie, which is now raked up around a billion worldwide after another strong weekend.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's Taylor Swift's tour, and Beyonce is also selling out stadiums. The Wall Street Journal looks at how this summer is all about women's creative and spending power driving the entertainment business.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The biggest movie and biggest concert tours were led and created by women, and women consumers turned out in force this summer to support these artists.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That spending had impact on more than ticket sales, boosting tourism, the hotel industry, and more. The journal explains that's because these aren't just standard movie and concert experiences.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They're full-blown events, with fans making elaborate travel arrangements and spending extra for special looks. I'm sure you've seen all the creative Barbie Pink outfits at movie theaters.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Swifties are scooping up merch. And Beyonce fans are replicating her looks from this tour, sometimes within hours of her wearing them for the first time, with sparkling jumpsuits and cowboy hats.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Many women are attending these shows with big groups of friends and family. More than 80% of people who purchased tickets for Beyonce or Swift got more than two tickets to each show.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The journal calls that the women's multiplier effect. And women have shown they're willing to spend more money to see art created by women.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The average concert ticket price for top women artists is $660. For men, it's $245.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Economists and cultural observers see a lot of factors at play here. Women are making more money, and the share of women in the workforce is higher.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So when women create great art that puts women's perspectives at the center, there's an audience willing to slap down credit cards to support it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Finally, we're coming off a big weekend for soccer. On Saturday, Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to win the League Cup championship, defeating Nashville.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And on Sunday, we got a new Women's World Cup champion. Spain defeated England 1-0. This was the first time that country's women's team won the title.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But off the pitch, it's been a year of drama for the Spanish team. Months before the World Cup, 15 Spanish players said they wouldn't play for coach Jorge Vilda.
--:-- Shamita Basu: They said the coaching was unprofessional and the problems had impact on their mental health. Ultimately, many players did end up joining the squad that went on to take home the trophy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: England may have come up short, but they got further in the World Cup than any English women's team had before.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In the latest and last episode of After the Whistle, host Rebecca Lowe spoke about the emotions she felt watching her beloved "cheeky lionesses," as she calls them, coming from a country that once made it very difficult for women to play soccer professionally.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I grew up in West London in the back garden playing football with my brother in goal because why would I not be in goal? He needed a goalkeeper. I'm his younger sister getting goal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I grew up going to the parks in my town in West London and seeing boys playing football and girls sitting on the side to see these women do what they've done today in a sport which is more deeply ingrained in England than I would argue any sport is anywhere in the world is quite a big deal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's quite a big deal, mate. It's quite a big deal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Rebecca and Brendan talk with Roger Bennett of the Men in Blazers podcast. He says the scenes in England are something he could have never imagined.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I was in England for a day last week, Thursday. They were shocked by just how overwhelmed the English nation was, how in love. The hype meter was at 11.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The BBC News was just leading. It's just serious news, not tabloid news. Just massive profiles on each of the players. There was a profile on Serena Vigman where they talked seriously about whether she should be the next English men's national team coach.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, you can hear the full episode of After the Whistle next. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: Thanks for listening to Apple News Today.
