--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Friday, January 7th. I'm Shamita Basu. And I'm Duarte Giraldino. This is Apple News Today. Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: There's news this morning that COVID test kits could be on the way to American homes. The Washington Post is reporting that the White House and the Postal Service are finalizing a plan to start delivering half a billion test kits. They could start shipping as soon as next week.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This is the latest development in a time filled with news about the spread of the Omicron variant. We've had new insights on the disease and changing guidelines, so now is a good time to take stock of what we know.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: NPR takes a close look at the science around symptoms of Omicron and what makes it different from earlier variants.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And this is important because without quick access to testing, many Americans are asking themselves right now, so is this COVID that I have? Is it just a bad cold?
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And that's because the symptoms of an Omicron infection are really similar to the common cold. Runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion. Previous variants were more connected to fever, coughing, loss of taste and smell. We're not seeing those as much with Omicron.
--:-- Shamita Basu: National Geographic talks to scientists about what's behind the new CDC guidance around isolation. The agency recently cut the isolation period for people who test positive from 10 days to just 5.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Some of this was practicality. A longer isolation kept more people out of work, especially hospitals, which were already facing staffing challenges.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But there's a scientific explanation here, too. Researchers are getting a better understanding of how long an infected person is contagious.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: One of the infectious disease experts that Nat Geo talked to, she explains, a person's ability to transmit the virus peaks a day or two before symptoms start and two to three days after.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So by five days after testing positive, if someone isn't still showing symptoms, they're much less likely to pass the virus on to someone else.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: This week the CDC also endorsed booster shots for kids as young as 12.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can read the full articles and much more in the Apple News app. Just tap that notification we send you midway through the show.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: That's the order the president of Kazakhstan gave today. Dozens of people there are reported dead. Protesters are clashing with government forces and Russian-led troops are deploying.
--:-- Shamita Basu: CNN takes a look at what's happening and why it's important for you to understand.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Kazakhstan is an oil-rich nation in a global hotspot. The Central Asian country shares borders with two powerful countries, Russia and China.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's a former Soviet state that still has close ties to Russia. What happens in Kazakhstan can shake energy prices worldwide and threaten stability in a critical region.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Anger over food and energy prices, they can also shake governments. And they've sparked uprisings elsewhere.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In this case, protests kicked off when fuel prices shot up, just after the government lifted price controls.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Many people in the country, they were already frustrated with their leadership. They were angry over economic hardships and limits on their freedom.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In response to protests, authorities imposed a nationwide state of emergency and curfews. And there are reports of internet cuts.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Amnesty International says these protests stem from authorities' widespread repression of basic human rights.
--:-- Shamita Basu: International observers say there have never been truly free and fair elections in this country.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now we have fed-up protesters taking to the streets in freezing temperatures. What happens next may lead to the first big global crisis of the new year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The deadly fire that destroyed a Colorado town last month was pretty unexpected.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The flames jumped over six-lane highways, destroying around a thousand homes in a suburban area where wildfires don't usually spread.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The mayor of Boulder, which is nearby, said, We working in the new world of climate change and re neighborhoods that no one ever thought would burn.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: More Americans are finding themselves in the path of destruction. And a recent study of losses caused by climate change shows extreme weather is costing the world tens of billions of dollars in damages.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Washington Post analyzed federal data from 2021, and they found more than 40 percent of Americans live in a county that saw climate-related extreme weather last year.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: More than 80% of Americans experienced a heat wave. A hotter planet means disasters are going to get bigger and more frequent.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That type of climate pressure, it could overwhelm local infrastructure. I'm talking about your roadways, power systems, your buildings.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: A lot of it may not be strong enough to withstand the changes that may come with a warmer planet.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Bloomberg looks at how climate disasters are costing a lot of money. A new study shows the 10 worst incidents of 2021 cost a combined $170 billion in global damage.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And that's probably a lowball estimate, undercounting destruction in the developing world.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You know, there's been so much discussion in the past year in Washington and Glasgow about the cost of taking action.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But this new data reminds us, not taking enough action, it's also very costly.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Did you watch the first season of Bridgerton?
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Oh my God, last year during all the stress, this show was such a joy. It was dramatic, but light, like a cup of tea.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And there's a new season coming out and it introduces some new interesting characters.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: You find my smile pleasing. I find your opinion of yourself entirely too high. Your character is as deficient as your horsemanship.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I shall bid you goodnight.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Okay, you had me at tea, but I haven't watched season one of Bridgerton. Should I binge it before season two comes out?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Absolutely. There are so many new TV shows, new episodes of things coming our way in the next few months, so we felt like maybe we needed some expert advice on what to watch out for.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So we reached out to Catherine Van Arendonk at Vulture.
--:-- Catherine Van Arendonk: Yeah, she pointed out new shows that are based on Marvel characters and Lord of the Rings.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And separately one of the shows on her radar is grounded in real people. Pam and Tommy is the name of the show. And it's a fictionalized account of the story behind Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: I do think it capitalizes on a lot of the things that are really in the air right now. 90s nostalgia, this early internet kind of longing, but also understanding that it was always dirty.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One show I'm really looking forward to is called Inventing Anna. This is a series that's based on a New York magazine article that went viral.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: It was about this woman named Anna Delvey, who was a grifter posing as some kind of socialite in New York City.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And Julia Garner from Ozark is playing the lead.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: There is something that people really are thirsty for right now. That sense of individuals upending institutions or like pulling one off on the man.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I think it is hopeful that Inventing Anna is going to be able to have that same kind of fun, grifter mess feel.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now, Van Arandong's watch list, it's pretty diverse. This is in part because there are so many streaming services trying so many different things.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And they're also still trying to figure out what we like. So catering to what viewers want is a trickier question than it used to be.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But there are some things that you can see in this next year of television that are sort of signals of what some of those things might be.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, even though there are dozens of shows to look forward to, she also reminded us that COVID might continue to impact production schedules.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So enjoy the new content while it's out in case filming has to pause again.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And check out our weekend interview show, In Conversation.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: This week, I speak with the journalist Anne Helen Peterson about her new book, co-authored with Charlie Warzel, about ways to rethink the role that work plays in our lives on an individual and on a societal level.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So sometimes there are relationships that no amount of therapy can fix. And I think some people are in jobs that are beyond recovery right now.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Enjoy that week and listen.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We'll be back with the news on Monday.
