--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 19th. 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: A new ruling from a federal judge means travelers on airplanes and other forms of public transit won't be required to mask up. The judge said the federal mask mandate covering transportation exceeded the authority of the CDC.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's been a lot of news related to wearing masks to slow the spread of COVID on planes, trains, and at major transit hubs. And it's easy to get confused. So USA Today put together a summary which includes some of the key facts.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The mandate was originally set to expire Monday, but the CDC extended it by 15 days to allow more time to look at the impact of a fast-spreading coronavirus subvariant.
--:-- Shamita Basu: When news of this ruling reached travelers yesterday, it wasn't clear what was supposed to happen. One person on a flight from Florida says there was a lot of drama on board with some passengers refusing to wear masks. Another person tweeted yesterday evening that a gate agent for Southwest Airlines told people they must be masked.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: USA Today checked in with airlines after the ruling and found many of the major carriers are making masks optional on domestic trips. Amtrak is doing the same.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The airline industry has been lobbying to end the mask mandate for months. Supporters of the mask mandate have attacked this judge's record. She's a Trump appointee.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: When U.S. District Judge Catherine Kimball-Mazell was nominated, the American Bar Association rated her, quote, not qualified for the position. It cited her limited trial experience and short 10-year practicing law.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Biden administration says it's looking into potential next steps. But for now, the TSA won't enforce the federal mask mandate. The CDC still recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: A warning that this next story contains graphic depictions of sexual violence Many know Joe Paterno as the once Penn State football coach He was ultimately fired when it became known that an assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, was molesting young boys, and that Joe Paterno was aware of some of the allegations and didn't take strong enough action.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now new reporting from ESPN tells us there was another serial sexual predator in the Penn State football community. His name was Todd Hodney, and he arrived to play football for Penn State in 1977.
--:-- Tom Junot: He told us about how Hodney attacked another student named Betsy Saylor. She went into her bedroom, turned on the lights. The lights didn't go on. There was a hand around her mouth, there was a knife at her neck, and there was a person there saying, if you open your mouth, I'll kill you.
--:-- Shamita Basu: All of this was going on while Paterno was effectively in charge of discipline on the Penn State football team. Joe Paterno was known as a kind of a fierce disciplinarian. You know, we had one player say that basically if you weren't wearing socks, you'd hear about it from Joe.
--:-- Tom Junot: So Joe was a stickler for everything. But at the same time, the players enjoyed a great deal of license. I mean, everybody I've talked to in this story had said, well, it was the 70s and it was a different time. And when I asked them what they meant, what they're referring to was, you know, sexual license.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hodney was eventually caught and convicted for what he did to Betsy Saylor. But moments after the verdict, the judge did something that stunned the courtroom into silence. He allowed Hodney to go home while awaiting sentencing.
--:-- Tom Junot: The crimes were notable for their cruelty and their violence. These are all, you know, first-degree felonies. That he was convicted for those crimes and able to somehow walk out of that classroom, get in a car with his parents and go back home, is the central mystery of the case.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hodney, he continued to attack women while he was free. He would later plead guilty to other counts of rape and sexual abuse during this period after his earlier conviction He served a seven sentence Soon after his release from prison he murdered a taxi cab driver Houghton, he spent the rest of his life back in prison. He died in 2020.
--:-- David Siders: Sarah Palin is back in politics. This former vice presidential contender is now running for Congress. So political went to Alaska to see what people in her home state think about what she's up to.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Palin was, at one point, a huge star in her state. And her profile grew when she was John McCain's running mate. But nearly 15 years later, things are different. Palin fever has diminished quite a bit.
--:-- David Siders: Political reporter David Siders found a lot of people who are skeptical of her now. One former Republican state lawmaker said these days, Sarah Palin is seen as an opportunist, quote, a little bit as a carpetbagger in her home state.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At a recent meeting of local Republicans, one of Palin's competitors openly mocked her. And people in the audience, they were just laughing along.
--:-- David Siders: And according to this article, a lot of Alaskans seem to be holding their breath. Some told Politico that they're tired of all the drama surrounding the Palins. Whether it's the family getting into physical fights or Palin participating in the TV show The Masked Singer, her family has become the butt of a lot of tabloid jokes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The polls also suggest her support has plummeted. According to one longtime pollster, her favorability is hovering around 30 percent.
--:-- David Siders: But with all of this being said, a lot of political watchers say don't count her out yet. There is some sense of a feeling, I think, of solidarity or something with somebody who they feel got a raw shake in 2008.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's a lot of resentment for her leaving the governor's office in 2009. But there's also a lot of resentment for how the media treated her run in 2008. And what goes along with that is also some depictions of Alaska that they think may have been too simplistic and perhaps unfair.
--:-- David Siders: She's running to replace Congressman Don Young, who died earlier this year. His death opened the door to a pretty wild race The energy around the race is chaotic because there nearly 50 people running I think it 48 right now And then there also kind of a funky system in which this congressperson will be decided It's an all-party primary. Four people advance out of the primary to a rank choice vote.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And in a crowded race like this one, name recognition can count for a lot. Love or hate her? Alaskans definitely know the name. Sarah Palin.
--:-- Host: By now you've probably heard of the viral game Wordle. This is the game where you have to guess a five-letter word in six guesses.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris said she's a big fan. The folks at The Ringer wanted to find out more, so they called her up. And she did an extensive Q&A about how she plays.
--:-- Host: Now, whether you play yourself or you've just heard everyone else talking about it, you probably know a lot of the strategy hinges on that first word that you guess, right? It's about getting the right mix of vowels and consonants that can give you an edge when you guess in the future.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, Harris says that she always starts with the word notes, which at two vowels, three pretty common consonants, seems like a solid choice.
--:-- Host: Another feature of this game is that it tracks your winning streaks. The vice president said there was a hiccup a few weeks back when the game moved over to the New York Times, which messed up her streak record keeping.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And if you're wondering how you compare, when she talked to the ringer, her streak was 48.
--:-- Host: The vice president tells the ringer one of the reasons why she is a fan of this game is because she sees it as a brain cleanser. You know, something quick, short, easy enough to squeeze into very busy and high-pressure days.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And if you're wondering if the vice president ever shares her results with her friends, she says, nope. Apparently, her phone doesn't allow her to text anyone. So for now, her squares are for her and her alone.
--:-- Host: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And when you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners. We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
