--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, November 23rd. I'm Shamita Basu. Duarte Geraldino is off. 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.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's now up to the jury to decide what will happen to the three men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The men have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. A quick reminder about the facts in this case. Ahmaud Arbery was a 25-year-old black man who went out for a jog one afternoon in February 2020. A local resident believed Arbery resembled a man that he suspected of committing a series of break-ins in the neighborhood. He called his son. Together, they grabbed a handgun and a shotgun and got in their pickup truck to chase him down. Later, a third man joined the pursuit. Arbery, who was unarmed, was shot dead.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In closing arguments, the lawyers representing Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William Roddy Bryan, told the jury that their clients were executing a citizen's arrest and that they had probable cause to suspect that Arbery had intended to steal from a property that was under construction.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You are allowed to defend yourself. You are allowed to use force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if you believe it's necessary. At that moment, Travis believed it was necessary. But the prosecution pushed back on the idea that this was a case of self-defense, saying Arbery was the one being chased. Ran away from him for five minutes. That's what he did. Those hands out at his sides, and those baggy shorts he had on. No weapon, no threats, no way to call for help, didn't even have a cell phone on him. Ran away from him for five minutes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The prosecution tried to paint the defendants as dangerous vigilantes, and suggested that the men targeted Arbery because he was Black. During the 10 days of witness testimony, activists and protesters have gathered outside the courtroom, including more than 250 black clergy and civil rights leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Jackson told reporters that Arbery's killing is the Emmett Till of our day.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now it's all in the hands of the jury. This trial has, of course, gotten a lot of attention, but The Washington Post points out the pressure is even more intense after last week's acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, the white teenager who killed two men and injured a third at a protest. He claimed it was self-defense, and a jury agreed. Now, as we wait for jury deliberations in Georgia, questions remain about whether our justice system sees white men with guns as law enforcers rather than lawbreakers.
--:-- Shamita Basu: During the pandemic, we have asked so much of our kids' teachers. We've asked them to transition to virtual learning overnight. We've asked them to keep an eye on the well-being of their students without seeing them in person and to return to the classroom even before many felt it was safe to do so. All of that comes with a lot of stress.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At various points during the pandemic, surveys from unions and education groups showed that the number of educators who were thinking of changing careers ranged from 25 to 50 percent. But now, close to two years into the pandemic, that hasn't happened. Unlike other industries where people are leaving in droves, we have not seen that happen with teachers.
--:-- Rebecca Klein: Yeah, I think teaching as a profession is a really interesting case study right now. The overall numbers don't point to any type of nationwide teacher shortage or staffing shortage. And it doesn't seem like teachers are quitting at higher rates than usual.
--:-- Rebecca Klein: I reported on this issue in collaboration with the Fuller Project, which is a newsroom that reports on issues that affect women. I told us about Sarah Caswell, a teacher in Philadelphia. She's had a really tough time during COVID-19. Her students have fallen behind, and she's been working in overdrive to try and catch them up. Now that she's back in person, she's found that a lot of students as well as fellow staff have been neglecting wearing their masks, and she feels unsafe on a day-to-day basis. She's really burned out.
--:-- Rebecca Klein: But rather than quitting her job, she instead made it her mission to try and make her job better. I heard this a lot: teachers are stressed out, but they're sticking it out. They're trying to make things work. Our retention rate among teachers right now is surprising, given the fact that it's a mostly female-dominated profession. And during the pandemic, women have been leaving their jobs at higher rates than men.
--:-- Rebecca Klein: There isn't one single reason to explain why teachers haven't quit in large numbers. But I think it's most likely a combination of things, everything from the stability of the job to the benefits. But also, a lot of teachers really care about their students. And walking away from that is not so easy. Teachers, a large percentage of them, have up to master's degrees. So this is a group of people who are highly educated, who would have options outside of their current professions. But oftentimes, we see that people get into teaching because they really want to help kids and help their communities.
--:-- Randi Weingarten: I've heard about the stress, the anxiety that educators are feeling when I traveled around the country this fall to hear from union members. But, I said, there's also a real joy educators are feeling now being back in school with their kids.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're getting ready to get on a plane to travel for the holiday weekend, take a deep breath and brace yourself. This Thanksgiving will likely be next-level crazy at the airports. The TSA says they're expecting pre-pandemic levels of air travel. So in 2019, that meant 26 million passengers and crew in the week or so around Thanksgiving.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And while there's plenty of things that you can't control, like staffing shortages or the weather, it's good to remember that when things go wrong, if your flight is canceled or delayed, there are certain things you can control. You just have to know your rights. USA Today has a good guide for the worst-case scenarios.
--:-- Shamita Basu: For starters, did you know you're entitled to a refund if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed? That is actually the law. Even if you bought one of those non-refundable tickets or basic economy, if the airline canceled the flight, it's your right. Airlines might have different policies about whether they give you airline credit or cash, so you might have to read the fine print to find out.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you want to rebook your canceled flight, you don't necessarily have to stand in that long, long line to talk to a ticketing agent. You know those self-service kiosks that you find at most airports now? There's a good chance you can use them to look up another flight. USA Today says even going to the airline's website or using an app can save you time.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The general advice really is it never hurts to ask, and you should document any promises that you're offered by airline staff. Now, if you're like my mom, you might be hoping to bring food on the flight and not just a snack, but like something for the Thanksgiving table wherever you're headed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: When it comes to figuring out what you can and can't carry onto the plane food-wise, Travel and Leisure has some solid advice. And I mean that literally. If a food is a solid, then you're okay to bring it on a carry-on. But if you want some gravy to go with the turkey, that's got to be checked. Same goes for canned cranberries or anything that can be spilled, spread, sprayed, pumped, or poured.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Are you going to end up seeing any old friends this Thanksgiving weekend? Well, it turns out, reminiscing about the good old days could be really good for your mental health. You might be tapping into what the Wall Street Journal calls the secret power of reconnecting.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, this might sound a little squishy, a little self-helpy, but there is real research that backs this up. The journal speaks to a psychologist who spent decades looking into what nostalgia does to our brains. And studies show it boosts your mood, boosts your self-esteem and your confidence. Also, reliving great experiences from your past can motivate you to pursue goals and build new relationships. Nostalgia also makes us feel more socially connected and optimistic, which can be especially helpful during difficult times.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So if you get a random message from someone you haven't seen in a long time, it might be worth your while to reply.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We are taking the rest of the week off. From all of us at Apple News, have a happy Thanksgiving. And remember, you can find all the stories we reference on the show in the Apple News app. And while you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners. We'll talk with you again on Monday.
