--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the host, Shamita Basu, speaks]
--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, January 5th. 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: Public school classes are canceled in Chicago today, and the issues at stake go beyond the nation's third largest school district. This is a fight over how to balance two very important things, keeping schools safe from COVID and giving our children the best education possible.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Parents, teachers, administrators, they're all asking similar questions. How safe are classrooms as Omicron spreads? And what do our children miss out on when schooling is remote? The fight happening in Chicago is an example of school leaders and teachers tackling those questions and coming up with very different answers.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: CNN has the story. Last night, in an emergency meeting, the Teachers Union in Chicago voted overwhelmingly for remote schooling only, until cases go down and more safety measures are put in place. The union doesn't think classrooms are safe enough.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The school system says children are getting shortchanged if they're not back in the classroom. So rather than go remote, it shuts schools down completely, and it says teachers won't be paid if they refuse to teach in person.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Right now, we're seeing about a million new COVID cases a day in America. Many of those infections are among children. New data from the American Academy of Pediatrics says youth cases grew more than 60 percent in a week.
--:-- Shamita Basu: With numbers that high, we may see this fight in Chicago play out in other school districts across the country as families, schools, and teachers all struggle with how to learn well and do it safely. And this is an ongoing story. You can keep track of what's happening on the ground with local coverage from the Chicago Tribune. It's all in the Apple News app. Just tap that notification we send you midway through the show.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A year after the January 6th insurrection, America's justice system is still trying to figure out what to do with the people who stormed the Capitol. So far, more than 700 have been charged. Many of them are striking deals and getting probation with no time behind bars.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: There's a very good chance that they walk out and they go home. That's Zoe Tillman. She's a senior reporter with BuzzFeed News, which has been tracking every related prosecution filed since the attack.
--:-- Zoe Tillman: As of the end of last year, 71 people have been sentenced. That's just a tiny fraction of those charged. According to my research, the most common punishment was probation, with brief home confinement or a fine that could be a few thousand dollars.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: There are some restrictions that come with probation. The stakes are higher for committing more crimes. They have to report in. They can't have a firearm anymore. They have to keep a job. But, in terms of loss of liberty, there really is none.
--:-- Zoe Tillman: There have been some harsher sentences. In a few cases, where people pleaded guilty to assaulting police or obstructing Congress, they've gotten months or years in prison. Now, after crunching all the data, I say punishment is inconsistent. It's really been all over the place.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I think there's a lack of consensus on the bench about what the consequences should be and how much of it should depend on the circumstances of one rioter's experience in the Capitol versus saying you joined an insurrection and therefore, this is the punishment.
--:-- Zoe Tillman: There just isn't a clear answer on that yet. As I explain, the big question is, are any of these punishments deterrent enough? Will this make others think twice about storming the Capitol in 2025 if they don't like how the next election turns out?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Lots of people make predictions, and some are pretty bad at it, especially during the pandemic. But on Wall Street, forecasters have skin in the game. They have a lot of money riding on whether they get it right. So these predictions are often worth paying attention to.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: NBC News has a look at what leading forecasters say the 2022 economy has in store. First up, the labor market. New numbers out this week show job openings near all-time highs and people quitting jobs at record rates.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Forecasters think we'll see companies raise pay even more to get the staff they need. Next, let's look at the housing market. Recent numbers have home prices rising at a 14 percent annual rate. A lot of people in the know don't think that's going to last.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Interest rates are expected to rise. That means potential buyers will have to spend more on monthly payments, which leaves them with less buying power. And that could cool off the hot housing market. As for renters, they're likely to see prices go up more on top of the double-digit rent increases they've already been hit with.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And so much of our economic future hinges on what happens with inflation. This is what links the price you pay for gas and milk to the Fed to the stock prices of giant corporations. And with COVID and supply chain troubles throwing curveballs all the time, inflation, well, it's kind of hard to get a handle on.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Weddings are back on. We know this because invitations are arriving in droves. Yeah, one of our colleagues is getting married. I'm so happy for her. And she says she has about seven weddings to go to this year. Seven.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it makes sense because she's in that bracket. You know, those years when so many people around you are just getting married. Well, even as early as the invitation, we're seeing people promoting their wedding hashtag. And this isn't new. You know, people have been doing this for years.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Some cutesy combination of the couple's name or hashtag so-and-so found the one. But it's starting to get crowded out there in hashtag land. So what is a person to do if they want a catchy, unique hashtag, but they just can't think of one?
--:-- Shamita Basu: People are paying for the perfect hashtag. Where there's a need, there's a market, right? Well, the Wall Street Journal has this story. There are a few ways this is playing out. On Facebook, there are groups for people to join to swap tips and ideas while they're planning their weddings.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Some couples are offering cash rewards to anyone who can come up with the winning idea. You know, five bucks for the best one. And then there's the next level up, bringing in a professional. Yes, there are now professional hashtag writing consultants.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One L.A.-based business charges 50 bucks for one hashtag or 125 bucks for a set of five. And if you don't get why hashtags are so important, remember, weddings are only one day in time. But the memory of that moment with all your friends and family and photos flooding social media, that will last forever.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Easily accessible decades from today with your hashtag. You can find all these stories and more 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 tomorrow.
