--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Monday, July 25th. I'm Shamita Basu. 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: Monkeypox is now a global emergency, and the American health system may not be ready. The World Health Organization just designated monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. That's the WHO's highest alert level, the same one it gave COVID-19.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, to be clear, that doesn't mean that monkeypox is as dangerous as COVID. It's not as deadly. 99% of patients survive monkeypox. But the emergency declaration means that it's spreading fast and that countries need to take serious action. Critics say the U.S. is not doing enough and that it may be repeating some of the failures of the early COVID response.
--:-- White House Medical Advisor: Right now we have over 2,000 cases, but we have ramped up vaccinations, ramped up treatments, ramped up testing, and we're going to continue to look at all sort of policy options.
--:-- California Congressman Adam Schiff: I don't know why there aren't more vaccines available. I'm hearing from health care providers in my district that there are people lining up to get vaccinated and they don't have the vaccines for them. And that is a real problem.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Since the outbreak began in May, monkeypox cases have largely been in men who have sex with men. Many people in this community say they're struggling to get access to testing and vaccines. and that they feel the problem is being ignored
--:-- Shamita Basu: The WHO decision to declare monkeypox a global emergency is a call for countries to act in solidarity to coordinate distribution of tests and vaccines At the moment there only one manufacturer in the world making monkeypox vaccines. As one virologist in the Democratic Republic of Congo put it, vaccinating the West might help stop the outbreak there, but the risk in the rest of the world remains.
--:-- Shamita Basu: America is burning right now. There are multiple wildfires raging across the U.S., and climate change makes them more intense. And beyond the fire zone, tens of millions of Americans have been under heat advisories recently. They're being told to stay inside and stay cool.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, the lucky ones have A.C. It is a relief, but it's also a problem. Air conditioning is increasingly becoming a necessity for survival. But our use of air conditioning, particularly drawing on fossil fuels, contributes to warming. Basically, it makes the very problem it's trying to solve worse.
--:-- Umair Irfan: I cover climate for Vox. And I point out lots of people think of AC as a luxury. But in many parts of the world that are experiencing extreme heat, AC is very much a public health necessity. It's something that can prevent sickness and death.
--:-- Umair Irfan: Now, the problem is the energy and pollution that AC creates can make climate change worse. I say the challenge that we face, one that we must rise to, is how can we make cooling more sustainable? You know, use more clean and renewable energy, things that don't contribute to climate change.
--:-- Umair Irfan: But there are also some newer technologies that can also obviate the need for these kinds of air conditioners that are more efficient things like heat pumps but also broader cooling solutions things beyond just the spaces So like green spaces in urban areas and passive cooling design
--:-- Shamita Basu: The headline on Irfan piece is the air conditioning paradox And he says if we're smart about rethinking how we keep ourselves cool, if governments and people take action, there's a way out of the paradox. A lot of these things do have solutions, both in the near term and in the long term.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Buying a home in the U.S. is rough. Even if you manage to scrape together a down payment, you might still lose a bidding war or get turned down for a mortgage. Stephanie Sinclair was seeing this play out in Atlanta's hot real estate market. She was bummed out by it, so she decided to look elsewhere.
--:-- Stephanie Sinclair: I bought a house in Italy during the pandemic. Like, how crazy is that?
--:-- Stephanie Sinclair: Bloomberg interviewed Stephanie and other Americans who ditched the U.S. to buy homes in Europe. Stephanie says she's now ready for the Bella Vita in Sicily. And she also gets a lot more for her money there. Back in Atlanta, houses go for $400,000 on average. But in parts of Sicily, they average just over 80,000 euros. And remember, these days, with the dollar super strong, 80,000 euros is about $80,000.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Stephanie is 40 years old, so she's not like the typical older American who retires to Europe. younger people are now motivated to move driven by the strong dollar as we mentioned remote work and political turmoil in the u.s they're now buying places in italy spain france and portugal some countries are rolling out the red carpet they offering special visas and programs to attract American buyers Portugal and Spain offer so golden visas to foreigners who invest Italy is starting to offer visas to remote workers.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Bloomberg warns of the pitfalls for those who are considering this kind of move, including tax and immigration headaches. But if you're willing to put up with all that paperwork, you can lower your cost of living and try out a different way of life.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You ever get a phone call while you're digging into a plate of hot wings? It is just the worst. You either miss the phone call or you get buffalo sauce all over your phone.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So if you're going to pick up that phone, it better be important. For Allison Felix, the call was definitely worth taking. She's the most decorated sprinter in U.S. history, And she retired last week. ESPN reports just a few days after that big emotional sendoff, she's in L.A. eating some wings and a root beer float, which is the ultimate I have retired from a professional sport meal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And then she gets this phone call. We could really use you in Oregon to run on the relay team at the World Championships. So she jumped back to it over the weekend and she killed it. She helped the U.S. team advance to the final. And in that race, Team USA took home gold.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Felix said coming back to help her team, running in a stadium and soaking in all of that love one last last time is a moment that she'll never forget.
--:-- Shamita Basu: 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. I'll talk with you again tomorrow.
