--:-- Gideon Resnik: Good morning. It's Wednesday, June 26. I'm Gideon Resnik, in for Shamit Abassu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: On today's show, a declaration of gun violence as a public health crisis, the personal costs of climate change, and the start of the NBA draft. But first, let's take a brief look at some other stories that are in the news.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Today, the Supreme Court dismissed a claim that the Biden administration unlawfully pushed social media companies to remove content during the 2020 election season and the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration said it was acting to prevent misinformation from spreading. Justices ruled 6-3 that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: The court will issue more decisions tomorrow and Friday, and there are many outstanding cases on major issues, such as Trump's argument for presidential immunity, emergency abortion care, and prosecutions of January 6 insurgents.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Also, President Biden is pardoning thousands of veterans who were convicted under a military law that banned gay sex. The pardons could also allow these veterans to get federal benefits that were held back because of the old convictions.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Last night, in New York's primary, Democratic Congressman Jamal Bowman lost a race where the war in Gaza was at the center. Bowman has been one of the biggest critics in Congress of Israel's conduct, and pro-Israel groups spent millions to defeat him, making it the most expensive House primary ever.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Bowman's Democratic challenger George Latimer is expected to win the seat in the general election.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Abroad, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is now on trial in Russia. He, the U.S. government, and the Journal all say that he's been falsely accused of espionage. Russian authorities have presented no evidence, and the trial is being held in secret.
--:-- William Pomerantz: There is a 99% conviction rate in criminal cases. So there is no chance that he will get a fair trial. There will be no chance for him to put on a reasonable defense. He will be convicted. And once he is convicted, then whatever negotiations between the United States and Russia can take place.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that he might be open to a prisoner swap for Gershkovich and others. The U.S. also considers American Paul Whelan to be wrongfully detained by Russia. He's serving 16 years following a conviction on espionage charges that he says are false.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: And in Kenya Reuters reports that at least 23 people are dead after police opened fire at a protest. These were demonstrations against a bill to raise taxes. The country's president now says that he's reversing course on those planned increases.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Former President Barack Obama's half-sister, Alma Obama, an advocate for young people, was at one protest. She told CNN the people she was with were peaceful. The U.S. says it's closely monitoring the situation and calling for calm.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Last weekend was the latest to be marked by gun violence in America, with people killed or wounded in multiple states. Now the nation's top doctor says that firearms are part of an urgent public health crisis.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: We read and hear about episodes of gun violence in our communities, but I believe that we may not fully appreciate the full extent of its ripple effects across our country. That's Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on CBS, talking about why he issued an advisory on gun deaths.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: It's the first time the office has ever published a warning on gun violence specifically. Right now, six in 10 Americans are worried about losing a loved one to gun violence. Half of our kids are worried about a shooting in their school. And gun violence has now become the leading cause of death among kids and teens.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Stat reporter Annalisa Morelli told us about the impact this could have. It doesn't change U.S. gun policy. but it includes data and policy recommendations for lawmakers on how to better protect the public.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: In his roadmap, Murthy calls for more research funding. The hope is that we'll get to a point where there's such overwhelming scientific evidence of what is happening, what are the causes, what are the solutions, that it will move the needle in terms of depoliticizing the issue.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: He also implores lawmakers to ban assault weapons. to introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns and to penalize people who don't safely store their weapons. The advisory also calls for more mental health resources.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Survivors of gun violence are often left with lifelong trauma. Other health organizations have already issued similar declarations, like the American Medical Association for one. But Murthy's word carries a different weight, Morelli explains.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: It really risen to the highest level of reputation and authority I believe that the hope is that it will spur if not immediate action it will help gather the kind of overwhelming evidence that then changes people's minds and changes politicians' minds and changes policy.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: It has happened before. In the 1960s, when the Surgeon General issued a report around smoking, that helps motivate Congress to take action. And Murphy hopes this advisory on gun violence will have a similar impact.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Severe flooding is swamping the Midwest. On the heels of an early heat wave, wildfires, and a hurricane season, forecast to be worse than usual. And the severe weather is made more dangerous by climate change.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: But even if you are not in the direct path of these disasters, the worsening environment is likely to have an impact on your wallet. From food prices, to energy, to home and car insurance, and more.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: It seems like climate change is considered an issue separate from the economy. But I think we should start encouraging people to think of them as much more intertwined than they might otherwise. That's Satish Pawa, an associate writer for business and tech at Slate.
--:-- Satish Pawa: Look no further than home insurance. Providers in states including California, Texas, New Jersey, and Florida are hiking prices or not offering coverage at all. The same goes for car insurance in particularly risky areas.
--:-- Satish Pawa: I think you're seeing a big reckoning across the insurance industry, whether that's for cars or for homes or for other personal goods. They're just thinking about like, OK, this is not, you know, the way we used to price for risk in this area, we can't do it the same way you used to because these past few years have now confounded our calculations.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Our food is also getting more expensive. For example, in May's inflation report, juices and frozen drinks were up a lot. That's potentially because it's a lot harder to grow the produce we love when climate change messes with the weather.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: In Florida, oranges have taken a huge hit. Then there's the disruption of transporting food because of things like hurricanes and floods. Now, some insurance companies are starting to rework their calculations and push back against local laws that make it difficult for them to factor climate change into pricing.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: And lawmakers in New York are trying to ban insurers from investing in fossil fuel companies which exacerbate the problem. But overall Powis says we need a wholesale re of our climate future. We going to have more extreme weather. We going to have a lot more damage done to various parts of the country.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: And we need to start really thinking with a much more like a long-term view, I guess you could say, about what it means to build for adapting, especially for down the line, instead of just like ensuring that someone can quickly rebuild their house, but not do anything to protect themselves for the future.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: And finally, the NBA draft starts tonight. There's been plenty written about how this year's draft class isn't the most inspiring per se, but there will be a familiar name in the mix, Bronny James, the son of LeBron James.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: And the big question is not just which team Bronny might land on, but whether his dad will follow. At times, LeBron has said that he wants to spend his final years in the NBA playing on the same team as his son.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Now 39, LeBron continues to defy father time and will enter next season as the oldest player in the league. And he could become a free agent, meaning technically there is a world where LeBron could go to the team that picks Bronny.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Now, the younger James is seen as good enough to play in the NBA, but not expected to be a superstar. But his father is an all-time great, so a team might strategically pick Bronny in the hopes that his dad would come along too.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: More recently, both men have distanced themselves from this whole conversation. And Bronny said that he wants to carve out his own legacy.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and, of course, you know, get to the NBA, which is everyone's angle that is here. And, you know, I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course he's brought it up a couple times.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: But yeah, I don't think about it. We'll find out no later than Thursday if Bronny gets picked. And if he does, the James family would make history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we have a narrated article coming up next. And it's the Apple News Story of the Month for June.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: Vanity Fair looked into how piles of counterfeit Ozempic entered America's drug supply. If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Gideon Resnik: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow. Thank you.
