--:-- Mark Garrison: Good morning. It's Tuesday, August 23rd. I'm Mark Garrison, in for 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.
--:-- Mark Garrison: Voters in New York, Oklahoma, and Florida head to the polls today. In the run-up to his state's contest, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has been busy on the campaign trail.
--:-- Host: We must fight the woke in our schools. We must fight the woke in our businesses. We must fight the woke in government agencies. We can never, ever surrender to woke ideology.
--:-- Host: But that speech was in Pittsburgh, not Pensacola. DeSantis is running unopposed in Florida. And he's been spending a lot of time campaigning for Republican candidates in other key states.
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--:-- Host: NBC News looks at how this could potentially lay the groundwork for a DeSantis presidential run in 2024. Officially, this is just DeSantis being a good Republican, helping his party's candidates. But this kind of activity can be typical of politicians ahead of a presidential run.
--:-- Host: The New Yorker's Dexter Filkins recently profiled DeSantis. Many people think he could win over Trump voters nationally if the former president decides not to run. As the piece puts it, DeSantis channels the same rage as Trump, but with greater discipline.
--:-- Host: DeSantis fought mask mandates and COVID lockdowns. He signed the controversial bill banning K-3 teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity. That's the one critics call Don't Say Gay. And he seems to be gaining supporters.
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--:-- Host: In 2021 the number of registered Republican voters passed the number of Democrats for the first time. The Democratic Party in the state has gotten weaker. In 2020 it applied for a loan designed for struggling small businesses during the pandemic.
--:-- Host: DeSantis has been seen as a strong Trump ally, but he could be a rival in 2024. The former president seems to be taking notice of the governor's growing profile. NBC points out, in the middle of that speech DeSantis gave in Pittsburgh, Trump said he was planning to campaign in Pennsylvania too.
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--:-- Host: Three Arkansas officers are under federal and state investigation after a video of them beating a man during an arrest went viral Sunday. The video from a bystander shows two of the officers punching the man in the head and kneeing him several times. A third officer is holding the suspect down.
--:-- Host: All three have been suspended. Yesterday, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson called the officers' actions reprehensible. All of them have been in law enforcement for a long time. That response was not consistent with the training that they receive as certified officers with the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy.
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--:-- Host: That will be investigated by the state police. Randall Worchester is the man in the video. Police say he threatened a gas station clerk. After the arrest, he was hospitalized and treated. He was later jailed on complaints, including burglary, resisting arrest, and assault.
--:-- Host: He was released on $15,000 bond. The sheriff was asked about the importance of the arrest being caught on tape. Without this person posting this video on social media, would you have known about this incident? Probably not. Probably not.
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--:-- Host: The attorney representing two of the deputies defended their actions and said they used methods they were taught in training. He says another dash cam video will show a fuller story.
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--:-- Mina Venkataramanen: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Google searches for Plan B and contraception went up. So did the number of people seeking out vasectomies. And there's also been more interest in another form of birth control.
--:-- Mina Venkataramanen: There has been an increase in tubal sterilization requests from patients who are confident that they don't want to get pregnant in the future. And a lot of this has to do with concerns around abortion access in the future.
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--:-- Mina Venkataramanen: That's me, Mina Venkataramanen. I report in The Washington Post on how OBGYNs across the country say they're seeing a spike in requests for tubal ligations, also known as tube tying.
--:-- Francis Vermillion: I'm 24 years old, and I've been considering and researching the procedure for about five years. The Supreme Court ruling sealed the deal, and I scheduled the appointment. But according to me, the doctor pushed back pretty hard.
--:-- Finca de Rumanin: If a young patient who doesn't already have children comes to an OBGYN, and the OBGYN might say, are you sure that you want to do this? Or you might experience regret after you do this and discourage them from getting the procedure done.
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--:-- Finca de Rumanin: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says doctors should be very clear that tubal ligations are permanent. But if patients are willing, it says it is ethical to do the procedure on young people who haven't had kids.
--:-- Finca de Rumanin: Some OBGYNs are using social media to help patients find doctors who are willing to do tubal ligations without judgment. One has gotten nearly 5 million views.
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--:-- Finca de Rumanin: As for Francis Vermillion, there eventually was a doctor willing to move forward. They're doing the procedure in November.
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--:-- Host: Do you want to grab drinks after work? That was a pretty uncontroversial question before the pandemic. It just wasn't that hard to find a few co-workers who were up for throwing down the company card and chatting over some beer and wine.
--:-- Host: But COVID has changed that. The Wall Street Journal looks at how more and more Americans are taking a pass on having work friends.
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--:-- Host: One person puts it to the journal this way. After working eight to 10 hours a day, do you really want to go out and spend several more hours talking about work? His answer was no.
--:-- Host: In his new job, he says he's got no interest in making work friends. And data shows that he's not alone. A recent survey shows employees say relationships with co-workers are the least important part of their job satisfaction.
--:-- Host: But fraying work friendships may be an issue for managers. Gallup data shows people who have a best friend at work are less likely to want to leave the company.
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--:-- Host: Places like KPMG and Salesforce are hoping fancy campuses and wellness retreats will encourage bonding. But they'll have to get employees on board.
--:-- Host: Many of the youngest people in the workforce, especially those who joined remotely during the pandemic, they say making friends at work just isn't a priority.
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--:-- 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.
