--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Friday, November 19th. 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: President Biden's sweeping spending plan has now passed the House. If signed into law, the legislation would provide around $1.9 trillion for social services, including universal pre-K, enhanced child tax credits, and expanded health care access. Democrats had to work hard to get moderates on board with the numbers. Some brought up concerns about adding to the deficit.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We've got full coverage of this story from our partners on the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There are some big new developments in the unusual immigration crisis in Europe. It's one that's seen innocent people stuck in freezing cold weather, used as pawns in a larger political battle between Eastern and Western Europe.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now is a good time to catch up on this story, which is complicated. We called up Isabel Kershudian, a Washington Post correspondent based in Moscow.
--:-- Isabel Kershudian: So for months now, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been, according to the European Union, orchestrating the flow of migrants across the EU's eastern borders.
--:-- Isabel Kershudian: As the EU sees it, Belarus brought migrants in from the Middle East and encouraged them to cross into the EU. But many of these people were met with violence from Polish guards. Belarus kept pushing them away, leaving people in dangerous, uncertain conditions. Some migrants died, camped outside in the extreme cold.
--:-- Isabel Kershudian: Later, Belarus moved thousands of people into a warehouse, and it started to return some people to the Middle East by plane, although it's not clear what's going to happen to thousands of migrants who are still in Europe.
--:-- Isabel Kershudian: Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994. His re last year was widely suspected of fraud EU leaders didn recognize him as legitimately elected and sanctioned him Many in Western Europe accused Lukashenko of engineering this migrant crisis to pressure the EU.
--:-- Isabel Kershudian: But Khrushudian explains the EU didn't blink. In fact, they added more sanctions earlier this week.
--:-- Isabel Kershudian: This was a little bit of a risk by the Lukashenko regime because at the end of the day, these refugees are within their borders. It might have backfired a little bit, this whole plan to weaponize Middle Eastern migrants, because now they're the ones who are kind of going to have to deal with it going forward.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Where is Peng Shui? That's the question being asked by the Women's Tennis Association and major tennis stars from Naomi Osaka to Serena Williams after the Chinese tennis star disappeared from public view.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Peng, who is a former No. 1 doubles player, accused a powerful leader of the Communist Party of sexual assault. She wrote in a social media post that the man pressured her into sex and on one occasion forced himself onto her while his wife stood guard outside.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There's growing concern for her safety in the global sports world.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yesterday, Chinese state media posted what it said was an email from Peng saying she was fine and that the sexual assault allegations were not true.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The WTA's CEO says he doesn't believe the message is real. He's been unable to reach Peng and is calling for independent proof that she's OK.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, when it comes to professional sports, a lot of leagues are reluctant to fight with China. In 2019, when the manager of the Houston Rockets supported pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, the NBA initially distanced itself from him and even issued an apologetic statement.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But the WTA is not holding back, saying it could pull out of China if there's not an appropriate investigation. It has 11 tournaments there, so there's real money on the line.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Peng also competed in the Olympics. USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan points out the difference between how the WTA is reacting and the reaction from the International Olympic Committee the IOC
--:-- Christine Brennan: Brennan says it taking a meeker path with China ahead of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing The IOC was initially quiet about Peng's disappearance. Then it said it was encouraged by assurances that she is safe, and it didn't comment on the authenticity of the message said to be from Peng.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Meanwhile, calls for answers and supportive messages about Peng are not being widely seen in China. Sensors have been hard at work deleting them from social media.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Okay, be honest. How much goofing around do you do on your work computer? You ever scroll around on social media or, I don't know, do some online shopping while you're on the clock?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Well, here's some news that might make you think twice. One consulting firm estimates about 60% of large companies are using tracking software to monitor employees. That's double the share from early last year.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And a lot of workers don't know they're being watched. We're talking about pretty sophisticated surveillance tech here. Depending on the software, your employer might be able to log your every keystroke, to capture screenshots, even quietly turn on your computer's camera.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The LA Times writes about this practice, which isn't totally new, but what has changed is why companies are monitoring their employees. One software provider told the Times that before the pandemic, this kind of oversight was mostly a security measure.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, if your boss is tracking you, it's probably to make sure that you're staying productive. That shift happened as so many of us started working from home.
--:-- Shamita Basu: What's strange, though, is that the evidence doesn't say we're slacking off. In fact, productivity growth in America is double the rate before the pandemic.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Employers that talk to the LA Times say these tools aren't just about productivity, but that they're useful for identifying burnout or pinpointing when a worker might be stuck on a certain task.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Still, many workers are creeped out by the idea of management being able to watch their every move. Some are concerned that companies are collecting data in case they need to justify firing someone
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you wondering about the legality of all of this there aren a lot of limits on what your employer can do And chances are you signed a document when you were first hired acknowledging your company's monitoring policy in the fine print.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Zookeepers in San Antonio are enjoying a victory lap after 10 Komodo dragons successfully hatched there recently. This lizard species is endangered. Only about 1,400 mature dragons are left in their natural habitat of Indonesia.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Washington Post brings us this story from the San Antonio Zoo, which specializes in Komodo dragon conservation.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Bringing these baby lizards into the world was a massive lift. It required a long-distance love connection. Zookeepers flew in a male suitor from Houston to woo their female. His name is Boga. Her name, Christica. And the future of the species depended on their chemistry.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And luckily, the sparks flew. It was a match. Soon, Christica was laying eggs. The zoo incubated them and waited. 223 days later, the first dragon cracked through its leathery shell.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The reptile specialist at the zoo says watching the baby dragons scamper around is like going back in time. They're like living dinosaurs.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The babies are just starting to show their distinct personalities. They're only about a foot long right now, but they will grow to weigh around 150 pounds.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the hope is they can be released in the wild. For now, he said, it's a great win for the species.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And check out our weekend interview show, In Conversation. This week, I spoke with New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb about his profile on Derek Bell, one of the key founders of critical race theory.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Cobb says Bell could have predicted today's conservative backlash. When people would ask, what's critical race theory? He would jokingly say, it's the theory that if you talk honestly about race, you'll be criticized.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And that's pretty much what has happened. Enjoy that weekend listen. We'll be back with the news on Monday.
