--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Tuesday, November 28th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, aid agencies on the importance of the temporary truce in Gaza, rap lyrics as court evidence in a high-profile trial in Georgia, and some tips on contributing to charities this Giving Tuesday.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In Gaza, the two-day truce extension between Israel and Hamas is holding. More hostages and prisoners are set to be released as part of the deal. Yesterday, Hamas freed 11 more Israeli hostages. In return, 33 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons. This has been the longest pause in fighting since the war started on October 7th.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Yusuf Hamas, with the Norwegian Refugee Council, told CNN about what a difference the pause has made.
--:-- Yusuf Hamas: For the first time since seven weeks, we were able to walk safely in the streets, sleep safely, be in the streets without having that feeling that you might get bombed in any second.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Aid workers are seizing this opportunity to get critical supplies to people in Gaza. Aid agencies estimate 1.7 million people have been displaced by the war. That's roughly 80 percent of Gaza's population.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The temporary halt to fighting has allowed agencies to provide more water, food and medicine. Much needed fuel and cooking gas is also making its way into Gaza. But workers say supplies delivered so far are far less than people need.
--:-- Shamita Basu: NPR spoke to Juliet Tumah with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. It's the largest aid group in Gaza.
--:-- Juliet Tumah: What we really need is for this flow to continue, to continue to be regular, and also to give a boost to the private sector. So in addition to humanitarian supplies, for commercial supplies to come in, nothing is open in Gaza. Driving through the streets, all the shops are closed, all the pharmacies are closed. Apart from a few vegetable stalls here and there, there is no market. I met a man who said to me, "You know the jacket that I'm wearing? I've been wearing it for the past 45 days." So people have lost everything, and they need everything.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Aid agencies want a permanent ceasefire. But with no assurance over when Israel could restart attacks in Gaza, workers are scrambling to do all they can for civilians while the conflict is on hold.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's take a quick look at some other stories in the news. Today is a memorial service for Rosalind Carter in Atlanta. She died at the age of 96 earlier this month. Her husband of 77 years, former President Jimmy Carter, is set to attend today, along with all of the living former first ladies. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Bill Clinton are also expected.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In Washington, members of Congress are returning from the Thanksgiving break, and the House may soon vote on expelling New York Republican George Santos. Earlier this month, the Ethics Committee found substantial evidence that he violated House rules and criminal laws. Santos says the report is slander, but he also expects that there are enough votes for his House colleagues to expel him.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And there are two major legal developments involving abortion. The Texas Supreme Court will hear the first major challenge to its law that makes performing an abortion a felony. It allows the procedure only for life-threatening conditions or major health risks. The plaintiffs say the exceptions are so narrow that the law creates dangers for pregnant patients and are asking the court to more clearly define what is medically necessary when it comes to abortion.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the second development is out of Idaho, where the state is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a state ban to go into full effect. The law penalizes doctors who perform abortions. At issue is whether this law conflicts with federal requirements for doctors to provide emergency care.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now to a criminal trial underway in Georgia involving a big name in music, Jeffrey Williams, better known as Young Thug. He's pleaded not guilty to charges that he was a leader in a criminal gang involved with murder, guns, and drugs. It's a racketeering case.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Jewel Wicker was in court yesterday reporting for Billboard. They're not accusing Young Thug of pulling the trigger in these cases, but they're saying that members and affiliates committed these crimes at his direction or in service of him.
--:-- Jewel Wicker: And one thing that makes this trial so unusual is prosecutors are using Young Thug's own lyrics as evidence. That phrase, "100 rounds," comes up in several songs. Young Thug uses the lyric, "100 rounds in a Tahoe," and prosecutors say, well, you know, there is a killing that we're talking about in this case where a rival gang member was killed next to his Chevy Tahoe that was riddled with bullets. So they say that these lyrics are specific and show the defendants bragging about the crimes that they've committed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Young Thug's legal team argues against citing lyrics, as you might expect. But this case also worries free speech advocates, that it might set a precedent where works of fiction can be introduced as evidence of actual crimes. Critics also say it's problematic to focus on violence in rap lyrics specifically. After all, Johnny Cash sang about shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die, but he wasn't tried for murder.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We heard music executives kind of argue that if it were country music, if it was rock music or some other kind of popular music that wasn't rap and wasn't created by Black artists, that we would never see the lyrics used in court in this way.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The trial could last several months with testimony expected from high people in the music industry. If he's convicted, Young Thug could face decades in prison.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Today is Giving Tuesday, so you might be thinking about the causes you care about and want to support. But sifting through all of the options and figuring out how much to give can be a challenge.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The NPR podcast Life Kit spoke to Kevin Scali from Charity Navigator. It's a website that evaluates charities on their effectiveness.
--:-- Kevin Scali: To get started, he says, grab a pen and take a minute to just write down the issues that matter most to you. A lot of people think in concentric circles. So they think about, you know, themselves individually, they think about their families, they think about their community, and then kind of the greater global community. And so you can think about like, hey, what really helped me when I was younger? Or did I have a family member that was afflicted by some sort of chronic illness? And what was there to support them?
--:-- Shamita Basu: From there, you can get more granular. Do some research to find out which legitimate nonprofits are making a real difference in the areas you care about. And then think about how much you can afford to give. And even if you're on a tight budget, giving money isn't the only way to make a difference. Certainly volunteering is a great way to give back. The nice thing is, is that that's also a great way to get to know an organization and how they function and what they do. And so if you can make that a part of your routine, it's a really beautiful thing to do.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find more Giving Tuesday tips in the NPR story in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next from Time. It's a look at the billionaire founder of Uniqlo, Tadashi Yanai, how he built his clothing empire, and his pitch for how to boost Japan's economy. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
