--:-- Shamitza Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, May 14th. I'm Shamitza Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: On today's show, as ceasefire talks are set to begin, Netanyahu resolves to use full force in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed. Why more American gun owners are turning to self-defense insurance. And the Menendez brothers have been resentenced to make it parole. But first, one of President Trump's first acts in office was to suspend the humanitarian designation meant for refugees fleeing war or persecution.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Earlier this week, a group of about 50 white South Africans arrived at Dulles Airport in Virginia under that exact humanitarian designation. They're all Afrikaners, which means that they're sort of a minority white group descended from Dutch settlers in South Africa.
--:-- Teo Armus: Broadly speaking, the Trump administration has really tried to crack down on all forms of immigration, both authorized and unauthorized. And this is the first batch of refugees to have been resettled in the United States since Trump's first day in office.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Afrikaners governed the country as an apartheid state for 40 years. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, during that period, they were the architects of a racist state, subjecting black South Africans to segregation, having taken much of their land.
--:-- Teo Armus: But today, President Trump and Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, say white South Africans have become the victims. What they point to is a land redistribution law that was recently passed.
--:-- Teo Armus: Today, white people in South Africa account for about 7% of the population. They own about three quarters of individual farms and agricultural holdings. The newly passed redistribution law attempts to correct that imbalance.
--:-- Teo Armus: Trump was really incensed by this and in February issued an executive order cutting off aid to South Africa and then setting into course the sorts of government procedures that resulted in a plane arriving at Dulles Airport in Virginia earlier this week.
--:-- Teo Armus: Just to say, under that new law, no one has had their land taken and any land seizures that could take place would need a judge's approval.
--:-- Teo Armus: Beyond this law, Trump and Musk also claim that there is a genocide taking place in South Africa against white people, particularly white farmers. And while there have been murders of white farmers, there are more such incidents against Black South Africans.
--:-- Teo Armus: The South African international relations minister basically said, the folks who got on the plane, they can't provide any proof of persecution because there isn't any proof of persecution.
--:-- Teo Armus: The welcoming of this group is in stark contrast to Trump's attitude toward nearly every other group of migrants that's tried to come to this country seeking refugee protections.
--:-- Teo Armus: I think experts estimate that a typical refugee has to wait something between a year and a half and two years to actually be resettled in the United States. And this process happened essentially in the course of three months.
--:-- Teo Armus: And there's been backlash from the Episcopal Church. They typically work with the U.S. government to help resettle refugees. This week, with the arrival of this group, they announced they are ending that partnership.
--:-- Teo Armus: The presiding bishop who oversees the Episcopal Church said he was saddened and ashamed that so many of the refugees being denied entrance to the U are these folks who in Afghanistan have worked alongside the military and are now in danger or other people who have been waiting in refugee camps or in these really dangerous conditions for years in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo or Myanmar.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: So far, a small group of white South Africans have taken up Trump on his offer. But many more say they aren't interested. As one white farmer told The Wall Street Journal, South Africa is their home and they have a nice life there. They aren't eager to leave their family and their friends for no good reason.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Now to the war in Gaza and the unfolding humanitarian crisis there. Yesterday, Israel struck two medical centers in southern Gaza, killing at least 17 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: A hospital official described the scenes as a catastrophe with people buried under the rubble. Israel claimed to be targeting a Hamas command center, more specifically the de facto Hamas leader, Mohamed Sinwar.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: We don't know yet if Sinwar is still alive, but if the militant group's key decision-maker has been killed, it could have major implications for the Trump-Israeli talks taking place this week.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Israel regards Sinwar as a leading planner of the October 7th attacks. He is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, who was Hamas' leader before being killed this past October.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Right now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing international condemnation for an ongoing aid blockade. The World Health Organization has described it as one of the world's worst hunger crises.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency head told the BBC this week that Israel was using aid as a weapon of war and that the U.N. has rejected a U.S.-backed plan from Israel to launch its own aid distribution.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Starvation is spreading. People are exhausted. People are hungry. And more and more now we can expect in the coming weeks, if no aid is coming in, that people will not just die because of the bombardment, but they will die because of the lack of food.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And three unnamed Israeli defense officials have briefed The New York Times, conceding that they face widespread starvation and malnutrition. Local health officials say since the blockade began in March, more than 50 children have died of malnutrition.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Netanyahu remains defiant. On Tuesday, he said the military would continue fighting in the coming days in, quote, full force to finish the job and eliminate Hamas.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: He added that any ceasefire deal to arrange for hostages to be returned would be temporary at this point and would not prevent the idea from ultimately going all the way.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Meanwhile, Fox News reports that the U.S. government has been holding talks with Hamas this week related to further hostage releases. On Monday, the last living American hostage was released in what Hamas described as a goodwill gesture for ceasefire talks.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Gelling into Gaza nonetheless resumed, while yesterday the IDF says it intercepted rockets heading for southern Israel.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Even though Trump declined to visit Israel as part of his Middle East tour this week, how he positions himself will be closely watched by its government.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: In a major policy shift, he says he will lift sanctions on Syria following last year's toppling of Bashar al-Assad.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Trump said he hoped its new leader would succeed putting him at odds with Israel which has cautioned against recognition of the new government.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And at a Saudi investment conference Trump said he was working to end the war in Gaza as quickly as possible The people of Gaza deserve a much better future, but that will... But that will or can not occur as long as their leaders choose to kidnap, torture and target innocent men, women and children for political ends.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The new U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has recently insisted the relationship between the two countries was ironclad. But European backlash toward Israel is growing.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The French president described what Netanyahu was doing as, quote, shameful. And EU nations are formally reviewing their trade ties to the country this month, citing its ongoing blockade of aid to Gaza.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Let's turn now to a rise in an unusual type of insurance, a policy that protects you if you shoot someone in self-defense.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: For as little as $11 a month, you can purchase a plan that can include a range of services, from bail and criminal defense lawyers, to higher-end plans with coverage for TSA violations, and even crime scene cleanups.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: The people who might want this are people who own a gun and are concerned that if they get in some kind of an incident and they claim self-defense, but they get prosecuted or sued over it, that the legal costs can amount, you know, into the six figures easily.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The Journal reports that about 2 million Americans have purchased these plans. In recent years, there's been a rise in gun ownership, more stand-your-ground laws, and more states allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons without permits.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: Most of the companies that offer these insurance plans provide nationwide coverage, but states like New York and Washington have taken legal action against them, in some cases arguing that it goes against laws that prohibit insuring intentional illegal acts.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: I think one of the criticisms of this type of plan, which the companies deny, is that it's so-called moral hazard. In other words, if you buy one of these plans, you're more likely to want to use force because you think you're covered.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: You may more likely in a given situation to use your weapon or draw your weapon or what have you. But to be clear, the fine print of many of these policies is intended to keep strict standards for self-defense.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: So, for example, if you're robbing a bank and a security guard seems like they're threatening you and you shoot the security guard, that is not going to be covered.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: Then there are some cases, like one in Louisiana, where a woman purchased a gun and an insurance policy on the same day, and almost two weeks later shot and killed her estranged husband.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: She immediately called the self-defense company and said, guess what? I shot in self-defense. You need to cover me. And they did initially, but then the self-defense insurance company, which was the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, did their own investigation and said, ah, this wasn't self-defense, we're going to drop you as a client.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: The woman sued the company, but was later found guilty of second murder and obstruction of justice Her conviction is now on appeal
--:-- Shamitza Basu: As more people purchase these policies it sparks a major question From a societal viewpoint the question is is this a good thing to have for society, or is this possibly leading people to be more aggressive with their weapons?
--:-- Mark Merrimount: The insurance companies themselves say they have very low case numbers. Some attribute that to success in educating and training members on when and when not to use force.
--:-- Mark Merrimount: And as the journal points out, low case numbers means only spending a small fraction of revenue defending clients. That makes this a particularly profitable, fast-growing industry.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Eric and Lyle Menendez, the two brothers who have spent 35 years behind bars after being convicted of murdering their parents, have been resentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: It's a significant reduction in sentence for one of the most closely watched court cases of the 90s. The judge said they did not pose an unreasonable risk to the public.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The brothers admitted to the 1989 killings, but have always insisted they acted in self-defense after years of abuse at the hands of their father.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Family members on both sides of the deceased have been supportive of their resentencing.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: In other court news, the leading witness in Sean Combs' sex trafficking trial took the stand yesterday.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The music mogul's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura accused the rapper of controlling her life and coercing her into, quote, humiliating sex acts.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Ventura met Combs when he was 37 years old, and she was a 19-year-old aspiring singer newly signed to his record label.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Crying as she spoke, Ventura said the singer would, quote, bash on my head, knock me over, drag me, and kick me.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: She said she agreed to have sex with male escorts to make him happy and didn't feel she could refuse him because of the control he exerted.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Combs has admitted to physically abusing Ventura, but has denied all the criminal charges against him.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And finally, Major League Baseball's commissioner Rob Manfred has paved the way for previously banned players to enter its Hall of Fame, including Pete Rose.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: The disgraced ballplayer who holds the record for most hits and died last September was banned from ever being considered for the Hall of Fame after he was found to have gambled on the Cincinnati Reds while he managed them.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Rose also served five months in prison for tax evasion, and in 2017, a woman accused him of statutory rape, saying they had sex when she was under 16.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: He always denied this, insisting she was 16 and it was consensual.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Donald Trump has been among Rose's most vocal supporters and discussed him in a recent meeting with Commissioner Manfred.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: Manfred said he believes lifetime bans only pertain to the duration of a player's life, saying that now that he's passed, it's OK to honor him.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: MLB's ruling also applies to 16 other players, including shoeless Joe Jackson.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: What if we could get rid of menopause? Vox looks at the scientists who are seriously pursuing that question and what kinds of tradeoffs it would pose for women's health.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamitza Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow. Thank you.
