--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Good morning. It's Thursday, June 10th. I'm Duarte Giraldino. And I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: In many African nations, malaria has been more deadly than COVID-19. And while scientists managed to develop and roll out a coronavirus vaccine in months, Researchers have been struggling to create a malaria vaccine for years, and that's got a lot of people wondering, what's so different about malaria? Could this disease be put on the same vaccine fast track as COVID?
--:-- Shamita Basu: Malaria has been around for a long time, and it's proving very hard to beat. It's been found in mosquitoes preserved in amber from 30 million years ago. Malaria kills more than 400,000 people every year, mostly children under five, with nearly all the victims in Africa. COVID-19 has claimed about 130,000 lives on the continent.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The money spent on these threats is also another big difference here. According to the Washington Post, in a period of 11 years, and I'm talking about between 2007 and 2018, the entire world spent a little over $7 billion on malaria research. Compare that with the $9 billion the United States alone devoted to COVID-19 vaccine development.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Health researchers are saying a major reason for this massive difference is that the countries most affected by malaria also have some of the lowest incomes in the world. The billions of dollars devoted to the COVID vaccines shows how effective spending blitzes can be.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Washington Post explains, thanks to that enormous amount of funding, pharmaceutical companies were able to conduct all three phases of trials at the same time without worrying about the financial risk.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There has been some promising news. Clinical tests found one malaria shot is 77% effective. It's the most promising malaria vaccine to date. More money and support could help move it forward faster. By next year, researchers are hoping they'll be able to collect enough data to apply for pre-qualification from the WHO.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: That can mean funding and logistical support from donors around the world and eventually approval from individual countries Malaria researchers and doctors hope they receive some of the kind of attention and money the COVID fight is getting As an epidemiologist in Burkino Faso told The Post every second we delay the introduction of this vaccine, we lose more kids.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Schools are just wrapping up another unconventional, pandemic-fueled academic year, and many are planning a full return to classrooms this fall. But for some parents of color, remote schooling was a gift they didn't know they needed. Black parents in particular say, while their kids were learning at home, they weren't being bullied or facing racism at school, and therefore, they thrived.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Some of these parents are now saying they want to keep their kids in virtual classrooms. USA Today pulls together the conversations that are happening around the country. And this reporting cites education experts who say in-person schooling is the best way to help students who fell behind during the pandemic.
--:-- Shamita Basu: One survey of educators found virtual students went through less material than students who were physically in classrooms this year. Plus, these experts argue in-person school comes with emotional and social benefits for kids, too.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But USA Today is quoting one educator who says students of color who are learning remotely may have had advantages not captured by traditional academic metrics. Factors like not feeling the pressure of bullying and racism when you try to study or concentrate. That may have helped them build more confidence, freed up their time to grow and pursue new interests.
--:-- Shamita Basu: To get a better sense of what families got out of virtual learning, let's turn to the second largest school district in the country, L.A. Public Schools. The L.A. Times reports that Speak Up, an educational advocacy group, conducted a survey that backs up these claims.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Nearly half of Black parents responded by saying bullying, racism and low academic standards were factors in keeping their children at home. Many Black parents said that learning from home gave them the ability to monitor how their children were doing. They say they saw how they were being treated, the times when it seemed like teachers automatically saw their kids as guilty when conflicts arose.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This year gave parents a better sense of how to advocate for their children in a school setting Parents across the country are now telling school leaders about their families positive experiences with remote learning and some school districts are putting money toward this Some of the billion in education funding that was contained in the COVID relief bill is now going to be going towards expanding virtual learning.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Cruises are normally places for frozen drinks, entertainment, sprawling buffets, and total relaxation. But right now, the industry is in the eye of a political hurricane over COVID safety regulations. CNN has a story of political allies turned enemies.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This is a story of high-profile Republican governors battling it out with a big business interest. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have both taken strong positions against businesses requiring people to prove they've been vaccinated. And that's a challenge for cruise ships that want to depart from ports in those states.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: CDC rules make it a lot easier for them to sail if passengers are vaccinated. That's why the cruise industry, which is so desperate to get back to business, is floating in a tricky spot. If companies follow rules to keep passengers and crew members safe from COVID, governors in the states where these cruise lines operate might try to block them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: As CNN explains, this is all a bit unusual. Typically, the Republican Party would stick up for corporations and say that government should stay out of the way of businesses. But things shifted during the Trump administration. The former president went after companies in a range of industries when they did something he didn't like. Other Republicans started to criticize big business. Now that battle is moving to the high seas.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Cruise companies are taking various tacks. Royal Caribbean is encouraging customers to get vaccinated, but not requiring they prove it. Celebrity Cruises requires vaccinations for people older than 16. And Norwegian, it isn't messing around. It's requiring passengers to get vaccinated. And last month, its CEO told investors on an earnings call.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellers, and rudders. And God forbid we can't operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from. That is a not reminder of the stakes for these governors If cruise ships move the states lose out on tourism money It kind of hard to play chicken with something as slow and bulky as a cruise liner but that basically where we're at because of COVID.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: With cruisers ready to open their wallets, we'll see whether it's GOP governors or the cruise CEOs who blink first.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The NBA playoffs are happening now, and the Brooklyn Nets are having a big run. Now, a major part of that success has to do with James Harden. He's the superstar guard who was traded from the Houston Rockets to a team that, let's be honest, was already stacked with some of the best talent in the league.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And it seems like a no-brainer, right? Get the best players, become the best team, dominate the postseason. But there's another side to this deal. Do you know what the Nets had to give up in exchange? A sixth grader from Yonkers, New York. OK, that's one way to put it. Let's explain.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Mega trades like this open a window into a world where NBA teams have to plan way into the future when they make decisions about players. The Wall Street Journal has this explanation.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: It's a profile of Josh Rivera. He's 12 years old. He's already around six feet tall. Obviously, this middle schooler is not in the NBA, but he lives and breathes basketball. And he plays on a team where many pro and college stars got their start.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Journal explains it this way. To get Harden, the Nets had to trade away their future. That could include the right to bring on someone like Josh when he's old enough to get drafted. You see, the Nets gave away rights to first-round draft picks all the way through the year 2027. Making it to the pros is a long shot for anybody. But if Josh turns out to be good enough, 2027 is right around the time he could be eligible for the NBA draft.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Until then, along with having a very intense training schedule, Josh is studying, he's staying on the dean's list, and at night, he watches games to learn from the pros, hoping to steal a few new moves.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And while you're there, check out some of our audio stories. We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
