--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Good morning. It's Monday, September 20th. I'm Duarte Giraldino. And I'm 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.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Biden administration started deporting migrants from the Texas border to Haiti. This comes after more than 15,000 people arrived at this bridge that connects Mexico with Del Rio, Texas. They formed a sprawling makeshift camp there.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: A few things worth understanding about this story. One is the conditions in Haiti that are pressuring so many people to leave. And the second is why the Biden administration is struggling to send a clear message to people from this Caribbean nation. Don't even attempt this journey.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Miami Herald explains a lot of Haitians left their island over a decade ago in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in 2010. They went to Central and South America, and some continued up to the U.S. border. At the moment, Haiti is dealing with more recent problems. Earlier this year, the country's president was assassinated, and a serious earthquake killed more than 2,000 people there.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Department of Homeland Security is defending the deportations, and as the Herald reports, saying part of the reason why so many Haitians are trying to enter the U.S. is because of a policy misunderstanding. So recently, the Biden administration extended TPS, that's Temporary Protected Status for Haitians Living and Working in the U.S. This particular designation is given to people because of an environmental disaster or conflict in their home country. But the status only applies to Haitians who are already here.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Herald reports on reactions from the people arriving off of flights in Haiti Many of them are angry and frustrated about being deported One spoke of spending thousands of dollars trying to travel to a safer place. Now he finds himself back in a troubled country, where he hasn't been in years. An apology is not enough.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That's the message from one of the Athlans whose family was killed in a U.S. drone strike. Ten civilians were killed last month when the American military fired on what it initially said was an ISIS-K target. The head of U.S. Central Command has apologized for the mistake.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: NBC News spoke with Amal Ahmadi. His toddler was one of seven children killed in the attack. He says he didn't know the Pentagon apologized and he hasn't heard from anyone. He wants the U.S. to compensate families like his for their loss and help them out of Kabul.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now that their name is publicly known, his family's word the Taliban is going to target them next. The Defense Department initially said the operation was to prevent another suicide bomb attack on the Kabul airport. But news outlets investigating the facts on the ground raised doubts about who was killed in the days after the drone strike. The Pentagon is saying it's going to consider reparations for the attack.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Another family member tells NBC nothing can bring back the people they lost, but they're hoping the U.S. is going to help survivors, give them a chance at a new life outside Afghanistan. U.S. lawmakers and humanitarian groups are calling for a full investigation into the deadly attack.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The National Spotlight Britney Spears court battle has put the issue of conservatorships in the national spotlight Legal researchers estimate more than a million adults in the U.S. are under the control of legal guardians It's a system that was designed to be used as a last resort, an option when someone cannot make decisions for themselves.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But new reporting shows conservatorships have become surprisingly common, creating opportunities for abuse. They can lose the right to marry, to vote, to decide who they spend time with, to own property, to control their finances. That's Heidi Blake. She's a senior reporter for BuzzFeed News, which is out with a major new investigation into guardianships across America and what life is like for people who find themselves in this situation.
--:-- Heidi Blake: They don't decide where they live. They can't seek employment. They can't drive. What happens then is at the court appoint often a stranger, it could be a family member, it could be a professional, to come in and take over all of those functions for them and basically take over total control of their lives.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: That's what happened to 59-year-old Elizabeth Hensley. She was being treated for depression at a hospital in Florida when a judge put her under guardianship. She was kept in a lockdown facility. She wasn't allowed to leave. And the guardian who was put in control of her life was a woman called Rebecca Fearley, who's among the most notorious professional guardians in Florida.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She's been repeatedly cited by regulators for financial abuse of her wards. She made millions of dollars over many years controlling the lives of hundreds of people. Fearley moved more than $660,000 of Hensley's money into a trust and then paid herself with those funds without court approval, according to an audit.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Fearley did not respond to BuzzFeed's questions, but has previously denied wrongdoing. BuzzFeed found that professional guardians have stolen tens of millions of dollars from the people they supposed to protect As BuzzFeed points out some states allow hearings to decide whether someone is incapacitated without notifying them. And once you get declared incapacitated, you typically lose your ability to appoint your own lawyer.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This makes it extremely difficult for you to escape guardianship. Recently, lawmakers have pushed for more safeguards and better data related to guardianships.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: At the Emmys, it was a big night for three shows. Netflix's The Crown took top drama series. Apple TV Plus' Ted Lasso was the best comedy. And The Queen's Gambit, also on Netflix, won the prize for a limited series. Collectively, those three shows won 29 Emmys.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There was this one moment which brought what Vanity Fair is calling a sigh of relief. Michaela Cole won a writing award for I May Destroy You. A lot of people thought the Golden Globe snubbed her HBO series, and that triggered even more criticism about the lack of recognition for shows created by Black artists.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Last night, white performers won all 12 lead and supporting actor awards. Cole got a standing ovation, and her speech challenged writers to keep pushing. Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn't comfortable. I dare you.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Our team has pulled together the best coverage of the Emmys. The moments, the clothes, the memes. You can find it all in the Apple News app. Just tap the notification we send you midway through this episode. And while you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners. We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
