--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Friday, December 8th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, young activists pressure leaders at the Global Climate Conference, a preview of soccer's MLS Cup final, and how to buy less junk this holiday season. But first, let's take a quick look at some other big stories in the news.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hunter Biden now faces nine new charges. Prosecutors say he engaged in a scheme to evade $1.4 million in taxes. He could face up to 17 years in prison if convicted. Biden's lawyer says he paid his taxes in full. This is the latest legal issue for the president's son.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In an earlier case, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied about his drug use when buying a gun.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In Texas, a major new ruling will allow one woman to get an abortion despite strict state laws against the procedure. Doctors told Dallas woman Kate Cox that her fetus has a rare condition that will almost certainly lead to a stillbirth or painful death for the child, and that her pregnancy could endanger her health and future fertility.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Cox sued the state to get an abortion. Judge Maya Garra-Gamble said the case was clear for a temporary restraining order that would allow Cox to abort.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The idea that Ms. Cox wants desperately to be a parent and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice.
--:-- Shamita Basu: After the ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened legal action against any doctors who performed the procedure for Cox, saying the judge was not medically qualified to determine whether this is a life-threatening scenario that should be exempt from the state ban.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A lawyer representing Cox said Paxton is misrepresenting the court's order.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And in international news, as Israel launches more attacks in Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is out with new criticism of Israel. He says the military must do more to adhere to its stated goal to limit civilian deaths.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There does remain a gap between exactly what I said when I was there the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we seeing on the ground.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Also, a series of images from Gaza are getting a lot of attention. They show dozens of men detained by Israeli forces. They're stripped to their underwear and blindfolded.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A lot of important context around the images is still unknown or disputed. Some Israeli media have said the photos show a mass surrender of Hamas members.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says this is evidence of Israeli abuse of Palestinian civilians.
--:-- Shamita Basu: CNN investigated and found that several of the people in the photos were civilians with no known connection to any militant groups.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Israel's military did not initially respond to CNN's request for comment.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At COP28, the UN climate summit in Dubai, one of the big remaining questions is whether world leaders will agree for the first time on a global plan to eventually phase out all fossil fuels.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There is support for this, but strong opposition is coming from oil-producing countries, including Russia and Saudi Arabia.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Also, some developing countries say they need that energy to lift people out of poverty, and that rich nations who've been doing most of the polluting should clean up their fossil fuel use first.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A major deal at this summit may not be possible before it ends on Tuesday.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Still, climate activists are pushing for concrete commitments on a range of issues.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And some of the strongest voices are the youngest people at the conference, like 21-year-old Shia Bastida from Mexico, who spoke there this week.
--:-- Shamita Basu: What I would like to share today is from my indigenous community, our language, Otomi, Nianyu. The word for skin in our language is the same as the word for the outer layer of the earth.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The message there is, when you hurt the earth, you're hurting yourself.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In recent years, young climate activists like Bastida have played a larger role in COP delegations and shaping climate policy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This year, some participants are as young as 13.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And today at the conference, there's a major focus on the impact of climate change on young people.
--:-- Shamita Basu: UNICEF put together a report on how climate change is especially dangerous to children.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Their developing bodies make them more vulnerable to air pollution and heat waves climate disasters disrupt their education and crop failures and rising food prices are increasing child malnutrition worldwide
--:-- Shamita Basu: Being a teenage climate activist can be frustrating. Often young people are told it's up to them to speak out, be the change. Yet when they do, they're not always taken seriously.
--:-- Shamita Basu: There is a special argument that only a younger person has in this debate. They didn't cause the problem, but they will inherit all of its consequences unless things change.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Tomorrow is a big day for soccer fans. The MLS Cup Final, with defending champions Los Angeles FC taking on the Columbus Crew.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Taylor Twelman, the host of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, sat down this week with Apple News Sports editor Shaker Saman to talk about the match.
--:-- Shaker Saman: Set the stage for us. What are fans going to see when they turn on their televisions this Saturday?
--:-- Taylor Twelman: I think you're going to get a showcase of what Major League Soccer is all about in 2023.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: I think Columbus Crew are one of the more aesthetically pleasing teams to watch. They get after it. They're stubborn. Their manager loves to be very aggressive.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: They're going to be aggressive at home. and LAFC's the reigning champions. Then they've had an opportunity five times this year to win a trophy. They've missed that.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: But the granddaddy of them all was to repeat as MLS Cup champions, and they're going to try and do so in Columbus.
--:-- Shaker Saman: Absolutely. Are there specific players on either team that you're really looking at as, oh, this could be the X factor today?
--:-- Taylor Twelman: Well, I think you're looking at two of the best players Major League Soccer's ever had. Denis Bawanga, 37 goals in all competitions to tie his teammate Carlos Vela for the most ever in a calendar year.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: and arguably the best number nine in the league for Columbus in Cucho Hernandez. I often describe him as playing with his hair on fire. He's all over the field. He can score. He can create.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: He's got 20-plus goals on the year, 12-plus assists on the year in all competitions. But all eyes are going to be on Diego Rossi for me.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: He won the Golden Boot for LAFC. He left Major League Soccer. He's now returned, but he's going to be on the other side.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: I think the X factor is going to be Diego Rossi for the Columbus crew.
--:-- Shaker Saman: I am going to put you on the spot there real quick. Who's going to win? Walk me through this.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: This is going to be the most exciting MLS Cup ever. And I know the listeners are thinking, wait, hold on a minute. Gareth Bale, Philadelphia, LAFC last year, winning on penalty kicks, et cetera.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: But the difference is that Columbus, they're going to be aggressive. They going to have the home crowd behind them They going to try to score two or three goals but they will leave themselves exposed
--:-- Taylor Twelman: And they leaving themselves exposed to arguably the best team in this league in transition And I think you have to tip yourself to the away team.
--:-- Taylor Twelman: But you look at LAFC, it almost feels like they've been waiting for this moment to put a stamp on 2023. It wouldn't surprise me if they went on the road this weekend.
--:-- Shaker Saman: Taylor Tormund, thank you so much. Thanks, brother.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Holiday spending is expected to reach record levels this year. And already, Americans have a habit of overbuying, especially when it's as easy as shopping online.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The average household gets three packages delivered a week. That's a lot of boxes of potential returns and junk.
--:-- Shamita Basu: To better understand how the consumerism machine works and the hidden costs to our wallets and the environment, I called up Amanda Mull.
--:-- Shamita Basu: She's a staff writer for The Atlantic and my guest this week on Apple News In Conversation.
--:-- Shamita Basu: For years, she has written about how the Internet has shaped shopping and how online shopping has shaped us.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, one thing she points out is just how easy online retailers have made it to click and buy things with fairly little thinking.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So her tip, add some friction to your online shopping by not saving your payment information on your phone or computer.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Force yourself to get up and get your credit card and type it in every time you buy something.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If I have to get up and get my credit card quite frequently, more often than not, I go, I don't really need this.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, especially at this time of year, when it comes to gift giving, Mull says it's worth considering maybe what your friends and family actually want isn't more stuff.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Giving an experience like a special meal or thoughtfully chosen outing can leave just as big of an impression as a present wrapped in a box.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it won't end up in a landfill someday.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The idea that the best gift is something brand new and expensive is something that I think, especially parents with little kids, have the opportunity to reset.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And that we have the opportunity to reset with each other as adults.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're listening in the Apple News app right now, stick around for the rest of my conversation with Amanda Mull and all of her tips on how to be a smarter, more ethical consumer.
--:-- Shamita Basu: That's playing for you next. Have a great weekend, and I'll be back with the news on Monday.
