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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, April 27th. I'm Shumita 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.
Before we get into other news, first a quick headline. American Trevor Reed has been released from Russia in a prisoner swap. This ends a nearly three-year fight for the former Marine's freedom. Other Americans are still in limbo, like WNBA star Brittney Griner and another former Marine, Paul Whelan. You can follow the latest as this story develops in the Apple News app.
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American student loan debt is a looming mountain, more than $1.7 trillion. And now, there are new signs President Biden may be getting closer to canceling some of that debt. The Biden administration has been skeptical about the idea in the past. But pressure is growing. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was on "CBS" last Sunday, arguing the president has the legal power to cancel debt and he should use it.
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Elizabeth Warren: This is something the American people want, and it's something that tens of millions of people need.
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It's also something the president understands personally. He's said that he only recently finished paying off his late son Beau's outstanding student debt.
"The Washington Post" reports on a closed-door meeting Biden had with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week. And when they asked him about canceling at least $10,000 in student loan debts per person, they said he was positive about it.
People in favor of it say forgiving debt would help struggling Americans and boost the economy. Critics take issue with the price tag. And they point out, much of the money would go to wealthy Americans who borrowed to go to expensive private schools.
Now, there may be a way to square these arguments. During the campaign, Biden said he liked a targeted plan. It would forgive student debt for low-income and middle-class people who went to public schools and historically Black colleges and universities.
The White House says Biden will make a decision soon. This would be before the current pandemic moratorium on student loan payments expires at the end of August. So, more news on debt relief may be coming by the end of the summer.
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People turn to TikTok for fun, for news, for advice and how-to videos. Increasingly, though, people are turning to TikTok for justice.
Jennifer Swann: You know, when I first heard about this story, I thought it was really remarkable that there were these teen girls who were using TikTok to find their friend's killer. And once I started digging through the app, I realized this is really not uncommon.
That's Jennifer Swann, who wrote about this for "The Cut." She told us, people are posting to raise awareness of someone who's gone missing or been killed. Often, the victims are women of color. And they're doing this because they feel law enforcement isn't giving these cases enough attention.
Swann: People are using it as sort of the equivalent of, you know, a wanted sign that you'd see on a street corner or, you know, a missing person sign that, back in the day, you'd see on a milk carton. But instead, they're using these videos to put up a news article and kind of highlight facts, talk about it, talk about what maybe the news got wrong or the news didn't know about their loved one who is missing or who was murdered.
Swann told us about the murder of a woman named Daisy De La O. This was in Compton, Los Angeles, a majority Black and Latino community. Her friends and family all suspected her ex-boyfriend of killing her. They said he'd been abusive in the past. Three months went by, and Daisy's friend was frustrated that they weren't getting updates on the police investigation. So she uploaded a video to TikTok with a picture of the ex and the caption, "TikTok do your thing and blow this up."
Swann: They thought, you know, "Well, why haven't detectives arrested Daisy's ex-boyfriend? This is the clear suspect." You know, to them, there was no one else who would do something so horrific to their good friend. It just did not make any sense.
After that post, she said she got flooded with notifications. Some people offered condolences. Others offered tips, including one who spotted the suspect in Mexico. Soon after, he was arrested and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. His trial began last week.
Now, police say TikTok is not what ultimately led them to the suspect. And a criminologist points to the risks of amateurs getting involved on social media. They could interfere with the investigation, put themselves in danger, or implicate innocent people.
Swann: I think it can be really murky, occasionally dangerous, territory, right? Like, if you're an individual, a private citizen, and you are targeting another private citizen and putting their photo on blast and their whereabouts and a description of them, that can be incredibly dangerous.
But, as this piece from "The Cut" explores, TikTok has emerged as a megaphone for people who are frustrated and grieving, who are hoping their message will be seen by the right person, someone who can bring them closer to justice.
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There's this tactic sometimes used by leaders of countries with bad records on human rights: using splashy sports events to distract from problematic government behavior. It's so pervasive that there's even a name for it: sportswashing.
Michael Rosenberg: The reason that sportswashing works is that, when you're watching a sporting event, you're usually not thinking about politics. You're thinking, "This is fun." You're thinking, "This is harmless."
That's Michael Rosenberg. He's a reporter with "Sports Illustrated."
Rosenberg: And so, when you see an event like the Olympics in China, that presents a nice image of China. The Olympics in Russia, the World Cup in Russia, the same thing. And so, even though you might know that these countries have a terrible human rights record, it softens the image.
Rosenberg cites Saudi Arabia as another example. That country is responsible for many human rights abuses, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But now, the kingdom is using golf to rehab its image, fairly successfully. Recently, Masters champion Bubba Watson praised Saudi Arabia's efforts to support women's golf. You also have Qatar hosting the 2022 Men's World Cup, as the nation exploits migrant workers to build the stadium.
Rosenberg: Thousands of them have died in the last decade, building the infrastructure for this very event, the World Cup. That's probably not going to come through a whole lot on the broadcast. And so, that's probably as brazen of an example of sportswashing as we have seen in the last decade or two, is what's happening with the World Cup in Qatar this year.
Rosenberg reminded us that athletes and members of the media have a responsibility to call out sportswashing when they see it.
Rosenberg: People are going to watch sports. And I am a sportswriter, and we're going to cover sports. And I would never argue that we should stop doing that because of where it is taking place. But it is important, I think, for the media in particular, to control the messaging around an event, especially when sportswashing is involved. So, this means we don't just mention one time at the start of an event, "Hey, this is a tough place. They don't treat people very well, but…" and then you ignore it for the next two and a half weeks of the Olympics or the next month of the World Cup. It has to come up constantly.
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Let me ask you something. When you eat an Oreo cookie, do you twist it open or do you just bite into it? That was a trick question. There's only one right answer. Obviously, you twist it open. Because it is unwritten Oreo code that you have to see how the creme filling comes unstuck.
Well, get this. A group of MIT researchers have taken this concept and gone all "scientific method" on it. They recently published a study where they were trying to figure out: is there a "perfect" way to twist an Oreo, so that exactly half the creme ends up on each side?
Now, "VICE" got in touch with one of the mechanical engineers. She said this is a challenge that has bugged her since childhood. Her team used this tool called a rheometer, which measures torque and viscosity, to test all these different twisting methods.
And after twisting through a lot of cookies, here is what they concluded. Even under laboratory conditions, it is nearly impossible to end up with even doses of creme on each side of the cookie. The engineer said, honestly, she was surprised they couldn't find a proven way to do it. But in her words, "That's just not how the physics works."
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This article is a fun one, and I say this even though I'm not a fan of Oreos. And yes, I know that is a minority opinion. Please don't judge me. Check out the story, and especially the pictures of these contraptions that they use to test the Oreos, in the Apple News app. Plenty of other great stories there too. And when you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News+ partners. We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
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