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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Thursday, April 28th. 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.
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The war in Europe is getting bigger in many ways, with new concerns about conflict and impact beyond Ukraine's borders. There are three big developments to watch: Russia's latest rhetoric, the cut-off of gas supplies to some NATO countries, and new violence in Moldova, bordering Ukraine.
First, the rhetoric, which does matter. Russian President Vladimir Putin has a new warning of, quote, "lightning-fast" retaliation if European countries intervene. Lately, the Foreign Minister has warned of nuclear conflict and a possible World War III. Global diplomats are trying to lower the temperature. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to CNN after meeting with Putin in Moscow…
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Antonio Guterres: The war will end when the Russian Federation decides to end it and when there is, after a ceasefire, the possibility of a serious political agreement.
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The impact of the conflict is also expanding as Russia uses its energy resources to squeeze NATO countries. The state energy company has cut off gas to Poland and Bulgaria. "Bloomberg" looks into how the EU is trying to get countries, and energy companies, to hold firm against Kremlin pressure.
Poland and Bulgaria have other options for energy, but if Russia tries to cut off bigger customers, like Germany or Italy, things get more complicated. Hungary already says it will go along with Moscow's demands on energy payments.
Finally, there's been explosive new violence this week in Moldova, located between Ukraine and Romania. Radio towers were blown up in a region where Russia has tried to exert influence. The blasts are raising new concerns about how this conflict could spill over Ukrainian borders.
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It was totally by accident that "New Yorker" writer David Rompf discovered that there was a proposal to launch space rockets near the shoreline of Lake Superior. It was 4th of July weekend, and he was driving around Michigan's Upper Peninsula when he saw these yard signs…
David Rompf: We saw these signs, which had a picture of a rocket on them, and there was a message on the sign that said "Protect Lake Superior." And that's how I discovered this plan to build a spaceport in Michigan with a vertical launch site.
As Rompf discovered, there are some big plans underway to make Michigan, maybe not Cape Canaveral, but a major new hub for future space travel. It's the brainchild of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association. Organizers estimate this site near Lake Superior, plus two others in the state, would be up and running, launching rockets, by 2026. The plan is polarizing. Some people are concerned about what this would mean for the local environment.
Rompf: One of the common attributes of people in this area is that they all feel passionate about Lake Superior, and the woods, and nature, and the environment. And many of them are skiers, and hikers, and kayakers, and just love the environment that this area provides to them.
The location choice cuts both ways. On the one hand, Rompf describes Lake Superior as so vast that it almost feels like an ocean. There's nothing else around for miles, which makes it a pretty good place to launch rockets. But on the flip side, Lake Superior is the largest body of freshwater in the world. It's a significant source of drinking water for local residents. Scientists say a single drop of contaminated water could stay in the lake for close to 200 years, so in that way, it's not a great place for a rocket program that could create pollution.
Supporters say a review by the Federal Aviation Administration would make sure the program was safe for residents and for the environment, and they say it could boost the local economy.
Rompf: The common argument for spaceports, they bring jobs to communities and they provide an opportunity to build out a region's economy.
For this article, Rompf spent time with the man whose land has been identified as an ideal vertical launch spot. His name is Tom Baldwin. He made his fortune as a bond and commodities trader. He supports the effort to build the spaceport and thinks his land could sell for a hundred million dollars. Or, he says, he could lease it. Or if Elon Musk was open to it, he'd even consider running the site along with him as a joint venture.
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There's a pretty well-known story about how the game of basketball was invented. The story goes that in 1892, Springfield, Massachusetts, a YMCA instructor named James Naismith hung up a couple of peach baskets in a gymnasium, came up with some rules, and the first public game of basketball was played. Springfield is now known as the birthplace of the sport. It's where the basketball hall of fame is, which is named after Naismith, but there's another town, not so far away, where some people say that story is all wrong.
Ben Strauss: So, there's been this counter narrative that has existed for quite a while in Herkimer, which is this tiny little town, 7,000 people or so, in the Mohawk Valley, in central New York, about halfway between Albany and Syracuse.
That's Ben Strauss. He's a sports reporter for "The Washington Post." He recently went to Herkimer to hear their perspective. The people there told him it was actually a 16-year-old Swedish immigrant named Lambert Will who came up with the sport in Herkimer. As their story goes…
Strauss: He's in the basement of his… the grocery store where he works, and he's tossing the good heads of cabbage into one basket and the rotten heads of cabbage into another basket, and he says, well, this is pretty fun.
One account credits this teenager with coming up with many of the game’s original rules, and says Herkimer hosted the first game before it took off in Springfield.
Strauss: So there are some real pieces of evidence here. There is an old photo of a basketball team with '91-'92 written onto a basketball, which would suggest that there was a team in Herkimer playing in 1891, 1892, which again would be before James Naismith was supposed to have invented it.
But others are not so convinced…
Strauss: The people in Springfield think this is nuts. You know, they've got a pamphlet that goes out from Springfield, the YMCA, in early 1892 that says here's the basketball rules. They've got newspaper articles from the next month in March that say this was the first game, and of the moment accounts of this is what had happened on this day, which doesn't exist in Herkimer's case.
You might be thinking, why does it really matter who gets the claim to fame? Well, part of the reason is Herkimer has been struggling economically. It's been hit hard by the opioid crisis. The people there say reclaiming this title and turning the town into a historical destination for basketball fans could help turn things around.
Strauss spoke with a historian who put it this way: there probably isn't one singular birthplace of basketball.
Strauss: History is much more collaborative than the history books would suggest. And so this idea that there was basketball, early basketball, in Springfield, while at a very similar time, Herkimer was also puzzling out these rules and playing early basketball, is not necessarily in conflict with one another.
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Okay, now for a love song, and I don't mean one of those poppy songs made for the radio. I'm talking about a true love song. Maybe you've heard it already, on social media…
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"People Magazine" brings us the story behind the song called "My Love." More than 60 years ago, a Navy petty officer named Morton Block met Susan Webber. The moment he saw her on the beach, Morton says Susan took his breath away. A few months later, he was at sea, hundreds of miles away, thinking about Susan, and he decided to put his feelings to music. Morton's plan was to serenade Susan next time he saw her.
The sweet, swaying, soul-bearing song worked: they got married in 1960. Super wholesome, right? So, how did the song become a social media sensation in the year 2022? Well, Morton is now in his 80s, and music stayed an important part of his life. His grandson is a record executive, and he suggested they get a band together and record the song as a single. They posted a snippet to TikTok, set to old black-and-white footage from the honeymoon. That post now has more than one million views. Morton went back on TikTok to say the response has been inspiring, it's given him a new burst of life.
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Morton Block: So stay tuned because we're going to be bringing some new music to you and I hope you're going to love it.
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You can see cute pictures of the couple from back when they met, and now, on the Apple News app, along with all these stories we mentioned today. 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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