Shumita Basu, Narrating: Hey there. It's Shumita here. Every so often, we're gonna recommend a show that we think is worth your time. This week, I wanna tell you about "The Envelope," an entertainment podcast from the "L.A. Times." It's a deep-dive interview show where A-list actors, directors and showrunners share intimate stories about what fuels their art.
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Jennifer Coolidge: I could hear my parents talking about me, and they were just like, "Oh, my God! What are we gonna do?" You know? "What's gonna become of her?"
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Hear exclusive stories that you won't find anywhere else. Listen and subscribe to "The Envelope" at latimes.com/envelopepodcast or on Apple Podcasts.
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Good morning! It's Monday, November 28th. I'm Shumita Basu. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, major protests in China over COVID lockdowns, the unexpected financial impact of moving in together without being married, and what happens to Russian oligarchs' yachts after they're seized.
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But first… Early voting is now underway in Georgia, where a runoff will determine whether Republican Herschel Walker can unseat Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock. The first voters went to the polls on Saturday, after the state supreme court denied a Republican attempt to stop early voting on the holiday weekend.
"The Hill" looks at initial data and finds polls show a tight race and turnout looks high so far. If all of that holds, it'll go against predictions that turnout would be weak, because control of the Senate is no longer up in the air. Democrats have already won enough seats to keep the chamber out of Republican hands.
But there's still a lot on the line. "Vox" explains why the question of whether there are 50 or 51 senators voting with Democrats still matters. The current 50-50 situation means that Senate committees are split between parties. Getting one more Senator means that Democrats can stack committees in their favor. That could make it easier to confirm Biden's judicial nominees and help move key Democratic legislation forward.
An extra vote also gives Democrats some breathing room. Right now, they need all fifty Democratic votes, plus a tiebreaker from Vice President Harris. That's why you heard so much about Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in the last year. Their votes were crucial, and boy did they use that leverage. They were able to shift legislation to line up with their more centrist views. That changed the course of some key bills, making Democrats on the left pretty frustrated. But in a Senate with 51 Democratic votes, they could have less influence. Now, it's up to Georgia voters to decide.
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There’s a wave of street protests in China, an exceptionally rare thing that has China watchers in America paying close attention.
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People there are chanting “Step down!” referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the country’s Communist Party. CNN reported on scenes like this one in Shanghai, shared on social media, happening in multiple cities as people speak out against strict COVID policies. Three years into the pandemic, China is still using widespread lockdowns and forced quarantines.
Last week, a deadly fire in China’s western region of Xinjiang intensified public anger at the government’s so-called "zero-COVID policy." Many demonstrators blamed lockdown rules for what they felt was a slow response by firefighters. Officials denied COVID restrictions played a role and partially blamed fire victims, leading to further criticism.
Police have been swift to break up protests and make arrests. Some demonstrations have taken the form of vigils for the fire victims. Some people held up blank sheets of white paper as a symbolic protest against censorship.
This comes just weeks after Communist Party insiders gave Xi Jinping an unprecedented third term. But now, he faces an unprecedented challenge to his leadership from ordinary people in the streets.
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Over the past two decades, there's been a steady decline in marriages in the U.S. At the same time, more couples are moving in together without getting married. Or, as my grandmother used to say, somewhat cheekily, "shacking up together." Recent reporting from "The Wall Street Journal" looks at how this trend could have surprising consequences for personal finance.
It's well-established that single people don't have as much in the bank as married people, in large part because they don't have a partner to share bills with. But what's harder to explain is why there's a big gap in net worth between married couples and unmarried partners who live together.
Julia Carpenter: Two people living together are still not building wealth as quickly and as much as two people living together who are married.
"Journal" personal finance reporter Julia Carpenter says the data really jumped out at her. Married couples have about four times as much in the bank as unmarried couples living together. And it's not fully clear why. But there are some possible explanations.
Carpenter: People who are married share finances. And when you share finances, when you combine your money, you're able to do a lot more with it.
Like invest. And combining finances that way may be a factor in why married couples are more likely to own homes.
Carpenter: A lot of people who are living together but not yet married aren't yet homeowners. And in this country, home owning is the fastest way to build wealth. It's sort of one of our cornerstones of building wealth. Married couples hold much more housing wealth than cohabiting couples.
Marriage is a personal choice, not just a financial one, and many young people today see it differently than previous generations. A Cornell professor who studies couples' money behavior says, married or not, pooling finances can be a good idea. People who do it tend to be more satisfied with their relationships.
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After Russia invaded Ukraine, Western governments slapped new sanctions on oligarchs. And they went after their fortunes.
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President Joe Biden: We're joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets.
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Biden: We're coming for your ill-begotten gain.
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So, you seized a Russian oligarch's yacht. Now what? "Bloomberg Businessweek" reports on how complicated and expensive it is to capture and hold a yacht, and how U.S. taxpayers end up footing some of the bill to keep these ships floating in legal limbo.
In San Diego, for example, there's a seized $325 million yacht that the U.S. government says belongs to a sanctioned Russian oligarch. It has six decks, two baby grand pianos, and a Fabergé egg, because of course it does.
With a boat like that, you can't just tie it up to the dock and switch off the lights. Keeping it in port costs roughly $10 million a year. It still needs a crew of around a dozen people to prevent damage and accidents. The A/C has to stay on to fight rust and mold. It needs regular washing so the exterior doesn't get cruddy.
As for what happens next with these ships, eventually they may be sold off, or Russian owners may win them back in court. In the meantime, it's created this absurd scenario: Americans footing the bill for keeping an oligarch's yacht cool, clean, and barnacle-free.
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There's plenty more to this story, and if you're listening in the Apple News app right now, you can hear the whole thing as a narrated article. We've queued it up to play next for you. You can also find all the stories we talked about today. Plus, we've got in-depth coverage of the World Cup matches, and our soccer podcast "After the Whistle" with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe. So check all of that out, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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