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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, February 13th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, one week into the difficult earthquake-aid efforts, an animal-welfare issue that might surprise you and the game, halftime show and ads of the Super Bowl.
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But first U.S. fighters have now shot down four flying objects in just over a week, something unheard of outside of war. Three UFOs were spotted over U.S. and Canadian territory and taken out since Friday. The latest was shot down over Lake Huron yesterday.
This comes days after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. After that sighting, U.S. officials have been monitoring the skies more closely. Before the latest incident, "CNN" National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem talked about why we're seeing this very unusual string of UFO shootdowns.
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Juliette Kayyem: Our surveillance has increased, our tolerance for this has lowered so your risk calculation is going to be different. And now we ask the question, what the heck is going on?
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The other question being asked right now: is this an overreaction? Military officials have said they're acting out of an "abundance of caution." That these flying objects could have been put in the air by governments or private groups. They could be attempts to test America's defenses or distract its forces. Or they could be doing legitimate research. It's just not clear yet.
U.S. intelligence was quick to ID the first balloon as Chinese, though Beijing denies it was a spy mission, and is out with a new accusation this morning: that the U.S. flew high-altitude balloons through Chinese airspace more than 10 times since the start of last year. U.S. officials didn't immediately respond to that claim. But that still doesn't explain the three more recent flying objects, which China has not commented on.
And yes, U.S. generals are getting questions about whether these UFOs could come from aliens. One top Air Force general said yesterday that, officially, he has not ruled out extraterrestrials. But the search for answers is happening here on Earth. Investigators are now looking through the wreckage of the shootdowns to try to figure out what these things were and who might have sent them.
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Let's take a look at some other developing stories around the world, where the main focus is the earthquake aftermath. Rescue teams are working in Turkey and Syria, with reports of people being found alive in collapsed buildings, even today, one week after the earthquakes hit. But hope for finding more survivors gets lower as the hours pass. More than 36,000 people have died. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, visited the area to put out an urgent call for more aid.
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Martin Griffiths: What happened here on Monday, the epicenter of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region.
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The need for aid is dire, because even those who survived still face danger. The winter weather is harsh and there aren't enough shelters to replace the destroyed buildings. Infrastructure is heavily damaged, cutting the flow of food, water and medicine. Aid workers are shipping in rabies and tetanus vaccines, trying to stem the spread of infections. The UN says it's telling Syrian leaders to "put politics aside" and unite to help Syrian people get the aid they need.
Let's turn to Ukraine, where recent Russian troop movements and airstrikes have Ukrainian forces expecting a major new offensive. This week the U.S. Secretary of Defense meets with Western allies about more aid to Ukraine. A hot topic will probably be whether to give Ukraine fighter jets. The country has been asking for them for a long time, but allies have been reluctant to send weapons that could strike deep into Russia. The worry is that Moscow could see providing planes as a dangerous escalation.
And some developments in Washington. An FBI search of Mike Pence's Indiana home turned up several documents, including some classified material. His office says the former VP is fully cooperating with investigators. Separately, Pence was given a subpoena by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump's role in the January 6th attack and his handling of classified documents.
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There's an animal welfare problem you might not be aware of, even if you know about issues around how livestock are treated at farms and conditions at slaughterhouses.
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Recent reporting from "Vox" argues that it's important to pay attention to what happens between those places. Many animals die on the way to slaughter, during long journeys by ship, where they risk drowning, disease and abuse. Sophie Kevany covers the growing concern about animal transport, particularly in Europe. The EU is the biggest livestock exporter in the world.
Sophie Kevany: The one that livestock or animal welfare campaigners are focusing on is the ones where animals leave the EU and go to really far away places. I mean, they go to South America, they go to North Africa, they go to the Middle East.
In 2019, thousands of sheep died when a boat going from Romania to Saudi Arabia capsized. Kevany says animals are treated like cargo, not passengers. Being transported to slaughter is one of the worst parts of a farm animal's life.
Kevany: There are welfare campaigners who say, you know, animals feel seasick and they're also kept in pens where it is challenging and in some cases probably impossible to really keep them clean.
There are also health concerns for humans. Longer journeys present more opportunities to spread disease.
Animal-rights campaigners want a ban on exporting live animals. Livestock producers say this would be bad for the industry.
Some governments are making changes. Germany recently became the biggest economy to ban exporting live animals outside the EU. New Zealand made a similar move, and the U.K. is expected to as well. The German government is calling for more countries to follow its lead, saying it cannot stand by while animals suffer and die.
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Super Bowls are sometimes boring blowouts, but not last night's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. There was lots of scoring, down to the very final moments. With 11 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 35, the Chiefs had to nail this field goal.
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Announcer: Butker up. Got it.
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People who had money on the Chiefs cashed in when they won the championship. The gambling industry estimates that a record $16 billion was bet on the game. Dozens of states have legalized sports betting in recent years.
And at the much anticipated halftime show, Rihanna did not disappoint.
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And she thrilled fans with a big surprise, revealing that she is pregnant, making her the first pregnant woman to star in the halftime show.
Between the game and the music, there were those very expensive ads. Some of the most talked about commercials include Alicia Silverstone reprising her "Clueless" role and Serena Williams facing off with Brian Cox on the golf course. You can watch them in our Super Bowl special coverage on the Apple News app, along with all today's news.
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And if you're already listening in the Apple News app, stick around. We've got a narrated article coming up next from "New York" magazine on how TV documentaries have changed as they've become more commercialized.
So sit back, enjoy listening to that and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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