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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, May 17th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, understanding Ukraine's potential battle plan to counterattack Russia, the ugly truth behind the slogan "We Buy Ugly Houses," plus scientists clear up a hot debate about the color of the sun.
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But first, let's look at some major stories in the news. North Carolina is banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Last night, the Republican-controlled legislature overrode a veto of the bill by the state's Democratic governor. It's less restrictive than other state laws passed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but it will reduce access in the state and beyond. In the months after the Supreme Court ruling, North Carolina saw the single highest increase in abortions of any state. It's a sign that people in neighboring states with more restrictive laws were traveling to North Carolina for the procedure.
Also, a federal appeals court will hear arguments today in a case involving the abortion pill mifepristone. In April, a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling suspending the FDA's approval of the drug decades ago. That was put on hold while the case proceeds. The three judges hearing it today were all appointed by Republican presidents. They have supported abortion restrictions in the past.
So, it's a big week for abortion policy. The other major national issue right now is the debt ceiling. The White House and Congress need to make a deal very soon to avoid a default. President Biden met with top Congressional leaders yesterday, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
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Kevin McCarthy: You know, we only have 15 days really to go. We've gotta find a way that we can curve our spending, raise our debt limit, and also grow our economy.
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Comments after the meeting were a mix of optimism and expectations management, with recognition that both sides are still far apart. Biden says he'll end his G7 summit trip early to create more time for talks.
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President Joe Biden: I'm postponing the Australia portion of the trip and my stop in Papua New Guinea in order to be back for the final negotiations with congressional leaders.
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And finally, yesterday was an election day in several states. You can get the key takeaways on the races in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Florida in the Apple News app.
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Let's move on now to international news and the war in Ukraine. Today, the country is assessing damage after a major attack by Russia. Ukraine says it shot down multiple missiles yesterday. There were reports that the Russian attack may have damaged a U.S.-made Patriot missile system, but Ukraine's military says that no Patriot system was destroyed. That's one of the most advanced air defense systems and keeping it working will be critical to protecting Ukrainian territory.
And the country doesn't just wanna play defense. It wants to take back control of Ukrainian land occupied by Russia. An expected spring counterattack has been reported for a while now, but Ukraine still appears to be getting ready. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke recently to the "European Broadcasting Union" through an interpreter.
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Translator: We can advance with what we've got, and I think we can be successful. But we will lose a lot of people. I think that is unacceptable. We need to wait. We need a bit more time.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: [SPEAKING THROUGH TRANSLATOR]
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"The Times" of London looks at how Ukraine is preparing and how some of the training and weapons from Western allies could be used in a counteroffensive.
A full brigade recently wrapped up training in Sweden on some of the most powerful weapons in Ukraine's arsenal, including Leopard 2 tanks and the Archer Artillery System. That brigade is now back in Ukraine.
Ukraine also has new, game-changing, long-range weapons. Storm Shadow cruise missiles can travel at least 155 miles, capable of hitting Russian targets far beyond the front lines. They're already striking Russian command centers. Ukraine is also attacking Russian energy supplies and ammunition storage. These types of attacks are called "shaping" operations. They often come ahead of major troop movements.
And Zelenskyy continues to ask allies for F-16 jets, which could provide air cover for soldiers as they advance. Ukraine reportedly has up to 220,000 troops prepared for this counteroffensive. "The Times" details possible attack routes that Ukraine's military might take and the challenges that come with each. You can see it mapped out on the Apple News app.
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There's a billboard that you might've seen along America's highways. It's bright yellow with a cartoon caveman and a website address in big, bold print: WeBuyUglyHouses.com.
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Those are ads for HomeVestors of America. And an extensive investigation by "ProPublica" has some shocking stories about how the company finds homeowners in desperate situations and convinces them to sell quickly. If you want a sense of how serious the revelations are, consider what the company did before the story came out. CEO David Hicks called an emergency meeting to alert franchise operators about the reporting. He said, "Our goal is to bury it." "ProPublica" got a recording.
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David Hicks: When this article comes out, I wanna encourage you, please don't click on it.
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HomeVestors calls itself "America's #1 home buyer." It promises owners quick cash and a fast sale. Reporter Anjeanette Damon told us that some franchise owners use predatory tactics.
Anjeanette Damon: While they say that they target the home, often these houses are owned by people in desperate situations or vulnerable people, and in some cases were talked into selling their house or deceived into selling their house. And a lot of 'em got a price much lower than perhaps they could have gotten if they had acted a little bit differently.
"ProPublica's" reporting found people targeted by HomeVestors tend to be elderly, sick and close to poverty. Damon told us about Corrine Casanova. At the age of 82, she decided to move to an assisted living facility and contacted HomeVestors to sell her house. She had dementia, and her family says she wasn't capable of making such a big decision. And yet, Damon told us, a HomeVestors franchise owner got Casanova to sign a contract to sell her house in one day for about two-thirds of its value.
Damon: She actually passed away 19 days after signing that contract, and her family didn't know that this sale had happened, that this contract had happened. When they found out, they called and said, "Look, you know, our mom suffers from dementia. There's no way that she could have understood what she was signing. We wanna back out."
Her son, David, had the time and resources to fight back. But many who sell to HomeVestors come to regret it and have trouble defending themselves. Franchisees often use aggressive tactics to get people to sign deals and later prevent them from backing out.
HomeVestors says it doesn't target or discriminate. The company says the transactions uncovered by "ProPublica" represent only a small fraction of their overall business and that it had already taken action in some of those cases. It says it's investigating others that reporters uncovered.
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Here's a deceptively tricky question: What color is the sun? Now, most people would probably say yellow or white. Well, what if I told you the sun is actually green? Yup. It's green. Or at least, that's how it would appear if your eye could handle looking at it.
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That's how a NASA scientist explains it to "The Washington Post." The color of the sun was the subject of a fun, low-stakes debate that spread through social media recently. Is it white? Is it yellow? Red? Orange? Turns out, we're all wrong, and we're all kind of right.
Now, according to the people at NASA, the reason that the sun looks white to some people is because it's so bright. Our eyes just can't process the color. For people who see yellow, it has to do with our atmosphere and how light is scattered. That's also why you see a deep red color during the sunset when the light has to pass through a thicker atmosphere. There's also the fact that each of us can perceive color a little bit differently. As one color scientist tells "The Post," all this debate over the sun's color ultimately reveals more about us than the sun itself.
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You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around for another story about space.
We've got a narrated article coming up next from "Popular Science." It's about a group out of Copenhagen that wants to launch a person into space in a DIY rocket. It's raising questions about the potential dangers of private space explorations. That's cued up to play for you next, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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