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Gideon Resnick, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, September 11th. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, the stakes of an expected meeting between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin; The growing health threat of extreme heat driven by climate change; And why five men accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks have still not gone on trial.
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But first, more than 2,400 people are dead, and thousands injured, after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco. It was the most powerful quake in the country since at least the year 1900. Rescue teams from around the world are on the ground looking for survivors and helping those who are injured and in need of food and shelter.
Caroline Holt directs disaster operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. She talked to "CNN" about the situation.
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Caroline Holt: A lot of people have survived this of course and they've survived but unfortunately with injuries. So, really making sure that we take care of the survivors in a meaningful way, that we are able to triage, we are able to identify those worst impacted. There are some serious head injuries, some serious broken bones.
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With homes destroyed, many survivors have spent several nights sleeping outside. And some people don't think the homes that are still standing are safe enough to go back into, because of damage and the risk of aftershocks.
There was damage in the heavily populated city of Marrakech. And some of the hardest hit places are remote villages in the Atlas Mountains. Many are hard to reach under normal conditions. Some residents say the Moroccan government was initially slow with relief efforts. The government says it's deploying the army to help recovery operations and that it's in touch with other countries that have offered aid. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the earthquake at the G20 summit in New Delhi. "CNN" translated his statement.
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Narendra Modi: [SPEAKING THROUGH TRANSLATOR]
Translator: We pray that all the injured people get well soon. The entire world community is with Morocco at this difficult time, and we are ready to provide them all possible assistance.
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There are so many people still need help. The "BBC" reports on a family with a baby born just minutes before the quake struck. The newborn was unhurt, but the hospital had to be evacuated hours after the birth. The child didn't even have a name yet, spending the first hours of life with one set of clothes, in a tent on the side of the road.
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Let's take a quick look now at some other stories in the news
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is going to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days, both countries confirm. South Korean media reported earlier today that a train carrying Kim had left for Russia. A deal to sell weapons to Russia would provide economic help to Kim and a military boost for Putin's forces in Ukraine. The U.S. has warned of tough new sanctions on North Korea if it provides Russia with weapons.
There's also a lot of sports news happening. Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker has been suspended without pay. He's under investigation for sexual harassment, following a report from "USA Today." Tucker has denied misconduct.
And in Spain, the head of the country's soccer federation has stepped down. Luis Rubiales was under pressure to resign following his forcible public kiss of player Jenni Hermoso after Spain's world cup win.
Moving to tennis, two new champions were crowned this weekend. American Coco Gauff is the new U.S. Open winner. This is the first Grand Slam win for the 19-year-old. And on the men's side, Novak Djokovic won. This is the Serbian player's 24th major title, tying the all-time record held by Australia's Margaret Court.
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"The Washington Post" is out with a major series about increasing global health risks as the planet gets hotter. One particular story looks at how Pakistan is at the center of this. Historic flooding last year put a third of the country under water. Reporter Annie Gowen talked to Pakistanis hit especially hard by the floods. Waters lingered, temperatures hit triple-digits, and severe health problems emerged.
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Annie Gowen: People dying in the heat, farmers unable to feed themselves, skin diseases from people walking in these fetid floodwaters.
Pakistan gets some of the most intense heat on the planet. And the country is home to more glaciers than anywhere else on Earth, except Antarctica.
Gowen: And the glaciers are melting at a fast rate. They're having increasing temperatures, more drought, obviously these heavy monsoon rains, and so, they've been really impacted by a lot of climate related disasters in the last few years.
Farmers couldn't plant in drenched fields, which led to food shortages. Malaria spread as mosquitos bred in all the standing water. And physicians told Gowen they are seeing more miscarriages.
Gowen: These moms are overheated, they're dehydrated, their food is scarce, and they're having trouble having healthy pregnancies or carrying a baby to full term as a result.
Climate change's impact won't be felt evenly. In many cases, countries that have contributed relatively little carbon pollution, like Pakistan, bear the brunt of the pain from the warming planet. And experts anticipate the heat will get worse.
Researchers predict that higher temperatures could lead to a 150,000 more deaths per year in Pakistan by 2040, unless the country can better adapt to the extreme heat. But that will require money the country does not have.
Pakistan and other developing nations have pushed to hold richer countries, like the United States, accountable for their overwhelming contribution to climate change. Last year, there was a deal at the UN Climate Change Conference to create a "loss and damage" fund. But that is just a start, and while diplomats slowly work on the details, people around the world are getting sick and dying because the planet is overheating.
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More than two decades after September 11th, 2001, and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, five men accused of orchestrating the attacks are still held at Guantanamo Bay awaiting trial. This has been a long-running legal saga with many twists and turns. And for families of victims, the wait for a trial has been excruciating. Adele Welty's son Timothy was a firefighter killed on 9/11. Earlier this year, she told "NPR" that she wants to see the case resolved in her lifetime.
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Adele Welty: There needs to be accountability, and life in prison with no chance of parole is justice in my view.
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9/11 families have a wide range of views on what would be just for accused attack mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other defendants, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay all these years. Some want a trial that could lead to death sentences. Some oppose capital punishment on principle. And some support an agreement for them to plead guilty, because it would be faster and more definitive than a trial that could be followed by years of appeals.
There has been a plea deal on the table. But President Biden recently rejected the terms from the defendants' lawyers. Those reportedly include avoiding solitary confinement and receiving treatment for injuries they say they received in CIA interrogations.
The question of what evidence against them might have been obtained by torture is a key reason the legal process has gone on for so long. That has raised questions about whether it would be admissible in court. The pandemic and personnel changes have also dragged out the proceedings. There have been developments in recent months towards moving the long-running case forward. But even if the case is closed one way or another, there are limits as to what the justice system can do. As Welty put it, "Time does not heal all wounds; It just covers over the wounds."
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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. We've got a narrated article coming up next. "The Times of London" goes inside King Charles' first year on the throne.
So, sit back, enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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