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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, October 16th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show: The latest in the Israel-Hamas war; Why some states are paying off student debt for graduates; And how a teenager became an unlikely symphony composer.
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An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza could be imminent. A major ground assault did not come over the weekend as some expected, but small numbers of Israeli troops did enter to conduct raids and reconnaissance. Israel has warned civilians in Gaza City to leave, but they have few places to run with borders sealed shut.
Israel is keeping food, water, and power from getting into Gaza. The situation in hospitals is especially dire, with doctors low on supplies, and saying they can't evacuate sick and wounded patients. Authorities in Gaza say close to 3,000 people have been killed so far by the Israeli strikes, a quarter of them children, and around 10,000 wounded.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday there's a deal coming together with the UN, Israel, and Egypt to open the crossing between Gaza and Egypt. But Israel said today that there's no current ceasefire deal for that part of Gaza. This would allow foreigners inside Gaza to escape, and humanitarian aid to come in. There are hundreds of tons of supplies in Egypt ready to go in.
President Biden told "60 Minutes" that he fully backs Israel's right to defend itself, including eliminating Hamas.
[START CBS, 60 MINUTES ARCHIVAL CLIP]
President Joe Birden: | think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again. But going in and taking out the extremists, the Hezbollah is up north, but Hamas down south is a necessary requirement.
[END CBS, 60 MINUTES ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Biden also said that the U.S. still supports a path to an independent Palestinian state.
There are concerns that the fighting in Gaza could trigger a much wider conflict. Last week, a far-right government minister said his office would distribute thousands of firearms to Israeli citizens, particularly in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian authorities say dozens of Palestinian people have been killed there since Hamas' attack on Israel. And there's been new conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the militant group based in Lebanon.
Around the world, police are watching for bias attacks targeting Jewish and Muslim citizens. In Illinois, a boy, who recently turned six, was stabbed to death, and his mother seriously injured. A man is charged with a hate crime. Police say he targeted the family because they were Muslim. Ahmed Rehab from the Council on American-Islamic Relations talked about the dangerous climate in the U.S. right now.
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Ahmed Rehab: We're not only completely heartbroken and devastated by what happened, but we are afraid of what may happen more in the future.
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Now, let's take a quick look at some other stories in the news.
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There could be a Speaker of the House vote tomorrow, but it doesn't look like Jim Jordan has enough support from fellow Republicans to win. With the GOP edge in the House razor-thin, Jordan can only afford to lose four Republican votes. Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, says there have been informal bipartisan talks about some kind of coalition, which would allow House business to proceed.
Abroad, two major elections happened over the weekend. In Poland, the nationalist party appears to be on track to lose power. But the opposition didn't win enough seats to get an outright majority, so it'll have to cut a deal with smaller parties to take over. And in Ecuador, a center-right candidate won a solid majority over his leftist opponent. The country has recently had a spike in violent crime tied to drug trafficking.
And in business news, Taylor Swift smashed box office records for a concert-movie opening. "The Eras Tour" film, which was shot during a stop on her current tour, took in nearly $100 million in domestic box office sales, far ahead of everything else in theaters.
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<v Moving on to a story that stood out to us about higher ed. Lots of young people choose a college thinking that's where they'll spend a few years of their lives before moving on to some bigger, brighter future. Well now, several states with aging populations are trying to figure out how to get more young people to stick around. They're making creative offers to students at local colleges>Stay in the state after graduation, and we'll give you money to pay off some of your student debt. Sometimes as much as $100,000
The education-news outlet "The Hechinger Report" looked into this and found dozens of states now offer some kind of student loan repayment program. Often, they're for specific professions where states need workers. Illinois will help pay student loans for school social workers, Utah offers assistance to doctors and dentists who work in under-served areas, and South Carolina focuses on teachers.
But some states will help graduates in any field. Maine and Vermont have the oldest and third oldest populations in the country, respectively. And as more and more people retire, there are concerns about the future workforce.
Mimi Duong talked to "Vermont Public Radio" about taking the state's offer to stay in return for help with her loans.
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Mimi Duong: All the adults in Vermont tell me, hey, you should get out, like, at least, like, in your life, at least leave Vermont for a couple years, and then come back if you want to. I might take that advice, but we'll also see, like, you know, how deep my roots are in two years from now. 'Cause I might end up just loving it here.
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The Vermont program is new, so it's too soon to fully assess impact. But an economics professor is happy with the early numbers. And he says other states may launch similar programs if solid results unfold.
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Finally, a little music to end our show today. A symphony with an incredible backstory. It was created by a 19-year-old with non-oral autism. For most of his life, Jacob Rock could only communicate through gestures. But in the last few years, text-to-voice software allowed him to talk. And his parents learned he was very passionate about music. That passion led him to compose this symphony, called "Unforgettable Sunrise," which was recently performed by an orchestra in a University of Southern California concert hall.
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[MUSIC - "UNFORGETTABLE SUNRISE" COMPOSED BY JACOB ROCK, PERFORMED BY STUDENTS FROM USC'S THORNTON SCHOOL OF MUSIC]
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"The Los Angeles Times" tells the story of how this music came to be. Rock had the melodies and arrangements in his head for years. But he didn't have the ability to write musical notation or play an instrument, or even tell anyone about his love of music. With the text-to-voice software, he could describe it in words. Vivid ones, with phrases like, "The violins are demanding sleep, and the horns are demanding pain."
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To capture his vision, he worked with an experienced musician, a longtime family friend. Rock would describe in detail what he wanted, and the musician would play options on the piano until Rock heard what matched his imagination.
<v He says the symphony represents 70 minutes in his mind. It's also a rare window into the experience of living with autism. After the show and a long-standing ovation from the crowd, Rock told his dad it was the best night of his life. Now, he's already working on his next project>An opera.
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You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app, including WNBA Finals coverage. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next from "New York Magazine." It's about the NBA and a new kind of digital reporter who's transforming sports journalism. If you're listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News+ Narrated to find that story. Enjoy listening to that and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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