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Mark Garrison, Narrating: Good morning! It’s Monday, October 30th. I’m Mark Garrison in for Shumita Basu. This is “Apple News Today.” On today’s show… How the Middle East conflict is affecting American companies, a weekend of deadly gun violence in the U.S., and remembering comedian Matthew Perry.
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But first, the latest on the war between Israel and Hamas, as civilians in Gaza say Israeli ground troops and tanks are moving in further. This appears to be a much larger ground assault than previous raids inside Gaza. Israel’s military says it’s targeting militants and their network of tunnels, destroying traps and preparing corridors in Gaza for further deployments. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls this the second stage of the war against Hamas.
Aid workers and doctors say a blackout of phone and internet service for a day and a half did major damage. Trucks couldn’t communicate to find out where aid was needed. And ambulances were unable to get orders as to where the wounded were. Families didn’t know if their loved ones were alive. People there blame Israel for the shutdown. It hasn’t confirmed or denied that it caused the communications blackout.
The humanitarian crisis for civilians in Gaza is getting worse, with severe shortages of food and water, and hospitals lacking supplies and fuel to treat civilians wounded in airstrikes. A few dozen more trucks entered Gaza yesterday, but aid workers say they’re still running desperately short of what people in Gaza need.
There are more calls for a pause in fighting so that more aid can get in. The United Nations voted overwhelmingly for a humanitarian truce. The U.S. was one of a handful of countries voting against the resolution. Yesterday, President Biden told Netanyahu that Israel needs to do more to protect civilians as it wages war in Gaza, and to allow more humanitarian aid in. Israel’s military says it will let in more supplies in the coming days. And it’s telling civilians to flee to the south of Gaza, though many Palestinians say they’re unable to find safety, and hospitals in the north say they can’t evacuate without putting patients in danger.
There are growing tensions around the world as the conflict intensifies. In Russia, police shut down and took control of an airport in a primarily Muslim region, after hundreds of people broke into the facility as a plane from Israel was landing. They smashed glass and tried to turn over a patrol truck before police made arrests and got the situation under control. The passengers on board were not harmed.
New York’s Grand Central Terminal closed on Friday when a demonstration organized by Jewish Voice for Peace filled the transit hub.
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Protester: What do we want?
Crowd: Cease fire.
Protester: When do we want it?
Crowd: Now.
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It’s just one of many protests happening across the U.S., the Middle East, and around the world. As civilian casualties grow, calls for a cease-fire get louder, and the conflict reaches a critical point.
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The conflict in the Middle East is having major impact on workplaces. Companies and employees say they feel pressure to say something about what’s happening. “The Washington Post” looks at how doing so can be risky, especially for people who question Israel.
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A growing list of people in various fields, from tech to law to media, have lost jobs and opportunities, or been harassed online for criticizing Israel’s attacks in Gaza. Sometimes even just expressing sympathy for Palestinian families who’ve lost loved ones is enough to get someone labeled as a supporter of terrorism. We spoke to Caroline O’Donovan from “The Post” last week.
Caroline O’Donovan: Even things sort of anodyne as "hashtag free Gaza" or "pray for Palestinians," their names and employers were being essentially published or listed on a website labeling them as potentially terror supporting posts. And obviously the existence of such a website made people feel threatened and nervous about what they could say, both at work or elsewhere.
As O’Donovan told us, after Hamas first attacked, many U.S. companies quickly issued statements in solidarity with Israel. But supporters of Palestinians in Gaza wanted companies to say more about civilian deaths there.
O’Donovan: And I think as events have continued to unfold with the loss of life in Gaza, I think there are a lot of people who are waiting for a similar expression of support or sadness at the events there. And there's a feeling of, like, well, when is that coming?
A Yale business-school professor told “The Post” that this may be because big global U.S. companies typically do little to no business in Gaza, but do have business relationships in Israel. They also have employees with strong ties to the country.
O’Donovan: Some of them have people on staff who are reservists in the IDF who are being called up to serve in the conflict there at the same time.
But there are also many employees at these companies who are calling for protection of Palestinian civilians, and for more humanitarian aid in Gaza. And some tell “The Post” they’re worried about consequences if they speak out. And they say companies aren’t being consistent in how they’re dealing with workers who express themselves. On Meta’s internal site, "The Post" reports that a message saying “Pray for Palestine” was taken down. But similar postings saying “Pray for Israel” stayed up. Meta said in an internal email that employees "can show sympathy for civilian victims” but not “express prayers for armed forces.”
Workers with strong feelings about the conflict aren’t quite sure where their managers are drawing the lines. And O’Donovan says the companies are also finding it hard to strike a balance among the diverse views of their workers.
O’Donovan: We saw, increasingly, demands that companies and corporations make statements against various Trump administration policies all the way through 2020 and the Black Lives Matter protests. People expected that those companies are then also going to make public statements and fall in line with other issues that they feel strongly about. And I really do think that Israel-Palestine in particular is an issue where companies are extremely hesitant to do that.
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Now, let’s take a look at some other stories in the news, starting with the weekend shootings in the United States. The Gun Violence Archives counts at least 11 people dead and dozens more injured in mass shootings across multiple states, including Texas, Indiana, Florida, and Illinois.
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This comes just days after 18 people were shot to death in Maine. Police found the suspect Friday, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.
In labor news, the United Auto Workers have a tentative deal with GM. This follows a deal struck over the weekend with Stellantis, the maker of Jeeps and Chryslers. In that one, wages for most workers would go up by 25% over four-and-a-half-years. The union previously made a tentative agreement with Ford. The deals need to be ratified, but today’s announcement about GM could end the strike that shut down major plants as thousands of workers walked off.
In Mexico, troops are on the ground in Acapulco, searching for survivors of last week’s Category 5 hurricane and trying to stabilize the situation. Hurricane Otis did severe damage, killing dozens of people and knocking out power and communications. “NPR’s” Eyder Peralta reported from the ground.
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Eyder Peralta: You look up at the buildings and you can see straight through them, like everything inside was sucked out by the wind. And then in the hills above Acapulco, the rivers broke their banks and they flooded everything. People I spoke to said that when the storm hit, the water in their homes came up to their chests.
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In politics, the Republican presidential field is now smaller after Mike Pence ended his campaign. The former VP struggled in polls and fundraising in a contest where former president Donald Trump has consistently polled well ahead of all challengers. The next debate in the primary is early next month in Miami.
To labor news, where the United Auto Workers have a tentative deal with Stellantis, the maker of Jeeps and Chryslers. Wages for most workers would go up by 25% over four-and-a-half-years. This follows a deal made with Ford. But there’s no agreement with GM yet. The union is expanding the strike against that company.
And finally, tributes are pouring in for Matthew Perry, who died at 54 over the weekend. They’re coming from actors, studios, even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who went to elementary school with Perry. And of course, from everyday fans of his character on “Friends,” Chandler Bing.
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Chandler Bing: So, Saturday night. The big night! Date night! Saturday night. Sat-ur-day night!
Ross Geller: No plans, huh?
Bing: Not a one!
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People across generations know that character. That’s a very rare thing for a show that’s been off the air nearly two decades. But, all these years later, Perry and his cast members remain popular, reaching new generations of fans through streaming.
His death is under investigation. The “L.A. Times” reports that no illegal drugs were found at the scene of his death in a hot tub at his home. Police said there was no initial sign of foul play. Perry struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for decades. He was candid in his memoir about spending so much of his life in treatment. Perry opened a sober-living facility in California and dedicated his book to people suffering through addiction.
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And in that memoir, he wrote that he hoped to be remembered not just for his performances, but for how he tried to help other people.
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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. A Narrated Article from “People Magazine” is coming up next. It’s about Natalee Holloway’s mother, Beth, and her long fight to solve the 2005 murder.
If you’re listening in the Podcasts app, you can follow Apple News+ Narrated to find that story. And Shumita will be back here with the news tomorrow.
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