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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It’s Tuesday, November 14th. I’m Shumita Basu. This is “Apple News Today.” On today’s show… How Hamas gets its funding, why it’s becoming more dangerous to be a newborn in the United States, and a rare look into what the last few days on the Titanic were like.
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But first, let’s take a quick look at some other stories in the news. The Supreme Court now has a formal ethics code for the first time in history. The lack of one has been the source of increasing criticism lately, driven by revelations of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting lavish gifts. Both have said they complied with court guidelines. The new ethics code largely tracks with existing rules for lower court judges. All nine justices endorsed it.
In other legal news, defense attorneys for the Trump family in the New York civil-fraud trial are making their case. Yesterday Donald Trump Jr. returned to the stand, this time called as a defense witness by his own family’s legal team. As expected, he praised his family’s businesses and real-estate assets. New York’s attorney general alleges that the former president and his family inflated the value of those assets, which they deny.
And, in Los Angeles, the fire that forced the closure of parts of Interstate 10 over the weekend appears to have been set intentionally, the governor says. An arson investigation is now underway, all while traffic is still snarled as sections of the freeway are shut down. Around 300,000 people travel on the interstate every day. The state is encouraging commuters to work from home or take public transit where possible.
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As the war rages in Gaza, there’s a growing focus on how Hamas makes money. It’s believed to have around half a billion dollars in assets, and a yearly military budget of up to $350 million.
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Adam Smith, who worked on sanctions at the U.S. Treasury, talked to “CNN” about the wide variety of ways Hamas gets money.
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Adam Smith: Hamas and, frankly, other proxy groups that Iran funds have managed to diversify into charities, into corporate enterprises, like the ones in Turkey, as well as having a rather significant tax base that they have because they run Gaza.
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“NBC” reports on the details of Hamas funding, which ranges from legal to questionable to illegal. Qatar is a key source of legal funds to Gaza, through an aid arrangement worked out with the United Nations, the U.S., and Israel. As “NBC “reports, for years, Qatari officials would literally carry suitcases with millions of dollars in cash in them across the border from Israel into Gaza. That aid money was to help Gazan families, pay the salaries of civil servants, and supply fuel for the power grid.
There are accusations that Hamas has siphoned some of that funding from Qatar to pay for its military operations. Qatar says that’s not true, and that strict international oversight ensures that the money helps civilians. Hamas denies taking funding from civilians, and says finances for governing are kept separate from the military budget.
Iran has long been a financial backer of Hamas, and provides funding annually. And in recent years, Hamas has turned to a new option to receive Iranian funds… cryptocurrency. “The Wall Street Journal” looks at how U.S. and Israeli authorities have tried to crack down on Hamas’s ability to move money around anonymously, with less oversight, using digital currency. Israel has been able to shut down some crypto wallets linked to Hamas. But it’s a vast, complicated network. As one former investigator puts it, those closures are just a “drop in the ocean.”
Adam Smith, the former Treasury official, told “CNN” about the tricky balance global regulators have tried to keep over the years.
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Smith: At the end of the day, what the U.S. is trying to avoid is to over sanction and harm the innocent parties in Gaza and elsewhere while trying to really restrict the funds to Hamas.
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Former U.S. officials told “NBC” that for years, America wasn’t paying as much attention to Hamas and its funding. It was a lower priority than other militant groups, like Al Qaeda. But since Hamas attacked Israel, that’s changing. The U.S. recently sanctioned 10 Hamas members and facilitators in a number of countries. Other countries are also taking action. One former U.S. government official told “NBC” that October 7th was a “wake-up call.”
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It is becoming increasingly dangerous to be a newborn in the United States. That’s the conclusion some health experts have reached based on new CDC data.
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It showed, in 2022, the death rate for American infants went up for the first time in 20 years. And congenital syphilis cases in infants increased tenfold over the last decade.
Keren Landman: So these are both really signals that something is going very wrong in how we provide for the health care of pregnant people and babies.
Keren Landman reports on public health for “Vox.” She’s also a trained doctor who specialized in pediatrics. She says a lot of different risk factors can drive these health outcomes. But there’s one common through-line. Declining healthcare access for pregnant people and babies.
One contributing factor is the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, and the new abortion restrictions that followed.
Landman: Doctors who are caring for women who are having complications during pregnancy, or whose babies are having complications during pregnancy that need to be treated with an abortion, can't do those abortions. And so, instead of being treated, those moms and fetuses are just progressing to the point that a baby has to get delivered that really isn't set up to thrive and will likely die after birth.
What’s more, she says qualified doctors are leaving red states over concerns that they can’t do their jobs, that they can’t offer the full spectrum of care options to patients. And fewer med students are starting careers in states with strict abortion laws.
The problem is especially acute in rural parts of the country, where access to care was already limited. Rural maternity wards and hospitals have been forced to close down due to high costs, and difficulties recruiting and retaining staff. And Landman says, things could get worse.
Landman: I think a lot of folks are worried that the changes that we saw in 2022 are just the tip of the iceberg, and that as these restrictions continue to play out, and the downstream effects of them continue to ultimately fall on patients, and, you know, our tiniest patients among them, that we're gonna see even more alarming data come out.
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Oysters, lamb with mint sauce, mallard duck, Victoria pudding. These were just a few of the items listed on a very rare menu from the Titanic that recently sold at auction for more than $100,000.
This menu offers a glimpse at what it was like for first-class passengers on board the ocean liner just three days before it hit an iceberg and sank in 1912. Experts say it’s the only surviving document of its kind. And it’s in fairly good shape, aside from some heavy water stains and a few faded letters, making it an exciting find for memorabilia collectors.
“CNN” reports on other Titanic items up for auction that attracted even higher bids. That includes a wool blanket used by a survivor to stay warm on a lifeboat. And a pocket watch with Hebrew numerals, belonging to one of the more than 1,500 people who died, a Russian-Jewish immigrant in second class. The stains on the watch suggest the time at which it stopped, most likely the moment he entered the water.
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You can see photos of these items 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 from "Bloomberg Businessweek" about a COVID-era program that provided temporary mortgage relief to U.S. veterans. But now, many are in legal battles with lenders and facing threats of foreclosure.
If you’re listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News+ Narrated to hear that story. And I’ll be back with the news tomorrow.
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