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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, December 20th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, how the war in Gaza is creating a new threat to the global economy, investigating sexual-abuse accusations against Sean Combs, and Minnesota unfurls a brand new state flag.
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But first, Donald Trump is disqualified from appearing on the Colorado presidential primary ballot. The state supreme court is barring him from running because it determined that he engaged in an insurrection on January 6th. The historic decision relies on language in the Constitution from 1868, just after the Civil War, meant to keep Confederate leaders from holding American office. That text has never been used before to keep a presidential candidate off the ballot.
Judges in other states are considering or have already heard similar legal challenges to Trump's campaign. "CBS News" Election Law Contributor David Becker explains why the Colorado ruling stands alone.
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David Becker: This is unprecedented and, in many ways, unexpected. Every other court that has looked at this issue decided not on the merits, they didn't rule that Donald Trump didn't engage in an insurrection, but they decided based on procedural grounds like standing or ripeness, meaning that because he was just running for the Republican nomination and the Republican Party has a great deal of latitude in how it decides nominees, that it wouldn't be right for them to rule on whether or not he can appear on the Republican primary ballot.
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The Colorado court's ruling was 4-3. The three justices who disagreed had different reasons. That Trump hadn't been charged with insurrection or convicted, or that the court lacked authority to decide the issue.
Trump promises an appeal and a fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Becker says it'll be tough for the justices in Washington to avoid weighing in.
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Becker: This is a very important decision; we've never been here before. And I think this Colorado supreme court, recognizing that, stayed their own decision until January 4th of next year, giving the Trump campaign an opportunity to appeal to the Unites States Supreme Court and then the United States Supreme Court could decide on whether to take it. It is not mandatory that they take this case up, but I think almost everybody, including myself, thinks it's almost a hundred percent likelihood that they will take on this case.
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Global shipping is under attack, the latest fallout from the war between Israel and Hamas. "CNN" has an explainer on who's behind these attacks and what they're hoping to gain. See, an enormous amount of global goods travel by ship through Egypt's Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, and the route passes by Yemen. Lately, the Iran-backed Houthis, an armed rebel group in Yemen, have been firing on ships that go by. They say that it's part of a campaign to support Palestinians in Gaza.
Several shipping companies are now saying they'll avoid the area. That can mean sailing all the way around the tip of Africa. These longer and more expensive trips could drive up the price of goods and energy. Oil has already spiked as the route has gotten more dangerous.
The attacks threaten sailors and could damage the global economy, so governments are taking new action. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the creation of a new multinational task force to secure the waters.
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Lloyd Austin: That operation is bringing together more than a dozen countries from around the world to conduct joint patrols in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
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The Houthis ramping up attacks on ships is just one way the Israel-Hamas war is turning into a wider conflict, much to the concern of global leaders. It helps to get a brief reminder of how the Houthis position themselves politically. They are Shia Muslims, who felt marginalized by the Sunni-dominated government in Yemen. The dispute between them led to a full-on civil war. The Houthis managed to take over some territory. But Saudi Arabia backed the Sunni government and launched fierce attacks on Houthi rebels in 2015. The U.N. says the war killed nearly a quarter million people, creating a mass humanitarian crisis. There was a ceasefire in 2022, which has technically expired, but so far there hasn't been a return to full-scale conflict.
By attacking ships off the coast of Yemen, the Houthis say they are sending a message to Israel and the rest of the world that they'll only relent if Israel allows more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israeli officials have called for more global coordination to address the threat. And "CNN" points out, this could be an issue that pulls the U.S. even deeper into this conflict, because the Houthis have effectively made themselves impossible to ignore.
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When details of a lawsuit against hip-hop mogul Sean Combs were unveiled last month, it might've come as a surprise to some fans. But according to "Los Angeles Times" music-industry reporter August Brown, rumblings of Combs' violent behavior have been around for decades.
August Brown: For people that kind of knew Sean Combs as this almost family-friendly star in some ways, he co-hosted "Live" with Regis and Kelly before, and a lot of it was very, very shocking and it kind of instantly called his entire legacy into question.
Last month, singer Casandra Ventura, better known as Cassie, filed a civil lawsuit against Combs accusing him of physical and sexual abuse.
Brown: Cassie had dated Sean Combs for many, many years over the course of the 2000s. And she sued him in civil court claiming some really upsetting sexual and physical violence that took place over the entirety of their relationship.
Combs settled the suit within 24 hours, but Ventura's decision to go public opened the floodgates. Other plaintiffs have filed civil lawsuits against Combs accusing him of sexual assault and abuse. Combs has denied the allegations. Ventura and others were able to sue Combs because the New York Adult Survivors Act extended the statute of limitation for civil lawsuits.
Brown's reporting reveals how many people in the industry knew that Combs had a violent history. One of the other co-founders of his record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, told the "L.A. Times" that Combs has a long track record of traumatizing women. And that he used non-disclosure agreements and payoffs to prevent people from speaking out.
Many of Combs's business partners have cut ties with him. Brown says we're at a turning point in the entertainment industry.
Brown: There is a culture shift that's happening where people feel more empowered to speak up about this in a way that will have results and have some accountability. It may not affect everything, it may not be the justice that they're seeking, but I'm heartened to know that young people, especially young women, especially young women of color that are kind of subject to some of these things in making their way through the industry, there are like green shoots of being believed that weren't there even a decade ago. And that is really heartening to see. And it comes from them sharing stories with each other and speaking out collectively.
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It's not often that a state flag is up for a redesign. But the newly unveiled flag of Minnesota is the result of a long process, lots of discussions and designs and feedback.
There have been calls to change the flag going back decades. The old one had a caricature of an Indigenous person. Also, it was busy and complicated. Experts in the study of flags which is called vexillology argued that a good state flag should be simple enough that a child could draw it. In May, the state legislature passed a bill to formally start a redesign process.
The new flag features an eight-pointed white star, referencing the state's motto, "The Star of the North." It's on a blue background, representing the importance of the waters in a place that is nicknamed "Land of 10,000 Lakes."
The local artist whose design is the basis of the new flag calls it a "rare privilege" to be part of the state's history like this. He hopes it'll bring unity and pride to Minnesota.
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You can see the new flag for yourself, and all the stories we talked about, in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a Narrated Article coming up next from "The New Yorker." It looks into an unusual legal doctrine that's resulting in long prison sentences, disproportionately affecting young and Black Americans.
If you're listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News+ Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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