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Yasmeen Khan, Narrating: Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 6th.
I'm Yasmeen Khan, in for Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today."
Coming up, what's up with high grocery costs,
the surprising role of radio in the Gaza war,
and the spicy breakup story behind the Sriracha shortage.
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But first, let's take a quick look at some major stories in the news.
At least three people are dead in California,
and there's more dangerous rain and wind in store for the state.
Power's been knocked out to hundreds of thousands
of homes and businesses.
And the severe weather is threatening to spread to other states
as it moves east toward Arizona and Nevada.
Tens of millions of people have been under flood warnings.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told people to stay off the roads
and to brace for more dangerous conditions.
[START FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Karen Bass: I know that this is hard, but Angelenos, we will get through this.
We anticipate the rains for a couple of more days,
but know that we are not standing alone in our city.
[END FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: While she was briefing the public, President Biden called in
to offer more federal assistance.
Bass put him on speaker so people could hear it.
[START FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
President Joe Biden: We'll get any help on the way as soon as you guys request it.
So just let me know. That's why I'm calling.
[END FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: Downtown L.A. saw historic levels of rain,
breaking a record that stood for more than a century.
The excess water is too much to handle for soil in the region,
leading to dozens of mudslides.
In politics, the Democratic and Republican primaries
are in Nevada today.
Confusingly, there's also a Republican caucus
in Nevada on Thursday,
and the top GOP candidates won't face off in the contests.
Nikki Haley's competing in today's primary.
Former President Trump is running in Thursday's caucus.
The GOP double-take is because of a dispute
between the state legislature and the Republican Party.
Delegates will go to the caucus winner,
so Trump will win the contest that counts most in Nevada.
The next head-to-head race for the GOP is the South Carolina primary
on February 24th.
Abroad, King Charles III is stepping away from public duties for cancer treatment.
Buckingham Palace hasn't said what kind of cancer the 75-year-old has,
other than to say it's not prostate cancer.
Doctors found his condition while he was being treated for a separate,
benign prostate enlargement.
And in entertainment news, country star Toby Keith is dead at 62.
The artist was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2022.
He had dozens of top 10 hits. Some were classic country party songs.
One of his most controversial was a 2002 song, after 9/11,
that fans found patriotic and critics thought was overly aggressive.
[ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC]
Also, Tracy Chapman returned to the top of the charts.
"Fast Car" hit number one on iTunes.
Her Grammys duet with country singer Luke Combs
had people wanting to hear her 1988 original again.
In many ways, the U.S. economy is doing great.
Job growth is solid. Overall inflation is dropping.
But try telling that to somebody who's staring at a fat grocery receipt
and wondering why they got so little food for the money.
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The cost of groceries is one place where consumers are still feeling a pinch.
Food costs have climbed 25% over the last four years,
outpacing inflation.
And according to "Washington Post" economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai,
there's no easy policy fix here because many factors
are keeping food costs high.
Abha Bhattarai: You know, a lot of things related to climate change,
droughts, dry weather, you know, just excess rain,
flooding in different parts of the world.
We also have Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted a bunch of commodities,
avian flu, and then labor shortages and higher wages
just across the spectrum of the food process.
Khan, Narrating: Economic policy experts say another issue is consolidation in the food business.
Less competition means large chains can keep prices higher
without losing customers.
President Biden has accused some large-scale grocers
of price gouging Americans,
and his administration has taken legal action.
Bhattarai: I think it has become a big priority of the administration to figure out
whether companies are jacking up prices beyond what is necessary and sort of…
taking advantage of this moment where consumers are resigned to the fact
that they may have to pay a little bit more at the supermarket.
Khan, Narrating: For those of you wondering, "Will prices ever come down at the grocery store?"
The answer is yes and no.
One agricultural economist told Bhattarai
they likely will not return to pre-pandemic levels,
but things are at least stabilizing
with several items dropping in price last year,
like eggs, lettuce, and tomatoes.
And the Agriculture Department predicts a very slight drop
in overall grocery prices this year.
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For Israelis and Palestinians who've been separated
from their loved ones by war, it's been a difficult four months.
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But some have been figuring out ways to talk to their loved ones
through the radio.
NPR has a story on how Palestinian and Israeli radio stations
are trying to reconnect families.
Yarden Roman-Gat was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th,
but has since been released.
She said her captors allowed her to listen to the radio.
That's how she found out that some of her relatives died,
but that her husband and child were alive.
She also learned that her family was aware she was being held hostage.
Here's her cousin speaking with NPR.
[START NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Roman-Gat's Cousin: She said that that was one of the most important things for her
while she was in captivity, keeping her strong,
knowing that her husband and child are still alive,
and that we fight for her.
[END NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: That gave the country's biggest broadcaster,
Israeli Army Radio, an idea.
The radio station started airing messages for the remaining hostages in Gaza
from their relatives and loved ones.
Every hour, a song is dedicated to a hostage by name,
like this song called "We Will Meet."
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Meanwhile, Palestinians are using the power of radio, too.
There are thousands of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails.
Most are being held without charge or are awaiting sentencing.
And Israel has all but cut off communication.
There are no more family visits.
Lawyers have minimal access to their clients,
and even some mail delivery services have been severed.
Israeli officials say the measures are in place to prevent coordinated attacks,
but jailed Palestinians say it's unbearable not knowing
what's going on in the outside world.
So, one radio station has been playing messages from families
to their detained loved ones, hoping that maybe they'll hear it.
18-year-old Deema Ali recorded a message for her dad,
who's been accused of having ties to Hamas, which the family denies.
She told NPR she has no idea if her dad would hear the message, but in it,
she wanted him to know that everything at home was fine,
school was good, and not to worry.
[START NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Deema Ali: We have no connection to reach to him or to speak with him.
Where's the human rights? Where's the prisoner rights?
Even the lawyer can't reach to him.
[END NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: Technically, Palestinians aren't allowed to listen to radios
in Israeli detention centers,
but some who've been released say that occasionally one gets smuggled in
and a message can get around.
As NPR notes, desperate families feel there's nothing to lose
in recording a message. You never know who, by chance, may be listening.
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Lovers of hot sauce, specifically the iconic Sriracha
from Huy Fong Foods, are a passionate group.
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They go crazy for that bottle, the one with the bright green cap
and rooster on the label.
This particular brand of Sriracha has attracted legions of fans.
It even inspired a whole documentary.
[START ARCHIVAL "SRIRACHA MOVIE" CLIP]
Unidentified Speaker 1: I just love that bold flavor.
[WOMAN LAUGHS]
Unidentified Speaker 2: It's yummy.
[END ARCHIVAL "SRIRACHA MOVIE" CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: But those folks have been out of luck lately.
The hot sauce has been in short supply in grocery stores,
and online sellers have sometimes jacked up prices to nearly $70 a bottle.
The company has blamed the shortage on climate change and drought in Mexico.
But some experts said that didn't quite add up.
Now, "Fortune Magazine" reports on what it says is the real origin
of this shortage. The problem goes back to a dispute in 2016.
And it's actually a break-up story about a decades-long friendship
and business partnership that completely unraveled.
For years, the maker of Huy Fong Foods had an agreement with a farmer
from California. He would grow all the chilies for the hot sauce,
and the company would be his only pepper buyer.
Together, they had enormous success, becoming a worldwide bestseller.
Then, in 2016, a fight over pricing ended their 28-year partnership
and brought each man financial ruin.
Each person has their version of who did what wrong,
but the bottom line was one guy had thousands of acres of peppers
with no one to buy them, and one guy had a hot sauce factory
with no peppers to keep it running.
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It's an epic tale that turned two men into direct competitors
and left millions of people without their favorite hot sauce.
You can read the whole thing, along with all the stories we talked about,
in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app,
we've got a narrated article coming up next from the "Atavist Magazine"
about an incredible story of survival.
Last year, four children went missing in the Colombian Amazon
after surviving a plane crash.
They spent 40 days alone in the jungle before they were rescued.
And this story gets into all the details on how they survived
and were finally found.
If you're listening in the Podcasts app, you can follow Apple News+ Narrated
to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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