[INTRO MUSIC BEGINS]
Yasmeen Khan, Narrating: Good morning. It's Wednesday, January 24th.
I'm Yasmeen Khan, in for Shumita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
On today's show: Trump gets a key win in New Hampshire,
understanding Israel's controversial plans for Gaza,
and fans want to know why "Barbie"'s star and director were snubbed by Oscar voters.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
First, to the New Hampshire primary,
where former President Donald Trump won that contest,
getting a double-digit win over Nikki Haley.
[START PBS NEWSHOUR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
[CROWD CHANTS "U.S.A.!"]
Donald Trump: Thank you.
[CHEERING]
Well, I want to thank everybody. This is a fantastic state.
[CROWD CHEERS INDISTINCTLY]
This is a great, great state.
You know, we won New Hampshire three times now.
Three. Three.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[END PBS NEWSHOUR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: Haley did a bit better than polls indicated,
but Trump still managed to win by around 10 percentage points.
And this was in a state where moderates and independents play a big role,
seen as favorable territory to Haley.
Future contests look much tougher
in states with a larger share of conservative voters.
Still, Haley says the race isn't over.
[START PBS NEWSHOUR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Nikki Haley: At one point in this campaign,
there were 14 of us running, and we were at 2% in the polls.
Well, I'm a fighter.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[END PBS NEWSHOUR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: As for President Biden, he won the state easily.
We talked yesterday on the show about how his supporters
had to vote for him as a write-in candidate.
That was because of the dispute between the National Democratic Party
and New Hampshire over timing of the primary.
And there are a couple of new developments in Donald Trump's legal cases.
A federal appeals court is declining his request
to reconsider its decision to mostly uphold a gag order on Trump.
This is in the federal election interference case.
The order limits what he can say about prosecutors, court staff,
and potential witnesses.
Also, the defamation trial involving E. Jean Carroll
is now on hold until tomorrow.
Trump was expected to take the stand yesterday or today,
but the case has been postponed
because of illness with a juror and one of Trump's lawyers.
Abroad, Russian officials say
a military plane carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war,
as well as Russian crew members, has crashed near the country's border
and that everyone on board was killed.
[AMBIENT MUSIC FADES IN]
Moscow says the POWs were being transferred
for a routine exchange of prisoners.
Now to Gaza, where fighting has intensified in the south.
Israel has moved forward
with its biggest operation in a month there.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
This is in Khan Younis,
an area to where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled,
seeking shelter from the earlier attacks on Gaza City in the north.
Israeli forces have the area surrounded,
and tanks have cut off a key road blocking an escape route for civilians.
Palestinian health officials say around 200 people were killed in 24 hours,
with thousands more feared lost under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
In the background of all this,
diplomats from the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt
have been talking for weeks with Israel and Hamas
about a potential ceasefire agreement.
"Reuters" reports that the two sides seem closer to a deal.
That could mean a 30-day truce,
which would include the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas,
and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
But that would only be a temporary ceasefire.
"Reuters" also reports that both sides are far apart
on any deal that would permanently end the war in Gaza.
Also, we're learning more
about the 21 Israeli soldiers killed on Monday.
Israel says they were rigging explosives
in order to demolish two buildings in Gaza near the border with Israel.
The explosives went off during crossfire between Israeli soldiers and Hamas.
That's drawing attention to Israel's reported plans
to make a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel.
This would potentially involve destroying a lot of buildings near the border.
That would include Palestinian homes, potentially entire neighborhoods.
Israeli supporters of a buffer zone say it's needed
to prevent another cross-border attack like the one on October 7th,
and that a buffer zone would make conditions safe enough for Israelis
who fled their homes near Gaza to return.
"Reuters" reported in December that Israel told Arab neighbors
about a plan for a buffer zone, raising concerns that it could be a step
toward another mass displacement of Palestinians.
The United States has also opposed the idea,
saying the buffer zone would reduce the already small size of Gaza,
further crushing an overcrowded population.
Here's State Department spokesperson Matt Miller last month.
[START STATE DEPARTMENT ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Matt Miller: There must be no reduction in the size of Gaza.
And that remains our position and it will remain our position.
So if any proposed buffer zone was inside Gaza,
that would be a violation of that principle,
and it's something that we oppose.
[END STATE DEPARTMENT ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: The White House says it's still against a buffer zone,
though Secretary of State Antony Blinken
seemed to be open to a temporary one this week.
[START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Antony Blinken: It is totally appropriate and something we support
that those people be able to return to their homes
and that the necessary security arrangements be in place
to give them the confidence to do that.
But when it comes to the permanent status of Gaza going forward,
we've been clear, we remain clear about not encroaching on its territory.
[END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
[AMBIENT MUSIC FADES IN]
Khan, Narrating: A UN official told "The New York Times"
that systematic destruction of homes could constitute a war crime.
Cancer rates for young adults under the age of 50
are climbing at an alarming pace worldwide.
But the medical community doesn't know why.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
"Wall Street Journal" health reporter Brianna Abbott
has been talking with doctors who are racing to better understand
why a disease associated with aging
is now a rising risk for people in their 20s and 30s.
[START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Brianna Abbott: They suspect that sort of on a societal level,
sort of changes in the way that we live,
including less physical activity,
more ultra-processed foods or change in diet,
maybe new environmental toxins are contributing to this risk.
But on top of that,
obesity and lifestyle cannot fully account for this
because a lot of what doctors are seeing are patients in their clinics
who are young and otherwise healthy without any other obvious risk factors.
And so that is sort of a major concern there.
[END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: A recent report from the American Cancer Society shows
over 20 years, between 2000 and 2019,
cancer diagnosis rates for people under 50 years old climbed nearly 13%.
Doctors are seeing higher rates of more common cancers
in younger patients,
like breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma.
And spikes in less common forms of cancer,
like pancreatic, uterine, and gastrointestinal.
Abbott told us about Meilin Keene,
who was diagnosed with stomach cancer when she was 27.
[START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Abbott: She had to postpone the bar exam that she was studying for.
Chemotherapy sort of made it difficult for her to do her legal work at her job,
and she had to get her stomach removed in December.
[END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: Gastrointestinal cancers, like stomach and colorectal cancer,
are growing at the fastest rates among younger Americans.
In 2019, one out of every five new patients was younger than 55,
and the diagnosis rate for that group has nearly doubled since 1995.
This has doctors scrambling to figure out what, exactly,
is making younger people sick and how to identify the risk factors.
[START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Abbott: Doctors are thinking about everything from inactive lifestyles to microplastics.
And another theory that a lot of doctors are considering
is sort of changes in the gut microbiome.
You know, all of the microorganisms that live in your digestive tract.
Changes there from diet or widespread antibiotic use among kids,
that sort of thing, could be changing our microbiomes,
increasing inflammation,
and sort of making folks more susceptible to cancer.
[END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: For younger people, cancer can be more deadly
because cases are often diagnosed at later, more advanced stages
when the cancer is more difficult for doctors to treat.
One step being taken to improve the odds of detecting cases sooner
has been to lower the recommended age for certain cancer screenings.
Medical groups now recommend breast cancer screenings
[UPBEAT MUSIC FADES IN]
starting at age 40 and colorectal screenings starting at 45.
It's now officially Oscar season, with nominations out yesterday.
And now that people have had a chance to take it all in,
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
they have a lot to say about the Academy
not quite grasping the message of last year's number one movie.
[START BARBIE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Barbie 1: Hi, Barbie.
Barbie 2: Hi, Barbie.
Barbie 3: Hi, Barbie.
Barbie 4: Hi, Barbie.
Barbie 5: Hi, Barbie.
[END BARBIE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: "Barbie" was a movie all about female empowerment,
about the recognition women often fail to get.
[START BARBIE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Gloria: It is literally impossible to be a woman.
You are so beautiful and so smart,
and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough.
[END BARBIE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
Khan, Narrating: The woman who played Barbie, Margot Robbie,
did not get a Best Actress nomination.
Greta Gerwig didn't get a nomination for Best Director either.
A nomination did go to Ken, played by Ryan Gosling,
who was very good, by the way,
but even he pointed out the irony, saying,
"There is no Ken without Barbie,
and there is no 'Barbie' movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie."
"Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees."
"Barbie" did get other major nominations, including Best Picture,
and America Ferrera was nominated for her supporting role.
The Academy has often been criticized
for being too slow to recognize women filmmakers.
Only one woman is up for Best Director this year,
though three of the Best Picture nominees were directed by women.
One thing the Academy cannot deny, "Barbie"'s financial success.
It brought in close to $1.5 billion around the world,
by far the number one movie of 2023.
[OUTRO MUSIC FADES IN]
As a lot of fans have noted,
this snub could lay the groundwork for a great "Barbie" sequel.
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,
we've got a narrated article coming up next
from "The New Yorker" about LSD.
With interest in psychedelics growing,
the story looks back at the strange history of acid.
If you're listening in the Podcasts app,
follow Apple News+ Narrated to find that story.
And we'll be back with the news tomorrow.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]