Apple News Today

It’s Tuesday, March 21, 2023. On today’s show:  Biden signed a bill ordering the director of national intelligence to declassify  information related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology as a potential origin of COVID-19 within 90 days. USA Today has more.  Meanwhile, the Atlantic details the strongest evidence yet that an animal started the pandemic.  U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq 20 years ago. CNN reports on what life is like for ordinary people there now.  American veterans won justice for burn-pit exposure. The Washington Post reports on how Iraqis were forgotten.  Gas bills are on a roller-coaster ride with no end in sight. The Wall Street Journal examines the reasons for the turbulence. And, Houston, we have a space-trash problem. Time reports on the scientists sounding the alarm over the jaw-dropping amount of human-made debris circling Earth. 

Time looks at what happens next if Trump is indicted.  China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin are set to meet. The Washington Post previews the high-profile summit. Xi may also talk to Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at a later date, the Wall Street Journal reports. NPR reports that Swiss officials brokered a last-minute emergency takeover of the troubled bank Credit Suisse by rival UBS.  In March Madness news, No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson defeated No. 1 seed Purdue in the men’s tournament. CNN has the story. Meanwhile, the Stanford women’s team, also a No. 1 seed, got knocked out. The San Francisco Chronicle has more. The Washington Post profiles digital news outlet Iran Wire, which has provided critical insight as protests have swept the country over the last six months.

The Trace, a newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence, tries to pin down the number of guns in the United States. The biggest banks in the U.S. swooped in to rescue First Republic Bank with a flood of cash totaling $30 billion, the Wall Street Journal explains.  The French government has been forced to push through unpopular pension reforms, amid weeks of protests. BBC has more. USA Today has a fact check on a claim about retirement in the U.S.  The Los Angeles Times looks at a Ukrainian military’s surrender hotline, which is enticing some Russian soldiers to quit the battlefield as the war drags on. In a divorce settlement in Spain, a woman’s ex-husband was ordered to pay her back for 25 years of housework. The Miami Herald has the story. 

In 2016, U.S. government officials began reporting a mysterious set of symptoms. They first appeared in Havana, but then showed up in other countries around the world. For Vice World News, reporters Adam Entous and Jon Lee Anderson explain everything they’ve learned about what’s now commonly called Havana syndrome, and why the U.S. still can’t explain what causes it. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, Entous and Anderson discuss their reporting with host Shumita Basu. This is a preview of that conversation.

A federal judge heard a challenge to the FDA’s approval of an abortion drug. The Texas Tribune was in the courtroom. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. is threatening to ban TikTok if its Chinese owners don’t sell their stakes. They thought loved ones were calling for help. It was an A.I. scam. The Washington Post has the story. As March Madness gets underway, the Ringer has a guide to possible upset winners in the men’s tournament. And ESPN has predictions for the women’s matchups.

The Wall Street Journal investigates the readiness of the U.S. military for a potential large-scale conflict with China and/or Russia. More than 300 bills that would limit transgender rights are under consideration in U.S. statehouses. Grid tracked them. The BBC reports on the deadly destruction of Cyclone Freddy. Bloomberg looks at how sensors pinned to basketball jerseys could help teams prevent injuries.

NBC News reports on how recent bank collapses are putting a new spotlight on a Trump-era law. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen spoke to a Manhattan grand jury yesterday. The Wall Street Journal has more. The Washington Post reports on how the former president’s legal problems are intensifying as he also faces a perilous moment politically. Biden approved a controversial oil project in Alaska. The Guardian has local reactions. The Wall Street Journal offers a whimsical way to build an NCAA bracket, with data.

Regulators are making big new moves following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. The Wall Street Journal has details. CNN reports on dangerous flooding in store for millions of people in California and Nevada. Vox has answers to key questions about the threats to ban TikTok in America. Apple News has the best stories on the biggest moments of the 2023 Oscars.

As new employment data comes in, a deeper look shows women are returning to the workforce and piling momentum on the hot economy. The Wall Street Journal has the story. The American who’s been held in Iran longer than any other appealed to Biden in a rare interview with CNN from the country’s most notorious prison. Reuters explains why Egypt is bringing back daylight saving time. An Oscar insider shares some of the most shocking moments in Academy Awards history on the new episode of In Conversation.

Biden is set to unveil his budget. USA Today explains what to know. The kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico highlights the dangers of cartel violence, as NPR explains. And CNN reports on the rise of medical tourism in the country. Rising temperatures and climate change have upended ecosystems. Inside Climate News reports on how that’s resulting in more frequent clashes between humans and wildlife. Oscar nominee Ke Huy Quan is receiving lots of love from other former child actors. The Wall Street Journal talks to several of them.