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The bill that could boost starting teacher salaries to $60K · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Thursday, January 26th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, Russia's response to Western countries sending tanks to Ukraine, the controversy surrounding a children's book written by AI, and it's not just you, why more TV-watchers are turning on subtitles.
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  But first… parents and politicians sometimes talk about the value of teachers, but paying them is another story. Salaries have been relatively stagnant for decades. We're talking about a profession that's always been demanding, that's seeing new social and political pressures during the pandemic. Congress is going to consider a bill that would boost teachers' pay nationally. But it may be too little, too late for the waves of teachers who have left or are considering it. Former teacher Maggie Perkins told "Fox Business" why she left the classroom to go work at Costco.
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  Maggie Perkins: They remind you, "Remember your why and remember your passion." But my passion couldn't pay my bills. And my passion couldn't help me sleep at night when I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
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  Some states have individually moved to channel more money into teachers' pay in the past two years. This federal bill, called the American Teacher Act, attempts to create a standard salary floor across the country. It would give federal money to help states boost starting salaries to $60,000. It would also increase pay for teachers that are already in the classroom. But the federal funding would only cover four years. After that, it would be up to states. Jackie Valley is covering the story for "The Christian Science Monitor."
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  Jackie Valley: I think that's where some of this concern is coming from because if you look at starting pay, the National Education Association pegs it at about 41,000 on average. So that's a pretty significant bump to get up to 60. And I think there's concern that yes, states would sign on, but can they realistically get up to that level on their own within that four-year time frame.
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  Congress is now divided overspending in general. Valley says there's a question of political will, whether lawmakers would want to take on more debt to pay teachers more. But with many school districts straining to staff their classrooms, the conversation around what we owe teachers isn't going away.
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  Valley: If teacher pay is not addressed, I think you will continue to see more teachers leaving the field. I think you'll see more protests, potentially strikes, internal debates in state legislatures. The issue certainly isn't going away. I think the question is, "How do we keep them in the field and also attract them?"
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  Russia is launching a new wave of air attacks. Ukraine put the entire country under air raid alert as more Russian strikes came in. This comes after the U.S. and Germany said they would grant a longstanding request from Ukrainian commanders: sending powerful tanks for Ukraine to battle Russian forces, a move that the West knew Moscow wouldn't like. It happened only after a lot of debate. Some Western allies, especially Germany, worried that providing heavy armor would provoke Russia to escalate the war. It said it would only provide tanks if the U.S. did the same. The Pentagon argued that its tanks were too complicated and guzzled too much fuel to be as useful on this battlefield. Both countries eventually agreed to provide the tanks. The German ones could take months to be ready, and the American weapons might not arrive for a year. Leaders have been cautious with their words. President Biden stressed that the tanks were to defend Ukraine's territory, not to attack Russian soil.
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  President Joe Biden: It is not an offensive threat to Russia. We are… there is no offensive threat to Russia.
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  The Kremlin doesn't buy that argument and says this move is a major escalation. "CNN's" Fred Pleitgen reported from Ukraine on the Russian spokesperson's response.
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  Fred Pleitgen: He was saying that obviously the Russians say that this will increase the tension here on the continent. He says that suffering will increase for the Ukrainians as well. He wrote that in a message to me, but really some strong words coming from the Russian ambassador to the United States. And he said, he came out and he said that Abrams tanks that enter Ukraine will be destroyed by the Russians. Of course, the Russians so far have said that about pretty much every new weapon system that the U.S. and its allies have sent so far.
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  For Ukraine and its allies, that argument misses the point. The Ukrainians need tanks because Russia invaded. And if Putin continues to wage war, Western leaders are signaling they're supporting Ukraine for the long haul.
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  "Alice and Sparkle" is a children's book that looks simple enough. The cover features a young girl and her robot friend. They go on adventures together. It's only 26 pages long, and yet it's raising questions about ethics, technology, art, and what makes us human. See, if you take a closer look, you'll understand why. The author is Ammaar Reshi. But he also gives credit to artificial intelligence. He used ChatGPT to write the story. And he used Midjourney to generate the illustrations. It took a weekend. Reshi told "NBC" about the commands that he gave to the artificial intelligence he used.
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  Ammaar Reshi: I think it was "write a children's book about a young girl who creates her own AI."
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  "The Washington Post" looks at the book and the responses. Actual human artists are pushing back hard against the idea of using AI to make art. Some arguments are philosophical. What does it mean to make something based on the depths of human experience, and what's lost without that perspective? And some are legal arguments. One way that AI technology "learns" is by scooping up all kinds of writing and images made by real people. Human writers and illustrators argue, that's stealing their work, without compensation or consent. "We wouldn't let humans get away with that. Why should technology?" The AI children's book author, Reshi, says he understands why some people are worried about what this technology means for the future of creative professions. But he's hoping these tools will help, not replace, artists and their work.
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  I don't know about you, but in my house when we're kicking back to watch a show or a movie, turning on subtitles is essential. Otherwise, we feel like we miss a lot of mumbly little moments. Take this line from Pete Davidson in the movie "The King of Staten Island."
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  Speaker 1: I think it'll always be hard.
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  He's saying, "I think it'll always be hard." But it's hard to know that without the subtitles on. You also get this effect in a lot of Christopher Nolan movies.
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  Those clips came from a "Vox" explainer video, and I can't tell you how validated I felt watching it. It's not just me and it's not just you thinking it's so hard to hear what anyone's saying on TV these days. "Vox" recently surveyed over 100,000 people on YouTube, and found more than half said they often use subtitles because they can't follow the dialogue in films and TV. One professional dialogue editor tells "Vox" there are a few explanations. Part of it has to do with the tech you're using, and part of it has to do with the tech that film crews are using.
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  See, microphones today are smaller and more powerful than the ones used in Old Hollywood. Back then, a scene would be recorded on one big, bulky microphone. Actors had to project and speak into it at just the right angle to be heard.
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  These days, there's usually a microphone or two overhead, plus wireless mics hidden on each actor, so they don't have to speak as loudly. They can be more natural, they can whisper at times, they can mumble.
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  Now, you might be wondering why audio engineers don't just turn the volume up on their dialogue. Seems like an easy solution, right? Well, not exactly. They're thinking a lot about creating contrast between sounds. "Vox" uses the example of a conversation and an explosion. Those two things have to sound different to a viewer. And that's why dialogue can be especially tricky to follow in big, explode-y action movies.
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  It's a similar idea with music. It needs to work with the dialogue, not compete with it.
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  What you really don't want is for the music to start overpowering the words, 'cause then you can't make out what anyone's saying. [TALKING LOUDER] And the only alternative would be for me to start yelling! [YELLING] Is this good? Do I sound natural?
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  Ah. See? Isn't that better? You can hear me now. There's a lot more to this "Vox" explainer, including how your home speakers change the equation. But the takeaway is, audio engineers are trying to create a well-balanced listening experience. And sometimes, even they have to turn on subtitles.
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  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, stick around. We've got a narrated article coming up next from "TIME" magazine. It looks at why India is such an important player in the fight to protect the planet. So, sit back, enjoy listening to that and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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