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How new reports of Russian atrocities are changing the war · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, April 4th. I'm Shumita Basu. Duarte Geraldino is off. This is "Apple News Today." Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news, and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
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  There's new on-the-ground reporting out of Ukraine, and we'll get to that in just a minute. First, to catch you up to speed on this Monday, here are some of the big stories we're following today on the Apple News app.
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  Six people were killed in a downtown Sacramento shooting early yesterday morning. In Dallas, one person was killed in a shooting at a concert on Saturday night.
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  Looking abroad, there's a constitutional crisis and power struggle in a nuclear-armed nation. Over the weekend, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party blocked a no-confidence vote and dissolved the parliament.
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  In New York City, Amazon warehouse workers voted to unionize. You can read the story of how this landmark win for organized labor happened from one of our local publishers, "The City." That's on the Apple News app.
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  Now to Ukraine, where there are new reports of war crimes. As Russian troops have pulled out from areas around Kyiv, we're learning more about what's been happening in the areas that were under their control, like Bucha in the capital's suburbs. Ukrainian officials say Russian troops have carried out executions and torture.
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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to "CBS" through an interpreter. He says Russia's actions are genocide.
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  Volodymyr Zelenskyy: [SPEAKING THROUGH TRANSLATOR]
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  Translator: We are the citizens of Ukraine, and we don't want to be subdued to the policy of the Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed.
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  Russia has denied the accusations, but journalists are now on the ground documenting what's happening. And what they're seeing is graphic. A "Wall Street Journal" reporter and photographer in Bucha saw a mass grave. Local officials say there are hundreds buried. A new "Human Rights Watch" report documents summary executions, rapes and the looting of civilian food and supplies.
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  These latest reports of atrocities could intensify the Western response to Russia. The International Criminal Court has sent an investigative team. And several key European leaders say they're planning to tighten economic sanctions against Russia.
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  The United States has the largest population of incarcerated people in the world. And Black Americans are overrepresented in that group. Questions about mass incarceration tend to focus on overcrowded state and federal prisons. But a new "Vox" story says we need to understand more about local jails.
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  Around 10 million people cycle through jails every year. And many of them have not been convicted; they're waiting for a trial. Some are in jail because they can't afford bail. Here's "Vox" senior correspondent Marin Cogan.
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  Marin Cogan: So the main justification for keeping people locked up awaiting trial is this idea that they pose a risk to public safety. And, you know, certainly in some cases that could be true, but the issue is that's become the default. And it isn't necessarily true.
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  When people are stuck in pre-trial detention, it has consequences for everyone in their social circle.
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  Cogan: You are denying them the opportunity to contribute financially to their family. You're denying them the opportunity to contribute in terms of care for their family. And when you do that, you sort of shift the burden onto the family members that are still at home to pick up the slack. So it really is a major burden for family members to have a family member who's locked up awaiting trial, but hasn't been convicted of any crime.
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  Sometimes, people are kept in jail because they haven't paid parking tickets, child support, or fines and fees. In other cases, people with behavioral disorders or mental health issues are considered a risk to themselves or to others, and they're kept behind bars. Cogan explains ways that the legal system is trying to change things.
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  Cogan: There are also better ways to track people once they've been released. You can set them up with automatic court reminders, so they know when to show up for court. You know, if someone is unable to afford bail, you can ask a judge to automatically reconsider, say, "Hey, this person isn't able to afford bail, but is public safety served by having them sit in a jail, awaiting trial? Is this person a risk to themselves or to the community? And if not, can they be released and come back?" So there are a number of different alternatives that the localities are trying to use to reduce jail populations across the country.
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  Hundreds of thousands of girls in Afghanistan don't know if they'll ever get to return to classrooms. The Taliban had promised to reopen schools for girls to study beyond sixth grade. But on the day that it was supposed to happen, students were turned away at school gates. Videos of girls sobbing went viral.
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  "TIME" magazine has some reporting inside Afghanistan, with first-person stories from girls and families. One 11-year-old says she doesn't understand why the Taliban is holding her sisters back. "Is gaining knowledge a sin?" she asked. A 16-year-old says a part of her has "died each day" that she's kept out of the classroom. And she said she'd like to ask world leaders, "Would you stay silent if the same thing happened to your daughters?" A 60-year-old woman who never learned to read now worries that her granddaughters may also struggle with illiteracy.
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  "The Washington Post" looks at how the international community is reacting to the Taliban's moves to block girls' education. And it's a tricky position for countries and organizations that provide aid. They don't want to support a regime that's banning girls from learning. But they also don't want ordinary people to suffer because of Taliban policy. Many people in Afghanistan don't have enough to eat right now. The country needs billions of dollars in humanitarian funds. The U.N.'s humanitarian affairs chief explained, withholding aid just to send a message would make things worse, saying, quote, "please don't make the people of Afghanistan suffer twice."
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  It feels like, since the start of the pandemic, we have witnessed an endless supply of disturbing, aggressive behavior. From people assaulting flight attendants, to berating grocery store clerks, to yelling at health-care workers.
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  Olga Khazan: We're kind of having this primal scream moment, and people are just acting in a lot more antisocial ways.
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  That's Olga Khazan. Her latest piece in "The Atlantic" stuck out to us because she said it's not just a feeling, it's not just a hunch. The data shows that people are acting out. So she spoke to experts on psychology, crime and sociology to figure out what's tying all of this together. And many of them said it has to do with all of the alone time during the pandemic.
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  Khazan: We're actually not really supposed to spend this long in isolation. You know, people have sort of stopped socializing as much as they did before. Sociologists find that when people break their bonds to society, they tend to prioritize their own interests over those of other people.
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  When people are disconnected, they're more likely to go off on each other. And she explained the way that one mean interaction can set off this domino effect.
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  Khazan: So rudeness can actually be contagious. So let's say you get on a Zoom meeting with your boss and your boss sort of scolds you for something and is sort of like, "Hey, you didn't do a good job on that presentation," because your boss is in a bad mood because their kids' daycare is closed. Well, then you are in a bad mood and you are sort of ready to be rude to the next person.
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  The data also shows people are using more drugs and alcohol during the pandemic. Americans have been drinking 14 percent more days a month. Many of these aggressive incidents involve people who are under the influence. And on top of all of that, it's been harder to access treatment for substance abuse during the pandemic.
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  The experts Khazan speaks to are optimistic that as conditions around COVID improve, people's behavior will too.
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  Khazan: So you kind of hope that people will get back into the swing of things. There's not really a way to force things back into normalcy. Like, this kind of just has to slowly improve over time.
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  You can find all of these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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  We've also got coverage of the South Carolina women's college basketball championship win over UConn and previews of the men's matchup tonight between UNC and Kansas.
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  Plus, we've got a nice GRAMMYs recap of all the big wins and the best performances.
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  We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
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