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Wildfires have devastated Texas’s cattle industry · Apple News Today

• 0:00
  [MUSIC FADES IN]
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  Yasmeen Khan, Narrating: Good morning! It’s Thursday, March 7th. I’m Yasmeen Khan in for Shumita Basu.
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  This is Apple News Today. Coming up…
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  Why there’s a lot riding on tonight’s State of the Union address,
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  how Texas ranchers are reeling from with the impact of a wildfire.
• 0:21
  and a remarkable feat in a ship around the world.
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  [MUSIC FADES]
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  But first, let’s take a quick look at some major stories in the news.
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  Today marks five months since the Hamas attack on Israel
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  that sparked a devastating war in Gaza.
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  In recent days, health officials have grown increasingly concerned
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  about malnutrition among children in the enclave.
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  One in six children under two years old in northern Gaza is acutely malnourished,
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  according to the World Health Organization.
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  There, the issue is even worse than in the south
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  where at least some food assistance has arrived.
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  Already, local health officials told the "Washington Post"
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  that at least 16 children have died from malnutrition.
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  Without a ceasefire and more aid, there are concerns about how much worse
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  the issue could get.
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  Conflict is also causing a hunger crisis in Sudan,
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  where a civil war has been ongoing since last April.
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  "Reuters" recounted the stories of a number of people
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  struggling with hunger, including a 60-year-old man who had one meal a day…
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  a lump of dough made of just flour and water.
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  Aid agencies also say they've had difficulties delivering food
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  to many areas.
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  David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee,
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  raised his concerns with "Reuters."
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  David Miliband: So, the greatest risk to the aid operation is the conflict.
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  And the biggest losers are obviously the civilians
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  who are suffering from conflict, but also from its consequences.
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  Khan, Narrating: The war in Sudan has driven more than eight million people from their homes,
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  making it the world’s largest displacement crisis.
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  In the United States, Alabama’s governor signed a bill into law
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  intended to protect IVF patients and providers from legal liability.
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  This comes after a state Supreme Court ruling that threatened
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  the future of IVF access.
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  At least one clinic that had halted services
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  is planning to resume this week.
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  But experts say more needs to be done to protect fertility services
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  in the state.
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  And yesterday there was an update in the case regarding
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  an accidental shooting on the set of the movie “Rust,”
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  which was filming in New Mexico in 2021.
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  The armorer on set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was found guilty
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  of involuntary manslaughter for failing to ensure that a prop gun
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  used on set was safe. Her attorney said they will appeal.
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  The actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing with it
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  when it went off and killed the movie’s cinematographer.
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  [GENTLE MUSIC]
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  Baldwin is scheduled to face trial this summer
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  on an involuntary manslaughter charge. Baldwin had previously pleaded not guilty.
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  Tonight is the State of the Union address, where President Biden is going to have to
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  cover a lot of domestic and international ground.
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  [MUSIC FADES]
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  With me to talk about it all is "Apple News" editor Gideon Resnick.
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  Hi, Gideon.
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  Gideon Resnick: Hi. Good morning.
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  Khan: So, this is President Biden's third state of the union.
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  We know how these things typically go.
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  You know, there's both performance in these speeches and substance.
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  Why does this particular speech feel bigger?
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  Resnick: I think it's in large part because this speech feels like the first moment
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  of the general election in earnest.
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  You know, Super Tuesday told us something we already know.
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  That Trump is going to be the Republican nominee.
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  And here you have this moment on a large stage for Biden in front of
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  millions of Americans to begin to offer a contrast of sorts
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  and really a defense of his incumbency.
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  So, I think to your point, yes, there will be a typical ticking through
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  of accomplishments and agenda items. But this speech from a 30,000 foot view
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  offers a moment of opportunity for Biden while there is a lot of dissatisfaction
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  showing up for him in polls. It's a chance to say
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  to the American people, "Hey, look, it's either me or the other guy."
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  Khan: Yeah. So, there's a lot riding on the speech in that sense.
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  This address needs to convey confidence and strength. And he is confident.
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  "The New Yorker" just profiled him and he's got swagger.
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  Biden says, you know, he's the only one to ever beat Trump and he'll do it again.
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  Resnick: Right, yeah. And that confidence is nothing new for Biden
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  and the people around him. But Democratic voters are very, very
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  anxious about this entire situation.
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  The polls at the moment are showing that Trump is leading Biden
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  in a lot of key battleground states.
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  But look, what Biden and his allies are saying is as this choice becomes clear
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  to voters, they are going to be able to successfully argue that electing Trump
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  would put the future of democracy at stake.
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  Khan: You mentioned the dissatisfaction with Biden, or at least angst among
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  big portions of the electorate. A lot of that has to do with
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  specific policy. So on that front, what can we expect to hear
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  from him tonight?
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  Resnick: It’s a great question and there is a lot he's going to have to cover.
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  So, based on reporting from outlets like "NBC News," it seems like Biden
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  is going to devote some time to Ukraine.
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  He's going to talk about more, kind of, kitchen table domestic issues
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  like junk fees that get charged by credit card companies.
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  Also, abortion and reproductive rights. I think we can almost be certain of that.
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  First Lady Jill Biden will be sitting next to Kate Cox.
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  That's the woman from Texas who was denied an abortion
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  by the state Supreme Court.
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  Khan: Right.
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  Resnick: Biden will also talk about legislative accomplishments.
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  Medicare drug pricing, the Inflation Reduction Act,
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  jobs more generally, or the state of economy.
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  And most pressing, Biden's statements on Israel and Gaza.
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  Those are going to be closely watched. Biden's going to have to do some work here
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  to address some of the vast dissatisfaction
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  with his White House's actions thus far, and to talk about what they see
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  as the future there.
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  Khan: And of course, there are a lot of optics around speeches like this.
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  In Biden's case, it happens to be of even greater import because of
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  questions about his age.
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  Resnick: Yes, that old question. It's a consistent issue
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  Biden is confronting. And really, despite the fact that Trump is close
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  in age to Biden, it's one that's dogging Biden in the polls at the moment.
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  There was, of course, the special counsel report that kind of
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  reignited this issue in a manner that the Biden White House found to be
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  deeply unfair.
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  So, I think around the State of the Union, Republicans are certainly going to be
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  looking for any minor mistake or mix up or what have you. And then I think
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  sympathetic voters to Biden are going to be looking for assurances
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  that he has the kind of energy, if you will,
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  to take on someone like Trump again, that he is genuinely ready for this.
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  But you're right. No doubt about it. The performance factor here is gonna
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  play a role in the perception of how well Biden did.
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  Khan: And we see that, too, in the lawmaker
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  Republicans selected to give their response.
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  The 42-year-old senator from Alabama, Katie Britt.
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  [PENSIVE MUSIC]
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  We will be following all of it tonight. Gideon, thanks so much.
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  Resnick: Of course.
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  Khan, Narrating: Now to Texas, where wildfires have scorched more than one million acres
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  over the last week.
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  The Smokehouse Creek Fire is the state’s largest wildfire on record,
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  [MUSIC FADES]
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  and it’s still burning, making its way across the Texas Panhandle
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  and into Oklahoma, leaving a trail of destruction and devastation.
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  At least two people have been killed. Homes have been destroyed.
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  And farmers and ranchers have suffered serious losses.
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  The Texas cattle industry, which is vital to the region,
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  has lost thousands of livestock in the fire.
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  Rancher Shane Pennington lost nearly 50 cattle.
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  He told "CNN," those that survived suffered through incredible pain.
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  He spoke about their condition, which, as a warning, does get graphic.
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  [START CNN ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Shane Pennington: This is one little calf here. I don't know if he's gonna be alright.
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  His feet are burned really bad. A lot of them have been blinded by it.
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  It burned their eyelashes, eyelids, everything.
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  And it just burned all the hair off of them. Their feet are coming off,
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  their hooves. They're bloody. It burned their udders.
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  And, you know, even if they survive it, more than likely
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  they're going to get pneumonia, they're going to get sick,
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  they're going to die. We've already had to put some down.
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  [END CNN ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: The fire has put his livelihood, and that of other cattle ranchers,
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  at risk. More than 85 percent of the cattle industry in Texas
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  is concentrated in the Panhandle. Some counties there
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  have more cows than people. And raising cattle is the most profitable
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  form of agriculture in the state, worth over $15 billion dollars.
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  Conditions in Texas had improved over the last few days.
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  Temperatures dropped, and some parts of the Panhandle even got some snow
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  bringing minor relief from the fires. As of yesterday, the Smokehouse Creek Fire
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  was about 44 percent contained, but there have been renewed worries
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  about dry and windy conditions. The head of agriculture for the state
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  told "CNN," the threat is far from over for ranchers.
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  [START CNN ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Texas Head of Agriculture: There’s no water for all the livestock.
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  we've lose over 3,000 head which is a very small number
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  that will double or triple easily.
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  [END CNN ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: Experts say it will take years for the land, and Texas’s cattle industry,
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  [GENTLE MUSIC]
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  to recover.
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  And, finally, a remarkable feat in the sport of sailing.
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  Early this morning, sailor Cole Brauer became the first American woman
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  to complete a non-stop race around the world totally alone.
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  [MUSIC FADES]
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  Khan, Narrating: Brauer has been at sea since October, where she had to be her own mechanic,
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  medic and her own company.
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  She spoke with "NBC" a few days ago before crossing the finish line in Spain.
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  [START NBC ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Cole Brauer: As solo sailors, you have to be able to do everything.
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  You need to be able to get up, even when you’re so exhausted.
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  And you have to be able to fix the boat.
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  [END NBC ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 10:27
  Khan, Narrating: At 29 years old, Brauer is the youngest person
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  to finish this race, known as the Global Solo Challenge.
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  It’s so tough that more than half of the field dropped out.
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  And she was the only woman competing.
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  [MUSIC FADES IN]
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  She hopes her record-finish will inspire more women
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  to get into the male-dominated sport.
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  [START NBC ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Brauer: It would be amazing if there was just one, one other girl that saw me
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  and said, "Oh, I can do that too."
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  [END NBC ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 10:58
  Khan, Narrating: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
• 11:02
  And if you’re already listening in the News app right now,
• 11:04
  a Narrated Article is coming up next.
• 11:07
  A writer for "Vanity Fair" shares her unusual childhood story,
• 11:11
  Spent swimming at the famous Grotto at the Playboy Mansion
• 11:14
  where she was best friends with two of Hugh Hefner’s children.
• 11:18
  If you’re listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News+ Narrated
• 11:21
  to find that story. And I’ll be back with the news tomorrow.
• 11:29
  [MUSIC FADES]