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Transcript

Biden vowed to cut drug prices. Big Pharma is fighting back. · Apple News Today

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  [INTRO MUSIC FADES IN]
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  Yasmeen Khan, Narrating: Good morning. It's Thursday, March 14th. I'm Yasmeen Khan, in for Shamita Basu.
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  This is "Apple News Today."
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  Coming up, how Big Pharma is trying to block a plan
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  that lowers drug costs for seniors,
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  what it means to fast for Ramadan as Gaza goes hungry,
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  and how Saturn became a muse for musicians.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  But first, a quick look at a few stories in the news, starting in Missouri,
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  where there have been new developments in the mass shooting that happened right
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  after the Super Bowl parade last month,
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  which drew around one million people into downtown Kansas City.
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  One person was killed and roughly two dozen others injured.
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  And court documents unsealed yesterday give us a picture about the weapons
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  at this event.
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  The documents show at least 12 people carried firearms in the crowd,
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  and at least six people opened fire.
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  The guns found at the scene included two AR-15-style rifles, and at least
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  two of the guns were purchased illegally, according to a U.S. attorney.
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  Three men from Missouri have been charged with federal counts for those purchases,
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  and they come just a few weeks after state authorities charged two other men
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  with second-degree murder.
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  Police say the shooting was the result of a personal dispute.
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  In Oklahoma, a partial autopsy report for teenager, Nex Benedict, has been released.
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  Nex, who identified as trans and non-binary, died one day after being
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  injured in a fight at school, where their family says they were attacked
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  for their gender identity and had been bullied for months.
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  The state medical examiner found a lethal combination of two drugs:
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  A medication used to treat depression and mood disorders, and an antihistamine,
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  commonly used to treat allergies.
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  The examiner has ruled Nex’s death a suicide.
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  Local police are still investigating what led to the fight,
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  and the allegations that Nex was targeted for their gender.
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  The U.S. Department of Education is opening an investigation into
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  the school district and how it responded to allegations of harassment.
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  And the Oklahoma state medical examiner will release a full toxicology report
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  at the end of March.
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  And in Detroit, jury deliberations are underway in the trial of James Crumbley.
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  His teenage son was convicted of killing four students
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  in a mass shooting at Oxford High School in 2021.
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  Crumbley faces involuntary manslaughter charges for failing
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  to secure a gun at home and for ignoring troubling signs of his son's mental state.
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  He has pleaded not guilty.
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  His wife, Jennifer, who was tried separately, was convicted by a jury
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  [GENTLE MUSIC FADES IN]
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  on the same charges last month, making her the first parent in U.S. history
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  to be convicted of manslaughter for a mass shooting carried out by their child.
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  Americans spend a lot of money on prescription drugs.
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  According to data collected by the Commonwealth Fund,
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  we pay anywhere from three to eight times more than people in Canada,
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  Japan and other industrialized countries countries, which is why President Biden
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  is attempting to address the cost of medications for seniors
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  in the Inflation Reduction Act.
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Tony Romm: And included in that law was a program that allowed Medicare for the first time
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  to try to negotiate prescription drug prices on behalf of seniors.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: That is Tony Romm, economic policy and accountability reporter
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  at "The Washington Post."
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Romm: And so the law set in place this very long
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  and complicated process by which the government would go about in
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  beginning those negotiations and hopefully trying to see lower prices
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  put into place by 2026.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: The first ten medications up for price cuts treat a range of issues,
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  like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, but big pharma is fighting back.
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  Some of the largest pharmaceutical companies are lobbying hard
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  on Capitol Hill to weaken or defeat the drug pricing negotiation process,
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  and some are even suing in court.
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  In a flurry of lawsuits, drug makers argue this Medicare price negotiation program
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  is unconstitutional.
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  They've defended their pricing practices and say tighter regulation could
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  could negatively impact the work to develop future treatments.
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Romm: Now, the U.S. government has pushed back pretty dramatically against this,
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  pointing out that drug companies are some of the most profitable companies
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  in the world,
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  that they offer very generous executive compensation packages,
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  and at times they have pretty lucrative stock buyback programs.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: Romm says it's possible one of these legal challenges
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  goes all the way to the Supreme Court.
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  But drug companies have not been successful so far.
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Romm: But all it takes is one circuit court
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  or one federal appeals court to agree with the drug industry,
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  and there could be a setback towards this plan.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: In his State of the Union address, President Biden suggested that he would
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  pursue more cuts in the future if reelected.
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  [HOPEFUL MUSIC FADES IN]
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  But a Republican takeover of the White House or Congress in November could deal
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  a blow to this program.
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  We are in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when, for 30 days
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  many of the world's 2 billion Muslims
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  fast from dawn to sunset as a testament to their faith.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  It's a celebratory time, marked with group meals, gifts, charity,
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  and renewed spirituality.
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  In an essay for "The New Yorker," Palestinian-American writer Zaina Arafat
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  reflects on fasting for Ramadan this year,
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  as the World Food Program warns of mass starvation in Gaza.
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Zaina Arafat: There's a somberness to it and a recognition of the fact that we
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  in the diaspora have a lot of resources as well as access
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  to things like food that people in our home countries
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  and in Palestine in particular do not have.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: Ramadan is a communal time.
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  People gather to pray together and to break fast together every evening.
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  And despite the war, Arafat says she hears from her own relatives in Gaza
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  that people are doing their best to continue these traditions.
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Arafat: There's so much that's out of your control when you are in Gaza right now.
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  And the very few things that you can control, like your decision
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  to observe traditions that mean something to you,
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  I think that for that reason, it's that much more important for people
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  to continue maintaining these traditions and
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  the collective spirit of Ramadan in the midst of this horror.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Khan, Narrating: But Gaza is on the brink of widespread famine, with hundreds of thousands of
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  people at risk and very little food and aid reaching the enclave.
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  So for many, fasting is not an option.
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  Yesterday, Israel reportedly hit one of the few remaining food
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  distribution centers in Rafah, killing at least one UN aid worker.
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  And many of the mosques in Gaza have been destroyed,
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  so worshipers gather and pray in the rubble.
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  Arafat says she wanted her essay to remind people of the joy
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  and the beauty of what it means to be Palestinian, that Palestinians are more
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  than what's been depicted in this war.
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  Arafat: One thing that was so important to me in this piece
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  alongside the tragedy of what's happening is capturing the beauty
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  of what our traditions are as Palestinians
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  and the spirit behind those traditions, the spirit of generosity,
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  the spirit of community, the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of appreciation.
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  [UPLIFTING MUSIC FADES IN]
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  And I hope that it does something for the people of Gaza
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  who are relentlessly mis portrayed.
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  Khan, Narrating: Popular music has a long obsession with what's happening up in the sky.
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  From fly me to the moon, to walking on the sun, and across the universe.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  Various parts of our solar system have gotten the
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  spotlight in music over the years.
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  And lately, planet number six has received a lot of attention.
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  [MUSIC - "SATURN RETURNS INTERLUDE" BY ARIANA GRANDE]
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  That's from Ariana Grande's new album on a track titled Saturn Returns Interlude.
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  Country music star Kacey Musgraves has a new single with lyrics about Saturn.
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  And SZA recently put out a song also named after the planet.
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  [MUSIC - "SATURN" BY SZA]
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  So why all the focus on Saturn?
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  As "Vox" explains, it has to do with a concept from astrology called
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  Saturn Return.
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  Basically, Saturn is in a certain place in the solar system on the day you're born,
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  and it takes about 30 years for the planet to return to the same spot.
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  Now, if you buy into astrology, here's what's important.
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  When Saturn makes this solar revolution, it represents the cycle of major
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  change in a person's life.
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  Like in your early 30s, when you have to take on
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  big responsibilities and step fully into your adult self.
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  All of the artists we mentioned are around that age
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  [OUTRO MUSIC FADES IN]
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  and going through their very first Saturn return of adulthood.
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  So they're processing that moment in their music.
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  And even if you don't buy into astrology, you can take heart in knowing
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  that a very cool planet inspired some pretty catchy lyrics.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
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  And if you're already listening in the News app right now,
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  we've got a Narrated Article coming up next.
• 10:08
  "The New Yorker" looks at how the U.S. education system
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  got so political, and why some Republican politicians are getting behind
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  classical education, a system that prioritizes teaching methods that
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  have been around for thousands of years.
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  If you're listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated
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  to find that story.
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  And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]