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How the Georgia indictment could be Trump’s biggest threat · Apple News Today

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  Mark Garrison, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, August 16th. I'm Mark Garrison in for Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show… Why new charges against Trump in Georgia might be his biggest legal threat… Two years after the Taliban's take over, on-the-ground reporting of the bleak situation for women in Afghanistan… and the growing legal assault on corporate diversity programs.
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  But first, let's take a look at some other major stories in the news. The death toll in the Hawaii wildfires is rising, now over 100. It was already the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century. But officials warn that the number of fatalities could still go up substantially. Around 1300 people are missing, and search teams are still looking through burned neighborhoods of Maui. President Biden talked about relief efforts.
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  President Joe Biden: We're also surging federal personnel to the state to help the brave firefighters and first responders, many of whom lost their own homes, their properties, while they're out busting their neck to save other people.
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  The wildfires were among many disasters made worse by climate change this summer. And now a new report from U.S. government climate scientists finds that last month was not just the hottest July on record… it was likely the hottest month in the history of the world, in records going back nearly 200 years. Barely halfway through this year, it looks like the summer is hot enough to make 2023 one of the five warmest years in history. And there's a strong chance it's gonna turn out to be the warmest year ever on record.
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  And, a former FBI counterintelligence chief is guilty of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and launder money. Charles McGonigal pleaded guilty in the case related to secret work he did for a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. It happened after he retired from the bureau. McGonigal faces up to five years in prison. Also, in a separate case, charges are pending against him for allegedly accepting bribes while working at the FBI.
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  Former president Donald Trump now faces 91 felony charges across four indictments. The charges include: trying to undermine U.S. democracy, risking national security secrets, and falsifying New York business records. And now a racketeering case from Georgia this week. Trump has denied wrongdoing. The "Miami Herald" talks to legal experts who say, in some ways, the Georgia case may present one of the biggest legal threats to Trump.
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  A major part of this is that the Georgia case is not a federal one. Hofstra University Law professor James Sample talked to "CBS New York" about why that's important.
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  James Sample: If he's elected president in 2024, he could certainly pardon himself, and we've never had a self-pardon. But it seems quite likely that he would certainly try to pardon himself on the federal charges, and probably would succeed. But the president of the United States has no authority to pardon an individual convicted of a state crime. So the New York charges and the Georgia charges could stick, and would be insulated from a pardon, at least at the federal level.
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  Both cases come with the possibility of prison. But some legal experts have questioned the strength of the New York case compared to the one in Georgia, because the New York prosecution relies on a novel legal approach.
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  But in the Georgia case, timing could work to Trump's advantage. Other prosecutors have already charged him, which means the Fulton County D.A. may not be able to move to trial as quickly. There are 19 defendants in this case, and all of them could take steps to try to slow things down. And if Trump manages to win re-election before the Georgia trial, he could argue that it can't proceed until after his term is over. There's longstanding Justice Department guidance against prosecuting a sitting president.
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  There are a lot of moving parts here, so Apple News has a special collection of in-depth coverage of the latest charges Trump faces: how they're different, who else is involved, and where they fit in to the many criminal cases against him. You can read it all on the Apple News app.
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  Two years ago this week, the Taliban re-took power across Afghanistan, as American troops left. Taliban leaders said they would support women's rights and be more moderate than they were in the 90s. But "CNN's" reporting, based on interviews with people there, tells a different story, one of Afghan girls and women effectively prisoners in their own homes. They say it's like they're being systematically erased. Mahbouba Seraj is a women's rights activist.
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  Mahbouba Seraj: Even the rights that we had in Islam, even the rights that we had in Sharia, we are losing all of that.
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  Secondary schools for girls are closed. Women are banned from universities. They're blocked from jobs in most sectors. A male chaperone is required to travel. 20-year-old Zahra told "CNN" how her life was upended by the Taliban takeover, cutting off her education.
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  Zahra: If it continues like this, the future, not only for me but also other girls, it is horrible. It is disaster.
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  The U.S. and allies have criticized the Taliban's policies and frozen billions of dollars in the country's foreign reserves. But human rights activists worry that global attention on Afghanistan is fading.
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  "CNN" asked a Taliban spokesperson when girls will be allowed back in classrooms. He refused to commit, saying only that it would happen when the environment changes. It's something the Taliban often said back in the 90s. But in the previous years of Taliban rule, girls were never allowed back in school.
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  When the Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions for universities, conservative activists aimed at a new target: Diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the workplace.
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  "The Wall Street Journal" reports that scores of major employers have received letters from Republican officials. They're warning companies against violating laws prohibiting racial quotas and preferences in hiring.
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  "Journal" reporter Theo Francis told us about the education ruling's ripple effects.
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  Theo Francis: The Supreme Court decision in June didn't actually address private sector employers or contractors. It really was just about college admissions. But, these activists point out that some of the same language in the college admission discrimination rules exists in the employment rules as well. And so their argument is, if and when one of these cases gets to the Supreme Court, they're gonna side with the activists.
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  Amazon has been sued in Texas for a program that offers $10,000 to Black, Latino and Native American delivery-service contractors. It's moved to dismiss the suit. In Georgia, a lawsuit targets an investment fund that helps women of color start new businesses. That lawsuit is being brought by the same conservative activist who organized the successful challenge to affirmative action in the Supreme Court.
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  The threat of litigation has many companies taking a careful look at their diversity programs. But they tell Francis they're still committed.
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  Francis: They want to make sure that these programs which, after all, were adopted with legal advice from lawyers who have years of experience on discrimination law. But what they're doing is they're looking at these programs and saying, 'Okay, if the legal landscape has shifted, as suggested by the June Supreme Court decision, do our programs still pass muster? Do we need to make changes?'
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  "Comcast" did make changes to a grant program for small businesses, and it settled a lawsuit over it. Previously, the grants were for companies owned by women or people of color. Now, that program is open to all small businesses.
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  Francis: The activists consider that a victory, because they've gotten the company to change something. They also see simply the threat or fear or concern about these kinds of lawsuits and legal actions as potentially bringing either the companies they threaten or sue, or other companies, to rethink their approach to diversity and whether they are going to implement these kinds of programs. And so, I think there's a hope among a number of the activist groups that they may be shifting behavior at companies that aren't even necessarily in their crosshairs.
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  As the "Journal" explains it, even if a company's policies are legal, the possibility of lawsuits might have a chilling effect on efforts to increase diversity in the workplace.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. There's also sports coverage, as we move toward a big weekend for soccer. The World Cup final is ahead. And also, Messi will try to lead his new Miami team to a Leagues Cup championship.
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  And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next from "WIRED." It's about a neuroscientist who uses psychedelics to send patients' brains back to childhood. The hope is that it will help grown-ups heal from strokes and trauma.
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  That's coming up next, and we'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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