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Republicans scramble as backlash over IVF ruling continues · Apple News Today

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  [MUSIC FADES IN]
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  Mark Garrison, Narrating: Good morning!
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  It's Thursday, February 29th. I'm Mark Garrison in for Shumita Basu.
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  This is "Apple News Today." Coming up, lawmakers attempt
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  to protect IVF after Alabama's court ruling,
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  why elite colleges are bringing the SAT back into the admissions process,
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  and the 10 to 20-million-dollar question behind a pro golfer's long-awaited return.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  But first, let's take a quick look at some major stories in the news,
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  starting with several big developments in former President Donald Trump's
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  legal cases.
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  The Supreme Court says it'll hear a case on Trump's claim that he's immune
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  from prosecution for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
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  A lower court ruled against him on this. The move delays the federal criminal case
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  against Trump. Supreme Court arguments are scheduled for April.
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  The Court has not yet ruled on another key case, which deals
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  with whether Trump can be taken off the ballot because of his role
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  in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
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  Yesterday Illinois became the third state to block him.
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  But the judge put her decision on hold. And in the New York civil-fraud case,
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  Trump lost a bid to pause the close to $450 million judgment
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  against him while he appeals. Trump's team wanted to pay
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  a much smaller bond. The judge rejected that, but did say
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  that Trump could apply for a loan to get the money while he appeals.
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  In Washington, Congressional leaders say they have a deal on short-term funding
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  that will prevent a federal government shutdown.
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  This comes just ahead of the Friday deadline, and still leaves
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  a lot of work to do in the weeks ahead.
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  Staying in DC, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
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  is stepping down from his leadership post in November. He said he'll keep
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  his Senate seat and finish his term after the transition.
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  [START ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Mitch McConnell: This will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.
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  I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. However, I'll complete my job.
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  My colleagues have given me until we select a new leader in November
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  and they take the helm next January.
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  [END ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Garrison, Narrating: There's been speculation for a while that the 82-year-old would leave
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  the leadership, given his recent health issues
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  and disagreements with Trump.
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  In the Middle East, the death toll in Gaza is now more than 30,000 people,
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  health officials there say. And there are growing concerns about malnutrition
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  and dehydration. USAID head Samantha Power talked about the need
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  for more humanitarian aid.
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  [START TWITTER ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Samantha Power: As conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza
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  for the Gazan people, two crossings is not enough.
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  We are talking to Israeli officials about the need to open up
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  far more crossings, far more passages into Gaza, so that vitally-needed
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  humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged.
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  This is a matter of life and death.
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  [END TWITTER ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Garrison, Narrating: In Europe, France took a key step toward becoming the first country
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  in the world to guarantee access to abortion in its constitution.
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  Yesterday's Senate vote cleared the way for the constitutional change
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  to be finalized on Monday.
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  [TENSE MUSIC]
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  In the U.S., a major issue around reproductive health right now
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  is the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children.
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  Several IVF providers in the state have halted services as a result.
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  That leaves people there trying to have children through IVF facing
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  painful uncertainty, and those in other states worried
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  about the ripple effects. In the wake of the ruling,
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  Republican lawmakers at the state and national level are trying to show
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  that they support IVF. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned
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  Roe V. Wade, voters in several states have pushed back
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  on restrictive reproductive health care policies supported by Republicans.
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  There are signs many in the party worry this could be a dangerous issue for them.
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  Trump said the Alabama state legislature should preserve access to IVF.
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  And Republicans there have introduced legislation to help get IVF back on track.
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  Over in the Florida legislature, Republicans put a bill on hold
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  that abortion-rights campaigners said could've led to similar problems
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  as Alabama. And many Republicans in Congress are saying
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  they support IVF protection. But many of the same Republicans
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  have co-sponsored the "Life at Conception Act."
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  It's a bill that uses a similar argument to the ruling
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  from the Alabama Supreme Court. Some Republicans are struggling
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  to figure out what to say. When an "NBC" reporter asked
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  Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville about the ruling,
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  he gave a contradictory answer, saying he supported the ruling,
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  but also supported IVF.
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  [START TWITTER ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Tommy Tuberville: We need to have more kids. We need to have an opportunity to do that
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  and I thought this was the right thing to do.
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  NBC Reporter: But IVF is used to have more children. And right now, IVF services are paused
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  at some of the clinics in Alabama. Aren't you concerned that this could
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  impact people who are trying to have kids?
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  Tuberville: Well, that's for that's for another conversation.
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  I think the big thing is right now you protect, you go back to the situation
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  and try to work it out to where it's best for everybody.
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  [END TWITTER ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Garrison, Narrating: Critics pounced on that response, saying Tuberville didn't seem
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  to understand the massive impact of a ruling on families wanting children
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  in his own state. He and other Senators had a chance to take action protecting IVF
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  yesterday. Democrats brought a bill to the floor to preserve access to IVF.
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  But a Republican Senator blocked it, saying it went too far on issues unrelated
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  to IVF. The bill was introduced by Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth,
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  who had children through IVF. Earlier, she talked about what's at stake.
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  [START TWITTER ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Tammy Duckworth: It's a little personal to me when a majority male court suggests
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  that people like me who are not able to have kids without the help
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  of modern medicine should be in jail cells and not taking care of their babies
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  in nurseries. I know I'm not alone when I struggle to understand
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  how politicians who support this kind of policy can possibly call themselves
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  pro-life.
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  [END TWITTER ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Garrison, Narrating: And there could be more complications at the state level.
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  Previously, more than a dozen states have been considering
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  so-called fetal personhood bills, which aim to define life as beginning
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  at fertilization. Reproductive-rights advocates have been
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  talking about the potential consequences of these kinds of laws for a long time.
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  And now the Alabama ruling that's blocking IVF for so many families is bringing
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  that point home in a way that's starting to change the debate.
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  [PENSIVE MUSIC]
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  This month, Yale became the latest elite college to announce
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  that it's bringing standardized test scores back
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  into the admissions process, after making them optional during the pandemic.
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  Dartmouth and MIT have brought them back, too. "Washington Post" higher ed reporter
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  Susan Svrluga talked to us about why Yale wanted to mandate test scores again.
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  Susan Svrluga: The applicant's SAT scores or ACT scores were better predictors
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  of students' performance at Yale than any other indicator that they had.
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  So they were very effective at predicting whether a student could be successful
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  at the college.
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  Garrison, Narrating: And Yale argues that including test scores can actually help diversify
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  its student body. It's enrolled more than 1,000 students
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  who did not submit scores. But data shows that students who withheld scores
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  were less likely to be admitted, especially those
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  from lower-income families and high schools
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  with fewer college-prep classes. Svrluga explains that moves to bring back
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  test scores have drawn criticism.
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  Svrluga: There have been concerns about students access to preparation
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  for the test and wealthier students are able to afford tutors in some cases,
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  or SAT prep classes, those kinds of intensive practice classes.
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  Garrison, Narrating: Over the years, concerns have grown that standardized tests amplify inequities
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  in society. Research shows that students from low-income backgrounds
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  have lower tests scores and are less likely to test.
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  Svrluga: There are people who are concerned still that the tests are unfair, that it can
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  Garrison, Narrating: further disadvantage disadvantaged students.
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  As another major school requires test scores, Svrluga says
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  that'll likely influence other universities. But it's likely
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  the majority of colleges will remain test-optional.
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  A testing watchdog group says more than 80 percent of four-year schools don't plan
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  on requiring SAT or ACT scores for fall 2025 admissions.
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  Svrluga: If you picture a student who's maybe first in their family to ever attend college
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  and they're trying to figure out the whole application process,
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  there's a lot of steps. And they would argue that realizing what tests you need
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  to take and signing up for it on time and paying for it,
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  that's just another barrier that can keep students who are really bright
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  but don't have all the resources that other students might have
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  that might just keep them from implying and applying entirely.
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  [GENTLE MUSIC]
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
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  Garrison, Narrating: Let's say you could get 10, maybe 20 million to stop doing something
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  you're great at, forever. What would you do?
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  It's not a hypothetical question for professional golfer Anthony Kim.
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  Years ago, golfers said he had the potential of Tiger Woods.
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  But he left the sport before getting the chance to really show
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  what he could do. A key reason was injuries, and an insurance policy
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  that reportedly paid him as much as 20 million dollars,
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  if he stopped playing golf. But as of tomorrow, he's back,
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  playing at a LIV Golf tournament in Saudi Arabia. "The Athletic" has
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  the backstory about why people had such high hopes for Kim.
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  He was the first golfer under the age of 25 to win two PGA tour events
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  in the same season since Tiger Woods. And Kim was also flashy by golf standards,
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  known for his wild belt buckles and brash talk.
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  That combo of a strong game and a strong personality
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  had a lot of people thinking he could be golf's next big star.
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  And he sounded confident about his skills.
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  [START YOUTUBE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Anthony Kim: I've been playing great. I've been swinging great.
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  And fortunately, I'm making some putts. So, if I can keep that up,
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  I'll have fun tomorrow as well.
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  [END YOUTUBE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Garrison, Narrating: Then came the injuries, and his exit from pro golf in 2012.
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  There are still questions about why he left and stayed away
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  for so long. But that insurance payout was a big part.
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  There's been lots of speculation over the years
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  about whether he'd ever return, and if he did, whether he could still play
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  at the highest levels. Tomorrow, the world will find out.
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  Full details of his return agreement aren't clear, but "Golf Magazine" reported
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  that LIV Golf, funded by Saudi money, talked with Kim about a special deal
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  for his return. It would cover the insurance money he lost
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  by playing again, and also give him the chance at winning even more prize
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  and sponsorship money. Pro golfers and golf fans have been speculating
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  about this moment for years. Now Kim has the chance to show them
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  whether he's still got it.
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  [MUSIC FADES IN]
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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 from "GQ" coming up next.
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  It's also about Saudi money in sports, in this case, soccer.
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  It looks at the potential impact of getting so much cash from a Kingdom
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  that's funded by fossil fuels,
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  with a very problematic human-rights record. If you're listening
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  in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News+ Narrated to find
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  that story, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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  [MUSIC FADES OUT]