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Failures to stop a deadly threat to cars from 18-wheelers · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Friday, June 16th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, how regulators have failed to protect drivers from a deadly threat from commercial trucks… What's the longest river in the world? A new expedition is trying to settle that debate… And the scientists taking a page from a rom-com to try to lure life back to coral reefs by cranking up a boombox.
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  But first, an investigation into deadly crashes involving big commercial trucks and cars, and failures by government regulators and the trucking industry to stop them. "ProPublica" and "FRONTLINE" teamed up for this story. Because trucks are so high off the road, cars go right under the trailers in crashes, meaning the bumper and airbags provide little protection. That makes for often unsurvivable wrecks, where the trailer practically slices off the top of the car. Reporter A.C. Thompson explains to us how this leads to horrific injuries.
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  A.C. Thompson: Just absolutely devastating. And you see these types of injuries in these types of accidents quite frequently.
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  Hundreds of people die in what are called "underride crashes" every year. Though, as Thompson told us, the true total is probably much higher.
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  Thompson: It's sort of a hidden history here. Going back to the '70s, federal government said, "Oh, we don't have data. We don't have statistics on these crashes. We know they're happening. We know they're devastating. But we don't have any data." The federal government eventually began tracking them but did so very poorly, and by their own admission, they don't know how many of these crashes are happening each year.
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  Thompson's reporting uncovered records that show federal regulators often deferred to the trucking industry. Its lobbyists have argued that equipping trucks with new safety measures would be ineffective and expensive. But crash-test data shows that adding stronger bumpers to trucks has a dramatic impact on safety. And they can cost just over $100.
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  Thompson: When you look at underride crashes, they're a case study of what's gone wrong with safety policy in America. You see federal agencies that are very slow to act to protect people, and you see industries that are often very resistant to change.
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  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wouldn't agree to an interview for this reporting. But the agency does say that it has a new committee looking into developing safety rules around underride crashes. You can read the full investigation in the Apple News app.
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  Let's take a quick look now at some major stories developing today.
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  There's a new indictment of Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guard member charged with leaking government secrets online. He's now charged with six counts of illegal retention and transmission of national defense information, potentially facing years in prison. Defense analysts worry that some of the information leaked could help Russia in its war against Ukraine. Teixeira pleaded not guilty to previous charges.
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  In Texas, at least three people are dead after a tornado ripped through the Panhandle city of Perryton last night. Dozens more are injured, some severely. "CNN" meteorologist Chad Myers talked about the power of that twister and the larger string of severe storms causing damage in multiple states.
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  Chad Myers: There were mobile homes that were completely destroyed. And I know 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts can do that. But there were also big structures that were brick-built, stick-built that also really received quite a bit of damage. What's really interesting, I think, today, too, not only the Perryton tornado, there was damage in Michigan. There was a tornado on the ground not that far from Sandusky, Ohio. There was a tornado on the ground near Pensacola, south of Pensacola, Florida, near the shore. And all of the tornadoes that were a thousand miles or more to the west. So, what a violent, violent day we had today.
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  Along with severe storms, there's are also severe heat. Record-breaking temperatures have hit parts of the South. At times, tens of millions of people have been under heat warnings or advisories.
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  And this is all happening while wildfires continue to burn in Canada, spreading smoke across the border. Air quality has been especially bad in the Midwestern United States. Forecasters say some of that dangerous haze could be moving east in the days ahead.
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  Here's a bit of trivia for you: What's the longest river in the world? Now, depending on how much middle school geography you might remember, the answer you've probably been told is the Nile, which flows through multiple countries in East Africa. But it turns out, there is more debate around this than you might realize, especially in Brazil, where Terrence McCoy lives. He's the Rio Bureau Chief for "The Washington Post." There, some say that their river, the Amazon, is the longest.
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  Terrence McCoy: We saw a very small news report in a local media saying that there was some expedition going out there to measure if the Amazon was longer than the Nile. And when I saw that, I was like, "What?" I didn't even know it was a question.
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  It's a question that's surprisingly really tricky to answer because there are a lot of different ways you can go about measuring a river. For one, you've gotta be able to agree on where it starts and ends.
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  McCoy: And these sort of bodies of water, a river is kind of unique and unusual in that its sources can come from dozens, hundreds of different places that go thousands of miles distant from the end of it. And so, trying to track back to where actually the river starts is a very arduous and difficult process.
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  For the record, the U.S. Geological Survey says the Nile is 132 miles longer than the Amazon. But some Brazilian researchers disagree. And explorers are planning to take the trip to prove it.
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  McCoy: There's an expedition that's going out in the spring of next year to measure the entire Amazon from the beginning all the way to the end, almost like unfurling a measuring tape that goes for thousands of miles to try to see which one is the longest.
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  Over the course of seven months, they'll make their from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, passing through waters used by drug traffickers and pirates. But they say the risks are worth it to get a firm read on how long the Amazon really is. And if all goes well, they might try to measure the Nile the same way.
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  Scientists around the world are trying all sorts of things to save coral reefs, which play a vital role in keeping oceans healthy. "NPR" reports on new research that's getting results with an unusual approach: a playlist. It involves broadcasting underwater sound to attract fish.
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  See, for a reef to be healthy, there's a kind of chicken-and-egg problem, or in this case, a fish-and-roe problem. A reef won't be healthy without a variety of fish, but fish won't show up if the reef isn't healthy. And it turns out, one way they gauge health seems to be by listening. If fish hear other fish, the reef sounds like a nice place to be, and they go. So, scientists have been recording sounds of healthy reefs and then playing them at reefs that need help. Now, I know what you're thinking: fish don't make sounds. Now, I want you to listen to this eel and tell me it's not making a distinct sound.
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  It's sort of like a drum, right? That's the sound of the eel strumming its muscles against one of its organs. Researchers think this is probably a mating call, which signals to other fish, "Here's a reef worth checking out."
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  Now, early results with playing sounds like these are hopeful. Researchers say degraded reefs where the underwater speakers are playing are doing up to three times better at luring back marine life.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app, along with ongoing coverage of golf's U.S. Open. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around for our weekly interview show, "In Conversation." This week, I talk to humorist Samantha Irby. She just wrote a book of essays called "Quietly Hostile" that made me laugh so hard that I cried. She makes the case for liking what you like and not really caring what others think.
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  Samantha Irby: Life sucks, and so you should do what you want when it comes to entertaining yourself and making yourself happy. That's it.
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  That conversation is queued up to play for you next. And a quick note that our team will be taking Monday off for Juneteenth, so enjoy the long weekend. And I'll be back with the news on Tuesday.
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