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Iran escalates plots to kidnap, assassinate critics · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Friday, December 9th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, how staffing shortages at nursing homes put vulnerable residents at risk, why everyone in South Korea is about to get younger and the big matches ahead in the World Cup.
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  But first, a look at what's happening inside and outside of Iran, where the regime is cracking down on protesters in the country, but also increasingly targeting dissidents living around the world. Inside Iran, things took a darker turn this week when Iran executed Mohsen Shekari. It was the first execution of a protester connected with the recent anti-government demonstrations, although many people have died under questionable circumstances. Human rights activists say that this verdict came from a sham trial.
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  Outside the country, "The Washington Post" reports on the rise in Iranian assassination and kidnapping plots targeting people living in the West: activists, journalists, government officials, and others who have spoken out against the regime. National security reporter Shane Harris spoke to people who've been singled out and to Western intelligence agencies.
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  Shane Harris: In targeting some of these individuals, officials said, what the government in Tehran is hoping is it will have a chilling effect on other activists.
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  Western security and law enforcement agencies say they disrupted a plan to assassinate John Bolton. He was a sharp critic of Iran as Trump's former national security adviser. But many targets are Iranians living in the West, who don't have the kind of protection that a high-level former American government official does. Harris says, many of them now live in fear.
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  Harris: It is overwhelming for so many of these people who are really trying to live a normal life and are very outspoken because they want to see change in Iran, but feel almost like prisoners in their own home.
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  Critics of Iran have been followed and sent intimidating messages. They worry that their phones could be hacked. And they're on guard for people trying to trick them.
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  Harris: People have been warned about something called a "honey trap" or a "honey pot operation." This is where an intelligence service uses somebody as a kind of romantic lure to try and physically, you know, get you into a compromising position where you could be kidnapped or perhaps, you know, you could be surveilled more easily.
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  Iranian officials didn't respond to "The Post's" requests for comment. Harris explains why Western intelligence agencies are sounding the alarm about Iranian plots.
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  Harris: The United States and Great Britain in particular right now very much want Tehran on notice. We see what you're doing, we're tracking it very closely and we're prepared to respond to it.
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  A quick update on some news breaking just as Washington was waking up. Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is changing her party affiliation, from Democrat to Independent. It's a move that chips away at Democrats' narrow majority in the chamber, just after the party thought it locked up 51 seats in the Georgia runoff. She says she does not plan to caucus with Republicans, and that nothing will change about her values or behavior. Still, it's a political earthquake. You can read more about the implications from "POLITICO," which has an interview with Sinema, in the Apple News app.
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  In the U.S., thousands of nursing homes are chronically understaffed, in violation of federal rules. "USA TODAY" found a pattern of failure by regulators to hold nursing homes accountable for putting vulnerable people at risk. Investigative reporter Jayme Fraser says worker shortages force nurses into terrible situations.
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  Jayme Fraser: You have multiple call lights and you have to decide which resident to get to now and which one has to wait. You might have to decide what kinds of care are most urgent and which just get skipped.
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  There are federal guidelines for staffing, but Fraser says the rules are rarely enforced. "USA TODAY" analyzed data and found thousands of nursing homes that failed to meet standards for having a registered nurse on duty. But just 4% were cited by government inspectors.
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  Fraser: Even fewer received fines, and that really shocked us.
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  Data shows under-staffing is especially severe at nursing homes that serve mostly low-income residents and people of color. Fraser says misconceptions about people who live in nursing homes can sometimes play into failures to address problems.
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  Fraser: The perception that everyone in a nursing home is really old and on the edge of death is flawed. There are a number of people who live in skilled nursing facilities that are younger, who have disabilities and just need that extra help to get through their day and live a life. And I personally think that people who are older still have a lot of value in our society, besides the fact they deserve basic dignity as a human.
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  President Biden promised sweeping reforms to nursing homes during his State of the Union address this year. But as "USA TODAY" points out, it's hard to make any reforms last if there isn't more enforcement.
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  South Koreans will soon instantly become a year or two younger, thanks to new legislation. It's news that might break your brain if you're not familiar with how the country has traditionally tracked age.
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  When babies are born in South Korea, they're considered one year old already. And everyone gains a year on New Year's Day, regardless of your birthday. So a baby born on December 31st would be considered two years old the following day.
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  If this sounds confusing, it's because it is. Even within the country, people are asked to report their age in different ways for different purposes, like for medical documents or figuring out the cut-off for drinking, smoking, or military service. Not to mention, in Korean culture, age plays a big role in language. Even if you're one year younger than an acquaintance, some might say you're really expected to use a more polite form of speech.
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  Yesterday, South Korea's parliament passed bills to standardize things. Starting next summer, newborns will start at zero and become one year old on their next birthday, just like in most other countries. Government polling shows the majority of the public is in favor of adopting the international standard. Of course, they may just like saying that they are one year younger, something we can all relate to.
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  Basu: Quarterfinal matches start today at the World Cup in Qatar. Apple News sports editor Shaker Samman is with me now to talk about it. Hey, Shaker.
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  Shaker Samman: Hey, how's it going?
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  Basu: I'm good. I know that you're just back from Qatar. You were there watching the matches, right?
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  Samman: Yeah, I caught six games in five days. Good tournament so far.
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  Basu: So, tell me. Which matches are you most looking forward to in this next stage of the tournament?
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  Samman: You know, we have four really good quarterfinal matchups. We've got Netherlands-Argentina, Brazil-Croatia, France-England, and Morocco-Portugal. I am really keying in on France-England. In France, you have Kylian Mbappé, maybe the best player alive, playing at the peak of his powers. And in England, you have a really talented, balanced team with a manager, Gareth Southgate, who says he spent the last few years devising a plan to stop Mbappé.
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  Basu: Mm. You know, Morocco has had a really amazing run so far, too. They beat Spain earlier in the week on penalty kicks, and tomorrow they face Portugal. So, do you think they have a shot?
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  Samman: I really think they do. The Atlas Lions are not the team that have the most impressive or intimidating attack, but they're so consistent. They beat Spain by letting Spain beat themselves, by forcing them into positions where they had to try to create against a really tightly packed defense, and then they struck on counter attacks. And by the time the second overtime half rolled around, they were just praying for penalty kicks, and it worked.
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  Basu: Now, the biggest star in this World Cup seems to be, of course, Messi. Now, Argentina has had a pretty major turnaround in the tournament after losing to Saudi Arabia early on, and now they're back on the upswing. So, will this be Messi's World Cup?
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  Samman: You know, Lionel Messi somehow keeps shoving Father Time just right out of his way. Every single World Cup, every single international tournament, we say, "Oh, you know, his team still doesn't have any help, but…" And then, you know, two weeks later they're in the knockout rounds. They keep progressing. The Netherlands will be a tough battle for them, but he's so good that it might not even matter.
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  Basu: Mm. So, Shaker, I have to ask you for your predictions that mean nothing at all. No stakes, no money on the table. Which team do you think will make it all the way?
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  Samman: I have to go with France. When they are hitting that next level that I think only they and Brazil can reach, I'm not sure there's a team in the world who can beat them. But here's what Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe, the hosts of our World Cup podcast "After the Whistle," have to say about that.
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  [START AFTER THE WHISTLE CLIP]
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  Brendan Hunt: I'm… I'm sticking to my guns. Argentina finds a way.
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  Rebecca Lowe: Okay, so you've gone right from the beginning and you've kept the saying, which is absolutely admirable. I, on the other hand, change like the wind.
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  Hunt: [LAUGHS]
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  Lowe: And I am going for a Brazil-England final. I did have Brazil circa four weeks ago, and I'm now changing it, Brendan, and it's happening. And that naked hope reappears and shows itself once more. And I'm going, "What on Earth am I doing?"
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  [FINGERS SNAPPING]
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  Rebecca Lower: But I'm doing it.
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  Brendan Hunt: Say it.
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  Rebecca Lowe: I'm going for England to win the World Cup. I'm just doing what everyone has done down the years, and it ends in tears.
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  Hunt: I'm snapping.
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  Lowe: But I'm doing it, England to win the World Cup! [LAUGHS]
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  Hunt: [CLAPS] Oh, it's coming home. Oh, it's coming home.
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  Lowe: I think it might be.
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  [END AFTER THE WHISTLE CLIP]
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  Basu: All right, Rebecca's rooting for England. You're pulling for France. Shaker, thanks so much.
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  Samman: Thanks for having me.
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  You can find World Cup coverage, and all the stories we talked about today, on the Apple News app. And also, you'll find this week's episode of our interview show, "In Conversation." I speak with Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa. Her new book is about how social media has been weaponized in the Philippines to give rise to authoritarianism. And she explains the connection between freedom and free press, all around the world.
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  Maria Ressa: If you don't have integrity of facts, you can't have integrity of elections. And what we have seen is that 60% of the world today lives under autocracies. And we're rolling back the number of democracies to 1989 levels. We are electing illiberal leaders democratically because they get the widest spread.
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  Make sure to check that out over the weekend. And I'll be back with the news on Monday.
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