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The Supreme Court case that may upend Native American rights · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Wednesday, May 31st. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today.” On today's show, wildfires are raging in Canada, why Americans can't stop buying luxury goods, and how teens are taking over women's soccer.
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  But first, the Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling any day now in a case that has monumental consequences for Native communities. The case is Haaland vs. Brackeen. At face value, it's about adoption and whether the law known as the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA for short, discriminates against non-native families who want to adopt Native children.
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  Rebecca Nagle: A lot of advocates and court watchers who are watching the Brackeen case really don't think that it's about children or about ICWA at all, but is rather almost like a Trojan horse to open up this broader attack on tribes.
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  That's Rebecca Nagle, the host of the Crooked Media podcast "This Land” and a citizen of Cherokee Nation.
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  She's written about the history of ICWA and why it was established in the first place. The law was created in the late 1970s after nearly a third of Native children had been separated from their families by the federal government. Children were sent to boarding schools where they were given anglicized names and told they must assimilate to white society. They were punished for speaking languages other than English and they were subject to emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
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  Nagle: There is a long history of the U.S. federal government systematically separating Native children from their families, which I think it's really important to point out is an internationally recognized form of genocide, you know, to remove the children of a people. You can't continue to exist as a people, as a tribe, if you don't have your children.
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  Under ICWA, there's a priority list for who should get custody of a Native child if they're up for adoption. First priority goes to their family, then other members of the child's tribe, then other Native families. In this Supreme Court case, the plaintiffs say ICWA discriminates against non-Native parents based on race by putting them last on the priority list, and they're asking the Court to overturn the law.
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  Nagle: The U.S. has passed laws that apply just to tribes and tribal citizens. And for a long time, courts have recognized that that's not based on race, but it's based on the unique political status of indigenous nations. And so, it could really upset this whole area of law for the Supreme Court to rule that ICWA, which is just one of many of these laws, is not based on that political status, but is instead based on race.
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  Nagle says, if the Supreme Court decides to strike down ICWA, the decision could open the door to upending hundreds of federal treaties and statutes that protect the rights of tribal nations.
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  Nagle: You know, if ICWA discriminates based on race and that's unconstitutional, well, what about the clinic where I go and get healthcare? Because if you're not a tribal citizen, you can't be seen there. If we're just a racial group, then how can we have our own land and our own court systems and our own environmental regulations? You know, what quote-unquote "racial groups" have their own governments? And so, it's really scary, the broader implications.
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  Let's turn now to some other big stories in the news. Yesterday, opening arguments began in the trial of a man who killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. The shooting is the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The shooter could face the death penalty if convicted of some of the 63 counts he's being charged with. Those include hate-crime charges. In Nova Scotia, raging wildfires have forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Officials estimate that 200 homes or structures have been destroyed and more than 16,000 people have been evacuated in areas around the capital Halifax as of yesterday afternoon. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announced a pause on travel and other outdoor activities yesterday.
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  Tim Houston: We're gonna take whatever steps we can do to protect our resources. All travel and activity within Nova Scotia's woods is banned. We're gonna stop the travel. We have to. We have to do what we can.
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  These wildfires come after other blazes had broken out throughout western Canada. Climate research has suggested that heat and drought driven by global warming are contributors to larger and stronger fires.
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  And finally, the deal to raise the debt ceiling passed its first critical test yesterday. It advanced out of the House Rules Committee despite some opposition from conservative Republicans. Today, a full vote on the House floor is expected.
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  Mass layoffs, high interest rates, rampant inflation. These aren't exactly things that make you think, "Hey, now's the right time to buy a stupid expensive watch or handbag." But the market for luxury goods is booming. Champagne, upscale kitchenware, limited-edition sneakers, these are all having a moment.
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  And luxury companies are seeing their revenue and stock value soar. As of this year, the richest person in the world is no longer Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. It's Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, master of brands including Louis Vuitton, Dom Pérignon and Tiffany.
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  "Vox” looks at some of the reasons why people are splurging on luxury goods. One is that rich people are still doing well and haven't really been challenged by the uncertain economy.
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  As for the less-wealthy people flocking to luxury brands, some of this has to do with pandemic habits. Many people were spending less and saving more. Lockdowns had people pent up and looking for a way to blow off steam.
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  And the growing resale market for luxury goods means a much wider pool of people now have access to high-end aesthetics and sensibilities. Platforms like Poshmark and Depop let people buy used luxury goods second-hand. There's also evidence that younger consumers are starting to turn to luxury brands. Research shows people in Gen Z are making their first luxury purchase around the age of 15. That's earlier than the previous generation did.
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  It might seem strange that luxury companies are doing so well when there are so many questions around the economy, but in a way, it makes perfect sense. After all, the luxury business is built on escaping reality.
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  If you're a fan of the National Women's Soccer League, you might notice something a little different this season. A wave of teenagers is taking over now that the league has scrapped a long-standing rule that required athletes to be 18 years old before a professional club could sign them.
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  Now, some players are skipping college ball altogether and going straight to the pros. There's a lot of upsides: improved pay and better facilities, now that clubs are investing more in them. "The Wall Street Journal” looks at the promising young talent taking advantage of this new pathway. There are athletes who are 15, 16, 17 years old not only making professional teams but getting game time and making critical plays.
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  Commentator: Moultrie! That's her first NWSL goal. And we are even!
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  What you just heard was 17-year-old Olivia Moultrie scoring her first goal as a pro for Portland. She's the player who made this change possible. At the age of 13, she started training with the Thorns. In 2021, she filed a lawsuit against the league over the age requirement, and she won, making her the youngest player in the history of the league at the time, at age 15. This opened the door for other players, people like Alyssa Thompson, a midfielder for Angel City in Los Angeles who, at 18 years old, could soon be among the youngest players to make the U.S. national team at the World Cup this summer.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around.
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  We've got a narrated article coming up next. "The New Yorker” looks at how you can hire your favorite arena-filling pop star to play a private party, corporate event or bar mitzvah. That is, if you have a few million to spare. So, sit back, enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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