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The reasons why your groceries are still so expensive · Apple News Today

• 0:00
  [MUSIC FADES IN]
• 0:05
  Yasmeen Khan, Narrating: Good morning. It's Tuesday, February 6th.
• 0:08
  I'm Yasmeen Khan, in for Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today."
• 0:12
  Coming up, what's up with high grocery costs,
• 0:15
  the surprising role of radio in the Gaza war,
• 0:19
  and the spicy breakup story behind the Sriracha shortage.
• 0:25
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 0:27
  But first, let's take a quick look at some major stories in the news.
• 0:31
  At least three people are dead in California,
• 0:33
  and there's more dangerous rain and wind in store for the state.
• 0:37
  Power's been knocked out to hundreds of thousands
• 0:39
  of homes and businesses.
• 0:41
  And the severe weather is threatening to spread to other states
• 0:44
  as it moves east toward Arizona and Nevada.
• 0:47
  Tens of millions of people have been under flood warnings.
• 0:50
  Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told people to stay off the roads
• 0:54
  and to brace for more dangerous conditions.
• 0:56
  [START FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 0:57
  Karen Bass: I know that this is hard, but Angelenos, we will get through this.
• 1:00
  We anticipate the rains for a couple of more days,
• 1:03
  but know that we are not standing alone in our city.
• 1:06
  [END FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 1:06
  Khan, Narrating: While she was briefing the public, President Biden called in
• 1:09
  to offer more federal assistance.
• 1:11
  Bass put him on speaker so people could hear it.
• 1:14
  [START FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 1:14
  President Joe Biden: We'll get any help on the way as soon as you guys request it.
• 1:19
  So just let me know. That's why I'm calling.
• 1:21
  [END FOX 11 ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 1:22
  Khan, Narrating: Downtown L.A. saw historic levels of rain,
• 1:25
  breaking a record that stood for more than a century.
• 1:27
  The excess water is too much to handle for soil in the region,
• 1:31
  leading to dozens of mudslides.
• 1:34
  In politics, the Democratic and Republican primaries
• 1:37
  are in Nevada today.
• 1:39
  Confusingly, there's also a Republican caucus
• 1:42
  in Nevada on Thursday,
• 1:44
  and the top GOP candidates won't face off in the contests.
• 1:48
  Nikki Haley's competing in today's primary.
• 1:51
  Former President Trump is running in Thursday's caucus.
• 1:54
  The GOP double-take is because of a dispute
• 1:57
  between the state legislature and the Republican Party.
• 2:00
  Delegates will go to the caucus winner,
• 2:02
  so Trump will win the contest that counts most in Nevada.
• 2:06
  The next head-to-head race for the GOP is the South Carolina primary
• 2:09
  on February 24th.
• 2:12
  Abroad, King Charles III is stepping away from public duties for cancer treatment.
• 2:17
  Buckingham Palace hasn't said what kind of cancer the 75-year-old has,
• 2:22
  other than to say it's not prostate cancer.
• 2:25
  Doctors found his condition while he was being treated for a separate,
• 2:28
  benign prostate enlargement.
• 2:31
  And in entertainment news, country star Toby Keith is dead at 62.
• 2:36
  The artist was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2022.
• 2:40
  He had dozens of top 10 hits. Some were classic country party songs.
• 2:44
  One of his most controversial was a 2002 song, after 9/11,
• 2:49
  that fans found patriotic and critics thought was overly aggressive.
• 2:53
  [ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC]
• 2:54
  Also, Tracy Chapman returned to the top of the charts.
• 2:58
  "Fast Car" hit number one on iTunes.
• 3:01
  Her Grammys duet with country singer Luke Combs
• 3:04
  had people wanting to hear her 1988 original again.
• 3:16
  In many ways, the U.S. economy is doing great.
• 3:19
  Job growth is solid. Overall inflation is dropping.
• 3:23
  But try telling that to somebody who's staring at a fat grocery receipt
• 3:27
  and wondering why they got so little food for the money.
• 3:30
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 3:31
  The cost of groceries is one place where consumers are still feeling a pinch.
• 3:36
  Food costs have climbed 25% over the last four years,
• 3:39
  outpacing inflation.
• 3:41
  And according to "Washington Post" economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai,
• 3:46
  there's no easy policy fix here because many factors
• 3:49
  are keeping food costs high.
• 3:51
  Abha Bhattarai: You know, a lot of things related to climate change,
• 3:54
  droughts, dry weather, you know, just excess rain,
• 3:57
  flooding in different parts of the world.
• 4:00
  We also have Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted a bunch of commodities,
• 4:04
  avian flu, and then labor shortages and higher wages
• 4:07
  just across the spectrum of the food process.
• 4:12
  Khan, Narrating: Economic policy experts say another issue is consolidation in the food business.
• 4:17
  Less competition means large chains can keep prices higher
• 4:21
  without losing customers.
• 4:22
  President Biden has accused some large-scale grocers
• 4:25
  of price gouging Americans,
• 4:27
  and his administration has taken legal action.
• 4:30
  Bhattarai: I think it has become a big priority of the administration to figure out
• 4:35
  whether companies are jacking up prices beyond what is necessary and sort of…
• 4:39
  taking advantage of this moment where consumers are resigned to the fact
• 4:43
  that they may have to pay a little bit more at the supermarket.
• 4:46
  Khan, Narrating: For those of you wondering, "Will prices ever come down at the grocery store?"
• 4:51
  The answer is yes and no.
• 4:53
  One agricultural economist told Bhattarai
• 4:56
  they likely will not return to pre-pandemic levels,
• 4:59
  but things are at least stabilizing
• 5:01
  with several items dropping in price last year,
• 5:04
  like eggs, lettuce, and tomatoes.
• 5:06
  And the Agriculture Department predicts a very slight drop
• 5:10
  in overall grocery prices this year.
• 5:12
  [PENSIVE MUSIC]
• 5:21
  For Israelis and Palestinians who've been separated
• 5:24
  from their loved ones by war, it's been a difficult four months.
• 5:28
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 5:29
  But some have been figuring out ways to talk to their loved ones
• 5:32
  through the radio.
• 5:33
  NPR has a story on how Palestinian and Israeli radio stations
• 5:38
  are trying to reconnect families.
• 5:40
  Yarden Roman-Gat was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th,
• 5:44
  but has since been released.
• 5:45
  She said her captors allowed her to listen to the radio.
• 5:48
  That's how she found out that some of her relatives died,
• 5:51
  but that her husband and child were alive.
• 5:54
  She also learned that her family was aware she was being held hostage.
• 5:58
  Here's her cousin speaking with NPR.
• 6:00
  [START NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 6:01
  Roman-Gat's Cousin: She said that that was one of the most important things for her
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  while she was in captivity, keeping her strong,
• 6:08
  knowing that her husband and child are still alive,
• 6:12
  and that we fight for her.
• 6:15
  [END NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 6:16
  Khan, Narrating: That gave the country's biggest broadcaster,
• 6:18
  Israeli Army Radio, an idea.
• 6:21
  The radio station started airing messages for the remaining hostages in Gaza
• 6:25
  from their relatives and loved ones.
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  Every hour, a song is dedicated to a hostage by name,
• 6:31
  like this song called "We Will Meet."
• 6:33
  [MUSIC FADES IN]
• 6:39
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 6:40
  Meanwhile, Palestinians are using the power of radio, too.
• 6:43
  There are thousands of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails.
• 6:47
  Most are being held without charge or are awaiting sentencing.
• 6:50
  And Israel has all but cut off communication.
• 6:53
  There are no more family visits.
• 6:55
  Lawyers have minimal access to their clients,
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  and even some mail delivery services have been severed.
• 7:01
  Israeli officials say the measures are in place to prevent coordinated attacks,
• 7:05
  but jailed Palestinians say it's unbearable not knowing
• 7:09
  what's going on in the outside world.
• 7:11
  So, one radio station has been playing messages from families
• 7:15
  to their detained loved ones, hoping that maybe they'll hear it.
• 7:19
  18-year-old Deema Ali recorded a message for her dad,
• 7:22
  who's been accused of having ties to Hamas, which the family denies.
• 7:26
  She told NPR she has no idea if her dad would hear the message, but in it,
• 7:31
  she wanted him to know that everything at home was fine,
• 7:34
  school was good, and not to worry.
• 7:36
  [START NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 7:37
  Deema Ali: We have no connection to reach to him or to speak with him.
• 7:40
  Where's the human rights? Where's the prisoner rights?
• 7:44
  Even the lawyer can't reach to him.
• 7:47
  [END NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 7:47
  Khan, Narrating: Technically, Palestinians aren't allowed to listen to radios
• 7:50
  in Israeli detention centers,
• 7:52
  but some who've been released say that occasionally one gets smuggled in
• 7:56
  and a message can get around.
• 7:58
  As NPR notes, desperate families feel there's nothing to lose
• 8:02
  in recording a message. You never know who, by chance, may be listening.
• 8:06
  [THOUGHTFUL MUSIC]
• 8:17
  Lovers of hot sauce, specifically the iconic Sriracha
• 8:21
  from Huy Fong Foods, are a passionate group.
• 8:24
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 8:24
  They go crazy for that bottle, the one with the bright green cap
• 8:27
  and rooster on the label.
• 8:29
  This particular brand of Sriracha has attracted legions of fans.
• 8:33
  It even inspired a whole documentary.
• 8:36
  [START ARCHIVAL "SRIRACHA MOVIE" CLIP]
• 8:36
  Unidentified Speaker 1: I just love that bold flavor.
• 8:38
  [WOMAN LAUGHS]
• 8:39
  Unidentified Speaker 2: It's yummy.
• 8:41
  [END ARCHIVAL "SRIRACHA MOVIE" CLIP]
• 8:41
  Khan, Narrating: But those folks have been out of luck lately.
• 8:44
  The hot sauce has been in short supply in grocery stores,
• 8:47
  and online sellers have sometimes jacked up prices to nearly $70 a bottle.
• 8:52
  The company has blamed the shortage on climate change and drought in Mexico.
• 8:57
  But some experts said that didn't quite add up.
• 9:00
  Now, "Fortune Magazine" reports on what it says is the real origin
• 9:05
  of this shortage. The problem goes back to a dispute in 2016.
• 9:10
  And it's actually a break-up story about a decades-long friendship
• 9:14
  and business partnership that completely unraveled.
• 9:18
  For years, the maker of Huy Fong Foods had an agreement with a farmer
• 9:22
  from California. He would grow all the chilies for the hot sauce,
• 9:26
  and the company would be his only pepper buyer.
• 9:30
  Together, they had enormous success, becoming a worldwide bestseller.
• 9:34
  Then, in 2016, a fight over pricing ended their 28-year partnership
• 9:40
  and brought each man financial ruin.
• 9:44
  Each person has their version of who did what wrong,
• 9:48
  but the bottom line was one guy had thousands of acres of peppers
• 9:52
  with no one to buy them, and one guy had a hot sauce factory
• 9:56
  with no peppers to keep it running.
• 9:58
  [MUSIC FADES IN]
• 9:59
  It's an epic tale that turned two men into direct competitors
• 10:03
  and left millions of people without their favorite hot sauce.
• 10:07
  You can read the whole thing, along with all the stories we talked about,
• 10:11
  in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app,
• 10:14
  we've got a narrated article coming up next from the "Atavist Magazine"
• 10:18
  about an incredible story of survival.
• 10:21
  Last year, four children went missing in the Colombian Amazon
• 10:25
  after surviving a plane crash.
• 10:26
  They spent 40 days alone in the jungle before they were rescued.
• 10:31
  And this story gets into all the details on how they survived
• 10:34
  and were finally found.
• 10:36
  If you're listening in the Podcasts app, you can follow Apple News+ Narrated
• 10:40
  to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
• 10:46
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]