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The U.S. faces Iran in a politically charged World Cup game · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Tuesday, November 29th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, the Supreme Court considers immigration and the limits of Biden's power, why American college enrollment is headed off a cliff, and recognizing the best in Podcasts.
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  But first, today the U.S. plays Iran in the World Cup. The American team has to win or else it's out of the tournament.
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  This is already shaping up to be one of the most politically charged matches. In the stands and around the world, critics of the Iranian regime have used the World Cup spotlight to protest against the brutal crackdown on demonstrators there. Ever since September, when a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini died in police custody, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to streets in Iran, in what is considered the most significant challenge to the Islamic Republic in decades. Human rights groups say hundreds of protesters have been killed. Thousands more arrested.
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  These protests put Iran's soccer players in a tough position. One of them, Ehsan Hajsafi, addressed reporters as the World Cup got underway.
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  Ehsan Hajsafi: [SPEAKING THROUGH TRANSLATOR]
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  He said, "We have to accept the conditions in our country are not right. Our people are not happy. We are here, but it does not mean we should not be their voice or respect them."
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  There were also silent protests. At their first match, Iranian players didn't sing the national anthem. After that, a former Iranian team member was arrested in Iran. It was seen as the government warning players to get in line. They did sing the national anthem at their second match.
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  In the stands, some people held up signs that read, "Woman, Life, Freedom," "Zan-Zindagi-Azadi," the slogan embraced by the Iranian protesters. Qatari officials made it hard for fans to speak out, even confiscating protest gear.
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  Then this weekend, the United States Soccer Federation temporarily posted an altered Iranian flag on social media, one that doesn't have the Islamic Republic emblem. It called it a show of support for human rights protesters. Iran called on FIFA to suspend the U.S. for 10 games.
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  And just yesterday, tensions ratcheted up a notch further. During a press conference hosted by FIFA, a journalist for a state-run Iranian network asked American captain Tyler Adams how he, as a Black player, could support the United States given its treatment of Black people.
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  Tyler Adams: You know, there's discrimination everywhere you go. One thing that I've learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures, is that in the U.S., we're continuing to make progress every single day.
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  Adams also said what athletes often say, that the players will focus on the game and not what's happening around it.
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  For many Iranians, it's impossible to separate the two. The "L.A. Times" spoke to Iranian Americans and people in Iran about how the World Cup and protests are mingling on the global stage. There have been some calls to boycott the tournament as a way of rejecting the government. One man from Tehran doesn't agree with that. He said, Iran's team "belongs to all of us, we pay for it with our own money." And they showed their support by not singing the anthem. An Iranian American woman told the "Times," no matter what happens, win or lose, the politics around it have "taken the joy out of the game."
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  You can find more coverage of the U.S.-Iran match on the Apple News app, including on our World Cup podcast "After the Whistle" with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe.
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  Today, the Supreme Court hears the first big immigration case of this term. It's a hot-button issue on its own, but this case also has bigger implications. It comes down to executive power: how much the Biden administration can do without Congressional approval. That'll be a major issue for the rest of Biden's term, now that Republicans are about to take control of the House.
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  This case goes back to a change the administration wanted to make from Trump policy, to focus immigration enforcement on people who posed a risk to national security or public safety. The Trump administration had used a more sweeping approach. Texas and Louisiana sued, arguing the new policy was too lax, and a federal court blocked the Biden administration's change.
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  The Biden administration says it can't deport the estimated 11 million undocumented people here, so it needs to focus its approach. The states suing say that a policy shift would create problems for them, and that the Biden administration doesn't have the power to pick and choose which immigrants to target for enforcement.
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  The administration did get a win on a different immigration case in the last term. The Court allowed it to end a Trump policy where migrants seeking asylum had to remain in Mexico while their cases were under review. But the Biden administration has lost several big cases dealing with administrative power generally. This ruling could determine how much running room Biden will have in the future.
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  Over the next few years, colleges across the country are gonna start looking quite different. The number of students enrolling is expected to shrink. Kevin Carey, vice president for Education Policy at the think tank New America, says the 2008 financial crisis is part of the reason why.
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  Kevin Carey: One of the hidden effects of the Great Recession was that with sudden unemployment and uncertainty, people stopped having as many children.
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  Carey recently wrote about this decline for "Vox." He says if you do the math, the shift that was triggered by The Great Recession means that fewer students will be heading off to college starting around 2026. In higher education, it's called the "enrollment cliff."
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  Now, Carey says some schools are gonna be fine. Highly selective colleges and universities will likely still attract enough applicants to keep their classrooms full. But regional schools, community colleges, and small private colleges could be in trouble.
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  Carey: I think people have an image that private colleges are for rich people, but that's not really true. They don't have the government giving them money every year to stay in business. They're kind of operating year to year just on tuition. And I think a lot of them are in danger of just going under. And think some of them unfortunately will.
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  He says closures would be especially tough in places where colleges are a big part of the economy.
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  Carey: They have strong roots in the community. They may be the only employer that has been stable, the only source of good jobs with benefits. Now those institutions are endangered, too.
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  We won't fully understand the impact of the enrollment cliff for decades, Carey says. But it's clear that higher ed is about to go through some big changes. And the consequences could reshape American education for years to come.
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  Last thing we'll leave you with today, we have a fun announcement. Our partners at Apple Podcasts are giving out a "Show of the Year" award to recognize outstanding quality, innovation and impact in podcasting.
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  And we are excited to be the first to announce the winner. This year's Apple Podcasts Award goes to "Slate's" narrative history series, "Slow Burn." It's for the latest season, "Roe v. Wade," hosted by executive editor Susan Matthews. It traces the history of abortion and reproductive rights in the U.S. in the lead-up to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision.
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  The series starts with the story of the first American woman to be held criminally responsible for having an abortion, Shirley Wheeler.
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  Shirley Wheeler: The state of Florida is the criminal, not me.
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  [CROWD CLAPPING, CHEERING]
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  Wheeler: I am appealing my conviction because I would hate to see another one of my sisters go through the living hell that I have. Thank you.
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  Crowd Members: [CHANTING] Defend Shirley Wheeler!
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  Now, I did not choose the winner of this award, but I am a fan of this season of "Slow Burn." A few months back, I had Susan on my interview show, "In Conversation."
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  Susan Matthews: One of the things that you hear today is that if Roe is overturned, if abortion laws are put into place, the woman isn't going to be punished. So one of the things that I thought was really interesting about Shirley's story is that it just kind of shows that you can't guarantee that.
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  You can find "Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade" on Apple Podcasts. And starting today, they're dropping a bunch of bonus content, too. Big, big congratulations and kudos to the team at "Slate."
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  And if you're listening to us right now in the Apple News app, stick around. My conversation with Susan Matthews about "Slow Burn" is cued up for you next. And, as always, you can find all the stories we talked about today in the app, too. So be sure to check all of that out, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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