Good morning. It's Wednesday, January 8th. I'm Gideon Resnick, in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how your social media feeds might change soon. The US declares a genocide in Sudan, and two unlikely TV sitcoms are teaming up. But first, President-elect Trump talked yesterday about expanding the United States in what seems like an implausible way, seizing control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
And he told reporters he hasn't ruled out using military force or economic coercion to do so. I can't assure you, you're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you either of those two. But I can say this. We need them for economic security. During his first term, you might remember that Trump also floated the idea of buying Greenland. That was strongly rejected by Denmark.
Greenland is a former colony of Denmark and became a formal territory of the kingdom in the 1950s. So Greenland is subject to the Danish constitution, and any changes to its legal status would require a constitutional amendment. So purchasing has never really been on the table. Any military efforts would cause greater backlash. It sounds impossible and ridiculous to even talk about, but if that were to happen, there would obviously be global outrage.
That's Politico reporter Seb Starchevich, who's been following these developments from Brussels. Denmark and the U.S. are both members of NATO. It's just not realistic in my personal opinion. But if that were to happen, there would obviously be global outcry, global outrage, but it would be unprecedented. All of it begs the question, why does Trump want to control Greenland so badly? Greenland occupies a unique geostrategic position.
between the US and Europe. It's a gateway to the Arctic, and it's also really rich in minerals and rare earths. It also already hosts a US military base. Trump has repeatedly said that Greenland is vital to American security interests. Neither Greenland nor Denmark want this to happen, to be clear. And Greenland is not for sale. In fact, there's a growing movement in Greenland for independence. Here's one member of Greenland's parliament talking with CNN.
Greenland should be Greenlanders' decision on what kind of state we would like to be and also who we should cooperate with. As all of this drama has played out, Trump's son, Donald Jr., was on a trip to Greenland. He claimed it was a personal visit with no government business involved. But the president-elect revealed on social media later that his representatives were part of Don Jr.'s entourage. Let's turn now to Meta.
and its decision to eliminate the company's fact-checking program. These changes will affect billions of users on Facebook and Instagram. Here's Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaking on Tuesday, explaining the move. The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech. So we're going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.
Now, instead of traditional fact checkers, the company will rely on community notes, similar to those found on X and Wikipedia. That involves users, not trained fact checkers, adding context and fact checks to posts, photos, and other content. Zuckerberg attributed the change in Meta's content moderation policies to the shift in the political environment. And observers have noted the system was never without its issues. Meta's fact-checking system has been controversial for years.
Ben Goggin is a technology editor with NBC News. In the last several years, Republicans have been highly critical of Meta and how they've fact-checked different news outlets and content creators. Republicans have alleged that Meta's fact-checking system and third-party partners are biased against Republicans. Users may also expect to see changes to the type of content they see on Meta platforms.
The social media giant had previously attempted to limit political posts. That will no longer be the case. Now, Mehta says, they don't want to be involved. in that decision making. So they are going to be pulling back on their restriction. So people can expect to probably see more political content in their feeds as a result of this. Here's how Zuckerberg put it.
We're going to simplify our content policies and get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse. has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas. And it's gone too far. Recently, Dana White, the UFC president and Trump ally, also joined Meta's board.
Zuckerberg is far from the only big tech CEO to make recent attempts at forging a warmer relationship with President-elect Trump. Leaders from companies like Apple, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI have pledged a million dollars apiece for Trump's inaugural committee.
Some from their personal checkbooks, others from company coffers. Meta's announcement comes in the context of CEOs across the spectrum of industry. Really... coming to Trump and literally offering him money and favor and, you know, kissing the ring as some people have said. Mehta's move has largely been contextualized by this type of business favor towards Trump, or at least trying to earn his favor.
The United States says a genocide is taking place in Sudan and accuses the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group, of murdering children, including infants, quote, on an ethnic basis. The State Department also says the group has targeted women and girls with sexual violence since the start of the country's civil war that broke out in April of 2023. The conflict has led to a widespread famine and the world's biggest refugee crisis.
More than 11 million people are displaced, according to the United Nations. Along with the State Department's announcement, the Treasury Department issued sanctions against RSF's leader and seven companies in the United Arab Emirates that are accused of supplying the RSF with money and weapons. NPR's West Africa correspondent Emmanuel Akinwotu has been reporting on the war for months. He explained the scale of the famine recently to NPR.
In August, famine was declared in what's the largest refugee camp in Sudan, in the western region of Darfur. But now it's been confirmed in three other refugee camps in the same proximity. And overall, it's now five. areas in Sudan, affecting about half a million people and counting. Nathaniel Raymond is an executive director at Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab. He described to Akinwotu what this actually looked like in one camp called Zamzam.
where famine was first declared. Zamzam is in a condition called IPC5, or Integrated Phase Classification 5, which is the highest level of food insecurity. And children in particular have been dying from a lack of food. People are eating peanut shells, animal fodder, grasses. Watchdog organizations have said that tens of millions across the country are experiencing acute hunger. The death toll from the war is unknown, but U.S. officials have estimated that about 150,000 people have been killed.
This declaration of genocide does not mean, however, that the U.S. is supporting the Sudanese military in the war. The UN also accuses their forces of committing war crimes. And some were quick to criticize the U.S.'s late response to the conflict. Cameron Hudson, a former American diplomat and Sudan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said on social media, quote,
It's too late, and too many people have died for that to happen. The U.S. has only declared a genocide six times before, since the end of the Cold War, including in Bosnia in 1993 and Rwanda in 1994. And this comes two decades after the U.S. declared a genocide in Darfur in 2004 that left hundreds of thousands of people dead.
Before we let you go, a few other stories being featured in the Apple News app. A raging fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles forced residents to abandon their cars on the road and flee toward the ocean. as homes were destroyed and smoke engulfed the area. The fire came right down to the road and the fire department came up and said, get out of your cars now, because the fires were right up against the cars.
That's Marsha Horowitz, a resident of the area, speaking to KCAL News as she fled on foot with her dog. Fueled by what officials called a life-threatening and destructive windstorm, more than 1,200 acres had burned as of Tuesday afternoon. Dramatic video from the scene showed whipping winds as flames consumed palm trees, and bulldozers had to be brought in to clear out deserted vehicles to make way for fire trucks.
Forecasts predicted dry and strong winds in the next few days, which could make the situation worse. This is a fast-moving story and you can follow along on the Apple News app for the latest updates. Meanwhile, rescue efforts continue in Tibet, where a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit a remote area in the foothills of the Himalayas on the Chinese-Nepal border near Mount Everest. Chinese state media said Tuesday that more than 100 people are dead.
with many more injured. Temperatures in the area were expected to fall into the low single digits as the rescue operation was underway. Back in the U.S., a special service was held for former President Jimmy Carter in the Capitol, where a number of political figures from both parties eulogized his service to the country. Ceremonies continue into tomorrow when a national day of mourning will be observed.
That means that institutions like the post office and federal courts will be closed, along with the stock market. Carter's National Funeral is scheduled for tomorrow at Washington National Cathedral. And finally, you might have a favorite TV crossover event you remember, like when Steve Urkel showed up on Full House. Well, ABC's Abbott Elementary and FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are about to take part in that tradition.
with the first part of a crossover event tonight. Both shows are set in Philly and are beloved comedies, but with very different vibes. It's Always Sunny features a group of degenerate friends largely set in a dive bar. And Abbott Elementary humorously portrays teachers working in an underfunded public school. Here's Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson talking to Jimmy Kimmel about how all of this came together. Rob McElhinney, who created Always Sunny.
along with that team, something came up online, and he kind of was like, someone said, this seems like a sunny episode. He's like, this seems like an Abbott episode. And then we kind of connected over that, and then we really connected in person, and I just get along with him and his team so well.
that we felt like we could actually do this. The plot of the episode will find the Always Sunny gang at Abbott Elementary to perform community service. The Always Sunny episode will tell the rest of the story sometime later this year. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the news app right now, we have a narrated article coming up next from Rolling Stone. It pulls back the curtain on the beloved American game show Jeopardy.
It's evolved a lot since his debut in 1964, but kind of lost its way for a while after Alex Trebek's death. The show struggled to find a new host before eventually tapping former champion Ken Jennings. He told Rolling Stone about the show's recovery and what gives it its sting. hour. If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.