What we know about Palestinians killed near aid trucks

Good morning! It’s Friday, March 1st. I’m Mark Garrison in for Shumita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On the show, Biden and Trump make dueling visits to the border, understanding the deadly and traumatic reality first responders face at that border, and answers to burning questions about the 2024 presidential race.

But first, a deadly incident in Gaza underscores just how dangerous humanitarian conditions are there. Gaza health authorities say more than 100 people were killed and hundreds more injured during a delivery of aid yesterday. Palestinian and Israeli sources are providing very different accounts of what happened. Palestinians say many civilians were gunned down by Israeli forces. Israel’s military says troops did open fire, but only in a limited way after feeling threatened by the crowd.

[SPEAKING THROUGH TRANSLATOR]

After they stopped shooting, we went back to get our aid. By the time I got flour and some canned goods and took it down from the truck, they shot at us. They shot me, and the truck driver left and ran over my leg.

There may be disputes about exactly what happened in that incident, which the U.S. and U.N. want fully investigated. But what is clear is that there are severe shortages of food and water in Gaza. And families in that crowd were desperate to get something to eat. A recent U.N. report says one in six children in Gaza are acutely malnourished.

We are talking about a man-made famine, because we have kind of a total blockage for the people who are living in the north.

The chief of humanitarian aid for the U.N. is calling on countries to prohibit the use of starvation as "a method of warfare." The U.N.’s top court previously ordered Israel to take steps to make sure humanitarian aid can get to Palestinian civilians. As conditions get worse, other efforts are ramping up. Jordan and France airdropped aid into Gaza earlier this week. And the U.S. is reportedly considering airdrops as well,

as it gets harder to deliver supplies by land. Now, let’s take a quick look at some other stories in the news. In Washington, a stopgap spending measure is in place to avoid a government shutdown.

The House and Senate passed a bill to keep the government funded while talks go on about a larger budget deal. In Alabama, state lawmakers are moving forward on legislation that would protect IVF patients and doctors from legal repercussions. Many clinics there stopped services after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were children. The State Senate and House have more work to do. A final bill could be signed into law by the governor soon.

Texas is very secure and it’s going to be even more secure by the time you finish, which will be soon.

President Biden visited a different stretch of the border yesterday. And he said Trump should back a new immigration bill.

Join me, or I'll join you, in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together. You know, and I know it's the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen. So instead of playing politics with the issue, why don't we just get together and get it done? Let's remember who the heck we work for.

That bill had support from some GOP lawmakers. But many pulled back after Trump encouraged Republicans

to oppose a compromise on border security. While politicians talk about the border, first responders have to deal with deadly realities there, day in and day out. "NBC" talked to firefighters and EMTs in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas. And we should warn you, their stories are graphic.

They’re often recovering the bodies of migrants, including many children, who’ve died trying to swim across the Rio Grande. Marcos Kypuros is a 20-year veteran of the department, where emergency calls have doubled.

It was just a constant thing, showing up to work at 8 a.m. and receiving that tone out at 8:03 to respond to a body recovery and from that it escalated to a body rescue and back to a body recovery and we'd be in the river for three, four hours.

Kypuros says, he’s lost count of how many bodies he’s had to recover. He told "NBC" about the toll it’s taking on his mental health.

I went up to chief one day and I said, "Hey chief, I kind of need a break."

That Chief, Manuel Mello, understands why his people are struggling to cope. It’s more than anything he’s ever had to deal with.

Nothing even close to what I experienced while was on the line. It's a whole different monster.

Mello went into graphic detail about the traumatizing experiences first responders are dealing with on a regular basis.

They see decomposing bodies. They see children that have drowned. And if you ever see that, I can give you an image of that. Babies two months old with their eyes half open, their mouth full of mud, their ears full of mud, where they've been stuck on the side of the river. That's what these guys are seeing.

City officials are trying to get first responders more help to deal with the mental strain. They’re applying for a state grant to bring in additional mental health services.

But for now, the drownings keep happening, giving firefighters and EMTs little time to stop and breathe before they have to respond to another call. Let’s end the show with a quick look at the presidential race. For the next few weeks while Shumita is on maternity leave, Apple News "In Conversation" will be hosted by Brian Stelter, former anchor of "CNN’s" "Reliable Sources."

In his first episode, his guests are "New Yorker" staff writers Susan Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos, who also cohost "The Political Scene" podcast. They’ll give us the answers to some of the unavoidable questions about the 2024 race. Like, can Trump still run for president even if he gets convicted of a crime?

He can still be president, even if he's a convicted felon.

And, why are so many Americans in denial about the names that are almost certain to be on the ticket?

If you talk to people inside the Biden campaign, their own polling is telling them that only about 20 percent of Americans believe at this point that it's going to be a contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. And here's the most amazing fact…

Even though that is the most likely outcome.

Twenty percent.

Twenty percent.

Twenty percent.

And, so, the reason why that's important is that until you have a moment when the choice is in front of you, until you're standing at the buffet, and that's it. It's either the salad or the hamburger. You don't have any real capacity to make an abstract decision.

What if I don't want a salad or a hamburger? [LAUGHS]

Well, then you can stay home, and that's a politically meaningful fact.

If you’re listening in the News app, we have this episode cued up to play for you next. If you’re listening in the Podcasts app, you can find it by searching for Apple News "In Conversation." Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll be back with the news on Monday.