US-Iran Talks Get Complicated; Stephen Colbert's Final Show

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1:29do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering, and claims experience. Learn more at thehartford.com slash risk mitigation. Policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates, Hartford, Connecticut. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts, radio, news. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, efforts to end the war with Iran are getting complicated now. An Iranian media report says the latest U.S. proposal to stop the fighting has narrowed the gaps to some extent.

2:11But Reuters is reporting that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtabah Hamini, has ordered the country's highly enriched uranium stockpile not to be sent abroad. President Trump says that is a non-starter. We get the highly enriched. We will get it. We don't need it. We don't want it. We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it. President Trump's also coming out against a plan by Iran and Oman to set up a permanent toll system through the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg's Stuart Livingston Wallace reports that could be a major sticking point. This is, as Trump says, an international waterway.

2:46in tradition, you don't have tolls on that. And I think it would be very difficult for the international community, not least the literal states here and, you know, the regional states to accept that going forward, they have to pay a toll to either Iran or Oman or both in order to move their goods through. Bloomberg Stewart Livingston-Wallace reports President Trump threatened to resume attacks within days if Iran does not agree to his terms, though he has made that threat several times before. Meantime, Nathan, on Capitol Hill, House Republican leaders abruptly called off a vote to authorize the Iran war.

3:18Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers says not enough Republicans are present for the vote. Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern says it's because they're running out of support. Gas prices are through the roof. People can't afford, people can't afford their groceries. Is that why you're pulling it? You guys don't have the guts of the vote. The House will be in order. Democrat Jim McGovern blasted the canceled vote on the House floor. Last week, the House tied on a similar vote that Democrats have been forcing repeatedly to highlight the growing economic toll from the war. And Karen, the war could also be affecting President Trump's decision to sign off on a$14 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

3:55Acting Navy Secretary Hong Kao told a Senate committee that the U.S. has put a temporary hold on arms sales to the island to ensure the U.S. has enough supplies for the conflict. A spokesman for Taiwan's president says there is currently no indication that the U.S. plans to make any adjustments to the sale. Nathan, President Trump says he plans to send 5 ,000 troops to Poland. The decision reverses a plan to suspend an army deployment to Poland, which was paused by the Pentagon a week earlier. Began more from Bloomberg Chief European Correspondent Oliver Crook. The United States found that actually the quickest way to pull troops out of Europe was to block the rotation that was coming into Poland.

4:33And obviously, Poland is seen as a more model ally at the moment to the United States because they're not being as disparaging as Donald Trump. And they sort of reversed that move, saying that actually they're going to send 5 ,000 troops to Poland. So I think net we're talking about still a reduction in troops for the Germans, but they didn't want to punish the Poles. Interestingly, for some reason, Donald Trump cited the fact that the Poles had elected the president, who was an ally of Trump. But that was, you know, August of last year. So anyway, it's a sort of a jumbled message here. But it seems that broadly speaking, still their plan is to remove troops from Germany.

5:03They don't want to punish Poland. And overall, we should say that the American posture is they do want to reduce their troop levels in Europe overall. Bloomberg chief European correspondent Oliver Crook says President Trump has suggested a broader drawdown of the U.S.'s 85 ,000 military personnel in Europe, and that's in the works. And back here in the U.S., Karen, the Senate has left Washington for a week-long recess without passing President Trump's$72 billion immigration package. Bloomberg's Amy Morris reports from Washington. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito explains there were just too many questions about the president's so-called anti-weaponization fund.

5:39It just became much more complicated. A lot of questions about what is this fund? Who decides who's eligible? How did it come about? Why are we hearing about this now? Senator Shelley Moore Capito on balance of power. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says there is a way forward. Stop backing the slush fund. Stop pushing the ballroom. And as soon as we get back, join Democrats in fighting to lower Americans' costs. The bill had already faced significant pushback from Republicans over using the bill to fund Trump's ballroom. In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Amy, thank you all.

6:14This is shaping up to be one of the most expensive Memorial Days on record. As millions get set to hit the road this weekend, the price of gasoline is more than 40 percent higher than a year ago. Bloomberg Economic reporter Mark Niquette says that's not the only thing rising for consumers. We're starting to see a big increase in food prices, but in particular prices for things like beef and lettuce and tomatoes. The average ground beef prices in April broke the$7 per pound threshold for the first time. And steak is now past$13 a pound. Tomatoes are up 40 percent compared to this time last year.

6:51That's the biggest jump since 2004. Bloomberg's Mark Niquette says economists expect food prices to keep rising in part because of the diminished supply and rising prices of fertilizer as a result of the Iran war. You can get more details on the cost of Memorial Day on our special holiday edition of Bloomberg Daybreak. Catch that at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Monday or on the Daybreak podcast available wherever you download. Well, Karen, it's the end of an era in late night. Stephen Colbert has hosted his final episode of his CBS show. And Bloomberg's Alexis Christophorus joins us from New York with the recap.

7:28Alexis. Good morning, Nathan. It was an emotional final show. After 11 years and 1 ,800 monologues, Stephen Colbert mostly steered clear of political jokes and criticism of President Trump in a star-studded final show on CBS. The parade of actors and comedians included Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, and Ryan Reynolds. Who's going to be my last guest now? Hey, shit. What about me? Musician Paul McCartney was Colbert's final guest. He appeared with The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, which filmed in the same theater as Colbert.

8:11Colbert was singing back up there. Last year, CBS said it was canceling The Late Show because of financial reasons and not because of its content. In New York, Alexis Christophorus, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Alexis, thank you. As Colbert departs CBS, it's a new tenure at the Federal Reserve. This morning, Kevin Warsh will be sworn in as Fed chairman by President Trump at the White House. Bloomberg Economics Anna Wong notes that Warsh has said he is committed to preserving the Fed's independence. You know, at his confirmation hearing, he vigorously denied the idea that he has promised Trump rate cuts.

8:47And also, I think a sizable portion of market participants, including ourselves, suspect that Kevin Worsh, in fact, is a hawk at the heart of things. But the reality is the market is already doing the hiking for him, and he may be happy about that. Bloomberg Economics Chief U.S. Economist Anna Wong. Let's get to a setback now, Nathan, for Elon Musk's SpaceX. And Bloomberg's John Tucker joins us with the latest. John, good morning. Good morning, Karen. on the launch of Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, was scrubbed with just 40 seconds to go. Waiting to see if the launch director confirms go for launch and they're in a hold.

9:26A pin holding the tower arm in place failed to retract at the South Texas launch facility. The mission was set a day after Musk's company filed publicly for an IPO. As part of that filing, SpaceX has proposed a number of ambitious initiatives that require Starship to be fully operational. For much of last year, Starship's test flights suffered from repeated explosions. The next launch window will open late this afternoon. I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio. As we head into Memorial Day weekend, Karen, the auto racing world is mourning the death of Kyle Bush. The two-time Cup Series champion won more races than anyone across NASCAR's three national series.

10:05Bush's family says he was hospitalized with a severe illness three days before he was set to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle Bush was 41 years old. No cause of death was given.

10:21Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. Uganda has closed its border with Democratic Republic of Congo to check the spread of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. It comes as health officials are defending the decision to bar a Detroit-bound Air France passenger traveling from an Ebola hot zone in Central Africa from entering the U.S. The flight from Paris was diverted to Canada where that passenger deplained. This woman was a passenger on the flight.

10:56The flight attendants all had masks on, which no one had had on prior to that announcement. So it was really concerning, like, what is going on here? Canadian officials say the passenger did not show symptoms and is unlikely to spread the Ebola virus. The U.S. is now denying entry to anyone without a U.S. passport who has recently traveled through the affected regions. Any American coming home from the areas have to fly to Washington Dulles Airport to be screened by the CDC. Questions are being raised over how former Cuban President Raul Castro would be brought to the U.S. to face charges. On Wednesday, the U.S.

11:38issued a federal indictment charging Castro with murder over his alleged role in shooting down two planes that were carrying humanitarian aid to the island in 1996. Four U.S. nationals were killed. The Trump administration has been vague in its answers to bring Castro to the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Well, I'm not going to talk about how we're going to get him here. If we were trying to get him here, why would I say to the media what our plans are about that? I know you have to ask, but why would I answer that? Today, Secretary Rubio will attend a NATO foreign minister's meeting in Sweden.

12:10British police are appealing for witnesses in their investigation into potential offenses by former Prince Andrew, including sexual misconduct. A woman alleges she was taken to Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Global News 24 hours a day and whenever you want it. With Bloomberg News Now, I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg, Karen. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. Tragic news from NASCAR. Kyle Busch died suddenly at the age of 41. He was planning to be in this weekend's race.

12:46He was the Cup Series champion twice in 2015. In 19, he won 63 Cup Series races. In the NBA playoffs, another win for the Knicks. They've won nine in a row. They beat Cleveland in New York 109-93. Josh Hart scored 26 points. And the Knicks lead the East Finals two games to none. Game one in the Stanley Cup, East final in Montreal, 1-6-2 at Carolina. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Is passive investing costing you more than you think? Active ETFs aim to beat the benchmark, while passive ETFs just settle for them. Embrace an active strategy that helps you build stronger portfolios.

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16:01Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. As the standoff between the U.S. and Iran continues, Tehran says the latest U.S. proposal to end the fighting has narrowed the gaps to some extent, but President Trump says he won't budge when it comes to Iran giving up its enriched geranium. Right now we're negotiating, and we'll see. But we're going to get it one way or the other. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon. That was President Trump speaking in the Oval Office. Joining us from Dubai this morning is Bloomberg News Middle East Managing Editor Paul Wallace. Paul, where do things stand now in the talks?

16:32It seems like we keep hearing conflicting statements. Good morning. Hi, good morning. Yes, we're still in that phase where each side, both the Iranians and the U.S., are making conflicting statements and vacillating between threats to resume hostilities or react powerfully to any new strikes on their territory. And also some optimistic words thrown in there as well. I think it is notable that the Iranians yesterday, through their state media, said that the latest U.S. proposal partly bridged the gaps between the warring countries. And Marco Rubio, on his trip to Europe, the Secretary of State, has said similar that there has been slight levels of progress.

17:24So they're being cautious, but it is the first time in at least a week that either side is talking about Iran and the US potentially moving closer to a deal. But we're still in a very fragile phase, and there's no guarantee that we won't see a return to a hot war in the coming few days or weeks. And in the meantime, Paul, we're hearing more as well from the United Arab Emirates about this week's drone attack on one of its nuclear power plants. What's the UAE saying now? So this was a drone attack on Sunday on the UAE's only nuclear power plant. It's the biggest in the Middle East. It's called Baraka, and it's close to the border with Saudi Arabia.

18:08One drone got through the air defenses and hit a power station for the nuclear plant, and that forced the engineers to turn on emergency generators to keep the plant going. So it was a serious attack for sure. We think the first one on that facility, certainly since the war began. And the UAE is saying this is essentially outrageous and a huge threat to countries around the region. And it's calling on the world to take more notice of this. It's saying the drones came from Iraq. Now, that's also a pretty interesting and potentially alarming development because it seems as if Iran's supported militias in Iraq are playing an increasingly important role in this war and are being used to carry out attacks on Arab states.

19:05This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston, and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121. Plus, listen coast-to-coast on the Bloomberg Business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces. And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it, in five minutes or less.

19:46Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

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