Trump Rejects Iran’s Offer, and 17 Passengers Exposed to Hantavirus Return to U.S.

0:28This podcast is supported by WTTW.

0:35From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, May 11th. Here's what we're covering.

0:47So is it accurate to say you think the combat operations are over and done? No, I didn't say that. I said they are defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done. In interviews that aired over the weekend, both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that their country's war against Iran is not finished. I think it accomplished a great deal, but it's not over because there's still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran. There's work to be done. Their comments seemed to undermine earlier messaging from the Trump administration that the conflict had run its course.

1:23Netanyahu specifically laid out a list of things he said still need to be addressed. At the top was Iran's nuclear materials. How do you envision the highly enriched uranium will be removed from Iran? You go in and you take it out. With what? Special forces from Israel, special forces of the United States? Well, I'm not going to talk about military means, but what President Trump has said to me, I want to go in there. President Trump, for his part, appeared less intent on retrieving the nuclear materials, saying the U.S. was surveilling Iran's stockpile and that it would, quote, get that at some point.

1:57Neither Leder offered a timeline for future action or for winding things down. There are still ongoing negotiations with Iran, but President Trump said yesterday that he had rejected the country's latest offer, calling it totally unacceptable. The details of the proposal weren't made public, and Trump didn't specify what he objected to. Trump had hoped to have the conflict resolved by the time he heads to China this week to meet with President Xi Jinping. But the clock is ticking. The U.S.-China summit begins Thursday in Beijing.

2:33Now, here's what to know about Trump's upcoming visit to China. The last time Trump and Xi met back in the fall, they agreed to pause some of their most bruising trade policies. Trump halted the triple-digit tariffs he'd slapped on Chinese goods, and China stepped back from throttling the export of rare earth metals. The visit this week could determine whether that kind of uneasy detente will hold. Publicly, this meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump is all about stability, and the messaging will be focused on peace. But behind the scenes, both sides are really digging in for a longer-term, more prolonged economic war.

3:14Alexandra Stevenson is the time Shanghai bureau chief. She says China's been developing new trade countermeasures, and it's been telling Chinese companies to ignore U.S. sanctions. After years of Washington turning to sanctions and tariffs to do what, from the Chinese perspective, has been perceived as constraining its economic and technological rise, China is now making moves that indicate that they are ready for a fight. Or as one analyst told me, Beijing is basically locked and loaded.

3:52The national redistricting fight, a tit-for-tat battle playing out in states across the country, has recently delivered the GOP a burst of momentum. Republicans now have roughly 10 more House seats that favor them than they did two weeks ago. That's thanks in large part to two major legal decisions. First, the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for red states to dilute Black voting power, thus breaking up what had been safely Democratic districts. The very next week, Tennessee did just that, and other states are looking at similar options. The other decision came down this past Friday out of Virginia.

4:31There, Democrats thought they'd had a win after voters approved an effort to redraw a map heavily favoring the party. But that state's top court struck it down, saying the process had violated Virginia's Constitution. President Trump called the decision a, quote, huge win for the Republican Party and America. Now Democrats are scrambling to respond. Several House members from Virginia, as well as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, jumped on a call over the weekend and discussed possibilities as drastic as trying to replace the entire Virginia Supreme Court with new justices to get a gerrymandered map through, though that idea drew mixed reactions and it's not even clear that it's viable.

5:11Without a new map, they acknowledge their game plan will have to focus on flipping existing seats by trying to capitalize on Trump's sinking approval rating and Americans' growing frustration with rising gas prices.

5:31Yesterday in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, authorities began evacuating passengers from the cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the Hantavirus. They were led off in small groups wearing masks and personal protective equipment, and many are now being flown back to their home countries. The World Health Organization has said repeatedly that the risk to the general public is low, and global health officials vowed to monitor the returning passengers for any signs of the virus. 17 Americans who were on board landed in Nebraska this morning, where the CDC said they'll be observed around the clock at the country's only federally funded quarantine center.

6:09According to the Department of Health and Human Services, one American tested, quote, mildly positive for Hantavirus, and another showed mild symptoms. A handful of other Americans had already returned home from the cruise ship since they got off before the outbreak was identified, and they're being monitored by health authorities in several states. So far, the World Health Organization said the virus has been confirmed in six people, including two who have died. And there are two other probable cases. The particular strain involved is the only Hantavirus strain known to spread human to human.

6:43Though authorities have continued to stress that transmission is rare.

6:53And finally. You might be wondering why would you buy a bag of pens at the thrift? Aren't pens pretty much worthless? And the answer is not if they're drug rep pens. Somehow, old branded swag from pharmaceutical companies has become the hot new item to hunt for at thrift stores. And people are sharing their finds online. The most valuable pens tend to be from the categories of painkillers, antidepressants, sleep aids. Pharmaceutical companies used to give doctors and clinics all kinds of brand name swag like this. Not just pens and mugs, but rulers, candle holders, even stuffed animals. How about a Zithromax zebra?

7:28There was also fashion, like a Viagra tie. Then, in 2009, companies started phasing that out after a big industry group updated its code of ethics to ban most branded merch. Congress also passed a law that required healthcare professionals to report gifts over$10, which really killed the whole thing. That has made all that swag a rare species, and people are loving the hunt. One thrifter told The Times she gasped when she saw a Lexapro wall clock at a second-hand store and she snapped it up. She said, quote,

8:03Some of the obsession is curiosity, a reminder of a different time, like a Joe Camel t-shirt. And sometimes that reminder is darker than others, like if you find a mug for OxyContin that reads, The one to start with, the one to stay with. Those, apparently, are now regarded as highly collectible.

8:26Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, inside China's plans to win the artificial intelligence race. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.

8:44This podcast is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Here's a story that's not getting nearly enough attention. Defunding Planned Parenthood has already caused chaos and harm, and access to essential reproductive care is plummeting. Right now, the Trump administration's backers in Congress want to permanently defund Planned Parenthood, forcing even more health centers to close, and millions at risk of losing access to care. It takes less than a minute to help. Go to plannedparenthood.org slash defend and make a gift of any size.