Friday, May 8 | By Cate Martel
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Happy Friday! I cannot stop thinking about a customer service agent hanging up on the pope when he called his bank to change his address. He does live in Vatican City now, after all. If you haven’t seen 📹 the clip of the pope’s friend telling the story, it’s worth watching.
No one is safe from customer service — not even the pope!
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Virginia Supreme Court tosses Dems’ new map April jobs report beats expectations Pentagon releases new UFO files Trump says Iran ceasefire still stands despite new strikes Is hantavirus the next COVID? Customer service reportedly hung up on the pope
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Well, Virginia’s new electoral map was short-lived: |
The Virginia Supreme Court struck down Democrats’ redistricting effort in the state this morning in a 4-3 ruling, giving Republicans a huge win.
Democrats had included a ballot measure last month to redistrict the state. Voters in the state passed the referendum to draw new lines, which would have given Democrats an advantage in 10 of 11 congressional districts.
Today’s ruling means the old congressional map will stay in place. Democrats will continue to have an advantage in six of 11 districts.
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The U.S. economy added a whopping 115,000 new jobs in April, beating economists’ expectations.
What economists had predicted: A gain of roughly 67,000 jobs.
Why this is such good news: It’s a reassuring sign about the state of the U.S. economy while energy prices surge and inflation continues to keep consumer costs high. The average price of a gallon of gas spiked above $4.50 this week, according to AAA. Annual inflation rose above 3 percent over the past year.
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ET, Yoda, Stitch and Alf-approved: |
The Pentagon released a new batch of files related to UFOs as part of the Trump administration’s promise to be transparent.
🔎 Read the files yourself!
Tidbit — lol, Obama is skeptical: Former President Obama told Stephen Colbert in an interview this week that the federal government is not hiding information on “little green men.”
This does make sense: “If there were aliens or alien spaceships or anything under the control of the United States government that we knew about — seen photographs, what have you — I promise you some guy guarding the installation would have taken a selfie with one of the aliens and sent it to his girlfriend,” Obama said.
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A ceasefire* with an asterisk: |
President Trump says the Iran ceasefire is still in place even after the U.S. launched strikes on military targets in Iran for the first time since starting the temporary truce last month.
Why did the U.S. launch strikes during the ceasefire?: Iran launched several missiles to attack American warships. None of the warships was struck because the U.S. military intercepted them. But the U.S. retaliated, which Trump called a “love tap.”
Why this is worrisome: This puts more pressure on an already-fragile ceasefire. Iran is reviewing the latest peace proposal from the U.S., so this comes at a particularly sensitive time.
Trump accused Iran of being “led by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question.”
“But they’ll never have that opportunity,” Trump stressed, adding that, “just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!” 🔎 Read Trump’s full reaction
💬 Follow today’s live blog
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Trump is speaking at a Rose Garden luncheon. 💻 Watch live
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➤ WHO HAS THE ADVANTAGE — IRAN OR THE U.S.?: |
Iran does, according to new reporting from The Washington Post.
“A confidential CIA analysis delivered to administration policymakers this week concludes that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship.”
Trump says Iran’s missile stockpile has been depleted: However, the Post reports that “Iran retains about 75 percent of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70 percent of its prewar stockpiles of missiles, a U.S. official said. The official said there is evidence that the regime has been able to recover and reopen almost all of its underground storage facilities, repair some damaged missiles and even assemble some new missiles that were nearly complete when the war began.”
Read the Washington Post’s reporting: ‘U.S. intelligence says Iran can outlast Trump’s Hormuz blockade for months’
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Good read — the U.S.’s latest peace proposal is controversial in Trump World: |
Iran is said to be reviewing a one-page peace proposal from the U.S. However, The Hill’s Colin Meyn reports that allies of President Trump are not happy with the reported terms of this agreement.
Specifically: “Prominent conservative media figures and pro-Israel advocates spoke out against the deal, which would end Iran’s nuclear enrichment for a limited period and keep the regime in place, with U.S. sanctions scaled back over time.”
What we know about the proposal: “According to Axios, the one-page agreement would create a 30-day period to negotiate the details of a nuclear deal, with both sides relaxing their blockades in the Strait of Hormuz during that period, eventually allowing free passage as existed before the war. In exchange for Iran agreeing to end nuclear enrichment for some 10-20 years, the U.S. would ease sanctions and return frozen assets to the regime.”
Why Iran hawks are displeased: “Iran hawks see any end to the U.S. blockade as giving up crucial leverage when Tehran is feeling intense economic pain.”
Read Meyn’s reporting: ‘Iran hawks erupt over terms of Trump’s peace proposal’
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Is hantavirus the next COVID?: |
A Dutch cruise ship traveling across the Atlantic Ocean experienced an outbreak of the rare hantavirus. At least three passengers have died, and five other people have shown symptoms of the virus.
The outbreak of a virus with no vaccine or treatment has, understandably, sparked concern about the possibility of another global pandemic. But is that fear warranted? Here’s what we know:
How is the virus transmitted?: It’s mostly transmitted from infected rodents’ feces, urine and saliva. Most strains of the hantavirus do not spread from person to person. The only known strain that can spread among humans is the Andes virus, which requires people to spend prolonged time in close contact. The Andes virus is what people on board the cruise ship have.
How deadly is the virus?: The Andes virus has a relatively high fatality rate of about 20 to 40 percent.
Were Americans on board?: Yes, several American passengers who were on board the cruise have disembarked and have returned to their home states. Health departments in Arizona, Virginia, California and Georgia are on alert for potential exposure due to the passengers returning to their homes. Read more
Experts are not worried: Experts do not seem worried about this virus escalating into an epidemic or a pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus assessed the public health risk to be low.
Read more on what we know about the hantavirus: 5 things to know about hantavirus
🗒️ AP timeline of events
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EDT)
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Noon Trump delivers remarks in the Rose Garden. 💻 Livestream
5:30 p.m. Trump holds a policy meeting.
This evening Trump attends an LIV Golf dinner in Sterling, Va.
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🥥 Celebrate: Today is National Coconut Cream Pie Day.
👏 This headline wins: The Wall Street Journal’s front- page story on Wednesday reads, “Heads of State Meet at the White House.” The photo features the large presidential mascots of the Washington Nationals. 📸 See it in print
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📺 Miss the previous issue of this newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video.
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