How the world is racing to contact trace a rare virus

Summary

Apple News Today
Episode: How the world is racing to contact trace a rare virus
Date: May 8, 2026
Host: Cecilia Ley
Featured Experts: Shelby Holiday (Wall Street Journal), Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove (WHO), Ellen Branswell (Stat), Professor Robin May (UK Health Security Agency), Catherine Sayer (Wall Street Journal), Sir David Attenborough

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Episode Overview

This episode covers three major news stories: renewed US-Iran tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the global public health response to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, and the rise of Las Vegas’s Sphere as the world’s top-grossing arena. The episode also includes political and cultural updates, such as the US courts limiting presidential tariff powers, Tennessee’s new congressional map, and the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Renewed Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz

[00:04–04:41]

• Escalation: Iran and the US traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran launching missiles and drones at American destroyers, followed by a US response targeting missile and command sites.
• Project Freedom: President Trump launched "Project Freedom" to protect commercial ships, utilizing a "defensive bubble" of destroyers and aircraft.
  • Shelby Holiday: "We're basically creating a defensive bubble over these commercial ships that want to leave through the Strait of Hormuz." [01:19]
• Diplomatic Snags: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait initially barred US forces from using bases and airspace, jeopardizing operations.
  • Shelby Holiday: "If you look at a map, that airspace is crucial… So the fact that the US couldn't use the airspace or the bases there was a huge problem." [02:19]
• Reversal and Uncertainty: Both nations reversed bans, but reasons remain unclear; the US is considering restarting Project Freedom.
  • "The US and Saudi have a very strong military relationship… for a second, it seemed like this relationship was fraying in a very concerning way." — Shelby Holiday [03:11]
• Regional Impact: The dynamic underscores how US Gulf allies have leverage and how bases in the region are central to US and Iranian strategy.

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2. Global Race to Trace Hantavirus Outbreak

[04:23–08:28]

• Outbreak Details: Health officials are urgently tracing contacts from a cruise ship outbreak of hantavirus—a rodent-borne, often deadly, disease with three fatalities so far.
• Comparison to COVID-19:
  • Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove clarifies: "It doesn't spread the same way like coronaviruses do… Most hantaviruses are transmitted from rodents… only this one particular virus, the Andes virus… we've seen some human to human transmission." [05:00]
• Contact Tracing Complexity: Over two dozen passengers disembarked before tracing began. The incubation period is up to 6 weeks (42 days).
  • "Anybody who's…been potentially in contact with a case will need to be monitored for a while to make sure that they are not sick." — Ellen Branswell [05:48]
• Tracing Criteria:
  • Prof. Robin May: "That would be family members, people who might have shared a room on the cruise, people… sat directly next to someone on a long-haul flight… We're not including people who may be very transient contacts." [06:24]
• Virus Origins:
  • The outbreak involves Andes virus, rare for human-to-human transmission.
  • Infectees linked to travel in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay—regions seeing increased hantavirus due to climate change impacts.
    • "The working hypothesis at this point is that they were infected before they got on the ship." — Ellen Branswell [07:11]
• Public Health Action: The CDC and WHO coordinate internationally; five US states are monitoring returning passengers.
  • "There's a fairly good possibility that many… will not have contracted hantavirus. But… this kind of work needs to be done… so they get proper treatment." — Ellen Branswell [08:09]

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3. The Las Vegas Sphere: World’s Top-Grossing Arena

[09:18–11:45]

• Origin & Perceptions: The Sphere, now an iconic Vegas landmark, was once thought a risky venture with significant cost overruns and skepticism.
  • Catherine Sayer: "People…were a little puzzled, definitely skeptical… It started off with a budget of 1.2 billion, and… ultimately was more than $2.3 billion." [09:42]
• Business Success:
  • Now the highest-grossing arena globally, grossing $379 million in ticket sales last year; expansion plans are underway for new venues elsewhere.
• Winning Formula: Successful pairing of classic bands and high-tech visuals.
  • "The highest tech venue in the world with some bands that maybe don't have the same reputation, but it's turning out to be quite a match." — Catherine Sayer [10:45]
• Immersive Experiences:
  • Shows feature spectacular effects, like “gigantic birds as if [fans] were inside of a nest” (Phish) or the Backstreet Boys arriving via spaceship.
  • "The venue… inched into profitability last year with a net income of $33.4 million." — Catherine Sayer [11:45]

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4. Headlines in Brief

[11:45–15:10]

• US Tariffs Blocked: Courts limit President Trump’s ability to impose new tariffs; previous improper tariffs require refunds, putting further constraints on executive trade powers.
• Redistricting in Tennessee: The state passes a new congressional map after a Supreme Court decision weakened the Voting Rights Act, leading to protests and potential Republican gains.
• Attenborough at 100:
  • Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday is celebrated with BBC specials and a concert.
  • Sir David Attenborough: "I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas… thank you all most sincerely for your kind messages." [14:46]

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Memorable Quotes

• [01:19] Shelby Holiday: "We're basically creating a defensive bubble over these commercial ships that want to leave through the Strait of Hormuz."
• [02:19] Shelby Holiday: "If you look at a map, that airspace is crucial… So the fact that the US couldn't use the airspace or the bases there was a huge problem."
• [05:00] Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove: "It doesn't spread the same way like coronaviruses do…Most hantaviruses are transmitted from rodents…only this one particular virus, the Andes virus…we've seen some human to human transmission."
• [06:24] Prof. Robin May: "That would be family members, people who might have shared a room on the cruise, people…sat directly next to someone on a long-haul flight…"
• [07:11] Ellen Branswell: "The working hypothesis at this point is that they were infected before they got on the ship."
• [10:45] Catherine Sayer: "The highest tech venue in the world with some bands that maybe don't have the same reputation, but it's turning out to be quite a match."
• [14:46] Sir David Attenborough: "I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas…"

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Notable Moments with Timestamps

• [01:19] – Project Freedom’s “defensive bubble” to protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz
• [02:19] – Strategic importance of Saudi airspace to US operations
• [05:00] – Dr. Van Kerkhove explains key difference between hantavirus and COVID-19
• [06:24] – Contact tracing criteria explained by Prof. Robin May
• [07:11] – Outbreak origins traced to Argentinean travel
• [10:45] – Sphere’s unique business model and band partnerships
• [14:46] – Sir David Attenborough's centennial thank you

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains the efficient, calm, and informative style typical of Apple News Today. Experts share clear, precise explanations, while stories are connected to broader global and policy contexts. Notably, the discussion around the hantavirus outbreak is careful to distinguish it from COVID-19, emphasizing scientific nuance and public health response.

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Summary

This Apple News Today episode tracks major global developments—from volatile geopolitics in the Persian Gulf to urgent health crises and pop culture phenomena. The in-depth look at the hantavirus outbreak brings expert insight and public health context, emphasizing both the logistics and the complexity of tracing rare diseases in a globally connected world. The episode closes with stories that balance political gravity with moments of celebration, including Sir David Attenborough’s centennial milestone.

Listeners come away with a clear sense of the stakes, the people involved, and how world events are unfolding in real time.

Transcript

[Cecilia Ley]

Good morning. Iran and the US Traded fire on the Strait of Hormuz again. The Wall Street Journal details how the US Might restart its plan to help ships cross the waterway. Health officials are racing to track who came in contact with passengers of a cruise ship struck by hantavirus. Stat explains the process.

[Ellen Branswell]

When something like this happens, public health has to cast a very broad net looking for potential cases and how the

[Cecilia Ley]

last Vegas sphere became the highest grossing arena in the world. It's Friday, May 8th. I'm Cecilia Ley and this is Apple News Today. Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz flared again on Thursday after Iran launched missiles, drones and small boats at American destroyers. The US in response, said it targeted missile sites and other command control locations, further threatening the already fragile ceasefire. The two sides, meanwhile, are working on a one page plan that could halt fighting and set the table for new peace talks. The Strait of Hormuz has been at the center of a rollercoaster few days in the war. On Monday, President Trump implemented what he called Project Freedom to help guide ships through the vital waterway.

[Shelby Holiday]

This involves guided missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft. We're basically creating a defensive bubble over these commercial ships that want to leave through the Strait of Hormuz.

[Cecilia Ley]

Shelby Holiday is a national security reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

[Shelby Holiday]

And the US did successfully get two US Flagged ships out, but Iran started shooting back.

[Cecilia Ley]

The US had successfully fended off Iran's counterattack, but the Iranians did strike a major oil facility in the United Arab Emirates. And then as quickly as the operation was announced, Trump pulled the plug.

[Shelby Holiday]

But what we have also learned is that there was a key reason Project Freedom could not continue, and that is because Saudi Arabia had you cannot use our bases or our airspace for this mission.

[Cecilia Ley]

Holiday reports the Saudis And Kuwaitis barred U.S. forces from using those bases after senior U.S. officials downplayed Iran's counterattack. There was also concern from U.S. gulf allies that if fighting intensified, American forces wouldn't protect them.

[Shelby Holiday]

Our understanding is that there were a series of pretty heated phone calls, including calls between President Trump and Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, discussing whether or not the US could use Saudi's airspace in bases. And if you look at a map, that airspace is crucial to this mission. The US Is flying all kinds of aircraft out of Saudi and also out of Israel and other places that need to use Saudi's airspace to get to the Strait of Hormuz. So the fact that the US Couldn't use the airspace or the bases there was a huge problem for the U.S.

[Cecilia Ley]

saudi Arabia and Kuwait have since reversed course and cleared the way for US forces to use their bases in airspace. Holiday says it's still unclear why Saudi Arabia in particular banned then unbanned the US military. The country doesn't rely on the Strait of Hormuz to move oil. But the incident did represent the biggest dispute between the two countries in recent years.

[Shelby Holiday]

The US and Saudi have a very strong military relationship. The US has bases in the country. The US provides Saudi Arabia with air defenses and interceptors. Saudi buys it, but they buy it from the US and so for a second, it seemed like this relationship was fraying in a very concerning way.

[Cecilia Ley]

Now that they have permission to operate in that airspace, Holiday reports the US is looking to potentially restart Project Freedom. Though timing isn't clear. A Pentagon official said it could come as early as this week.

[Shelby Holiday]

I think a key thing to watch is basing all of these Gulf allies allow the US to have bases, to stage aircraft, to put missile defense equipment in part to help protect these countries from Iranian attacks and from threats, but also it helps the US project power in the Middle East. Iran has made it very clear that it does not like these bases in their backyard. And from the beginning of this whole war, they've called on their neighbors to kick the US out. And so I do think the US has to be careful. I don't wanna say the US bases are in jeopardy at this point. But these countries, like we saw with Saudi, they have a lot of leverage.

[Cecilia Ley]

Health officials across the world are racing to track passengers cruise ship that was struck by a deadly outbreak of hantavirus. The disease typically spreads from contact with infected rodents and has captured worldwide attention. Three passengers have died. And the World Health Organization said there were a number of other confirmed and suspected cases with headlines about a cruise ship and a deadly virus. Some have wondered if there are similarities with COVID But health officials like Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove say that it's not the same situation. She's an infectious disease epidemiologist who led COVID 19 efforts at the WHO.

[Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove]

It doesn't spread the same way like coronaviruses do. It's very different. It's that close intimate contact that we've seen. And most hantaviruses don't transmit between people at all. Most hantaviruses are transmitted from rodents or their feces or their saliva in their droppings to people. And only this one particular virus, the Andes virus, which has been identified here, we've seen some human to human transmission. And again, I want to reiterate the actions that are being taken on board are precautionary to prevent any onward spread.

[Cecilia Ley]

The cruise ship company said on Thursday that none of the remaining passengers on board are symptomatic. The challenge, though, is that more than two dozen people disembarked after the first death without contact tracing. An added hurdle is that the incubation period for hantavirus can last up to six weeks.

[Ellen Branswell]

Anybody who's, you know, identified as having been potentially in contact with a case will need to be monitored for a while to make sure that they are not sick.

[Cecilia Ley]

Ellen Branswell is an infectious diseases correspondent for Stat.

[Ellen Branswell]

Who said something like 42 days, which doesn't mean they're gonna be in isolation or anything. It just means that they're going to be followed up by public health wherever they are.

[Cecilia Ley]

Contact tracing passengers is a detailed process as Professor Robin May from the UK Health Security Agency described to the BBC.

[Professor Robin May]

So that would be family members, people who might have shared a room on the cruise, people who may, for example, have sat directly next to somebody on a long haul flight and reaching out to them says that they can be monitored and alerted too. We're not including people who may be very transient contacts. You might have walked past the airport because the risk of transmission there is extremely low.

[Cecilia Ley]

Also underway is an investigation to determine the origins of this particular outbreak. Testing confirmed that passengers on the ship contracted a hantavirus strain found in South America. That's the andes virus, which Dr. Kerkove mentioned earlier. It's rare and it's the only one that is thought to spread from human to human. The WHO said that the Dutch couple linked to the first cases on board had previously traveled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

[Ellen Branswell]

The first two people who were identified in this outbreak had been traveling in Argentina and a few surrounding countries before they got on the ship on a bird watching expedition and that they were in parts of Argentina where rodents that are known to carry this virus are found. So the working hypothesis at this point is that they were infected before they got on the ship.

[Cecilia Ley]

The Associated Press reports that earlier this year, Argentina had issued alerts about a few fatal outbreaks of the virus. And researchers said higher temperatures due to climate change increased hantavirus range in the country. Historic drought forced animals out of their habitats to find food, and intense rain scattered seeds that attract rodents. Because of the virus's unique characteristics and the potential for severe and fatal lung disease for those infected, health officials are tasked with the critical work of tracking it.

[Ellen Branswell]

There's a fairly good possibility that many of those people will not have contracted hantavirus. But, you know, this kind of work needs to be done to make sure that true cases are detected and they get proper treatment and that the people they've been in contact with are not ill.

[Cecilia Ley]

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working directly with the WHO to contain the outbreak. At least five states, Georgia, California, Texas, Virginia and Arizona are monitoring residents who are passengers of the ship and have since returned home. The vessel plans to dock in the Canary Islands as soon as this week. It's been turned into a giant eyeball you could see for miles. The biggest political ad of all time, promoting former Vice president Kamala Harris in 2024. And this week it set the stage for the band no Doubts Reunion. Okay, Las Vegas, you got your seatbelts on?

[Catherine Sayer]

The Sphere is a massive dome that's located just off the Strip in Las Vegas.

[Cecilia Ley]

Catherine Sayer is a reporter with the Wall Street Journal. She told us the huge venue with a 580,000 square foot surface was first conceived as a rough sketch of a circle with a stick figure inside and that it had all the makings of a potential disaster.

[Catherine Sayer]

And people, you know, were a little puzzled, definitely skeptical about what this could be, who would play, how this could be a success. You know, it started off with a budget of 1.2 billion, and as construction progressed, there were cost overruns. The pandemic made construction shut down for a little while. It ultimately was more than $2.3 billion.

[Cecilia Ley]

But since opening three years ago, the Sphere has now blossomed, becoming more than just an impossible to ignore building near the Vegas Strip. In fact, according to one metric, the Sphere is now the highest grossing arena in the world with $379 million in tickets sold last year. It's so successful that smaller franchised spheres are coming to Abu Dhabi and the national harbor just outside Washington, D.C. and other cities are being scouted for additional locations. Sayer says the venue discovered a key and very popular formula. Pair a popular beloved older band with state of the art technology.

[Catherine Sayer]

So U2, Eagles, Phish, dead and company. I think we can all think about some major fans of those bands that follow them around the country and it does create a little bit of a contrast in your mind, right? The highest tech venue in the world with some bands that maybe don't have the same reputation, but it's turning out to be quite a match.

[Cecilia Ley]

The visuals are mind bending and can be hard to describe unless you're there during a fish show. For example, fans looked up to see gigantic birds as if they themselves were inside of a nest. During Backstreet Boys residency show, the boy band used the Sphere's huge screen to depict outer space. A spaceship beamed the five band members down to the stage to perform. The venue also branched out to do other immersive experiences. They turned the classic film the wizard of Oz into something that resembled an amusement park ride, the company said. The movie made more than $260 million during its run. Tickets to shows at the Sphere can be pretty pricey, anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands, but Sayers said so far at least fans have been willing to pay. The venue inched into profitability last year with a net income of 33.4 million dol. And finally, here are a few other stories we're following. A federal panel of judges has ruled that Trump doesn't have the authority to impose his new 10% global tariffs, which he announced in February. The Court of International Trade, in a split ruling, said Trump incorrectly relied on a decades old trade law when he applied the new taxes to most U.S. imports. The tariffs were introduced after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier set of sweeping import taxes. The New York Times notes the ruling appears to place stronger limits on the president's trade power, though the administration is likely to appeal. If that appeal fails, the government will likely have to refund any money collected under those tariffs. That would be on top of roughly $166 billion already being returned to businesses from earlier levies that were also deemed illegal. On Thursday, Tennessee became the first state to pass a new congressional voting map after the Supreme Court weakened a key section of the Voting Rights act last week. The redraw splits the majority black Shelby county, home to the state's only Democrat held seat into three separate districts. In an attempt to flip it for Republicans, Tennessee's Republican governor Bill Lee had called lawmakers into a special legislative session to pass the map. The move drew protests at the state Capitol and prompted a walkout by state Democrats. Earlier in the day, Governor Lee signed a bill that repealed to state law prohibiting mid decade redistricting. Republicans in South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are also on their way to redraw maps to favor Republicans after the high court's decision. And a familiar voice to hundreds of millions of people celebrates a milestone. Today is the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough, the environmentalist and globally renowned voice of some of the most iconic nature documentaries and TV programs. His show Life on Earth, broadcast by the BBC, shared some memorable moments, like in 1978 when two mountain gorillas playfully climbed on top of him as he smiled widely at the camera. It was an encounter considered to be groundbreaking and nature documentary. Attenborough released an audio message yesterday to express appreciation to his well wishers.

[Sir David Attenborough]

I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas. But I would like to thank you all most sincerely for your kind messages and wish those of you who have planned your own local events tomorrow have a very happy day.

[Cecilia Ley]

To mark Attenborough's birthday, the BBC is showing a week of special broadcasts and a live concert at London's Royal Albert hall is planned in his honor. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around for Apple News in Conversation. This week we revisit Shamita Basu's conversation with Brian Goldstone, author of the book There Is no Place for Us, which just won a Pulitzer Prize. Goldstone explores why millions of Americans can't afford housing despite working full time jobs. If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News in Conversation to find that episode or come back to the Apple News Today feed on Saturday. Enjoy the weekend and we'll be back with the news on Monday.