Cecilia Ley (2:18)

He also said the Strait of Hormuz was open to everyone. But so far, Iran is still controlling access and only a handful of ships are passing through. Iran has reportedly demanded toll fees from ships hoping to use the Strait. On Wednesday, Trump sounded relaxed about that, suggesting it could work as a joint venture with the U.S. but then yesterday, he appeared to take on a different position. He said Iran better not be charging tankers and that they were doing a poor and dishonorable job of allowing oil through the president. Posted on Truth Social. This is not the agreement we have The Strait isn't only bringing the ceasefire into question, but also the very future of NATO. On Wednesday, its secretary General, Mark Rutte, was in Washington to face an increasingly hostile president. Andrea Policiano covers foreign policy for Bloomberg and spoke to us about Rutte's visit.

Andrea Policiano (3:10)

From the beginning of this war, European partners were a little bit puzzled because the US Kept saying that they were very unhappy with them. But internally, both at NATO and privately, there were no specific asks.

Cecilia Ley (3:22)

But at the meeting, there were reportedly discussions about how European countries might become more involved.

Andrea Policiano (3:28)

Now what the US Is asking of them is to do this quickly, to show him within days and not weeks or months. And so now these countries will have to actually look at their military capabilities and draw up concrete plans to secure freedom of navigation.

Cecilia Ley (3:44)

Some reports suggested Trump expressed his frustration at European allies. Rutte, for his part, spoke positively of the meeting and suggested more support could

Vivian Resnick (3:54)

come soon if NATO can help.

Victor Glover (3:55)

Obviously NATO is there. There's no reason not to be helpful. Obviously we will if that's helpful. But I think we have to do it step by step because also in NATO, that requires then an agreement between all the allies to do that.

Cecilia Ley (4:06)

For now, the Strait remains in Iran's control and it's hard to see what NATO countries could really do to change that. Yesterday, Kristalina Gorgieva, the head of the imf, gave a clear eyed reminder of just how damaging its closure has been, warning there would be no return to the status quo. So the reality is we don't truly know what the future holds for transits through the Strait of Hormuz. What we do know is that growth will be slower even if the new peace is durable. Peace talks are still scheduled for Saturday in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

Vivian Resnick (4:55)

For the first time in a generation, Republicans have a historically rare opening in the race to fill the governor's seat in California. Democrats have typically been considered a shoo in for the job, and most of the time the party's pick is a carefully orchestrated decision. But this year, there's a lot of Democrats that are vying for the nomination. So many, in fact, that it's got some party strategists worried that a Republican might slip through and deliver an upset that's due in part to the state's unusual primary system. Jeremy B. White is a California politics and policy reporter for Politico who talked us through the dynamics in the state.

Jeremy B. White (5:29)

So California is unusual in that we do not have primaries in which Democrats vote for one candidate and Republicans vote for another. It's an open Primary in which the top two finishers move on to the general election, regardless of what party. And so in a place as Democratic as California, that has often meant two Democrats. But in this case, there's not a clear front runner. And so polls show them splitting the vote so many ways that the two prominent Republicans running have a shot of finishing in the top two.

Vivian Resnick (5:59)

The race had been shrouded in uncertainty, but then this week, President Trump intervened. To the rare delight of some Democrats, the president endorsed the Fox News presenter Steve Hilton, likely consolidating Republican support a blow for the other candidate, Sheriff Chad Bianco. Now, Hilton has a chance of making it to the final two, but he'd be up against a Democrat. And in that scenario, winning would be a long shot. Here's Hilton making his pitch to cbs. Life is a real struggle for working people in particular in California, for small business owners, as I've been most of my career. And so that's what this election is gonna be about. And that's why I'm confident that we can win. Even though, as you say, it's been a long time since Republicans won statewide in California, it's actually 20 years. Hilton was born in the UK and made his name as a modernizing influence within Britain's right leaning Conservative Party. Since moving to the US Though, he's enthusiastically embraced Trump's agenda. Now, California hasn't elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger won the seat in 2003. But as white told us, the state's political landscape is more complicated than it looks.

Jeremy B. White (7:05)

There are millions of Republicans in California, more than in any other state, and they remain very loyal to Donald Trump. So in ways, it's kind of a story of two Californias. This is a state where Donald Trump is broadly very unpopular and Democrats run the show. But among the large number of Republicans here, even if they're a minority, they're very loyal to the president.

Vivian Resnick (7:27)

And as for who might emerge from the crowded field of Democrats, most polls

Jeremy B. White (7:31)

show that while it's still quite muddled and there's not a runaway favorite, it is most likely to be Congressman Eric Swalwell.

Cecilia Ley (7:40)

We're going to need all of you to win this race.

Jeremy B. White (7:43)

Former Congresswoman Katie Porter.

Cecilia Ley (7:45)

We're seeing so much anxiety about wealth inequality, about income inequality, and about billionaire

Jeremy B. White (7:51)

and longtime donor Tom Steyer.

Mike Wall (7:53)

Californians deserve a life they can afford.

Vivian Resnick (7:57)

The Democratic race has been a little messy. A recent debate was canceled after candidates of color who weren't invited made accusations of discrimination. The Democratic Party chair has tried and failed to persuade some of the eight most competitive candidates to drop out. And an influential coalition of labor unions has struggled to break the impasse and backed multiple people instead. No real policy or ideological differences have emerged to separate them either. One person who might be able to break the logjam for Democrats is the current governor, Gavin Newsom. White said that given Newsom's own apparent presidential aspirations, he has a lot riding on this race.

Jeremy B. White (8:33)

He's someone who consistently has positioned California under his leadership as this sort of shining example, this progressive counterweight to Trumpism. And so for a Republican to succeed him, whether you attribute that partially to sort of a fluke of the system or not, that would a, I think, be read by a lot of folks as rebuked his governance and b if this is a scenario where essentially Gavin Newsom is faulted for failing to prevent this, and there's a narrative that the guy who's running for president couldn't even stop a Republican from taking over California, that's a scenario that I think Gavin Newsom is pretty motivated motivated to avoid.

Vivian Resnick (9:11)

The primary is in June and early voting sites open next month. Cecilia has more news next.

Cecilia Ley (9:28)

After a historic 10 day mission and a flyby of the moon, the Artemis 2 is set to splash down off the coast of San Diego this evening. It's a moment that mission pilot Victor Glover has been focused on for some time.

Victor Glover (9:41)

I'll be honest and say I've actually been thinking about entry since April 3, 2023 when we got assigned to this mission and one of the first press conferences. We were asked what are we looking forward to? And I said splashdown. And it's kind of humorous, but it's literal as well that we have to get back. There's so much data that you've seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There's so many more pictures, so many more stories.

Cecilia Ley (10:04)

Some of those stories likely include many of the incredible observations that have been made by this four person crew, a solar eclipse, an Earth RIS meteorite strikes, and unprecedented views of the far side of the moon. It's also a journey that's taken humans farther from Earth than ever before. The last time US astronauts visited the moon was the Apollo 17 mission more than five decades ago. Mike Wall is the space flight and tech editor@space.com who recently wrote about why it took so long for the US to go back and how that era of space travel compares to this moment.

Mike Wall (10:39)

The Apollo program was a product of the Cold War space race and it was just a Very different time. It was seen as like a national security priority for NASA to put astronauts on the moon before the Soviets did because it was a show of technological strength and it was a way to kind of convince a lot of newly independent countries that you want to join kind of the capitalist side, not the communist side.

Cecilia Ley (10:58)

Wal also points out just how much more money was set aside back then too. At the height of the Apollo program, the agency received about four and a half percent of the entire federal budget. And now Wal says it's about 0.4%. Fast forward to the present day. A new space race has emerged. This time it's against China, which has a goal of landing on the moon by 2030. And while national priorities have shifted, the US remains ambitious.

Mike Wall (11:26)

The push to do it again now is different. Now it's we want to go back to the moon, not to just show dominance and plant flags and footprints, but to actually do something sustainable and put a base there near the kind of lunar south pole, which is what the broader Artemis program is trying to do over the next few years.

Cecilia Ley (11:43)

This is the first manned mission of the Artemis program and NASA says it's key for its future success. That makes tonight's splashdown reentry into the Pacific Ocean a particularly nerve wracking affair. A heat shield had cracked during the re entry of the unmanned Artemis I mission, so the Artemis II crew will have to use a modified re entry path to return to Earth. The new technique has never been tested and scientists don't know if the current shield will hold up. It's just one of the many practical learnings Artemis 2 will provide for future explorations. Aside from the scientific advancements of the mission, Wal says Artemis 2 has also provided something special in this moment, something for the world to unify around.

Mike Wall (12:27)

It's harder to break through and get something to kind of grab world headlines these days. That's another difference between now and Apollo. Nowadays it's just so hard to break through because we're all so siloed and we all have so many distractions, like we're fragmented so much as a society. It's kind of nice to see something like this kind of break through and grab people of all political persuasions, all interests and like all around the world. It's kind of cool to see that happening.

Cecilia Ley (13:01)

And finally, here are some other stories we're following. A rare and unexpected appearance from the first lady took the press and seemingly the President by surprise. Yesterday, Melania Trump issued an address to White House reporters to deny that she had ever had a a relationship or been a victim of Jeffrey Epstein. Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been calculating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false. It wasn't really clear what she was referring to. There hadn't been any recent media stories linking the first lady to either Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. But she denounced what she called false false smears being made against her. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. In an email from 2002 uncovered from the Epstein files, the first lady refers to Ghislaine as G, compliments her on a magazine photo, and asks her to call her when she's back in New York. In her address, she said that the communication was no more than a casual correspondence. She also called on Congress to hold hearings for survivors of Epstein's crimes to tell their stories. Reporters had no advance notice of the remarks, and President Trump told msnow afterwards that he didn't know anything about it. The Wall Street Journal notes that the first lady has been in a legal fight with author Michael Wolff, who wrote a biography of President Trump. Wolf said she had threatened to sue after he alleged she was part of Epstein's social circle. The New York Times suggested the first lady's remarks to the press might only serve to increase speculation on Trump's relationship with Epstein. Last year, President Trump unsuccessfully fought to derail legislation that forced disclosures of the Epstein files. He socialized with the late financier in the 2000s, but has always denied any wrongdoing and said he cut off ties with Epstein years before his arrest in 2006. And where does a dog belong? That's the debate popping up between New York City residents. New York magazine reports on the growing dispute between owners and non owners. Tensions became exasperated when an excess of dog waste was left behind during the bad winter snowstorms. And now those tensions have extended to other disagreements, like whether dogs should be allowed in grocery stores. A bioethicist who studies human dog relations called the situation a kind of arms race as people become more assertive on both sides of the debate. Regardless, New York magazine notes, it's a tough call. While there aren't official counts of dogs in the city, the number that's been tossed around is 600,000. One resident said. Having a dog in the city is pushing the limits in a place not really built for them. But then again, perhaps the same could also be said for humans in New York. 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 the latest episode of Apple News. In conversation this week, guest host Sam Sanders talks to the New Yorker's Anna Weiner about the growing world of AI companion chatbots, and the people forming friendships and even romantic relationships with them. She does describe him as a partner.

Jeremy B. White (16:28)

And she's still married.

Cecilia Ley (16:29)

Yeah, it's not to the exclusion of her marriage. She's still leading the same life she had before, but she has this extra outlet, I would say. Or this relationship. 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 I'll be back with the news on Monday.