Yasmin Vasugin (3:27)

What's interesting is on the one hand the President is saying, we are locked, we are loaded, we are ready. From your reporting yesterday, for instance, you talked about how during this ceasefire, they have actually built up their military assets in the region, the United States, that is, as well as Iran. But then on the other hand, it has become quite obvious that the President does not want to communicate as to whether or not this ceasefire has been broken. Right. Calling this, for instance, a love tap, not a break in the ceasefire. Iran's military says the US in fact violated the cease fire Thursday when it attacked an Iranian oil tanker. Do we understand exactly what Iran wants to do about what they are seeing as a violation of this ceasefire? How else they are communicating their messaging?

Courtney Kuby (4:08)

So the US military is very clearly saying that these were defensive acts. So this was. The love tap was specifically. Which by the way, 20 years cover and plus covering the military. I've never heard the term Love Tap.

Yasmin Vasugin (4:20)

Never heard, never.

Courtney Kuby (4:21)

With respect to airstrikes, especially ones that were specifically targeting military targets. So this was specific to three US Navy destroyers. They were inside the Gulf as part of Project Freedom. This is again where it gets confusing, cause all of these missions are sort of start bleeding over to one another. The three US Navy destroyers, they were making their way through the Strait of Hormuz out of the Persian Gulf back into the Gulf of Oman. Because Project Freedom had been halted, paused, ended, whatever the actual word here is. While they were transiting through, Iran launched off a number of cruise missiles, some drones and several of these fast boats. The US military was able to repel that attack. But then the US Responded with pretty aggressive airstrikes inside Iran. So they hit in Bandar Abbas, they hit Kashim island, and they hit very specific military targets. Now, when I asked people yesterday, when we found out about this, okay, so the US Just violated the ceasefire, right? You took direct strikes against the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities. And they said, well, no, they were defensive, they attacked us first. And I said, okay, so Iran violated the ceasefire. Right. And all they keep telling us is it's a political decision. And then we heard from President Trump. He said, not a violation of the ceasefire. These are just love taps. It's a huge question that reporters need to continue to ask the administration. How is this not another violation of the ceasefire?

Yasmin Vasugin (5:40)

So can you help square this for us? Because our colleague Peter Nicholas spoke to the President and he asked him if the war was over. The President said it wasn't. He said, it's over when they sign a deal. It's over when it's over. He said. And yet they say the ceasefire has continued to be maintained in spite of all of the reporting that you just laid out for us in that there is actual strikes happening, not just by the way, over the Strait of Hormuz at this point now it is progressed back to the land. And we all know, as we've seen these wars kind of progress over history, when you have these kind of small incremental strikes, oftentimes they lead to kind of bigger all out confrontations and war once again. So, so if you can court, try and square what you're seeing on the ground there with the fighting and the messaging that we're getting both from the Pentagon and the White House.

Courtney Kuby (6:31)

So the messaging from the Trump administration is very clear. Their paramount main goal right now is to make a deal. President Trump has made it very clear that despite all the bluster, and we're going to blow you off the face of the world and we're going to annihilate Iran. And all of these things that he's saying, his actions are making it pretty clear that he is not interested in restarting major combat operations.

Yasmin Vasugin (6:51)

But how is the messaging clear when you're building up military assets in the region, when you're continuing to fire, it seems, on Iranian military assets in the region, when you are communicating, that you at any moment are willing to descend back into an all out war with the country? It doesn't seem clear to me.

Courtney Kuby (7:11)

There is, it's not clear because the messaging is all over the place. All over the place.

Danielle Hamamjin (7:18)

It is.

Courtney Kuby (7:19)

I've never seen anything like it. Where there are very senior parts of this administration who do not are not on the same page, whether it's behind the scenes or it's just in their public message.

Yasmin Vasugin (7:29)

And by the way, if we think back to last week, right, you have Hegseth testifying in front of the House, in front of the Senate, saying, we're not at war. Right. So they don't need to get congressional approval. And yet Peter Nicholas asking the President today, is the war over? And he says, the war is not over.

Courtney Kuby (7:44)

Yeah.

Yasmin Vasugin (7:44)

Right. So that essentially means the United States is at war.

Courtney Kuby (7:46)

Yeah. So officially, Operation Epic Fury, which was the, the military operation, the war that started in February, that's officially on pause right now. Okay, now that's another place where there' there's not constant communication or consistent communication between the military and the administration because the administration notified Congress and said hostilities have terminated. Whereas there are men and women, tens of thousands of them, who are forward in CENTCOM right now who are still technically assigned to Operation Epic Fury. Should, in fact, the President want to restart major combat operations. In the meantime, they're enforcing the blockades. Some of them were enforcing project freedom for 48 hours or so. So they're really trying to have everything both ways.

Yasmin Vasugin (8:30)

So meanwhile, we're having this conversation. Is the United States still at war with Iran or are they not? Who's in charge of the Strait of Hormuz? Who's not? Is oil flowing? Is there a ceasefire? Is there not a ceasefire? The White House then goes, okay, wait a minute, look over here. There might be aliens. There's the release of this, these UFO files, right, from the Pentagon. They're releasing what they are saying. The Pentagon, that is these kind of quote unquote, never before seen files on unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as UFOs. I know that NBC is still combing through all of these files. Is there anything there or is this a distraction to what is going on overseas?

Courtney Kuby (9:13)

So it actually may be a little bit in between the two. I mean, look, the President said he wanted these things released, so they're following that order, putting them out. It is a huge amount of documents. I was shocked when we started going through them. So, like there are 17 pages of lists of documents and then within some of those lists there's 150, 200 plus pages of documents. Yeah. So it's a huge, it's a huge volume of information. I will say the ones that I started going through, I didn't say, oh, wow, here's the proof. It's out. It's really here's the proof that we needed.

Yasmin Vasugin (9:43)

What green Are they purple?

Courtney Kuby (9:44)

Nobody knows.

Yasmin Vasugin (9:45)

Do they have antennas or do they not? Or they look like us? Are they us?

Courtney Kuby (9:48)

It's still unclear. We're still going through to find out exactly what these aliens look like. I will say it's still interesting to read and to comb through. Sure. You know, so for instance, one of the files was a series of letters from someone who was talking about saucers that were flying and they had hand drawn pictures and what they'd seen.

Danielle Hamamjin (10:12)

Yeah.

Courtney Kuby (10:13)

And it sounded, you know, from the way that the letter, it sounded like an older person who lives in the Southwest. This is what she saw. And what's remarkable to me anyway is that these things were highly classified and in these FBI files or intelligence agency files when they were in some cases handwritten letters and pictures. But then there are other things in there also that appear to be official reports, including some from people at NASA. So, you know, I don't want to say that it's there's nothing in there because we just don't know yet. But it's a candidly, it's a fascinating read.

Yasmin Vasugin (10:53)

Courtney Kuby, thank you.

Courtney Kuby (10:54)

Thanks, Jasmine.

Yasmin Vasugin (10:58)

All right. We're going to take a very quick break and when we come back, we are heading to the Canary Islands to get an update on the cruise ship that is at the center of the hantavirus outbreak. And hey, while you are waiting, why not hit the subscribe button and if you already subscribe, thank you, by the way, but be sure to also rate and review. That'll help us get other listeners that can find us as well. All right, I'll be right back.

Danielle Hamamjin (11:24)

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Yasmin Vasugin (11:44)

Let's just take a step back.

Danielle Hamamjin (11:46)

It's more context and clarity from the reporters you trust. Download the NBC News app now and subscribe for more. Hi, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor, host of the podcast the Drink. This month I'm grabbing a matcha latte with comedian Taylor Tomlinson. The Drink is always about someone's journey to the top. And Taylor's story is remarkable. She tells us all about her unlikely path from performing in churches all the way to headlining her own Netflix specials like her latest Prodigal Daughter. And she opens up about her religious upbringing, what drew her to stand up and how she feels when she gets on that stage. Hope you'll listen and follow the drink wherever you get your podcasts.

Yasmin Vasugin (12:28)

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Yasmin Vasugin (13:02)

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So the cruise ship that is at the center of the hantavirus outbreak is heading towards the Canary Islands and is going to dock there a little bit off the coast this weekend after being marooned off the coast of Africa for days after the planned docking. The World Health Organization, along with American, Dutch, British and Spanish officials, says the remaining 140 passengers on board will be tested and then evacuated despite protests and fears from locals on the Canary Islands. And they aren't the only ones, by the way, that are concerned. The number of suspected hantavirus cases has been taken up across multiple countries, linked to the nearly 30 passengers who disembarked the ship weeks ago. So the big question, right will public health experts be able to break the transmission while keeping locals safe in the Canary Islands? For this, I want to bring in NBC News international correspondent Danielle Hamamjin, who is in the island of Tenerife. And joining me now. Hey, Danielle.

Danielle Hamamjin (14:02)

Hey, Yasmin.

Yasmin Vasugin (14:03)

It's really loud behind you. I know that you're at a protest right now, and at this moment, we're just hours away from this ship. Planned docking, expected to be there around noon on Sunday. Walk us through what you're seeing right now.

Danielle Hamamjin (14:18)

Yeah, I'm in Santa Cruz, which is the capital of Tenerife, where the ship is going to be arriving over the weekend. As you say, this is the town square. There's an orchestra playing across the street from me. But more critically behind me is a protest of residents who are very angry at the decision made by the Spanish government to allow this ship to to come to the island. They're shouting things like the canaries are not for sale. They're saying that the health system here is already just maxed out. But that is not going to make a difference because ultimately it is the decision of the Spanish government. It is their jurisdiction and they have stated that it is their moral duty to accept this ship. Now the, the local president here has made it a point, point to say that the ship is not going to dock here. I know there's a cruise ship behind me. I don't know if you can see it. It's not going to be as close to this. The ship, the MV Hondas is going to be anchored nearby at a port that's about an hour away from where I am. It's remote, it's isolated and it's rarely used. And we understand that the passengers will not be let off the boat until all their chartered flights have landed at the nearby airport. Once the planes have landed, boats will evacuate the passengers, five passengers at a time according to local media, will be transported to the port. There'll be a cordoned off area for them and they'll be taken by bus to the airport to another cordoned off area and then they'll be flown home, repatriated to their respective countries. I think the big question now going forward is what's the quarantine process going to be like for the Spanish citizens? They'll be flown to Madrid and they're going to be going to a military hospital. The UK has said that all the British guests, passengers and crew on board that ship will have to quarantine for 45 days. That's a really long time. And so we'll see if it's going to be a case by case for some of the other passengers depending on the country. But that's a big question a lot of people have.

Yasmin Vasugin (16:24)

So as you're talking about the status, Danielle, of the people on board, I know that there are, as you mentioned, 17Americans amongst the 140 passengers on board. There's a doctor on board who spoke to a local affiliate. As things deteriorated and more people got sick and more died, seriously ill, I ended up just taking over and trying to keep everybody keep going. Do we know the overall status of the other passengers that are actually on board the cruise ship and if anybody is symptomatic?

Danielle Hamamjin (16:58)

Yeah. And remarkable interview with that doctor who went on as a guest aboard that ship and ended up chipping in and helping others. Right now, as far as we know, and the latest information we have, Yasmin, is that nobody on board is showing any symptoms. There is social distancing in place, they are taking precautions, sanitary measures in place and I'm sure after you know that COVID pandemic, these measures would not have come as a shock to them. And you know, there are people from 23 different countries, nearly 140 people on board that ship, and they're living in some kind of bubble. But some have posted videos and they are thrilled to finally be coming home. And according to the doctor who are affiliate station interviewed, there are two experts from the World Health Organization who are on board, two infectious disease experts from the Netherlands. So they feel like they are in good hands as we speak.

Yasmin Vasugin (17:56)

Right now, I want to talk about the Dutch flight attendant because we do have some good news amidst all of this. There were some people that had left the ship earlier on, one woman in particular who was flying from Africa back to her home in Europe and she got on a flight, she was sick, she was removed from a flight and she subsequently died. There was a flight attendant who was on that flight as well who had become symptomatic. But we have some good news now as to her status.

Danielle Hamamjin (18:24)

Yeah, the test results came back negative, which is, I'm sure, a huge sigh of relief for health officials around the world. And according to the whole experts, that goes to show that although this is a deadly virus, it is very difficult to transmit. But I want to point out something here. I think that officials are really focusing on this KLM flight from April 25 from Johannesburg to Amsterdam. Now, we know that the flight attendant has since tested negative. We also know that two other passengers who were on board who were also showing symptoms have also tested negative. But today the Spanish government said that there was a Spanish woman on board who was not on a ship but was on that KLM flight and who ultimately returned home to Spain. She started exhibiting symptoms and she's now been hospitalized. So that is going to be a great deal of concern for a lot of people that someone who is not on the ship could perhaps have hot the virus. Yasmin.

Yasmin Vasugin (19:33)

So President Trump was asked about this, asked about the hantavirus. We have a lot of people, a

Danielle Hamamjin (19:39)

lot of great people are studying it.

Yasmin Vasugin (19:41)

It should be fine. We hope. I hope not. I mean, I hope not.

Danielle Hamamjin (19:47)

We'll do the best we can.

Yasmin Vasugin (19:48)

Yeah. We're just learning now, actually, Danielle, that the CDC is sending a team to the Canary Islands to meet the Americans on board the Dutch cruise ship. They're going to be quarantined in Nebraska upon arrival here in the United States. And that's according to the cdc. One last thing, Danielle, as you're there amidst these protests, what are the people telling you? Like, what have you heard from the, from the citizens of that island this

Danielle Hamamjin (20:09)

is an island that relies really heavily on tourism, Yasmin. And one local man told us if there is even one case of the virus, that could be disastrous for the residents here. I spoke to one lady at a restaurant who said, I hope the precautions are there. I hope that we can trust our officials. But it is the humane thing to do to get these people and to let them go home and facilitate that journey for them. I actually bumped into a couple from Ethica, New York at the airport and they were, they didn't even know the ship was on its way. I had to, I broke the news to them. The lady told me, you can't just leave these people at sea. Someone has to take them in. And hopefully again, their lessons were learned.

Yasmin Vasugin (20:51)

From COVID Danielle Hamamjin for us in the Canary Islands, thank you. I hope you and your team stay safe. Thanks, Danielle. All right. We're going to take a very quick break. And when we are back, a federal court rules against Trump's tariffs. And women's basketball is back. That is next in the headlines.

Courtney Kuby (21:15)

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Willie Geist (21:43)

Hey, guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with red hot stand up comedian Nikki Glaser to talk about the long career grind that has brought her to this starring moment, hosting the Golden Globes killing at the Tom Brady roast. And now with another hit special on Hulu. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.

Yasmin Vasugin (22:11)

This week on MEET THE press, the war with Iran heads into its third month as gas prices spike. Is there any end in sight? Plus, we'll dig into the former FBI director's second indictment and the fallout over

Danielle Hamamjin (22:23)

another assassination attempt this week on MEET THE press.

Yasmin Vasugin (22:27)

Listen to the full episode now, wherever you get your podcasts. And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. So the US added 115,000 jobs in April, more than double what economists had been expecting, with the health care sector leading the gains. Today's jobs report showed unemployment holding steady at 4.3%. But there was also significant revisions to previous months. Employment in February was Revised down by 23,000 jobs to negative 156,000. March numbers were revised up by 7,000 jobs. The report arrives as gas prices are up more than 50% from the start of the year. The Virginia Supreme Court is blocking a new congressional map drawn by Democrats, a boost to Republicans looking to defend their narrow majority in the House in the midterms. The map would have given Democrats up to four new House seats, but the state Supreme Court ruled that Democratic lawmakers failed to meet procedural requirements necessary for enacting it. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, the Republican led legislature divided up the state's lone majority black district on Thursday, creating a 9 to 0 Republican majority. Congressional map Combined with Republican led map drawing efforts in other states, plus a recent Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights act, the GOP could pick up as many as 14 seats compared with upwards of 10 for Democrats. Though several maps still face litigation, a federal court has ruled against President Trump's global tariffs, the flat 10% tariffs he imposed after the Supreme Court struck down his original sweeping tariff plan. The court ruled 2 to 1 that Trump had overstepped the tariff power given to him under the law. The administration is expected to appeal the decision, which would send the case to the U.S. court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. it could ultimately end up before the Supreme Court. In the uk, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is resisting calls to step down after his Labour Party saw huge losses in this week's national elections. Results are still coming in, but it looks like the hard right reform UK party will gain hundreds of seats in working class areas in the country's north, long considered to be solid labor territory. Nigel Farage, leader of the opposition party, called it a quote, truly historic shift in British politics. The WNBA tips off its 30th season this weekend in a marquee matchup. We're going to see superstars Caitlin Clark and Paige Becker's face off in the Indiana Fever versus the Dallas Wings. The team to watch this season is widely expected to be the New York Liberty. They have re signed three of their star players and added a new coach, Chris DeMarco. They're hoping the momentum is going to help them dethrone the reigning champs, the Las Vegas Aces. And finally, so this is the part of the show where I would normally tell you that I'm going to be back on Monday with whatever the day may bring, but actually we're going to be back tomorrow because on Saturday we have a new miniseries called here's the Scoop Supreme Court Edition. It is hosted by my friend and colleague Laura Jarrett, and she's going to be talking to legal experts and lawyers about some of the biggest Supreme Court cases still undecided this term and the precedents that could help determine how the justices are going to rule. Starting with birthright citizenship. The administration is trying to restrict it and it's basing its arguments on a 100-year-old case called United States vs. Wong Kim Ark. They're really making a revisionist argument, right? When you look at the clear text of the amendment, when you look at the legislative history, when you look at how long the birthright citizenship law had been into place since the nation's founding, the cards were too stacked against the government. You can catch Here's a Scoop, Supreme Court Edition right here in your feed tomorrow. That is going to do it for us at Here's a Scoop from NBC News. I'm Yazan Vesugin and thanks for listening.

Willie Geist (26:37)

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