How Tight Is Trump’s Grip on His Party? And Why Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Settled

Summary

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"How Tight Is Trump’s Grip on His Party? And Why Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Settled"

Here’s the Scoop – NBC News
Host: Yasmin Vossoughian
Date: May 5, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this news-packed episode, Yasmin Vossoughian leads an exploration of two major storylines. First, the podcast zeroes in on the Indiana Republican primary, examining former President Trump’s influence over the GOP and the potential national implications of state legislative contests in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Later, the focus shifts to Hollywood, detailing the sudden settlement between "It Ends With Us" co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, dissecting the impact of the suit on both personal reputations and the entertainment industry at large.

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Segment 1: Indiana’s GOP Primary – Testing Trump’s Party Control

(00:00 – 11:21)

Main Points & Key Insights

• Indiana as a “Marquee” Political Battleground

  • Trump has intervened directly, targeting seven Republican state senators who opposed a Trump-endorsed redistricting plan.
  • An estimated $11.8 million poured into these local races—an unprecedented sum for state legislature contests.
  • Steve Kornacki (NBC News Chief Data Analyst) emphasizes:

    “If you just looked at that money…you’d say it’s a congressional election.” (02:19)

• Redistricting at the Heart

  • Trump-backed plan aimed to add two Republican congressional seats in Indiana.
  • Some incumbent GOP senators voted down the plan—now facing Trump-endorsed challengers.

• Unusual Primary Dynamics

  • Indiana does not have party registration; any voter may participate in either party’s primary.
    • This could allow Democratic voters to have significant influence, potentially muddying the measurement of Trump’s true sway.
  • Kornacki observes:

    “Anybody can vote today. So somebody who is actually in their heart, a […] Democrat…can go and vote in these Republican primaries today.” (03:29)

• Potential for Democratic “Backlash”

  • Indiana’s lack of party registration may allow energized Democrats to cross over and vote against Trump’s preferred candidates.

• Wider Implications for Trump and MAGA

  • These primaries become a direct test of Trump’s capacity to enforce party loyalty at the local legislative level.

    “If he’s unable to pull this off tonight…there’s a limit within the Republican Party.” – Steve Kornacki (06:25)

  • Such presidential involvement in state-level primaries is “almost unheard of in modern history.” (06:25)

Comparison: Ohio & Michigan Races

• Ohio’s Senate Showdown & Bellwether Status

  • Senate race to replace VP J.D. Vance (John Hustead vs. Sherrod Brown) and a high-profile governor primary (Vivek Ramaswamy vs. Casey Putch).
  • Kornacki:

    “If Democrats have any chance of winning the Senate…Ohio is exactly the kind of seat they need to win.” (08:07)

• Michigan’s Legislative & National Stakes

  • Special state Senate election could impact legislative balance.
  • The real focus is on the Senate seat up for grabs; Republican victory would severely hamper Democratic chances to flip the U.S. Senate.
  • Kornacki:

    “If Republicans were able to win the Michigan Senate race…I think any scenario for Democrats…to take the Senate would just go away.” (09:31)

Takeaway Questions & Indicators to Watch

• Is Trump’s strategy succeeding in enforcing total party discipline, or is he meeting meaningful resistance?
• Are Democrats or Republicans more effective at rallying primary turnout, and how might crossover voting skew results?
• Indiana tonight is the “important data point about Trump and his clout with Republicans.” (10:35)

Notable Moment

• Steve Kornacki on Trump’s Engagement (10:35):

  “He chose to make this a fight. He chose to make this a marquee fight. So I think this is a very interesting, direct and clear test of Trump and his clout in these state legislative primaries.”

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Segment 2: Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni – Hollywood Lawsuit Settled

(13:29 – 21:14)

Case Recap

• The lawsuit began in late 2024, with Blake Lively suing Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation on the "It Ends With Us" set.
• Baldoni countersued; both denied each other’s allegations.
• A judge later threw out the harassment claim, narrowing the case to alleged retaliation and defamation.

Behind the Settlement

• Rebecca Keegan (Senior Hollywood Reporter, NBC News Digital) explains:

  “There were quiet conversations happening behind the scenes to move toward a settlement…particularly starting last month when the judge…dramatically narrowed the case.” (14:39)

• Both parties had publicly prepared for trial, but “privately, folks were working hard to see that it wouldn’t” happen. (15:28)

The Allegations in Focus

• Lively’s Accusations:

  • Claimed Baldoni harassed her (e.g., entering her trailer while she breastfed, body/weight comments).
  • Claimed Baldoni’s team launched a digital “smear campaign” to damage her business and personal reputation.

• Baldoni’s Response:

  • Vehemently denied all allegations; judge threw out Baldoni’s countersuit as well as Lively’s harassment claim.

The Role of Social Media & Image-Making

• Keegan on Social Media PR:

  “...what is real on social media? What is reflecting…the way our peers…actually think, and what…ends up in our algorithm for other reasons?” (17:53)

• Lawsuit raised questions about manipulating public opinion online, but the absence of a trial leaves “what actually is possible” unclear.

Aftermath and Image Repair

• Both Lively and Baldoni likely to attempt reputational rehabilitation.

  • Lively returns to public life quickly—attending the Met Gala after the settlement.
  • Baldoni, as a director more than an actor, faces different career optics but may continue working behind the scenes.

• Keegan predicts:

  “I do think they will both recover from this. It's just going to be sort of a slow, steady process.” (19:48)

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Segment 3: Quick Headlines

(23:07 – End)

Major Headlines

• Trump Downplays US-Iran Fighting

  • Trump calls the ongoing conflict a “skirmish,” while energy prices soar due to battling over the Strait of Hormuz. Talks underway with China on diplomatic resolutions.

• Hantavirus Outbreak

  • Cruise ship off West Africa stranded after outbreak; fatalities reported. WHO speculates on possible human-to-human transmission.

• DOJ Subpoenas Georgia Election Worker Info

  • DOJ seeks personal data on Fulton County election workers as part of their investigation into 2020 election interference; local leaders call it intimidation.

• Tony Awards Nominations Announced

  • "The Lost Boys" and "Schmigadoon" lead with 12 nominations each, with star-power boosting ticket sales amid a struggling Broadway.

• Notable Quote:

  “When the ceremony kicks off on June 7th at Radio City Music Hall, I'm gonna be watching to see if the Boy who Lived can take home the house cup. I mean, the Tony.” – Yasmin Vossoughian (on Daniel Radcliffe’s nod)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – 03:24: Introduction, Indiana’s high-stakes primaries
• 04:31 – 05:45: Crossover voting and possible Democratic “backlash”
• 06:25 – 07:18: How much power does Trump have in these down-ballot races?
• 08:07 – 09:31: Ohio and Michigan previews
• 10:35 – 10:54: What to watch for in tonight’s results
• 13:29 – 15:54: Hollywood legal battle background and settlement details
• 17:53 – 19:48: Social media’s impact and expected image rehabilitation
• 23:07 – 24:58: Quick news headlines and pop culture notes

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Memorable Quotes

• On Trump’s Influence:

  “He chose to make this a fight. He chose to make this a marquee fight.”
  — Steve Kornacki, (00:00, 10:35)

• On Social Media Manipulation:

  “I think there's a question a lot of us have now, which is sort of what is real on social media?”
  — Rebecca Keegan, (17:53)

• On Tony Nominees:

  “I'm gonna be watching to see if the Boy who Lived can take home the house cup. I mean, the Tony.”
  — Yasmin Vossoughian, (24:49)

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Conclusion

This episode of Here’s the Scoop delivers a timely and incisive look at both the mechanics of political power in an election year and the rapidly evolving dynamics of reputation and crisis in Hollywood. The reporting is brisk yet thorough, offering listeners an on-the-ground sense of what tonight’s election returns—and today’s celebrity settlements—mean for the months ahead.

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Transcript

[A]

He chose to make this a fight. He chose to make this a marquee fight. So I think this is a very interesting, direct and clear test of Trump and his clout in these state legislative primaries.

[B]

Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the Scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmem desuyan. It is a Tuesday in an election year, so that means it's primary night. And today on the show, in Indiana's primary, President Trump has taken on Republicans who have opposed him. But how tight is his grip on on his party? That's the question we're asking tonight. Plus, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have settled their Hollywood lawsuit just two weeks before heading to trial. So how did the It Ends With Us co stars finalize their feud? Up first, though, voters are heading to the polls in Ohio, in Michigan, and in Indiana. And they're going to decide if incumbents should pay a price for disagreeing with President Trump. In Indiana, the president and his allies are fighting to unseat six, seven Republican state senators who voted against a Trump backed redistricting plan. Meanwhile, primary races in Ohio and Michigan could prove critical in the fight for control of Congress come November. And we'll test some newly redistricted contests. So what are these races going to tell us about the state of MAGA and how can they predict the congressional makeup or the potential congressional makeup? For that, I'm joined by no other than NBC News chief Data analyst and Steve Kornacki, minus the big board. Does that joke get old for you, Steve?

[A]

Never. Of course not.

[B]

You're right. All right, let's start with Indiana, Right, because that's going to be kind of the big state tonight. We're not usually sitting here talking about state legislative races, but, but President Trump, the Republican Party, his allies, they have poured their resources into unseating seven Republican states state senators because these state senators voted against redistricting in the state of Indiana, the redistricting that Trump and his allies actually wanted. According to ad impact, ad spending in those seven races has hit $11.8 million, comparing that to less than $500,000 that was spent on Indiana Senate ads across the 2024 election cycle. So walk us through kind of the story here and, and what we're seeing play out in Indiana.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, if you just looked at that money that's going to these races and said, what kind of election is this? You'd say it's a congressional election. I mean, that's the kind of attention, the kind of interest the money's coming in from Both sides on this thing too. So, yeah, it's weird to be talking about state Senate primaries in Indiana as having national significance. But look, the backdrop of this was, you know, the President wanted Indiana Republicans to change their congressional map, you know, something we've seen other states, you know, do. And Republicans in Indiana, unlike in many other states, refused to do it. And it failed in the state Senate last year. A plan that might have, you can argue how it would have played out, but in Trump's mind, it would have given the Republicans two additional congressional seats out of Indiana. And the reason it didn't happen was Republican state senators, some of them said no to it. So seven of those Republican state senators are on the ballot. And Trump has basically said, I'm gonna do what it takes to get you out of office here, to beat you in these primaries. So by doing that and by pouring all the money in backing it up with all these resources, he has turned this into a test of his, of his clout with Republican voters in Indiana.

[B]

Are we seeing it resonate with voters potentially coming and voting against these state senators to unseat them?

[A]

Well, that's the big question, because we say the money doesn't look like it has in the past. I suspect the turnout today is not gonna look like it has in the past. I suspect it's gonna be much higher. But is there a gap here? Is one side more motivated than the other? Has Trump tapped into something with the Republican base vote in Indiana where they wanna rally around Trump and they wanna get out and they wanna show it and they wanna take out? Is there a backlash? Is there? You know, Cause these incumbents have been running on the idea. A lot of them have been trying to tell Republicans, hey, look, it's not that I'm a liberal, it's not that I've crossed the party on some ideological issue. I just said no to a new map that I didn't think was gonna help the party the way the President did. I don't like this heavy handedness coming from Washington. They're trying to run on that message. And I think a wild card in all this is Indiana does not have party registration. So you register to vote. You don't choose a party when you do that. Anybody can vote today. So somebody who is actually in their heart, a dyed in the wool Democrat who only votes Democratic can go and vote in these Republican primaries today.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

And so in some of these districts, there are areas that have a lot of Democratic voters in them. And one thing I'm gonna be looking for when the results come in is are we seeing high turnout in those areas? Cuz that would signal to me that there's Democratic voters in Indiana who got excited about a chance to come in and vote against Trump in these primaries.

[B]

So would that actually be an accurate depiction of how strong kind of the MAGA movement and the President is in Indiana if you have Democrats turning out to vote Republican candidates?

[A]

Right. No. Potentially. That's a good point. Potentially. This becomes a story about Democratic energy, which again, is something we've been talking about in these lower turnout special elections and a state legislative primary that normally has a very small universe of voters that participate. We have been talking now since Trump came back to the White House about the Democratic base being much more energized when Trump's not on the ballot than the Republican base. We see it over and over. And I could absolutely imagine that type of voter, that type of Democratic voter that seems like that voter wants to participate in any election they can possibly participate in to register opposition to Trump. So here's an opportunity for that voter to go and vote in a Republican primary for the candidate who Trump is trying as much as he can to knock out.

[B]

So that is all happening. With the backdrop of the war with Iran, of gas prices being sky high rising, we have this April NBC News Decision Desk poll powered by Survey Monkey. With the President's job approval rating sinking to a new low of just 37% of adults approving of his performance as president and 63% disapproving. So when you're looking at specifically these races in Indiana, if he is not successful with this campaign and these state Senate races, what is that telling us about the power of or the lack of power that the President currently has and that of maga?

[A]

Well, it's telling you there's a limit within the Republican Party if he's unable to pull this off tonight, if they can't, you know, it's interesting to look at it with their seven races targeted, what would be success for Trump? What would be success for these incumbents? Because, you know, obviously the sweep either way is a clear message. If it's a mixed message between. I'm not sure quite how it gets interpreted, but, you know, obviously the more of these incumbents that survive, the more message it sends that there is a limit to Trump's ability to come into these Republican primaries where we've seen him have quite a bit of clout over the last decade and kind of dictate terms. Now, there could be a reading tonight if this is unsuccessful on Trump's part that, like, this is, you know, this was a heavy handed thing. I won't go too far here, but it's almost unheard of in modern history for a president of either party to be the, to be getting involved in state legislative primaries. That's a level below what we're normally seeing.

[B]

I know the big focus tonight is gonna be on Indiana, but we have two other states that are also going to kind of be in the running as well, one of which is Ohio. And Ohio is, is oftentimes kind of a bellwether for the generals. Right. Looking ahead to November, you've got a special Senate race to fill Vice President J.D. vance's seat. It's a fight between appointed Republican Senator John Hustead and Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown. And you have the primary for Ohio governor with two Republican candidates, Vivek Ramaswamy versus Casey Putch. And the Democrat is Amy Acton. Again, we don't anticipate a lot of surprises in these matchups, but when you're looking at Ohio as a potential bellwether to what is to come in November, is this swinging more left, is this going to swing more right? What are we expecting to see? What should we be watching out of Ohio?

[A]

Well, again, I think this is all about setup for the general election because Ohio, in terms of the Senate playing field this November is key in, in that if Democrats have any chance of winning the Senate and they are, I'd say, pronounced underdogs in trying to do that, Ohio is exactly the kind of seat they need to win. Sherrod Brown has won in the state before. Obviously he lost in 2024 with Donald Trump on the ballot. He had run in much more favorable years to Democrats before that, and he had won. And Democrats are hoping this will be another favorable year for Democrats this 2026 midterm and that he can win again. You know, if Democrats are going to get control of the Senate next year, one of the things they have to do is they have multiple races, Senate races in states that Trump carried by double digits. That's extremely hard to do.

[B]

So then let's also talk about the third state, which is Michigan. Tonight, there's a special election to fill a vacant state Senate seat there. Democrats nominated Marine veteran and firefighter Shedrick Greene. Republicans nominated former prosecutor Jason Tunney. And look, Michigan has been a fraught battleground across the last few presidential races. In 2016, Trump beat Clinton in Michigan by 0.2%. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by three. In 2024, Trump beat Harris by less than 2% of the vote. How much insight could we actually take away from what we see coming out of Michigan tonight?

[A]

It's an interesting story because this is about this special election happens to affect potentially the balance in the state legislature there. But I think the bigger, sort of the bigger stakes events are still to come in Michigan, including this summer's Democratic primary for the US Senate, because I just talked about Democrats having a path potentially to Sen control. It's a very steep uphill path. A way for Republicans to shut that path down completely for Democrats would be just to win the Michigan Senate race. It's a Democratic seat, the incumbent, Gary Peters, not running for reelection. But if Republicans were able to win the Michigan Senate race, I think any scenario for Democrats, which already is a bit of a long shot to take the Senate would just go away if Republicans could get Michigan.

[B]

So now that we've gone through all the races, as you're looking ahead to tonight and beyond, what are you gonna be looking for kind of as key indicators to take away what messaging is actually resonating, which factions are resonating, which parties are resonating ahead to November tonight?

[A]

To me, it's just, it's about Indiana and it's about these seven incumbents and it's about, you know, it's an important data point about Trump and his clout with Republicans because he chose to make this a fight. He chose to make this a marquee fight. So I think this is a very interesting direct and of Trump and his clout in these state legislative primaries.

[B]

Fresh off a loss of your Kentucky Derby predictions.

[A]

Oh, no.

[B]

You are doing the Kornacki cam tonight.

[A]

Yes, we are.

[B]

How long are you going for?

[A]

This is an interesting question.

[B]

You don't know yet?

[A]

Well, I'll tell you this. The polls close in Indiana, most of Indiana, at 6pm Eastern. Indiana is one of the slowest reporting states there is. So we're gonna go on at 6 and we're gonna see what the night brings.

[B]

Steve Kornacki, thank you.

[A]

Thanks. Yes.

[B]

All right. We are gonna take a very quick break. And when we are back, the legal battle between the It Ends with Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has finally ended what the whole ordeal told us about the inner workings of Hollywood. Stay with us. And by the way, okay, so while you're waiting, why not take a second to subscribe to our podcast or wherever you are listening. And if you already subscribe, thank you. And do not forget to rate and review us. It really helps us we'll be right back.

[A]

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 ran with another hit special on Hulu. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.

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[B]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. We have a real life legal drama involving some major Hollywood names that has finally finished. Actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reached a surprise settlement on Monday, just two weeks before a scheduled trial. If you've lost track of this thing, I'm gonna give you a quick recap at of 2024, Lively sued Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of their movie. It ends with us. And then Baldoni countersued and they were off to the races. To be clear here, Baldoni and Wayfarer have denied all of Lively's claims. So how did they finally settle? And how will this case impact Hollywood moving forward? For more on this, I want to bring in Rebecca Keegan, senior Hollywood reporter for NBC News Digital. Hi, Rebecca.

[C]

Hi, Yaz.

[B]

So this broke last night. I think a lot of people were kind of shocked because the trial was supposed to happen in two weeks. But now there's a settlement and it's over. I know you've been doing a lot of digging on this thing. So what have we learned when it comes to the details of how this actually came together?

[C]

Well, we know that while all of this sort of public facing, we're ready for trial commentary was going on, there were quiet conversations happening behind the scenes to move toward a settlement. Particularly starting last month when the judge in the case really dramatically narrowed the case. He tossed out Lively sexual harassment allegation and significantly narrowed the case to this issue of an alleged smear campaign. After the judge did that, these behind the scenes talks accelerated. So we were seeing on the calendar meetings about how long the trial would take, which witnesses would be called, and they were, you know, all the public statements were, this is definitely happening privately. Folks were working hard to see that it wouldn't.

[B]

So I want to start from how this began, which was in 2024, December, when Lively sued Baldoni and his production company. Can you remind us of the specific allegations that Lively made against Baldoni and how subsequently both he and his production company responded?

[C]

So Blake Lively alleged that she was sexually harassed on the set of events with us. She also alleged that she was retaliated against for speaking up about that harassment and that. But part of the form that that retaliation took was that Baldoni's team launched a smear campaign, as she called it, deploying digitally people to sort of trash her business, trash her personal name. Baldoni and his team vehemently denied this. They actually countersued. A judge threw out Baldoni's lawsuit. But what Lively alleged was things like Baldoni to her trailer while she was breastfeeding and talking to her while she was breastfeeding, making her uncomfortable. She has alleged that he asked her personal trainer about her weight. There was a scene where he was to have lifted her. And he says that he was worried about his ability to lift her. She interpreted him asking about that as a sort of inappropriate comment about her body, particularly since she was coming back from just having had a baby. So there were these. On the issue of the harassment, there was this sort of back and forth, what seemed to be each of them interpreting things very, very differently. The judge has not allowed that to go forward. So we wouldn't have gotten to see in a courtroom whether a jury believed those allegations.

[B]

I want to be clear here, too, that Baldoni and Wayfarer have denied all of Live Lease claims, including some of the claims and allegations that you mentioned there and your examples Part of Lively's alleged suit, as you talked about, was that Baldoni hired this PR campaign to damage her reputation. And Baldoni has subsequently denied that. I'm interested to know how much the Internet, how much social media has played a part in this.

[C]

Well, this is one of the reasons why I'm disappointed we won't get a trial, because I think this is what would have been untangled, and it fascinating, which is the issue of how much of what we think of public figures is shaped by sort of organic public sentiment, and how much of it is people orchestrating very specific targeted campaigns to encourage us to feel a certain way. I think there's a question a lot of us have now, which is sort of what is real on social media? What is reflecting the way our peers and our colleagues and our friends and our family actually think, and what is sort of ending up in our algorithm for other reasons. To be clear, celebrities have always had sort of image makers. They've always had publicists and people at studios to sort of shape the public perception of them. But there's this new level of sophistication, and there's also potentially now a tool of malice that is, as Lively's team alleged, quote unquote, untraceable, meaning that you could sort of seed public opinion in a way and that we wouldn't ever actually know about it. Now, to be clear, from the beginning, Baldoni's team has denied that they did this. But to have had a window into what actually is possible in terms of manipulating public opinion on the Internet would have been one of the things I was really interested in seeing out of this trial.

[B]

A lot of people have kind of been drawn into this lake, Lively and Baldoni mudslinging. And a lot of people have tried to distance themselves. Are we now gonna see kind of the opposite, which is kind of an effort to rehabilitate both of their images, specifically on social media, because that is the way in which people are kind of getting their PR out there these days.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, look, they both have careers that presumably they would like to continue. Blake has a movie deal with Lionsgate. She has her beauty brand. She has a beverage brand. She's a business and presumably wants her business to continue. That's part of what this. This whole case was about, was the negative impact she believed Baldoni's team was having on her business. So she is going to attempt to move forward with those businesses now. And going to the Met Gala within hours of agreeing to a settlement was a pretty big statement, a big way of saying you, I'm unbothered. I'm ready to move forward. What will be interesting to see is whether the entertainment industry, whether the audience is ready to move forward with her. Baldoni was less famous when this all happened and so many people know him largely just because of this case. He's a director, so he works behind the scenes. It's kind of a different there's a different level of expectation of his public profile being important. So maybe he continues to work as a director, maybe he does some lower budget projects. He also has the ability to to self finance his films through his production company, Wayfarer. So he doesn't have to go out there necessarily and say, hey, believe in me again. So I do think they will both recover from this. It's just going to be sort of a slow, steady process.

[B]

Rebecca Keegan, it's always a pleasure. Thank you.

[C]

Likewise. Thanks.

[B]

All right, coming up, why a hantavirus outbreak has stranded 150 cruise ship passengers in the Atlantic Ocean. And and who got today's Tony Nods? Stay with us for the headlines.

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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 special 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.

[B]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. President Trump is downplaying recent fighting between the US And Iran amidst the ceasefire, calling the war that his administration launched a, quote, skirmish. Trump spoke to reporters just hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the American operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is, quote, separate and distinct from the wider war with Iran. The battle for control of the strait has sent energy prices Soaring more than 50% since the start of the conflict. The average price of a gallon of gas is now $4.48, according to AAA. Meanwhile, Iran's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, is headed to Beijing for talks. China is one of Iran's key trading partners, and Beijing has been under mounting pressure to help push for a diplomatic end to the war. Aragchi's visit comes just a week before President Trump is expected to travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping. A cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak is stranded off the coast of West Africa waiting for two sick crew members to be evacuated for treatment. The WHO said in a briefing early Tuesday that at least three people have died on board the ship. There are two more confirmed cases of hantavirus and five more suspected. The WHO also said that there may have been rare human to human transmission of the virus. Symptoms include fever, difficulty breathing, fatigue and nausea, and there is no known treatment. CDC data shows that about 35% of cases result result in death. The Justice Department has asked Georgia officials for personal details of election workers in Fulton County. Georgia legal filings show that the DOJ filed a subpoena in April to force Fulton County's Board of Registration and Elections to release the names, addresses and contact information of people who worked the 2020 election. It is part of an expended effort by the DOJ to Investigate President Trump 2020 election loss. Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Rob Pitt said the move was, quote, designed to intimidate and chill participation in elections. NBC News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. And finally, places everyone, the nominees for the 79th Tony Awards have been announced. The brightest spotlights are on two musicals that raised their curtains just a few weeks ago. The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon each picked up a whopping 12 nominations, more than other show on Broadway this year. The competition is fierce. Musicals are generally struggling right now, so getting the win could help boost ticket sales another way that shows have been trying to get people in the door. They are putting celebrities in the playbill and that's reflected in this year's nominees. Movie stars John Lithgow and Rose Byrne got nods as well as Daniel Radcliffe, Mr. Harry Potter himself. So when the ceremony kicks off on June 7th at Radio City Music Hall, I'm gonna be watching to see if the Boy who Lived can take home the house cup. I mean, the Tony. That's a Harry Potter reference, by the way. That's gonna do it for us at here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Bissoukin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcast. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of a paid subscription@NBC news.com we'll see you tomorrow. 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 another assassination attempt this week on MEET THE press. Listen to the full episode now. Wherever you get your podcasts.