U.S. Scales Up Hantavirus Response

Summary

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WSJ What’s News – “U.S. Scales Up Hantavirus Response”

Date: May 14, 2026
Host: Luke Vargas

Episode Overview

This episode covers three key stories driving business and global news:

1. Day One of the Trump-Xi Summit in Beijing:
   Discussion focuses on diplomatic pageantry, shifting power dynamics, and the delicate Taiwan issue.
2. U.S. Scales Up Hantavirus Response:
   The CDC is rapidly increasing its response team after a spike in hantavirus cases, navigating the shadow of Covid-era controversies.
3. Grades and GenAI:
   With AI’s impact in higher education, the meaning of top marks is shifting, and employers are less impressed by GPAs.

Additional segments include U.S. military posture changes in Europe and major business headlines (Cisco layoffs, Cerebras IPO, StubHub earnings).

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1. Trump-Xi Summit Begins in Beijing

(Main segment: 00:33–06:53)

The Pageantry & Symbolism

• Luke Vargas: Sets the stage—after much uncertainty, the Trump-Xi summit is underway with heavy symbolism.
• John Cheng (WSJ Beijing Bureau Chief):
  • “It is definitely something worth watching because political symbolism is so important… especially to the Chinese leadership.” (02:00)
  • Recalls the elaborate hospitality shown to Trump, reminiscent of his 2017 visit. The ceremony includes honor guards, flag-waving crowds, and a tour of the Temple of Heaven—actions meant to display respect and tradition.

Shifting Power Dynamics

• Alex Ward (WSJ National Security Reporter):
  • “I would offer a third P, which is power.” (03:11)
  • Notes China’s rise since 2017 and Trump’s diminished leverage, partly due to the ongoing Iran war and a weaker economy.
  • “Trump, I think at this point, he's not as in charge as he was in 2017... he doesn't really have the upper hand in this.”
  • Comments on Trump’s uncharacteristic restraint when confronted about Taiwan, interpreting this as an acknowledgment of his more precarious position.

The Taiwan Issue: The Red Line

• John Cheng:

  • “Taiwan was always going to be a top shelf issue for the Chinese. They see it as absolutely central to any sort of stability between these two countries.” (04:47)
  • Explains that Xi’s warning on Taiwan came via Chinese state media, a move highlighting the issue’s importance and leaving Trump’s response ambiguous.

• Alex Ward:

  • “For Trump to be quiet on the Taiwan issue, I think makes clear that he knows that that is the biggest minefield he could step on during this.” (05:49)
  • Suggests Trump is avoiding any public statements that could upset negotiations, especially with rumors he might trade Taiwan rhetoric for gains with Iran or economic deals.
  • “The irony… is that the Chinese for so long have said that Taiwan is just a non negotiable issue… This summit was supposed to be centered around economics and trade. This message from Xi is now dominating early and threatening to darken the mood here.”

Memorable Moment:

• Trump’s silence on Taiwan is seen as a tactical shift—a major departure for a president known for speaking extemporaneously.

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2. U.S. Scales Up Hantavirus Response

(Segment: 08:52–10:14)

CDC Expands Response Team

• Luke Vargas:

  • “The CDC is staffing up its hantavirus response team, increasing the number of staff focused on the outbreak from 3 to now roughly 100.” (08:52)
  • Warns that the administration is balancing confidence with caution amidst public scrutiny.

• Sabrina Siddiqui (WSJ National Politics Reporter):

  • “Even if the Trump administration and the CDC are saying this is not another Covid, part of what's also informing the government response is what this administration sees as pandemic era missteps.” (09:22)
  • Highlights that CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya, a vocal critic of Covid-era restrictions, is now tasked with shaping a nimble, responsive approach.
  • “They’re wanting to avoid stirring up the kind of fear and anxiety that is associated with Covid but at the same time making sure that they're taking hantavirus seriously and avoiding the appearance of not giving it the attention it warrants.”

Insight:

• The administration is walking a tightrope—learning from the Covid response, but wary of repeating lockdowns or overreactions.

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3. U.S. Military Repositioning in Europe

(Segment: 07:05–08:52)

• Dan Michaels (WSJ EU/NATO Reporter):
  • “It's surprising and notable because it was done abruptly in the middle of a deployment, but also because it's Poland and Poland is one of America's staunchest allies in Europe…” (08:00)
  • The U.S. is removing an armored brigade from Poland, a stark shift with symbolism tied to changing U.S. policy in response to European criticism over U.S. actions in the Iran war.

Notable Point:

• Pulling troops from Poland signals a commitment to a smaller European footprint—prompting concern among NATO allies.

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4. Markets & Business Headlines

(Segment: 10:14–10:51)

• Cisco: Laying off thousands to pivot towards AI investments.
• StubHub: Q1 profit sparks after-hours rally—consumers aren’t cutting live events.
• Cerebras Systems IPO: Sam Altman-backed AI chip startup raising $5.5B, biggest IPO of the year.

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5. Do College Grades Even Matter Anymore?

(Segment: 10:51–12:20)

• Callum Borchers (WSJ “On The Clock” Columnist):
  • “Nobody is impressed by your GPA… Good grades have always been a dubious predictor of professional success. And that may be truer than ever for a couple of reasons.” (11:32)
  • Lists rampant grade inflation and AI-facilitated cheating as causes.
  • “Hiring managers just don't know how to judge the significance of a 4.0 or a high GPA anymore. So better to just leave that to the side and think about having to prove yourself all over again.”

Memorable Quote:

• “You put up good grades in college. Congratulations. Well done. The trouble is… good grades have always been a dubious predictor of professional success. And that may be truer than ever…” (11:32, Callum Borchers)

Context:

• Even elite colleges are overhauling honor codes due to AI-enabled cheating.
• New grads are urged to downplay GPAs and focus on real-world skills.

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Noteworthy Quotes & Timestamps

• John Cheng: “Political symbolism is so important…especially to the Chinese leadership.” (02:00)
• Alex Ward: “Trump ... doesn't really have the upper hand in this. And now he's in Xi's house.” (03:11)
• John Cheng: “Taiwan was always going to be a top shelf issue for the Chinese.” (04:47)
• Alex Ward: “For Trump to be quiet on the Taiwan issue… he knows that that is the biggest minefield he could step on during this.” (05:49)
• Sabrina Siddiqui: “They're wanting to avoid stirring up the kind of fear and anxiety that is associated with Covid but at the same time making sure…they're taking hantavirus seriously.” (09:22)
• Callum Borchers: “Nobody is impressed by your GPA... Good grades have always been a dubious predictor of professional success.” (11:32)

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Episode Recap

This episode provides a brisk but in-depth briefing on emerging global tensions, public health strategy, and the shifting value of classical success markers like grades in the AI era. From the choreography of global summits and troop deployments to pandemic playbooks and generational job anxiety, “What’s News” keeps listeners sharp on the evolving interplay of geopolitics, business, and culture.

Transcript

[IBM Representative]

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[Luke Vargas]

China's Xi Jinping warns President Trump on Taiwan, underscoring the tensions around a visit Trump had teased as the best summit ever.

[John Cheng]

It's an honor to be your friend and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before. Thank you very much. Thank you.

[Luke Vargas]

Plus, U.S. health officials scale up their hantavirus response and do college grades even matter? AI makes getting an A easier than ever. It's Thursday, May 14th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal and here is the AM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Well, day one of the Trump Xi summit is underway and to help us decipher some early signals coming out of the high stakes gathering in Beijing, I've got Journal Beijing bureau chief John Cheng and Wall Street Journal national security reporter Alex Ward on the line from the CH capital. John? Alex, anyone nerding out over this summit will have seen reference in a lot of outlets to the five Bs that the US is seeking progress on this week, among other things, setting up a board of trade, selling Boeing planes as well as American beef. But since the real negotiating day is tomorrow, I propose that we look at two P's instead. Pageantry and prepared remarks. John Pageantry. Is it all pomp and circumstance or something actually worth watching?

[John Cheng]

It is definitely something worth watching because political symbolism is so important in general, but especially to the Chinese leadership. So I think given all of the uncertainty around this summit, whether it would even happen, what date it would happen, who would be there, and yet they have, of course, pulled out all the stops. It hasn't been terribly different from the kind of red carpet treatment that the president got in 2017. You still have the greeting from the honor guard, from young Chinese men and women jumping up and down and waving flags and flowers. And then you had the two leaders going to the Temple of Heaven. This is a centuries old temple in central Beijing where the emperors of China used to go to pray for good harvests. So it has been quite a nice sort of reception, especially if you are Donald Trump. And this is definitely something that he's talked a lot about looking back to his 2017 trip and that he seemed to very much be looking forward to.

[Luke Vargas]

Alex, I'm glad that John brought up that last trip, because since 2017, China has really grown to be a real superpower. Has that changed anything about how Trump is being received this time around?

[Alex Ward]

Well, actually, I would say the first P pageantry leads into what I would offer is a third P, which is power. If there was so much pageantry in the first session, this one is much more about the power that these two countries can execute together. Their actual opening statements talked about the superpower relationship. Trump, I think at this point, he's not as in charge as he was in 2017. The Iran war is looming. His political prospects are getting weighed down by that war, by a struggling economy. He doesn't really have the upper hand in this. And now he's in Xi's house. In fact, there's already the clip of reporters asking Trump about Taiwan. After Xi released this statement giving some stark warning about the Taiwan issue, Trump was uncharacteristically quiet. And that, I think, gives some insight into a couple of things. One, the politics of the issue. Two, the general sensitivities of Trump, maybe not wanting to upset his host. But three, about Trump loves to wax poetic and be extemporaneous. And in this case, he's being very measured. And so I think this gives us a sense of, while Trump is enjoying himself, he doesn't really have the luxury of being overly fetid because one, of his standing. And two, I think also how China feels about years of tension. Right. 2017 was the year in which the US really changed policy towards China, made it much more antagonistic. Trump is now switching back to try to make it more friendly. But, you know, China's not forgotten the last decade.

[Luke Vargas]

And John, I think Alex has actually set us up there really nicely to close things out by talking about some of the red lines Xi has already drawn ahead of negotiations, namely around Taiwan.

[John Cheng]

Yeah, you know, Taiwan was always going to be a top shelf issue for the Chinese. They see it as absolutely central to any sort of stability between these two countries. And so insofar as there's going to be any support, any aid, any kind of positivity that is exuded from Washington towards Taiwan's government, that's going to be a problem for the Chinese. And so this is an issue that matters a lot more to Xi Jinping than it does to Donald Trump. Perhaps that's why the president is not jumping in there. I think he recognizes how sensitive this is for the Chinese. And certainly it's a complex issue with a long history. And it is interesting that we first hear about this Taiwan warning, if you want to call it that, from Chinese state media. This isn't something that the American press was able to witness or to report on. This came from Chinese state media that Xi Jinping told this to Donald Trump and we don't know what the President said in response, at least not yet.

[Alex Ward]

I think the early evidence, based on the fact that reporters asked Trump to talk about Taiwan and he wouldn't, signals he knows the sensitivities around this issue, that he might be leaving the Taiwan discussion for the private sessions and not willing to talk about it in public because the White House is very clear. You know, in the lead up to this, there would be no policy changes whatsoever on Taiwan, which is why the most Xi could hope for was a rhetorical one, which would still cause quite the uproar. So for Trump to be quiet on the Taiwan issue, I think makes clear that he knows that that is the biggest minefield he could step on during this. The interesting thing, and there was also the concern that, you know, Trump might make some sort of Taiwan rhetoric, trade for an economic deal or some Chinese support to end the war in Iran. You know, the irony of all this is that the Chinese for so long have said that Taiwan is just a non negotiable issue, that it cannot be sort of traded for, for anything. This summit was supposed to be centered around economics and trade. This message from Xi is now dominating early and threatening to darken the mood here. But really, the risk was if Trump said something off the cuff that didn't match U.S. policy. For the moment, he has been restrained. On that.

[Luke Vargas]

Alex Ford is a Journal National Security reporter and John Cheng is our Beijing bureau chief. Alex, thanks so much for the time.

[Alex Ward]

Yeah, thank you.

[Luke Vargas]

And John, appreciate your time as always.

[John Cheng]

Always a pleasure.

[Luke Vargas]

Coming up, the Pentagon pulls a U turn, canceling a troop deployment to Poland as Washington rethinks its role in Europe. That and the rest of the day's news after the break. Data is everywhere. When orchestrated properly, it sings at Morningstar. We analyze and enrich data, making it actionable and and powerful for you. Morningstar, where data speaks. The Pentagon has abruptly canceled the deployment of an armored brigade to Poland in a major step toward shrinking the US Posture in Europe. That comes after the Pentagon earlier this month said it would be removing 5,000 troops from Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Meertz criticized the White House's handling of the US War with Iran. Dan Michaels covers the EU and NATO for the Wall Street Journal.

[Dan Michaels]

The move comes as part of the broader shift that the US has signaled will come. But it's surprising and notable because it was done abruptly in the middle of a deployment, but also because it's Poland and Poland is one of America's staunchest allies in Europe. It's also a country that shares a border with Russia and also with Ukraine, and so really is at the front line of the conflict going on now in Europe. So to actually now pull troops from Poland really sends a signal that President Trump, Defense Secretary Hegseth really are intent on drawing down the US Troop presence in Europe and at NATO officials have expected this. So it's more an issue of how it's being handled rather than what is being done.

[Luke Vargas]

Moving a combined 9,000 troops out of Europe will bring the US presence on the continent back to levels last seen in 2022, the invasion of Ukraine. The CDC is staffing up its hantavirus response team, increasing the number of staff focused on the outbreak from 3 to now roughly 100. National politics reporter Sabrina Siddiqui says that while the Trump administration is projecting confidence that the virus has been contained, officials are walking a tightrope as they try to calibrate their response.

[Sabrina Siddiqui]

Even if the Trump administration and the CDC are saying that this is not another Covid part of what's also informing the government response is what this administration administration sees as pandemic era missteps. You have people in the Trump administration, including the president himself, who were very critical of COVID era lockdowns. I mean, Jay Bhattacharya, who's acting director of the cdc, was himself and has continued to be very critical of COVID era restrictions. And so now you find these officials in this interesting position of wanting to avoid stirring up the kind of fear and anxiety that is associated with COVID but at the same time making sure that they're taking hantavirus seriously and avoiding the appearance of not giving it the attention it warrants.

[Luke Vargas]

In markets, news network equipment maker Cisco is preparing for thousands of job cuts as it makes room for more AI spending and other investments. Layoff notices are expected to start going out today with restructuring expenses set to cost up to a billion dollars. Ticket reseller StubHub has swung to a Q1 profit, fueling an after hours rally. CEO Eric Baker said that in spite of macroeconomic stressors, consumers are prioritizing live events. So if you're a Green Bay packers fan or a music fan, you're going

[John Cheng]

to go to that concert, that's not

[Luke Vargas]

the first thing you're going to cut or think about.

[IBM Representative]

It's closer to a necessity than you may think.

[Luke Vargas]

And Sam Altman backed chip startup Cerebras Systems is raising more than five and a half billion dollars in what is poised to be the year's biggest IPO to date. Cerebras chips are built to meet the surging demand for inference workloads that help AI models respond to user queries. And finally, what happens when AI makes an A grade easier to come by? According to a recent paper, professors are dishing out 30% more top marks than they did before AI, but far from those as teeing up an easier job hunt. Journal on the Clock Columnist Callum Borchers says that new grads are likely to find the corporate world unimpressed.

[Callum Borchers]

Nobody is impressed by your gpa. You put up good grades in college. Congratulations. Well done. The trouble is that good grades have always been a dubious predictor of professional success. And that may be truer than ever for a couple of reasons. Number one, you were schooled at a time of widespread grade inflation, and two, that coincided with the advent of these AI shortcuts that colleges are really struggling to police. I mean, we just saw Princeton revise its century plus year old honor code to require exam proctors because the temptation to cheat is just so hard to resist. Now, this isn't entirely your fault, but the reality is that hiring managers just don't know how to judge the significance of a 4.0 or a high GPA anymore. So better to just leave that to the side and think about having to prove yourself all over again.

[Luke Vargas]

For more career Advice, check out Callum's latest column on WSJ.com, which we've linked to in our show notes. And if you're a new or soon to be grad preparing to start your career, we'd love to hear how you're approaching your job search and whether those late night study sessions were worth it. To share your experience, send a voice note to wnpodsj.com or leave a voicemail at 212-416-4328, including your name and your location so we can use your comments on the pod. And that's it for what's news for this Thursday morning. Today's show was produced by Hattie Moyer and Daniel Bock. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff and I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show and until then, thanks for listening.

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