Hantavirus strikes a cruise ship: A 'perfect storm' or a warning sign?

The voyage was marketed for explorers eager to venture to "the edges of the map," from Antarctica to some of the most remote islands in the world.

It would be a tantalizing trip for tourists with an appetite for adventure — less about trips to the spa and lounging by the pool than a chance to see landscapes few humans have ever laid eyes upon.

But this call of the wild was ultimately among the factors that turned the MV Hondius into the epicenter of the first-ever deadly outbreak of hantavirus aboard a modern cruise ship. Eleven cases have been linked to the outbreak so far. Three people are dead, and two others are in intensive care.

The incident — with a few uncomfortable echoes of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — has sparked concerns and questions. Chief among them: Was this a freak occurrence, or a sign of things to come?

"I think it's both," said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco.

—Los Angeles Times

Steyer campaign staffer linked to video of rival Katie Porter berating staff

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A briefing memo obtained by the Los Angeles Times appears to support former Rep. Katie Porter’s accusation that a Tom Steyer staffer leaked a video of her yelling at an employee, an outburst that tainted her gubernatorial prospects when the video became public.

The video, which was obtained in October by Politico, showed Porter erupting at a staff member who appeared in the background of a prerecorded Zoom call between the former congresswoman and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

During a nationally televised interview on CNN by Dana Bash on Monday, Porter accused the Steyer campaign of leaking the damaging video.

“I am confident that is the case,” Porter said after Bash asked how she knew Steyer was the source. “I’ve been told by many people it’s a Department of Energy video, it was only held by the Department of Energy, and people can follow the trail to who his campaign staffers are and understand what happened there.”

Following the CNN interview, Steyer’s campaign denied that the candidate was involved with the leak.

—Los Angeles Times

Gov. Greg Abbott won't endorse in bitter Cornyn-Paxton runoff fight shaking Texas GOP

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ruled out endorsing either Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton in their increasingly bitter Senate runoff, sidestepping a high-stakes clash that has exposed divisions inside the Texas GOP. “I haven’t made one yet, and I’m not going to make one,” Abbott said after a news conference on his criminal justice package. “I’ve worked with both of them very closely.”

Abbott’s remarks come just days before early voting starts Monday for the May 26 runoff, widely seen as a test of the party’s establishment wing against its Trump-aligned MAGA base. The winner faces Democrat James Talarico in November.

The governor, who is running for reelection, had for months waved off questions about which candidate he would back with his considerable influence and campaign account. Thursday was the first time he acknowledged he’d stay on the sidelines.

Both campaigns declined to comment. Paxton and Cornyn are still vigorously seeking an endorsement from President Donald Trump, who has not weighed in.

—The Dallas Morning News

Ethics committee confirms NC Rep. Chuck Edwards under sexual harassment investigation

WASHINGTON — The House Committee on Ethics confirmed Thursday afternoon that Rep. Chuck Edwards is under investigation for “allegations that he “may have created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment.”

The committee announced the investigation in a news release Thursday. It’s the first time it publicly acknowledged the investigation of the Flat Rock Republican.

News reports that Edwards has been under an ethics investigation surfaced two weeks ago. It was first reported by Axios.

Edwards denies any wrongdoing and said he looks forward to the investigation.

Axios spoke to three people who said they witnessed inappropriate behavior by Edwards toward two female members of his staff in their 20s.

—Raleigh News & Observer

Cuba accepts $100 million US aid offer as country says it has run out of oil

Cuba’s leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said Thursday that his government will accept a U.S. offer to provide $100 million in humanitarian aid, as the country runs out of fuel and Washington signals its impatience with stalled diplomatic talks between the two countries.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday the U.S. government had offered to send $100 million in humanitarian aid to the country, but that Cuban authorities had not accepted it. Earlier this week Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said his government had no knowledge of the offer and accused Rubio of lying.

But after the State Department on Wednesday said the offer was still standing, Díaz-Canel said the Cuban government would not stand in its way.

“If the U.S. government is truly prepared to provide aid in the amounts it has announced—and in full conformity with universally recognized practices for humanitarian assistance—it will encounter neither obstacles nor ingratitude on the part of Cuba, however inconsistent and paradoxical such an offer may seem to a people whom that very same U.S. government systematically and ruthlessly subjects to collective punishment,” Díaz-Canel wrote in a posting on X.

The State Department said the aid could be distributed by the Catholic Church and other reliable independent humanitarian organizations. Rubio discussed the aid delivery in a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV last week.

—Miami Herald