Weekly News Roundup - 5/9/26
Iran War resolution elusive // White House reverses course on AI restrictions // Hantavirus outbreak on ship // Virginia court tosses new maps // Hacky Sack is back
This is the 18th Weekly News Roundup of 2026. The archive for all weekly news roundups is here, which goes back to the beginning of 2024.
These weekly dispatches are designed for those who may not have time to do more than glance at the headlines, or those who want to stay informed without becoming obsessed by politics and news. These roundups are a targeted way to get a sense of the shape of the past week on the national level. Without such a map, we can be disoriented, not knowing where we have been over the past several days, or where we may be going.
But by spending concentrated, limited time thinking about the big picture, we can devote more of our time to where “agency and justice begin and end,” as Karen Swallow Prior put it: “on the ground, bodily, in community and real relationships, in flesh and blood.”
Quotes of the Week
It’s my belief that the feeling of efficiency should be mistrusted. The people I know who have small armies of A.I. agents working on their behalf certainly feel more productive, but I have not noticed their work improving. In some cases, it has clearly declined. - Ezra Klein
What has arguably made him one of the most influential journalists of the moment ... is his unique ability to ... to plunge eagerly into the hard numbers while somehow “holding space,” as the phrase goes, for ambiguity. - Aaron Gell
If there is something that can truly damage Christianity (as it has many times already in history), then it is turning faith into ideology. - Tomas Halik
Big Stories This Week
Reports emerged that the Trump administration, which has to date said it did not want to put any restrictions on the development of AI research and development, has become concerned about the dangers posed by the technology, and is considering an executive order to require oversight of new models.
The month-long ceasefire in Iran wobbled precariously as Iran launched attacks on targets in the Strait of Hormuz and in the United Arab Emirates. China took an active role in negotiations with Iran, setting itself up to hold leverage in talks with President Trump when he visits Beijing on May 14 and 15. CNBC reports that “the shorthand ‘Not A Chance Hormuz Opens’ [or NACHO] has emerged on trading desks and among market commentators to describe growing skepticism that repeated remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about reopening the key shipping route will lead to a swift resolution.” Gas prices rose again to an average of $4.53 a gallon.
The congressional map for this fall’s elections, which will decide control of the House of Representatives, shifted in Republicans’ favor after Virginia’s highest court struck down new maps approved by the state’s voters last month and several Southern states moved to eliminate Democratic seats, taking advantage of the Supreme Court’s ruling last week overturning key portions of the Voting Rights Act. Democrats are still favored to win control of the House this fall, but the legal and legislative actions will make it harder for them to do so.
A virus outbreak on a cruise ship has killed three people, and public health officials are working to make sure that there will not be a larger outbreak of hantavirus, which usually comes from contact with mouse droppings or urine. Health officials said they did not think the virus would spread easily between humans, but were doing contact tracing to make sure that an outbreak was not in the making. News that more than two dozen people left the ship on April 24, two weeks after the first passenger died from the virus, caused alarm.
The first press reports were published documenting the hacky sack craze that has taken over high schools around the country, in Good Housekeeping, the Boston Globe, and several high school newspapers.
Week in Review
Saturday, May 2
The first case of hantavirus is confirmed on board a cruise ship headed from Argentina to the Canary Islands, and a German woman who showed symptoms on April 28 dies on board the ship. She is the third ship passenger to die from the virus.
Sunday, May 3
President Trump says the U.S. Navy will “guide” and protect stranded ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but gives few details.
Monday, May 4
Two ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. Navy says it sinks six smaller vessels that were engaged in launching attacks. Iran also launches attacks on the United Arab Emirates.
A Texas man exchanges gunfire with police near the White House. A 15-year old bystander is shot in the leg. Police wound and detain the man, who was walking along a road where Vice President J.D. Vance’s motorcade had just passed by.
Tuesday, May 5
The Trump administration delivers several contradictory messages about the war against Iran. In the morning, War Secretary Pete Hegseth explains how the U.S. Navy will “guide” stranded strips out of the Strait of Hormuz. In the afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the military operation has “concluded.” In the evening, Trump himself says the effort to protect ships has been paused as talks with Iran continue.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is calling on China to put pressure on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, ahead of Trump’s trip to Beijing on May 14 and 15. Rubio says at least 10 sailors on stranded strips have died from lack of access to food and water.
Elections in several states show Trump retains a strong hold on Republican primary voters but Democrats have the upper hand in places where the electorate is made up of both parties. Indiana Republicans oust seven state senators of their own party who voted against Trump’s push for drawing new congressional maps, but in Michigan, a Democrat wins a swing seat for state Senate.
Wednesday, May 6
Iran’s foreign minister meets with China’s foreign minister in Beijing as China takes a more active role in mediation efforts ahead of Trump’s trip to Beijing, seeking leverage in negotiations with the U.S.
A supposed suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein is released.
Thursday, May 7
Vice President Vance held a call in April where he expressed alarm over the breakneck pace of AI progress, new reporting reveals, and the White House is considering an executive order to bring oversight to new models.
The U.S. Navy repels attacks on three of its ships by Iranian forces.
Two of three judges on a panel at the Court of International Trade in New York
find that 10% global tariffs imposed by Trump after the Supreme Court’s overruling of the president’s broader tariff regime were also illegal.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says that a new budget deal will include a measure to tax second homes of people who live most of the year somewhere else. She also says that she will not back down from a measure to limit local and state law enforcement from cooperating with ICE.
Rubio visits Pope Leo at the Vatican in Rome. Leo gives Rubio a pen carved from olive wood. “Olive is the plant of peace,” the pope says. Rubio gives Leo a crystal football.
Friday, May 8
The U.S. fires on and disables two Iranian tankers seeking to leave the Strait of Hormuz. Navy ships come under fire from Iranian vessels. Iran also launches new missile and drone attacks against the UAE.
A New York Times investigation finds that Iran has launched successful drone and missile attacks on 18 U.S. military sites in seven Middle East countries since the war began. The U.S. military has not disclosed these attacks.
The Virginia Supreme Court strikes down new congressional maps.
The Pentagon releases new documents showing details of past sightings of unexplained phenomenon in the air, which some think are UFO’s.
The price of gas in the U.S. ends the week at an average of $4.53, now more than 50% higher since the war in Iran began.
Interesting Reads
China Sees a ‘Giant With a Limp’ as U.S. Drains Weapons on Iran War, by David Pierson and Berry Wang for The New York Times
Congress Never Regulated Social Media. Here Comes AI, by Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up to Politics
What’s Happening in Ukraine? Gaza? Venezuela? And More. Taking a look at the stories that have been overshadowed by Iran, by Gabe Fleiser for Wake Up to Politics
Growing Cracks in Putin’s Dictatorship, by Michael McFaul for McFaul’s World
Why the A.I. Job Apocalypse (Probably) Won’t Happen, by Ezra Klein for The New York Times
The U.S. Army’s ‘Big Experiment’ in the Arctic Cold, by Greg Jaffe for The New York Times
He Remade the Southern Baptist Convention in His Image. Then Came the Abuse Allegations, by Robert Downen for Texas Monthly
How the devil was disguised in the SBC and Paul Pressler’s Conservative Resurgence, by Karen Swallow Prior for Religion News Service
The Antiabortion Movement Is Turning on Trump, by Philip Wegmann, Liz Essley Whyte and Jennifer Calfas for The Wall Street Journal
We’re about to find out how prepared we are for climate change, by David Wallace-Wells for The New York Times
Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits? by Jill Lepore for The New Yorker
16 Washington Post veterans on what they would change about D.C. journalism, by NOTUS