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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. war with Iran has pushed inflation to its highest level in nearly three years. NPR's Scott Horsley tells us more about the latest cost of living report from the Labor Department.
Consumer prices in April were up 3.8 percent from a year ago.
Chapter 2: What impact is the war with Iran having on U.S. inflation?
That's the biggest annual increase since May of 2023. Prices jumped six-tenths of a percent in the last month alone. Higher energy prices triggered by the closing of the Strait of Hormuz accounted for about 40 percent of that overall monthly increase. Gasoline prices have jumped about a buck and a half since the war began, and diesel prices are even higher.
That's also starting to show up in the price of other goods and services. The price of plane tickets, for example, is up more than 20 percent from a year ago, as airlines struggle with soaring jet fuel prices. Higher trucking costs may have also contributed to a sharp monthly jump in grocery prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
President Trump set to leave shortly for a state visit to China. He's expected to urge President Xi Jinping to persuade Iran to agree to U.S. conditions for ending a war the U.S. and Israel initiated in late February. Iran and China are close allies and trading partners.
As Trump seeks Chinese support, he is bringing along corporate executives representing more than a dozen companies, from Tesla to Meta, that have major business interests in China. They include Apple's outgoing CEO Tim Cook, as NPR's Don Ruich reports Cook's being replaced by an executive who led hardware engineering teams for nearly all of Apple's best-known products.
Apple said the company faced supply chain constraints for its iPhone and Mac businesses. Unprecedented investment in artificial intelligence has pushed demand for memory chips through the roof. That's caused memory chip prices to soar. And Cook said he doesn't see the supply crunch easing. He expects significantly higher memory costs, which will impact Apple's business.
Still, executives projected confidence. John Ternes, who takes over from Cook as CEO in September, said the company has an exciting roadmap ahead.
NPR's John Ruich.
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Chapter 3: How are rising energy prices affecting consumer costs?
The WHO reports 11 cases of the rodent-borne illness Hantavirus in connection with an outbreak on a cruise ship. The U.S. is among the country's contact tracing and quarantining group of passengers from that ship. Here's NPR's Gabriella Emanuele.
While Hantavirus can cause very serious illness, the risk to the public at large is extremely low. Among the biggest reasons, Hantavirus does not spread from one person to another that easily. Scott Weaver is with the University of Texas Medical Branch.
So if a person becomes infected with this hantavirus and there are no control measures in place, they're going to transmit on average to two other people.
Compare that with COVID, where he says an infected person can now pass it on to more than 10 people. And for measles, 15 other people get infected from one case on average. Gabriela Emanuel, NPR News. It's NPR News.
Against the backdrop of a war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition is expected to collapse next week after one of his key ultra-Orthodox coalition partners called to dissolve parliament. Israeli media report that new national elections would likely be called for early September.
Netanyahu told ultra-Orthodox political leaders in Israel that he would not advance legislation they sought to exempt... Ultra-Orthodox Israelis from military service. That, again, according to Israeli media. Netanyahu is seeking a new term. Last night, late-night host Stephen Colbert invited four fellow late-night TV hosts to one of his final shows before it goes off the air May 21st.
And Piers Mandelit del Barco reports the cancellations were a conversation and jokes.
Joining Stephen Colbert were John Oliver, Seth Meyers and the two Jimmys, Kimmel and Fallon. They call themselves Strike Force Five. Also the name of the podcast they hosted during the Hollywood writers strike. Here's Colbert.
Late night is in a bit of a weird spot right now.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of President Trump's state visit to China?
Because you didn't have it in the first place?
Colbert announced that Strike Force 5 will reunite on Wednesday for an emergency podcast. Mandalit Del Barco, NPR News. It's NPR.
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