Hantavirus ship passengers arrive for quarantine in Omaha; Trump rejects Iran deal

Passengers from a ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have landed in the U.S. and are heading straight into quarantine in Omaha. Straight Arrow will take you inside the medical facility where they’ll be staying.

Plus, President Donald Trump rejects Iran’s response to end the war, calling it unacceptable. The standoff now centers on nuclear demands with no clear path forward.

And a federal gas tax break is back on the table as prices climb. But even if it happens, will Americans feel the impact at the pump?

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, May 11, 2026.

American evacuees from hantavirus ship arrive in Omaha for quarantine

Passengers from a cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak have landed in Omaha, Nebraska, touching down just hours ago, and are headed to a high-security quarantine unit.

The plane landed at Eppley Airfield, and officials transported the passengers to Nebraska Medicine.

Straight Arrow’s Craig Nigrelli visited the hospital Sunday, taking video and photos of where the passengers will now be monitored. Things were relatively calm on the hospital campus before their arrival. 

The patients will be monitored at the national quarantine unit — the only federally funded unit of its kind in the country. If anyone develops hantavirus symptoms, they will be immediately transferred to the biocontainment unit in the same building for treatment.

Seventeen Americans and one British national who lives in the U.S. were evacuated from the MV Hondius, which docked in the Canary Islands on Sunday.

So far, one American has tested positive, and another is showing symptoms. A French passenger from that same cruise ship has also tested positive.

Health officials said the virus is usually linked to rodents, but in this case, the World Health Organization believes it likely spread person to person on board.

Since the outbreak started in mid-April, three people from the ship have died, and several others have been infected.

Iran defends peace proposal that omits nuclear issue, demands concessions

Iran has pushed back after President Donald Trump rejected its latest peace proposal, calling it “totally unacceptable.” Iran’s foreign ministry said the offer was “reasonable” and “generous.”

State media reported the proposal called for an end to the war and the U.S. naval blockade, which Iran described as “maritime piracy.” It also included demands to release frozen Iranian assets, recognize Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and pay compensation for war damage.

The proposal did not address Iran’s nuclear program, a central issue for the U.S..

Trump dismissed the offer and accused Iran of “playing games” in a social media post. He also warned, “They will be laughing no longer,” without providing details.

The rejection sent oil prices higher overnight.

Brent crude climbed above $104 a barrel, while the U.S. benchmark pushed close to $100.

Energy secretary says administration is open to suspending federal gas tax

The Trump administration said it’s open to suspending the federal gas tax as prices climb. The national average now sits at $4.52 a gallon, up more than 50% since the war with Iran began.

Drivers pay about $0.18 a gallon in federal taxes. Even if that tax is paused, prices would still stay well above pre-war levels.

Oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively blocked, tightening supply and keeping pressure on prices. The administration said it’s looking at ways to bring costs down, but won’t predict where prices go next.

On NBC Sunday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, “All measures that can be taken to lower the price at the pump and lower the prices for Americans, this administration is in support of.” 

When asked if Trump is open to suspending the federal gas tax, Wright said, “We’re open to all ideas.”

“Everything has tradeoffs,” he added. “All ideas to open lower prices for American consumers and American businesses.’

Any gas tax holiday would require Congress to act.

Wright said prices are likely to stay high until the conflict in Iran ends. He wouldn’t rule out prices hitting $5 a gallon before that happens.

Army identifies soldier recovered after training exercise disappearance in Morocco

The U.S. Army identified the soldier whose body was recovered along the Moroccan coast as 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. He is one of two American service members who went missing during a joint military exercise earlier this month.

Moroccan military personnel recovered Key’s body on May 9 along the shoreline near the Cap Draa Training Area, roughly one mile from where both soldiers were reported to have entered the ocean, according to a U.S. Army press release. 

The two soldiers disappeared on May 2 while participating in African Lion 26, a multinational training exercise hosted by Morocco. U.S. Africa Command said the soldiers were taking part in training near the city of Tan Tan when they went missing.

The search continues for the second missing soldier. U.S. and Moroccan forces remain engaged in an extensive search-and-rescue effort involving ground, air and maritime assets. More than 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civilian personnel have participated in the operation, the Army said.

Key, 27, of Richmond, Virginia, was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. He served as a platoon leader and was an Air Defense Artillery officer.

Moroccan armed forces transported Key’s remains by helicopter to the Moulay El Hassan Military Hospital in Guelmim. Plans are underway to return his remains to the United States.

Virginia redistricting court ruling sparks Democrats’ fury

Virginia Democrats filed a joint motion asking the state Supreme Court for a stay of its ruling that voided a redistricting referendum. The ruling effectively tossed out a map voters approved last month that would give Democrats a four-seat advantage.

Now, top Democrats are trying to figure out what comes next quickly, weighing how far they’re willing to go to get their map back as the clock is ticking. State election officials said any changes must be made within days to avoid disrupting the August primary.

Behind the scenes, Democratic leaders held a private call over the weekend. According to The New York Times, frustration was high, and options were wide open.

One proposal gaining attention — and some resistance — is to lower the mandatory retirement age for Virginia Supreme Court justices, requiring the entire court to retire. Supporters said it’s about preserving the map voters already approved.

In a statement to The Times, Virginia Democratic Rep. Suhas Subra-Manyam said, “We have republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their supreme courts altogether. We know based on that, republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who was on that call Saturday, has also signaled no limits.

“It’s unprecedented in American history, as far as we can tell, that an actual election has been overturned by a handful of unelected judges. We’re not going to step back; we will continue to fight back,” he told The Times.

There’s still no final plan.

Democrats said they’re reviewing legal options, including a possible appeal, while also trying to flip congressional seats in the midterms under the current map — if nothing changes.

Pentagon releases decades of UFO files, including photos and witness accounts

The Pentagon has released decades of UFO and UAP reports to the public. More than 160 files, including photos, incident reports and witness accounts, have been posted on the Department of Defense website.

Many of the images captured by military aircraft show unidentified objects moving through the sky. Some date back to 1969, including photos taken by Apollo astronauts on the moon mission.

Other documents report “flying discs” from the late 1940s through the 1960s, including the well-known Roswell incident in New Mexico. That case involved a crash and the recovery of an unusual object described at the time as having a hexagonal shape with a ball and cable attached.

Today, Roswell still commemorates that event with an annual UFO festival that draws thousands.

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Trump administration proposes rule to make offering fertility benefits easier on employers

The Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury Departments are proposing a rule that aims to expand employers’ abilities to offer fertility benefits to workers.

This rule would create a new category of limited excepted benefits, giving fertility benefits the same exemptions as vision and dental. Excepted benefits do not have to meet the same requirements under the Affordable Care Act that others do.

Requirements for these benefits include that they must be for the diagnosis, mitigation or treatment of infertility or related reproductive health conditions. These benefits are capped at a lifetime maximum of up to $120,000 for the participant and their beneficiaries. Plans starting after 2028 would increase these maximums to adjust for inflation.

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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief