Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Thursday, May seventh. The time is one p.m. Central. I'm Keli, joined by Hast.

HAST Hey Keli. Good to be here.

KELI We start with an update on tourism across the Middle East. The region's major travel destinations are seeing visitor numbers drop sharply as the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran continues. Petra in Jordan—one of the world's most visited archaeological sites—is nearly empty right now. That's according to reporting from Al Jazeera. The economic impact is real. Jordan's tourism industry employs tens of thousands, and the downturn is hitting families and small business owners hard. This has been developing over the past few weeks as regional tensions have remained high.

HAST Turning overseas now. The co-founder of the clothing brand Superdry, James Holder, has been convicted and jailed for rape. The BBC reports the fifty-four-year-old attacked a woman in her flat in Cheltenham, England, in May of twenty-twenty-two after a night out. He's now serving time. This case has been working through the UK court system for some time and wrapped up this week.

KELI Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating whether public schools across the state are complying with a state law that requires posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The Texas Tribune reports this comes as legal challenges to the law continue, but Paxton's office is moving forward with enforcement. Schools that don't comply could face pressure from the state level. It's a new development in an ongoing debate over religious expression in public education.

HAST In Maine, state Democrats are holding a vote to condemn what they're calling interference from the national Democratic party apparatus. The Intercept reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put resources behind a particular candidate in a competitive House primary just weeks before voters go to the polls. Local party members say they weren't consulted, and some are upset about the national party's involvement in what's supposed to be a grassroots election.

KELI One more on this. Hast, the temptation here is to read this story a certain way. What should listeners watch for?

HAST Right. The simple read is going to be that national Democrats are overriding the will of Maine voters and local organizers. The structural reality is that primary campaigns attract resources from allied groups—money and staff flow toward candidates that national figures think can win—and Maine's primary hasn't happened yet, so locals will make their own choice at the ballot. Watch for whether this vote actually changes how money flows into the race, or whether it's a symbolic gesture that doesn't shift the underlying dynamics. If we see the DCCC pull resources after this, the grassroots pushback worked. If resources keep flowing, then the local outrage hasn't changed the strategic calculus.

KELI So we'll know pretty quickly whether the complaint translates into actual change.

HAST A hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship led to significant public health scrutiny, and now the official who heads up the CDC's cruise ship safety program is retiring. STAT News reports the timing comes as the agency faces questions about how prepared it is to handle disease outbreaks on vessels at sea. The retirement leaves that position open as the cruise industry continues expanding.

KELI And finally, a note on Alzheimer's research. NPR reports that scientists working with families who carry rare genetic mutations—mutations that trigger early-onset Alzheimer's—have made significant breakthroughs in understanding the disease. But federal funding for that research has been cut. Those studies gave researchers a unique window into how the disease develops and a way to quickly test new treatments. The funding changes mean that research will likely slow down.

HAST Twenty-five years ago today, in nineteen ninety-nine, a NATO aircraft mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo War, killing three Chinese citizens and wounding twenty others.

KELI That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back next hour. From Inkwell.