Stakes of Trump's China Trip, Inflation Report Shows War Impact, Hantavirus Science
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A new inflation report out this morning shows prices rising again, driven heavily by higher gasoline costs from the war in Iran, with ripple effects on airline tickets and other consumer prices.
Public health officials say the hantavirus outbreak that started on a cruise ship is not the next COVID, but it still has no vaccine or specific treatment and can be fatal in some cases.
Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Rafael Nam, Gisele Grayson, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Olivia Hampton.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:51) Stakes of Trump's China Trip
(05:31) Inflation Report Shows War Impact
(09:27) Hantavirus Science
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | President Trump is leaving for Beijing today for a state visit with China's President Xi Jinping. |
| 0:07.3 | One analyst says it'll look polite on the surface, but it'll be a rugby match underneath. |
| 0:12.0 | Trade is on the agenda, so is the war in Iran. |
| 0:14.0 | I'm Michelle Martin. That's A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:20.8 | A new inflation report out this morning will show just how much the war in Iran is first from NPR News. |
| 0:25.4 | A new inflation report out this morning will show just how much the war in Iran is impacting consumers. The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has driven gas prices up. Airline tickets |
| 0:30.2 | are also climbing. Have wages kept up? And public health officials say the Hunter virus outbreak |
| 0:35.3 | that started on a cruise ship is not the next |
| 0:37.8 | COVID, but there's still no vaccine and no specific treatment for it. We'll hear how the virus |
| 0:42.0 | spreads. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:51.3 | President Trump says he has a great relationship with China's President Xi Jinping. |
| 0:56.0 | That relationship will be put to the test this week during Trump's visit to Beijing. |
| 1:00.2 | Look, I respect him a lot, and hopefully he respects me. |
| 1:04.5 | That was Trump Monday in the Oval Office. |
| 1:07.2 | The White House is keeping expectations for the trip tame. |
| 1:10.1 | Trade is a major agenda item, |
| 1:12.7 | but the war with Iran is also likely to get attention. NPR senior political correspondent Tamara |
| 1:17.0 | Keith is on the line with us now before traveling to China on air for us one. Good morning, |
| 1:21.3 | Tam. Good morning. So what is Trump looking to get out of this trip? Well, China is known for |
| 1:26.6 | putting on a spectacular show for visiting leaders, |
| 1:29.7 | which is something Trump clearly wants and is likely to get. There will be bilateral meetings, |
| 1:35.4 | a tea, a grand banquet, and a no doubt spectacular welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 2 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.