An Atlantic cruise with nearly 150 passengers onboard is suffering from an outbreak of hantavirus, a respiratory disease with a mortality rate of up to 50%. Health authorities in several countries are tracking down dozens of passengers who had left the ship before virus cases were confirmed.

Since the Dutch-flagged Hondius departed Argentina last month for the African nation of Cape Verde, three passengers have died and five others have fallen ill, with at least five cases confirmed via lab testing. Thirty passengers from 12 countries disembarked at the island of Saint Helena and flew home last month. Authorities are now attempting to locate them.

This isn’t Covid 2.0…as health experts assure that the risk of a hantavirus pandemic is low, since it doesn’t spread easily between humans and isn’t as mutation-prone as Covid.

How does one get sick?

People typically contract hantavirus by coming into contact with rodent droppings or inhaling contaminated particles. But Hondius passengers could have been transmitting it to each other:

• Some passengers tested positive for the rare Andes version of the virus—the only hantavirus strain for which human-to-human transmission is known to be possible.
• People can pass the Andes variant to each other through close physical contact or by sharing utensils.
• The virus’s flu-like symptoms can appear one to eight weeks after exposure.

There are currently no targeted treatments for the disease, and no FDA-approved vaccines, though research efforts are underway to develop one.

It’s a bad look for cruises. The outbreak is reminding vacationers right at the start of summer travel season that cruise ships can act as floating petri dishes for communicable diseases, with their buffet-style dining and passengers rubbing shoulders at the blackjack table mingling in close quarters. The vacation vessels were major hot spots for Covid in the early days of the pandemic and are also common sites of norovirus outbreaks.

Looking ahead: Hondius is now being diverted to the Canary Islands with plans to send the passengers back to their home countries.—SK

Court of International Trade ruled Trump’s 10% tariff illegal. Yesterday, a panel of federal judges found that the 10% across-the-board tariff that President Trump issued in February after the Supreme Court struck down many of his earlier tariff attempts is also illegal. The levy rested on Section 122 of the International Trade Act of 1974, an obscure provision that had never been used in the way the Trump administration attempted. Officials anticipated that the plan might not work, according to the New York Times, but hoped it would last until at least July. Following the announcement, Trump told reporters, “So, we always do it a different way. We get one ruling, and we do it a different way.” The administration is expected to appeal.—HVL

Whirlpool says Iran war causing “recession-level industry decline.” We’ll take Things You Don’t Like Seeing in an Earnings Report for $1,000, Alex. The home appliance giant, which owns Maytag and Kitchenaid, warned yesterday that higher fuel prices stemming from the Middle East conflict have led to a “collapse” in consumer confidence. As a result, fewer Americans are making big-ticket purchases on items like fridges, ovens, and dishwashers. The company’s Q1 revenue fell 10% compared with the same period last year. US consumer confidence plummeted to a record low last month, but has since improved somewhat as Americans hope for an end to the war.—AE

OpenAI trial reveals Altman’s mid-ouster text messages. If nothing else, the blockbuster Musk v. Altman trial over OpenAI’s nonprofit mission has provided a fascinating look behind the curtain during the company’s infamous power struggle. Jurors were shown texts between CEO Sam Altman, who was briefly deposed by the OpenAI board in 2023 before being reinstated, and then-interm CEO Mira Murati after Altman was ousted. “They’re convinced in their decision,” Murati told Altman. “For me to be fired? or some new thing?” Altman asked. “Yes for you to be gone,” Murati replied. Altman was eventually reinstated after hundreds of OpenAI employees threatened to leave if he wasn’t brought back.—AE

Screenless health trackers are having a moment, and Google wants in. Yesterday, the tech giant unveiled the first display-free Fitbit, the Fitbit Air. The $100 device will compete directly with smart band-maker Whoop at a time when more people want wearable health monitoring, but nobody wants to look at another screen.

The new Fitbit launches on May 26 with the typical slate of new-age health features, including sleep tracking, blood-oxygen monitoring, and irregular heart-rate detection. Users can also pay $100/year to access a Gemini-powered health coach within the new Google Health app (rebranded yesterday from the Fitbit app).

Google saw an opportunity. In the overall wearables market, Apple Watch still dominates, and Google’s Pixel smart watches barely make a dent. Meanwhile, Whoop and Oura took a different track, offering minimalist designs—which save screen time and battery life—that have helped propel both companies’ valuations beyond $10 billion.

Fitbit Air could undercut those popular screenless wearables:

• Whoop charges at least $200/year to use its wristbands, which have no upfront cost.
• Oura Rings start at $349, and a subscription that unlocks all its tracking features will run you another $70/year.

Zoom out: In the US, purchases of fitness trackers jumped 88% from 2024 to 2025, while purchases of smart rings spiked 195%.—ML

These tomatoes are catching so much heat, they’re at risk of becoming perfectly blistered. A lawsuit filed in California this week accuses food manufacturer Cento Fine Foods of committing “tomato fraud” by deceiving customers about the legitimacy of its canned San Marzano tomatoes.

Like authentic Champagne and Parmesan cheese, official San Marzano tomatoes can only come from one specific region in Italy. The premium fruits are ideal for saucemaking, but horrible for punishing a bombing comedian, because they have a thicker tomato wall, fewer seeds, and lower acidity than your run-of-the-mill produce. Sales of this specific tomato are regulated by Il Consorzio di Tutela del Pomodoro San Marzano DOP, but Cento uses a third-party agency called Agri-Cert:

• Cento said it stopped working with the official Italian group to certify its tomatoes a decade ago over labeling rules.
• The lawsuit claims that Cento was removed by the group for counterfeit labeling, and that the “certified” label on the company’s cans and website trick customers into thinking the tomatoes have the more rigorous DOP certification.

Cento called the allegations meritless. The company released a statement saying that it defeated a similar lawsuit lobbed against it in 2019 and would do so again.—MM

On Fridays, the Brew’s Dave Lozo looks at a sports business story that says a lot more than just the final score of a game.

If you need a place to stay for the World Cup, there are still plenty of rooms available. Hoteliers and Airbnb proprietors in a majority of host cities have said that bookings are surprisingly way below expectations, with the matches only about a month away:

• Per a survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), 80% to 90% of hoteliers in Kansas City, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle are trailing behind a typical summer. Some industry insiders are calling the World Cup a “non-event.”
• Seven in 10 respondents said that geopolitical and visa concerns are keeping international fans away.

Airbnbs aren’t faring much better. Only one host city (Boston) has reported that more than 50% of Airbnb rentals were booked as of late April. That’s despite Airbnb offering a $750 bonus for new hosts during the tournament.—DL

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to everyone realizing months later that the bad vibes only you had about your new colleague were correct.

It’s that satisfying. Ace the quiz.

Decipher: This edition of our code-cracking game asks you to decrypt a headline…and not one that we wrote. Play Decipher here.

Friday puzzle

Find the word that connects each list of three things.

1. Piano, answer, Florida
2. Face, needle, hurricane
3. River, checking account, blood
4. Corn, headphone, piercing
5. Fireplace, cabin, ship captain
6. Tree, dog, cinnamon