Top 5 US news stories
May 11 2026
Declining Births Shrink U.S. Public School Enrollment
U.S. Labor Market Tilts Away From Men as Healthcare Drives Job Growth
U.S. Repatriates Cruise Passengers After Hantavirus Outbreak
Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democratic Congressional Map
Iran's Response to U.S. War Proposal Falls Short Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Declining Births Shrink U.S. Public School Enrollment
K-12 public school enrollment has fallen in 30 states since the mid-2010s, with elementary schools shrinking even before pandemic losses of more than one million students. The U.S. fertility rate, which peaked in 2007, has dropped 24 percent since, and experts say it is the biggest driver of the trend. Large urban districts including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York are losing students, but smaller and suburban districts are shrinking at similar rates. Falling enrollment cuts into funding tied to student counts, forcing many districts into budget cuts and debates over school closures. Public schools also face growing competition from private schools, home-schooling, charter schools, and virtual schools, with new state voucher programs poised to boost private enrollment further.
NYT
U.S. Labor Market Tilts Away From Men as Healthcare Drives Job Growth
Nearly all net U.S. job growth over the past year has come from healthcare and social assistance, sectors with few male workers, while industries dominated by men have shed jobs. The Labor Department reported Friday that overall unemployment held at 4.3 percent, with similar rates for men and women, but a broader measure of employment shows a sharper divide. The share of men age 16 and over who are working was 64.1 percent in April, down from a 2019 average of 66.6 percent and far below the 1990s average of 70.9 percent. Women's employment-to-population ratio, structurally lower than men's for decades because of motherhood and caregiving demands, came in at 54.5 percent in April, only slightly below pre-pandemic levels despite an aging population. Analysts point to a growing educational divide, with women earning bachelor's degrees at a higher rate than men and college graduates employed at higher rates than non-graduates. Occupations such as home health aides and medical assistants, which men have historically avoided, are expected to grow as the population ages.
WSJ
U.S. Repatriates Cruise Passengers After Hantavirus Outbreak
Seventeen American passengers from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship struck by a rare hantavirus outbreak, are being flown to Nebraska for evaluation at a specialized quarantine facility, the Department of Health and Human Services said. One American tested positive for the virus and another showed symptoms after the ship anchored off the Spanish island of Tenerife over the weekend. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a French woman also tested positive after showing symptoms during her repatriation flight to Paris, one of five French passengers evacuated Sunday. Passengers began departing the vessel Sunday aboard military and government aircraft in a large-scale evacuation that stretched into Monday. In Tenerife, crews in full-body protective suits escorted travelers from the ship to waiting transport, reflecting heightened precautions around the suspected exposure.
WSJ
Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democratic Congressional Map
Virginia's top court on Friday struck down a congressional map drawn by Democrats and recently approved by voters, dealing a major blow to the party in the national redistricting battle. The ruling wipes out four newly drawn Democratic-leaning U.S. House districts in the state. Republicans have carved out additional red seats in other states this cycle. With Virginia's map now overturned, Republicans gain a structural advantage as the parties head into the midterm elections.
NYT
Iran's Response to U.S. War Proposal Falls Short Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Iran has formally sent a multipage response to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war, laying out its own demands and leaving gaps between the two sides, people familiar with the matter said. Rather than commit upfront on the fate of its nuclear program and stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Iran proposed ending the fighting and a gradual opening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic as the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ships and ports. Nuclear issues would be negotiated over the next 30 days, with some highly enriched uranium diluted and the rest transferred to a third country under guarantees it would be returned if talks collapse or the U.S. exits the agreement. Iran also said it would suspend uranium enrichment for a period shorter than the 20-year moratorium sought by Washington but rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities. President Trump called the response totally unacceptable in a social media post Sunday, while Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency disputed elements of the Wall Street Journal's reporting and said Tehran is also demanding the lifting of U.S. Treasury sanctions on Iranian oil sales and the release of frozen funds abroad. The exchange comes as Trump prepares to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing this week, where U.S. officials say he plans to press China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, to help broker an end to the conflict that has closed the Strait of Hormuz.
WSJ
MAY 11, 1934: DUST STORM SWEEPS GREAT PLAINS TOPSOIL ACROSS EASTERN STATES
A massive storm lifted an estimated 350 million tons of drought-loosened Great Plains topsoil and carried it as far as New York, Boston and Atlanta. The disaster, driven by years of prairie grass removal and aggressive wheat farming, coated cities in dust and highlighted the environmental costs of poor land management.
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