United States of America eSeries: The US has got first world problems.

The US has got first world problems.

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May 7, 2021

Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu

'Do you have any questions'

The US has got first world problems.

As much of the rest of the globe cries out for vaccines, American firms and sports teams are coming up with ever more elaborate incentives to change the minds of those who refuse the shot. While India, Nepal, Colombia and several other nations slip deeper into the horror of a full-blown pandemic and its knock-on political crises, life is perceptibly cranking up here, exposing issues inherent in reopening a frozen economy.

The US hotel and restaurant industry is expecting a bumper summer as Americans indulge pent-up wanderlust. But chronic staff shortages threaten chaos: Some restaurants can't fully open because they lack kitchen and wait staffs. The industry is also missing thousands of seasonal guest workers who can't travel owing to pandemic restrictions.

The hotel trade has its own staffing issues and is also being hammered by the shutdown in business travel. It warns that without a government bailout, it will be down another half million jobs by the end of the year — after losing 8 million jobs since the pandemic began.

Builders can't even find enough wood. The closure of sawmills has led to a lumber shortage. As a result, the price of new homes is up $36,000.

And if travelers get the chance to come to the US this summer, they might struggle to get around. When the pandemic hit, many car rental companies sold off mothballed fleets. Now they're struggling to restock. As a result, wheels are scarce at US airports and daily prices are skyrocketing.

It's not all bad news. Anyone in the US willing to get inoculated against Covid-19 can take advantage of a blizzard of incentives including free beer, doughnuts, baseball tickets and even a chance to win a seat at the Super Bowl. And in the only-in-America category, Illinois is offering shots for shots — handing out 100 free targets at a gun range for people who get vaccinated.

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The UK-France fishing spat appears to have died down.

A Hong Kong court sent Joshua Wong and three other activists to prison.

Rio Tinto shareholders are rebelling over the mining giant's destruction of sacred caves.

And Indonesian scammers reused Covid-19 nasal swabs on airplane passengers.

Meanwhile in America, nearly one in three stores opening in the US is a discount Dollar General.

Mortgage rates are falling again.

And female US Army soldiers can now wear ponytails.

SpaceX successfully launched and landed its latest Starship prototype, SN15, on Wednesday after two failed launches earlier this year ended in fiery explosions. (SpaceX)

$1 billion

It's a possible $1 billion gamble that could speed up slow-moving talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal – but that would also spark a Washington firestorm for the Biden White House.

As CNN's Natasha Bertrand writes for Meanwhile that the administration is weighing whether to unfreeze the Iranian funds so they could be used for humanitarian relief.

One line of thought is that the money could be used as a potential goodwill gesture that might coax the Islamic Republic to come back into compliance with the 2015 pact, according to three people briefed on the internal deliberations, as talks in Vienna drag into a second month with no sign of a breakthrough.

Iran is demanding sanctions relief in return for complying with the terms of the agreement, from which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew. The funds would not be handed over in cash or unilaterally by the US, according to the State Department. But they might flow through a diplomatic channel, known as the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement, set up last year to allow humanitarian aid like food and medicine to be sent to Iran without violating US sanctions.

The possible plan had already sparked uproar among Iran hawks in Congress who fear the move would be seen by Tehran as a concession that would limit US leverage. It also threatens to revive a centerpiece of Republican attacks focusing on a previous $1.7 billion transfer of seized Iranian funds as part of a legal settlement at the time of the original agreement.

Time is short for progress in the hugely complicated talks to save a deal on life support since the Trump administration re-imposed sanctions as part of a maximum pressure strategy and Iran started enriching uranium to 60% purity – the closest level it has ever come to the material needed for a nuclear weapon.

Elections in Iran next month are looming over the process. And in both Iran and Washington, hardliners opposed to the diplomacy could still scupper hopes of an agreement both sides seem cautiously open to reviving.

'Do you have any questions'

US President Joe Biden made a Cinco de Mayo lunch run on Wednesday, aiming to show off his administration's relief program for restaurants hurt by the pandemic. Stepping up to the counter of Washington taqueria Las Gemelas, Biden informed kitchen workers that their industry had lost 2.8 million employees during the coronavirus crisis. "Already almost 200,000 people have applied for this program. You're the very first one in the whole nation," Biden said. "Do you have any questions?"

"What's your favorite kind of taco?" someone asked, after a pause.

Thanks for sticking with us through the week.

On Friday, China's Foreign Minster Wang Yi is expected to participate in a virtual UN Security Council meeting alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other ministers. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presents his case for a second five-year term leading the global body.

On Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a news conference after an informal EU-India summit. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend a commemoration ceremony marking the end of World War II.

And on Sunday, expect Russia to show off military might during its WW2 anniversary parade in Red Square. Germany's Social Democrats hold a party meeting to select their candidate for Chancellor. Protesters gather in Paris to urge the government toward more action on climate.