Comey's Back in Court, UAE Exits OPEC, and Musk vs. Altman

Maya: Good morning and welcome back to the morning rundown. We have got a packed show today, David. David: We really do, Maya. Like, where do we even start? Maya: Okay, so CNN and PBS are reporting that James Comey, yes, that James Comey, has been indicted a second time over a photo of seashells the DOJ says threatened President Trump. I mean, come on. David: A second indictment over seashells? Maya: I know, right? And there's more from the political front. The White House is blaming Democratic rhetoric for the WHCD shooting, and the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants. That's wild, right? David: Big, big cases. Then on the global energy side, the UAE is actually walking out of OPEC after nearly 60 years. That's a huge deal for Saudi Arabia. Maya: Yeah, and here's the thing. Bloomberg says Trump is prepping aides for a long Hormuz blockade. On top of that, oil markets are not happy. David: Understatement and then we've got Elon Musk on the stand against OpenAI, the FCC going after ABC's licenses, and the EU coming for Meta over kids on Instagram. Maya: So much. All right, let's get into it, starting with Washington. Good morning and welcome to the morning rundown. I'm Maya joined as always by David and we are jumping straight in because this morning's headlines are a lot. David: Yeah, no easing into it today. Maya: So James Comey, indicted again. David: Second time. Maya: CNN is reporting this morning that Comey was indicted over a photo he posted online of seashells on a beach. The DOJ says the arrangement spelled out a number officials interpreted as a as a threat against President Trump. David: Seashells. Maya: Seashells. David: Seashells. I mean, I have questions. Maya: Right? So here's the thing. According to CNN, three sources confirmed this, and PBS also reported it, describing the case as part of the Justice Department's quote, relentless effort to prosecute political opponents of the president. David: And that word relentless is doing a lot of work there, because this is the second indictment of Comey in a matter of months. Maya: Mm David: The Maya: -hmm. David: first case didn't stick. Now they're back with this. Maya: And look, if the DOJ has real evidence of a genuine threat, that matters. But the optics of a twice-indicted former FBI director who spent years in Trump's crosshairs, the timing's going to raise eyebrows regardless of where you land politically. David: Totally. And speaking of raised eyebrows, let's talk about the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting. Maya: Yeah, so over the weekend, there was a shooting incident at the WHCD... a CD event that President Trump attended. USA Today's Zac Anderson is reporting that the White House is now calling this the, quote, predictable result of Democratic rhetoric. David: They went straight there. Maya: They went straight there. I mean, come on. And Democrats are pushing back hard, saying that framing is irresponsible. Politico's reporting the DOJ isn't even sure yet whether the suspect actually hit a Secret Service officer. David: So we don't have the full picture on what happened physically and its. And it's already become Maya: Yeah. David: a political football. Maya: Which is kind of where we are with everything right now. And look, if anti-Trump rhetoric contributed to radicalizing someone to the point of violence, that is a legitimate conversation to have. That's not nothing. David: Right. Words have consequences. Both sides have said that years and years depending on who's doing the talking. Maya: Depends on the week, Yeah. Okay, so before we move on, there's one more story that I think deserves a minute, because it is genuinely significant policy-wise. David: The Supreme Court. Maya: The Supreme Court. NPR's Nina Totenberg reported the court is now weighing whether the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants. David: So TPS is the program that lets people stay and work here if their home country is in crisis, war, disaster, that kind of thing. Maya: Right. And what's at stake here is enormous. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of people who've been living and working. And working here legally. David: And the administration's argument is that the executive branch has the power to end it. The court has to decide if that's actually true. Maya: It's another one of those cases where the outcome could reshape how much authority a president has over immigration status, not just for this group, but going forward. David: Power, who has it, how far it goes, that is the through line of every story we just covered. Maya: Honestly, yeah. A former FBI director facing his second criminal charge? A shooting being framed as politically motivated? The Supreme Court deciding whether the White House can upend legal status for hundreds of thousands of people overnight. That's wild, right? David: All of it circles back to the same question: how much authority does the executive branch have, and who, if anyone, can check it? Maya: And if you think that question is complicated here at home, wait till you hear what's happening on the global stage, because some very big players are making some very big moves. moves. And power is very much the theme there. Shifting gears now because while all that power drama was playing out in Washington, some really big energy news dropped overnight. David: Yeah, this one's been building for a while. The UAE is leaving OPEC after nearly 60 years. Maya: 60 years! I mean, come on! NPR's Camila Domonoske reported this morning that the UAE has long been frustrated with the production quotas OPEC forces on its members, so they're out. David: And the Washington Post framed it as a real blow to Saudi Arabia's grip on the cartel, like OPEC loses credibility every time a major producer walks. Maya: Right, and here's the thing. The timing couldn't be messier. You've got the whole Hormuz situation still still- Still simmering. David: Which we've been tracking for weeks now, and Bloomberg is reporting that Trump has been telling aides to actually prepare for a prolonged Hormuz blockade. Maya: Wait, prolonged? Like this isn't just short-term contingency planning? David: That's what Bloomberg is saying. Aides are being told to think beyond a brief disruption. Maya: Wow. David: And that changes the calculus on basically everything energy-wise. Maya: And about a third of global oil trade passes through that strait. So if it's actually blocked for an extended period... We're talking serious price spikes, supply chain chaos. David: Serious. And the UAE leaving OPEC right now, some analysts read that as the UAE positioning itself to pump more freely if the Hormuz situation creates a supply gap. Maya: I mean, that makes sense strategically, but it also means OPEC has even less leverage to stabilize prices if things go sideways. David: Exactly. So you've got a weakened cartel, a potential blockade, and then Fox News reported today that Iran flat out rejected the latest U.S. peace proposal. Iran flat out rejected the latest U.S. peace proposal. Maya: Of course they did. David: Both Trump and Rubio said Tehran's offer fell short, and Iran's defense ministry basically fired back that the U.S. is, quote, no longer in a position to dictate policy. Maya: So I... Iran's digging in, the U.S. isn't budging, and meanwhile oil markets are trying to price in all of this at once. David: Yeah, and the UAE exit just adds another layer of unpredictability to an already unstable picture. Maya: Here's the thing: I keep coming back to the Saudi angle. This is a real embarrassment for Riyadh, losing the UAE, one of their closest Gulf partners, while the whole region is in flux. David: And Saudi Arabia has been using OPEC as a tool to manage... To manage prices, and honestly, to manage its own budget needs, less cooperation means less control. Maya: So the question nobody can really answer right now is where oil prices go if a blockade actually happens and the cartel can't coordinate a response. David: Right, a few forces in play: higher prices if supply gets squeezed, but also demand destruction if a prolonged crisis hits the global economy hard enough. Maya: Messy in every direction. David: Yeah, no clean answers here. Maya: Okay, so from one high-stakes standoff to another, except this one has a lot more lawyers and a lot less crude oil. David: That's the smoothest transition I have heard all week. Maya: We're talking Elon Musk, Sam Altman, a courtroom in San Francisco, and a lawsuit that finally hit trial. That's coming up. Okay, shifting gears completely, Elon Musk versus Sam Altman is finally in a courtroom. David: For real, Axios reported Musk actually took the stand Tuesday as the first witness in his own billion-dollar lawsuit against OpenAI. Maya: He couldn't help himself beforehand. I mean, come on. The New York Times said he was posting shots at Altman on social media the morning of the trial, like the night before your court date. David: It's a little pregame. Maya: Right? Here's the thing. Whether OpenAI broke the rule. The original nonprofit mission, when it started operating more like a for-profit company, that's what Musk's whole case hinges on. David: And there's real money on the table. We're talking billions. Maya: Billions. The Verge has been tracking this live, and it is a spectacle. Two of the biggest egos in tech finally in front of a judge. That's wild, right? David: Honestly, it's the crossover nobody asked for, but everyone is watching. Maya: Exactly. So speaking of government pressure on media... Yeah. David: Oh, the FCC story? Maya: Yeah, CNN reported the FCC is moving to challenge ABC's broadcast licenses. I mean, come on. And it's happening at the same time the administration is pushing ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. David: So that's two separate levers being pulled at once. Maya: Right. And look, whatever you think about Kimmel, broadcast licenses are a big deal. Those licenses are how stations stay on the air. David: Noting the government using FCC pressure against a network. network because of a comedian's jokes is worth paying attention to. That's true no matter where you sit politically. Maya: Totally. The FCC usually doesn't wade into this territory over content disputes, so this one's worth watching. David: Before we go, quick one: Meta is in trouble in Europe. Maya: Again. David: Again! The New York Times reported EU regulators say Meta didn't have effective controls to verify user ages on Instagram and Facebook. Kids were getting in and the company knew it. Maya: So the self-reported birthday field was basically just an honor Speaker 3: Yeah. Maya: system? David: Pretty much. And European safety law says that's not good enough. Maya: Here's the thing. This has been the complaint for years. Regulators are finally moving on it. David: It is a real accountability story. Protecting kids online shouldn't be controversial. Maya: No, it shouldn't. All three of these stories today. Tech accountability, media freedom, courtroom drama. They're all pointing at the same thing. Power is being contested everywhere right now. David: And nobody's sitting on the sidelines. Maya: Definitely not Elon Musk. David: Never. Maya: All right, that's a wrap on a genuinely packed episode. David: Yeah, power, energy, and accountability. Those three threads ran through everything today. Maya: And here's the thing about David's whole who has the power, how far does it go framing? That really stuck with me. David: The Comey seashells thing alone? I mean, come on. That's a headline you can't make up. Maya: You really cannot. And the UAE-OPEC exit on top of everything Hormuz-related? That's wild, right? David: A lot moving. Worth paying attention. Maya: One more thing. If you're finding value here, subscribe and leave us a review. It genuinely helps. David: Big time. Thanks for listening, everyone. Maya: We'll see you tomorrow. Stay sharp. Keep it real.