Iran Strikes Kill US Troops, DOJ Eases Off Corporate Crime, and England's Wild World Cup Win

MayaMorning, everybody. Welcome back to the morning rundown.

DavidGood to be here. Coffee's hot, and the news is heavy today.

MayaI'm on my second cup already. Feels like we'll need it.

DavidYeah, Axios and NBC are both reporting two U.S. service members were killed in that Iranian missile strike in Jordan, with a third still missing.

MayaFirst combat death since things flared back up over there. We'll get into what that means for deterrence policy.

DavidThen we swing to messier ground, the DOJ backing off corporate prosecutions, and I've got a take.

MayaCan't wait; plus wait till you hear Bill Maher losing it over that Trump dinner.

DavidI saw the clip, and Dave Eggers has some strong words for ChatGPT, too.

MayaOn the lighter side: Golf Drama: Rory McIlroy versus Bryson DeChambeau at the Open.

DavidChuckles: That one's got some real venom in it.

MayaLots to get through this morning.

DavidLet's start in Jordan.

MayaTwo American service members are dead in Jordan this morning. One more is still missing.

DavidCENTCOM confirmed it's Saturday. Iranian ballistic missiles and drones hit as our troops and partner forces were defending the base.

MayaNBC News had the CENTCOM statement. Four others medically evacuated. This is the first time we've lost troops since this round of fighting kicked back off.

DavidAnd Fox News is tracking it, too. Eighth straight night of U.S. strikes on Iran, so this isn't some... Some isolated flare-up, it's a pattern now.

MayaTwo families are getting the worst phone call of their lives today. That's not an abstraction, that's someone's kid, someone's spouse.

DavidRight, and I keep asking the same question every time this happens: why do our forces keep ending up exposed like this?

MayaWhat do you mean?

DavidI mean deterrence only works if the other side actually believes there's a cost. Iran's been testing that for years. Small provocations, proxy attacks, missile tests, and every time the response is calibrated and cautious.

MayaSo you're saying cautious hasn't worked.

DavidI'm saying two dead Americans is what cautious bought us this week. If the policy is strength through deterrence, deterrence actually has to deter. Otherwise it's just a phrase.

MayaWait, walk me through what that would even look like differently.

DavidHarder red lines, stated publicly, backed up fast. Not months of the bait after the fact. Follow the money, follow the decision making. Every time we hesitate it costs lives on the ground, not in Washington.

MayaI hear that; but I also think about the families waiting for word on that missing service member right now. That's the human cost nobody puts in the press briefing.

DavidNo argument there.

MayaAll right, staying overseas for a second: Congo's Ebola outbreak is getting worse for a different reason: not the virus- the violence around it.

DavidYeah, I saw the AP piece. Prosper Heri Ngorora and Constance Bagalwa reported over a dozen attacks on health workers and treatment centers in Ituri province.

MayaA dozen attacks on the people trying to help.

DavidAnd on top of that, a lot of frontline workers haven't been paid, so some have gone on strike. AP is calling this the fastest growing outbreak on record.

MayaSo you've got a health crisis and a security crisis. this feeding each other!

DavidThat's the pattern with instability everywhere; it doesn't stay contained to one lane; weak institutions in one area bleed into every other area.

MayaWhich honestly brings me to a story here at home: The Washington Post is looking into the ICE officer who shot and killed an immigrant in Maine.

DavidRight, David Brouillette; his ex wife told the Post he's the officer involved, and she's described a volatile history.

MayaI want to be fair here; this isn't about tearing down ICE as an

Speaker 3institution.

Mayaas an agency, most officers are doing a hard job the right way.

DavidAgreed. But if someone with a troubled record slipped through, that's a vetting failure, and vetting failures are fixable. Better background checks, better psychological screening before someone's carrying a badge and a weapon.

MayaIndividual accountability, not a blanket indictment.

DavidExactly. Fix the screening, hold the individual responsible, and you protect both the public and the officers doing it right.

MayaStrength abroad, accountability at home. Feels like the same lesson twice this morning.

DavidTwo different stories, one theme: When the people in charge of protecting others aren't held to a real standard, somebody pays for it.

MayaSo, if institutions are under this much strain overseas and at ICE, what happens when the Justice Department decides to ease up on policing corporate America, too? Speaking of institutions, David, tell me about the Justice Department.

DavidSo the Wall Street Journal reported this week that the DOJ is scaling back corporate crime prosecutions, fewer sweeping cases against companies.

MayaWait, less prosecution isn't that bad?

DavidNot necessarily. Follow the money. When regulators chase every technical violation, compliance costs balloon and companies pass that straight to customers.

MayaSo you're saying this is good for business.

DavidI'm saying it's a correction. Less overreach means less money burned on lawyers instead of hiring.

MayaOkay, I'll take it. All right, shifting gears. Did you catch the Bill Maher thing?

DavidThe dinner clip?

MayaYeah, the Independent wrote him up. He got pressed on having dinner with Trump and just lost it, cursing and calling him a quote crazy person.

DavidThe outrage cycle ate that one alive.

MayaRight? Everybody clipped it, everybody had a hot take. The guy had dinner. People need a hobby.

DavidTruly. Anyway.

MayaOh, before I forget, this AI story is wild. Dave Eggers, the author, spoke to OpenAI staff directly. He told ChatGPT is, quote, silencing an entire generation. The Verge covered the whole thing.

DavidThat's a heavy line for a company town hall.

MayaTotally. His worry is that AI moderation flat- flattens how young people write and think, like everybody starts sounding the same.

DavidThere's something there. If a machine's grading your prose for safety, you sand off the edges

MayaRight!

Davidwithout noticing.

MayaFree speech versus AI guardrails. That fight's not going anywhere.

DavidNow it's not. Rapid fire?

MayaRapid fire. Wisconsin's Governor race, David Crowley is back in, and Politico says he's got Governor Evers' endorsement.

DavidDidn't he drop out like a week ago?

MayaNine days, Politico reported. He'd already endorsed... Sara Rodriguez. Now he's running himself again.

DavidMake up your mind. And phones?

MayaThe Verge says the Pixel 15A might dodge the old chip treatment this time. Rumors point to the Tensor G6.

DavidBudget phone with a good processor? That'd actually be new.

MayaWe'll see if Google follows through.

DavidSpeaking of following through, let's go somewhere that definitely delivered this week.

MayaSmooth pivot. Okay, shifting gears completely, we need to talk about this England-France match.

DavidPlease, I need something fun after that lineup.

MayaLaughing, 6-4, England wins bronze in a match with 10 total goals. ESPN's James Olley called it one of the wildest games in World Cup history.

David10 goals in a third place match nobody wanted to play?

MayaRight? Declan Rice scored inside three minutes. Then Ezri Konsa heads one in off a corner, then Bukayo Saka just goes off before half.

DavidSo England's up big at the break, and I'm guessing France doesn't just roll over.

MayaNope, USA Today had France mounting this comeback in the second half, Mbappé sparking the whole thing.

DavidOf course it's Mbappé; man refuses to lose quietly.

MayaThey almost pulled it off, too, but England held on. Most goals in a World Cup game since nine. nineteen eighty two, according to USA Today.

DavidThat's a stat I did not expect this morning-with a laugh, wild way to hand out bronze.

MayaOh, and before I forget: Al Jazeera had this great piece on New York ahead of the final.

DavidThe Spanish crowds, right?

MayaExactly! Al Jazeera's Joseph Stepansky talked to Robert Sanfiz, who runs the Spanish non profit in Chelsea, and the guy's watch party is already booked solid.

DavidPeople flying Spanish flags in Manhattan. Love that for the city.

MayaIt's genuinely infectious energy, even secondhand.

DavidSpeaking of infectious, can we talk about golf drama for a second?

MayaOh, the McIlroy thing? Go for it.

DavidSo Rory McIlroy is accusing Bryson DeChambeau of holding the entire Open Championship hostage.

MayaHostage? That's a strong word for golf.

DavidBBC's Matt Gault reported DeChambeau got a two-stroke penalty at Royal Birkdale for improving his lie. I." And then there was this long heated back and forth with RA officials.

MayaAnd Rory just-snapped?

DavidPretty much. Told the BBC he's-

MayaSo that's the rundown, and that Jordan story hits different when you sit with it.

DavidYeah. Two dead, one missing. That's not an abstract policy debate anymore.

MayaReal quick takeaway, watch how the response to Iran shapes up in the next few days.

DavidExactly. Follow the money and follow the retaliation, honestly.

MayaAnd hey, congrats to England for somehow surviving that France comeback.

DavidWild game. Anyway, if you like today's episode, hit subscribe.

MayaAnd leave us a review, seriously, it helps a ton. pun.

DavidWe'll be back tomorrow with more.

MayaThanks for hanging out with us. See you then.