Missiles, Layoffs, and a World Cup Upset: Your Tuesday Rundown

Maya: Morning, everybody. Welcome back to the morning rundown. David: Yeah, and we've got a packed one today. Maya: Overnight strikes hit Kyiv hard and there's a NATO meeting coming up fast. David: Plus, China just test-fired a submarine missile. That's got Wellington and Tokyo pretty rattled. Maya: So tension's the mood overseas this morning. David: And it bleeds into markets, too. Microsoft's cutting nearly 5,000 jobs. Xbox taking the hit. Maya: Wait, and Toyota's doing the total opposite, pouring billions into Texas for the Tacoma. David: Totally different signals, same news cycle. We'll get into that. Maya: Then sports. Spain knocked out Portugal, so Ronaldo's World Cup run is done. David: And the USMNT lost to Belgium. People are not happy about it. Maya: There's also a red card controversy people are reading way too much into. David: We'll get into that debate too. Maya: Softly, we want a moment for Lauren Bennett, the voice on Party Rock Anthem. She passed at 37. David: Yeah, we'll talk about her legacy later in the show. Maya: All right, lots to cover. Let's start where the headlines are loudest. David: Overseas, Kyiv, China, and everything in between. Maya: Okay, so overnight, Kyiv got hit hard. The Washington Post is reporting at least 11 people killed in Russian strikes, and this is right before a big NATO meeting. David: Right before. That timing's not an accident. Maya: Ukraine's president is saying NATO flat out needs help intercepting these missiles, not just send more aid packages. David: So here's what I keep asking: why now, days before allies sit down together? If you're Moscow, you want the room walking in rattled, not united. Maya: Rattled and divided, Yeah. David: Follow the motive: a show of force before a unity meeting is a message to NATO members who are wobbly on funding. Maya: But get this, Ukraine's not just sitting there. Business Insider is reporting Ukrainian drones flew almost 1,700 miles to hit Russia's... Its biggest oil refinery in Omsk, that's Siberia. David: Wait, Siberia? That's Ukraine's longest strike of the whole war. Maya: Longest range, yeah, so while Russia's pounding Kyiv, Ukraine's showing it can reach targets nobody thought were reachable. David: Which tells you something about how this war is actually going, regardless of what the front-line maps say. Maya: Okay, switching continents. Gaza. Hamas just dissolved its own government. David: And Israel's calling it a stunt, according to Reuters. Maya: Basically saying they're handing power to, quote, technocrats as this US-brokered ceasefire deal stalls out. David: I mean, come on, you dissolve the government on paper, that doesn't change who actually runs things on the ground. Maya: Right, it's optics. David: It's a paperwork reshuffle timed to look like reform right when the pressure's on them to show they're serious. Maya: Okay, now here's the one that actually made my jaw drop this morning. David: What? Maya: Here, Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired missiles near... Near ships by the Strait of Hormuz, same week China ran a rare ballistic missile test, launched from a submarine. David: a submarine launch? That's not a small flex. AP's reporting it was likely a JL-2 or JL-3. Those are China's long-range, sub-launched nuclear-capable missiles. Maya: And New Zealand's furious, saying it violated the South Pacific nuclear free zone. Australia and Japan aren't thrilled either. David: So you've got Iran squeezing a shipping choke point and China parading its submarine. Submarine fleet in the same stretch of days? Maya: That's wild, right? Two totally different regions, same week. David: Here's the pattern I keep circling back to, though. Every one of these-Kyiv, Gaza, Hormuz, the Pacific-they're all testing how far they can push before Washington and its allies actually respond. Maya: It's less- So, speaking of uncertainty, turns out it's hitting close to home, too. David: Yeah, no kidding. Maya: Microsoft has cut 4,800 jobs, and Reuters says Xbox is getting hit hardest. David: Hmm. 20% of the gaming staff, from what DW reported. And Microsoft's own VP said AI isn't filling those roles. Maya: Wait, so it's not even the robots took my job story? David: Nope. DW says it's more that the gaming business model wasn't sustainable. and sustainable the way it was running. Five studios are getting spun off too. Maya: For the people who were sitting at those desks yesterday, the reason probably doesn't matter much. That's a family budget getting rewritten overnight. David: Fair. And it's a year after Microsoft's last round of cuts, so this isn't a one-off. Maya: Which stings more, honestly. David: But flip the coin, Toyota's doing the opposite play this week. Maya: Oh yeah? David: CNBC reported Toyota's putting 3.6 billion... It's billion dollars into moving Tacoma production out of Mexico and into San Antonio. Maya: Wait, they're pulling manufacturing back to the U.S.? David: Yeah, and let's trace the incentive here. Tariffs on Mexican-built trucks change the math fast. Once importing costs more, building at home starts penciling out. Maya: So it's not charity. The numbers just worked out that way. David: Right, but the effect is the same. More manufacturing jobs in Texas, the same week Microsoft... That's cutting jobs in Redmond. Maya: It's wild seeing both headlines together. One company shrinking, one expanding, and both Speaker 3: BGHOST1mhm Maya: make sense on paper. David: That reshoring trend people kept predicting for years? It's actually showing up in a purchase order now. Maya: Okay, so how's the market handling all of it? David: Pretty calm, actually. The Wall Street Journal's live markets coverage had the Nasdaq opening higher today right at the start of a loaded earnings week. It's weak. Maya: So Wall Street is shrugging off layoffs and factory moves and just watching for tech earnings. David: Traders have a one-track mind this week. Follow the money, and right now it's all pointed at earnings calls. Maya: Guess we'll see if the numbers match the optimism. David: We will. Maya: Speaking of things not going as planned, soccer gave us a way bigger upset than anything on a balance sheet this week. David: Now I've been waiting for you to bring that up. Maya: Shifting gears from earnings to actual games, Spain just knocked Cristiano Ronaldo out of the World Cup. David: Merino, first minute of second half stoppage, Spain wins it 1-0. AP News had it, Ronaldo just standing there at the whistle. Maya: End of an era, honestly. Hard to picture the sport without him in it. David: Totally, but can we talk about our team for a second? Maya: Oh boy. Yeah. David: The U.S.M.N.T. exit against Belgium was rough. The Hollywood Reporter ran a piece, U.S. soccer is not ready for prime time. And honestly, fair headline. Ouch, but not wrong. Maya: Right? David: I mean, come on, we've had years to build this up before hosting next summer. Which brings up the Balogun thing, and I gotta push back on this one. Oh, the red card mess? Maya: Oh, the red card mess? David: Al Jazeera ran a piece basically saying there's a political angle to FIFA reversing that card. Maya: Oh, wait, seriously? It's a red card. David: I know, officials botch calls constantly, in every sport, everywhere. Maya: So, a referee makes a bad decision and suddenly it's a political conspiracy? David: That's the read, apparently. Maya: I mean, look, I'm not saying FIFA's officiating is spotless, but reaching for politics on a card call is a stretch. Sometimes a blown whistle is just a blown whistle. David: Agreed. Not everything needs a headline that big. Maya: Okay, switching gears for something sadder. David: Yeah. Maya: NBC News reported that Lauren Bennett passed away. She was He was thirty seven. David: The 'Party Rock Anthem' voice, right?--that LMFAO hit everybody knows? Maya: That's her!" She sang the hook, and she was also part of the group GRL. David: Her old band mates said their hearts are broken. That's basically the statement NBC ran. Maya: Thirty-seven is just way too young. David: It really is . . . one of those songs everybody's danced to without knowing who's actually behind the mike. Maya: Sending real condolences to her family and everyone in GRL this morning. David: Yeah, rest easy. Maya: Alright, that's a lot of ground today: global flashpoints, layoffs, upsets, and one really tough goodbye. David: A packed one for sure. Maya: And that's the Rundown. David: We'll see you next time. Maya: Alright, that's the Rundown for today. David: Yeah, from those drones hitting Siberia to Toyota betting big on Texas. Busy morning. Maya: Honestly, my takeaway? When things get shaky overseas, it shows up fast in paychecks and factory decisions back home. David: Exactly. Worth watching those two things together going forward. Maya: Brightening. If you like the show, hit subscribe and leave us a review. It actually helps people find us. David: Seriously, takes 10 seconds and means a lot. Maya: Thanks for spending your morning with us. David: We'll catch you next time. Maya: Bye, everybody.