Missiles Over Iraq, a Divided Fed, and the Jared Leto Allegations

MayaEverybody, welcome back to the morning rundown.

DavidAnd we've got a packed one today.

MayaSo overnight, Iran fired off another round of missiles and the U.S. and Saudis hit back at Tehran-backed militias in Iraq.

DavidNBC's reporting Trump's own national security team can't even agree on what to do next.

MayaWait, really?

DavidYeah. Saudi's defense minister even rushed into a meeting with Trump over it.

MayaWe'll get into all that.

DavidMeanwhile, Wall Street had a rough one. The Fed held rates steady for a fifth meeting in a row, and the Dow dropped over a thousand points by the close. Investors clearly wanted more than steady.

MayaTotally. And Meta's stock took a hit, too.

DavidThen there's the celebrity stuff. Jared Leto's denying a wave of new accusations from a BBC documentary.

MayaAnd BTS just pulled out of the Grammys over a new award category.

DavidLots to get through.

MayaLet's start with what's happening overseas. Okay, so overnight missiles again. Iran fired at U.S. and Saudi positions in Iraq, and this isn't the first round this week.

DavidRight, this is retaliation stacking on retaliation. Central Command says the U.S. struck dozens of targets tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard over two hours, the AP reported.

MayaAnd that was already payback for an Iranian strike on a U.S. base in Jordan.

DavidExactly. Before that, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia teamed up to hit Iran back. and back militias inside Iraq. The AP says at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers were killed in that strike alone.

MayaSix Iranian advisors? That's not some random militia. That's Tehran's own people getting killed on the ground.

DavidWhich is probably why the Saudi defense minister didn't wait for a scheduled meeting.

MayaTell me about that.

DavidSo Axios reported Prince Khaled bin Salman met Trump directly Wednesday, and it got added to his schedule last minute after he talked to Vice President Pence. advance.

MayaWait, so the Saudis helped carry out the strike and then rushed to the White House?

DavidThat's the part that stands out to me. Axios says the Saudi line of advance was they favored de-escalation with Iran, even though they just fought alongside us.

MayaSo they want credit for the strike, but not the fallout.

DavidMaybe, or they got nervous about what comes next. Follow the money, though. Saudi Arabia's got a lot riding on the Red Sea staying open.

MayaOh, that's the coalition story.

DavidYeah, Reuters reported the Saudis are Saudis are quietly shopping an international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks.

MayaWalk me through why that matters to somebody who's never shipped anything anywhere.

DavidA huge chunk of goods moving between Asia and Europe pass through that corridor. Every time a tanker gets threatened,

MayaMm-hmm.

Davidinsurance costs jump, ships reroute around Africa which adds fuel and time.

MayaWhich shows up on shelves eventually.

DavidEventually, yeah, it's a real input cost. And Saudi Arabia benefits either way. Safer lanes off their own coast. host, and if the U.S. leads a coalition they're not footing the bill alone.

MayaSo they get protection without the commitment.

DavidPretty much, yeah.

MayaMeanwhile, and this is the part that got me, NBC reported the split isn't just with the Saudis, it's inside Trump's own team.

DavidYeah, NBC's Courtney Kube reported Trump got visibly frustrated with his top national security people because they can't agree on a strategy.

MayaFrustrated how?

DavidA U.S. official and someone familiar with it told NBC he erupted at at them in a recent meeting.

MayaWow.

DavidSo this isn't allies disagreeing with Washington, it's Washington disagreeing with Washington.

MayaOkay, so what's the actual disagreement? Hit harder or hold back?

DavidSome of his people want deterrence, hit Iran hard enough it stops testing us. Others are worried a coalition ask turns into another open-ended commitment, years of boots on the ground.

MayaAnd nobody's picked a lane yet.

DavidNot publicly, no. And every day without an answer, Iran keeps testing and the Saudis keep asking for more.

MayaSo it's Trump's own guys caught between two versions of the plan.

DavidRight. And it turns out that's basically the same fight happening over at the Fed this week, a room full of people in charge who can't agree on what to do next either.

MayaSure.

DavidSame indecision, different battlefield; this one's fought in dollars, not missiles.

MayaOoh, and like that! Lay it on me.

DavidSo the Fed held rates steady again at Friday's meeting.

MayaWait, again? Inflation's still sticky, though, right?

DavidStubborn is the word, and three officials actually voted for a hike-that's the split.

MayaSo they can't agree either.

DavidNot even close. Some think inflation's cooling enough to wait it out, some think it's baked in. BAKED IN

MayaWhy is it still hot though? We've had high rates for a while now.

DavidA few things speeding it, probably: tariffs pushing costs up; wages not cooling as fast as hoped; and stimulus from a few years back still working through the system.

MayaSo no single villain.

DavidRight. Years of spending catching up. One bad month wouldn't do this.

MayaOkay, that tracks with everything we just heard about Iran. Nobody agreeing on the plan.

DavidExactly; and decision at the top ripples everywhere and Wall Street hated this one.

MayaHow bad?

DavidDow tumbled about nine hundred points going into the decision, according to CNBC.

MayaDown nine hundred?

DavidAnd it closed down over 1,100, worst day since April.

MayaGeez. And this morning?

DavidBarely moved. Futures were flat. Everyone's just waiting on the next print.

MayaSo the market threw a tantrum and then shrugged it off.

DavidBasically. But Meta didn't get off that easy.

MayaOh no, what happened there?

DavidShares dropped more than 8 percent after hours. They're planning 130 to 145. Five billion in AI spending this year.

MayaThat's a house-size number.

DavidAnd revenue actually jumped 28% to $60.8 billion before forecasts, but they missed earnings per share and guided softer for next quarter.

MayaSo investors don't care that ads are working, they care about the AI bill.

DavidThat's the question everybody in tech is dodging: when do you stop getting credit for spending and start owing results?

MayaOkay, bring this home for me. What does higher for longer mean for my actual Actual rent.

DavidMortgage rates stay elevated, so if you're buying, that payment doesn't drop. Credit cards stay painful, too.

MayaAnd if I've got savings sitting somewhere, does that finally pay off?

DavidA little. Savers get a small win. It's the borrower stuck holding the bag.

MayaUgh, great. More minimum payments going nowhere.

DavidPretty much. This inflation isn't random. It's the bill coming due for years of heavy spending. The Fed's cleaning it up without wrecking the economy. in the process.

MayaNo pressure.

DavidNone at all.

MayaWell, speaking of things that evaporate overnight, money is not the only thing on the chopping block today.

DavidWhat do you mean?

MayaReputations. We've got a story that makes Meta stock drop look small. From money to reputations, this next one's rough.

DavidYeah?

MayaThe BBC put out a documentary, Jared Leto, Hollywood's Dark Secret, and ten women are on record accusing him of misconduct.

DavidAnd how bad?

MayaFour say it was criminal sexual conduct, back when they were teenagers. The incidents happened between 2002 and 2016, according to reporting.

DavidThat's a long stretch.

MayaOne woman told the BBC he assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17. I want to be careful. These are allegations, not convictions. Leto told the AP directly, quote, I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life.

DavidTen women, though, that's not nothing.

MayaNo. And it's the question every time one of these breaks. Why does it take years for people to come forward?

DavidUsually the same answer. Power, access,

MayaRight.

Davidan industry that looks the other way.

MayaWe'll see where it goes.

DavidOkay, weirder one. BTS is skipping the Grammys.

MayaWait, the biggest group on the planet boycotting?

DavidOver a brand new award, Best Asian Pop Music Performance. Built for them, basically.

MayaAnd they said no thanks?

DavidReads like a demotion to a side category instead of the real fight.

MayaGetting your own award and hating it, that's a first. That's a first.

DavidBe weirdest headline of the day easy.

MayaAll right, quick look ahead. Tomorrow's the next inflation print, and it might give the Fed some cover on that split vote.

DavidAnd keep an eye on whether the Saudis take that Red Sea Coalition talk public or keep it quiet.

MayaTwo things worth watching. And that's the Rundown. Okay, before we go, that Iran strike detail is sticking with me. Six Iranian advisors killed, not just militia fighters.

DavidYeah, that's Tehran's own people on the ground. Washington disagreeing with Washington, meanwhile.

MayaRight, and the market did not love the Fed's indecision either.

DavidNot even close. Split vote, Dow craters has the thread today. Nobody in charge can agree.

MayaGreat, love that for us. Anyway. Thanks for hanging out with us this morning.

DavidIf you liked it, subscribe, leave us a review, it actually helps.

MayaWe'll see you tomorrow with more.

DavidStay sharp out there.