War in Iran, Trump’s Power Moves, and the New Rules of Tech and Health

Maya: Hey, good morning. This is the Morning Rundown. Thanks for waking up with us. David: Yeah, grab the coffee, settle in, we'll get you caught up without yelling at you before 7 a.m. Maya: Speaking of yelling, the Middle East is heating up again. New strikes involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran and oil prices already jumping. David: Right. And that means inflation risk back on the table while Trump talks regime change and Biden does the cautious wait and see. See thing. Maya: Yeah, we'll get into what real deterrence looks like if you don't want another endless war, but also don't want America looking weak. David: Then we're in D.C. drama land. Trump firing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Is this about border security or just who's loyal enough on TV? Maya: And the GOP family fight over tariffs and foreign policy. Governors, state legislatures, all trying to look tough on China and the border without tanking their own economies. David: Plus, later, health, tech, and culture. Measles is back, big tech keeps gobbling up everything with Netflix's AI push and Microsoft's Xbox rumors, and we'll end on a crazy new Milky Way image that, like, actually lifts your eyes up for a second. Maya: Exactly. All right, let's start with the new strikes and what they really mean for your wallet and U.S. power. David: Let's get into it. Maya: All right, let's start with what this actually looks like on the ground right now. David: Yeah, Maya: You've David: that's Maya: got fresh Israeli strikes hitting targets in Beirut, U.S. and Israeli strikes inside Iran, and people literally fleeing neighborhoods as buildings burn. There are also reports that hospitals and health facilities have been hit or forced to evacuate. David: huge. And in the north, Iran's been firing drones. So far, they've reached into Azerbaijan. So this isn't just Israel-Iran anymore. It's bleeding across. Cross borders. Maya: Exactly. You've got air raid sirens, families sleeping in basements, and then over in Tehran, people lining up at gas stations because everybody's afraid of what comes next. And that's where this hits Americans too. Oil prices are jumping as this war drags into day seven. We're talking about crude moving sharply higher in a week. So, um... Connect that dot because a lot of folks hear Brent crude and just kind of zone out. David: Totally. So basically when oil prices spike, it usually shows up at the gas pump in a few weeks. If this keeps going, you're looking at higher gas, higher shipping costs, which can feed back into inflation. Maya: And this economy is already... fragile. You've got a ton of federal debt, a lot of families maxed on credit cards, and inflation that cooled but never really went back to normal. David: Right, the Fed finally got a little breathing room, and now this kind of shock can corner them again. Do they fight inflation or protect growth? They can't perfectly do both. Maya: And politically, high gas prices are brutal. People don't blame global markets. They blame whoever's in charge. David: Yeah, presidents get credit and blame for things they only... only partially control. But policy still matters. Energy permits, refinery constraints, all of that either cushions the blow or makes it worse. Maya: Which is why a lot of conservatives are saying, we told you, if you kneecap domestic production, you're more at the mercy of Iran and the region. David: I'd say that's fair. If America is producing strongly and signaling we'll back allies hard, markets feel calmer. When we look hesitant, traders price in more risk. Maya: Okay, so let's talk about the Trump piece here. He said the U.S., and specifically he, should have a role in choosing Iran's next leader. David: Yeah. Maya: On one level, that's him being Trump, right? Big personality, big claim. But also, that's classic regime change talk. David: Exactly. And history says that can backfire. We've tried to topple hostile regimes before. You don't just pick a new guy like it's a job interview and then everything's fine. Maya: And regular Iranians remember the U.S. role in 1953. You start sounding like you want to hand select their leader again? Again, it feeds their regime's propaganda. David: At the same time, I get why people are fed up with Iran's rulers. They fund terror, chant death to America, crush their own protesters. You don't exactly lose sleep if that regime feels pressure. Maya: Right. And you can be tough without pretending we're going to micromanage their succession. David: This is where the contrast with Biden comes in. Biden-world is very cautious. Lots of we don't want escalation, careful messaging, slow motion red lines. lines. Maya: And Trump is more hit back hard, make them afraid to touch us or our allies, a deterrence first vibe. David: Yeah, the question is can you have that tougher posture, clear red lines, real consequences without signing up for another 20-year nation-building project? Maya: Because nobody. David: Wants that, exactly. Maya: There it is. David: I think you can. You focus on targeted strikes, cyber, sanctions that actually bite, and you rebuild U.S. energy strength. You make it obvious that attacking Americans is career-ending for any dictator, but you don't promise to turn Tehran into a Jeffersonian democracy. Maya: And you don't say out loud that you're picking their next president like it's the Apprentice Tehran edition. David: Yeah, maybe keep that part off the teleprompter. Maya: Bottom line, this Iran-Israel fight is not some distant thing. It's in your gas bill, your grocery prices, your 401k, and it's shaping what kind of foreign policy we're about to vote on. David: And speaking of what we're about to vote on, the other big story is inside U.S. politics. Maya: Yeah, next up, we're getting into Trump firing his own DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, the GOP family drama around Tony Gonzales. And why tariffs are suddenly the conservative tool of choice. David: So uh... Maya: Spell that out, because Restrainer sounds like a CrossFit class. David: It kind of does. Restrainer Republicans say, It Maya: Yes, David: Maya: spell that out, because Restrainer sounds like a CrossFit class. David: kind of does. Restrainer Republicans say, stop with the forever wars, be cautious on interventions, focus at home. They liked some of Trump's instincts in 2016. Less neocon stuff. Now, with him talking regime change in Iran sounding more... Being more hawkish, they feel betrayed. Party bosses are basically telling skeptics, get with the program or get out. Maya: So if you're a Republican voter who wants strong borders but doesn't want another Iraq, you're kind of politically homeless right now. No! David: That's the tension. Maya: And Tony Gonzales is a good example. From a border district in Texas, he occasionally breaks with leadership. When the machine whispers you should exit, that's a message to everyone: stay in line. Speaker 3: It narrows the tent. Maya: Which is risky. A lot of our listeners are conservative on culture and immigration, but they're tired of sending their kids to fight overseas. Speaker 3: Yeah. Maya: If the only acceptable position is tariffs plus tough talk plus maybe regime change, you lose people who ask, can we secure the border and still be careful about war? Speaker 3: And that bleeds into Tariffs. Old-school Republicans were free trade. Chamber of Commerce. Now Trump made Tariffs a litmus test. If you question them, you're soft. Maya: But red states are suing to block some Tariff moves, right? Because they're getting hit when equipment, parts, fertilizer get more expensive. Speaker 3: Exactly. Farmers, small manufacturers don't live on Twitter. They just see input costs spike. Maya: Using trade as a national security tool makes sense. We learned with China that being completely exposed is dumb. But if your plan is just slap Tariffs on everything without strategy for prices, inflation, or exporters, that's not conservative. That's vibes. Speaker 3: Tariff vibes. Maya: Put that on a bumper sticker. And states pushing back as federalism doing its job, local leaders saying, you're killing us out here. That's checks and balances. Speaker 3: A quick weirdness, Lev Parnas running as a Democrat in Florida, peak swamp. Maya: Yeah, if you needed a reminder that some people treat politics like a costume change, that's it. Speaker 3: All right, let's leave the swamp creatures. When we come back, why measles and other diseases we thought we'd beaten are coming back and how to talk vaccines without screaming at each other. Maya: And then some lighter tech and space stuff so we don't all lose our minds. Stay with us. OK, quick pivot. A suburban Chicago school just sent a measles exposure letter. One unvaccinated kid, half the class in quarantine. Speaker 3: Yeah, Measles isn't mild. It can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling, even death. We solved this decades ago, and now it's back. Maya: Exactly. We're seeing whooping cough clusters, mumps on college campuses. It's like the 90s called and wants its diseases back. Speaker 3: Part of it is post-COVID trust. People watched public health flip-flop on masks and closures, and parents went, I'm out. Maya: Right, and social media pours gasoline on it. YouTube doctors, Instagram wellness accounts, everyone's suddenly an expert on your kid's immune system. Speaker 3: But here's the thing. The basic childhood shots, MMR, polio, tetanus, they haven't changed in decades. The data is boring in the best way. Safe, effective, insanely high upside. Maya: Yeah, I'm still very pro-vaccine on those. Honestly, the worst thing we did was talk to parents like they're idiots. When you shame moms, they dig in deeper. Speaker 3: Totally. A more conservative approach: ask questions, look at long-term data, and keep officials from acting like high priests who can't be questioned. Maya: Exactly. If you're a parent listening, it's okay to say you're nervous. Just also ask, what are the actual risks if my kid gets measles? We forget that side. Speaker 3: And schools are caught in the middle. The feds and states are fighting over mandates while principals just try to keep classrooms open. Maya: It looks like gold dust and smoke just hanging in space. Some of those stars will outlive every country, every election cycle we talk about. Speaker 3: There's a nice humbling in that. For all the drama, border fights, streaming wars, we're tiny creatures on a rock inside a galaxy quietly making new suns. Maya: So maybe today scroll past the outrage clips and look at that image. Remember you're part of something massive and wonderful. Speaker 3: Less doom scrolling, more star scrolling. Maya: There it is. That's the Morning Rundown. I'm Maya. Speaker 3: And I'm David. Thanks for starting your day with us. Maya: We'll be back tomorrow. Take care of yourselves and your kids' immune systems. Speaker 3: See you then. Maya: All right, that's our time. If you remember one thing, it's this. When missiles are flying in the Middle East, Speaker 3: Uh-huh. Maya: it's not abstract. It hits your gas bill, your grocery runs, your whole budget. Speaker 3: Yeah, and leaders talking big about regime change is easy. Actually avoiding another endless war while keeping America strong is the hard... Grown-up Work Maya: Exactly. So if you found this helpful, you know, hit subscribe, drop a quick review, and share this with a friend who's trying to make sense of the headlines. Speaker 3: Thanks for starting your day with us. We'll be back tomorrow with more news that actually connects to your life. Maya: Until then, take care and stay informed.