Air Force One Drama, Free Agency Fireworks, and Goodbye to a Rock Legend

This episode of The Morning Rundown opens with a look at the latest political developments out of Washington, including ongoing Air Force One drama and a court fight involving Trump. Maya and David then shift into sports, covering LeBron James' chaotic free agency saga as teams flood Rich Paul with recruitment pitches, plus fallout from the Jaylen Brown trade and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla's comments on the team's new identity. The segment wraps with a quick rundown of France's World Cup semifinal win and the stalled Kawhi Leonard trade talks with the Raptors.

The show closes with an entertainment segment honoring the life and legacy of singer Bonnie Tyler, who passed away at 75. Maya shares a personal memory tied to Tyler's music before the hosts look ahead to the Hunger Games franchise's return to theaters and Christopher Nolan's ambitious six-country shoot for his upcoming film The Odyssey.

• Political update covering Air Force One controversy and a court case involving Trump
• LeBron James free agency chaos and its impact on the Celtics locker room after the Jaylen Brown trade
• France advances in the World Cup as the Kawhi-to-Raptors trade remains stalled
• A heartfelt tribute to Bonnie Tyler following her death at 75
• Preview of the Hunger Games theatrical return and Christopher Nolan's globe-spanning Odyssey production

Tune in for a mix of hard-hitting news, sports analysis, and entertainment highlights to start your day informed.

Transcript

0:13

[Maya] Morning, everybody.[Maya] Welcome back to the Morning Rundown.[David] Good morning.[David] Coffee's kicked in. We're ready to go.[Maya] We've got a packed show for you today.[David] Political shake up out of DC plus some Air Force One drama.[Maya] And a court fight Trump just can't seem to win.[David] And we head into sports.[Maya] LeBron's free agency is turning into a full on recruitment circus.[David] Rich Paul's phone must be melting.[David] And the Celtics locker room's got some real tension after the Jaylen Brown trade.[Maya] Plus France just punched their ticket to the World Cup semis.[David] Big win there.[David] Then we close out with entertainment.[Maya] We're paying tribute to Bonnie Tyler today-she passed at seventy five.[David] Yeah,[David] that one stings.[Maya] Mm-hmm.[David] Totally clipped to the heart,[David] man.[Maya] We'll also get into Hunger Games heading back to theaters,[Maya] and Nolan's six country shoot for The Odyssey.[David] That's wild,[David] right?

[David] All right, let's start where the headlines are heaviest: 1:06

[David] politics.[Maya] Straight to it.[David] Okay.[David] Okay,[David] so start with this. The Secret Service told Trump to skip the new Air Force One,[David] the one Qatar gave him.[Maya] Wait, really?[Maya] The fancy new plane?[David] Yeah,[David] leaving Turkey on Wednesday,[David] they steered him back to the old jet instead.[David] CBS News talked to people briefed on it.[Maya] Okay, okay,[Maya] okay.[Maya] So the gift plane is sitting there and they're like, we're good with the old one.[David] Pretty much.[David] And here's the incentive question.[David] The White House is saying the new plane's got top...[David] Top tier security gear built in.[Maya] But the Secret Service isn't buying it.[David] Not fully, apparently.[David] The Hill's been digging into this too,[David] flagging real concerns about the Qatari model specifically.[Maya] I mean, come on, you don't turn down a free plane unless something's actually wrong with it.[David] Follow the money,[David] right?[David] Except here it's follow the wiring.[David] Who installed the systems?[David] Who's had access to it before it landed stateside?[Maya] That's wild.[Maya] So it's not really about optics, it's an actual security call.[David] That's my read,[David] and it fits a pattern.[David] This White House keeps prioritizing hardened security over the flashier option,[David] which,[Maya] Mm-hmm.[David] say what you will,[David] but that's the responsible move.[Maya] Totally.[Maya] All right, so anyway,[Maya] speaking of shake-ups, what's going on with the Election Assistance Commission?[David] So Trump removed the remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission.[David] NPR reported this one.[Maya] The bipartisan one?[David] Yeah,[David] and Democrats in voting rights groups are not happy about it.[Maya] I mean,[Maya] that sounds like it could be a power grab on paper.[David] I get why it reads that way, but step back.[David] Midterms are months out,[David] and if you want tighter oversight on election integrity,[David] you need people in there who will actually push for it.[Maya] So it's less about clearing the board and more about resetting who's steering.[David] Exactly.[David] Whether you love it or hate it, the stated goal is oversight,[David] not obstruction.[Maya] Fair enough.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] shifting gears again,[Maya] the E-Gene thing finally wrapped?[David] Yep, Politico reported the courts rejected Trump's last appeal.[David] Keels every level shut him down on the payment.[Maya] So that's just done; no more moves left.[David] That's the legal chapter closed,[David] no drama left to litigate.[Maya] All right,[Maya] and this last one's rough—the ICE shooting in Houston?[David] Yeah,[David] the New York Times reported the man killed wasn't even the intended target.[Maya] Wait,[Maya] so they got the wrong guy entirely?[David] That's what witnesses are saying,[David] and it's raising real accountability questions.[Maya] I mean, that's a tragedy,[Maya] but I don't think you build a big narrative off one.[Maya] OF ONE OPERATIONAL FAILURE[David] Agreed,[David] it's one incident,[David] and it deserves a real investigation,[David] not a headline about a pattern that isn't there.[Maya] Yeah.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] seriously,[Maya] I need to switch gears before I get too in my feelings over Washington.[David] Oh, go for it.[Maya] So, apparently NBA teams are sending LeBron actual voice notes trying to recruit him.[David] Wait, what?[David] Like voicemails?[Maya] I guess?[Maya] Bleacher Report got the story and I have so many questions.[David] Okay,[David] now I need to know who's leaving the world's most polished free agency voicemail.[Maya] Right?[Maya] Who is actually winning that pitch?[Maya] Shifting gears.[Maya] Okay, David,[Maya] have you seen this LeBron thing?[David] What now?[Maya] So Shams Charania is reporting that teams are sending Rich Paul voice notes to recruit LeBron,[Maya] like actual audio memos.[David] Voice notes? Like a fancier voicemail?[Maya] Basically,[Maya] Scott Polacek broke it down for Bleacher Report.[Maya] The Cavs, Heat,[Maya] Warriors,[Maya] Timberwolves, and Sixers are all sliding into Rich Paul's inbox.[David] That's wild,[David] right?[David] The guy's about to turn 40 and franchises are...[David] Franchises are recording him like it's prom night.[Maya] Right?[David] Follow the money on this one, though.[David] One more good year from LeBron probably means a playoff run and a merchandise spike for whoever lands him.[Maya] Okay, okay,[Maya] but can we talk about Jaylen Brown for a second?[Maya] This one's not as fun.[David] Yeah, that's a different vibe entirely.[Maya] Boston sent him to Philly for Paul George and picks,[Maya] and word is Brown felt zero loyalty from the front office.[David] Right, and Joe Mazzulla actually addressed it. Jay King had this in the...[David] As in the Times,[David] Mazzulla said the Celtics have a different identity now.[Maya] A different identity?[Maya] That's a strange thing for a coach to say out loud.[David] It is.[David] He also admitted he's still processing the trade himself,[David] but he trusts Brad Stevens'[David] plan.[Maya] I don't know. When a coach says he's still processing it,[Maya] that tells you the locker room wasn't exactly thrilled either.[David] Exactly.[David] Once guys stop feeling like family in that building,[David] they start eyeing the exit.[David] Sounds like Brown got there first.[Maya] So anyway,[Maya] quick hits before we move on?[David] Go for it.[Maya] France beat Morocco 2-0,[Maya] with Mbappé and Dembélé both scoring to send them to the semis,[Maya] and per ESPN,[Maya] Mbappé shook off any ankle scare,[Maya] said he's all good.[David] Good.[David] Semis without him would have been rough to watch.[Maya] And Kawhi to the Raptors, still frozen.[David] Yeah.[David] Per the Times, the NBA's investigating the Clippers for possible salary cap circumvention tied to...[David] Tied to aspiration,[David] so Toronto's just stuck waiting on the league.[Maya] So Kawhi is basically in NBA purgatory right now.[David] Pretty much.[David] Both teams say they're eager,[David] they're just not allowed to finish the paperwork.[Maya] Man, sports had a week.[Maya] And pop culture did too,[Maya] though this next one's going to hit a little different.[David] Yeah,[David] we lost someone big.[Maya] Shifting gears,[Maya] I have to say something about Bonnie Tyler.[David] Yeah, that one hit.[Maya] She died at 75,[Maya] Reuters confirmed it this morning.[Maya] Total Eclipse of the Heart was my mom's karaoke song every birthday, without fail.[David] Every family's got that one song.[Maya] Right?[Maya] And the tributes are already coming in.[Maya] Deadline pulled quotes from Rod Stewart,[Maya] Kevin Bacon,[Maya] and Johnny Knoxville,[Maya] all of them calling her one of the great voices of rock.[David] Kevin Bacon makes sense.[David] Footloose soundtrack connection.[Maya] Exactly. And the Guardian's obituary, written by Jude Rogers,[Maya] pointed out she topped the charts worldwide back in 83 with that one song.[David] A voice like that doesn't come around often.[Maya] No,[Maya] it doesn't.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] before I get too sappy,[Maya] David,[Maya] give me something to look forward to at the movies.[David] All right, so Variety's got a piece out. All five Hunger Games movies are heading back to the theaters September 3rd through 7th.[Maya] Wait,[Maya] all five?[David] All five. It's a lead-up to Sunrise on the Reaping once that drops.[Maya] That's smart.[Maya] Get people back in the theater habit before the new one lands.[David] Makes sense.[David] Nostalgia still sells tickets,[David] and studios know it.[Maya] Fair enough.[Maya] What else you got?[David] Christopher Nolan.[David] AP's Lindsey Bahr had a piece on his Odyssey shoot.[David] Six...[David] Six countries.[Maya] Six countries for one movie?[David] Yeah,[David] and get this-real ships,[David] open water,[David] no green screen.[David] Bahr's reporting says the shoot wrapped early despite how grueling it sounds.[Maya] That's very Nolan.[Maya] He's never met a practical effect he didn't love.[David] Right?[David] Bahr says he's using colloquial dialogue and unusual musical choices-a different take on a Greek epic than most people expect.[Maya] I like that.[Maya] Something that feels lived in instead of just spectacle.[David] We'll see if it lands when it hits theaters.[Maya] Between Hunger Games back on the big screen and Nolan doing something this ambitious,[Maya] that's a solid stretch for theaters.[David] Not a bad way to close things out.[Maya] All right, and that's the Rundown.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] so between LeBron's recruiters blowing up phones and Kawhi stuck in purgatory,[Maya] the NBA offseason is a whole soap opera.[David] Right,[David] and Nolan filming a movie across six countries just to tell one story?[David] That's the kind of ambition you don't see much anymore.[Maya] And rewatching that Bonnie Tyler clip after the show,[Maya] my mom would have loved we talked about her.[David] Big voice,[David] bigger legacy.[David] All right, that's the rundown for today.[Maya] If you're enjoying the show,[Maya] subscribe and leave us a review.[Maya] It genuinely helps.[David] We'll be back tomorrow with more.[Maya] Thanks for hanging out with us.[Maya] See you next time.