Iran Strikes Escalate, Health Scares Spread, and Hollywood Makes a Deal

This episode of The Morning Rundown covers a packed news day, starting with major developments in the Iran conflict: the House passing a $95 billion war funding package as US strikes continue for a twelfth consecutive night, plus a new US-Saudi nuclear deal raising proliferation concerns. Maya and David then turn to health headlines, including Congo's Ebola death toll surpassing 1,000, US measles cases hitting a 35-year high, and a fifth death linked to New York's Legionnaires' outbreak. The show wraps up with business and entertainment news, including Alphabet and Tesla earnings, a major media merger approval, and the reopening of a historic Los Angeles movie theater.

Listeners will get a clear, no-nonsense breakdown of fast-moving geopolitical and public health stories, along with practical context on what these developments mean and why they matter right now.

• House Republicans approve $95 billion in Iran war funding as strikes and retaliation escalate
• New US-Saudi nuclear deal opens a path to uranium enrichment, drawing proliferation comparisons
• Ebola deaths in Congo top 1,000; US measles cases reach a 35-year high
• New York's Legionnaires' outbreak claims a fifth life, prompting prevention guidance
• Alphabet and Tesla earnings reveal a shared spend-now strategy, plus good news for classic movie fans

Transcript

0:13

[Maya] Hey, everybody.[Maya] Welcome back to the Morning Rundown.[David] Glad you're here.[David] Today's lineup is a lot.[Maya] Big one to start.[Maya] The House just passed a massive funding package for the Iran fight, and things on the ground are moving fast.[David] Yeah,[David] and there's a new nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that's already got people overseas nervous.[Maya] Yeah,[Maya] that one's going to raise some eyebrows.[David] It's a lot,[David] but we'll get through it.[Maya] Then some tough health headlines.[Maya] Ebola in Congo,[Maya] measles here at home,[Maya] and that Legionnaires outbreak in New York.[David] Not exactly light stuff, but worth knowing.[Maya] But after that,[Maya] we get into earnings,[Maya] Alphabet,[Maya] Teslaplus some genuinely good news about an old movie theater in LA reopening.[David] Yeah,[David] that last one's a nice change of pace.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] let's get moving.[Maya] First up,[Maya] Congress,[Maya] Iran,[Maya] and that budget vote.[David] Right,[David] there's a lot in this bill-let's start there.[David] Twelve nights-twelve straight nights-of U.S. strikes on Iran,[David] and CBS News is now reporting Iran fired back this morning-four missiles and six drones at Jordan.[Maya] Wait,[Maya] at Jordan?[Maya] Not even at us directly?[David] Jordan's military says they intercepted three of the four missiles.

[David] But that's the ripple effect: 1:30

[David] a U.S. ally just got hit because it stands near this fight.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] that's unsettling. So what's Washington's answer to that?[Maya] to that.[David] Money.[David] A lot of it.[David] The House just adopted a $95 billion package to fund this,[David] and the New York Times had that number today.[Maya] Ninety-five billion?[Maya] For how long?[David] That's the thing. It's not a blank check.[David] It's Republicans betting big that sustained pressure beats half measures.[David] Follow the money here.[David] This isn't just munitions.[David] It's tankers, refueling planes,[David] reportedly bombers getting positioned in the Mideast.[David] Beast![Maya] Right; so we're not talking about a quick strike and done.[David] No; and Axios reported Trump upped the stakes himself Wednesday.[David] He's vowing to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants,[David] even in Tehran,[David] for every ship Iran hits in the Strait of Hormuz.[Maya] That's a pretty specific threat.[David] It is; it sets a hard trigger-hit a ship,[David] lose a power plant.[David] Trump's basically saying the cease fire door's open,[David] but only if Iran stops the ship attacks and[David] and reopens Hormuz.[Maya] Okay,

[Maya] but here's what I actually care about: 2:32

[Maya] my gas bill.[Maya] I know that sounds shallow,[Maya] but Hormuz is where,[Maya] what,[Maya] a fifth of the world's oil moves through?[David] Roughly,[David] yeah.[David] So threats to that trade route are the reason you should watch pump prices the next few weeks,[David] not some abstract overseas thing.[Maya] Right,[Maya] this hits home.[Maya] Literally,[Maya] at home.

[David] And there's a second piece breaking today that's just as big: 2:51

[David] the U.S.[David] signed a nuclear deal with the Saudis.[Maya] Wait—a nuclear deal—with the Saudis?[David] The Washington Post reported it opens a path for the kingdom to actually enrich uranium themselves.[Maya] Isn't that the thing everyone worries about,[Maya] enrichment being a few steps from a weapon?[David] That's exactly the concern being raised.[David] The Guardian covered a House hearing where Congressman Brad Sherman compared it to arming the Shah of Iran back in the '70s, said it could be that size of a mistake.[Maya] Yikes.[Maya] So how do you defend doing—[Maya] And doing it anyway.[David] Strategically,[David] it locks Saudi Arabia in as a U.S. nuclear partner instead of, say, going to Russia or China for that tech.[David] Congress gets 90 days to act on it,[David] the Post reported. So it's not settled.[David] But the administration's betting the alliance value outweighs the risk.[Maya] I mean,[Maya] I get the logic.[Maya] Better us setting the rules than nobody.[Maya] But it's still a real question mark hanging over this.[David] It is. And it's not separate from Iran.[David] It's the same posture.[David] Show strength,[David] don't blink,[David] control who has the leverage in the region.[Maya] So the theme today is basically,[Maya] pick your fight,[Maya] then fund it all the way.[David] Ninety-five billion says that's the plan.[Maya] Which, honestly,[Maya] isn't just a Middle East story.[Maya] Huge spending decisions are happening on plenty of fronts right now when governments feel the pressure to act.[Maya] Makes you wonder where else that same math is playing out.[Maya] Switching gears,[Maya] Congo's Ebola outbreak just crossed a grim number.[David] How grim?[Maya] AP reported over a thousand deaths confirmed now.[Maya] Dr.[Maya] Jean Kaseya, who runs Africa's CDC,[Maya] called it the fastest moving Ebola outbreak ever recorded.[David] A thousand people.[Maya] And it's the Bundibugyo strain.[Maya] No approved vaccine,[Maya] no approved treatment for that particular version.[David] Wait,[David] there's a vaccine for other Ebola strains, but not this one?[Maya] Right.[Maya] That's part of why Kaseya is pushing so hard,[Maya] saying they have to act now before it becomes the worst outbreak ever documented.[David] And I'd guess conflict in the region isn't helping the response.[Maya] Al Jazeera's coverage backs that up.[Maya] Fighting and resistance from communities keep slowing health workers down.[David] Grim stuff.[David] Closer to home,[David] the Hill had a story that stopped me.[David] U.S. measles cases just hit a 35-year high.[Maya] Wait,[Maya] 35 years?[David] Highest since 1990.[David] And look, I'm not here to lecture anybody on vaccines. That's a call for every family to make.[Maya] Sure.[David] But you gotta ask why that number's climbing now after decades of measles basically being wiped out here.[Maya] What's your read?[David] Vaccination rates have slipped in certain pockets,[David] especially since the pandemic.[David] Trust in public health messaging took a hit.[David] And measles is brutally contagious,[David] so even small drops in coverage let it move fast.[Maya] So it's a bunch of smaller gaps adding up, not one big cause.[David] Pretty much. One infected kid in a daycare with low coverage and it rips through.[Maya] One more,[Maya] and this one's local.[Maya] New York's Legionnaires outbreak just claimed a fifth life.[David] Didn't that trace back to cooling towers?[Maya] Yeah, the Guardian reported the city traced it to cooling towers on the upper...[Maya] On the Upper East Side,[Maya] 82 diagnosed,[David] Wow.[Maya] 8 still hospitalized,[Maya] the health department said in its latest update.[David] 82 is a lot for something most people have never heard of.[Maya] Fox News actually ran practical tips.[Maya] It spreads through mist,[Maya] so hot tubs, decorative fountains, even old showerheads that haven't been cleaned.[David] So stagnant warm water is the real culprit.[Maya] Basically.[Maya] Flush your pipes if you've been away a while,[Maya] keep tubs and fountains maintained.[Maya] And small habits,[Maya] solid payoff.[David] Good to know before we head into lighter territory.[Maya] Please,[Maya] yes,[Maya] because next we've got Alphabet,[Maya] Tesla,[Maya] and Warner Bros drama.[Maya] Nobody's in a hospital bed for this one.[David] Finally![Maya] Switching gears,[Maya] big earnings day,[Maya] and Wall Street's throwing a tantrum.[David] Yeah,[David] Alphabet's numbers weren't even bad.[David] CNBC's live coverage says the stock still sank after the call.[Maya] Wait, why?[Maya] If the numbers were fine.[David] Capital spending.[David] They're hiking 2026 CapEx hard,[David] and investors hate hearing we're spending more right after earnings.[Maya] So good quarter,[Maya] bad reaction,[Maya] that's wild.[David] Sundar Pichai was on the call defending it,[David] talking up[David] Talking up Waymo,[David] saying they're scaling the business to its potential.[Maya] But investors want cash flow now.[David] Exactly. They want profit now,[David] not a promise about robo-taxis later.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] and Tesla's got almost the opposite problem.[David] Kind of.[David] The New York Times says Tesla's profit fell even though car sales actually rebounded.[Maya] Sales go up, profit goes down?[Maya] I mean, come on.[David] Musk's pouring money into robotics and AI instead of banking the margin.[David] Margin.[David] Same story as Alphabet,[David] honestly.[David] Spend now,[David] hope it pays later.[Maya] Two different companies,[Maya] same headache for shareholders.[David] Pretty much.[David] Wall Street wants both worlds, and it's not getting either right now.[Maya] Alright,[Maya] before I forget,[Maya] there's actual merger news too.[David] Right.[David] Deadline reported the EU just cleared Paramount's deal to buy Warner Bros Discovery.[Maya] A hundred plus billion dollars and Brussels just signs off.[David] With conditions,[David] Paramount had to drop its international distribution.[David] distribution deal with Universal to get there.[Maya] David Ellison still got U.S. legal fights and U.K.[Maya] regulators to deal with, though.[David] One hurdle down,[David] a few left.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] but I've been saving the fun one for last.[David] Go for it.[Maya] I'm excited the Cinerama Dome is coming back.[David] Oh, I love that place.[Maya] Six years dark since the pandemic shut it down,[Maya] and now the L.A.[Maya] Times says Sony Pictures is stepping in to restore it.[Maya] For it,[David] Who's running it?[Maya] Alamo Drafthouse,[Maya] Sony's theater chain,[Maya] and they're keeping the Cinerama name.[David] That geodesic dome on Sunset is basically a landmark at this point.[Maya] Totally.[Maya] The company statement literally said no place else commands that kind of affection from moviegoers.[David] High bar, but they're not wrong.[Maya] Honestly,[Maya] after the week we've covered,[Maya] I'll take a good old-fashioned popcorn story.[David] Same,[David] something you can actually look forward to.[Maya] Warm. Get your tickets ready.[Maya] That one's worth the wait.[Maya] Okay,[Maya] so today I ran Ebola,[Maya] Tesla's earnings,[Maya] even a comeback for that old movie dome.[Maya] Lot going on.[David] Yeah, if there's one thread,[David] it's that the money and the war stuff are tangled together this week that Saudi nuclear deal is worth watching.[Maya] Totally.[Maya] Congress has 90 days on that one, so we'll keep tracking it.[David] And hey,[David] wash your hands out there between measles and Legionnaires. It's been a rough stretch[Maya] Seriously.[Maya] All right. If you like today's Rundown,[Maya] subscribe and leave us a review.[Maya] It actually helps a ton.[David] We'll be back tomorrow with more.[Maya] Thanks for hanging out with us.[Maya] See you then.