In this episode of The Morning Rundown, hosts Maya and David cover three major story areas: a confusing shift in U.S. troop deployments to Europe, a fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, and the latest developments in AI policy, space exploration, and tech culture.

Listeners will get a clear-eyed breakdown of why NATO allies are puzzled by Trump's latest move on Poland, what is actually blocking U.S.-Iran peace talks, and how Western aid cuts contributed to an underprepared Ebola response. The episode also examines what the rollback of a U.S. AI executive order signals about the direction of American tech policy, what SpaceX's next Starship launch means for the long road to the Moon and Mars, and why Steve Wozniak used a commencement speech to remind graduates to trust their own minds.

• Troop whiplash: The Pentagon had just canceled a 4,000-troop deployment before Trump announced sending 5,000 to Poland, leaving NATO allies without a clear signal on U.S. commitments in Europe.
• Iran talks stalled: Uranium enrichment limits and control of the Strait of Hormuz remain the two core sticking points, while Republicans quietly pulled their own war resolution when votes fell short.
• Ebola and aid cuts: Western funding reductions left response teams under-resourced from the start, and the risk of bat-to-human transmission was documented in research before that funding disappeared.
• AI policy fracture: The withdrawal of a U.S. AI executive order following industry objections reflects ongoing internal divisions over how the country should regulate and develop artificial intelligence.
• Starship V3: SpaceX is preparing for Flight 12, with each successive launch bringing the program incrementally closer to its stated goals of crewed Moon and Mars missions.

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