It's Friday, March 20th, 2026, and this is Your AM Update. No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you. President Trump delivers updates on several new reports relating to Operation Epic Fury, including possible troop deployments, budget requests, and more. Top intelligence officials pressed on Iran threats in a hearing in front of the House Intel Committee. A California bridge intended to save wildlife, now sparking backlash over soaring costs and delays. New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani s wife under fire for old social media posts praising terrorists and using offensive slurs.
00:00:46.880If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you.
00:00:49.500President Trump delivering updates on several new reports relating to Operation Epic Fury,
00:00:54.900including possible troop deployments, budget requests, and more.
00:00:59.160The American people need to know if this was an imminent threat or not.
00:01:02.920Top intelligence officials pressed on Iran threats in a hearing in front of the House Intel Committee.
00:01:08.360A California bridge intended to save wildlife, now sparking backlash over soaring costs and delays.
00:01:15.020New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani's wife under fire for old social media posts,
00:01:20.140praising terrorists and using offensive slurs.
00:01:22.920All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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00:02:17.660Brent crude the international oil benchmark briefly spiking to $119 per barrel Thursday
00:02:26.040before settling near $103 as Iran launches retaliatory strikes targeting oil and gas
00:02:32.820infrastructure across the Gulf. The barrage coming after a Wednesday Israeli strike on
00:02:38.220Iran's South Pars gas field, part of the largest natural gas reserve in the world.
00:02:44.020Iran responding by striking Qatar's Ras Leifin Industrial City,
00:02:47.980the world's largest liquefied natural gas facility,
00:02:51.960responsible for roughly 20% of global liquid natural gas, or LNG, supply.
00:02:58.180The escalation marking a significant expansion of the conflict into global energy markets.
00:03:03.080President Trump with a lengthy post on Truth Social Wednesday night,
00:03:06.300explaining the U.S. had no prior knowledge of Israel's strike,
00:03:09.740warning Iran against further attacks on Qatar,
00:03:12.040threatening additional consequences if escalation continues.
00:03:16.280The development's raising new questions about coordination between the U.S. and Israel
00:03:20.300after President Trump has recently said he does not want Iranian oil and gas infrastructure targeted.
00:03:26.400Secretary of War Pete Hegseth asked about the Israeli strike at a briefing yesterday.
00:03:30.120It kind of seems like a trend of Israel apparently pursuing their own objectives over U.S. objectives.
00:03:37.900Why are we helping Israel prosecute this war if they're going to pursue their own objectives?0.85
00:03:42.040We hold the cards. We have objectives. Those objectives are clear. We have allies pursuing objectives as well. And the truth speaks for itself. I mean, President Trump was very clear about that. Iran has weaponized energy for decades. Israel clearly sent a warning. And POTUS has made it clear, very clear.
00:04:03.240Iran knows when you hit Karg Island and you hit military capabilities on Karg Island,0.56
00:04:09.300which is the only thing we hit, we can hold anything at issue, anything.
00:04:14.360The United States military controls the fate of that country.
00:04:17.300Iran has the ability to make the right choices.
00:04:19.380It should not, going forward, target Arab allies, Arab countries.
00:04:25.520President Trump also addressing the issue yesterday in the Oval Office
00:04:28.580during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takeuchi.
00:04:31.980Have you talked to Prime Minister Manan Yapuk about attacking the oil and gas fields?
00:04:36.640Yeah, I did. I did. I told him, don't do that. And he won't do that. We didn't discuss. You know,
00:04:41.800we do. We're independent. We get along great. It's coordinated. But on occasion,
00:04:48.620he'll do something. And if I don't like it, and so we're not doing that anymore.
00:04:53.100As the conflict nears entering its fourth week, the Pentagon now seeking more than $200
00:04:57.620billion from Congress to fund Operation Epic Fury, according to a Washington Post report.
00:05:03.480The request aimed in part at ramping up weapons production and replenishing U.S. stockpiles.
00:05:08.520President Trump also asked yesterday about that reporting.
00:05:11.420We're asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we're talking about in Iran.
00:05:16.660We want to have vast amounts of ammunition, but it was taken down by giving so much to Ukraine.0.92
00:05:24.900They gave so much. Our manufacturers of military equipment are building at a level they've never
00:05:31.320seen before. They've never done before. Raytheon is building four factories. Lockheed is building
00:05:36.600five or six factories and they're building them fast. So we're in very good shape, but we want
00:05:41.900to be in the best shape, the best shape we've ever been in. So we want to be sure. And it's
00:05:47.640a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top. Meanwhile, Reuters reporting this
00:05:52.120week, the president is considering deploying thousands of additional U.S. troops to the
00:05:55.760region. President Trump responding. No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly
00:06:02.580wouldn't tell you, but I'm not putting troops and we will do whatever is necessary to keep the price.
00:06:10.060The escalation also drawing a response from U.S. allies. Germany, the U.K., France, Italy,
00:06:14.880the Netherlands and Japan issuing a joint statement condemning attacks on civilian
00:06:18.900infrastructure and calling for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The statement
00:06:23.840expressing readiness to support efforts to secure the vital waterway, but stopping short of committing
00:06:28.960military assets. Mr. Trump also asked about coordination with allies following the initial
00:06:34.180strikes, including why key partners like Japan were not notified in advance.
00:06:39.420One thing you don't want to signal too much, you know, when we go in, we went in very hard
00:06:44.040and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise
00:06:50.680than Japan? Okay, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay, right? You know, he's asking
00:06:59.460me, no, you believe in surprise, I think much more so than us. Director of National Intelligence
00:07:07.520Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Cash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and other top national
00:07:12.740security officials back on Capitol Hill yesterday, this time before the House Intelligence Committee.
00:07:18.560Operation Epic Fury dominating the hearing, with Democrats zeroing in on whether the
00:07:23.120administration had clear intelligence of an imminent threat from Iran and whether the
00:07:27.760president's military response was justified. Here, two Democrats, Congressman Jimmy Gomez
00:07:33.000of California and Congressman Andre Carson of Indiana. The American people need to know if
00:07:38.180this was an imminent threat or not if there are weeks away or not if there are months away or not
00:07:44.400none of this dodging were they an imminent threat yesterday you said that only the president only
00:07:52.220the only person who can determine what is an imminent threat is the president of the united
00:07:59.540states you do you stand by that statement yes i do so is there any evidence that iran intended
00:08:06.080to conduct a preemptive attack on the U.S. prior to beginning this war, yes or no?
00:08:10.900There's a body of intelligence that we'll be able to cover in the classified portion of this
00:08:15.420hearing that does reflect that in the likely event of a conflict between Iran and Israel,
00:08:20.900that the U.S. would be immediately attacked, regardless of whether the United States stayed
00:08:25.460out of that conflict. Republican Congressman Pat Fallon of Texas questioning CIA Director
00:08:31.300John Ratcliffe on Iran's nuclear ambitions. Director, what nation state has achieved 60%
00:08:37.260enrichment and then not produced a nuclear weapon? I'm not aware of any. There's none.
00:08:44.540You get to 60%. There's a reason you're at 60% because you are pursuing nuclear ambitions.
00:08:49.620So last June, we have Midnight Hammer. And not only did they see the resolve, I mean,
00:08:56.220They saw that we were committed to actually taking action and not just the words this time.
00:09:01.340And even after all of that, did they abandon their pursuit and their nuclear program?
00:12:59.620California Governor Gavin Newsom, facing criticism over a costly state infrastructure project, now dubbed a bridge to nowhere.
00:13:07.080City Journal reporting on a wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway in Southern California, designed to allow cougars, butterflies and other animals to safely pass over one of the busiest highways in the country.
00:13:19.120The project breaking ground in 2022, with Governor Newsom announcing $54 million in state funding at the time and suggesting it could be completed for roughly $10 million more.
00:13:31.760But the timeline's slipping, the original completion date passing last year, and costs continuing to climb.
00:13:38.480According to City Journal, the total price tag now reaching $114 million,
00:13:43.200about $21 million over previous estimates, with approximately $77 million coming from state funds.
00:13:51.160Photos of the site showing a landscaped structure spanning the freeway, but no ramps yet for animals to access it.
00:13:57.280Beth Pratt, a member of the project's leadership team, attributing the overruns to inflation, tariffs,
00:14:03.600and rising construction costs and issuing pleas to the public on social media for donations to
00:14:10.040help finish the project. When we started stage one and we're waiting to start stage two, the world
00:14:16.940changed beneath us though. This spring, construction costs increased considerably.
00:14:23.320And although we were holding reserves to finish construction, all those are exhausted at this
00:14:28.380because of tariffs, inflation, and so many other factors impacting construction projects, not just
00:14:34.640ours. So we need your help one more time to get us to the finish line and help us build back those
00:14:40.860reserves so that we can ensure that we finalize construction by November. Please donate today to
00:14:46.480Save LA Cougars. We're going to complete this together, this dream that we started. Thank you
00:14:51.320for being a part of it. Supporters argue the crossing is critical to preventing deadly vehicle
00:14:56.400collisions and preserving the region's endangered cougar population. City Journal pointing out the
00:15:01.680state could pursue the lower-cost alternative of importing cougars to bolster the population.
00:15:07.740Governor Newsom's office pushing back on the reporting on X, quote,
00:15:11.120MAGA's outrage over a project that literally saves lives tells you everything. This freeway project,
00:15:16.660grounded in decades of research, restores a critical wildlife corridor and reduces deadly
00:15:22.400collisions on one of the busiest highways in the country, protecting both drivers and animals.
00:15:28.900The Post going on to blame rising construction costs due to tariffs and inflation and weather
00:15:34.460delays for project extensions, noting, quote, five years of work is far from a boondoggle.
00:15:40.360Online critics pointing to similar projects in other states completed at a fraction of the cost
00:15:45.480and in a fraction of the time, including a roughly $15 million wildlife crossing over
00:15:51.140Interstate 25 in Colorado, completed in just one year. The Washington Free Beacon uncovering
00:15:58.560social media accounts tied to New York City Mayor Zoram Amdani's wife, Rama Duwaji, featuring posts
00:16:04.400praising Palestinian terrorists and using racist and homophobic slurs. In one 2017 Tumblr post,
00:16:11.020Duwaji, now 28 years old, sharing a picture of Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled with her quote,
00:16:16.520if it does good for my cause, I'll be happy to accept death. Khaled, a member of the U.S.-designated0.99
00:16:22.440terror organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, praised by
00:16:28.140her supporters as the first woman to hijack a plane. According to the Free Beacon, the majority
00:16:33.920of the posts made by Duwaji are from her late teens and early 20s. The accounts, though still
00:16:38.960accessible, appear inactive. A repost from 2015 criticizing American service members, quote,
00:16:45.420American soldiers fighting in imperialist wars are not brave, nor are they fighting for anyone's
00:16:50.880freedom. They are mercilessly slaughtering third world civilians and fighting to maintain1.00
00:16:55.920American hegemony. In a post from 2013, then 15-year-old Dwaji responding to another user
00:17:02.320writing, quote, hell yeah, n-word, soft A, super duper genius. Following this reporting,
00:17:09.020ex-users digging up more posts, including one from 2013 appearing to use an abbreviated
00:17:14.440pejorative for gay men, quote, why are all these F-words following me? The mayor's office did not
00:17:21.340respond to the Freebeacon's request for comment. The Freebeacon also reporting last week that
00:17:26.240Dawaji provided illustrations for an essay by an author who called the October 7th attack, quote,
00:17:31.800spectacular, and frequently refers to what she calls Jewish supremacist vampires. In early March,
00:17:38.060Jewish Insider reporting Mamdani's wife liked social media posts celebrating the October 7th,
00:17:43.6002023 attacks when Hamas terrorists killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 251 people.
00:17:51.940Mayor Mamdani asked about that reporting on March 6th.
00:17:54.920My wife is the love of my life, and she's also a private person who has held no formal
00:18:01.380position on my campaign or in my city hall.
00:18:04.280I, however, was elected to represent all eight and a half million people in the city, and
00:18:09.060I believe that it's my responsibility because of that role to answer any questions about
00:18:12.900my thoughts and my policies and my decisions. We reached out to the mayor's office for comment
00:18:16.900on this latest reporting and have not heard back. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily
00:18:24.040Jashinsky, host of After Party. Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on Sirius XM's The Megyn Kelly
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