The Megyn Kelly Show - Alleged Epstein Suicide Note Released, Cruise Hantavirus Fear Grows, Rubio Meets Pope： AM Update 5⧸8

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00:00:32.560 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly.

00:00:34.820 It's Friday, May 8th, 2026, and this is your AM Update.

00:00:39.020 He was facing life behind bars for the rest of his life, and he was not ready for prison.

00:00:45.080 Jeffrey Epstein's alleged jailhouse note now unsealed as a former inmate describes him unraveling behind bars.

00:00:53.460 Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles abruptly stepping down just months into her fifth term

00:00:58.100 after a local outlet raised new questions about whether she remains competent to fully do the job.

00:01:04.580 This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.

00:01:07.640 It doesn't spread the same way like coronaviruses do.

00:01:11.700 A deadly cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak is now triggering an international contact tracing effort.

00:01:18.680 And Secretary of State Marco Rubio receiving a notably warm welcome at the Vatican,

00:01:23.940 meeting with the Pope and top officials amid tensions over U.S. policy in the Middle East.

00:01:29.120 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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00:02:37.560 A handwritten note allegedly written by Jeffrey Epstein

00:02:41.040 after his first suicide attempt unsealed Wednesday,

00:02:45.380 years after his former cellmate

00:02:47.160 said he discovered it inside their jail cell.

00:02:50.340 The note remaining a secret for years

00:02:52.260 after it was placed in the criminal case file

00:02:54.660 of Nicholas Tartaglione,

00:02:56.880 a former New York police officer

00:02:58.640 then awaiting trial in a quadruple murder case.

00:03:02.240 U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karras

00:03:04.280 releasing the one-page note

00:03:05.720 in response to a request from the New York Times.

00:03:08.540 The note allegedly written,

00:03:09.760 not on the day Epstein actually died, but earlier in July 2019, just days after Epstein's arrest

00:03:17.120 on federal sex trafficking charges. The two men were housed together in Manhattan's Metropolitan

00:03:22.480 Correctional Center, or MCC, where shortly after his arrest, Epstein was found with injuries to

00:03:28.920 his neck. The disgraced financier initially telling jail officials Tartaglione had attacked him,

00:03:35.160 an accusation Tartaglione denied. After that incident, Epstein was moved out of the shared

00:03:40.860 cell and placed in a cell by himself. Tartaglione later telling his lawyers he found the note

00:03:46.660 tucked inside a graphic novel, turning it over to them as proof that he did not attempt to strangle

00:03:52.380 Epstein. In the barely legible note, Epstein appearing to deny the allegations against him,

00:03:57.480 writing, quote, they investigated for months, found nothing. So 16-year-old charges results.

00:04:04.180 It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye. Whatcha wants me to do? Bust out

00:04:10.800 cryin'? No fun. Not worth it. The bust out crying line, a reference to the 1931 movie Little

00:04:18.220 Rascals, a line Epstein also included in a September 2016 email to his brother, according

00:04:24.680 to online news outlet The Tab. While the handwriting does appear similar to some handwritten notes from

00:04:30.800 Epstein, others look different. The DOJ telling NPR the note has not been authenticated and that

00:04:37.240 officials are only now seeing it for the first time. A former Tartaglione lawyer telling NPR,

00:04:43.320 quote, we didn't ever authenticate it with any real handwriting analysis or something like that.

00:04:48.600 The surrounding circumstances of how we came into possession of it, Tartaglione's account,

00:04:53.880 and looking at a similar writing that was found in the cell after Epstein actually killed himself

00:04:58.780 led us to be comfortable with the fact that Epstein had written it.

00:05:02.780 One of those similarities is the phrase,

00:05:04.920 which also appeared in another Epstein note from jail,

00:05:09.080 where he complained about the conditions inside the facility,

00:05:11.800 according to the New York Post.

00:05:13.780 Epstein was ultimately found dead in his cell just a couple of weeks later.

00:05:18.740 TMZ yesterday speaking to Bill Mercy,

00:05:21.380 a former MCC inmate and Epstein's suicide watch companion.

00:05:26.080 That's the inmate who was supposed to be keeping an eye on Epstein to prevent self-harm.

00:05:31.260 Great job, Bill.

00:05:32.480 He says he believes the note's authentic.

00:05:34.920 Does that ring true to the person you interacted with for so many hours in terms of just the way he speaks?

00:05:42.200 It seems to me he was probably very stressed being in the special housing unit because that's a really bad environment.

00:05:49.840 That's the worst of the worst in the prison.

00:05:52.300 If you want protective custody, you don't you're with the bad boys and they yell and scream all night.

00:05:59.800 And it's just harrowing to be in the shoe is what I understand.

00:06:04.560 But I think that he was probably very stressed at that moment and was just scribbling.

00:06:10.420 Mercy telling TMZ Epstein's mental condition worsened after a judge denied him bail.

00:06:15.640 I watched him ratchet down emotionally after he couldn't get bail from the judge.

00:06:21.320 He couldn't give up his island and his airplane and get out as he had before.

00:06:25.880 And he was facing life behind bars for the rest of his life.

00:06:30.280 And he was not ready for prison.

00:06:33.060 He confessed that he'd been bullied by black kids when he was growing up. 0.87

00:06:38.000 And he was afraid of black inmates. 0.72

00:06:40.200 He was afraid of inmates. 0.89

00:06:41.860 I mean, most of his conversations centered around, how am I going to deal with this place?

00:06:46.400 He was really apprehensive.

00:06:48.180 Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, announcing yesterday she will resign at the end of June,

00:06:56.040 cutting short her fifth term just months after winning re-election in a landslide.

00:07:00.860 73-year-old Lyles releasing a statement, quote,

00:07:03.740 Serving as Charlotte's mayor has been the honor of my life.

00:07:07.060 Now it is time for the next phase of my life, to spend more time with my grandchildren,

00:07:10.880 and for someone new to lead us forward.

00:07:13.920 The mayor adding, quote,

00:07:14.800 as in all things politics, I am sure there will be speculation as to why I'm making this decision

00:07:19.940 now. Simply put, I am going to spend time with my grandchildren. Like many of us, I have missed

00:07:25.180 some moments with them and intend not to miss anymore. The announcement coming hours after

00:07:31.000 local outlet WFAE published an article headlined, quote, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles has stopped

00:07:37.860 attending zoning meetings. Will she finish her term? The outlet reporting Lyles has not attended 0.96

00:07:43.200 a zoning meeting since November, the issue reportedly starting two years ago when she

00:07:48.380 began to leave some of those meetings early, before eventually turning them over entirely

00:07:53.220 to a Republican council member. WFAE reporting the mayor still attends and presides over most

00:07:59.600 regular weekly council meetings, but often relies on others to help navigate the process of motions

00:08:05.260 and votes. According to the outlet, several council members, business leaders, and community

00:08:10.280 leaders, have privately raised concerns about whether Lyles communicates as clearly as she

00:08:15.740 once did and whether she has become less engaged on key issues. At one meeting last month, WFAE

00:08:22.720 reporting Lyles appeared confused while calling the meeting to order, saying, quote, good afternoon,

00:08:28.360 everyone, good morning, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here. Good evening.

00:08:35.020 I think it's evening, but you never can tell in this weather. Lyles becoming the target of

00:08:39.960 national outrage last year after the murder of 23-year-old Irina Zarytska, the young Ukrainian

00:08:46.020 refugee brutally stabbed to death on Charlotte's light rail system by a career criminal.

00:08:51.140 The mayor criticized for her initial response, which did not name Zarytska, referring to her

00:08:56.880 only as, quote, the young woman, while focusing much of the statement on the attacker's reported

00:09:01.760 mental health struggles, homelessness, and what Lyles called failures in society's safety nets.

00:09:08.300 Lyle's writing, quote,

00:09:09.200 Tragic incidents like these should force us to look at what we are doing across our community

00:09:13.720 to address root causes.

00:09:15.840 We will never arrest our way out of issues such as homelessness and mental health.

00:09:21.080 Irina's alleged killer, DeCarlos Brown Jr., arrested many times before, 14 times in fact,

00:09:27.300 including for felony larceny, robbery, and assault.

00:09:30.280 He was known by local law enforcement to have schizophrenia.

00:09:33.440 But despite the long criminal record, the documented mental health concerns and the obvious warning signs, Brown was still free to board Charlotte's light rail in August, where police say he stabbed Zarutska to death in an unprovoked attack.

00:09:49.040 Brown now facing state and federal charges, including first-degree murder, though the case has been delayed after psychiatric evaluations found him mentally incompetent to stand trial.

00:09:58.600 Just weeks after the killing, Mayor Lyles bizarrely suggesting to local outlet WBTV that the horrific slaying made her a better mayor.

00:10:08.200 I know what loss is about. And so sometimes we have to remember that even though when we're working together, that there's a lot more to do and to work around and get done.

00:10:21.980 And I will never forget this loss. I will never forget it. It has been something that's difficult for me, but also something that has made me a better mayor for the people of the city.

00:10:38.960 Despite the backlash, Lyles faced little political consequence at home, easily winning re-election in November with more than 70 percent of the vote.

00:10:47.540 The Charlotte City Council will now appoint an interim mayor to finish the term.

00:10:53.880 Coming up, a deadly hantavirus on board a cruise ship,

00:10:57.940 triggering a global race to track passengers who left the vessel

00:11:01.380 before they knew they may have been exposed.

00:11:04.080 And Secretary of State Marco Rubio receives a warm welcome at the Vatican,

00:11:08.460 meeting with the Pope and senior officials as tensions linger over the Middle East.

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00:12:23.800 here on the MK Show. Health officials racing to track passengers across multiple countries as a

00:12:31.320 deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard an expedition cruise ship leaves three people dead and at least

00:12:37.080 five more infected, with dozens of travelers already disembarking the vessel and flying home

00:12:42.720 before they knew they may have been exposed. Hantavirus spreads primarily through contact

00:12:47.880 with infected rodent waste. On Wednesday, officials confirming the particular strain

00:12:52.940 in this outbreak is the Andes, one of the deadliest variants with about a 40% fatality rate

00:12:59.560 and the only known strain that can pass from person to person. The Dutch-flagged MV Hondias

00:13:06.480 departing April 1st on a weeks-long excursion, starting in Argentina at the southern tip of the

00:13:12.340 continent, sailing north up the Atlantic Ocean, stopping at some of the world's most remote

00:13:17.420 island destinations. Trouble beginning aboard the ship on April 6th, when a 70-year-old Dutch

00:13:23.500 passenger fell ill and died five days later of respiratory distress, according to the WHO.

00:13:30.440 His wife also becoming severely ill, leaving the ship in late April and later dying in Johannes

00:13:36.400 where officials confirmed she had Hantavirus. She had briefly boarded a flight in Johannesburg

00:13:43.420 but was removed from the aircraft before takeoff due to her condition. A KLM flight attendant who

00:13:49.400 had brief contact with her on the plane now in isolation at a hospital in Amsterdam with mild

00:13:55.180 symptoms and is being tested for Hantavirus. Argentine officials believe the couple may have

00:14:00.640 contracted the virus prior to the cruise during a bird-watching tour that stopped at a landfill

00:14:06.660 where they may have encountered infected rodents, according to the AP. Ugh. Several more passengers

00:14:13.920 contracting the virus, including a third who died on board. Earlier this week, a medical team

00:14:19.040 dispatched to the ship. The doctor's now conducting medical assessments on everyone on board as the

00:14:24.320 ship sails to the Canary Islands, expected to arrive by Sunday. Once the MV Hondias arrives

00:14:30.700 at its destination, Spanish citizens and anyone showing symptoms will be quarantined,

00:14:36.500 according to Spanish health minister Monica Garcia. Everyone else will be allowed to return

00:14:41.540 home. The World Health Organization holding a press conference yesterday, its director general

00:14:47.180 informing reporters that none of the remaining passengers on the ship is currently symptomatic,

00:14:52.560 but it is possible more cases could develop because it can take up to six weeks for symptoms

00:14:58.220 to develop in the infected. An international effort is now underway to trace and monitor

00:15:03.180 at least 30 passengers from multiple countries who left the ship in late April before any of

00:15:09.480 the cases had been confirmed as hantavirus. Swiss officials confirming a man who had been

00:15:15.100 on the earlier leg of the voyage now hospitalized in Zurich with hantavirus, marking the first

00:15:21.220 known case tied to the ship, where symptoms developed after the traveler had already returned

00:15:26.720 home. In the U.S., health officials in at least five states are now monitoring passengers who

00:15:32.820 were aboard the MV Hondias, including two Texas residents, one in Virginia, two in Georgia,

00:15:39.300 one in Arizona, and at least one in California, with none so far reporting symptoms. Despite the

00:15:45.700 deadly nature of the outbreak, Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO's Director of Epidemic and

00:15:51.780 Pandemic Preparedness, urging the public to keep the risk in perspective. This is not coronavirus.

00:15:58.880 This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hanta viruses have been around for quite a while,

00:16:04.840 but I want to be unequivocal here. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID

00:16:10.200 pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship. There's a confined area. We

00:16:14.580 have five confirmed cases so far. We completely understand why these

00:16:19.740 questions are coming and we are trying to provide all of the information that

00:16:23.280 we can but this is not the same situation we were in six years ago. It

00:16:27.180 doesn't spread the same way like coronaviruses do. It's very different. It's

00:16:32.260 that close intimate contact that we've seen. And again I want to reiterate the

00:16:36.480 The actions that are being taken on board are precautionary to prevent any onward spread.

00:16:42.240 And so there's a lot that is being done right now to be able to try to minimize the risk even further.

00:16:49.800 Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting Pope Leo XIV yesterday at the Vatican.

00:16:54.620 Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary Rubio meeting with the pontiff nearly one year ago after attending the Pope's inaugural mass,

00:17:02.420 today marking one year since Pope Leo's election.

00:17:05.660 Yesterday's closed-door meeting lasting about 45 minutes,

00:17:08.720 it comes on the heels of the recent public clash between President Trump

00:17:12.400 and the first U.S.-born head of the Catholic Church.

00:17:16.180 Pope Leo on multiple occasions calling for a ceasefire on U.S.-Iranian hostilities.

00:17:21.720 In a Monday appearance on the Hugh Hewitt show, President Trump responding.

00:17:25.840 The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,

00:17:30.960 and I don't think that's very good.

00:17:32.500 I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. 0.65

00:17:36.140 But I guess if it's up to the Pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. 0.62

00:17:43.040 Pope Leo responding the following day, this video translated by Reuters.

00:17:47.520 The Church's mission is to preach the gospel, to preach peace.

00:17:51.380 If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with truth.

00:17:56.560 The Church has for years spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there's no doubt about that.

00:18:01.820 And so I simply hope to be heard for the sake of the word of God.

00:18:05.700 President Trump on Wednesday asked by a reporter what message he hopes Secretary Rubio will deliver.

00:18:11.380 As far as the Pope is concerned, it's very simple.

00:18:15.000 Whether I make him happy or I don't make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. 0.87

00:18:22.620 And he seemed to be saying that they can. 0.87

00:18:25.320 And I say they cannot.

00:18:27.340 because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage, and we're not going to let that happen.

00:18:33.400 Tensions between the two leaders aside, Secretary Rubio's meeting appearing notably cordial.

00:18:39.020 Vatican officials also allowing Rubio's motorcade to enter through the Arch of Bells,

00:18:44.100 an entrance typically reserved for heads of state in what appeared to be a special gesture

00:18:48.960 of respect for Secretary Rubio. The secretary is a devout Catholic. Mr. Rubio and Pope Leo

00:18:55.320 exchanging gifts before the meeting, the Pope presented with a crystal football.

00:19:00.400 It has the seal of the State Department, so what to get someone who has everything.

00:19:05.160 The Pope presenting Rubio with a symbolic olive wood pen, noting its symbolism as the

00:19:11.460 plant of peace. Secretary Rubio also meeting with his Vatican counterpart, Secretary of State

00:19:17.460 Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in a separate meeting, reportedly discussing the Middle East as well

00:19:23.180 as humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and in Cuba in particular.

00:19:28.580 Mr. Rubio set to meet with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney today before returning to

00:19:33.740 the U.S.

00:19:37.000 And that'll do it for your AM Update.

00:19:38.980 I'm Megan Kelly.

00:19:39.920 Join me back here for the MK Show.

00:19:41.620 We've got Maureen Callahan on today.

00:19:43.580 We are live on Sirius XM's The Megan Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com

00:19:48.680 slash megankelly and on all podcast platforms.

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The Megyn Kelly Show - May 08, 2026

Alleged Epstein Suicide Note Released, Cruise Hantavirus Fear Grows, Rubio Meets Pope： AM Update 5⧸8

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