Ballerina Home from Russian Prison, RFK Autism Announcement, Shower Exec Order： AM Update 4⧸11
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
155.3273
Summary
Ksenia Karolina was released from a Russian prison after a year and a half of being held without charge. Now, she s back in the United States, and her family is fighting for her release. Sponsors!
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly, and it's Friday, April 11th, 2025. This is your
00:00:10.340
If you know my Ksenia, she is the sweetest, kindest person you'll meet.
00:00:16.860
President Trump securing the release of another American citizen wrongfully detained in Russia.
00:00:22.480
HHS Secretary Kennedy says his department will determine the cause of autism by September.
00:00:27.880
The president is not keeping his promise to bring down egg prices.
00:00:32.560
The media says egg prices are skyrocketing, but just weeks ago, they were reporting the opposite.
00:00:38.140
We cracked the case. Should we keep daylight savings time? The U.S. Senate takes that up.
00:00:44.280
And President Trump signs an order to make showering great again.
00:00:48.200
All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
00:00:51.140
I want to tell you all about Patriot Mobile, one of the few cell phone service providers that operates
00:00:58.580
on all three of the major networks. If you have cell phone service in this country today,
00:01:03.020
you can get exceptional service with Patriot Mobile. That's why they offer a coverage guarantee
00:01:08.540
that others cannot. You might think switching to Patriot Mobile is painful, but it isn't.
00:01:13.660
No need to spend hours in a retail store waiting your turn. Just call Patriot Mobile's 100%
00:01:20.260
U.S.-based team from the comfort of your own home or office, and they will have you activated
00:01:25.400
in minutes. Still locked in a contract? Not a problem. Patriot Mobile's contract buyout program
00:01:31.400
covers up to $500 per device. Keep your same number, keep your phone, or treat yourself to an upgrade.
00:01:38.340
So consider joining Patriot Mobile today. Support faith, family, and freedom with every call
00:01:44.280
and text you make. Don't wait. Do it today. Go to PatriotMobile.com slash Megan, or call 972
00:01:50.960
Patriot. Use promo code Megan and get a free month of service. That's PatriotMobile.com slash Megan,
00:02:01.040
Wrongfully detained Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karolina returning to the U.S. after spending
00:02:11.320
more than a year in a Siberian penal colony. The 33-year-old ballerina exchanged for dual
00:02:17.720
Russian-German citizen Arthur Petrov. He was held in the U.S. on criminal charges relating to illegal
00:02:23.840
exporting. The swap conducted in Abu Dhabi. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Special Envoy Steve
00:02:30.240
Witkoff leading negotiations on behalf of the U.S. Russian authorities detaining Miss Karolina in
00:02:36.420
January 2024 upon entry into Russia, where she was visiting family. A search of her phone revealing a
00:02:43.600
2022 donation of $51 to a U.S.-based non-profit providing aid to children and elderly people
00:02:52.140
displaced by the war in Ukraine. After a 16-hour interrogation, authorities releasing Miss Karolina
00:02:58.760
with a warning not to leave the country. Weeks later, Russian authorities charging her with
00:03:04.180
treason. On Monday, the boyfriend of Miss Karolina, champion boxer Chris Van Yerden, describing the
00:03:10.840
ridiculous nature of the allegations in an exclusive interview on The Megyn Kelly Show.
00:03:15.600
We now know within the three weeks from January 2nd to January 27th, they investigated every single
00:03:24.000
thing on her cell phone. This is where they came across the Venmo, $51 on Venmo, charged her for
00:03:29.840
treason, funding the enemy state. That's what she was charging for, funding the enemy state, buying
00:03:35.720
weapons. And if you know, I started laughing and crying in the same time because it was like,
00:03:43.340
if you know my Ksenia, she is the sweetest, kindest person you'll meet. She goes out of her way to do
00:03:52.060
good for people. She hates seeing people hurt. So you can imagine elderly people, young kids without
00:03:59.840
food and water, she would be the first to donate money. Mr. Van Yerden, who fought tirelessly for
00:04:05.400
his girlfriend's release, saying it was extremely difficult to find a lawyer to even take Miss Karolina's
00:04:10.980
case, many too afraid of going against the state. Miss Karolina's family eventually setting on a
00:04:16.560
lawyer advising a guilty plea. Mr. Van Yerden describing the legal process to us.
00:04:21.760
The lawyer ended up telling her to plead guilty. Now, I was very upset about that. I was like,
00:04:27.880
why would you do that? And he said, look, she's going to get 20 years in prison. I can get that down
00:04:33.180
to five years if she pleads guilty. I was like, I don't like this, but the parents liked the idea.
00:04:41.240
So the lawyer got her to plead guilty. And guess what? She got the minimum of 12.
00:04:47.760
It didn't work. But it painted this picture of Ksenia now acknowledging what she did.
00:04:58.280
Mr. Van Yerden spoke to the terrible conditions of the prison camp.
00:05:01.580
She's in a labor camp, right? So she's with her dad. She wakes up at 6 a.m. in the morning.
00:05:07.140
She works till 9 p.m. at night. She gets two 15 minutes breaks in between. It's snowing in
00:05:13.680
Siberia. Close to where she's held at, close to Siberia. Her mother would send her some wipes and
00:05:18.660
stuff. And she was like, I would use the toilet water to clean myself. She's got problems with her
00:05:28.940
legs. And this worries me. This really worries me. She's now all of a sudden got, she's got leg
00:05:33.660
pain. She's got some big veins popping out on her legs from all the standing.
00:05:38.500
On Monday, Mr. Van Yerden describing the maddeningly slow pace of the Biden State Department
00:05:44.020
in even declaring that his girlfriend had been wrongfully detained, saying if not for a phone
00:05:49.260
call from Hollywood director Peter Berg, it would not have happened. Mr. Van Yerden also crediting UFC
00:05:55.420
President Dana White for bringing the situation to President Trump's attention. Following news
00:06:00.300
of the release, Mr. Van Yerden saying in a statement, quote, I am overjoyed to hear that
00:06:04.760
the love of my life, Ksenia Carolina, is on her way home. I cannot wait to hold her. Our
00:06:10.940
dog Boots is also eagerly awaiting her return. This is the second prisoner exchange with Russia
00:06:16.620
since President Trump returned to office. Teacher Mark Fogel released in February. The U.S.
00:06:22.040
tracking at least six more wrongfully detained Americans in Russia. On Thursday, HHS Secretary
00:06:28.900
RFKJ announcing a major White House initiative in President Trump's cabinet meeting.
00:06:33.920
At your direction, we are going to know by September we've launched a massive
00:06:38.480
testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world.
00:06:46.480
By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those
00:06:53.200
exposures. In the 1960s and 70s, autism was considered a rare disorder. Early studies citing
00:06:59.700
just one in 10,000 children diagnosed. Today, that number reported to be one in 31. President Trump
00:07:06.800
responding to RFKJ. There will be no bigger news conference than that. So that's it. If you can
00:07:13.420
come up with that answer where you stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe
00:07:19.740
it's a shot, but something's causing it. The CDC maintains there is no link between vaccines and
00:07:26.440
autism. RFKJ has long advocated for increasing vaccine safety standards and testing. Under Secretary
00:07:33.320
Kennedy, the HHS Department focusing on treating the causes of the top health conditions plaguing Americans.
00:07:39.540
HHS also conducting a comprehensive review of more than 10,000 chemicals added to food products
00:07:46.300
in recent decades, chemicals banned in Europe. The March Consumer Price Index report delivering a win
00:07:55.480
for the Trump administration. Inflation cooling to 2.4 percent, better than expected. Consumer prices
00:08:02.620
falling by 0.1 percent, the first monthly decline since March of 2020. The falling prices attributed to
00:08:09.800
declining oil prices, translating to lower energy costs, a day-one Trump White House priority. Media outlets
00:08:16.620
quick to downplay the news. From the New York Times, quote, economists say the latest data is only a temporary
00:08:22.520
reprieve as tariffs could stoke higher inflation. Reuters, quote, the benign inflation reading is unlikely to be
00:08:29.580
sustained after President Donald Trump doubled down on tariffs. The media also picking up on another data
00:08:35.440
point from the report, egg prices. One thing that everyone's paying attention to is the cost of
00:08:39.960
groceries and eggs in particular. The overall price of eggs still going higher and higher to all-time highs.
00:08:46.880
He promised lower egg prices, lower prices in the grocery store. Eggs are down, by the way.
00:08:51.080
Okay, but not if there's a 10 percent tariff on everything. Egg prices went up, and now on the
00:08:57.020
year they are up by more than 60 percent. Last month it was 58 percent. So the president is not
00:09:02.820
keeping his promise to bring down egg prices. The truth is, while the retail price of eggs went up
00:09:08.280
in March, wholesale egg prices are down, and typically there is a bit of a lag in those decreases making
00:09:13.900
their way to retail stores. The wholesale price of a dozen eggs was $8.15 in February, $6.85 in March,
00:09:23.600
and $3.19 today. On Wednesday, President Trump recognizing Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
00:09:31.740
I want to say hello to Brooke. She got the cost of eggs down 87 percent, Governor. We have
00:09:39.260
We have somebody that's done a great job at Department of Agriculture.
00:09:44.340
Ms. Rollins acknowledging the still high retail prices, but saying Easter is the Super Bowl of
00:09:50.020
eggs, and once we are past Easter, the prices will come down. Coming up, Attorney General Pam Bondi
00:09:56.740
seeking to dismiss charges against an alleged MS-13 ringleader arrested just two weeks ago.
00:10:02.960
What's the strategy? And President Trump signs an order to make showering great again.
00:10:09.260
You don't go out and buy a life jacket when the boat is sinking, and you don't buy gold when the
00:10:14.140
economy has already collapsed. Clearly, others are heeding this advice as gold hit all-time highs
00:10:19.240
already this year. It's not too late for you, too, and you could have Birch Gold help you diversify
00:10:24.160
into physical gold. Birch Gold specializes in helping you convert an existing IRA or 401k in whole or in
00:10:30.540
part into a tax-sheltered IRA in physical gold and for no money out of pocket. One recent five-star
00:10:36.760
reviews said Birch Gold was, quote, knowledgeable, helpful, non-pressure. Get your free info kit on
00:10:42.520
gold by texting the letters MK to the number 989898. There is no obligation, just useful
00:10:47.280
information. With an A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau and countless five-star reviews,
00:10:53.080
text MK to 989898 and let the experts at Birch Gold help you secure your future today with gold.
00:11:00.420
Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking to dismiss charges against an alleged illegal immigrant
00:11:09.420
MS-13 ringleader. A.G. Bondi telling CBS News, quote, as a terrorist, he will now face the removal
00:11:15.520
process. CBS News and The Washington Post reporting sources familiar with the proceedings say dropping
00:11:21.140
the charges will fast-track that removal process. 24-year-old Henry Josue Villatoro Santos arrested
00:11:28.440
two weeks ago by a Virginia Homeland Security Terrorism Task Force. A.G. Bondi, on the morning
00:11:34.320
of the arrest, vowing a swift removal. He was the leader for the East Coast, one of the top three in
00:11:40.300
the entire country, right here in Virginia, living half an hour outside of Washington, D.C. He is an
00:11:48.760
illegal alien from El Salvador, and he will not be living in our country much longer. The government
00:11:55.960
requesting in a Wednesday court filing to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning they can
00:12:00.840
be refiled at a later date. The feds originally charging Mr. Santos with possession of a firearm
00:12:06.620
by a person in the country illegally. Authorities capturing the suspect on March 28th in his mother's
00:12:12.640
Virginia home, recovering a cache of weapons, four firearms, ammunition, and two silencers. Also seized a
00:12:19.800
letter from a jail outlining inmate clicks. Mr. Santos, born in El Salvador, entered the country illegally
00:12:26.000
in 2014 around 13 or 14 years old. Apprehended by authorities at the border, Mr. Santos then released
00:12:32.860
to his mother, already in Virginia, and the DOJ alleging shortly thereafter recruited by MS-13. Mr. Santos'
00:12:40.620
lawyers requesting a two-week delay, arguing once the charges are officially dismissed, their client will
00:12:46.820
immediately be deported to an El Salvadoran prison. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Commerce,
00:12:56.640
Science, and Transportation, holding a hearing evaluating whether the U.S. should, quote,
00:13:01.700
lock the clocks once and for all, and if so, whether to stick to standard time with early sunrises,
00:13:08.720
like we have in the fall and winter, or daylight savings time with late sunsets, like we have in the
00:13:15.080
spring and summer. Republican Senator from Texas Ted Cruz and Democrat Senator from Delaware Lisa Blunt
00:13:20.640
Rochester opening the session. The original idea behind daylight savings time was to reduce energy
00:13:26.620
consumption by making better use of daylight during the longer days of summer. The idea was simple.
00:13:33.560
Fewer hours of darkness meant less electricity consumption for lighting and heating. This concept
00:13:39.940
might have made sense in the early 20th century when our economy and our homes relied much more heavily on
00:13:45.860
energy consumption tied to daylight hours. Today, the data show energy savings from daylight savings time are
00:13:54.800
de minimis, if not entirely non-existent. But the back and forth between daylight savings time and standard time
00:14:02.300
needs to change and needs to stop. We need to stop the clock. We need to find a solution and stick with it.
00:14:11.380
The U.S. ping-ponging on daylight savings time since its inception in 1918. Clock standards changing in 1942,
00:14:19.360
1966, 1974, and most recently in 2007. The House and Senate introducing, then tabling, various bills in recent years.
00:14:28.900
Witnesses presenting diametrically opposed arguments. The first witness representing the National Golf Course
00:14:35.760
Owners Association. The second from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
00:14:40.540
We'll be winners and losers no matter which way the knot is cut. We recognize the sleep-related
00:14:45.260
arguments for standard time, but the benefits of extended daylight for physical and mental health,
00:14:50.300
outdoor recreation, and public safety are significant. Obesity, depression, and crime all have ties to
00:14:56.380
reduced daylight and sedentary lifestyles. So in short, we urge the Senate to avoid the consequences
00:15:02.800
of permanent standard time. We encourage solutions that preserve evening daylight for golf, for health,
00:15:09.760
for recreation, and local economy. The sun is one of the most powerful drivers of health and well-being,
00:15:16.020
but the timing of sunlight is what's critically important. Without enough morning light, or with too much
00:15:22.080
evening light, our circadian rhythms delay. This disrupts our sleep patterns and our body and brain
00:15:27.440
functions. Permanent daylight savings time would cause sunrises after 8 a.m. for two to four months
00:15:34.080
every winter, depriving us of this critical morning light. This is why permanent daylight saving time
00:15:40.540
would be exponentially worse than seasonal daylight saving time.
00:15:44.280
The committee hearing meant to help advance debate on the Senate's Sunshine Protection Act,
00:15:49.640
which would make daylight savings time longer summer daylight permanent. We'll see.
00:15:55.960
President Trump on Wednesday signing an executive order to make showers great again.
00:16:00.840
The new order's scrapping Biden and Obama-era environmental regulations targeting water flow
00:16:06.080
standards. President Trump commenting on the new order from the Oval.
00:16:09.900
Toilets, dishwashers, toilets, sinks. But the showerheads are a huge deal.
00:16:14.820
There's no water. You don't get water. It's ridiculous.
00:16:17.760
So with this executive order, we're effectively going to be reversing that set of regulations to
00:16:23.000
ensure that Americans have choice in the consumer market. If they want a low-flow showerhead,
00:16:27.300
they can buy one. If they want a real-deal showerhead, they should have the ability to get one.
00:16:32.920
You take a shower or wash your hands, whatever you do, including dishwashers, when no water comes out,
00:16:38.000
but you wash your hands. And in my case, I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful
00:16:44.480
hair. I have to stand under the shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. It comes out drip,
00:16:50.680
drip, drip. It's ridiculous. And what you do is you end up washing your hands five times longer.
00:16:56.520
The beautiful hair. The order reading, quote, twice in the last 12 years, those administrations
00:17:02.060
promulgated multi-thousand word regulations defining the word showerhead. This latest order,
00:17:08.040
part of a broader effort to increase consumer choices previously limited by Green New Deal style
00:17:13.480
policies. Showerheads, paper straws, incandescent light bulbs, all restored to their previous glory
00:17:20.420
by Trump 2.0. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for
00:17:27.260
The Megyn Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash