Catastrophic Texas Flooding, Netanyahu Visits the White House, Musk Starts New Party: AM Update 7⧸7
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
162.92737
Summary
At least 70 dead across five counties, with flood warnings still in effect in multiple counties. A local CBS station describing a young woman surviving under seemingly impossible odds. And if there s any hope in this story, it s that this woman went into the water in the early morning hours.
Transcript
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It's Monday, July 7th, 2025, and this is your AM update.
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This happened very quickly over a very short amount of time that could not be predicted.
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Extreme flooding in central Texas leaving dozens dead and many missing
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as crews work around the clock on rescue efforts.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting the White House today,
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fresh off of the successful military campaign that crippled the Iranian nuclear program.
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The principles of Doge were very popular. I think if you look at the polling, Elon was not.
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Elon Musk announcing he will follow through on his promise to form a new political party following
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the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
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with flood warnings still in effect in multiple counties.
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Eleven campers and one counselor still missing from Camp Mystic,
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a popular Christian camp located along the shores of the Guadalupe River,
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which has already seen five of its campers confirmed dead.
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The New York Post reporting the youngest campers were sleeping in their cabins just over 200 feet
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from the river's edge when the flash flooding began early July 4th morning.
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In a matter of a few hours, the river rising from 1 to 34 feet,
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with enough force to push RVs, lift massive boulders,
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and rip fully grown trees out of the ground from the root,
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leaving a trail of destruction across the Texas Hill Country.
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Crews working night and day to locate displaced victims across the region,
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Adult camper Brian Eads describing the experience to a local NBC station on Saturday.
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and there was just torrential river coming through the campground.
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I was trying to push something for her to float on.
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A local CBS station describing a young woman surviving under seemingly impossible odds.
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And if there's any hope in this story, it's that this 22-year-old woman went into the water
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in the Ingram, Texas area, which is about 20 miles upstream.
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She had been in the tree for several hours at that point already
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because she was swept out of her campground, out of her tent at 4 o'clock in the morning.
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Firefighters, the paramedics checked her vitals.
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She had a few bumps and bruises, and they said that was amazing
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because she had gone over four dams and been dropped.
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She told them the story of fighting refrigerators,
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dodging recreational vehicles as she traveled down that long 20-mile stretch of being wiped away.
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President Trump's Sunday morning signing a major disaster declaration for Kerr County,
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freeing up additional resources for rescue and recovery efforts.
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Throughout the weekend, questions and accusations swirling
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about the level of warnings before the natural disaster.
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Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd saying
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original forecasts from the National Weather Service
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did not predict the level of rainfall that was to come.
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The original forecast that we received on Wednesday
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from the National Weather Service predicted 3 to 6 inches of rain in the Concho Valley
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Everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service, right?
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It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.
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Some seizing on those comments to point to the Trump administration's
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cuts to the National Weather Service earlier this year through DOGE.
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CNN National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem, who never misses a chance to bash Trump,
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The question we have to ask is whether any ability to notify or warn
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was impacted by decreases or DOGE on weather services.
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I don't know the answer, and we can't assume it.
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The camp may have been isolated, but I'd want to know if I were a parent.
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That narrative quickly taking off online and through legacy media outlets.
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The New York Times' report on the tragedy headlined,
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As floods hit, key roles were vacant at Weather Service offices in Texas,
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focusing on staffing shortages within the National Weather Service,
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some of which were DOGE-related and some of which predated the current Trump administration.
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Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice describing the unusual conditions causing the rapid flooding, for one.
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Under normal conditions, if you call it that, you'll hit water in one of those areas,
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and those two forks will converge into the Guadalupe, which comes through the city of Kerrville.
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This rain event sat on top of that and dumped more rain than what was forecasted on both of those forks.
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When we got the report, it was about seven feet or so on the South Fork,
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and within a matter of minutes, it was up to 29 feet,
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and that's where we saw those very quick rise and floods.
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So there's not alarms everywhere on the river. No, sir.
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Rice saying that local officials remained in constant contact with the National Weather Service,
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but the speed and scale of the flooding could not have been predicted.
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I was running the river trail at 3 a.m. this morning. There was no signs of it.
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The rain was here on the river trail, which is down below at the water's edge at 3.30 and 4 o'clock when I left.
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This happened very quickly over a very short amount of time that could not be predicted.
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Our team constantly reviews radar, constantly has NWS, National Weather Service messages.
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We send them out on a regular basis, and we communicate effectively.
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This is not like a tornado where you can have a siren.
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This is not like a hurricane where you're planning weeks in advance.
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And things like this happen in a very strategic, very isolated area.
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And when those two things converged, you had what happened today.
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So this happened within less than a two-hour span very, very quickly.
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The Associated Press reporting the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels,
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which is responsible for forecasting that area, actually had extra staff on duty during the storm.
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The NWS issuing its first flash flood warning at 1.14 a.m. local time on Friday.
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The Texas Tribune reporting all National Weather Service flash flood warnings set off emergency push notifications through cell phone towers.
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The service reportedly updating that warning nine times throughout Friday.
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At 4.03 a.m., the most serious warning, a flash flood emergency, warning of a, quote,
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quote, extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.
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the timing of the flood may have been a complicating factor.
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The alerts came out during the start of the 4th of July weekend,
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when RV parks, cabins, and homes are filled with tourists
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who might not be familiar with the flood risks or the habits of the water.
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An independent meteorologist based out of Houston, Matt Lanza, writing on Substack, quote,
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We have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that current staffing or budget issues within NOAA or the NWS
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Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly telling the AP several years back the county considered a flood warning system
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along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning system,
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but the idea never took off because of the expense.
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One takeaway is the importance of having a NOAA weather radio at every home, business,
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and any place where there are large numbers of people gathered, like a camp on a river.
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I would imagine cell service is spotty along the Guadalupe where the camps were located.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a Saturday briefing saying the Trump administration
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is committed to upgrading national weather systems.
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The National Weather Service over the years at times has done well,
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and at times we have all wanted more time and more warning and more alerts and more notification.
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That is something and one of the reasons that when President Trump took office that he said he wanted to fix
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And the National Weather Service has indicated that with that and NOAA that we needed to renew this ancient system
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that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years,
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and that is the reforms that are ongoing there.
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On Sunday from Rome, Pope Leo offering a special blessing for those impacted by this terrible tragedy.
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I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones,
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in particular their daughters who were at summer camp in the disaster caused
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by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States.
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Coming up, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House today
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as Israeli officials negotiate toward a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
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And Elon Musk forms a new political party, ruffling many feathers on the right.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting President Trump at the White House today.
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The meeting in part a victory lap following the successful U.S. military strike on three
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key Iranian nuclear weapons facilities, as well as Israeli operations against Iran's nuclear program.
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This, the third White House visit for the Prime Minister since the start of the second Trump
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The two leaders are now focusing on what comes next in the war on Hamas.
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Cease-fire negotiations with the terrorist group have so far remained unsuccessful.
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On Sunday, Israeli and Hamas officials meeting in Qatar to restart indirect negotiations.
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Prior to departing for the White House, Prime Minister Netanyahu telling reporters,
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We will not allow a situation where there will be more hostages, more murders, more beheadings,
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This means one thing, the elimination of Hamas's military and governmental capabilities.
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The administration is reportedly working to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords, thus normalizing
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relations between the two countries for the first time since the creation of the modern
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In May, President Trump becoming the first U.S. president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader,
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President Ahmed al-Sharah, who in December toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime.
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Despite al-Sharah's militant background and ties to jihadist groups, President Trump extending
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an olive branch, inviting Syria to a new opportunity to join the global community.
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Elon Musk on Saturday announcing the formation of the America Party, resulting from Musk's highly
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publicized outrage over the projected deficit increases within President Trump's one big
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The CBO predicting the bill will increase the deficit by trillions through fiscal year
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The Trump administration arguing the CBO does not properly account for economic growth or
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tariff revenue, which they say will largely offset the added debt.
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On Independence Day, Musk posting a poll to X asking users if he should create the America
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Party, 65.4 percent responding yes versus 34.6 percent responding no.
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Several users quickly noting the poll was not restricted to Americans and consists of Musk's
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followers and others on the platform he owns, X.
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Musk on Friday outlining a possible strategy for the party, quote, one way to execute on
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this would be to laser focus on just two or three Senate seats and eight to ten House
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Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote
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on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.
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Though a full platform has yet to be published on X, Musk signaling the America Party will focus
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on reducing debt, modernizing the military with AI and robotics, reducing regulation across
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the board, especially in energy, promoting free speech, and promoting centrist policies.
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Many on the right criticizing the move, voicing concerns that a third party will only divide
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Founder of Early Vote Action, Republican Scott Pressler posting to X, if Republicans lose the
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House in 2026, which the creation of a third party is likely to do, there will be no budget
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We will likely lose 2028, and there goes control over the census.
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The border opens up again, and it was all for naught.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Besant reacting Sunday on CNN to Musk's new venture.
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I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not.
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I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back
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and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone.
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So I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday, and
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will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities.
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Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon
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east, on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.
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