The Megyn Kelly Show - August 25, 2026


Clancy Mistrial Request, Former Child Star Sues Disney, Wildfire Threatens Reno： AM Update 8⧸25


Episode Stats


Length

23 minutes

Words per minute

147.74

Word count

3,506

Sentence count

220


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.600 Hey, my name is Samantha. I work as an assembly technician for Ford of Canada.
00:00:06.040 What I love about working at Ford is knowing I'm part of something I'm proud to stand behind.
00:00:11.180 And when Ford does something like employee pricing, it makes me even prouder to work here.
00:00:16.380 And that means you pay what I pay.
00:00:19.580 Ford employee pricing is on now.
00:00:21.760 On select 2026 Bronco Sport Models, get over $9,000 in total price adjustments.
00:00:26.460 For details, visit your Ontario Ford store or Ford.ca.
00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, August 25th, 2026.
00:00:38.020 Happy birthday, Duggar. And this is your AM update.
00:00:42.300 Here's the way this works. All right. You don't really ask a lot of questions.
00:00:46.160 You answer the questions.
00:00:47.720 A prosecution witness drawing a sharp rebuke from the judge in the Lindsay Clancy trial
00:00:52.380 before another answer prompts the defense to demand a mistrial.
00:00:56.160 A former Disney child star taking the company to court over horrifying allegations from the set of a Disney Channel movie.
00:01:04.340 The Trump administration threatening to cut off Iran's trading partners from the U.S. financial system as Secretary Besant launches what he calls an economic D-Day.
00:01:14.560 We also encourage those folks, if they have a place to go, if they have another place to stay, to go ahead and leave the area.
00:01:21.940 And a fast-moving wildfire forcing evacuations in and around Reno, Nevada.
00:01:27.540 Nearly 90,000 people being urged to leave their homes.
00:01:31.620 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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00:02:39.120 The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy
00:02:41.380 nearing its conclusion more than three years
00:02:43.880 after she strangled her three young children
00:02:46.300 inside their Massachusetts home
00:02:48.280 and then tried to take her own life.
00:02:50.720 Clancy admitting she killed five-year-old Cora,
00:02:53.220 three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan,
00:02:56.260 but arguing that postpartum psychosis
00:02:58.480 left her unable to understand
00:03:00.320 that what she was doing was wrong.
00:03:02.960 Prosecutors contend Clancy was mentally ill,
00:03:05.380 but still legally responsible for the killings.
00:03:08.480 The defense resting Friday,
00:03:10.460 and prosecutors beginning their rebuttal case
00:03:12.420 by calling psychiatrist Dr. Avram Mack.
00:03:15.900 Mack testifying that Clancy suffered
00:03:17.500 from major depression rather than psychosis, retaining the ability to appreciate the wrongfulness
00:03:23.140 of her actions. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington challenging both Mack's experience and the timing
00:03:29.160 of his evaluation, noting the psychiatrist did not even meet Clancy until roughly three years
00:03:34.880 after the children were killed. Mack acknowledging this is only about the third time he has testified
00:03:40.360 in court about a defendant's criminal responsibility while defending himself as a psychiatric generalist.
00:03:47.500 Reddington then walking Mack through the symptoms Clancy experienced before the killings,
00:03:52.360 including severe depression, emotional numbness, anxiety, intrusive thoughts,
00:03:57.440 and desperate attempts to sleep. Mack agreeing Clancy suffered major depressive episodes after
00:04:02.720 the birth of her third child, acknowledging psychological testing found no indication
00:04:07.380 that she was lying or exaggerating her symptoms. The psychiatrist also saying he found no record
00:04:13.160 that Clancy's providers conducted blood tests to measure how she was responding to the numerous
00:04:18.760 medications she had been prescribed. The defense contending those providers repeatedly misdiagnosed
00:04:24.400 and over-medicated her. The cross-examination repeatedly growing contentious as Reddington
00:04:30.480 pressed Mack on whether Clancy's distorted sense of reality could be a symptom of psychosis.
00:04:36.860 Judge William Sullivan eventually stepping in when the witness did not directly answer.
00:04:42.300 Delusional beliefs, distorted reality is a symptom.
00:04:45.140 Yes or no.
00:04:46.220 Not waxing and waning with your answer.
00:04:48.180 Yes or no.
00:04:49.620 Are you referring to an authority there?
00:04:52.300 Doctor, hold on.
00:04:54.580 Here's the way this works.
00:04:56.140 You don't really ask a lot of questions.
00:04:58.560 You answer the questions.
00:05:00.000 I told you before, if you can't answer a question the way it's framed,
00:05:05.260 just let me know and I'll tell counsel to frame it in a different way.
00:05:10.280 All right?
00:05:10.620 So that's the rules. That's how it works here. So go ahead. It's rigged.
00:05:16.760 Prosecutor's next calling, forensic psychologist, Dr. Kirk Heilbrin, who interviewed Clancy for
00:05:22.600 several hours and reviewed her medical records, phone data, police reports, surveillance footage,
00:05:27.720 and previous expert evaluations. Heilbrin and Mack conducting part of their evaluation together,
00:05:34.320 but reaching different diagnoses. Mack diagnosing major depressive disorder,
00:05:39.580 Heilbronn concluding Clancy has bipolar 2 disorder,
00:05:43.400 although he acknowledged that he struggled to identify
00:05:45.860 a clear manic episode before the killings.
00:05:49.500 The two prosecution experts agreeing, however,
00:05:52.100 that Clancy was not experiencing postpartum psychosis
00:05:55.120 when she killed the children.
00:05:57.520 Heilbronn focusing on the distinction
00:05:59.080 between a hallucinated voice and an intrusive thought.
00:06:03.580 Clancy reportedly telling him
00:06:04.940 that some of the disturbing thoughts she experienced
00:06:07.540 in the months before the killings
00:06:08.900 including that her brain was damaged and that she needed to kill herself,
00:06:13.600 felt like her own thoughts rather than a separate voice. Heilbronn offering a different explanation
00:06:19.500 for the killings, describing the case as, quote, suicide combined with altruistic filicide,
00:06:26.440 meaning killing your children out of what you think is love. The psychologist believing Clancy
00:06:32.380 intended to end her own life after months of suicidal thoughts and killed her children because
00:06:37.420 she believed they would suffer without her. Heilbronn pointing to Clancy's long-standing
00:06:42.440 anxiety about leaving the children, along with her reported expectation that she and the children
00:06:48.220 would be reunited in heaven. His testimony then veering into Clancy's Catholic upbringing and
00:06:54.300 the church's teaching against suicide. If you could describe for us the evidence that you saw
00:06:59.680 for suicide combined with altruistic filicide. One of the things that she said when asked about
00:07:06.560 what happened is that in the course of strangling each child, she said, go to God, baby, go to God.
00:07:14.640 And that was part of her expectation that she and the children would be together in heaven
00:07:21.280 with God. She was raised as a Catholic. And this, as I understand, Catholic
00:07:28.440 considerations, that's not necessarily what happens. But when I asked her about that,
00:07:35.600 when I said, isn't suicide a mortal sin?
00:07:41.140 Yeah, can I see counsel over here?
00:07:43.140 The jury leaving the courtroom,
00:07:45.420 Reddington immediately moving for a mistrial
00:07:47.500 and accusing prosecutors of intentionally eliciting improper testimony
00:07:51.260 by invoking religion.
00:07:53.400 Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague denying misconduct,
00:07:56.320 arguing her question was unrelated to Clancy's religion.
00:07:59.800 Judge Sullivan openly questioning
00:08:01.480 how any discussion of Clancy's faith was proper,
00:08:04.300 but declining to declare a mistrial. The judge instead ordering jurors to disregard Heilbrunn's
00:08:10.720 understanding of Catholic doctrine and warning prosecutors to keep the witness from discussing
00:08:15.440 it again. We spoke with the MK True Crime show co-host Phil Holloway, who explained why Heilbrunn's
00:08:22.120 reference to Clancy's Catholic faith was especially problematic after the judge had already excluded
00:08:27.420 similar testimony earlier in the trial. The testimony about someone's religion or what
00:08:33.600 a different religion's tenets might be and how it plays into a case is the kind of thing that's
00:08:40.900 it's really just irrelevant to any issue in the case. It has no bearing on what her state of mind
00:08:48.060 was at the time the children were killed. And so the big objection is really not that somebody
00:08:55.480 talked about religion, but it's that they brought in something that's A, irrelevant to the case,
00:09:01.800 and B, that invokes religion which can inflame sort of people's passions,
00:09:07.860 and you don't want the jury's passions to be inflamed for the wrong reasons.
00:09:12.860 Holloway breaking down how Heilbrunn's theory that Clancy killed her children
00:09:16.720 out of what the doctor calls altruistic filicide could work for either side.
00:09:21.640 The idea that she would kill her children out of love,
00:09:27.960 thinking that they would be better off dead if she were also dead. That's the kind of disjointed
00:09:35.640 sort of irrational thinking that, you know, the defense is going to play into, especially in a
00:09:43.100 case like this, because whether or not she fully appreciated what was right from what was wrong,
00:09:48.860 that's really the core issue in the case. And so the prosecutor is going to argue that
00:09:54.220 it shows that she knew what she was doing is wrong, whereas the defense is going to say she
00:09:59.880 knew that what she was doing was, at least in her mind, in her twisted mind, was for the benefit of
00:10:06.560 the children. In other words, the defense is going to say, in her mind, she was helping the children
00:10:11.860 by killing them. And so this is the kind of hard, hard question that the jury is going to have to
00:10:18.000 resolve when they reach the deliberation room. As for Dr. Avram Mack, Holloway calls the defense's
00:10:24.380 cross-examination of him a, quote, masterclass. Holloway arguing Mack's evasive answers may have
00:10:30.140 damaged his credibility with the jury. When a judge tells a witness, particularly an expert
00:10:36.840 witness who has been in court before and is supposed to know better, when the judge has to
00:10:41.580 tell that witness to listen and answer the questions posed to him, then obviously the jury
00:10:49.500 is going to get the message that the witness is perhaps not trying to be as forthcoming as he
00:10:55.760 needs to be. And so it's not the kind of thing that you want the judge to have to do if it's
00:11:02.100 your witness who is drawing the ire of the court. These were simple questions, and the witness went
00:11:09.660 out of his way to obfuscate and basically not answer simple questions. And the judge
00:11:15.520 got tired of it. And you know, if the judge was tired of it, that the jury was tired of it.
00:11:20.200 Testimony set to resume later today, closing arguments expected to begin as soon as tomorrow.
00:11:26.740 Former Disney child star Raquel Lee Below suing the company, alleging it failed to protect her
00:11:32.840 from repeated sexual abuse on the set of a Disney Channel movie back in 2001. The now 39-year-old
00:11:39.640 old actress filing a civil negligence lawsuit Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court,
00:11:45.000 according to People magazine. Below accusing an unnamed middle-aged male Disney employee
00:11:50.800 of grooming and repeatedly sexually assaulting her back in 01 when she was just 14 years old.
00:11:58.220 The alleged abuse reportedly occurring during production of The Poof Point, a Disney Channel
00:12:03.260 movie starring Mark Curry and Don Lewis as scientists whose experiments caused them to
00:12:08.740 become younger, Below playing their daughter alongside fellow child actor Taj Mowry. The
00:12:15.020 lawsuit alleging the unnamed employee gave Below alcohol before sexually assaulting her inside a
00:12:20.540 Salt Lake City hotel room where the cast was staying and later during a flight back to California.
00:12:26.160 Below claiming Disney employees had encouraged her to, quote, bond with the man, while production
00:12:31.600 staff allegedly separated the teenage actress from her on-set guardian. The complaint also
00:12:36.980 alleging the employee tormented Bolo in front of other adults, making comments about the alleged
00:12:42.060 abuse while she and other cast members were wearing microphones. Bolo contending Disney
00:12:47.360 personnel could see a dramatic change in her appearance, behavior, and performance, yet no one
00:12:53.020 intervened or even investigated. Instead, the lawsuit claims Disney executives reportedly
00:12:58.500 labeled the teenager, quote, out of control, blamed her for her worsening performance,
00:13:03.380 and canceled another planned roll.
00:13:06.300 Below now seeking damages for alleged economic losses
00:13:09.180 and emotional distress, along with punitive damages,
00:13:12.620 attorney's fees, and other costs, according to People.
00:13:15.800 The complaint not specifying a total amount.
00:13:18.800 Below able to pursue the case
00:13:20.180 because California expanded the statute of limitations
00:13:23.160 for childhood sexual abuse claims in 2020,
00:13:26.700 the law allowing survivors to file until their 40th birthday
00:13:30.320 or within five years of discovering
00:13:32.540 that the alleged abuse caused lasting psychological harm.
00:13:37.040 The 39-year-old below filing just before that age deadline.
00:13:41.200 California law also allowing a plaintiff
00:13:43.100 to seek up to three times the actual damages
00:13:45.720 if a company or institution is proven
00:13:48.000 to have covered up child sexual abuse,
00:13:50.320 according to Deadline.
00:13:51.880 Her attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and Jane Kim,
00:13:54.960 releasing a statement, quote,
00:13:56.620 as former government prosecutors,
00:13:58.600 our message to the entertainment industry is simple.
00:14:01.140 This conduct is inexcusable, and those involved, directly or indirectly, must be held accountable.
00:14:07.920 Deadline reporting the attorneys first approached Disney in June in hopes of reaching an out-of-court
00:14:12.880 settlement, but the two sides reportedly failed to reach an agreement. The outlet also reporting
00:14:18.340 Below previously reached a confidential settlement for what was described as a
00:14:22.300 small amount of money with a man who worked on the poof point. That agreement reportedly
00:14:28.400 negotiated back in 2015 with the help of prominent sexual assault attorney Gloria Allred. The
00:14:34.640 settlement remains confidential, Deadline suggesting that may explain why the allegedly
00:14:39.400 abusive employee is identified only as John Doe in the new lawsuit. Disney declining to comment
00:14:45.740 to Deadline on the lawsuit or its allegations. Coming up, Secretary Besant launching what he
00:14:52.600 calls an economic D-Day against Iran. And nearly 90,000 people urged to leave their homes as a
00:14:59.280 raging wildfire closes in on Reno. We are still a couple months out, but the midterms are fast
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00:16:02.500 Treasury Secretary Scott Besant launching a sweeping new campaign to cut off Iran from
00:16:07.620 the global economy, warning foreign countries and companies they could face punishment for
00:16:12.100 continuing to do business with the regime. Those penalties known as secondary sanctions
00:16:17.140 targeting foreign actors, even when their transactions do not involve an American company.
00:16:22.860 The U.S. effectively forcing them to choose between doing business with Iran or maintaining
00:16:27.560 access to American banks, markets, and the U.S. dollar. Secretary Besant comparing the broader
00:16:33.340 economic offensive to D-Day during World War II. The Secretary outlining a campaign targeting the
00:16:39.360 oil, shipping, aviation, gold technology, and digital asset networks keeping money flowing to
00:16:45.260 Tehran. Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and
00:16:52.200 block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC and the evil Iranian regime.
00:16:59.440 We are enforcing a zero leakage approach. There will be no minimal breathing space for the regime
00:17:05.460 to rebuild its capacity to inflict terror against America and the world. The final refuge of this
00:17:13.520 regime is a mistaken conclusion of nations that still finance the Iranian threat in the hopes of
00:17:20.620 evading it. Yesterday, the Treasury Department sanctioning nearly 60 companies, individuals,
00:17:26.060 and vessels allegedly supporting Iran's nuclear, missile, cyber, and oil operations. Those targets
00:17:32.120 allegedly operating across the UAE, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, and more. Secretary
00:17:38.340 Besant separately declining to publicly identify which countries will face the new penalties,
00:17:43.080 or reveal how long they have to end the activity identified by Washington.
00:17:47.820 The secretary refusing to announce a firm deadline, saying, quote,
00:17:51.500 I'm not going to set a timeline, but we do not have infinite patience here.
00:17:56.140 Asked whether the broader secondary sanctions campaign could also target China itself,
00:18:01.100 reportedly Iran's largest oil customer, Secretary Besant declaring, quote,
00:18:05.540 no one is above this.
00:18:06.840 The secretary issuing a warning to other governments.
00:18:10.060 The nations that facilitate any interactions with the regime should quickly heed our message.
00:18:18.500 Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership.
00:18:22.760 Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.
00:18:32.080 Teams from Treasury, State, and the U.S. military are now meeting with their global counterparts
00:18:38.620 to tell them that the United States expects action.
00:18:43.300 Every country has a defined timeline to shut down activities we have identified.
00:18:48.740 If they do not take action, we will do so unilaterally through Treasury authorities.
00:18:53.760 And let me be clear, any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran
00:19:00.400 will be removed from the U.S. dollar system. Axios reporting the expanded secondary sanctions
00:19:07.740 are expected to remain the administration's primary strategy against Iran through at least
00:19:12.700 the midterm elections before renewed military action could return to consideration. The
00:19:17.960 campaign's success likely hinging on cooperation from Western allies and a more aggressive approach
00:19:23.460 toward major Iranian trading partners, including China, Russia, and India, according to Axios.
00:19:29.940 Iranian Parliament Speaker and Chief Negotiator
00:19:32.640 Mohamed Bagheir Ghalibaf dismissing the threat,
00:19:36.080 writing on X, quote,
00:19:37.140 Americans know that no one buys their bombast.
00:19:40.060 Iran's trading partners, both in the media
00:19:42.040 and through messages sent to us,
00:19:43.920 have made it clear that they don't take these statements
00:19:46.100 into account anywhere.
00:19:48.360 Markets remaining largely unmoved
00:19:50.380 following Secretary Besson's announcement.
00:19:52.820 The war also straining American military resources
00:19:55.220 beyond the Middle East.
00:19:56.880 The New York Times reporting the U.S. military
00:19:58.740 canceling a major amphibious landing exercise planned next month alongside South Korea,
00:20:05.360 citing constraints on the forces available because of the war in Iran.
00:20:09.120 The U.S. Marine Corps reportedly notifying its South Korean counterpart in June
00:20:13.500 that it could not deploy enough forces for the exercise, known as Twin Dragons.
00:20:20.300 Nearly 90,000 people being urged to leave their homes as a massive wildfire closes in
00:20:25.900 on Reno, Nevada. The Hawk Fire, scorching more than 15,000 acres since first igniting Saturday
00:20:32.140 morning in the foothills northwest of the city. Roughly 42,000 residents ordered to evacuate
00:20:37.880 immediately, with another 45,000 people in the surrounding warning zone being told to prepare
00:20:43.720 to leave. Officials expanding the mandatory evacuation zone to the edge of the University
00:20:49.020 of Nevada, Reno, covering large residential areas and part of U.S. Route 395, though stopping
00:20:55.580 short of downtown. Residents describing the chaos to Fox News and ABC7 as the fire forces them from
00:21:02.280 their homes. I didn't even pack anything, took the dog, the dump trailer and titles to vehicles and
00:21:10.200 left. Power went out. My husband's on oxygen. The smoke was filling in our house. You could smell it
00:21:18.140 and it was this time for us to go. It's just surreal because you never think that it's going
00:21:21.640 to be you or you're in that situation. And I loaded up all my photo albums from parents and
00:21:27.160 families. I called maybe 20 hotels. I had two hours of sleep. All the hotels were booked within
00:21:35.360 the entire city of Reno. At least six people reportedly injured, including three emergency
00:21:41.320 responders. Multiple homes reportedly damaged or destroyed. Officials now assessing the full
00:21:46.960 extent of the destruction. Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo declaring a state of emergency in
00:21:52.560 Washoe County, directing state agencies to reinforce the local response and mobilizing
00:21:57.880 the National Guard to assist firefighters and law enforcement. Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue
00:22:03.120 Chief Richard Edwards, Monday on CNN, discussing the investigation into the fire's origin.
00:22:09.320 We do know that it's human-caused because there was no natural ignition sources there present
00:22:13.880 in the area. It's kind of a more remote area outside of the city center, but the investigators
00:22:19.540 are still working to determine exactly how it was caused, but we are fairly certain it's human-caused.
00:22:27.780 And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show,
00:22:32.800 live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel, 111 at New East,
00:22:36.320 on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.
00:22:44.420 Hey, my name is Samantha. I work as an assembly technician for Ford of Canada.
00:22:49.700 What I love about working at Ford is knowing I'm part of something I'm proud to stand behind.
00:22:54.980 And when Ford does something like employee pricing, it makes me even prouder to work here.
00:23:00.120 And that means you pay what I pay.
00:23:03.420 Ford employee pricing is on now.
00:23:05.520 On select 2026 Maverick models, get over $2,800 in employee price adjustments.
00:23:10.380 For details, visit your Ontario Ford store or Ford.ca.
00:23:13.880 Thank you.