Epstein Files Letdown, Zelensky Goes to Washington, Tate Brothers Arrive in America： AM Update 2⧸28
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Summary
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits the White House ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's arrival later today. The UK leader praises the Trump administration for bringing the option for peace to the table in the war on Ukraine. Controversial online influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate return to Florida to a less than warm welcome from the governor. And the Maine state legislature censures one of their own for posting a picture of a minor to Facebook with a political message.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Friday, February 28th, 2025. And this is your
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AM update. This is a historic moment to make sure it's a lasting deal. And we're about to have a
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discussion about how we can make that work. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits the White
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House ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's arrival later today. The UK leader
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praising the Trump administration for bringing the option for peace to the table in the war on
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Ukraine. The first round of the Epstein files are released, what they say and what they don't.
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No, Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct.
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Controversial online influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate return to Florida to a less than warm welcome
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from the governor. And the Maine state legislature censures one of their own for posting a picture
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of a minor to Facebook with a political message. But there's a lot more to the story. And a legendary
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actor found dead under what appear to be mysterious circumstances. We'll have a full report. It's all
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company, invest in yourself, and start getting your best sleep tonight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr
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Zelensky set to visit the White House today to formalize a mineral mining agreement with the U.S.
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President Trump touting the agreement as very big, though Mr. Zelensky appears to see it as a
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starting line rather than a finishing line. At a news conference in Kiev on Wednesday, Mr.
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Zelensky said his country sees U.S. security guarantees as vital. The current agreement has no
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such commitments, however. CNN reporting President Zelensky is planning to have further discussions with
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Mr. Trump on that point later today. Mr. Trump believes a strong economic alliance with Ukraine
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will be more than enough of a security guarantee. The president spoke on this with British Prime
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Minister Keir Starmer from the White House yesterday. President Zelensky is coming to see me
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on Friday, Friday morning, and we're going to be signing really a very important agreement for both
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sides because it's really going to get us into that country. We'll be working there. We'll have a lot
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of people working there. And so in that sense, it's very good. It's a backstop, you could say. I don't
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think anybody's going to play around if we're there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare
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earths and other things which we need for our country. President Trump has warned European allies
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that the U.S. will not defend countries who are not interested in defending themselves. Though initially
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shocking to European leaders, his demand has led to increased cooperation in planning for Ukraine's
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post-war defense. While many on the left criticize Mr. Trump for his harsh words toward U.S. allies,
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Prime Minister Starmer signaling the U.S.-U.K. relationship is as strong as ever.
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It is my pleasure to bring from His Majesty the King a letter. He sends his best wishes and his
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regards, of course. But he also asked me to bear this letter and bring it to you. So can I present
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a letter from the King? Thank you very much. Am I supposed to read it right now? Yeah, please do.
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This is a letter from His Majesty the King. It's an invitation for a second state visit.
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This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented. And I think that
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just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us. So this is a very special letter.
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I think the last state visit was a tremendous success. It was. His Majesty the King wants to
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make this even better. Prime Minister Starmer added to Mr. Trump's comments on the Ukraine deal.
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As you know, we've already indicated that we'll play our full part in making sure that any deal,
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if there is one, and I hope there is. And I think this is a historic moment to make sure it's a lasting
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deal. And we're about to have a discussion about how we can make that work. Despite Mr. Trump's
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earlier assertion that President Vladimir Putin is open to European troops in Ukraine, the Kremlin
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says it is unacceptable. The U.S. and Russia are currently working toward a summit between the two
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leaders. At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr. Starmer praised President Trump
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for his efforts toward restoring peace in Ukraine.
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Mr. President, I welcome your deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the
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killing. You've created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal,
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a deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world. That is the prize.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi releasing the first round of the Epstein files, and they showed
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no smoking gun. In fact, there was no gun at all. A group of journalists and right-wing commentators
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were spotted leaving the White House yesterday afternoon carrying thick binders, the cover
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reading Epstein files, phase one. Turning Point USA contributor Savannah Hernandez posting to X a
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video after receiving a copy. Pam this morning stated to us that some of the information in here is
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already public, and she doesn't really feel that any of this information is a smoking gun.
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The big story here is Pam writing a letter to Kash Patel asking him to investigate why the FBI has
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stopped the release of other portions of the Epstein files. The binders were prepared from the roughly
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200 pages of documents sent by the FBI to the Attorney General. A.G. Bondi telling FBI Director
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Kash Patel in a letter later, a source informed her there are thousands more pages relating to
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Jeffrey Epstein in the FBI field office in New York. Ms. Bondi issuing a new deadline of 8 a.m.
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Friday this morning for the FBI to deliver the full and complete Epstein files to her office.
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She is also ordering an immediate investigation into why her earlier directives were not complied with.
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The DOJ published the contents of the binders to its website last night.
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Coming up, Andrew and Tristan Tate return to the U.S. with less than a warm welcome,
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and the Maine State Legislature censures a representative as she speaks out in defense of girl sports.
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Deeply controversial online influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are back in the U.S. after Romania lifts
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a travel ban. Romanian officials arrested the brothers in December 2022 on charges of rape and
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sex trafficking. Investigators accuse the brothers, who have millions of followers online, of recruiting
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women through the lover boy method, misrepresenting their intention toward a romantic relationship and
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then forcing women to make pornographic content. They identified seven alleged victims. They were
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held in pretrial detention until March of 2023, then released to house arrest, which was lifted in
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August 2023. In December, Romanian courts ruled the case against the brothers could not proceed to trial,
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the judge citing procedural irregularities from prosecutors, though there are still other
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investigations involving similar activities underway. The Romanian government lifted the travel ban on
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the brothers under the condition that they return to that country for legal proceedings related to
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these ongoing investigations. The next appearance is set for March. Meantime, Florida Governor Ron
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DeSantis commented on their arrival in his state yesterday. We have no involvement in that. I read about it
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through the media. Clearly, the federal government has jurisdiction whether they want to rebuff his
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entry into the United States. And I have confidence that whether it's Pam Bondi or Kristi Noem, that they
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will be looking at that. I do know our Attorney General James Uthmeyer is looking at what state hooks and
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jurisdiction we may have to be able to to deal with this. But the reality is, is no, Florida is not a
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place where you're welcome with that type of conduct.
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The brothers are frankly disgusting. They're self-described misogynists. Andrew Tate is often
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referred to as the king of toxic masculinity, a moniker he endorses. Here's a small sample of his
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online musings. I perfected this in pimp school. We had to practice if a girl comes at you,
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you're cheating. It's bang out the machete, boom in her face, and then grip her up by the neck.
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Upon arrival in Florida, Andrew Tate made comments to reporters.
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We've yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives ever. We have no criminal record anywhere
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on the planet ever. Our case was dismissed on the 19th of December in Romania under the Biden
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administration. And our prosecutor recently decided because we have no active indictment in
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court to let us go and return. It's unclear what if any involvement the White House had in the Tate's
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arrival back in Florida. Special envoy to the president, Rick Grinnell, who secured the release
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of six hostages from Venezuela, denying to the Financial Times any involvement in returning the
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Tates to the United States, contradicting an earlier report about him. The Washington Post reports the
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Romanian foreign ministry denies any U.S. government intervention. Asked about this yesterday in the
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Oval Office, President Trump appeared to be unaware of these developments.
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I know nothing about that. I don't know. You're saying he's on a plane right now?
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Yeah, I just know nothing about it. We'll check it out. We'll let you know.
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Obviously, this involves, there's an English element here. So obviously, it's important that justice is
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done and human trafficking is obviously, to my mind, a security risk. And so we'll catch up with the story.
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Prime Minister Starmer's interest in the brothers relates to charges they are facing in the U.K.
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The brothers are facing extradition charges to the U.K. when their legal proceedings in Romania wrap
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up. British officials are investigating allegations of rape and human trafficking against them.
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In December, a British court ruled that the police could seize more than $3.3 million
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from Andrew Tate to cover years of unpaid taxes.
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New developments in the fight to protect women and girls' sports in the state of Maine.
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The state legislature censuring Republican Representative Laurel Libby for calling attention
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to a male student who just won a girls' state pole vaulting competition. Ms. Libby posted a picture
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of the athlete atop the podium next to the two female athletes he bested easily in the competition.
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Another day, another instance of an unremarkable biological male athlete who couldn't win against
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other males dominating girls' sports. On Tuesday, the Maine legislature voted 75 to 70 to censure
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Ms. Libby, calling her actions, posting a minor's photo with a political statement,
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reprehensible and possibly endangering the student. Following the session, Ms. Libby took to Facebook Live.
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Maine Democrats censured me because I posted pictures of a minor. The state championship is a public event.
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The individual in question determined of his own free will to participate, and his photos are posted publicly on multiple websites.
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He was even publicly photographed holding a sign that said state champ.
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Ms. Libby will not be allowed to vote or speak on the floor until she apologizes, something she says she will not do.
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Polls show the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, are in favor of banning males from female sports.
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Following the session, a reporter from the Maine Wire asked members of the state legislature where they stand on this issue.
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Excuse me, Representative, do you favor men and women's sports?
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I'm sorry, I'm busy trying to get my work done so I can get home.
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Hi, Representative Dodge, I'd love to just ask you a couple of questions about men playing and women's sports.
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I'm not doing any interviews tonight with the Maine Wire.
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Excuse me, Representative, I'm just wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions.
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Do you have any comments that you'd like to make on the proceedings tonight?
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Last Saturday, President Trump confronted Maine Governor Janet Mills for her state's refusal to comply with the updated terms of Title IX,
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which make clear that statute bars biological males from competing in female sports.
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Maine receives $250 million in education funding from the feds.
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Failure to comply with Title IX will result in a loss of that funding.
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Legendary actor Gene Hackman, his wife, and one of their three dogs found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home.
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Authorities were notified by a maintenance worker who discovered the bodies.
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It appears that they had been deceased for some time.
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The affidavit seeking the search warrant for the home calls the circumstances of the deaths suspicious enough to require a thorough search and investigation.
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The AP reporting Hackman, 95, was located in a mudroom inside the house while his wife, 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa,
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was found dead in a bathroom near an open prescription bottle with scattered pills.
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The dog, a German Shepherd, was located in a closet.
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Meanwhile, two other dogs were found on the property, one inside the house and one outside,
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A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office says there's no indication either Gene Hackman or his wife had been shot or had any wounds.
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There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home.
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Obviously, many people wondered about carbon monoxide, including Gene Hackman's daughter, who mused on that publicly.
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Investigators will conduct autopsies and continue searching the premises.
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Mr. Hackman, of course, was nominated five times for an Academy Award known for his roles in Bonnie and Clyde,
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The French Connection, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven, not to mention my own favorite, Hoosiers.
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Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east,
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on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.
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