00:00:30.000Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Monday, August 17th, 2026, and this is your AM
00:00:35.420Update. Former Cambridge professor Jason Arde found dead days after resigning amid allegations
00:00:42.200of plagiarism and lying. New York law does not permit a person to be prosecuted and punished
00:00:48.580twice for the exact same crime. Luigi Mangione pleading guilty in federal court to stalking
00:00:55.220charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, then moving to get his separate
00:01:00.900state murder case thrown out. That ship is moving right now, well, very shortly, and it's being
00:01:07.140replaced with another very similar ship. The USS George Washington heading to the Middle East to
00:01:12.760relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln amid growing scrutiny over conditions aboard the carrier.
00:01:18.740And CBS News correspondent Matt Guttman facing workplace harassment allegations in a new wrongful
00:01:24.820termination lawsuit. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
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00:03:10.180former cambridge university professor jason arday found dead at his london home friday
00:03:17.780little more than a week after resigning amid mounting allegations of plagiarism and
00:03:22.720lying about his biography central to the extraordinary personal story that helped
00:03:27.860make him famous arday's memoir great and unfortunate things hitting bookstores last
00:03:33.360week the 41 year old reportedly found unresponsive at a home in the battersea neighborhood of south
00:03:40.080London. Police describing his death as unexpected but saying it is not suspicious, and with no cause
00:03:46.000of death publicly announced, it is believed to have been a suicide. Arday becoming an international
00:03:51.540academic celebrity in 2023 when, at 37, he was named Cambridge University's youngest ever Black
00:03:58.780professor. His rise powered by an extraordinary, unbelievable, alleged life story. The son of
00:04:06.860Ghanaian immigrants, Ardeh said he was diagnosed with autism as a child, that he did not speak
00:04:12.480until he was almost 12, could not read or write until 18, and nevertheless went on to earn a
00:04:18.580doctorate before becoming a professor at one of the world's most prestigious universities.
00:04:24.180Over the years, Ardeh claiming he survived a remarkable series of medical and personal
00:04:28.720challenges, including epilepsy, cancer, a brain tumor, a stroke, and more, while simultaneously
00:04:35.480becoming one of the world's most elite endurance athletes and distance runners, not to mention
00:04:41.800prolific charity fundraiser. Then the dam broke. Over the past several weeks, substantial parts
00:04:47.920of his origin story beginning to come undone. The controversy initially centering on plagiarism
00:04:53.900allegations involving Arde's doctoral dissertation, questions then spreading well beyond his academic
00:04:59.720record to virtually every part of his bio. The Washington Free Beacon reporting last week that
00:05:05.440several dramatic episodes presented as true in Arde's newly released memoir bear striking
00:05:11.640similarities to storylines from movies and television programs he had previously discussed
00:05:16.740enjoying. Those disputed accounts reportedly including stories surrounding his childhood
00:05:21.720disabilities and an alleged violent attack Arde said left him with epilepsy, but in which
00:05:28.500he became the hero, forgiving his attackers and becoming godfather to one of their children.
00:05:34.820Cambridge initially defending Arday after saying the plagiarism allegations were for his doctoral
00:05:39.960university to handle, before opening a new investigation earlier this month after receiving
00:05:45.660what the university described as additional information. Arday resigning that same day
00:05:51.280without admitting wrongdoing. In an open resignation letter, Arday writing, quote,
00:05:55.740I no longer wish to feel as though I am living under a constant spotlight
00:05:59.600where every aspect of my life is subject to public examination and judgment.
00:06:04.880In a statement released through Simon & Schuster UK following his death,
00:06:09.000his family accusing critics of subjecting Arde to what they called a years-long, quote,
00:06:13.860campaign of sustained abuse, arguing a, quote, campaign of misinformation had ultimately become
00:06:20.140too much for him. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham reacting to the news of Arde's death.
00:06:25.740It's a tragedy on so many levels, but particularly just for everybody who knew Jason, his family, obviously, his friends, we think of them today.
00:06:39.920It's not a moment for any rushing to judgment. It's a moment for reflection, I would say.
00:06:44.640The university's vice chancellor saying Cambridge is now focused on supporting its community following Arde's death.
00:06:51.840Others arguing Arde's death should force scrutiny not just of the accusations against him,
00:06:56.780but of Cambridge's decision to elevate him in the first place, making him a target.
00:07:02.060We'll have more on this later today on the MK Show.
00:07:06.320Luigi Mangione pleading guilty on Friday to federal stalking charges in the killing of
00:07:11.180UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, then immediately moving to use that conviction
00:07:16.420to try to wipe out the separate murder case against him in New York State Court.
00:07:21.240Mangione facing two federal counts of stalking, resulting in death over the December 2024 killing.
00:07:28.040Prosecutors accuse him of tracking down Thompson before shooting him outside a Manhattan hotel.
00:07:33.82028-year-old Mangione appearing in federal court in Manhattan Friday in a beige prison uniform and
00:07:39.400ankle shackles, telling Judge Margaret Garnett his mind was clear and that he understood he
00:07:44.740could face as much as life in prison. Mangione entering the guilty plea without any deal in
00:07:50.120place with federal prosecutors, leaving his sentence entirely up to the judge. Prosecutors
00:07:55.760calculating the federal sentencing guidelines at roughly 24 to 30 years, Judge Garnett saying
00:08:01.520she will determine the appropriate sentence herself. Mangione giving the court his own
00:08:06.180account of the crime, describing years of back pain, saying he learned UnitedHealthcare would
00:08:11.060hold its annual investor conference in Manhattan in December 2024, and that he researched where
00:08:17.280it would take place. Mangione telling the judge, quote, in November of 2024, I traveled from
00:08:22.820outside of New York State to Manhattan. Mangione adding that he emailed United Healthcare
00:08:28.460Leadership, quote, posing as an investor at a firm managing over $50 billion in assets
00:08:34.080and requesting information about the conference. Mangione saying he received a response within
00:08:39.740an hour, the statement concluding, quote, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died.
00:08:45.400I knew what I was doing was illegal. CNN reports Thompson's widow became visibly
00:08:51.000emotional as Mangione entered his plea. Mangione's federal sentencing now set for
00:08:55.960December 18th. Almost immediately after the proceeding, Mangione's attorneys filing a
00:09:01.700motion asking a New York state judge to dismiss the separate state charges against him. Defense
00:09:07.820attorney Karen Friedman Agnifolo speaking outside court. It was a single tragic event,
00:09:13.600yet he's being prosecuted twice for the same conduct.
00:09:17.640Despite this being a single isolated event,
00:09:20.580Mr. Mangione has been unfairly treated since the outset in every way
00:09:24.620and has successfully fought off terrorism charges and the death penalty
00:09:29.700while also fighting at the same time two simultaneous prosecutions in two jurisdictions
00:09:35.560who are trying to punish him twice for the exact conduct.
00:09:39.620New York law does not permit a person to be prosecuted and punished twice for the exact
00:09:45.860same crime under a statute that governs successive prosecutions. It's also known as the double
00:09:52.380jeopardy law. Today's guilty plea triggers this statute. The Manhattan DA's office sees the
00:09:59.640matter very differently, insisting the state murder case can and will move forward. The major
00:10:05.280legal question now shifting to whether Mangione's federal guilty plea can actually block New York
00:10:10.540from prosecuting him over the same killing. We spoke with the MK True Crime Show co-host Phil
00:10:16.340Holloway, who tells us Mangione's attorneys made the strongest move available to them.
00:10:21.600I've got to hand it to his lawyers because Mangione's lawyers did probably the best thing
00:10:27.480they could have done for their client considering that he gunned someone down in the street right
00:10:33.400there in the public for everyone to see. As this plays out, you know, they're trying to get the
00:10:39.980federal charges to essentially supersede the state charges. And if the state charges go away,
00:10:45.680then he's simply left with federal sentencing, which could be as little as 20 years, but could
00:10:51.960also be up to like life in prison. With Mangione now convicted federally, Holloway breaking down
00:10:57.540the narrower question facing the state court, whether New York can still prosecute the same
00:11:02.680killing under a different charge. New York law basically says if the federal government has
00:11:08.440prosecuted someone for a certain crime, then New York will not prosecute them for the same
00:11:14.480transaction or occurrence. And that's the key words, transaction or occurrence. Well, clearly,
00:11:21.120this is the same criminal transaction. Now, there are a few exceptions that the prosecutors in New
00:11:29.700York will say apply to keep the New York case alive. Certain things like if there's a different
00:11:36.740element or certain factual differences, different harms that the different criminal statutes are
00:11:43.520trying to prevent against, there's an argument to be made that double jeopardy will not apply.
00:11:49.440But I think it's an uphill swim for the prosecutors in New York. I think that in all likelihood,
00:11:57.000we may very well see the New York case dismissed eventually on double jeopardy ground.
00:12:02.440If the state case does survive, Holloway says Mangione's own words in federal court
00:12:07.280could become a major problem for his defense.
00:12:10.300In the event that the New York state trial does go forward,
00:12:14.840every word uttered by Mangione in federal court,
00:12:18.620specifically the parts where he admitted to gunning down his victim in cold blood,
00:13:23.160He's charged with felony forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, which is also a felony, various misdemeanors, including tampering with records, possessing instruments of a crime, and false identification.
00:13:36.060He's facing, theoretically, up to a maximum of 28 years in the Pennsylvania case.
00:13:42.120So once New York and the federal courts get finished with Luigi Mangione off to Pennsylvania, he goes for Pennsylvania prosecution.
00:13:53.200Coming up, the USS Abraham Lincoln finally heading home after an extended Middle East deployment as sailors and their families speak out about conditions aboard the carrier.
00:14:03.840and a former ABC News producer accusing now CBS News correspondent Matt Guttman
00:14:10.120of workplace harassment in a new lawsuit.
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00:15:11.840The USS George Washington aircraft carrier now heading to the Middle East
00:15:16.200to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, ending an unusually long wartime stretch for the Lincoln
00:15:22.040amid growing scrutiny over conditions aboard the carrier. U.S. officials telling the Wall
00:15:27.880Street Journal, the rotation was already planned before those concerns began drawing widespread
00:15:32.600attention. The Lincoln leaving San Diego for what was initially expected to be a roughly
00:15:37.700seven-month deployment last November to the Pacific, before being redirected to the Middle
00:15:42.800East in January ahead of the war with Iran. The carrier playing a major role in Operation Epic
00:15:49.220Fury and remaining in the region to support the ongoing blockade of Iranian ports. The ship now
00:15:55.500deployed for more than 250 days, including more than 200 days without a port call, according to
00:16:01.660Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. That extended stretch at sea, increasingly
00:16:07.100becoming the focus of reports about conditions aboard the Lincoln. Earlier this month, MSNOW
00:16:12.700reporting that a dozen family members described shortages of fresh food and basic hygiene supplies,
00:16:18.860along with plumbing problems, mold, and growing concern about the strain on sailors.
00:16:24.800CNN reporting one sailor went overboard August 3rd, wearing a life vest.
00:16:30.080That sailor rescued, medically evaluated, and later taken off the ship for additional care.
00:16:36.000The Navy reportedly treating the incident as a mental health incident.
00:16:40.180Military Times separately reporting, based on accounts from family members,
00:16:44.080that multiple sailors have attempted to go overboard during the extended deployment.
00:16:49.400President Trump addressing the controversy on Friday,
00:16:51.800confirming to reporters the Lincoln would soon be replaced.
00:16:56.080Family members of U.S. service members are concerned about the conditions on war
00:17:44.520I mean, we heard what Hegseth said yesterday,
00:17:48.440What the president is saying today, it's infuriating, essentially saying that families are lying and service members are lying, even though the proof is right here on my phone.
00:17:58.880It is not fabricated. Nobody is lying.
00:18:02.040Everybody is infuriating that they're not taking accountability and not having any sort of sympathy for our service members.
00:18:12.800Although some of the most dramatic reports have focused on food, supplies, and plumbing,
00:18:18.460CNN's Pamela Brown describing a more nuanced picture after she spent several days aboard the Lincoln last month.
00:18:25.300Brown speaking with sailors who openly described low morale and the strain of the extended deployment,
00:18:31.240while also hearing from crew members who spoke positively about their shipmates and their work.
00:18:36.280In a text to Brown, one sailor writing, quote,
00:18:38.720Yeah, we have days where it was bad, but I feel like they're showing all the bad and no good.
00:18:44.700But another sailor telling Brown the bigger frustration was the repeated extension of a
00:18:49.040deployment that was never expected to become a months-long combat mission. Officials telling
00:18:54.560the Wall Street Journal the conditions described aboard the Lincoln are not necessarily unusual
00:18:59.300during wartime, while acknowledging that going months without a port call can take a significant
00:19:04.920toll on a crew. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper releasing a statement yesterday following
00:19:11.040a trip aboard the Lincoln on Saturday, writing in part, quote, of the U.S. Navy's 11 active
00:19:16.580aircraft carriers, the Lincoln currently has among the lowest number of cases related to
00:19:21.520mental health. Admiral Cooper continuing, quote, this does not mean that all is perfect. Find any
00:19:27.360of the nearly 4 million Navy veterans in America today and they will likely tell you that service
00:19:32.160at sea for long periods is not for everyone. The CENTCOM commander adding that mental health
00:19:38.000is another aspect of health, just like physical and spiritual health, and that it is a leadership
00:19:43.540priority. CBS News correspondent Matt Guttman facing allegations of workplace harassment from
00:19:52.040his old job brought by a former ABC News producer in a wrongful termination hostile work environment
00:19:58.600lawsuit filed against Guttman, ABC News, and its parent company, Disney. Guttman now works at CBS
00:20:05.800News after nearly two decades at ABC, joining CBS in January as one of the first major on-air
00:20:11.740hires under editor-in-chief Barry Weiss. According to The Hollywood Reporter, now former ABC News
00:20:18.940field producer Sumira Saeed, alleges Guttman created a hostile work environment during two
00:20:25.160incidents while they worked together at the network. Saeed working at ABC from 2021 until
00:20:30.880she was fired in March of 2025, with the lawsuit reportedly alleging that during one assignment,
00:20:36.580she was the only woman on a team of men when Gutman began discussing the appearance of a
00:20:41.500female correspondent. According to the suit, Gutman allegedly began rating the women's looks
00:20:46.820numerically, with other male members of the crew joining in and discussing her body and appearance.
00:20:52.920The lawsuit claiming the men then tried to bring Saeed into the conversation,
00:20:56.500though she reportedly refused and told them the discussion was not appropriate.
00:21:00.960Saeed alleging a second incident while she and Gutman were covering a press event for a movie
00:21:06.120release, apparently in New York City. According to the lawsuit, the two disagreed over whether
00:21:11.320the crew should leave the location when Gutman allegedly suggested Saeed must have a date in the
00:21:17.080city, and that was why she wanted to stay. From the lawsuit, quote, the remark made audibly to
00:21:22.980others demeaned Saeed and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype. The lawsuit
00:21:29.560now bringing renewed attention to Gutman's previous controversies during his years at ABC.
00:21:35.080Last year, Gutman facing widespread backlash while covering the assassination of Charlie Kirk
00:21:40.520after describing text messages between accused killer Tyler Robinson and his romantic partner,
00:21:46.240furry trans person lance twiggs as follows it was very touching in a way that i think many of us
00:21:52.640didn't expect a very intimate portrait into this relationship between the suspect's roommate and
00:21:59.640the suspect himself with him repeatedly calling his roommate who was transitioning uh calling him
00:22:05.760my love and i want to protect you my love um so it was this duality of someone who the attorney said
00:22:11.360not only jeopardized the life of charlie kirk and the crowd but was doing it in front of children
00:22:15.620which is one of the aggravating circumstances of this case.
00:22:18.420And on the other hand, he was, you know, speaking so lovingly about his partner.
00:22:22.980Gutman apologizing for those remarks the following day.
00:22:26.400Saeed now seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney's fees.
00:22:31.360CBS News declining to comment to The Hollywood Reporter,
00:22:34.500while the outlet reports representatives for ABC News and Gutman also did not respond.
00:22:40.300We will have legal analysis today on The MK Show.
00:22:43.240and that'll do it for your am update i'm megan kelly join me back here for the mk show live on
00:22:49.820sirius xm's the megan kelly channel 111 at new east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all
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