The Megyn Kelly Show - McConnell Health Questions, Maine Senate Turmoil, Tyler Robinson Evidence Fight： AM Update 7⧸9

00:00:00.400 All right, full-time thoughts. Craig, who stood out?

00:00:02.880 Brazil's lime cheesecakes started bright, didn't let up.

00:00:05.400 Nah, for me, Italian cappuccino was the standout in the box.

00:00:08.480 But if we're talking decadent performance, that's all France.

00:00:11.300 Chocolate creme brulee had the richest finishes.

00:00:13.680 Canadian fireworks really showed up big too.

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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up

00:00:36.720 Show on Sirius XM Channel 111. It's Thursday, July 9th, 2026, and this is your AM update.

00:00:43.340 Kentucky's governor demanding answers about Mitch McConnell's health as the 84-year-old

00:00:48.100 senator remains hospitalized more than three weeks after reportedly being found unconscious

00:00:53.200 at his Washington home. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations.

00:00:59.340 Graham Plattner addressing the future of his embattled Senate campaign

00:01:02.760 after days of pressure from Democrat leaders to step aside.

00:01:06.400 The media's position is that it should be shown on the screen

00:01:09.840 and that the public should be allowed to see it as well.

00:01:12.160 A major courtroom fight over police interviews with Tyler Robinson's former roommate

00:01:16.720 and alleged furry lover as prosecutors try to place the recordings into evidence

00:01:21.440 and the media pushes for public access.

00:01:23.980 And crews stabilizing a Manhattan skyscraper after buckling columns and bending steel

00:01:29.340 triggered evacuations and fears of a possible collapse.

00:01:32.920 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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00:02:43.720 Democrat Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear

00:02:45.960 publicly calling on Senator Mitch McConnell

00:02:48.260 to provide a full update on his health

00:02:50.240 after more than three weeks in the hospital with almost no information about his condition.

00:02:55.840 The governor is sending a letter to Senator McConnell's office Wednesday,

00:02:59.260 arguing that Kentuckians deserve to know whether their longtime senator remains capable of serving

00:03:04.340 them. Bashir writing, quote, over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly

00:03:09.440 concerned about the current state of your health and well-being and ability to hold office in the

00:03:14.080 United States Senate. The 84-year-old Senate Majority Leader admitted to the hospital on

00:03:18.680 the morning of June 14th. His spokesman announcing at the time only that Mr. McConnell was receiving

00:03:24.140 excellent care, but an emergency dispatch recording suggesting the episode may have

00:03:28.740 been far more serious. The call referenced an advanced life support ambulance being sent to

00:03:42.760 McConnell's Washington home shortly before 9 a.m. First responders told CPR was in progress for a

00:03:48.960 patient who was unconscious and possibly suffering cardiac arrest. Senator McConnell's office has not

00:03:55.320 confirmed those details or publicly disclosed a diagnosis. Two days after the hospitalization,

00:04:00.900 Senate Majority Leader John Thune appearing on Fox News. Senator McConnell, we're told he was

00:04:06.040 hospitalized. Have you heard any word on him? I have. I spoke to him yesterday, and he was in

00:04:11.060 good spirits. I mean, he was paying, very dialed in, paying attention to what's going on and

00:04:16.280 indicated that he would be back soon. That interview occurring about three and a half

00:04:20.180 weeks ago. In the interim, Senator McConnell's office issuing just one additional update on

00:04:24.940 July 2nd, confirming that he remained hospitalized and was continuing his recovery. The prolonged

00:04:30.500 stay and limited public information have fueled increasingly wild rumors online about the

00:04:35.960 senator's condition. This week, several prominent Republicans began offering fresh assurances that

00:04:41.580 they had personally spoken with McConnell and found him alert and engaged. Former McConnell

00:04:46.360 aide and longtime friend Scott Jennings telling CNN that the senator unexpectedly called him

00:04:51.360 Tuesday morning. When the phone rang and I was able to talk to him, I was frankly pretty grateful.

00:04:56.820 I mean, as I said, I've known him since I was a teenager. If it hadn't been for Mitch McConnell

00:05:01.040 in the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, you know, I would never have been

00:05:04.080 able to go to college he's been my mentor and he changed the trajectory of my life so you know when

00:05:08.640 things happen to him and happen to people in your life that you really care about you know you just

00:05:13.100 sort of naturally feel extremely worried so when I heard his voice today and he he was clearly

00:05:17.260 keeping up with stuff that that made me happy to hear from him because like everybody else I've

00:05:21.200 been you know somewhat in the dark about it but to hear him talking and to know that he's also

00:05:25.920 talking to the senate leadership it made me pretty happy all I can tell you today is all the rumors

00:05:30.800 about him being dead or brain dead or, you know, being his body's being hidden somewhere. I've

00:05:35.180 seen all kinds of crazy things on the internet. That's obviously not true because he picked up

00:05:38.980 the phone and called me and that was a good thing. Senators Thune and John Barrasso, Republican of

00:05:44.060 Wyoming, also releasing statements describing lengthy conversations with Mr. McConnell.

00:05:49.060 There has been no public appearance, recorded statement, or detailed medical update from the

00:05:53.160 senator himself. Senator Mike Lee, Republican from Utah, summing up the remaining uncertainty

00:05:58.540 on X, writing, quote, many of us aren't speaking about Mitch McConnell's condition because we know

00:06:03.740 nothing about his condition. The senator facing several health problems in recent years, including

00:06:08.940 falls leading to a concussion and fractured rib, two highly publicized episodes in which he froze

00:06:14.440 while speaking, and another hospitalization for flu-like symptoms earlier this year. He has also

00:06:20.100 recently used a wheelchair while traveling through the Capitol. McConnell has already announced that

00:06:24.720 he will retire when his current term ends in January, making the practical question of what

00:06:29.480 would happen if the seat became vacant before then increasingly relevant. If the seat were to become

00:06:34.560 vacant before his term expires in January, the timing could create an unusual legal and electoral

00:06:39.800 situation. WCP-09 turning to Northern Kentucky University to explain what Kentucky law requires.

00:06:46.940 I asked Sean O'Reilly at NKU about the prospect of him resigning or dying before his term ends in

00:06:52.020 January. Is it clear what that triggers? What happens? So the law as it stands was passed in

00:06:59.060 2024. It says that the governor has to call a special election. The law stripped Governor Andy

00:07:04.160 Beshear of the power to appoint an interim senator. Beshear would have 30 days to call the election

00:07:08.920 and candidates would then have 49 days to consider running. In the meantime, it will remain vacant.

00:07:14.340 That timetable becomes complicated on and after August 3rd, where the special election would run

00:07:19.720 into the already planned November general election, potentially confusing voters.

00:07:24.200 And Riley says creating a question for the courts to weigh in on.

00:07:27.940 This would be the first time we're testing the law.

00:07:30.240 And so I think there are some pieces that are a little less clear in the law.

00:07:35.880 Republican Congressman Andy Barr earlier this year winning his party's nomination

00:07:39.640 to succeed McConnell in the regular November election.

00:07:42.360 He will face Democrat Charles Booker for the seat in a state President Trump

00:07:45.960 carried by more than 30 points in 2024.

00:07:50.440 Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Plattner, dropping out of the race,

00:07:54.960 ending his campaign after days of mounting pressure from his own party.

00:07:58.880 I think as many of you know, over the past couple days, I have faced some very serious

00:08:03.240 allegations, and I just want to make it clear, this is all false. It has placed an immense amount

00:08:08.940 of weight on me as I think about what needs to happen now. We're going to lose all of the things

00:08:17.000 that any campaign needs on the basic level simply to function.

00:08:23.840 Larger organizations, the national-level party, the bigger donor networks,

00:08:29.220 they have all committed to spending no money in this race if I'm in it. 1.00

00:08:34.440 We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be made.

00:08:39.460 And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations.

00:08:43.440 The announcement ending a spectacular political collapse

00:08:46.760 after Plattner spent days refusing to accept what virtually everyone around him already understood.

00:08:51.780 His campaign was dead.

00:08:53.540 The unraveling beginning Monday,

00:08:55.460 when a former girlfriend accused Plattner of entering her home without permission

00:08:59.040 and forcing her to have sex with him in 2021.

00:09:02.360 Plattner categorically denying any non-consensual behavior,

00:09:05.660 but his political support evaporating within hours.

00:09:08.960 Democrat leaders and former allies across the party calling on him to quit,

00:09:12.640 while National Senate Democrats warned they would not spend a dime on the main race

00:09:17.720 as long as Plattner remained the nominee.

00:09:20.220 Senior advisor Morris Katz flying in from New York to discuss Plattner's withdrawal,

00:09:24.460 joining campaign officials already gathered at the House.

00:09:27.440 The Washington Post reporting campaign leadership sounding resigned

00:09:30.260 during a staff call yesterday afternoon,

00:09:32.840 even as Plattner himself continued resisting the inevitable.

00:09:36.360 The New York Post reporting Katz and other advisors were

00:09:39.180 also looking for a way to help Plattner, quote,

00:09:41.620 remain a voice in the Senate race. The effort to preserve his influence only deepening the fury

00:09:46.980 inside the Democrat Party. On Tuesday, party executive director Devin Murphy-Anderson

00:09:51.780 publicly ordering Plattner to drop out so they can begin the process of finding his replacement.

00:09:57.600 As you know, the Maine Democratic Party has been working around the clock to develop a process to

00:10:02.720 replace our U.S. Senate nominee that is open, inclusive, transparent, and fair. The integrity

00:10:09.200 of this process is just as important as the outcome, and we are committed to ensuring that

00:10:14.980 Democrats across our state can have confidence in both. Unfortunately, Graham Plattner's team

00:10:20.980 has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this

00:10:26.500 process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Plattner's team that they have no role

00:10:31.620 in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this

00:10:37.680 process looks like. We have also reiterated that Graham Plattner must drop out of this race so that

00:10:42.620 Democrats in Maine can focus on defeating Susan Collins this November. We look forward to making

00:10:48.060 this process public as soon as Graham Plattner formally withdraws from this race. The Maine

00:10:53.960 Democrat Party convening an emergency virtual meeting of its 113-member state committee yesterday

00:10:59.940 afternoon as officials raced to prepare for Plattner's eventual departure. Plattner's refusal

00:11:05.380 to set aside sooner, also eating into the party's already narrow timeline. Democrats needing him out

00:11:11.400 by Monday, July 13th to replace him on the November ballot, with a new nominee due by July 27th.

00:11:18.420 All of it leaving Democrats scrambling to rebuild a campaign against five-term Republican Senator

00:11:23.560 Susan Collins, an estate they had counted on as one of their best opportunities to retake the 0.75

00:11:28.480 Senate in November. Coming up, a major courtroom fight over recorded interviews with Tyler Robbins

00:11:35.360 since former roommate and alleged so-called trans lover as the defense seeks sweeping

00:11:40.480 redactions and a Manhattan skyscraper now stable after buckling columns and bending

00:11:45.680 steel sparking fears of a possible collapse.

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00:13:05.660 about Cozy Earth right here. Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk last

00:13:12.640 September, returning to a Utah County courtroom yesterday for the third day of his preliminary

00:13:16.780 hearing. Prosecutors continuing to build their case that Robinson should stand trial on seven

00:13:22.180 charges, including aggravated murder. The biggest fight of the day centering on recorded investigators'

00:13:27.780 interviews with Lance Twiggs, Robinson's so-called transgender furry lover and former roommate.

00:13:34.460 Twiggs lived with Robinson at the time of Charlie Kirk's murder, later turning over messages and

00:13:39.560 other evidence as he began cooperating with investigators. Authorities interviewing Twiggs

00:13:44.680 twice, first on September 12th, two days after the assassination, and again this past April.

00:13:50.500 Twiggs receiving what is known as use immunity for the interviews,

00:13:54.120 meaning prosecutors cannot charge him based on information he provided,

00:13:57.840 but could still pursue charges using evidence obtained outside of those interviews.

00:14:02.600 Prosecutors trying to place both interviews into the record.

00:14:06.020 The defense trying to keep large portions of the interview away from the public,

00:14:10.560 offering the court a heavily redacted transcript in place of the full video.

00:14:14.440 State Attorney Lauren Hunt telling the judge,

00:14:16.640 those proposed cuts appear on 16 of the transcript's 21 pages. Prosecutors pushing to admit the

00:14:23.660 recording, while conceding that the video remain off any screen where news cameras could capture

00:14:28.660 it, but allowing the audio to play aloud in the courtroom. Attorney Michael Judd, representing

00:14:33.680 media organizations covering the case, urging the judge to allow greater public access to the

00:14:39.000 interview. I haven't seen this video. The public hasn't seen this video. It seems to me that this

00:14:43.920 appears likely to be one of those pillars on which the state intends to base its case and on

00:14:49.840 which the court's ultimate decision will likely rest. That counsel's in favor of access, in favor

00:14:55.160 of publication, in favor of allowing the public to see the work that the court is doing and why

00:15:00.340 it's doing it. The media's position is that it should be shown on the screen and that the public

00:15:06.080 should be allowed to see it as well. To the extent there's any sort of compromise at all,

00:15:09.660 we allow the audio to play. After a recess, Judge Tony Graff initially said would last 15 minutes

00:15:16.320 stretched to roughly an hour, he returned to announce his decision. Where I'm landing today is

00:15:22.160 up until from the beginning, until that page 19, 3255, that portion I am ruling is admissible

00:15:33.040 and may be published. Again, if the state wishes that last minute and 12 seconds

00:15:39.340 to be played, they can either take the time tonight to redact what the court is not going

00:15:47.840 to allow to be published. And I wish to differentiate. I'm considering it all.

00:15:52.880 But for publication purposes, that portion is not going to be permitted to be played in the courtroom.

00:15:59.640 The judge then allowing attorneys from all sides to respond to his ruling.

00:16:03.760 In a rare moment, the attorney representing the Kirk family urging Judge Graff to make the video public.

00:16:09.180 Your Honor, Jeffrey Nyman on behalf of the Kirk family, I've been very hesitant to speak up at these proceedings.

00:16:15.480 We understand it's the state, the defense, and the judge, you're all doing your job.

00:16:20.080 But I feel as if we need to.

00:16:21.500 I want to be clear as to what the Kirk family's position is on all of this.

00:16:24.420 the kirk family believes strongly that if the evidence is being admitted in this preliminary

00:16:28.940 hearing it should be made public for the world to see no redactions this court has tools at its

00:16:35.660 exposure as tools at its disposal to make sure the defendant receives a fair trial you'll use them

00:16:42.260 if you find that you need to that's it your honor to not be transparent here to not be open to not

00:16:50.060 let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system.

00:16:55.340 And that's not what anybody wants. That's not what any of us believe should happen here.

00:16:59.220 And we'd ask the court to consider the position of the family in making its ultimate decision.

00:17:03.900 After hearing those arguments, Judge Graff revising his ruling and ordering additional

00:17:08.360 portions of the interview removed before the recording could be played publicly. The judge

00:17:13.240 ultimately ordering prosecutors to make the required edits overnight with the edited interview

00:17:18.580 expected to be played in court later today.

00:17:22.420 A Manhattan skyscraper that sparked fears of a possible collapse appears stable for now,

00:17:28.380 after crews worked through the night to reinforce the structure.

00:17:31.840 The emergency beginning Tuesday morning inside the former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street.

00:17:37.600 Workers discovered buckling columns and bending steel

00:17:40.680 as crews convert the office tower into roughly 1,600 apartments.

00:17:45.400 Several floors near the damaged columns also sagging,

00:17:48.140 prompting fears the structure could give way.

00:17:51.180 Nine nearby buildings evacuated as a precaution,

00:17:54.540 with surrounding streets shut down while engineers assessed the danger.

00:17:58.720 One union official suggesting the weight of a planned addition may have contributed to the failure.

00:18:04.260 Steamfitters Local 638 Representative Clifford Johnson

00:18:07.300 speaking to reporters outside the building about what went wrong inside the tower.

00:18:12.640 This building was renovated, and they were going to add another 16 stories to it.

00:18:18.140 But at that point, you need to add more steel.

00:18:20.660 And they obviously didn't add the right amount of steel.

00:18:23.220 So the north side of that building is crumbling.

00:18:25.940 The I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous.

00:18:30.280 Johnson speaking to Fox News, saying the damage raises serious questions about contractor oversight and safety.

00:18:36.920 This is not something you typically see in New York City.

00:18:39.680 You have one of the best labor forces in the world.

00:18:42.060 So to have a building have steel bending while it's under construction, to me, it's a lack of vetting your contractors.

00:18:50.720 To me, it's a lack of not picking safety over profits.

00:18:54.380 The city pushing back on suggestions, the project lacked scrutiny.

00:18:58.640 Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tagani telling the Wall Street Journal the conversion went through what he called an extensive, exhaustive review over the last two years.

00:19:06.200 Crews working overnight to shore up the damaged section and install supports to carry the weight.

00:19:12.380 Temporary beams now in place across several floors, with crews continuing the work throughout the day yesterday.

00:19:19.060 Most evacuated residents now allowed to return home as five nearby buildings remaining under evacuation orders, including a school and a hotel.

00:19:28.000 The tower previously cited for 22 violations, with its owners owing the city roughly $39,000 in fines.

00:19:37.020 Fox News reporting most of those violations involved elevator problems.

00:19:41.340 No injuries reported.

00:19:42.780 Construction now halted as engineers investigate what caused the failure and determine the long-term repair plan.

00:19:52.060 That'll do it for your AM Update.

00:19:54.020 I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party.

00:19:56.160 Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east

00:20:01.160 on youtube.com slash megynkelly and all podcast platforms.

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The Megyn Kelly Show - July 09, 2026

McConnell Health Questions, Maine Senate Turmoil, Tyler Robinson Evidence Fight： AM Update 7⧸9

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