The Megyn Kelly Show - McConnell Makes Senate Return, Hayden Panettiere Death Probe, China's AI Response： AM Update 9⧸15

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00:00:30.000 good morning everyone i'm megan kelly it's tuesday september 15th 2026 and this is your am update

00:00:39.020 after three months out of the public view and mounting speculation about his condition

00:00:44.020 senator mitch mcconnell returning to capitol hill yesterday in a wheelchair a possible fentanyl

00:00:50.080 laced pill the suspected cause of actress hayden penitier's death we have to do it prudently

00:00:55.620 but that doesn't mean we're going to stop an industry.

00:00:58.860 The great AI debate going global,

00:01:01.000 China pushing back against calls to slow development

00:01:03.580 as President Trump warns,

00:01:05.620 America cannot afford to fall behind.

00:01:08.220 There's like a sense that sort of like woke one was over,

00:01:11.080 but that's just not true.

00:01:12.720 And I do think that we continue to expand

00:01:14.980 the number of things that people can't talk about.

00:01:19.020 And a failing grade for free speech

00:01:20.920 on America's college campuses

00:01:22.180 as nearly half the schools

00:01:24.040 in a new nationwide ranking, earn an F.

00:01:27.300 All that and more coming up in just a moment

00:01:29.160 on your AM update.

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00:02:33.120 Megan. After more than three months away from Washington, Senator Mitch McConnell,

00:02:39.920 Republican from Kentucky, returning to the Capitol yesterday, putting an end to weeks

00:02:44.500 of questions about whether he would come back at all. The 84-year-old former Senate leader seen

00:02:49.800 leaving his Washington home in a wheelchair, flashing a thumbs up before being quickly

00:02:54.520 helped into an SUV and driven to the Senate. Ahead of the vote, Senator McConnell telling

00:02:59.880 reporters it was, quote, time to get back to work and to, quote, finish the job for this Congress,

00:03:05.660 identifying the farm bill and continued support for NATO allies fighting Russia

00:03:10.220 among his priorities. The senator arriving on the Senate floor just minutes before the Monday vote,

00:03:16.140 casting the deciding yes vote to advance the nomination of President Trump's pick

00:03:20.920 Matthew Byrne to serve as a federal judge in Southern Ohio. The 47 to 46 vote in favor of

00:03:27.740 cloture or allowing a substantive vote on the nominee, clearing the way for a separate

00:03:33.160 confirmation vote in the coming days. Senator McConnell's return coming after he acknowledged

00:03:38.220 in a statement that he is still not fully recovered, describing the past three months

00:03:42.660 as a, quote, long and often frustrating process. Mr. McConnell adding that he will continue physical

00:03:48.620 therapy while promising Majority Leader Thune that he will do his best to return for close

00:03:53.500 votes whenever Republicans need him. Senator McConnell hospitalized June 14th after his

00:03:59.540 team says he fell inside his Washington home and briefly lost consciousness, later revealing that

00:04:05.940 doctors also treated him for a mild case of pneumonia. EMT dispatches from the scene reported

00:04:11.960 a cardiac arrest, and that CPR was administered, the senator later denying that he had a heart

00:04:18.300 attack.

00:04:19.360 Senator McConnell eventually transferred to a rehab facility, returning home in early

00:04:23.680 August to continue his recovery.

00:04:26.240 The lack of public information surrounding his condition fueling intense speculation

00:04:30.600 during his absence, as Mr. McConnell gave no interviews and his office released only

00:04:35.600 two photographs during his recovery.

00:04:38.680 His return coming at a critical moment for Senate Republicans,

00:04:42.160 ahead of a major vote today on cryptocurrency legislation.

00:04:46.540 Senator McConnell's vote expected to prove essential Wednesday as well,

00:04:50.040 when Republicans make another attempt to advance their stalled farm bill out of committee.

00:04:55.760 The previous committee vote falling one vote short during McConnell's absence,

00:05:00.180 forcing party leaders to postpone another attempt until his return.

00:05:04.800 Senator McConnell now entering the final months of a Senate career spanning more than four decades.

00:05:10.860 His term expires in January after a record 18 years leading Senate Republicans.

00:05:18.460 New details emerging in the investigation into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere

00:05:23.740 as authorities reportedly focus on a suspected fentanyl-laced pill and the dealer who may have supplied it.

00:05:31.480 TMZ reporting multiple law enforcement sources believe Panettiere took an oxycodone pill

00:05:36.860 containing fentanyl on the morning of her death. The outlet's sources saying the 36-year-old

00:05:42.200 actress reportedly obtained oxycodone and other black market prescription drugs

00:05:47.000 from a longtime dealer in L.A., taking several of those drugs while flying to South Carolina

00:05:52.700 the previous day. However, this is reportedly only the working theory, not yet an official

00:05:58.560 cause of death. The Greenville County Coroner's Office saying Panettiere's cause and manner of

00:06:03.980 death remain undetermined as investigators await the results of toxicology tests. TMZ's law

00:06:10.440 enforcement sources similarly acknowledging those results will determine whether their theory is

00:06:15.580 correct. DEA agents in LA and South Carolina reportedly working alongside local authorities

00:06:22.400 to trace the suspected pill, including examining Panettiere's alleged relationship with the dealer.

00:06:28.560 Her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, reportedly speaking with the DEA as part of that investigation.

00:06:35.260 Hickerson giving first responders a bag containing Panettiere's medications after she was found

00:06:40.720 unresponsive inside their South Carolina rental.

00:06:44.320 He reportedly administered Narcan before paramedics arrived.

00:06:48.420 The case drawing comparisons to the death of rapper Mac Miller in 2018 at the age of 26.

00:06:53.700 multiple individuals convicted of supplying him with counterfeit oxycodone pills containing

00:06:59.920 fentanyl. A representative for Panettiere telling Page Six the investigation remains ongoing

00:07:05.400 and describing the case as complex, adding that they hope to have more answers soon.

00:07:12.340 Coming up, China rejecting calls to slow the pace of artificial intelligence advancement

00:07:18.040 as President Trump dismisses fears of a technological takeover and vows the U.S.

00:07:23.460 will remain in the lead. And a new poll reveals nearly one in three college students

00:07:29.020 still says violence can be an acceptable response to speech.

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00:08:32.120 China now weighing in on the great AI debate, rejecting calls from American tech leaders to

00:08:37.800 slow development and accusing them of using safety concerns to undermine Beijing's growing

00:08:42.720 AI industry. The dispute erupting after Anthropic CEO Dario Amadei proposed new government oversight

00:08:50.480 and greater coordination among leading AI companies to prevent the technology from

00:08:55.660 advancing faster than researchers can safely control it. Amadei also calling for tighter

00:09:01.080 restrictions on advanced AI chips reaching China, arguing the U.S. must preserve its technological

00:09:07.180 advantage while pursuing broader international safety agreements. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and

00:09:14.160 ex-AI founder Elon Musk broadly agreeing that the industry needs to move more slowly and

00:09:20.100 cautiously, while critics argue the largest companies could use new regulations to box out

00:09:25.560 smaller competitors. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman responding yesterday by accusing

00:09:30.400 American AI companies of spreading what he called, quote, threat narratives and engaging in

00:09:35.620 confrontation and malicious competition. The spokesman telling reporters China favors

00:09:40.940 open and inclusive AI development, warning that a slowdown would disrupt international cooperation

00:09:46.640 and benefit no one, according to the Chinese state-run China Daily.

00:09:51.200 The Communist Party aligned Global Times going further, portraying Amadei's proposal as part of

00:09:56.140 a, quote, Cold War playbook intended to preserve American technological dominance and to hold back

00:10:02.900 Chinese competitors. Beijing nonetheless acknowledging serious risks from the tech

00:10:07.820 itself. The Financial Times reporting China's Ministry of State Security on Sunday,

00:10:13.800 issuing its first public statement focused on AI, warning that foreign adversaries could use

00:10:19.480 deepfakes, fabricated content, and automated troll networks to spread political rumors and

00:10:25.800 inflamed divisions inside China. State Security Minister Chen Yixin also reportedly raising

00:10:32.260 concerns about AI-powered cyber attacks, military vulnerabilities, and Chinese companies exposing

00:10:38.500 sensitive information by using foreign AI tools. The Chinese warnings focus on specific national

00:10:44.720 security threats rather than the possibility of AI, you know, wiping out humanity, offering no

00:10:51.240 support for slowing the country's own development of the technology. Here at home, Vice President

00:10:56.360 J.D. Vance yesterday expressing similar skepticism toward the American executives asking Washington

00:11:02.100 to intervene. You know, it's something that we're concerned by, but we want to make sure that we

00:11:06.340 actually regulate smartly and we're thoughtful about the risk here. So there are obviously

00:11:12.300 risks to AI. There are some benefits to AI. I have to say just personally, I feel a little bit

00:11:19.180 weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to

00:11:25.400 the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like

00:11:29.400 a bit of a Trojan horse. So I think we just have to be careful about this.

00:11:33.740 Throughout the day, President Trump also firing off a series of truth social posts,

00:11:38.380 arguing the government already has sufficient authority to punish AI companies that cross the

00:11:43.160 line. The president accusing critics of trying to cripple a transformative American industry

00:11:48.440 and hand China an advantage while dismissing the most catastrophic predictions and insisting the

00:11:54.720 U.S. must remain in the lead. Mr. Trump also calling into the All In podcast summit yesterday

00:12:00.820 as NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang appeared on stage. Well, I know about AI. I know I also

00:12:08.000 have common sense about AI. The robots will not be taken over. The AI will not be taken over the

00:12:14.940 rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax. Now, with that, we have to be a little bit careful.

00:12:20.560 We have to very be, you know, we have to do things and we have to do them prudently.

00:12:25.500 But that doesn't mean we're going to stop an industry because, you know, as we work on the next 10 years about how to destroy it.

00:12:31.680 So I'm with you all the way.

00:12:32.880 I didn't even know how you felt about it.

00:12:34.540 I assumed you felt the same way as me.

00:12:36.540 Yes, sir.

00:12:36.900 And we're going to lead.

00:12:38.640 And I have an expression.

00:12:39.880 It's whoever wins, AI wins.

00:12:42.040 That's how big it is.

00:12:42.860 It's bigger than the Internet.

00:12:44.640 And whoever wins, AI wins.

00:12:46.940 President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping

00:12:49.060 scheduled to meet at the White House September 24th.

00:12:52.220 AI safety expected to be among the issues on the agenda.

00:12:56.480 Sounds like it could be a short discussion.

00:13:00.460 Nearly half of the college is included in a new nationwide survey

00:13:04.140 receiving a failing grade for their campus speech climate.

00:13:07.420 The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE,

00:13:11.260 finding 121 of the 261 schools in its annual college free speech rankings earn an F, while

00:13:19.840 30% of students say violence can be acceptable, at least in rare circumstances, to stop someone

00:13:25.840 from speaking on campus, a four-point decline from last year. The report arriving one year

00:13:31.800 after Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University while engaging students in

00:13:37.320 political debate. UVU falling from 71st place last year to 210th this year as students there

00:13:44.960 report growing self-censorship and declining comfort expressing controversial views. That'll

00:13:50.700 happen when someone's killed for speaking on your campus. At Utah Valley, Charlie Kirk now ranking

00:13:56.100 as the single most difficult subject for students to discuss, while nationwide he ranks third behind

00:14:02.160 the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and President Trump. We spoke with FIRE president and CEO

00:14:08.100 Greg Lukianoff, asking how Charlie Kirk's assassination continues to shape campus

00:14:13.440 speech one year later. I visited Utah Valley about a month after Charlie was murdered,

00:14:20.680 and it was clear that both students had come together trying to recover from witnessing

00:14:27.460 something so terrible. But it was also clear that students were still afraid to talk about it. And

00:14:34.000 we've seen this trend nationally, is that students all over the country, you know, are afraid to even

00:14:40.080 discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk. It's been added to the list of radioactive topics on campus.

00:14:46.820 Researchers examining not only which subjects students avoid, but how often they censor

00:14:51.820 themselves, whether they tolerate controversial speakers, and whether they trust administrators

00:14:56.440 to defend free expression when controversy erupts.

00:15:00.200 The findings complicate a growing perception

00:15:02.440 that campus culture wars of the past decade had begun to fade.

00:15:06.800 I think there's like a sense that sort of like woke one was over,

00:15:10.200 but that's just not true.

00:15:11.860 And I do think that we continue to expand the number of things

00:15:15.460 that people can't talk about.

00:15:18.060 Meanwhile, you know, it's turning off a lot of people from higher ed,

00:15:21.720 particularly young men.

00:15:23.020 So I think it's going to higher ed, which could potentially decrease our polarization, is turning it up to 11.

00:15:32.040 Some universities showing how dramatically a campus can improve, while most of the others continue losing the trust of their own students.

00:15:39.860 Lukyanov, pointing to the factor he believes most clearly separates the two.

00:15:45.460 Overwhelmingly, what distinguishes a good school from a bad school is leadership.

00:15:50.160 that's been made very clear by schools like Dartmouth and Vanderbilt that are both in the

00:15:57.280 top 10 now. They weren't always great on free speech. They got excellent leadership and they

00:16:03.320 rocketed up the charts and they really mean it. Chicago has a combination of great leadership,

00:16:08.800 but also a reputation for being a place where people can actually talk and more serious-minded

00:16:14.300 students tend to go. So it's hard to beat a place that has that long-standing reputation where they

00:16:20.100 get the kind of students already mature enough to talk across lines of difference. NYU, though,

00:16:26.380 I mean, you know, a lot of the schools in New York, also Columbia, I mean, they just don't

00:16:30.640 seem to know what they're doing at all. And their students appropriately don't trust them.

00:16:35.460 The University of Chicago taking the top spot for the third time in seven years,

00:16:40.140 while New York University finishes dead last. The overall picture remaining bleak,

00:16:45.420 though FIRE says this year's findings provide some reasons for very cautious optimism.

00:16:52.580 The number of schools receiving failing grades falling from 166 last year to 121 this year,

00:17:00.440 though just 24 schools receive a C or better, the average campus score reaching its highest level

00:17:06.780 since the rankings began seven years ago, though that average corresponds to a D- on the report's

00:17:13.420 grading scale. We asked Lukyanov what the University of Chicago, the highest scoring school in the

00:17:19.340 rankings, would need to do to earn an A. I think some of the easiest stuff that they could do is

00:17:25.020 decrease the number of students who think violence is okay in response to free speech. They already

00:17:30.900 have a relatively low number of those students, but I still think it covers around 20%, which is

00:17:36.740 nuts. A lot of students are coming in believing that they have a right to decide for everyone

00:17:43.000 else who they can hear. And that's something that schools should be actively screening against.

00:17:48.600 Luke Yanov, arguing that the message should begin before students ever arrive on a college campus.

00:17:55.000 If it came down from Yale and Harvard and all these schools to the big K-12 theater schools

00:18:01.500 to say, listen, if it indicated to us that you're the kind of person who believes that they have a

00:18:08.540 right not to hear things that offend them and nobody else may either that we don't want you

00:18:13.040 that would change attitudes quick and they could work it into the essays they could talk about

00:18:17.780 tolerance and curiosity there's a million ways higher ed could fix this

00:18:21.940 and that'll do it for your am update i'm megan kelly join me back here for the mk show

00:18:29.140 live on sirius xm's the megan kelly channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com

00:18:34.140 slash Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.

The Megyn Kelly Show - September 15, 2026

McConnell Makes Senate Return, Hayden Panettiere Death Probe, China's AI Response： AM Update 9⧸15

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