The Megyn Kelly Show - July 28, 2026


Previewing Fauci Capitol Hill Grilling, Paris Stabbing Spree, Sailor’s Wild Rescue: AM Update 7⧸28


Episode Stats


Length

21 minutes

Words per minute

158.35

Word count

3,457

Sentence count

216

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Hate speech

3

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, July 28th, 2026, and this is your AM
00:00:35.960 Update. I expect he will not tell the truth. I expect him to dissemble. I expect him to
00:00:42.680 filibuster, but I don't expect him to be honest. Dr. Anthony Fauci set to return to Capitol Hill
00:00:48.300 under subpoena tomorrow as newly released diary entries reveal his decade-long fixation
00:00:54.500 on fame and media attention.
00:00:57.640 A knife-wielding attacker
00:00:58.880 stabbing three women in Paris,
00:01:01.120 then claiming Allah commanded him to do it
00:01:03.500 as French authorities hesitate to name a motive.
00:01:07.040 Yeah, like, ecstatic, you know what I mean?
00:01:09.020 Like, I was, like, crying and, like, so happy.
00:01:11.700 A California sailor found alive
00:01:13.900 after spending weeks adrift in the Pacific,
00:01:16.860 reportedly surviving on makeshift repairs,
00:01:19.500 scraps of food, and sheer determination.
00:01:22.060 and the cracker barrel CEO behind the chain's disastrous makeover stepping down nearly one
00:01:28.780 year after customers forced the company to restore its traditional identity. All that and more coming
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00:02:49.680 Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony
00:02:55.160 Fauci, set to return to Capitol Hill tomorrow, testifying under subpoena before the Senate
00:03:00.380 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the federal government's
00:03:04.760 response to COVID-19. Committee Chairman Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky, issuing the
00:03:10.980 subpoena last month after Dr. Fauci reportedly agreed to testify voluntarily in June, then backed
00:03:17.220 out. Senator Paul telling Semaphore the reversal, pushing him to a breaking point, leading him to
00:03:23.180 issue his first subpoena since becoming chairman. Lawmakers expected to press Dr. Fauci about U.S.
00:03:29.120 funded research involving the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the scientific and political
00:03:34.580 decisions that shaped the government's pandemic response. The hearing marks the latest chapter in
00:03:40.180 a years-long investigation into what federal officials knew about the origins of COVID,
00:03:45.760 when they knew it, and whether they withheld evidence pointing to a possible laboratory origin.
00:03:52.140 Tomorrow's hearing marks Dr. Fauci's first appearance in front of Congress since June 2024,
00:03:57.840 where he repeatedly denied allegations that he helped conceal the origins of COVID.
00:04:02.980 Senator Paul, in a recent Fox News appearance earlier this month,
00:04:06.320 on what he expects to hear from Dr. Fauci in this next round.
00:04:10.640 I expect he will not tell the truth.
00:04:12.780 I expect him to dissemble.
00:04:15.360 I expect him to filibuster.
00:04:17.700 But I don't expect him to be honest.
00:04:19.260 He has not been honest in the last six years.
00:04:21.540 But we have the evidence now that he destroyed records,
00:04:24.460 that he encouraged others to destroy records.
00:04:26.580 We have evidence and the opinion of many of the people who worked around with him
00:04:31.320 that the research that was funded in China and Wuhan was dangerous,
00:04:35.500 gain-of-function research, and that this was perhaps the worst public health decision made 0.59
00:04:41.280 in our lifetime, maybe in history, to fund this research in a totalitarian country,
00:04:46.660 an opaque country, with a less-than-safe lab and very, very dangerous research. So this was a
00:04:53.140 terrible decision. And we know it was made consciously because Fauci has told us repeatedly
00:04:58.020 that he supports this research even if an accident should happen, even if a pandemic should occur.
00:05:03.920 he thinks that the knowledge is worth the risk. And I think the lives of 15 million people who
00:05:09.920 died approximately would counter that. Senator Paul releasing thousands of pages from Fauci's
00:05:15.740 diary in the days leading up to the hearing, including pandemic-era diary entries and a
00:05:20.640 separate 465-page collection released yesterday, spanning from 2001 through July 2015. The earlier
00:05:30.100 entries revealing a government scientist intensely attentive to his television exposure
00:05:35.440 and increasingly convinced of his own star power, years before COVID made him a household name.
00:05:42.640 In a January 2013 entry, Dr. Fauci complaining after the Department of Health and Human Services
00:05:48.680 rejected his proposed appearances with CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer and Soledad O'Brien.
00:05:55.120 Dr. Fauci blaming complaints from the CDC, writing that the dispute had, quote,
00:05:59.380 everything to do with pure jealousy that I am a rock star stealing their thunder.
00:06:04.700 They're not even trying. They don't want to find it. They're jealous of me.
00:06:09.280 The diary entries also giving investigators a new opportunity to compare what Dr. Fauci
00:06:13.880 recorded privately with what he later told Congress and the public. Here, more from Senator
00:06:19.560 Paul. We also know now that in January of 2020, at the very beginning, we know that he knew that
00:06:26.640 it didn't come from the wet market. So he's argued for years, still continues to argue that
00:06:30.900 the most likely place is a wet market. But in January of 2020, we know that he was admitting
00:06:36.080 privately that this virus, that the early cases didn't come from the wet market and were not
00:06:42.220 connected to the wet market at all. So this is really the modus operandi here is that privately
00:06:48.740 he would tell the truth to others. There would be discussion of truth. And then publicly there
00:06:52.780 would be lies, nothing but lies. And it was purposeful to cover up and to try to distinguish
00:06:59.860 and say, oh, I had nothing to do with this. I knew nothing about it. It wasn't dangerous
00:07:04.200 research. All of that was untrue. Dr. Fauci's newly released diary receiving little scrutiny
00:07:09.580 from the establishment media, CNBC proving a notable exception yesterday, pressing one of
00:07:15.300 Dr. Fauci's former colleagues, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, on the entries.
00:07:20.240 Does having a reputation totally in the toilet at 85 years, does that hold him to account for what he was responsible for?
00:07:30.120 The Tony Fauci I saw in those emails is not the Tony Fauci I knew over the years.
00:07:34.920 I mean, he was a guy who is sober, who is careful about his public appearances and his statements, was always very careful, always very thoughtful.
00:07:42.020 Did you figure out the obsession with mainstream media and defending him and, you know, Jake Tapper having, you know, multiple dinners and best friends?
00:07:50.920 And what did that come from?
00:07:52.460 And I know people around here that would call Tony Fauci a hero.
00:07:57.420 Yeah, I can't dissect.
00:07:58.880 You don't know why people perceive.
00:08:00.400 I think the whole vaccine emotions around mask shut down the whole time, Joe, as you as you know, very well.
00:08:08.400 And I think people are looking for a voice that they can cling to.
00:08:11.620 I am science. That's why people don't like me. I mean, that was, you're very guarded and nice.
00:08:19.820 I was disappointed by the emails, I have to admit.
00:08:23.360 Tomorrow's hearing now giving Fauci another opportunity to answer for the decisions and
00:08:27.720 conduct documented in those records. Former President Joe Biden granting him a sweeping
00:08:33.040 preemptive pardon during his final hours in office, covering any federal offenses tied to
00:08:38.480 Fauci's government service between January 2014 and January 2025. That pardon, offering no
00:08:46.280 protection, however, for any new crime committed, like during tomorrow's testimony, any knowingly
00:08:52.280 false statement to Congress could potentially create fresh criminal exposure.
00:08:58.820 Three women stabbed in broad daylight in Paris yesterday by an attacker claiming
00:09:03.840 Allah commanded him to do it. The assault unfolding around 11.30 in the morning near
00:09:09.380 Porte de Cleschi in the northwestern part of the city. Video showing the suspect dressed in a
00:09:14.820 light-colored tracksuit with shoulder-length black hair jogging through the streets carrying
00:09:19.460 two large kitchen knives. The person recording the video shouting attention attention in French
00:09:30.660 warning pedestrians as the armed man approaches. The suspect then appearing to swing one of the
00:09:36.200 knives at a woman from behind before continuing down the street. It is unclear whether she was
00:09:41.420 among the three confirmed victims. Those women, ages 19, 24, and 36, one suffering stab wounds
00:09:49.020 in the lower back, another in the abdomen, both listed in critical condition, though officials
00:09:54.380 say all three are expected to recover, according to the Telegraph. Mayor Jofra Bular saying one
00:10:01.200 of the victims is pregnant, though authorities have not disclosed which woman or the extent of
00:10:06.360 her injuries. Witnesses say the attacker appearing to target women as he moved through the neighborhood,
00:10:12.440 several men ultimately tackling the suspect, pinning him beneath a chair until an off-duty
00:10:17.280 police officer took him into custody. One of those men, Ahmed Jahel, describing the ordeal
00:10:23.240 in a dubbed interview with CNews.
00:10:26.340 I turn around and see someone with two large knives 0.99
00:10:29.980 by the cliche gate that already stabbed a woman,
00:10:33.180 a young woman.
00:10:33.880 He crosses out the crosswalk and behind the kiosk,
00:10:37.140 he attacks another victim.
00:10:38.480 He was only targeting women and stabbed her in the back.
00:10:41.920 That's when me and two friends of mine stepped in.
00:10:45.180 Basically, a friend of mine threw his suitcase
00:10:46.760 at him to subdue him, really.
00:10:48.300 So he dropped the knives.
00:10:49.840 He dropped the knives.
00:10:51.320 That's when my buddy came up from behind, swept his legs, he fell to the ground,
00:10:54.940 and I moved in to hold down his legs and feet, and we put a chair on top of him
00:10:58.600 so he couldn't move while waiting for the police.
00:11:01.120 Another recording capturing the suspect on the pavement, restrained by the group.
00:11:11.520 The man heard declaring in French, quote,
00:11:14.300 it is Allah who commanded me.
00:11:16.540 French Interior Minister Laurent Nunes, however, urging the public
00:11:19.960 not to draw conclusions about the motive, describing the suspect's remarks during his
00:11:24.760 arrest as, quote, incoherent. The suspect who remains in custody, not yet publicly identified.
00:11:31.380 French outlet Le Figaro reporting he initially gave police a false name and is believed to be
00:11:37.120 31 years old. The government's reluctance to connect the attack to Islamist extremism,
00:11:42.920 despite the suspect's own words, reviving frustration over what critics see as a broader
00:11:48.640 refusal to name the ideology behind such violence. French journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet arguing on
00:11:56.020 GB News, European leaders have become so fearful of accusations of Islamophobia, they refuse to
00:12:02.260 acknowledge the common thread. What's happening in Europe is nobody dares name the problem because
00:12:07.960 that would be Islamophobia. And I'm, you know, I don't think it's something that's against Islam,
00:12:13.580 but it certainly is against a certain violent variety of it, which is Islamism. 1.00
00:12:18.500 And everybody is precipitating around this, even though we've had various incidents of women, 0.91
00:12:24.900 priests, various people being attacked by madmen who are speaking in the name of Allah.
00:12:29.500 And I think there's a common denominator there.
00:12:31.740 We are not naming this properly.
00:12:33.460 And when you talk off the record to members of the police,
00:12:36.840 they will tell you that they know exactly what it is,
00:12:39.080 but you can't prejudge before it comes to justice.
00:12:43.580 but it takes years sometimes to come to justice.
00:12:46.560 The Paris stabbing comes just two days after a known Islamist allegedly drove a van into crowds
00:12:51.960 near Berlin's Pride celebration, then attacking people with a machete,
00:12:56.680 killing one and injuring 29 others.
00:13:00.820 Coming up, a California sailor rescued after more than a month alone in the Pacific,
00:13:06.500 and the CEO who tried to remake Cracker Barrel stepping aside
00:13:10.880 after customers rejected her woke overhaul.
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00:14:24.960 A California sailor found alive in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after surviving more than a
00:14:31.040 month alone aboard his badly damaged boat. 39-year-old Kai Sato setting sail from California's
00:14:38.020 Catalina Island on June 7, setting out for Hawaii on his first solo voyage. Roughly two weeks into
00:14:45.160 the trip, Sato's mast reportedly snapping amid rough seas and winds, the boat then running out
00:14:51.360 of fuel, and his phone eventually dying. The failures leaving him without navigation, reliable
00:14:57.500 power or any way to call for help as the damaged vessel drifted away from the routes normally
00:15:02.860 traveled by commercial ships. Video recorded before his phone went dead, showing the broken
00:15:08.840 mast hanging over the water while waves slammed into the small boat. Sato telling Hawaii News Now
00:15:15.860 the days alone at sea began taking a devastating toll as he drifted farther off course with no
00:15:22.240 sign of rescue. That was really annoying to not have my phone because that's what I was using
00:15:26.640 for navigation using the Navionics on it. And I was really distracted that day. It wasn't a good
00:15:32.940 day. I cried for a whole week just drifting south, like miserable. I felt like I was going to just
00:15:37.700 like try to turn my motor on and just like suffocate, you know, from the carbon monotony,
00:15:42.380 you know what I mean, or kill myself. I don't know why, because I felt hopeless.
00:15:45.780 Sato eventually pulling himself out of that despair, deciding to use whatever remained on
00:15:51.000 the boat to save his own life. Hawaii News Now reporting he began piecing together a replacement
00:15:57.060 sailing system using PVC pipe, kayak paddles, and other materials available on board. The
00:16:04.080 improvised repairs giving him at least some control over the vessel and allowing him to
00:16:08.740 begin working his way back toward the shipping lanes. His food supply steadily disappearing as
00:16:14.160 the days dragged on, Sato telling the outlet he survived mainly on oatmeal and fish and squid
00:16:20.640 that landed inside his boat. Fresh drinking water running out after 20 days, reportedly forcing him
00:16:27.460 to collect moisture inside a plastic bag and lick the condensation to stay alive. Sato's efforts
00:16:35.000 paying off after nearly a month adrift, when the battered boat finally reached a shipping route.
00:16:40.920 Crew members aboard the MV George III spotting the disabled sailboat on July 21,
00:16:46.040 first, approximately 900 miles from Hawaii. After more than a month fighting to stay alive,
00:16:52.500 Sato describing the overwhelming relief of finally seeing his rescuers.
00:16:57.920 Oh my God. Yeah. Like ecstatic. You know what I mean? Like I was like crying and like so happy
00:17:02.660 and then they got me fruit and water and yeah, they were so good to me, those guys.
00:17:08.900 Sato telling Hawaii News Now the experience has not ended his desire to sail. He reportedly plans
00:17:15.460 to eventually continue on to the Philippines, although he says his next attempt will involve
00:17:20.740 a much bigger boat. Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Massino stepping aside nearly one year after
00:17:28.400 her attempt to overhaul the iconic country restaurant triggered a customer revolt,
00:17:33.920 erasing nearly $100 million from the company's market value. That'll do it. The company announcing 0.92
00:17:40.220 Monday that Massino will leave the top job August 10th, ending a three-year tenure dominated by her
00:17:45.860 unsuccessful effort to steer Cracker Barrel away from the traditional identity that made it popular
00:17:51.560 and beloved by generations of American families. Massino remaining as an advisor through October 9th
00:17:58.360 with former Blumenbrands CEO David Dino taking over after four decades in the restaurant and
00:18:04.420 retail industries. Masino arriving at Cracker Barrel in 2023, declaring the folksy restaurant
00:18:10.340 chain was no longer as relevant as it once had been. Her proposed solution? A $700 million
00:18:16.940 transformation overhaul of the chain's menu, branding, and restaurants. The backlash exploding
00:18:22.980 last August after Cracker Barrel unveiled a stripped-down new logo, removing the overall
00:18:28.600 clad old-timer and his barrel from the company's most recognizable symbol. Remodeled locations
00:18:35.660 also trading much of the antique-style decor and country store atmosphere for brighter,
00:18:40.920 more sterile, more generic dining rooms. The proposed redesign drawing instant backlash,
00:18:47.020 longtime customers accusing Cracker Barrel of stripping away its personality and abandoning
00:18:51.880 the heritage that made the restaurant distinctive. Here, the Associated Press speaking with customers
00:18:57.240 in Mississippi. My first thought was why? I mean if it's not broke don't fix it and it's certainly
00:19:04.940 not broke. They are supposed to be taking out the old I call it antique type decorations on the walls
00:19:12.140 which I'm very conservative and old so I like those and rather that they didn't. Well I don't
00:19:17.660 like to change it. I mean it's always been cracker bell like it is so I like what stay like it is.
00:19:23.720 We love the nostalgia and the old-timey, you know, atmosphere to it.
00:19:30.280 And I don't see the point to whoever's doing this.
00:19:34.360 Please leave it alone.
00:19:35.900 We love the sign.
00:19:37.120 We love the little man on the sign.
00:19:38.920 We love the Cracker Barrel.
00:19:40.980 Massino initially dismissing the criticism,
00:19:43.540 insisting during an August appearance last year on Good Morning America
00:19:46.780 that customers actually loved the changes.
00:19:49.840 Yeah, because people,
00:19:50.900 the Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow. And again,
00:19:55.320 the things that you love are still there. We need people to choose us and we want people to choose
00:19:59.600 us because people love this brand. What if all the customers are coming at you hard enough about
00:20:06.760 the look of the restaurants and they want to go back to the old way? Would you do it? Honestly,
00:20:11.240 the feedback's been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we're doing.
00:20:14.560 The financial response suggesting otherwise. Cracker Barrel losing nearly $100 million
00:20:20.620 in market value immediately after unveiling the new logo. President Trump joining the revolt days
00:20:27.100 later, posting to Truth Social, quote, Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a
00:20:32.480 mistake based on customer response, the ultimate poll, and manage the company better than before.
00:20:38.560 Cracker Barrel surrendering that same evening, scrapping the new logo one week after its debut.
00:20:45.020 The company abandoning the rest of Messino's visual overhaul two weeks later, announcing it
00:20:50.060 would suspend the restaurant remodels after testing the new design in only four locations.
00:20:56.200 Cracker Barrel telling customers, quote, if your restaurant hasn't been remodeled,
00:21:00.280 you don't need to worry, it won't be.
00:21:02.800 Massino later conceding the redesign had, quote, missed the mark.
00:21:06.560 The company still struggling to repair the damage nearly a year later.
00:21:10.780 Cracker Barrel reporting a $24.6 million loss during the first quarter following the controversy
00:21:16.920 compared with a $4.8 million profit one year earlier
00:21:21.300 as revenue fell nearly 6%.
00:21:24.180 Cracker Barrel stock yesterday dropping slightly on the news,
00:21:27.620 falling 2.38% to $52.43,
00:21:31.980 down nearly 18% since this time last year.
00:21:37.720 And that'll do it for your AM update.
00:21:39.860 I'm Megan Kelly.
00:21:40.600 Join me back here for the MK Show,
00:21:42.660 live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel,
00:21:44.520 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all podcast platforms