Shutdown Showdown, Trump Responds on Musk vs. Rubio Report, Columbia Crackdown： AM Update 3⧸10
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Summary
If the government shuts down, it will be because they want it shut down. Democrats gear up for a shutdown showdown in the Senate as the House's fiscally conservative members get on board with a continuing resolution. President Trump denies a New York Times report suggesting tensions between Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And President Trump pulls $400 million in funding for Columbia University following rabid anti-Israel protests on campus. All that and more coming up on Your AM Update.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Monday, March 10th, 2025, and this is your
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AM update. If it shut down, it will be because they want it shut down. They're controlling
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everything. Democrats gear up for a shutdown showdown in the Senate as the House's most
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fiscally conservative members get on board with a continuing resolution. No clash. I was there.
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You're just a troublemaker. President Trump denies a New York Times report suggesting
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tensions between Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Investigators reveal what likely
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happened in the mysterious death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife. And President Trump pulls
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$400 million in funding for Columbia University following rabid anti-Israel protests on campus.
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The possibility of a government shutdown looming large over lawmakers in Washington. The deadline,
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11.59 p.m. this Friday evening. Republicans looking to kick the can down the road to September,
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buying time to negotiate what they hope will be generational entitlement reform. The kind last
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seen in the 1990s under House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton. Ultimately,
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House Republicans are attempting to cut $880 billion out of the budget. Realistically, cuts that
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large would require reductions to Medicaid funding. Some Republicans, like Senator John Kennedy of
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Louisiana, point out the program has grown well beyond what was intended. Taxpayers now foot the bill
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for some 15 million able-bodied adults without children or a job. Republicans are looking to push
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this fight to September, where it will be handled through a process known as reconciliation that
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can be passed without Democrats' support. This week, the mission is passing a CR, continuing resolution.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson will likely bring the bill to the floor tomorrow. The bill is 99 pages,
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small in terms of government funding. It calls for increasing defense spending by about $6 billion,
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with cuts in non-defense spending of approximately $13 billion. It also contains an increase
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in ICE funding and maintains a freeze on $20 billion in special IRS funding. Social Security,
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Medicare, and Medicaid all remain the same for now. Many of the cuts will come from canceling earmarks,
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funds set aside by lawmakers for specific projects. One example, cutting $17.5 million in funding
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for improvements to a Kansas museum honoring former Republican President Dwight Eisenhower.
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On Saturday afternoon, President Trump posting on Truth Social, quote,
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all Republicans should vote, please, yes, next week. Great things are coming for America,
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and I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to
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put the country's financial house in order. The president going on to say Democrats will do
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anything to shut down the government, and Republicans must remain united. Kentucky Congressman Thomas
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Massey has already indicated he will vote against the bill, and that means Republicans can only afford
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to lose one vote in order to pass the CR. Typically, the most fiscally conservative members of Congress are
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the ones who are the hardest to convince to pass a CR. Last year, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz used the
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prospect of a CR to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This time around, those fiscal hawks are signaling
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their support. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Maryland's Andy Harris telling the New York Post
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if Republicans are forced to gain Democrat support to fund the government, quote, it will cost us tens
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of billions of dollars. Democrats in both chambers are against the CR. If there ends up being a government
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shutdown, it will be because Republicans want a government shutdown. It's a blank check to Elon Musk
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and to President Trump, and it just, it allows them to, what I call, this is stealing. If it shut
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down, it will be because they want it shut down. They're controlling everything. They should negotiate
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with us to both make sure we keep government open, but also that make sure the administration
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stops violating the law. Democrats say the bill creates a slush fund for the Trump administration to
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pick winners and losers. If House Republicans minus Mr. Massey remain united, then House Democrats
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do not have much recourse. On the Senate side, seven Democrats would have to vote with Republicans
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to keep the lights on. They are not expected to do that. Speaker Johnson telling Fox News what Democrats
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are demanding. About two weeks ago, the Democrats threw into this outrageous requirement, this
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stipulation, hey, we won't fund the government unless you tie the hands of the executive branch, unless you
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put in all these stipulations and you take away the authority that they're duly allowed in our system.
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And we're not going to do that. They know we're not going to do that. So it looked like they were
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trying to engineer a shutdown of the government, which is terribly irresponsible.
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Speaker Johnson referring to the Doge team's efforts to slash funding across government,
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reducing its total size. A recent CBS YouGov poll shows 54 percent of Americans believe Elon Musk and
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Doge should have at least some influence over government spending. The same poll showing President
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Trump's approval rating is at 48 percent, whereas the Democrat leaders are trailing by double digits.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is at 30 percent approval. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is at 28 percent.
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Friday report from The New York Times generating quite a bit of media buzz.
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The closed door cabinet meeting yesterday got contentious with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pushing back against billionaire Elon Musk and his Department
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of Government Efficiency. Some brand new reporting in The New York Times today on a confrontation
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of sorts inside the White House between Elon Musk and several members of Donald Trump's new cabinet.
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This is reporting that shows what many would call a dysfunctional White House.
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The media typically giddy at the prospect of cracks within the Trump administration.
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The Times article is based on interviews with five people, quote, with knowledge of the events, end quote,
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meaning these are not necessarily firsthand sources. The report describes Elon Musk as
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Musk allegedly accusing Secretary Rubio of not firing enough people from the State Department.
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Musk was not being truthful, citing the 1,500 employees who accepted the early retirement
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buyout. Eventually, reports The Times, President Trump sided with Secretary Rubio and said everyone
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just needs to work together. President Trump asked about the report on Friday, responding.
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No clash. I was there. You're just a troublemaker. Elon gets along great with Marco and they're
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Trump following up on Truth Social, posting in all caps, Elon and Marco have a great
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relationship. Any statement other than that is fake news. State Department spokeswoman Tammy
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Bruce telling The Times, Secretary Rubio considered the meeting an open and productive discussion.
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Secretary Rubio has yet to publicly comment directly on that report.
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Coming up, authorities determine the cause of death in the mysterious case of Gene Hackman and
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his wife. The feds slashed 400 million bucks from Columbia University for failing to protect
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Jewish students. All that and more in just a moment.
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The mystery surrounding the deaths of legendary actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa appears
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to be solved. The husband and wife were found deceased in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home
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on February 26th by maintenance workers. On Friday, authorities revealing the cause of death.
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The cause of death for Ms. Betsy Hackman, aged 65 years, is Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
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The manner of death is natural. The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years,
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is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant
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contributory factor. It is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18th.
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Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Ms. Hackman passed away first,
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with February 11th being the last time that she was known to be alive.
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Hantavirus is contracted through exposure to rodent excrement, likely a deer mouse in this case.
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The coroner says it's not transmissible person to person. Mr. Hackman likely died on February 18th,
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a week after his wife. Advanced in Alzheimer's disease, authorities say it is likely Mr. Hackman
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was not aware of his wife's passing. Their dog, Zina, found deceased in a crate near Ms. Arakawa,
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likely died of starvation or dehydration. Authorities believe Zina was crated due to a
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recent medical procedure. By all accounts, Ms. Arakawa was a loving and devoted caregiver to her
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husband. The New York Times reports, quote, there was much about his life that she managed.
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She set up golf games with his friends. She policed his diet. Given the heart trouble that
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had dogged him for decades, she diluted his wine with soda water. Leslie Ann Allen, Mr. Hackman's
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daughter from a previous marriage, telling the New York Post, they had a wonderful marriage and I give
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credit to his wife Betsy for keeping him alive. Mr. Hackman is survived by his three children.
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The Trump administration cracking down on anti-Semitic discrimination at Columbia University,
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promising other schools more action is still to come. A federal anti-Semitism task force convened
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under the Trump administration, slashing $400 million in grants and contracts to the school.
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Secretary of Education Linda McMahon writing in a statement, quote,
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Since October 7th, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation,
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and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses, only to be ignored by those who are supposed to
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protect them. Part of a nationwide trend on college campuses, hundreds of Columbia and
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Barnard students demonstrated in unruly protests and sit-ins, ultimately building an encampment on the
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campus. The protests, mostly organized by students of wealth and privilege, sided with Hamas, which the
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U.S. recognizes as a terrorist organization. Protesters at Barnard College's Milstein Center disseminated
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pamphlets from the Hamas Media Office, glorifying the actions of October 7th, where 1,200 Israelis were
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murdered in cold blood. Protesters in the camp wore Palestinian cafeas and chanted anti-Semitic slogans.
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Jewish students reported persistent harassment and discrimination. Ultimately, the police were called in to
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dismantle the Gaza Solidarity encampment. More than 100 students were arrested. Police were called in
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again after students barricaded themselves inside a campus building. The actions of the students so
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horrific and the response of the faculty so feckless, Columbia President Manu Shafiq, along with other Ivy
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League presidents, called in front of Congress to answer for the chaos. President Shafiq ultimately resigned
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from her post amid criticism of her handling of the protests. Faculty and staff condemned her use of
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the police to disband the violent mob. Jewish students say the harassment persists to this day.
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I don't think there's a single Jewish student on campus that does feel safe. You have to understand
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what they're handing out is flyers and posters that are actively calling for the death of Jews and
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Israelis. During these protests, things definitely get a little bit scary, especially because public safety
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workers are doing the best they can to de-escalate the situations, but they haven't been actually
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stopping these protests from happening. Interim University President Katrina Armstrong calls the
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government's concerns about discrimination on her campus legitimate, saying, quote,
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Columbia can and will continue to take serious action toward combating anti-Semitism on our campus,
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end quote. The New York Times reports more than a quarter of Columbia's 6.6 billion in annual
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operating revenue comes from federal sources. Nine other schools are in the Trump administration's
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crosshairs for failure to take action against anti-Semitism on campus. Harvard, George Washington,
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Johns Hopkins, NYU, Northwestern UCLA, UC Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, and the University of
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Southern California. In further action on Saturday, ICE officials arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil
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just blocks away from campus. Mr. Khalil was a prominent organizer of the protests last year,
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acting as a negotiator between students and faculty. The AP reporting Mr. Khalil's attorney
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says not only has his student visa been revoked, but his green card is now gone as well.
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President Trump vowed to deport foreign students involved in illegal protests.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia until Wednesday negotiating with the Ukrainians on
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a peace plan to end their war with Russia. NBC News reporting President Trump now wants more than
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just a minerals deal. Mr. Trump would reportedly like to see a change in Ukrainian President Zelensky's
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attitude, a willingness to make concessions. President Trump would also like to see some
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movement toward elections in Ukraine. They were supposed to take place last spring,
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but were suspended under martial law. The Ukrainians will attempt to persuade the U.S. to resume
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military support and intelligence sharing, both paused after the disastrous Oval Office meeting
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with President Zelensky. The Financial Times reporting Kyiv is set to propose a partial ceasefire
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with Russia for long-range missile strikes and combat operations in the Black Sea. In recent days,
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the Russians have intensified attacks on Ukraine, causing significant civilian casualties and at
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least 22 deaths. Late last week, President Trump posting to Truth Social, quote,
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I am strongly considering large-scale banking sanctions, sanctions, and tariffs on Russia until
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a ceasefire and final settlement agreement on peace is reached. And that'll do it for your AM Update.
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I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here all week for our special series,
00:16:48.180
as Megyn Kelly investigates on the disappearance of baby Lisa Irwin, a 10-month-old little girl
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who disappeared from her crib in the middle of the night. You can watch it here, Sirius XM Triumph
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Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.