Trump Eases Medical Marijuana Rules, Navy Chief Fired, Gallego Scrutiny Intensifies： AM Update 4⧸24
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Summary
Medical marijuana reclassified at the federal level, the Trump administration easing restrictions to expand research and access while stopping short of full legalization, and three political candidates suspended from a major prediction market after betting on their own races in an insider trading crackdown. All that and more coming up in today s AM Update.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, April 24th, 2026, and this is your AM
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Update. We expect the research to significantly increase so that we can understand how to guide
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patients and doctors in this effort. Medical marijuana reclassified at the federal level,
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the Trump administration easing restrictions to expand research and access while stopping
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short of full legalization. He's a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other
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people mostly as to building and buying new ships.
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Navy Secretary John Phelan abruptly pushed out of the Trump administration
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a sudden firing tied to internal clashes over the pace of shipbuilding.
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Pressure building on Senator Ruben Gallego as new reporting on a late-night outing in the country of Colombia
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coincides with an ongoing Senate ethics investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
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and three political candidates suspended from a major prediction market
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after betting on their own races in an insider trading crackdown.
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
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The Trump administration yesterday reclassifying medical marijuana as
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less dangerous. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signing an order moving FDA-approved
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products containing marijuana and marijuana products regulated by a state medical marijuana
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license from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. Under DEA guidelines, Schedule 1 drugs, including
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heroin, ecstasy, and LSD have, quote, no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for
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abuse. Schedule 3 drugs like Tylenol with codeine, testosterone, and ketamine have, quote, a moderate
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to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. The move does not legalize marijuana
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at the federal level. That would require an act of Congress. In an ex-post, A.G. Blanche writing,
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quote, these actions will enable more targeted, rigorous research into marijuana's safety and
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efficacy, expanding patients' access to treatments, and empowering doctors to make better informed
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health care decisions. Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Heidi Overton
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yesterday in the Oval explaining the kind of research this move is expected to unlock.
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It makes it easy for the researchers to actually study and understand medical marijuana,
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but we don't have the science or the understanding
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and so both patients and doctors are flying blind
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without knowing how they interact with other medications
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says those state-licensed medical marijuana products
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and we expect the research to significantly increase
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so that we can understand how to guide patients and doctors in this effort.
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The DEA set to hold a hearing on June 29th to consider whether all cannabis,
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not just medical marijuana, should be moved to Schedule 3.
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Forty states and D.C. currently allow medical use of marijuana.
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Twenty-four of those states and D.C. allow recreational use,
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according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald posting to X, quote,
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The executive order last week on fast-tracking studies of psychedelic drugs
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and this new one on marijuana are both unadulterated positives, even if they should go further.
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Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, releasing a statement reflecting the concerns
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of many. Quote, Marijuana today is much more potent than just 10 or 20 years ago,
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leading to increased psychosis, antisocial behavior, and fatal car crashes. Arkansans
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don't want more dangerous drugs obtained more easily. A change to marijuana's drug classification
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is a step in the wrong direction. Navy Secretary John Phelan, the latest high-ranking Trump
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official to be forced out of the administration. On Wednesday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell
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abruptly announcing, quote, Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration
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effective immediately. We wish him well in his future endeavors. Undersecretary Hung Kao now
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stepping in as acting Navy secretary. The move comes as the Navy enforces a blockade of Iranian
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ports amid a tenuous ceasefire in the ongoing conflict. Multiple outlets reporting on the
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source of the internal tension between Phelan and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, largely centering
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on the pace of shipbuilding efforts, a top priority for the Trump administration as it looks to expand
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and modernize the Navy. A government accountability report from March 2025 finding the Navy had not
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increased the number of ships in its fleet over the past 20 years, despite doubling its shipbuilding
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budget. In December, President Trump, flanked by Secretary Hegseth and Phelan, announcing plans to
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build a new kind of battleship dubbed the Trump class. While America's built many new warships
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over the years they've been they've tended to be smaller and much smaller and not conducive to
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where we are and where we're going and peace through strength but including we've been
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building aircraft carriers we're going to be upping that also we haven't built a battleship
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since 1994 these cutting-edge vessels will be some of the most lethal surface warfare ships
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It will be actually the most ever built other than our submarines.
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Each one of these will be the largest battleship in the history of our country,
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the largest battleship in the history of the world ever built.
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President Trump yesterday from the Oval weighing in on the shakeup.
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He's a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other people,
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and somehow he just didn't get along with them.
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He's an excellent guy. You got to get along, especially in the military. You got to get along.
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You know, and some people liked him, some people didn't. And that's usually the truth about
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everything. But I found him to be a very good man and I liked him a lot.
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President Trump also posting a statement to Truth Social that reads in part, quote,
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John Phelan is smart, tough and respected by all. And although he has decided to move on from his
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position as Secretary of the Navy, I very much appreciate the job that he has done,
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and would certainly like to have him back within the Trump administration sometime in the future.
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According to CNN, President Trump becoming convinced at a Wednesday meeting with
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Secretary Hegseth that Phelan needed to be replaced, instructing Hegseth to, quote,
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take care of it. The war secretary then informing Phelan he could either resign or be fired.
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Phelan initially did not believe President Trump was aware of the decision, according to the outlet,
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making calls to administration officials before heading to the White House in search of answers.
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The Navy secretary ultimately meeting briefly with the president, who confirmed he was out of a job.
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The move marking the latest in a series of high-level shakeups inside the Trump administration,
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Secretary Hegseth recently dismissing three top-ranking Army generals from the Pentagon.
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It also comes amid broader turnover at the cabinet level in recent weeks,
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with three secretaries forced out or resigning.
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Daremer.
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Coming up, scrutiny intensifying around Senator Ruben Gallego relating to new reporting about
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a late-night outing in South America and an ethics probe involving sexual misconduct
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allegations, and three political candidates suspended from a major prediction market after
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there's not much time. Text MK to 989898 today. Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat from Arizona,
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staying out until 3 a.m. last summer, partying at a club on an official trip to Bogota, Colombia,
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despite warnings of a credible threat to his life, according to the outlet Notice.
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Senator Gallego joining a congressional delegation to, quote,
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strengthen bilateral relations with Colombia, according to a press release relating to the
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August 2025 trip. Embassy staff reportedly informing the senator's security detail
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of the threat, which was relayed while he was at dinner. After some discussion,
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three sources telling Notice the senator decided to stay out, walking to the nightclub after dinner.
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Senator Gallego and his chief of staff reportedly extending an invite
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to other staffers on the trip, though it is unclear if any joined.
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Notice reporting there are no allegations of inappropriate behavior between Senator Gallego
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and any embassy staff members. The following morning, Senator Gallego's chief of staff
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reportedly had to get a key to access the senator's room to wake him up for the bus set
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for the airport. A source close to Gallego telling Notice,
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it is standard procedure for the chief of staff to conduct a wake-up call involving
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knocking on the door and retrieving him. A spokesperson for the senator responding in
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a statement that Gallego, quote, coordinated closely with embassy security throughout the
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trip, including on the evening in question, and followed all security guidance. The report comes
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as Senator Gallego faces increasing scrutiny due to his close friendship with now-former
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Congressman Eric Swalwell, who resigned from the House last week amid sexual misconduct
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allegations. Mr. Gallego speaking to reporters shortly before Swalwell's resignation about the
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nature of their friendship. Eric Swalwell lied to all of us. But to be clear again, I also had no
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knowledge of predatory behavior, sexual assault, or harassment. Have you ever engaged in any
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inappropriate sexual misconduct or behavior toward your staff, other staff, other women outside of
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your marriage? No. In a separate matter, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of
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Florida last week, referring accusations of sexual misconduct regarding an alleged incident
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involving Senator Gallego and Eric Swalwell to Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
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The congresswoman last Thursday on CBS elaborating on the accusations.
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Without, I guess, getting too graphic, there is a woman that allegedly is coming forward
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with attorneys, wants to go on record about an incident that occurred between the two of them
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at the same time. And the event was sexual in nature, allegedly. But it's not just that.
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There's also two apparently issues of campaign finance violations. I'm definitely not in the
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Senate, but I think that Thune should probably take that seriously and look into it, especially
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given the nature of what's become apparent regarding Eric Swalwell. Earlier this week,
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Majority Leader Thune confirming the matter had been referred to the Senate Ethics Committee
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for investigation. Axios reports Senator Gallego is cooperating with the committee.
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The senator denies all accusations of wrongdoing, a spokesperson telling Axios, quote,
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these are right-wing conspiracy theories being parroted by a fringe far-right member of Congress.
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The secretive investigation process can take months or even years to complete,
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unless, of course, we see another congressional resignation first.
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Prediction Market Calci announcing Wednesday it has fined and suspended three political candidates
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by the Federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
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to oil prices to weather patterns and much more.
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with massive well-timed trades raising serious concerns
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about the use of privileged or insider information to win thousands or more.
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Yesterday, the DOJ announcing the arrest of a U.S. Special Forces soldier
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involved in the operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro,
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accusing him of placing roughly $30,000 in bets on outcomes tied to Venezuela and Maduro,
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Calci and other prediction markets also facing multiple ongoing lawsuits,
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alleging they are actually unlicensed gambling markets.
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A number of states exploring various forms of regulatory action.
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Against that backdrop, Kalshi now moving to tighten its rules,
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flagging what it calls newly released safeguards
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designed to block political candidates from trading on markets
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independent U.S. Senate candidate from Virginia, Mark Moran,
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former Republican congressional candidate Ezequiel Enriquez in Texas,
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and Democratic Minnesota State Senator Matt Kline,
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Kline and Enriquez cooperating with the investigation,
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agreeing to pay fines and accept five-year bans
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that he placed a $50 bet on winning his primary,
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adding he was unaware it violated exchange rules,
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Moran, however, taking a different approach, publicly disputing the allegations in a social
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media video, saying he placed the bets to expose the dangers of prediction markets.
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You've heard your attention. Now, earlier today, a call she came out and they said
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that I insider traded on a market about me running for office. Now, I've been waiting for this.
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And why is that? It's to call attention to something much larger, how elections can be bought
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and our democracy is up for sale and call sheet is responsible i am doing this not to make money
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people call me a grifter they call me many things but like in reality like i've only lost money i
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have not made any money and so it takes someone to be sacrificial lamb essentially to go out there
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say the things that need to be said that our elections can be bought that the donor class
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controls, and these prediction markets are only helping to facilitate those with money
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to continue to buy us off. In a post accompanying the video, Moran arguing the platform can be
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manipulated by large donors to influence public perception, claiming market movement itself can
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sway voters when amplified by media coverage. He also denies engaging in insider trading,
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telling The Washington Post he had already publicly discussed his plans to run before
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placing any bets. Moran telling The Washington Post he wagered $77 on entering the race,
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earning a $424 payout, and placed an additional $105 bet on becoming the Democratic nominee,
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despite planning to ultimately drop out of the Dem primary and run as an independent.
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He says Calci initially proposed a settlement including an $800 fine, a platform ban,
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and a required public statement, terms he flatly rejected. Moran telling The Wall Street Journal
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he has no intention of paying the fine. In a statement, Kalshi indicating serious infractions
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can be referred to the DOJ or CFTC, but that has not happened in these three cases. It's unclear
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if Kalshi will move to collect the fine from Moran. And that'll do it for your AM update.
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Have a great weekend. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show later today,
00:17:40.760
live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly,