McConnell Health Questions, Maine Senate Turmoil, Tyler Robinson Evidence Fight: AM Update 7/9
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54 segmentsMore people, more devices, more AI. The way we live today takes a lot of energy. Wind and solar are powerful, but not always available. That's where natural gas comes in, with reliable energy whenever it's needed. Companies like energy transfer work behind the scenes, safely transporting these resources to facilities across the country through a network of underground pipelines. Learn more at it takesenergy.com. Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly wrap-up show on Sirius XM Channel 111. It's Thursday, July 9th, 2026, and this is your AM update. Kentucky's governor demanding answers about Mitch McConnell's health, as the 84-year-old senator remains hospitalized more than three weeks after reportedly being found unconscious as Washington home. And for that reason... We are suspending campaign operations. Graham Platner addressing the future of his embattled Senate campaign after days of pressure from Democrat leaders to step aside. The media's position is that it should be shown on the screen and that the public should be allowed to see it as well. A major courtroom fight over police interviews with Tyler Robinson's former roommate and alleged furry lover as prosecutors try to place the recordings into evidence and the media pushes for public access. and crews stabilizing a Manhattan skyscraper after buckling columns and bending steel triggered evacuations and fears of a possible collapse. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
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The prolonged stay and limited public information have fueled increasingly wild rumors online about the senator's condition. This week, several prominent Republicans began offering fresh assurances that they had personally spoken with Mitch McConnell and found him alert and engaged. Former Mitch McConnell aide and longtime friend Scott Jennings telling CNN that the senator unexpectedly called him Tuesday morning. When the phone rang and I was able to talk to him, I was, I was frankly pretty grateful. I mean, as I said, I've known him since I was a teenager. If it hadn't been for Mitch McConnell in the Mitch McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, you know, I would never have been able to go to college. He's been my mentor and he changed a trajectory in my life. So, you know, when things happen to him and happen to people in your life that you really care about, you know, you just sort of naturally feel extremely worried. So when I heard his voice today and he was clearly keeping up with stuff that made me happy to hear from him, because like everybody else, I've been. you know, somewhat in the dark about it. But to hear him talking and know that he's also talking to the Senate leadership, it made me pretty happy. All I can tell you today is all the rumors about him being dead or brain dead or, you know, being his body's being hidden somewhere. I've seen all kinds of crazy things on the internet. That's obviously not true because he picked up the phone and called me and that was a good thing. Senators John Thune and John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, also releasing statements describing lengthy conversations with Mr. Mitch McConnell. There has been no public appearance, recorded statement, or detailed medical update from the senator himself. Senator Mike Lee, Republican from Utah, summing up the remaining uncertainty on X, writing, quote, many of us aren't speaking about Mitch McConnell's condition because we know nothing about his condition. The senator facing several health problems in recent years, including falls leading to a concussion and fractured rib, two highly publicized episodes in which he froze while speaking and another hospitalization for flu-like symptoms earlier this year. He has also recently used a wheelchair while traveling through the Capitol. Mitch McConnell has already announced that he will retire when his current term ends in January, making the practical question of what would happen if the seat became vacant before then increasingly relevant. If the seat were to become vacant before his term expires in January, the timing could create an unusual legal and electoral situation. WCPO9, turning to Northern Kentucky University to explain what Kentucky law requires. I asked Sean O'Reilly at NKU about the prospect of him resigning or dying before his term ends in January. Is it clear what that triggers? What happens? So the law as it stands was passed in 2024. It says that the governor has to call a special election. The law stripped Governor Andy Beshear of the power to appoint an interim senator. Andy Beshear would have 30 days to call the election and candidates would then have 49 days to consider running. In the meantime, it will remain vacant. That timetable becomes complicated on and after August 3rd, where the special election would run into the already planned November general election, potentially confusing voters. And Riley says creating a question. for the courts to weigh in on. This would be the first time we're testing the law, and so I think there are some pieces that are a little less clear in the law. Republican Congressman Andy Barr earlier this year winning his party's nomination to succeed Mitch McConnell in the regular November election. He will face Democrat Charles Cory Booker for the seat in a state President Trump carried by more than 30 points in 2024.
Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Platner, dropping out of the race, ending his campaign after days of mounting pressure from his own party. I think as many of you know, over the past couple days, I have faced some very serious allegations, and I just want to make it clear. This is all false. It has placed an immense amount of weight on me as I think about what needs to happen now. We're going to lose all of the things that any campaign needs on the basic level simply to function. Larger organizations, the national level party, the bigger donor networks, they have all committed to spending no money in this race if I'm in it. We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be made. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations. The announcement ending a spectacular political collapse, after Graham Platner spent days refusing to accept what virtually everyone around him already understood. His campaign was dead. The unraveling beginning Monday, when a former girlfriend accused Graham Platner of entering her home without permission and forcing her to have sex with him in 2021. Graham Platner categorically denying any non-consensual behavior, but his political support evaporating within hours. Democrat leaders and former allies across the party calling on him to quit, while National Senate Democrats warned they would not spend a dime on the main race as long as Graham Platner remained the nominee. Senior advisor, Morris Katz, flying in from New York to discuss Graham Platner's withdrawal, joining campaign officials already gathered at the House. The Washington Post reporting campaign leadership sounding resigned during a staff call yesterday afternoon, even as Graham Platner himself continued resisting the inevitable. The New York Post reporting Katz and other advisors were also looking for a way to help Graham Platner, quote, remain a voice in the Senate race. The effort to preserve his influence only deepening the fury inside the Democrat Party. On Tuesday, party executive director Devin Murphy Anderson, publicly ordering Graham Platner to drop out so they can begin the process of finding his replacement. As you know, the main Democratic Party has been working around the clock to develop a process to replace our U.S. Senate nominee that is open, inclusive, transparent, and fair. The integrity of this process is just as important as the outcome, and we are committed to ensuring that Democrats across our state can have confidence in both. Unfortunately, Graham Platner's team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner's team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the US Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like.
We have also reiterated that Graham Platner must drop out of this race so that Democrats in Maine can focus on defeating Susan Collins this November. We look forward to making this process public as soon as Graham Platner formally withdraws from this race. The Maine Democrat Party convening an emergency virtual meeting of its 113 member state committee yesterday afternoon as officials raced to prepare for Graham Platner's eventual departure. Graham Platner's refusal to step aside sooner, also eating into the party's already narrow timeline. Democrats meeting him out by Monday, July 13th to replace him on the November ballot, with a new nominee due by July 27th. All of it leaving Democrats scrambling to rebuild a campaign against five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins in a state they had counted on as one of their best opportunities to retake the Senate in November. Coming up, a major courtroom fight over recorded interviews with Tyler Robinson's former roommate and alleged so-called trans lover as the defense seeks sweeping redactions, and a Manhattan skyscraper now stable after buckling columns and bending steel sparking fears of a possible collapse.
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is that it should be shown on the screen and that the public should be allowed to see it as well. To the extent there's any sort of compromise at all, we allow the audio to play. After a recess, Judge Tony Graff initially said would last 15 minutes stretched to roughly an hour, he returned to announce his decision. Where I'm landing today is up until from the beginning, until that page 19, 3255. That portion, I am ruling, is admissible and may be published. Again, if the state wishes that last minute in 12 seconds to be played, they can either take the time tonight to redact what the court is not going to allow to be published. And I wish to differentiate. I'm considering it all. But for publication purposes, that portion is not going to be permitted to be played in the courtroom. The judge then allowing attorneys from all sides to respond to his ruling. In a rare moment, the attorney representing the Kirk family urging Judge Graff to make the video public. Your Honor, Jeffrey Nyman on behalf of the Kirk family. I've been very hesitant to speak up at these proceedings. We understand it's the state, the defense, and the judge are you're all doing your job. But I feel as if we need to. I want to be clear as to what the Kirk's family's position is on all of this. The Kirk family believes strongly that if the evidence is being admitted in this preliminary hearing, it should be made public for the world to see. No redactions. This court has tools at its disposal to make sure the defendant receives a fair trial. You'll use them if you find that you need to. That's it, Your Honor. To not be transparent here... To not be open, to not let the world see what happened, will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system. And that's not what anybody wants. That's not what any of us believe should happen here. And we'd ask the court to consider the position of the family in making its ultimate decision. After hearing those arguments, Judge Graff revising his ruling and ordering additional portions of the interview removed before the recording could be played publicly. The judge ultimately ordering prosecutors to make the required edits overnight with the edited interview expected to be played in court later today. A Manhattan skyscraper that sparked fears of a possible collapse appears stable for now after crews worked through the night to reinforce the structure. The emergency beginning Tuesday morning inside the former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street. Workers discovered buckling columns and bending steel as crews convert the office tower into roughly 1,600 apartments. Several floors near the damage columns also sagging, prompting fears the structure could give way. Nine nearby buildings evacuated as a precaution, with surrounding streets shut down while engineers assessed the danger. One union official suggesting the weight of a planned addition may have contributed to the failure.
Steamfitters Local 638 Representative Clifford Johnson speaking to reporters outside the building about what went wrong inside the tower. This building was renovated and they were going to add another 16 stories to it. But at that point, you need to add more steel. And they obviously didn't add the right amount of steel. So the north side of that building is crumbling. The eye beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous. Johnson speaking to Fox News, saying the damage raises serious questions about contractor oversight and safety. This is not something you typically see in New York City. You have one of the best labor forces in the world. So to have a building, have steel bending while it's under construction, to me it's a lack of vetting your contractors. To me, it's a lack of not picking safety over profits. The city pushing back on suggestions, the project lacked scrutiny. 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, crews working overnight to shore up the damaged section and install supports to carry the weight, temporary beams, now in place across several floors, with crews continuing the work throughout the day yesterday. Most evacuated residents. now allowed to return home as five nearby buildings remaining under evacuation orders, including a school and a hotel. The tower previously cited for 22 violations, with its owners owing the city, roughly $39,000 in fines. Fox News reporting most of those violations involved elevator problems. No injuries reported. Construction now halted as engineers investigate what caused the failure and determine the long-term repair plan. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party. Catch the Megyn Kelly Show live on series XM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly and all podcast platforms.
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