B-52 Crash Kills 8, Trump Details Iran Deal, Alleged White House UFC Plot Foiled: AM Update 6/17

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0:39After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable. A B-52 bomber crashes moments after takeoff during a test flight in California, killing all eight people on board. It's a 60 day period or so. I think it's going to happen fairly on time. I think they're going to want to get it done. Day two of the G7 summit, President Trump revealing new details of the Iran deal and warning Israel over its strikes on Lebanon. The FBI disrupting a plot to unleash explosive devices and sniper fire at Sunday's White House UFC event. And San Francisco Giants pitchers write Bible verses on their caps during Pride Night, drawing a warning from Major League Baseball officials.

1:27All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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3:08Eight people tragically killed Monday after a B-52 Strata Fortress crashed during a routine test flight at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California. The nuclear-capable bomber going down almost immediately after takeoff around 11.20 a.m., erupting in flames on the airfield. Newly released tracking data showing the B-52 remaining airborne for just 3 minutes and 15 seconds. The aircraft making a sharp right turn, nearly reversing direction before plunging toward the ground at a rate approaching 60 miles an hour, reports the Associated Press. The eight people aboard representing a mix of military service members, government civilians, and contractors, with officials still working to notify their families.

3:54Boeing confirming two of its employees were among those killed. Colonel James Hayes speaking to reporters yesterday afternoon. It was a B-52 that was on initial takeoff, supporting the radar modernization program, which is a test, it was a local test sortie. It took off, and immediately after takeoff, crashed and burst into flames. Our team of first responders snapped into action and immediately took, cordoned off the area and took the appropriate action to start putting out the flames. After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable.

4:38At that point, we went into the notification process and as I said before, that's taking place right now. Colonel Hayes telling reporters investigators do not yet know what caused the crash. The Air Force now launching an investigation expected to take several months, with Hayes warning the complete findings will likely not become public for roughly six months. The first victim publicly identified as Lieutenant Colonel Miles Middleton, a decorated test pilot, former commander of the 419th Flight Test Squadron and graduate of the Air Force Test pilot school, according to the New York Post. Middleton leaves behind his wife, Pam, and their two children, a boy and a girl.

5:19KTLA identifying another victim as Jeremy Smith, a civilian flight test engineer for the War Department who worked at Edwards for about 10 years. Smith leaves behind his wife, Lauren, and their two young sons, one about two years old and the other just four months. The airfield remaining closed on Tuesday as crews worked to make the wreckage safe enough for search and recovery teams to enter. The sprawling Mojave Desert installation serving as one of the nation's premier flight testing sites for generations, testing military jets, helicopters, drones, and even space shuttles across its unusually long runways.

5:56It is also where test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947. The B-52 introduced in 1955, making it one of the oldest aircraft still operating in the U.S. military. The long-range heavy bomber normally carries a crew of five and can haul roughly 70 ,000 pounds of conventional or nuclear weapons. The bomber most recently flying combat missions during the U.S. conflict with Iran. Monday's disaster marking the deadliest B-52 crash in more than four decades. Nine crew members were killed in 1982 when a B-52 crashed during a test training mission at the former Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento.

6:39We spoke with decorated Navy Top Gun fighter pilot Wiz Buckley, who tells us the circumstances of this crash are almost impossible to comprehend. I'm going to age myself, but in my nearly four decades of aviation, I can't remember a mishap quite like this. a fully loaded bomber taken off and immediately crashing. We don't even know if it took off formally. And, you know, looking at the wreckage, it's halfway down the runway, it looks like. Edwards Air Force Base has test runways, and they can even land the space shuttle back in the day out there. So they're really long desert runways. But we're going to have to wait a little bit more.

7:22So don't know if it was an engine issue. maybe a massive hydraulic failure or losing flight control authority. I'm racking my brain as a military aviator. I've been involved in mishap investigations, and I'm at a loss, and a lot of other folks in the military aviation community are as well. The doomed flight supporting what the Air Force calls its radar modernization program. was telling us that broad description likely conceals highly sensitive testing. When the Air Force uses words like, you know, radar modernization program, RMP, that's going to be code words for we're not going to tell you what it was doing, right?

8:05So that's what we expect out of these test pilot folks, is for them to be doing some secret squirrel stuff in the desert where there's not a lot of eyeballs or prying eyes. So and this the test community is a really underreported community. And, you know, there's there's reasons for that, obviously, because they are obviously doing work to keep us on on top and ahead of our enemies. But these before any airplane weapon system or weapon gets to regular young men and women to fly these in combat, they got to they rip them apart and put them through their paces. So the same thing if radar modernization program, you know, that's a lot of big words for they were doing some secret squirrel stuff.

8:51Whatever investigators ultimately find, the crash is renewing questions about the age of America's bomber fleet. Our bomber fleet is aging and it's kind of an embarrassment, to be honest with you. I remember flying formation on some of these B-52s. They look like emaciated dogs. Like you could see the ribs. You see the ribs of the aircraft fuselage. And I'm like, you know, I'm in a single seat F-18. I'm talking on the back radio to my buddies. Like, look at that thing. There's no way in hell I would get in that thing. And, you know, going up and down and doing all this test work, it puts a lot of stress on the fuselage, right?

9:32The more you fly these airplanes, we call them cycles, right? Up and down, a takeoff and a landing. You get up to altitude. The cabin pressurizes. as you come down, it's down at sea level. Man, when you're doing that to a 50, 60-year-old airplane, it doesn't matter how they monitorize it, it's still an old airplane at heart. Wiz warning that any discovery of a broader airframe problem could carry major consequences for the remaining B-52 fleet, particularly as the bombers continue flying active missions overseas. God forbid it was a mishap related to the age. Man, this is kind of the wrong point in time for us to find that out, right?

10:16As we got Iran going on and I'm pretty sure Xi Jinping is going to be making a move on Taiwan in the near future. Just at a time where we might need these bombers the most, we might not be using them if something, God forbid, horrific happened airframe-wise. Though the Air Force describes the mission as routine, Wiz cautioning that in military aviation, routine never means without danger. I get why the Air Force said routine, but I've been in military aviation for over two decades. There is absolutely no such thing as a routine flight ever. I get the message they were trying to send, like this wasn't some super Gucci tactical low-level, pretending they're flying through the mountains to evade radar type of dynamic mission.

11:07I get what they were saying, but I flew fighter jets for the Navy for 15 years and I lost 16 buddies. And not a single one of those was a combat mission. So I understand why the Air Force Public Affairs would say that this wasn't supposed to be some sort of crazy high-risk mission, but anytime you're strapping on a military aircraft, there is risk involved. 100 percent. President Trump in France for day two of the G7 summit, where the agreement with Iran and the future of the Middle East continue to dominate discussions. During a sit-down with the president of the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Trump offering a rough timeline for what comes after Friday's signing.

11:51The president predicting the next phase of negotiations with Iran could move faster than the roughly 60 days currently envisioned. It's a 60-day period or so. I think it's going to happen fairly on time. We've been both involved. I think they're going to want to get it done. Iran wants to get it done. They have to get back to business. And the relationship is now normalized. So I think it's going to go pretty quickly. Could go faster. Could take longer too, but it could go faster. The agreement itself still not officially released. It is expected by Friday, though a draft has been circulating and was outlined at the top of the MK show yesterday.

12:32President Trump previewing some of these central provisions. There's so much interest in the text of the document. Why not? Why not release the document? Oh, I will. Well, because I I'd like to get a formal setting for us before we do that. But I have no problem with that. It's a good document. It is what it says. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. That's what it says. It won't have one to buy, to develop. They will not have a nuclear weapon. And I would say that's about 99.9 % of what I wanted, because we couldn't let that happen. You couldn't let that happen. And they won't have a nuclear weapon.

13:08Now, in addition to that, the Strader is going to be open toll-free. And it's toll-free beyond the 60 days. Somebody said, oh, it's toll-free for 60 days. No, no. It's toll-free, period. One major question still remaining, what happens to Iran's existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium now buried beneath the nuclear facilities struck by American B-2 bombers last summer? Iran said they would welcome the U.S. coming in. Iran will be just fine. What's happening is that at an appropriate time, there's no rush at all. We have cameras from space on it. We know everybody that goes there, which is like nobody.

13:47The B-2 bombers hit it. The entire mountain collapsed inside it. It's a very tough excavation. Nobody else can do it but us and probably China. They have the equipment. We have the equipment. We're in no rush, but we get it. And when we get it, we'll destroy it. We're not looking to take it. We're looking to destroy it. We have plenty of it. Vice President J.D. Vance yesterday on the MK Show offering a broader explanation of how the administration plans to verify Iran is dismantling every stage of its nuclear weapons program. No, look, our plan is, well, what we would be inspecting is the full part of building a nuclear weapon.

14:26So I'm hardly a nuclear engineer, so forgive the scientists are going to have to forgive me for this summary. But building a nuclear weapon is the infrastructure to enrich uranium. It's the infrastructure to turn enriched uranium into nuclear fuel. It's the infrastructure to turn that nuclear fuel into a bomb that you can detonate. It's the delivery mechanism for that bomb. The cascades and the centrifuges. All of this stuff, right? Can those stay? Are those coming out? No. Our plan under this deal is, again, the Iranians are getting a lot of benefits so long as they dismantle that nuclear weapons program.

14:59And again, people always ask me, why do you believe them this time? I don't believe them. I don't trust, Megan, I don't trust anything that anybody says. I trust what people do. And the way this deal is structured is that as they do more, they receive more. As they do less, they receive less. And that's the basic structure. Back in France, President Trump telling reporters he would have no problem sending the agreement to Congress for review. I wouldn't mind. I mean, you know, the Democrats, you know, we call them Democrats because they're dumb people. The Democrats are, well, what I'd like to do is send it to Congress saying you shouldn't approve it and I'll get it approved.

15:38They do whatever they, whatever I say, they want to do the opposite. The president then turning to one of the biggest unresolved threats to the broader agreement, the continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran maintains that further Israeli attacks could violate the deal, while Israel insists it will continue operating against Hezbollah as necessary. Mr. Trump now publicly pressuring Israel to pull back. We have that little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head, and that's Hezbollah. The man that's running Syria now, he's done an amazing job of pulling it together.

16:17He's not a Boy Scout, but he's done an amazing job of pulling it together. And he is very good with Hezbollah, does not like them. And I'll tell you what, Israel's fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed. And you don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody. Because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses. And they're not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you. And I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah. Because to be honest with you, I think they'd do a better job of doing it. I didn't like where, two hours before we're signing the agreement, that there was an attack in Lebanon, in Beirut.

17:01It wasn't like in the southern side. It was in Beirut. I did not like that. I let them know that. Israel not immediately responding to the president's criticism, as Israeli drone strikes yesterday killed at least four people in southern Lebanon. Coming up, five men charged in a plot to turn Sunday's White House UFC event into a killing field with exploding drones and a sniper ambush. and Major League Baseball facing backlash after issuing warnings to players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night hats.

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18:21Think about this. 10 years ago, an ounce of gold was about$1 ,200. Today, it's around$4 ,500. Where will it be in 10 years? Text MK to 989898 to take advantage of free America 250 silver with qualifying purchase before July 10th. Again, text MK to the number 989898 today. The DOJ charging five men with plotting a mass casualty attack targeting government officials and thousands of other people gathered for Sunday night's UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. The investigation remains ongoing, investigators now examining a much larger network of potential participants. According to federal court filings, the plot calling for drones carrying explosives to detonate near the north side of the White House grounds, triggering panic and forcing thousands of spectators and government officials to flee south.

19:18That's when investigators allege a team of snipers would have been waiting to open fire on the escaping crowd. Federal law enforcement sources tell Fox News and the New York Post that a second wave of attackers then planned to storm the White House gates. Federal authorities first learning about the alleged attack because one suspect's mother alerted police. According to an FBI affidavit, the mother of 19-year-old Ohio suspect Tyson Proper contacting local authorities on June 10, alarmed by her son's recent firearm purchases and his communications with people online. The complaint alleging Proper spent roughly$3 ,000 in graduation money on guns, ammo, magazines, body armor, and other equipment.

20:03His father telling investigators Proper quit his job and planned to meet people he knew from the internet to conduct missions and recon. Investigators interviewing Proper on June 11 at a medical facility where prosecutors allege he admitted helping to plan a coordinated attack against the U.S. government. According to a DOJ press release, Proper revealing that members of the group began communicating around March, before the more serious participants moved their planning onto an encrypted messaging service. Court filings reviewed by the Associated Press describe encrypted signal conversations involving roughly 20 participants, along with detailed maps, escape routes, and discussion of a safe house.

20:48In addition to proper, the FBI arresting 32-year-old Michael Allen Thomas and 24-year-old Brian Omar Roa in California, 31-year-old Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez in Nebraska, and 32-year-old Daniel Eskridge in Missouri. Federal searches allegedly uncovering rifles, handguns, extended magazines, ammo, and tactical equipment at several of the suspects' homes. Prosecutors identifying Alvarez as a key organizer, accusing him of mapping drone launch sites and sniper positions around the White House, along with an escape route and a safe location where participants could regroup. The New York Post reporting investigators believe at least 12 people across the country may have been connected to the alleged plot, with more arrests and search warrants possible.

21:36Federal sources telling Fox News the suspects in custody are American citizens, with investigators finding no known foreign connection. All five men charged with conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a potential sentence of life in prison and a$250 ,000 fine. The Justice Department also bringing conspiracy charges involving violence on White House grounds, an offense that carries up to five years in prison. Earlier yesterday morning, FBI Director Cash Patel announcing the disrupted plot in a post on X, sharing a screenshot of the Fox News article writing, quote, Thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners and the DOJ in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody, and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold.

22:24Patel's announcement now triggering a clash between the FBI and Secret Service. MS Now's Ken Delaneyan reporting, citing three people familiar with the investigation, that Secret Service officials are furious Patel publicly revealed the case while it remained sealed, and while roughly 10 additional suspects had not yet been taken into custody. Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn appearing to rebuke Patel without naming him in a press conference. I'll tell you a phrase I learned early in my career in the New York field office, and that's don't choke on your own smoke. Anyone that believes that case was worked in a bubble is naive.

23:04I'll tell you the Secret Service led that investigation from the beginning. I'll tell you that it's ongoing. In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it. Quinn insisting the Secret Service deliberately withheld details to protect the integrity of the investigation and its security operation. Three San Francisco Giants pitchers receiving a warning from Major League Baseball after adding Bible verses to their team-issued caps during Friday night's Pride Night game against the Chicago Cubs. Starting pitcher Landon Roop writing Genesis 9, 12 through 16, beside the Giants' rainbow-colored logo.

23:47The passage describes God placing a rainbow in the clouds as the sign of his covenant with Noah, promising never again to destroy all life with a flood. Rupp explaining to reporters after the game that he intended the message as an expression of his Christian faith. Why was it important to make that known tonight? Kind of what the verse says. You know, the rainbow is a symbol of God's covenant to us, and us as believers stand firm in that. But I don't, I mean, it's not anything, you know um there's no there's no hate at all um it's it's just what i want to stand for and what i stand in i believe in god and i think you know god has blessed me in so many ways and i don't i don't think i'll be here right now if it wasn't for him relief pitchers jt brewbaker and ryan walker also taking the mound with bible verse references written on their pride night caps, a fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, declining to wear the special edition hat altogether, instead choosing the Giants' traditional black and orange cap.

24:58Hentges telling reporters, quote, it's just something that I feel like I was forced to support when I don't morally support it. There wasn't hatred behind it. I think that's kind of something that's misinterpreted. MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney releasing a statement on Monday, quote, The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations. The Giants separately apologizing in a statement, We understand that the choices by individual players have caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ plus community, and we are sorry for that.

25:35Those choices do not change our organization's commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all. Following backlash over its initial response, MLB later clarifying in a statement that the warning was not disciplinary and had, quote, absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message. The league explaining that its uniform regulations prohibit players from writing anything on team apparel or equipment. The statement continuing, quote, we have given the same warning numerous times in the past to players for messages such as dad, happy Mother's Day, I Love Mom, and names of family members.

26:15The hats were special issue, depicting the Giants logo, SF, in rainbow colors, meant to honor Pride Night. The special hats, first approved by the Team Brass in 2021 as the team's CEO declared the men allies of the LGBTQ plus community, but apparently not the biblical community, which is too divisive? and that'll do it for your am update i'm megan kelly join me back here for the mk show live on sirius xm's the megan kelly channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all podcast platforms

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