Karmelo Anthony Denied New Trial, Trump Campaigns For Darline, Shock Hospital Mix-Up: AM Update 8/24

0:00Hey, Chicagoland, the Wayfair store is in your neighborhood at Eden's Plaza and Wilmette. Finally, you can feel the fabric, sit on the sectionals, and even open the refrigerators. Plus, our in-store designers will help you bring it all together with free one-on-one design support for any project on any budget. Yep, we said free. Oh, and did we mention the cafe? So what are you waiting for? Come see all that's in store. Visit the Wayfair store today at Eden's Plaza and Wilmette. Wayfair, every style, every home. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tom Bevan, co-host of Rookler Politics on the Megyn Kelly Channel.

0:37It's Monday, August 24th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. A Texas judge slaps down Carmelo Anthony's bid for a new trial as new texts from the convicted killer come to light. Darlene is somebody I've known for a long time. I asked her to do this. I said, Darlene, you got to do it because everyone loves her. Everyone respects her. President Trump putting his political muscle behind the late Senator Lindsey Graham's sister in South Carolina over the weekend. One year after Irina Zarutska is stabbed to death on a North Carolina light rail, her family is suing the city they say failed her. This is life changing.

1:10You know, you don't come out of this without some type of life altering catastrophic deficit. And a surgical drug mix up at a Tennessee hospital, leaving at least one paralyzed and several others suffering severe complications. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

1:53Americans. Credit cards can keep your payments secure and provide rewards that families use to help make everyday purchases more affordable. The Electronic Payments Coalition says the Durban Marshall mandates would let corporate megastores cut corners on credit card processing, routing transactions over cheaper untested networks with weaker security and fewer protections. Find out more at guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. Texas judge rejecting Carmelo Anthony's bid for a new trial Saturday, keeping the 19-year-old's 35-year prison sentence intact. Anthony's defense arguing the trial was compromised, pointing to strict courtroom rules, jury instructions, and a, quote, gentleman's agreement with prosecutors limiting what evidence jurors would hear.

2:40Anthony had achieved a legal win following his conviction, with original judge John Roach tossed off the case. Roach telling a local outlet that jurors, quote, got it right in convicting Anthony. Legal experts saying the rejection of Anthony's bid for a new trial is not surprising. Here's criminal defense attorney and host of In the Well on the MK True Crime Channel, Mark Garagos on NewsNation. This is not unexpected given what happened earlier this week when the text messages that were released that apparently weren't used during the trial came out and it was not helpful to this young man, to the accused or now convicted.

3:19And I think where they're headed with this new legal team is they lost the motion for new trial, but it becomes apparent to me they're now going to probably focus in on ineffective assistance of counsel of the trial lawyer in this case. And I think that's the newest tack that the newest legal team is going to take. Those texts Garagos is referencing, part of evidence that was not introduced during the trial. The texts were revealed during hearings last week held on Anthony's motion for a new trial. According to CBS News Texas, prosecutors saying Anthony repeatedly threatened to murder his girlfriend in text messages, one of them saying, quote, how many bullets you want coming out of your chest, and in another, quote, when I stab somebody, I'm going to lick their blood off the blade.

4:05This is not the end of the road for Anthony. Attorney Mark Reichel describing what's next on NewsNation. Does this officially end the case, Mark, or is there more to learn? No. So when somebody's sentenced to a sentence like that, which was 35 years, almost a life sentence, there'll be plenty of time to relitigate this exact matter. Right away, they brought it up and said, you know, new lawyers said, hey, there was this gentleman's agreement. Much to our client's detriment. Shouldn't happen, you know, as bad practice on their part. So they wanted to get in there right away and get a new trial.

4:35Look, it's been denied. He's going to go up on appeal. But while that's pending, they can continue to gather evidence, do some research, investigate, get more evidence about this gentleman's agreement, kind of look at the record, determine how it really prejudiced him, refile a motion. You can file a new trial motion on new evidence just about any time. So this is not the end of this case. Not at all. Nineteen-year-old Carmelo Anthony convicted in June of murdering Austin Metcalf, who was fatally stabbed during a high school track meet near Dallas last year. Anthony and Metcalfe were both 17 years old at the time of the stabbing.

5:08Anthony remains behind bars, serving his 35-year sentence for Metcalfe's killing. President Trump taking the political spotlight to South Carolina over the weekend, rallying Republicans behind Senator Darlene Graham ahead of Tuesday's Senate runoff. Darlene, who was appointed last month to serve out the rest of her brother Lindsey's current term following his sudden death last month, finished in first in South Carolina's Republican primary on August 11th, but only capturing about 32 % of the vote, despite Mr. Trump's endorsement, and heading to a runoff with a second-place finisher. She now faces Representative Ralph Norman in Tuesday's runoff.

5:44According to the Kalshi prediction market, Graham currently with a 69 % chance to emerge victorious tomorrow, with Norman at just 32%. Graham taking some heat recently after stumbling on the topic of Taiwan and the South China Sea during a debate last week. Senator, are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why? I'm sorry, could you repeat the question? Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? And if so, why or how? I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security. I'm not that informed on national security.

6:24So, but I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years. So I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army. I'm not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military. President Trump jumping to Graham's defense on Friday before his South Carolina trip. What she was is being honest. She's very smart and she was being honest. I mean, she's into the price of groceries, the price of food, the price of beef. And it's not it hasn't been her thing, but she's surrounded by very good people.

7:07And she said that she's totally for the military. I mean, she's going to do what the military wants and really what the president wants. She understands that national security is my thing. And she is a terrific woman who answered. I watched that. I thought it was a very honest answer, actually. The president continuing that sentiment at the rally. Darlene is somebody I've known for a long time. I asked her to do this. I said, Darlene, you got to do it because everyone loves her. Everyone respects her. I've known her through Lindsay. I've known her for a long time. I think Lindsay respected Darlene more than any other person he knows, including me.

7:48That does not make me happy. I'm not I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy about that. But one of those things. But with your help this November, we're going to stop the radical left Democrat communists here in South Carolina and all across the nation. Mr. Trump also telling supporters to, quote, pretend he's on the ballot, warning that if Republicans lose control of Congress, Democrats will try and impeach him again. So just say that I'm on the ballot one One more time, you got to say it, and you got to come out and vote. Because if we lose, you're going to lose your border. You're going to lose your tax cuts.

8:27You're going to lose everything that we've done. We've gotten the biggest tax cuts in history. Think about no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security for our seniors, no tax on overtime. All of that's going to be gone. Your taxes are going to go up. Your pay is going to go down. Your jobs are going to be lost. They're going to end up closing up. Your businesses are going to flee just like they did years ago. They're going to flee our country. I'm going to be impeached. They're going to impeach me. They have no idea why. President Trump taking a minute to respond to a heckler in the crowd. As the protester was still being escorted out, the president firing back.

9:05Oh, I see. You're going to impeach him. Why? Well, I don't know. I don't know.

9:18USA! USA! USA! USA! That's all right. That person's going home to mom, going to get scolded, because mom is voting for us. Mom is voting. The winner of tomorrow's runoff in South Carolina will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November. Coming up, a year after Irina Zarutska was murdered on a North Carolina light rail, her family taking legal action against the city, and several people suffering serious post-surgery complications after a drug mix-up at a Tennessee hospital.

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10:28But listen, Lean is not for the casual dieter with only a few pounds to lose. The doctors at Brickhouse Nutrition created Lean for frustrated dieters with 10 or more pounds to lose. You could get started with 20 % off and free rush shipping, adding lean to your healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit TakeLean.com and enter MK for your discount. That's promo code MK at TakeLean.com. One year after Irina Zarutska was stabbed to death aboard a Charlotte light rail train, her family is now suing the city, arguing her death was preventable. In addition to the city of Charlotte, the lawsuit names Professional Police Services, a private security company contracted by the Charlotte Area Transit System as a defendant.

11:12The lawsuit, alleging the transit system contributed to Zorutska's alleged wrongful death, by failing to provide adequate security on the light rail, hire qualified people, enforce fares, and protect lawful passengers from foreseeable criminal attacks. Her family's attorney, Lauren Newton, tells WCNC those shortcomings matter. No guards, no gates, no turnstiles, no fare enforcement. The city was losing five to six and a half million dollars a year from not collecting payors. We know there wasn't a guard on the train. Her death was foreseeable and it was preventable. And that's what this wrongful death lawsuit is about, seeking damages.

11:52You've been in contact with Irina's family. What are they saying one year after her death? What are they telling you right now? With the one year being upon us, it's bringing everything back to the surface, reliving it all over again. And they understand that both the criminal justice system and the civil justice system, these are necessary to get justice for the family. Newton saying the family still trusts the system to hold Arena's killer, DeCarlos Brown Jr., accountable. Newton saying the city needs to be held accountable to make sure the light rail is safe for all to ride. The civil justice system is going to hold other parties accountable outside of DeCarlos Brown Jr.

12:39We want not only for us to feel safe riding the CATS system, but we want folks who visit our community to feel safe. And we want to make sure that where we were is not where we go back to. Had there been physical barriers, turnstiles, gates to prevent DeCarlos Brown Jr. from getting on the light rail on August 22, 2025, had there been fair validators, DeCarlos Brown Jr. would not have been on that train. According to the suit, the family is seeking damages for Irina's wrongful death, including funeral expenses, lost future earnings, and punitive damages. On August 22, 2025, Irina Zarutska boarded the light rail around 10 p.m.

13:27Approximately five minutes after Zarutska sat down, DeCarlos Brown Jr., who was seated behind her, stood up and stabbed her in the neck three times. Brown has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial and is expected to undergo treatment to restore his competency. At least one person is paralyzed after four patients undergoing routine knee surgery were given the wrong medicine at a hospital in Tennessee. According to multiple sources, Ascension St. Thomas Midtown in Nashville acknowledging a medication error after patients were allegedly injected with potassium phosphate instead of the anesthetic bupivacaine, the mistake resulting in serious, potentially life-altering complications.

14:05The family of one of the patients, a 72-year-old woman named Glenda Dorton, saying while her surgery was successful, she still has no feeling from her breastbone down. her daughter-in-law, Christina, telling local outlet WKRN they don't know what the path to recovery looks like if one exists at all. We know that there are other patients that are involved. You can kind of feel the vibe in the waiting room. You know, you can, it's heavy. The doctors, it's heavy with them. This is life-changing. You know, you don't come out of this without some type of life-altering, catastrophic deficit. We just are hoping that publicizing this get some sort of genius somewhere that knows what to do.

14:49Time is of the essence here for recovery. And Glenda isn't the only one. According to CBS News, one other patient is also saying they've been left paralyzed by the medical mix-up. As for the two other patients affected, they're reportedly suffering serious complications. The hospital CEO apologizing to the four patients and their families, saying the facility is providing ongoing care and support. President and CEO of the hospital, Dr. Shibuta Jagesa, releasing a statement reading in part, quote, Our hearts are with the four patients and their families impacted by this event. On behalf of our leadership and care teams, I am deeply sorry for the harm caused to our patients.

15:25We have met directly with each of the families to express our deep support, connecting them with spiritual care teams and ensured they have access to all appropriate resources and ongoing care needed. The day of the event, we self-reported to state regulators and launched a thorough investigation. We identified the cause and have implemented corrective safeguards. WKRN reporting the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is now looking into what happened after receiving information from state health regulators. Legal experts putting this squarely on the hospital. Here, Tennessee Attorney Clint Kelly on News Channel 5 Nashville.

15:58On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 50. I mean, it's the worst of the worst. This was a failure of the hospital itself as an entity to either police its own system or to ensure that its checklist, its safety protocols are enforced. And that's a hospital problem. Yes, employees can make mistakes, but were they set up to fail? You know, how often was this system checked? Were the policies enforced? The training mechanism, was there somebody there to supervise to ensure that decisions weren't being made that were not approved? That's all institutional in the hospital. The Dorton family saying Glenda's treatment so far has not worked.

16:37And while it's been hard, their family attorney saying she is leaning on her faith. But I've never seen something so devastating with a person who's alive. Her being alive and having to live the rest of her life, which would have been a promising one, with this condition is something that she's grappling with, but she's doing so with a rock-solid faith. that'll do it for your am update i'm tom bevan of real clear politics catch the megan kelly show today live on sirius xm's the megan kelly channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and all podcast platforms hey chicagoland the wayfair store is in your neighborhood at edens plaza and wilmette finally you can feel the fabric sit on the sectionals and even open the refrigerators Plus, our in-store designers will help you bring it all together with free one-on-one design support for any project on any budget.

17:31Yep, we said free. Oh, and did we mention the cafe? So what are you waiting for? Come see all that's in store. Visit the Wayfair store today at Edens Plaza and Wilmette.