Luigi Mangione Plea Talks, Manhattan Rent Hits New Record, LA Lakers Massive Sale: AM Update 8/13

0:00Hey, 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. 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 Edens Plaza and Wilmette. Way fair, every style, every home Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Dershynski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on Sirius 6M Channel 111.

0:38It's Thursday, August 13th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. Every one of us has something much bigger to unite around, and that is keeping MAGA extremism from bringing the chaos we see in Washington. Breaking down how the polls so badly missed, David Crowley completing a stunning comeback after dropping out of the Wisconsin governor race just weeks earlier. Luigi Mangione reportedly heading back to federal court tomorrow with speculation about a possible plea deal with potentially major implications for his separate state murder case. If you're one of the more than two million New Yorkers who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment, your rent's going to be frozen next year.

1:16Manhattan rents hitting a new all-time high, as real estate professionals reportedly point to two new housing policies from New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani adding pressure to the market, and the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly being sold again, this time for a record$12.5 billion just one year after the franchise came under new ownership. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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3:09Hong going into election day as the clear favorite despite facing growing scrutiny over her far-left record and resurfaced comments, including past support for abolishing police and ICE, a call to cancel Thanksgiving, and complaints about 4th of July fireworks. Crowley actually suspending his campaign just over a month before the primary, saying it had become clear he would not be the Democrat nominee for governor. Ten days later, Crowley jumping back into the race after Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez dropped out amid campaign finance problems, with former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes also eventually leaving the contest as the field rapidly narrowed.

3:47Outgoing Democrat Governor Tony Evers also reversing his previous decision to stay out of the primary, endorsing Crowley and campaigning for him in the closing stretch, as questions about Hong's electability against Republican nominee Congressman Tom Tiffany took center stage. Hong speaking to supporters while the race was still too close to call, pledging that regardless of the outcome, her political fight would continue. The fight continues no matter what. Because no matter who wins this primary, we're going to continue to fight for each other. We are going to collectively reject despair. And we are going to unite.

4:26We're fighting for our communities whose land Tom Tiffany happens to be selling to big tech and big oil, where it's Tom Tiffany's Medicaid cuts that are shutting down our hospitals. And when our neighborhoods and our neighbors are disappeared by uncontrolled ice fascists, it's Tom Tiffany who shows up in support. And while he's doing that, we are fighting for hope. Crowley, for his part, accepting the Democrat nomination with an appeal for unity across the party's ideological divide. We may not agree on every policy. We may not use the same labels. But we all want safe communities, strong schools, affordable health care, good paying jobs and a brighter future for all of our children.

5:14And every one of us has something much bigger to unite around. And that is keeping MAGA extremism from bringing the chaos we see in Washington into our neighborhoods right here in the state of Wisconsin. From the very first day that I announced this campaign, I said the real threat wasn't any of my primary opponents. The real opponent has always been Tom Tiffany. That remains true today. We spoke with RealClearPolitics co-founder and president Tom Bevin, who tells us the result was a genuine polling miss, although not necessarily because pollsters overestimated Hong. It's a pretty big upset, and the polls were, you know, did not see this one coming.

5:55You know, what's interesting about this is if you look at our Rookler politics average, I think she finished, Hong finished around 39.4%, and that's pretty much where she ended up on election day. So the polls actually got her support right, But what they got wrong was Crowley's support and it undecided seemed to break overwhelmingly in his favor. And I think a lot of that movement might have come in the last week. Despite Hong's loss, Bevin pushing back on the idea that the result represents a major defeat for the Democratic Socialist movement. I do think, you know, there has been story after story written that this is the, you know, the socialists hit a wall and this is the end of their march and the momentum has stopped.

6:39I really don't think that's the lesson here. I mean, Francesca Hong was a political novice. She had a bunch of positions that were well outside the mainstream. In addition to that, she had these other comments like she, you know, about wanting to do away with Thanksgiving and white proximity to her half white son and all of these things. and yet despite all of that she only lost by 3 ,800 votes i mean she was a whisker away half a percent away from becoming a democratic nominee so i still think that the lesson is that the the dsa still they still have energy they still have you know activism on their side and they've proven that they can win not just in deep blue urban districts but in statewide races in Michigan and now almost in a place like Wisconsin.

7:33As for November, we asked Bevan how Crowley stacks up against Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany. Crowley certainly is, I think, now the favorite just because if you look at if you, Wisconsin is very much a swing state. It's one that Trump has won twice, albeit very, very, very narrowly. But in this year, with Democrats running about seven points ahead of Democrats, running seven points ahead of Republicans in the generic congressional ballot. It's definitely shaping up to be a good Democratic year. The early polls show Crowley ahead by a couple of points, and he's certainly ahead in sort of the betting markets if you look at those.

8:12So he heads into this race as the favorite, and we'll see, though, whether he's able to stand up to the scrutiny of a statewide campaign because he's not tested at that level. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, former NFL sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya easily winning the Republican nomination for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. She will face Democrat Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, a progressive who easily defeated the more moderate Congresswoman Angie Craig in her own primary, 59 percent to 39.4 percent. An Emerson College poll from February showing Flanagan leading Tafoya by six points, 47 percent to 41 percent.

8:50We asked Bevan what Tafoya's decisive primary win tells us about her appeal and whether the message that worked with Republican voters can translate to a broader Minnesota electorate. Michelle Tafoya is, I mean, she's running as the super normie, if you will, right? She's not a particularly partisan person. She's certainly not a standard issue politician. And her, even though she's running on the Republican ticket, I mean, her entire appeal was to sort of, you know, restore common sense that the world had sort of spun off its axis. And that message obviously resonated with Republican voters. But the question is whether it resonates with independents and even some Democrats in a state like Minnesota, you know, given the current political environment.

9:38I mean, the good news for her is that, you know, Peggy Flanagan, who won on the Democratic side, she's very far to the left. ABC News reporting prosecutors and defense attorneys in Luigi Mangione's federal case are expected to discuss a possible plea deal during a court conference scheduled for tomorrow. The two sides jointly requesting the hearing in Manhattan federal court, reviving the possibility of a deal after earlier plea negotiations ahead of a June hearing failed to produce an agreement. Mangione currently facing two federal counts of stalking, resulting in death over the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who prosecutors allege Mangione shot and killed outside a Manhattan hotel.

10:24A federal judge previously dismissing two other charges against Mangione, including the murder through use of a firearm count that had made him eligible for the death penalty. Mangione pleading not guilty in both the federal case and a separate New York state prosecution for Thompson's murder. A possible federal plea now raising major questions about what would happen to that state case. Manhattan prosecutors already signaling they are prepared to push back against any federal resolution they believe could interfere with their prosecution. The district attorney's office writing to the state judge last month that New York retains what it calls primary jurisdiction because Mangione was first taken into custody on the authority of the state prosecution, adding that if a federal plea would undermine a quote just outcome in the state case, prosecutors could raise those concerns with the federal judge deciding whether to accept it.

11:17Absent a deal, Mangione's state trial remains scheduled to begin with jury selection September 8th. His federal trial is scheduled to follow next year, with jury selection beginning January 5th and opening statements set for January 25th. We spoke with the MK True Crime Show co-host Phil Holloway, who tells us renewed plea negotiations this close to Mangione's state trial are not especially surprising. I'm not surprised that we are hearing some reporting about maybe the contours of a plea deal in regards to the Luigi Mangione federal case. You know, he attempted this apparently previously in the summer back in June, but I guess the parties were too far apart.

11:57Now that you get sort of to the foot of the cross, so to speak, with the state trial looming large, it's not uncommon for these kinds of negotiations to rekindle and sometimes with more earnest. And so this doesn't really surprise me at all. Holloway weighing in on what a federal plea could mean for Mangione's separate prosecution in New York. It's important to remember that there is a double jeopardy issue that is conceivably in play here. If Mangione were to plead guilty in federal court before the state case goes to trial, then he will argue that the state New York case is barred by double jeopardy under New York law.

12:41New York has a different double jeopardy rule than would apply under the federal constitution. And so if he has already been prosecuted and convicted by the federal system, New York law might very well bar a state prosecution. So he has a lot of interest to try to get the federal case completed. He would have a very interesting and perhaps winning legal argument that his state prosecution would be halted due to state double jeopardy in the event he enters a plea and completes his federal case before the New York case goes to trial. We asked Holloway about the Manhattan district attorney's reported pushback against any federal agreement that could interfere with the state case.

13:27We're seeing some pushback in the public reporting that the New York prosecutors are weighing in. They don't want the federal judge to approve of any plea deal that would impact their case in a negative way. They may very well be aware of this potential double jeopardy issue. And so if that's the case, and this all stands to reason, it makes sense that they would weigh in and want to remind the judge that if there is something that happens in federal court, it could negatively impact the outcome of the state's case. And by outcome, that could very well mean a dismissal on double jeopardy grounds.

14:08We asked Holloway what Mangione could still gain by agreeing to plead guilty, given that the death penalty is already off the table. A lot of people are asking, you know, what would bring the defense to even entertain a plea deal at this point since the death penalty is already off the table? And my answer to that question would be that finality and certainty and knowing what your fate is is a big motivator for lots of criminal defendants. It takes the guesswork out of it. It takes the not knowing out of it. He knows that he's going to be in prison for a very long time regardless, but having some specific end in sight, whether it be 25 years, 35 years or whatever, that is oftentimes a large motivator and can be very attractive for people even when they are facing lengthy prison sentences.

15:00And Holloway says if the two sides really are closing in on an agreement, he suspects it would ultimately resolve both prosecutions. I think if there's going to be some kind of a plea deal, it would probably be a global resolution. I suspect it might resolve both the state and the federal case. But if the negotiations fall apart, then everything stays on course for a trial. The trial is the default setting. If a case is not resolved by some type of mutual agreement, it will go to trial. That's just the way the system works. But it's important to remember that judges are the final say. So if the parties are meeting by joint request, they want to meet with the federal judge, it stands to reason that the parties already have an agreement in mind.

15:45They might just be needing the judge to give his blessing. Holloway will be breaking down this case further later today on the MK True Crime Show. Coming up, Manhattan rents hitting a new record as real estate pros reportedly blamed two new policies from New York City Mayor Zoram Amdani. and the Los Angeles Lakers being sold for a record$12.5 billion in another major shakeup for one of the NBA's most famous franchises.

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17:38The average Manhattan apartment now renting for$6 ,655 a month, up 10 % from a year ago and the highest ever recorded, according to new data cited by the New York Post. The increases reportedly stretching across apartments of every size, with studios now averaging more than$4 ,000 a month, one bedrooms nearly$5 ,500, two bedrooms topping$8 ,000, and three bedrooms averaging more than$12 ,000. The new record coming shortly after the rollout of two major Mamdani housing policies. In June, the city's Rent Guidelines Board approving a freeze next year for millions of New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments.

18:19Mayor Mamdani celebrating the decision in this ad. New York, the Independent Rent Guidelines Board just froze the rent. That means if you're one of the more than two million New Yorkers who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment, your rent's going to be frozen next year. At the same time, Momdani rolling out New York's new so-called pied-a-terre tax, an annual surcharge aimed at expensive properties that are not an owner's primary residence. The mayor touting the new tax in this social media video. When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today, we're taxing the rich. I'm thrilled to announce we've secured a pied-a-terre tax, the first in New York's history.

18:54This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than$5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city. The tax now facing a legal challenge, with homeowners arguing the city improperly placed the burden on them to prove their properties are exempt. The Post citing state registration data reportedly showing about 57 ,000 rent-stabilized apartments sitting vacant across the city in 2025. Tenant advocates arguing landlords are keeping some of those units off the market rather than renting them at capped rates, while property owners say state rent laws have made many apartments too costly to renovate and put back on the market.

19:33The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly being sold to businessman Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for a record$12.5 billion, just one year after the iconic NBA franchise was sold in another blockbuster deal, according to ESPN. Kushner and Iger reportedly involved in the NBA's expansion process in Las Vegas before abruptly pivoting and making an aggressive offer for the Lakers. The pair releasing a statement calling themselves, quote, lifelong NBA fans who are, quote, deeply honored by the opportunity, pledging to build on the foundation established by the Buss family and compete at the highest level.

20:1141-year-old Kushner is the younger brother of President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the founder of venture capital firm Thrive Capital. ESPN reporting he currently holds a minority stake in the Miami Heat, which he will have to sell before taking control of the Lakers. Iger recently left his position of Disney CEO earlier this year after previously leaving and then returning. The$12.5 billion deal coming less than a year after billionaire Mark Walter took majority control of the Lakers from the bus family, with ESPN reporting his purchase was based on an approximately$10 billion valuation, itself a record at the time.

20:44Walter's extraordinarily short tenure raising questions about why he is selling so quickly, as the 66-year-old businessman is currently under federal investigation over alleged tax fraud involving other companies he controls. Bloomberg reporting federal prosecutors in Manhattan are examining two Walter-controlled insurance companies, while the SEC is reportedly conducting a parallel investigation. Walter reportedly retaining his interests in other sports franchises. The sale still requiring approval from the NBA's Board of Governors, a process ESPN reports could take several weeks. The board's next meeting scheduled for next month in New York.

21:21The ownership shakeup coming during an already dramatic offseason for the Lakers, following the departure of LeBron James, who left the team last month for the Philadelphia 76ers. Lakers star Luka Doncic welcoming the news in a statement, quote, I've gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there's no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party. Go and check out more at afterpartyemily.com.

21:59Catch the Megyn Kelly show later today, live on SiriusXM's, the Megan Kelly channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megan Kelly, and all podcast platforms.

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