McConnell Health Questions, Maine Senate Turmoil, Tyler Robinson Evidence Fight: AM Update 7/9

0:00The Colonel's cooked up a new$10 bucket of the day just for you. Monday, 24 nuggets for$10. Tuesday, 8-piece fried chicken for$10. Wednesday, 10 wings for$10. Thursday, 8 tenders for$10. Friday, 24 nuggets for... Ooh, you guessed it, didn't you? $10. Find a lickin' machine. The$10 bucket of the day deal. Every weekday, only at KFC. It's finger lickin' good. Prices and participation vary. Supplies last. Not available on third-party ordering platforms. Tax extra. Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Jashinski, 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.

0:43Kentucky'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 at his Washington home. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations. Graham Plattner 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.

1:23and 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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2:13No waiting for your doctor, no hours at urgent care, no pharmacy lines, and no co-pays. Just match your symptoms to the right prescription in your guidebook or call their telemedicine doctor standing by. Start on your meds sooner and feel better faster. Order yours online in minutes and it's shipped right to your door. And save 45 bucks with our promo code MK at urgentcarekit.com slash MK. Urgentcarekit.com slash MK. Check it out. Democrat Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear publicly calling on Senator Mitch McConnell to provide a full update on his health after more than three weeks in the hospital with almost no information about his condition.

2:55The governor is sending a letter to Senator McConnell's office Wednesday arguing that Kentuckians deserve to know whether their longtime senator remains capable of serving them. Bashir writing, quote, over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being and ability to hold office in the United States Senate. The 84-year-old Senate Majority Leader admitted to the hospital on the morning of June 14th, his spokesman announcing at the time only that Mr. McConnell was receiving excellent care, but an emergency dispatch recording suggesting the episode may have been far more serious.

3:32The call referenced an advanced life support ambulance being sent to McConnell's Washington home shortly before 9 a.m. First responders told CPR was in progress for a patient who was unconscious and possibly suffering cardiac arrest. Senator McConnell's office has not confirmed those details or publicly disclosed a diagnosis. Two days after the hospitalization, Senate Majority Leader John Thune appearing on Fox News. Senator McConnell, we're told he was hospitalized. Have you heard any word on him? I have. I spoke to him yesterday, and he was in good spirits. I mean, he was paying, very dialed in, paying attention to what's going on, and indicated that he would be back soon.

4:18That interview occurring about three and a half weeks ago. In the interim, Senator McConnell's office issuing just one additional update on July 2nd, confirming that he remained hospitalized and was continuing his recovery. 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 McConnell and found him alert and engaged. Former McConnell aide and longtime friend Scott Jennings telling CNN that the senator unexpectedly called him Tuesday morning.

4:52When the phone rang and I was able to talk to him, 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 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 the trajectory of 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.

5:20Because like everybody else, I've been, you know, somewhat in the dark about it. But to hear him talking and to 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 that was a good thing. Senators Thune and John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, also releasing statements describing lengthy conversations with Mr.

5:48McConnell. 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.

6:23McConnell 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. WCP-09 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.

6:59It says that the governor has to call a special election. The law stripped Governor Andy Beshear of the power to appoint an interim senator. 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.

7:36Republican Congressman Andy Barr earlier this year winning his party's nomination to succeed McConnell in the regular November election. He will face Democrat Charles 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 Plattner, 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 of 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.

8:14We are 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 Plattner 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 Plattner of entering her home without permission and forcing her to have sex with him in 2021.

9:02Plattner 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 Plattner remained the nominee. Senior advisor Morris Katz flying in from New York to discuss Plattner'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 Plattner himself continued resisting the inevitable.

9:36The New York Post reporting Katz and other advisors were also looking for a way to help Plattner, 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 Plattner to drop out so they can begin the process of finding his replacement. As you know, the Maine 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.

10:19Unfortunately, Graham Plattner'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 Plattner's team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like. We have also reiterated that Graham Plattner 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 Plattner formally withdraws from this race.

10:53The main Democrat party convening an emergency virtual meeting of its 113-member state committee yesterday afternoon as officials raced to prepare for Plattner's eventual departure. Plattner's refusal to step aside sooner also eating into the party's already narrow timeline. Democrats needing 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, an estate they had counted on as one of their best opportunities to retake the Senate in November.

11:31Coming 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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12:41This month, their bamboo sheets and new resort beach towels are the standout essentials worth checking out for elevated everyday luxury. Summer lives here and honestly, so does cooling comfort. Head to CozyEarth.com, use our code MEGYN for an exclusive 20 % off. That's code MEGAN for an exclusive 20 % off your order. And if you see a post-purchase survey, tell them that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk last September, returning to a Utah County courtroom yesterday for the third day of his preliminary hearing. Prosecutors continuing to build their case that Robinson should stand trial on seven charges, including aggravated murder.

13:24The biggest fight of the day centering on recorded investigators' interviews with Lance Twiggs, Robinson's so-called transgender furry lover and former roommate. Twiggs lived with Robinson at the time of Charlie Kirk's murder, later turning over messages and other evidence as he began cooperating with investigators. Authorities interviewing Twiggs twice, first on September 12th, two days after the assassination, and again this past April. Twiggs receiving what is known as use immunity for the interviews, meaning prosecutors cannot charge him based on information he provided, but could still pursue charges using evidence obtained outside of those interviews.

14:02Prosecutors trying to place both interviews into the record. The defense trying to keep large portions of the interview away from the public, offering the court a heavily redacted transcript in place of the full video. State Attorney Lauren Hunt telling the judge, those proposed cuts appear on 16 of the transcript's 21 pages. Prosecutors pushing to admit the recording, while conceding that the video remain off any screen where news cameras could capture it, but allowing the audio to play aloud in the courtroom. Attorney Michael Judd, representing media organizations covering the case, urging the judge to allow greater public access to the interview.

14:39I haven't seen this video. The public hasn't seen this video. It seems to me that this appears likely to be one of those pillars on which the state intends to base its case and on which the court's ultimate decision will likely rest. That counsel's in favor of access, in favor of publication, in favor of allowing the public to see the work that the court is doing and why it's doing it. 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. 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.

15:18He 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 and 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.

16:09Your 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, you're all doing your job. But I feel as if we need to. I want to be clear as to what the Kirk 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 exposure as 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 and making its ultimate decision.

17:04After 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 Cruz 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.

17:45Several floors near the damaged 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.

18:25The I-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 of 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.

19:06Crews 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.

19:52That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Drashinsky, host of After Party. Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megynkelly and all podcast platforms.

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