Progress Toward Peace at WH, Trump Mail-In Ballot Crackdown, Missing CA Baby Latest: AM Update 8/19

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0:43Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ditches the combat clothing, receiving a warm welcome at the White House as President Trump attempts to advance a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Mail-in ballots are corrupt. Mail-in ballots, you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots. President Trump announcing plans to crack down on mail-in ballots and new details emerging in the mysterious disappearance of seven-month-old California baby Emanuel Harrow. We spoke with investigators on the status of their search. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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2:04President Trump hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several other European leaders at the White House yesterday. A high stakes gathering aimed at making sure all stakeholders are on the same page in pursuit of peace with Russia. marked by a notably warmer tone than Zelensky's last meeting with Mr. Trump. The Oval Office meeting in February between Presidents Trump and Zelensky and Vice President J.D. Vance collapsing into conflict. At one point, a reporter then suggesting Mr. Zelensky's trademark wartime outfit, a polo shirt and military-style trousers, was a sign of disrespect in an Oval Office meeting.

2:41The Ukrainian leader arriving at the White House Monday, sporting a black jacket, black shirt, and black pants. That same reporter, Brian Glenn, of Real America's Voice, from the Oval getting right to the elephant in the room. President Zaleski, you look fabulous in that suit. I said the same thing. You look good. I said the same thing. Yeah. I said the one that attacked you last time. See, now he's in the house. I remember that. This time around, pressed by Fox News' Peter Doocy on which side holds the better cards, President Trump striking a more diplomatic tone. Is this the end of the road for American support for Ukraine?

3:17Is today's meeting deal or no deal? I can never say that. It's never the end of the road. People are being killed and we want to stop that. So I would not say it's the end of the road. No, I think we have a good chance of doing it. As you listen to Russia and Ukraine, which side has the better cards? Well, I don't want to say that. I'm just going to I'm just here to be. Look, this is in my war. This is Joe Biden's war. He's the one that had a lot to do with this happening. and we want to get it ended. In Ukraine, no election can be held during martial law, which has been in effect since Russia's 2022 invasion.

3:51Mr. Zelensky saying he is open to holding elections once peace is reached. President Trump following up with this quip. So you say during the war, you can't have elections. So let me just say three and a half years from now. So you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. Oh, that's good. I wonder what the fake. You like this idea. That moment quickly going viral, many on the right noting the obvious humor, some on the left falling for it hook, line and sinker. Democratic influencer Brian Krasenstein posting on X, quote, he does this on the world stage as we try to get a dictator to stop invading a foreign nation.

4:34Sickening. Following a meeting between President Trump's cabinet and President Zelensky, the two leaders joined by the German Chancellor, French President, British Prime Minister, Italian Prime Minister, Finnish President, European Commission President, and Secretary General of NATO for more talks. A key subject of discussion, what if any future military guarantees the U.S. is willing to provide? President Trump not ruling out the possibility of using U.S. troops to ensure the lasting defense of Ukraine. European leaders stressing the need for an immediate ceasefire before moving on to more in-depth negotiations with Russia.

5:11President Trump with a frank response. All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace and maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it's not happening, but President Zelensky and President Putin can talk a little bit more about that. European leaders heaping praise on the president before the extended meeting. We are very happy with President that all the leaders are here and the security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you. After three years and a half that we didn't see any kind of sign from the Russian side that there was a willing for dialogue.

5:50So something is changing, something has changed thanks to you. In the past two weeks we've probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three and a half years. I really want to thank you, President of the United States, dear Donald, for the fact that you, as I said before, broke the deadlock basically with President Putin by starting that dialogue. President Trump posting to Truth Social last night, quote, At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting at a location to be determined between President Putin and President Zelensky.

6:24After that meeting takes place, we will have a trilat, which would be the two presidents plus myself. Again, this was a very good early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years. Coming up, President Trump moves to crack down on mail-in ballots. And we have the latest details on the disappearance of seven-month-old Emanuel Harrow, as authorities are not ruling out the parents as suspects. We'll have a full report.

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7:58President Trump announcing a new election integrity effort Monday morning on Truth Social in a lengthy post reading in part, quote, I am going to lead a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots. And also, while we're at it, highly inaccurate, very expensive, and seriously controversial voting machines, which cost 10 times more than accurate and sophisticated watermark paper, which is faster and leaves no doubt at the end of the evening as to who won and who lost the election. Mail-in ballots becoming a flashpoint during the 2020 election, as many states reacted to the pandemic by expanding mail-in ballot and absentee voting access.

8:36The rapid changes to the systems accompanied by reports of voters receiving multiple ballots, ballots sent to the wrong addresses, ballots left in unsecured ballot boxes, and more, all fueling ongoing debate about security, oversight, and integrity in the system. Post-COVID, most states reverting back to pre-pandemic policies, though some did adopt mail-based election systems. According to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, an organization that provides research and policy support, quote, at the start of 2020, five states conducted elections almost entirely by mail. By the 2022 general election, eight states did.

9:18The three newest, California, Nevada, and Vermont, all blue in 2020. A June report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission submitted to Congress states, quote, mail voting comprised 30.3 % of the turnout for the 2024 election, which is down from the high watermark for mail voting seen in 2020, 43 % then, but still larger than the percentage of the electorate that voted by mail in pre-pandemic elections. Mr. Trump going on to say he plans to sign an executive order to bring honesty and integrity to the 2026 midterm elections, though the timeline and more details on what the order will entail are unclear.

9:57The latest effort following a March executive order attempting to require proof of citizenship to vote, ban the counting of ballots received after Election Day, and add more federal oversight of state voter rolls, the order threatening to withhold federal election funding to noncompliant states, Many of the provisions in that order blocked by multiple judges in several lawsuits. On Monday from the Oval, President Trump suggesting White House lawyers are adapting to the legal challenges resulting from that March executive order. Mail-in ballots are corrupt. Mail-in ballots, you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots.

10:34And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots. We're going to start with an executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they're corrupt. And we're going to end mail-in voting. It's a fraud. If you have mail-in vote, even Jimmy Carter with this commission, they set it up. He said the one thing about mail-in voting, you will never have an honest election if you have mail-in. And it's time that the Republicans get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it. It's the only way they can get elected because with men and women's sports and with transgender agenda for everybody and open borders.

11:15Mr. Trump referencing former President Jimmy Carter's 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform. The committee finding, quote, while the commission is divided on the magnitude of voter fraud, with some believing the problem is widespread and others believing that it is minor, there is no doubt that it occurs. Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud. The report also finding voting by mail-in ballot, quote, raises concerns about privacy as citizens voting at home may come under pressure to vote for certain candidates and it increases the risk of fraud. President Trump's campaign to eliminate mail-in ballots potentially bolstered by a string of recent indictments tied to absentee ballot and vote-by-mail fraud.

11:57Last month in South Texas, a grand jury indicting 15 suspects, including the former chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party in a vote harvesting probe led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tied to a 2024 state house campaign. In Connecticut this February, five people, including Democrat political operatives, indicted on ballot tampering allegations regarding a 2023 local election. As with the March executive order, any move President Trump makes on election integrity is almost certain to face immediate legal challenges setting up yet another courtroom battle ahead of the 2026 midterms. Sam Bernardino's Sheriff's Department confirming to AM Update that no one, including the parents, has been ruled out in the case of missing seven-month-old California baby Emanuel Harrow.

12:49Many questions now surround the infant's disappearance. Emanuel's mother, Rebecca Harrow, telling authorities on Thursday evening she was at a football game with her family, saying she left the game to get her stepson a mouth guard, taking the baby along for the ride. Rebecca claiming she arrived at the Big Five sporting goods store and realized Emanuel needed a diaper change, saying she put him on the back seat of the truck, and that's when she allegedly heard one word, Ola, and was hit on the head, blacking out. Rebecca speaking to ABC7 with a black eye on Friday, claiming she had the shiner when she came to in the parking lot, that there she realized her baby was gone, saying she never saw the attacker, nor his car or license plate.

13:36And somebody said, hola, and that's all I remember. And I saw white. And the hearing sound, I fell on the floor. And I said, as I got up, I couldn't find my son. I checked all around my truck. and I ran into Big Five and I asked the lady if she saw a baby or someone with a baby. She said no. It was a happy boy. When police pressed Rebecca about what they describe as inconsistencies in her story, investigators say she stopped cooperating, officials declining to elaborate on those inconsistencies. Rebecca's mother later confirming this husband and wife lawyered up, telling the press police requested that Rebecca take a lie detector test, which the husband advised against until the couple found an attorney.

14:26Reportedly, there is no security camera footage from the Big Five parking lot, but investigators tell AM Update they have gathered, quote, a great deal of video footage from the area and are reviewing it. Authorities confirming canine units, believed to be cadaver dogs, were deployed to the Harrow home. A KTLA journalist reporting that investigators had been spotted digging up parts of the property. While police did confirm another child, a two-year-old, was previously removed from this family's home, authorities refusing to provide details. Riverside County Child and Family Services declining to comment, citing confidentiality laws.

15:07As AM Update reported on Monday, the baby's father, Jake, previously convicted of child cruelty stemming from a 2018 arrest. He was sentenced to six months in jail and four years of probation, which authorities say he violated. Jake, asking for the public's help in the hours after baby Emanuel, disappeared.

15:41Authorities have yet to activate an Amber Alert, saying the criteria has not been met with no suspect nor any vehicle description. Baby Emanuel weighs about 21 pounds, is approximately 24 inches tall, with brown hair, brown eyes, and is said to be cross-eyed. He was last seen wearing a black Nike onesie. Anyone with information about Emanuel's disappearance is asked to call 911 or the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department at 909-890-4904. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.

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