Questions About "Sea Mines," Truth About Gas Prices, Family Sues CA City Over Crime: AM Update 3/11

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0:32Hey, good morning, everyone. Mark Calperin here, host of Next Stuff and filling in for Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, March 11th, 2026, and this is your AM update. U.S. casualties rising in Iran as concerns grow over possible Iranian mines in a critical oil shipping route. Gasoline will hit the$4 average per gallon, even if the conflict ends tonight. With gas prices surging at home, former oil trader Eric Bolling weighs in on what comes next and a possible solution to the conflict. They've had a long history of crime in this area. In fact, in the last four years, they had 675 calls for service at this particular area.

1:12A California family is suing its city after a man is stabbed to death, charging his Tesla outside a public library. And California Governor Gavin Newsom's wife is under scrutiny as IRS filings reveal her charity paid millions to her company. All that and more coming up in just a moment here on your AM Update.

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2:37Approximately 140 U.S. service members wounded since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury targeting Iran, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. of the injured Parnell, saying 108 already returning to duty, while eight remain seriously injured. The update coming as the White House continues describing the operation as a major success in degrading Iran's military capabilities. Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt at the White House yesterday telling reporters that Iranian military retaliation dropping sharply, saying ballistic missile attacks are down more than 90 percent and drone attacks are down roughly 85 percent since the beginning of the campaign.

3:14Attention now shifting to threats from the seafloor. U.S. intelligence assets now seeing signs that Iran is prepping to deploy mines within the Strait of Hormuz's shipping lanes, reports CBS News. The Iranians reportedly using smaller vessels carrying two to three mines each, with estimates indicating the country possesses anywhere from 2 ,000 to 6 ,000 of the devices. The development raising concerns Iran could endanger oil tanker traffic through the narrow strait responsible for moving roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply. President Trump issuing a warning to Iran yesterday afternoon on True Social, quote, if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed immediately.

3:57If for any reason Trump continued mines were placed and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before. Mr. Trump following up in another post shortly after, quote, I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit and completely destroyed 10 inactive mine laying boats and or ships with more to follow. With concerns growing about the potential impact on oil markets and gas prices here at home, Levitt describing what victory will look like to President Trump. Does the president still want Iran's unconditional surrender? Well, when President Trump says that Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender.

4:37He's not exclaiming the Iranian regime is going to come out and say that themselves. What the president means is that Iran's threats will no longer be backed by a ballistic missile arsenal that protects them from building a nuclear bomb in their country. I could make an empty threat, but if I have no actions to back it up, then it's an empty threat. And so President Trump will determine when Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender, when they no longer pose a credible and direct threat. the United States of America and our allies. As Operation Epic Fury rages on, Americans beginning to feel the costs here at home.

5:12Gasoline prices on the rise this week. The national average sitting at$3.54 per gallon for regular, a 43 cent increase compared to last week and a 62 cent increase from last month, according to AAA. Though higher than recent months, the national average still much lower than a pandemic-era peak of just over$5 per gallon. Crude oil prices at$86 per barrel as of yesterday afternoon. California, reporting the highest prices, had an average of $5.29 per gallon. Kansas, with the cheapest average at$2.96. The price increase is adding new pressure on the president's affordability messaging ahead of November's midterms, Though, of course, much could depend on how long the spike lasts.

5:58Prolonged high costs risk fueling voter frustrations ahead of those crucial elections. CBS News speaking to Americans about the pain at the pump. The gas prices going up is very frustrating. I'm paying 40 bucks, but that doesn't get me a full tank anymore. Just watching the gas prices go from like 320 all the way up to 380 has been really scary. Speaking to reporters on Monday, President Trump casting higher prices as short-term pain for long-term gain. We're putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families.

6:37We've done that. We've done it. We brought it very low. This was just an excursion into something that had to be done. We spoke to the host of The Edge on YouTube, Eric Bolling, who spent 35 years as an oil trader. He tells us he has never seen a situation this volatile. I've never seen the volatility like it is right now. I've seen markets move up aggressively and I've seen them move down aggressively. But we're seeing markets go, oil markets specifically, going up and down violently 20, 30 percent of their value in minutes. I've never, ever seen it this nervous. I think it is a function of no one really knows what Trump is going to do.

7:21No one really trusts what the Middle Eastern countries are going to do. And the media is just hyping everything that comes out, every news piece. And that's just adding to the volatility. Bowling predicts gas prices are likely to keep going up. I will guarantee you, based on just the information, the media, the rhetoric, the heightened rhetoric, gasoline will hit a$4 average per gallon, even if the conflict ends tonight, even if it's over, just because, like I said, it takes 45 days to run a barrel of crude oil through a refinery and get it to the gas stations. So whatever these prices are today, the$119 yesterday or the$98 the day after, those prices will eventually make it to the pump, even if things calm down.

8:12Let me tell you, the Middle East, between the Persians and the Arabs, have a vested interest in higher prices. So the longer the conflict draws out, the higher the gasoline price will be. We won't top out at$4. We could top out at$4.50. We could top out at even$5 a gallon. We asked Bowling if he thinks gas price increases will be temporary. I don't know if it's short-term pain. I don't know that anyone knows if it's going to be short-term pain or not. For the first time ever, the Iranians are bombing Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, other Arab countries, Persians bombing Arab countries. These are all producing nations.

8:51Like I said, it's going to be at least another 45 days of pain minimum based on what's already happened before we can even start to think about calming down. Don't forget,$100 barrel of oil is much better for not only the Iranians, but the Saudis and the Abu Dhabis and the UAEs and the Kuwaitis and the Omanis. So there's a good chance that they're going to keep this conflict going, even if they say they don't want it to, because they didn't like a$55 barrel of oil. They're loving a$100 barrel of oil, and they may get it for some extended period of time if this thing continues. And I don't see anyone in the Middle East trying to calm it down or tone it down.

9:34Bowling weighing in also on the domestic political ramifications for the president if gas prices do remain high. Yeah, unfortunately, this is the one Achilles that that conservatives have and Trump has a higher oil prices. I believe inflation is going to go up based on this. And coming off, you know, four years of a Biden administration where inflation was one of the main reasons why he had to step aside. besides his dementia, but certainly the economy and inflation, it's going to be tough to kind of downplay inflation if politically, because we made such a right has made such a big deal of it over the last four years.

10:12So I think this is very detrimental. And I think it's in the president's best interest and the conservative movement's best interest to solve this as quick as possible. Bowling tells us he has proposed a solution to the Trump administration, offering deals to both Venezuela and Iran to create public-private petroleum corporations like Saudi Aramco. Under this structure, the government owns the oil, but private companies extract it. Bowling explains. Venezuela produces a million barrels a day right now, but they've had the potential to produce 3 million, 4 million barrels a day. Now, in Iran, they produce about 3 million a day, but they can do up to 7 or 8 million barrels a day.

10:52So there's about a 7 to 9 million barrel increase that could be extracted from these two countries' grounds if they were able to get the oil out, but they haven't because they've been sanctioned and they've been, you know, corruption and whatnot. If Trump came in and said, look, I will take our boot off your neck right now, but you have to kind of deal with our oil companies that we're going to produce additional barrels of oil from your two reserves. and at market price, we will be the buyer of those barrels. So the most important thing it does is the gap between what we use, 20 million barrels a day in America, and what we produce, 13 million barrels a day, is 7 million barrels.

11:36That literally fills the gap between what we need and what we produce ourselves. So we would never, ever be dependent on one drop of foreign oil ever again. Coming up, a California man stabbed to death while using a public charging station. Then the ambulance has stolen, his family now suing the city. And Governor Gavin Newsom's wife also in California under scrutiny as IRS filings reveal millions flowing from her charity to her company.

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13:28LaFontz charging his vehicle at an EV station outside the Downey City Library back on September 13th when police say he was stabbed and killed by Giovanni Navarro, a homeless man with 28 prior convictions, including brandishing a weapon, attempted burglary, criminal threats, and resisting arrest. According to the family's claim, Navarro had been arrested for trespassing in the same area less than 24 hours earlier. In the critical moments after the attack, the situation only growing more chaotic, paramedics arriving to treat Lafonso when another homeless man, Nicholas DeMarco, allegedly stole the ambulance from the scene, leading police on a high-speed chase before crashing the vehicle and being taken into custody.

14:09Court filings say the ambulance was not equipped with an anti-theft locking system used on many emergency vehicles and argues the delay in medical care costs LaFontz his life. The family now seeking$35 million in general damages and$5 million more in economic damages tied to lost financial support and funeral expenses. Attorney for the family, Alex Galindo, speaking to Fox News yesterday about the dangerous history of the city center where officials placed an electric vehicle charger. The city of Gowney, this was a colossal failure on their behalf. They had known for quite some time, in fact, 10 years, another officer was murdered in this same parking lot, one of its own police officers.

14:51They've had a long history of crime in this area. In fact, in the last four years, they had 675 calls for service at this particular area. And the city's liability is based on the fact that they had helped create the danger in this area. They knew that this was a high crime area. They invited people such as Mr. LaFonce to come to this area, charge their vehicle and charge for it. But they failed to protect the individuals who would come and use their services. And this happened right in front of the library and its civic center where the residents would come and seek the services of the city. So the basis of the liability is they created this danger by knowing that this was a dangerous area and invited people to come and use it for a commercial purpose.

15:39Authorities charging Navarro with murder, along with a special allegation that he used a deadly weapon during the attack, he's scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on April 2nd. Democrat Governor of California Gavin Newsom's wife is now facing scrutiny over finances tied to her nonprofit. According to IRS filings reviewed by the Daily Mail, Jennifer Siebel Newsom paying herself and her company Girls Club LLC more than$3.7 million over the past decade through her gender advocacy nonprofit called The Representation Project. The organization saying online its mission is to challenge gender stereotypes through film, education, and activism, producing documentaries including Misrepresentation and The Mask You Live In, a documentary following boys and young men, quote, as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America's narrow definition of masculinity.

16:32Financial filings reviewed by the mail show the nonprofit bringing in between$1 million and$1.7 million a year in grants and donations with $300 ,000 going to Siebel Newsom and her company. That includes$150 ,000 in salary for her and and another$150 ,000 paid to Girls Club LLC for filings described as writer, director, and producer fees tied to the films. A Daily Mail analysis finding compensation at the nonprofit exceeds that of more than 95 % of charities of a similar size. Other executives also receiving six failure salaries, including the executive director and CFO, for the fiscal year ending in March of 2024.

17:11The outlet noting not all of the$300 ,000 paid to the company necessarily goes directly to Siebel Newsom, as the business may have production costs and overhead. The Daily Mail also noting that several donors to the charity, including utility company PG &E and AT &T, Comcast, and Kaiser Permanente, also receiving state contracts or funding from the Newsom administration. Critics arguing this raises ethical questions, although Newsom and his wife maintain there is no impropriety in their dealings. The representation project declining to comment on the Daily Mail's reporting. AM Update reached out to Governor Newsom's office and the representation project for comment, but did not hear back.

17:53That's it for your AM Update. I'm Mark Calper, host of Next Up. Catch the Megyn Kelly Show today, live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east or on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly and all the podcast platforms. I'm Cindy Lauper with fellow Cosentix advocate, Chef Michelle Bernstein. We'll share our experiences with plaque psoriasis, with psoriatic arthritis, and Dr. Panico will talk about the possible connection. Cosentix Secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis 300 milligram dose and adults with active psoriatic arthritis 150 milligram dose.

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