SCOTUS Asks For More Security, Graham’s Sister Sworn In, Parasite Spreads Across US: AM Update 7/15

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0:32Hey, good morning, everybody. I'm Mark Kalprin, host of Next Up with Mark Kalprin. Filling in today for Megan Kelly, it's Wednesday, July 15th, 2026, and this is your AM Update. Many of us, me included, have received threatening anonymous deliveries designed to intimidate and harass us. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan making a rare appearance on Capitol Hill urging Congress to approve a larger court budget as threats against the justices grow more personal, more frequent, and increasingly dangerous. Lindsey Graham's sister sworn into his Senate seat, carrying forward the work of the brother who raised her.

1:09If you're somebody that's into going to salad bars on a weekly basis, just get that a rest for a week or two. A fast-growing parasite outbreak sickening thousands across more than 30 states as health experts warn Americans to rethink what they eat until investigators find the source and a massive heat dome baking much of the country with record temperatures threatening millions from coast to coast. All that and more coming up on your AM Update.

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2:21Learn how gold can fit into your portfolio by texting MK, my initials, to the number 989898. You will receive a free, no-obligation info kit. With an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and countless five-star reviews, consider having Birch Gold help build your foundation with gold. Text MK to the number 989898. Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan, a liberal, and Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative, making a rare appearance on Capitol Hill yesterday, testifying before separate House and Senate panels as the high court seeks a roughly 10 percent budget increase amid a surge of threats against judges.

2:59The court requesting$228 million for the next fiscal year, including$14.6 million to expand the teams assigned to protect each justice and their families. Nearly 400 federal judges facing threats last year, with another 276 targeted during the first half of this year, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The danger becoming frighteningly real in June of 2022, when a California man traveled across the country to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Maryland neighborhood, intending to assassinate him. Nicholas Roski arriving near the justices home with a Glock handgun, ammunition, a tactical knife, zip ties, pepper spray and burglary tools before calling 911 himself and surrendering to police.

3:47Roski pleading guilty last year to attempted murder, admitting he was angered by the leaked draft opinion, signaling the court was prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade. We will not go back! We will not go back!

4:04The leak triggering weeks of demonstrations in the spring of 2022 with pro-abortion activists gathering outside the Supreme Court and repeatedly protesting near the private homes of conservative justices. Justice Kagan telling members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, the Supreme Court police force is now preparing for another dramatic increase in threatening activity. Our respective departments growing needs are obvious given current conditions. The Capitol Police Chief recently testified that threats against Congress are up 50 % this year. The Supreme Court Police expect a smaller but still very substantial 38 % annual increase in threats this year, which follows a 25 % increase last year.

4:49For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize. But as the Chief Justice has said, all members of the court continue to do their jobs as they believe legally right, adjudicating cases without fear or favor. Justice Barrett, a mother of seven, describing how the threats have forced the dangers of her job directly into the lives of her children. When threats to my life were particularly intense a few years ago, around the time of the Dobbs leak, My security details sent me home with a bulletproof vest, and I carried it into my house, put it into my bedroom, dropped it down on a table, turned around, and my 12-year-old son was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, and he wanted to know what it was and why I had it.

5:37And I didn't know how to respond, because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one. Barrett also revealing her home was recently targeted in a swatting attack, a hoax designed to send heavily armed police officers rushing to a victim's address under false pretenses. During the Senate hearing, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins calling out Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer over prior remarks she argues helped fuel hostility towards the court.

6:11Senator Collins pointing to Schumer's 2020 speech at a pro-abortion rally outside the Supreme Court, where he singled out Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh as the court considered a challenge to Louisiana abortion restrictions. It is increasingly dangerous to be a Supreme Court justice these days. And it's appalling to me that some of the rhetoric is coming from public officials on both sides of the aisle who should know better than to levy personal and political attacks against the judiciary and the court specifically. For example, a senator stood in front of the Supreme Court building and called out two members by name saying that they had released the whirlwind and that they will pay the price.

7:12Other public officials have called the court corrupt, out of control, and serving an extremist agenda. Mr. Schumer later saying he was referring to political consequences, acknowledging he should not have used those words. The hearing later turning to the unexpected death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who played a central role in several Supreme Court confirmation battles during his years on the Judiciary Committee, Kagan recalling one moment from her own 2010 confirmation hearing when Graham briefly interrupted a serious discussion about terrorism and the laws of war with a far less complicated question.

7:53Now, as we move forward and deal with law of war issues, Christmas Day bomber, where are you at on Christmas Day? Senator Graham, that is an undecided legal issue, which, well, I suppose I should ask exactly what you mean by that. I'm assuming that the question you mean is whether a person who was apprehended in the United States is... No, I just asked you where you were at on Christmas.

8:26You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant. Great answer. The exchange becoming one of the most memorable moments of Justice Kagan's confirmation, Senator Graham ultimately joined four other Republicans in supporting her nomination, Justice Kagan remembering Senator Graham as an unusually independent voice in an increasingly partisan confirmation process. One would not expect such a cross-party, if you will, vote, certainly from somebody from a deep red or deep blue state. and yet Senator Graham voted for me. But what I remember about that hearing was that somehow Senator Graham made me look funny.

9:07Many people said to me afterwards, that exchange with Senator Graham was the moment my confirmation was sealed. So I want to express my gratitude towards him, not only for his support, but for approaching the confirmation process with the kind of seriousness that he did and the kind of respect he did. And I never got to know Senator Graham very well, but I can see why so many people will deeply miss him. And I just wanted to convey that on behalf of me and again express the condolences of the entire court to his family and friends. You will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you God.

9:56I do. Darlene Graham Nordone taking the oath of office in the U.S. Senate Tuesday, becoming the first woman ever to represent South Carolina in the chamber. Republican Governor Henry McMaster appointing Nordone to complete the term of her older brother, the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 71. The term expires in January. Governor McMaster at the South Carolina State House Monday announcing his choice to fill the seat. Lindsay took care of his little sister and years long departed. It's my honor to ask his little sister, Darlene Graham, to finish his work for him now.

10:39And by the way, Darlene, I don't know if I told you, but after we spoke on the phone in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and you agreed to serve through tears earlier, I had wondered what you would say. And I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve. Nordon thanking the governor Monday and promising to spend the coming months advancing the priorities her brother left behind. I want to thank the governor for selecting me to serve the remainder of Lindsay's term. It is such an honor. Lindsay has always been there for me. And now I will be there for him. My brother was the most amazing person, outstanding leader, and just a genuinely good man.

11:33He was kind and considerate and loved by his family dearly. As I think everyone would agree, Lindsay worked harder than anyone. He worked nonstop to make our state, country, and world better. He loved his family and loved serving this state and our country. He dedicated his life to our country. It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work. An emotional alert on enclosing her remarks with a message directly to her late brother. Now to Lindsay, I miss you more than I can even put into words. But I'm going to do this. I got it. Thank you.

12:50receive his military benefits. Nodun telling NPR in 2015, quote, I can remember the day my father passed away standing in the living room of that house, absolutely scared to death. Lindsay wrapped his arms around me and promised me he would always be there for me and always take care of me. Nodun earning a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, working as an optician and serving in several South Carolina agencies, including the Commission for the Blind and the Department of employment and workforce. Republican candidates can begin filing next Tuesday for an August 11th special primary with a runoff scheduled for August 25th.

13:26If no candidate wins the majority, the eventual Republican nominee will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November general election. Coming up, a parasite spreading across more than 30 states with health experts warning Americans to avoid salad bars while investigators search for the source and a sprawling heat dome baking much of the country as dangerous temperatures spread from west to the northeast.

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15:12That's promo code MK at TakeLean.com. Federal and state health officials investigating whether Taco Bell restaurants played a role in a massive nationwide outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasite. Two people familiar with the ongoing investigation telling The Washington Post officials are examining a possible connection between the fast food chain and an outbreak that has now sickened more than 4 ,000 people. No direct link to Taco Bell has been established, and investigators have not identified a contaminated product, grower, or supplier. The investigation coming after some Taco Bell restaurants around Detroit stopped serving lettuce, guacamole, pico de galla, and a cilantro-onion mixture last week, signs posted at several locations blamed the shortage on what the restaurants described as a nationwide recall, though the Post reports the company has not publicly explained the decision or responded to its request for comment.

16:09The illness known as psychosporitis, an intestinal infection caused by microscopic parasites called psilospora, the parasite spreads when food or water becomes contaminated with feces from an infected person, frequently reaching consumers through fresh produce. Because it must mature outside the body before becoming infectious, psilospora generally does not spread directly from one person to another, according to the CDC. Symptoms typically begin about one week after exposure, including stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue, and prolonged diarrhea that the CDC warns can become frequent and explosive.

16:49Some infected people never develop symptoms, while untreated illness can persist for weeks or even return after appearing to improve. Investigators now focusing heavily on lettuce and salad greens. though Michigan health officials stress other foods remain under consideration, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Michigan emerged as the center of the outbreak, reporting more than 3 ,300 cases and 44 hospitalizations nationwide, the parasite sending at least 80 to the hospital, according to the Washington Post. The parasite, particularly difficult to track because symptoms may not have emerged for as long as two weeks, forcing patients to remember meals they ate days or even weeks earlier.

17:32Celebrity chef and restaurant owner Andrew Gruel pointing to Michigan's role as a major distribution hub. Gruel posting on X, his guest is, quote, bagged lettuce is the culprit. Gruel advising consumers who want to be especially cautious to cook their produce and avoid bagged lettuce mixes until officials identify the source. Infectious disease physician Dr. Richard Smith telling NBC7 San Diego, washing produce may not be enough to kill the parasite. Boil it. If you boil it at a higher temperature for a while, then you can be sure that the organism is not going to cause problems. Other than that, all bets are off, even if you wash it with water and soap.

18:11You know, if you're somebody that's into going to salad bars on a weekly basis, just get that a rest for a week or two while we figure out where this outbreak is coming from. Millions of Americans facing dangerous temperatures this week as a massive heat dome stretches, from the west across the northern plains and into the northeast. More than 108 million people under active heat alerts yesterday, with warnings and advisories covering large parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and extending east towards New England. The National Weather Service forecasting more than 90 temperature records could be tied or broken through today, with most involving unusually warm overnight temperatures.

18:51The prolonged heat driven by a powerful area of high pressure that traps hot air and pushes storms around its outer edges. Fox 5 Washington chief meteorologist Tucker Barnes explaining how a heat dome can leave communities baking for several days. It's a dome of high pressure. So if you can imagine it working across the planet as a dome, that helps you kind of envision what you're dealing with. But a high pressure and a heat dome act to do a couple of things. They suppress storm chances, they give us bright blue skies, but they can also give us extreme heat because of the way the air rises. What happens in a heat dome, the air is forced aloft and then it's forced and compressed down towards the earth.

19:36And as that process happens, it basically caps the atmosphere and steers the jet stream away from our region and keeps us hot and kind of baking in it for days at a time. So that's when we get these big heat waves. We often get what we call a heat dome. The system already shattering all-time records in parts of the West. Salt Lake City reaching 109 degrees on Sunday, while Billings, Montana climbed to 111. The hot and dry conditions also increasing the risks of wildfires across the West. While placing additional pressure on the firefighters responding to those blazes, ABC News chief medical correspondent, Dr.

20:14Tara Nerula, outlining the steps people should take to stay safe in extreme heat. So you think about, yes, staying inside, having the air conditioning on, checking the heat index. So the heat index is really not just the temperature, but that combined with the humidity. If the index is greater than 103, you can find this on a weather app. That can be really dangerous. And then you want to wear light, loose clothing, a big, broad-rimmed hat, avoid sunburn, alcohol, caffeine, and importantly, stay hydrated. So even if you don't feel thirsty, you want to be drinking every few hours. And lastly, I will say pay attention to your dogs.

20:47I have a golden retriever. So short, muzzled breeds, pugs, boxers, terriers, very vulnerable because they can't pant as officially. Stay safe out there.

21:01That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Mark Halperin, host of Next Up. Find out more at nextuphalperin.com. And catch The Megyn Kelly Show today live on SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east. or on youtube.com slash Megan Kelly and all the podcast platforms.

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