Trump Rally in PA, Pilot Reports Iranian Drone Swarm, DOJ’s Record Fraud Bust: AM Update 6/24

0:00Sleep is so critical, especially that deep, comforting sleep. But oftentimes, it's hard to find the right mattress for that deep sleep without trying it in person. That's why Helix and Steinhoffels have come together, combining their years of mattress knowledge and technology to bring you your best night's sleep. Helix Sleep's award-winning mattresses are now available to try and purchase at 13 Steinhoffels locations, an in-store opportunity you won't find just anywhere. Plus, Helix and Steinhoffels are offering 20 % off all mattress orders for our listeners. Please visit helixsleep.com to find your nearest location.

0:37Remember to ask a team member about their selection of award-winning Helix Sleep mattresses. Eligible items are in stock and available for free local delivery. That's helixsleep.com to find the store nearest you and ask about Helix Sleep. With Helix and Steinhoffels, better sleep starts now.

0:57Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Wednesday, June 24th, 2026. And this is your AM update. We have more factories being built. And I mean, car factories, AI factories, factories of every type that we've ever had. President Trump returning to Pennsylvania, touting his agenda, promoting economic achievements, and shoring up support for a Republican incumbent ahead of the midterms. The threat like that, it's really hard to defend against it. A U.S. fighter pilot's account of a mysterious drone formation over Iran, raising new concerns about the regime's military capabilities. The DOJ announcing a record health care fraud crackdown, charging hundreds of defendants in cases involving$6.5 billion worth of alleged false claims.

1:46And Major League Baseball acknowledging it warned Giants players over Bible verses before learning they had not been clearly told the team's pride caps were optional. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

2:05Buy gold and put some silver in your pocket too. I know what you're thinking. Everything is so expensive right now. So how am I going to buy gold? Well, let's pull our heads out of the sand. Take a look at the landscape. One thing you can control right now that does not cost you anything out of pocket is diversifying your retirement savings. Birch Gold Group can help you convert an old 401k from a previous employer or an IRA into a physical IRA in gold, something that can be a hedge against inflation. And listen to this right now. Birch Gold is going to give you a special America 250 one ounce silver round for every$10 ,000 you purchase by July 10th.

2:44Think about this. Ten years ago, an ounce of gold was about 1200 bucks. Today, it's around 4 ,500. Where will it be 10 years from now? And will you have missed out? Text MK to the number 989898 to take advantage of free America 250 silver with qualifying purchase before July 10th. Again, just text MK to the number 989898 today. President Trump heading to McCongee, Pennsylvania, near Allentown yesterday, his fifth trip to the state since returning to office last year, as Republicans looked to build momentum in a critical battleground ahead of the midterms. Prior to the speech, the president touring a Mack trucks facility, then taking the stage for roughly 90 minutes, surrounded by workers in yellow reflective vests.

3:28The event marking the president's first rally since signing the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. In an unscripted moment toward the start of the event, a member of the crowd shouting, pedophile, before being escorted out. Making trucks right here in eastern Pennsylvania, building the heavy-duty machinery that keeps our economy rolling, our factories moving. The president ignoring the outburst, the remarks covering a wide range of topics beginning with a familiar America First message. For decades, the workers of this Commonwealth watched globalist politicians let other countries rip you off and close your factories, rob your jobs, take them away to foreign lands.

4:08And then I came along. We stopped it very quickly. They put China first. They put illegal aliens first and everybody else first but you. But we put you first by a lot. But at long last, you finally have a president who is putting workers first, putting Pennsylvania first and putting America first. The president also making the case for his tariff strategy from the factory floor. Right now, we have more factories being built. and I mean car factories, AI factories, factories of every type, than we've ever had in the history of our country by three times. That's because they didn't want to pay the tariff.

4:51How don't you pay a tariff? You build your factory here and you hire American workers. It's quite simple, actually. But as you know, I placed a 25 % tariff on foreign automobiles and very importantly, oppose the 25 % tariff on medium and heavy-duty trucks so that Mack Truck could do very well with this factory in Pennsylvania. But all American roads will be filled with American trucks very shortly. Mr. Trump pointing to signs of economic stabilization following the Iran agreement, announcing that 19 million barrels of oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and describing its impact on the market as a whole.

5:29The stock market hit a new high today again. And oil, for the first time in months hit, think of it,$70 a barrel. So we got a 70. That equates to a very low price that oil is going to come charging down. And with oil comes everything else. The average price of gasoline nationwide is down 60 cents a gallon just from a short while ago. President Trump then bringing the economic pitch closer to home, rattling off a string of new investments and factory expansions he says are already delivering for Pennsylvania. And in the last few months alone, we've added 2 ,600 Pennsylvania manufacturing jobs, and that number is going to go much, much higher as the factories start to open.

6:15Because right here in Lehigh Valley, Eli Lilly has just announced, great company by the way, drug company, a$3.5 billion investment in a brand new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility right down the road. That's going to create over a thousand jobs, just that one. Nokia is investing$30 million to expand its semiconductor testing and packaging operations, thousands of jobs. And B. Braun has announced a$20 million expansion of its medical device manufacturing operation in Allentown. The president later turning to the political stakes of the trip, throwing his support behind incumbent Congressman Ryan McKenzie.

6:57Congressman McKenzie now running for re-election against Democrat Bob Brooks, a firefighter union president in Pennsylvania's closely divided 7th District, a race the Cook political report currently rates a toss-up. Mr. Trump inviting McKenzie to the stage in a way only he can. We gotta get Ryan McKenzie elected. We gotta get Ryan I'm not here for them. I'm here for him. We got to get Ryan elected. Run up here, Ryan, fast. Nobody wants to hear you. Come on, just run up. Nobody wants to hear you, Ryan. Well, Mr. President, I can't thank you enough for coming here to the Lehigh Valley, highlighting the great men and women of Mack trucks, doing all the work that you do in Washington, D.C.

7:43for our veterans, our first responders, and everybody across this country to continue to maintain America as the greatest country in the world. You are the president that is fighting for all Americans. Thank you for being here, sir. Wow, that's great. He learned something from you, David. That's great. A U.S. fighter pilot rescued by special forces after ejecting over Iran describing an alarming sight in an exclusive report from CNN. quote, multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one in a formation that resembled a jellyfish, end quote. The outlet, citing four sources familiar with the matter, reporting the pilot shared those details with intel officials in a debriefing that followed his rescue, an account that, if accurate, could point to a significant leap in Iran's drone warfare capabilities.

8:38The encounter, unfolding on April 3rd, shortly before the pilot and his weapons system officer, were forced to eject from their F-15 over Iran. The shootdown marking the first time an American aircraft was brought down over Iranian territory during the conflict, triggering an immediate search and rescue operation. The pilot recovered by U.S. forces shortly afterward, while his fellow airmen remained stranded behind enemy lines for more than a day before eventually being rescued. Investigators yet to determine exactly what brought down the fighter jet. CNN, however, reporting initial assessments raised the possibility that the mysterious drone formation may have helped Iranian forces target the aircraft.

9:22One source telling the network the pilot described a, quote, minefield of drones in the air. Another recounting the pilot's description as, quote, multiple drones interconnected and moving as one, with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs, real alien shit. The sources say the technical term for the capability described by the pilot is, quote, one-to-many meshed networking, which generally allows an operator to command several drones at once. The pilot's account reportedly setting off intense debate inside the intel community because previous U.S. assessments had not concluded that Iran possessed that level of drone technology.

10:01Complicating that assessment, the pilot reportedly suffered a concussion in the crash, raising questions among intel officials about how well he could recall the encounter. It remains unclear whether the weapons systems officer who ejected alongside this pilot also witnessed the alleged drone formation. If the pilot's account is accurate, CNN reports, Iran may have developed the capability with help from Russia or China, both of which have previously provided drone technology to Tehran. Retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Layton describing to CNN the serious challenge that kind of coordinated formation could pose to American pilots and aircraft defenses.

10:42So that's going to be a real challenge for the Air Force and really all flying entities out there because a formation like this, first of all, it was a surprise to the pilot when he saw something like this. And then the other part of it is that the whole effort behind this is to create something that overwhelms the natural defenses that the pilot has, as well as the electronic defenses that the aircraft would have. For example, an aircraft has something known as a radar warning receiver, and it's designed to really take a look at all the radar inputs that are coming that are possible threats to the aircraft.

11:17When you have multiple inputs or no input at all, but a threat like that, it's really hard to defend against that. There is going to have to be, you know, probably an integration of artificial intelligence into defensive capabilities. Coming up, hundreds charged in the largest health care fraud takedown in DOJ history, with alleged false claims totaling$6.5 billion. And Major League Baseball admits it warned Giants players over Bible verses before learning the team had failed to make clear its pride caps were optional.

11:58What does it feel like when your clothes actually feel good? This summer, Cozy Earth makes a strong case that what you wear at home matters just as much as what you wear out. Maybe more. And you've got to try the brushed bamboo jogger set to kick it off. Made from viscose with bamboo, it's lightweight, breathable, and unbelievably soft. The fit is spot on, tapered, yet relaxed with enough structure to feel put together and slim, even at home, but like not so much structure that you feel constricted. And then there's the Lake House Clogs. Designed for everyday home life, they feature a cushioned footbed, ultra soft interior, and easy slip-on design.

12:38They are supportive enough to stand in all day, yet cozy enough to forget you are wearing them. With easy returns and a lifetime warranty, it's comfort worth upgrading to. This spring, give yourself the kind of comfort that lives with you all day, not just the moment you get home. Head to CozyEarth.com. Use my code MEGAN for an exclusive 20 % off. That's code MEGAN for an exclusive 20 % off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, tell them that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Comfort lives here. The DOJ yesterday announcing charges against roughly 450 people around the nation, including 90 medical professionals accused of participating in health care fraud schemes amounting to billions in stolen taxpayer funds.

13:23This, the latest front in the Trump administration's effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FBI Director Cash Patel, and other top officials holding a press conference yesterday detailing the alleged misconduct behind the coordinated crackdown. Mr. Blanche on the scale of the nationwide operation. We've charged 455 defendants across 56 U.S. attorney's offices and 45 U.S. states and territories. As alleged in the various indictments, these individuals participated in health care fraud schemes involving over$6.5 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and other health care programs.

14:13In total, our indictment charges 11 defendants for over$2 billion in fraudulent claims in connection to alleged wound care schemes. The indictment also alleges that these individuals then used the taxpayer money to bankroll multimillion-dollar homes, luxury vehicles like a$135 ,000 Maserati, jewelry like an$865 ,000 Bulgari necklace, and to top it all off, to fund the construction of a$4.6 million hotel at a beach resort in the Philippines. The bust marks the largest health care fraud takedown by number of defendants in DOJ history, with a$6.5 billion in alleged false claims representing the second largest dollar amount ever charged in a single enforcement action.

15:02Under the Trump administration, Secretary RFKJ says HHS adopted a new approach to identifying and stopping fraud before it happens. During the Biden administration, my predecessor implemented the so-called pay and chase system. We know when billing, when invoices come into my agency, we can tell that some of them are fraudulent or probably fraudulent. And the new system said we're not going to stop those payments. We want everybody paid and then we'll claw them back at the end. Of course, we never claw back anything. They said that they were told to focus on enrollment and not fraud. HHS is replacing the old pay and chase system with a detect and prevent strategy that identifies suspicious claims before the taxpayer dollars ever leave the Treasury.

15:53We are deploying advanced artificial intelligence and data analytics to identify fraudulent billing patterns in real time, stop improper payments before they occur, and strengthen oversight across federal health programs. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson outlining one particularly grisly scheme. A nurse practitioner is accused of having bilked Medicaid for almost a billion dollars in skin substitute allografts. But this isn't just filing fake claims and trying to take money out of our pockets. She was performing these skin substitute procedures on vulnerable elderly Americans in hospices and in nursing homes, and then submitting those claims.

16:38She was using human beings, American citizens, as living piggy banks, and then she took the money she got from those living piggy banks, and she bought$865 ,000 necklaces that the department seized. She bought an almost half-million-dollar Ferrari that the department also seized. We've heard a lot about the numbers today. We've heard how many records have been broken by the Department of Justices and HHS's incredible efforts today. But the numbers shouldn't be treated as an abstraction. This doesn't just affect the whole country as taxpayers. Real human beings, American citizens, are physically maimed because of this fraud.

17:15Yesterday's announcement coming just two weeks after the FBI launched its Most Wanted Fraudsters list, modeled on the agency's traditional Most Wanted program, but focused specifically on fugitives accused of major financial crimes. Since then, the FBI announcing the arrest of two individuals on the list, including one man accused of turning TV and Internet ads for orthotic braces into a pipeline for medically unnecessary prescriptions and fraudulent Medicare claims. Here, Director Patel. One of those individuals, Herbert Leon Kimball, was apprehended in the Philippines. He's an American citizen.

17:50He had been bilking allegedly the system against Medicaid for billions of dollars since 2014,$1.2 billion in telemedicine specifically alone. That individual was apprehended in the Philippines and transported back to the United States of America where he will now face justice. This is the reach of the United States government. This is the reach of this team, the interagency and state and local partners focused on one mission and one mission alone to combat fraud and make sure the American public's precious taxpayer dollars go where they're supposed to go. to the American people that need them the most and not to these criminals who are stealing from us day in and day out.

18:26Those days are over, and this should showcase to the world the length that we will go as an interagency and as a task force to apprehend and arrest and bring to justice anyone who steals our dollars that are meant for our most vulnerable citizens. Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred acknowledging in a letter to Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri that the league issued warnings to several San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their team-issued rainbow Pride Night caps before learning they had not been clearly told the Pride caps were optional. The controversy beginning June 12th when three Giants pitchers added Bible references beside the Pride emblem on caps issued for the team's annual Pride Night.

19:11Starting pitcher Landon Roop writing Genesis 9-12 through 16, citing the passage describing the rainbow as the sign of God's covenant with Noah. MLB initially warning the players that the additions violated its uniform policy, igniting accusations that the league was selectively punishing Christian expression. The league later clarifying that the warning was not disciplinary and had, quote, absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message, insisting players are prohibited from adding any writing to the team apparel. Oh, but the rainbow emblem is fine? Senator Hawley then demanding answers over what he called MLB's, quote, apparent pattern of discriminating against Christians while promoting left-wing ideologies.

19:54Mr. Hawley following the letter with a media blitz. Here, an appearance on KCMO Talk Radio last week. My view is if the commissioner persists in this and persists in violating these First Amendment rights that belong to the players, I'm going to invite him to come testify before Congress. He can take an oath. He can explain to the entire American public why it is that his league is getting billions of dollars in federal giveaways and yet is using it to persecute people for the basis of their religious faith. On Monday, Senator Hawley sharing the response he received from Commissioner Manfred late last week.

20:26Manfred, placing the blame squarely on Giants' leadership, arguing the team failed to clearly inform its players that they were not required to wear the pride-themed caps and could instead wear their normal uniforms. The commissioner reiterating the league's prohibition on players adding messages to their apparel, regardless of the content. Manfred also outlining how the Pride Night exception came to exist. Since 2023, teams have generally been banned from altering uniforms for club-level theme nights. The league, however, granting the Giants and the LA Dodgers permission to continue wearing Pride-themed apparel under a grandfathered exception, on the condition that no player or staff member would be required to wear it.

21:08According to Manfred, some Giants players did not understand that they had that choice, leading them to add Bible references to the Pride caps they apparently believed were mandatory. The commissioner conceding MLB issued its oral warning before learning of the team's communication failure and making clear the players were never fined or disciplined and never will be. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show, live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash megynkelly and on all podcast platforms.

21:48Sleep is so critical, especially that deep comforting sleep. But oftentimes, it's hard to find the right mattress for that deep sleep without trying it in person. That's why Helix and Steinhoffels have come together, combining their years of mattress knowledge and technology to bring you your best night's sleep. Helix Sleep's award-winning mattresses are now available to try and purchase at 13 Steinhoffel's locations, an in-store opportunity you won't find just anywhere. Plus, Helix and Steinhoffel's are offering 20 % off all mattress orders for our listeners. Please visit helixsleep.com to find your nearest location.

22:24Remember to ask a team member about their selection of award-winning Helix Sleep mattresses. Eligible items are in stock and available for free local delivery. That's helixsleep.com to find the store nearest you and ask about Helix Sleep. With Helix and Steinhoffel's, better sleep starts now.