American Sunrise - February 17th, 2026

Summary

Podcast Summary: "American Sunrise" – Real America's Voice

Episode: February 17, 2026
Hosts: Dr. Gina, David Brody, Terrence Bates
Notable Guests: Congressman Mark Alford, Morgan Murphy, John Solomon, Steve Gruber, Peter Gillooly, Bill Donahue

Overview of the Episode

This episode of "American Sunrise" dives into the latest national headlines through the lens of American values and freedom. The show features discussions on the ongoing DHS funding standoff, new revelations in the Epstein files, the rising cost of living as a campaign issue, international crises involving Iran, Ukraine, and Taiwan, health news with a special focus on cancer prevention, and significant cultural developments, including the death of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson. The hosts and guest commentators offer candid analysis, personal anecdotes, and pointed critiques of major political figures and current events.

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Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson

• Announcement & Personal Reflections

  • Jesse Jackson, iconic civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, passed away peacefully at 84.
  • Hosts and contributors shared personal connections and stories.
    • Terrence Bates discussed his formative internship with Jackson:

      “Part of the reason I’m in television is because of Jesse Jackson.” (02:20)

    • Dr. Gina recalled an immersive college experience at Jackson’s Operation PUSH and learning about the intersection of politics and faith.
    • David Brody contextualized Jackson’s historic campaigns and ties to MLK:

      “You can easily make the case there’s no Barack Obama today without Jesse Jackson.” (03:05)

• Jackson’s Political and Social Legacy

  • Recognition of his influence across American and Black political history, the blending of politics and faith, and his impact on future generations.

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2. DHS Funding Standoff & Government Shutdown

• Context and Key Issues

  • Congress is in recess, a funding impasse looms, and key agencies—including TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard—face pay disruption.
  • Democrats demand greater oversight on ICE; Republicans resist, with a focus on border security and law enforcement.

• Guest Insight: Rep. Mark Alford

  • On the Impasse:

    “This is the stupidest shutdown in US History...We already funded ICE.” (10:56)

  • Outlined Republican accomplishments (ICE funding, body cams, training), and blamed Democrats for prolonging the situation to maintain political relevance.
  • Warned that public pressure would spike as spring break approaches and more workers go unpaid.

• Hosts’ Perspective:

  • Emphasized the real-life impact on federal workers and tied the standoff to broader political narratives heading into the midterms.

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3. Epstein Files and Ongoing Investigations

• Renewed Focus on Victims and Accountability

  • Dr. Gina and David Brody express outrage over redactions hiding not just victims but also perpetrators, and demand continued transparency:

    “The redactions are a lot of the perpetrators in these emails. What’s up with that?” (06:57) “If there are not arrests, then this is not going to go away. Nor should it go away.” – David Brody (10:02)

  • Rep. Alford acknowledges the political fallout if justice isn’t pursued swiftly:

    “If we don’t see some perp walks pretty soon, then we’re going to lose the midterms.” (07:54)

  • Reporting on New Mexico’s investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, bipartisan testimony, and ties to state officials.

• Analysis by John Solomon (Second Hour)

  • Blamed previous administrations for mishandling early Epstein investigations; cautioned that ongoing trafficking is a larger systemic problem:

    “It’s a story of power, elitism, insulation...the rich protect their own...the people who didn’t get protected were the children.” (61:16, 62:15)

  • Noted current law enforcement is now rolling up perpetrators, but historical justice for Epstein-era crimes remains unlikely.

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4. International Affairs: Iran, Ukraine, & Taiwan

• Iran Nuclear Talks

  • Iran proposes negotiation only if the US eases sanctions.
  • Morgan Murphy (ex-Pentagon spokesperson) describes Iran as an implacable adversary, skeptical of genuine diplomatic progress:

    “Iran has been at odds with our country for the better part of 45 years...they’ve been building nuclear weapons—that’s indisputable.” (22:19)

• Ukraine Negotiations

  • Talks in Geneva signal a possible shift, with main territorial questions on the table.
  • Murphy compares complexity to the Cuban missile crisis, emphasizes importance of U.S. understanding Russia’s historic security preoccupations.
  • “Trump seems to take that very seriously. Biden didn’t listen to [Putin] at all.” (23:57–24:54)

• Taiwan and China Tensions

  • Discussion about U.S. support for Taiwan, China’s military buildup, and indirect measures (oil sanctions) to deter Chinese aggression.
  • Murphy underscores economic and military strategies as means to preserve Taiwan’s independence.

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5. Election Integrity Debate

• SAVE Act

  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposes Republican election reforms, comparing them to “Jim Crow 2.0.”

    “They don’t want poor people to vote. They don’t want people of color to vote because they often don’t vote for them.” – Chuck Schumer (38:16)

  • Hosts refute Schumer’s claims, emphasizing proof-of-citizenship as a common-sense requirement:

    “US Citizens to vote in US Elections. What a novel concept.” – David Brody (39:18)

  • Detailed explanation of how to obtain a birth certificate, countering the narrative of disenfranchisement.

• Trump’s Executive Action on Voter ID

  • John Solomon outlines possible executive actions by Trump and potential Senate passage if new threats to election security are publicized.

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6. Health Segment: Cancer Prevention and Rising Cancer Rates

• Colorectal Cancer Awareness

  • Addressing the rise in early-age cancer; hosts speculate on contributing factors (glyphosates, food additives, vaccines).
  • Peter Gillooly of the Wellness Company links cancer rates to environmental toxins and possible vaccine effects:

    “COVID-19 vaccine as well as other vaccines seem to have a strong correlation with the increased rise in cancer.” (31:09)

• Screening Practices

  • Debate over radiation risks from mammograms and advocacy for alternative screening (ultrasound).

• Lifestyle and Natural Prevention

  • Key recommendations: anti-inflammatory diets, better sleep, exercise, stress reduction.
  • Launch of “SHIELD,” a new supplement with Turmeric, green tea extract, and black cumin seed oil.
  • Emphasis on patient empowerment and seeking non-pharma solutions.

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7. Cultural Moment: Christianity Under Fire

• Bill Donahue discusses new book “Christianity in the Crosshairs,” warning of secular/ruling class hostility toward Christians, particularly Catholics.

  “Their goal is to basically make us into the compliant citizens…But the problem for them is Christians, who stand as an obstacle.” (44:09)

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8. Breaking News: Rhode Island Ice Rink Shooting

• Police identify shooter as Robert Dorgan, a transgender individual.
• John Solomon comments on the trend of transgender shooters and its implications for FBI threat assessments.

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9. Other Noteworthy Segments

• Search for Nancy Guthrie

  • 17 days missing; ransom emails received. Family cleared as suspects. Suspected pronoun use in communications sparks speculation.

• Nuclear Innovation

  • First-of-its-kind U.S. military transport of a micro nuclear reactor “Ward 250” for deployment/testing, aimed at revolutionizing energy resilience for bases and disaster relief.

• 2028 Political Landscape

  • Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and AOC top early polls.
  • Steve Gruber predicts money and the progressive wing will power AOC’s ascent; praises Marco Rubio’s foreign policy chops and speculates on future GOP leadership.

• Barack Obama and Aliens

  • Obama jokes about “real” aliens. Hosts riff on public belief in alien life.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jesse Jackson:

  “You cannot take away what a cultural impact he definitely had.” – Dr. Gina (49:35)
  “He was a good man with lots of personality, grit and ‘street smarts.’” – Reading Trump’s statement (50:19)

• On the Epstein files:

  “This isn’t something that happened. This isn’t even something that is happening. This is something that will continue to happen if we don’t scream it from the rafters.” – Dr. Gina (06:54)

• On Election Integrity:

  “Imagine voting for someone who thinks you’re too stupid to obtain a piece of paper proving your citizenship.” – Dr. Gina (40:54)

• On U.S. Leadership:

  “We are the greatest example of freedom ever displayed on this planet…Stop apologizing for being an American. Be proud of it.” – Steve Gruber (80:51)

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Essential Timestamps

• Jesse Jackson’s passing and personal reflections: 01:41–05:25, revisit at 48:55, 93:39
• DHS Shutdown & Epstein Files (with Rep. Mark Alford): 05:39–12:52
• International: Iran, Ukraine, Taiwan (Morgan Murphy): 21:00–28:14
• Election Integrity Debate: 38:16–43:17
• Health / Cancer Prevention (Peter Gillooly): 29:12–36:32
• Transgender shooter / John Solomon Analysis: 55:08–57:28
• Nancy Guthrie case: 63:18–66:02
• Nuclear breakthrough (microreactor): 68:04–72:02
• 2028 Democratic Field / GOP Future: 75:18–86:49
• Obama Aliens Clip: 90:09–93:01

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Tone and Style

The episode’s tone is direct, passionate, and unapologetically conservative-populist. The hosts blend news coverage with personal anecdotes and audience engagement, often shifting between serious policy critique and lighter banter or humor. Commentary is often sharp, with a sense of urgency regarding the topics covered.

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CONCLUSION

This feature-packed edition of "American Sunrise" navigates the pressing issues and culture wars shaping America in 2026, blending in-depth analysis, first-hand testimony, and the energetic, values-driven voice that defines Real America’s Voice. Topics such as election integrity, deep political scandals (Epstein), national security, and cultural identity are foregrounded, aiming to keep the audience informed, outraged, and mobilized.

Transcript

[Dr. Gina]

This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.

[Terrence Bates]

Ahead on American Sunrise, the DHS funding battle continues as Congress is on recess this week. Meantime, tens of thousands of federal workers are on the job but not getting paid. So when will this standoff end? We'll break it all down for you. Plus, the search for Nancy Guthrie is now in its third week. The family has been ruled out as suspect, but President Trump calling for harsh consequences for the perpetrators. And then later, Republicans are focusing on affordability. All of this ahead of the midterms, saying that high prices and the cost of living concerns are top issues for voters. So what more will be done? Missouri Congressman Mark Alford standing by. And he'll weigh in with his insider view from Capitol Hill. Those stories and so much more right now on American Sunrise.

[David Brody]

Good morning, America.

[Dr. Gina]

Welcome to American Sunrise. Whether it's culture, we have breaking news to share with you.

[Terrence Bates]

Politics.

[David Brody]

President Trump is joining us live now from Florida.

[Terrence Bates]

We've got you covered.

[David Brody]

This is what it looks like to be a patriot.

[Terrence Bates]

We have to protect the American family.

[Dr. Gina]

The American dream is still alive.

[David Brody]

I'm David Brody.

[Terrence Bates]

I'm terrence.

[Dr. Gina]

And I'm Dr. Gina. Good morning, patriot warriors. I'm Dr. Gina. We are live with you from the Palm Beaches. Let's bring in David Brody. He's in Washington, D.C. terrence Bates is in our Denver newsroom. Good morning, guys.

[David Brody]

Good morning, Dr. Gina.

[Terrence Bates]

Gina and David. Hey, guys. So look, the day starting on a bit of a sad note as Reverend Jesse Jackson has passed away. Here's the CBS News headline, which reads, jesse Jackson, civil rights leader who ran for president, dies at 84 years old. His family says that he died peacefully in his sleep. He, of course, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But most recently making headlines and known for his run for President back in 1984, I believe it was. And, guys, if you'll just allow me a quick point of personal privilege, part of the reason I'm in television right now is because of Jesse Jackson. While I was in college at the University of Maryland, I interned for a show that he had on cnn. It was called Both Sides with Jesse Jack on that show. And at that point, I realized that I wanted to go into television news specifically and to be a broadcaster. And so I owe some of that to my experience interning for Reverend Jesse Jackson.

[David Brody]

Guys, wow, what a neat story. Look, we know all about Jesse Jackson, right, from a very liberal perspective. But either way, he's a historic figure. There's no doubt about it. There's a couple things to point out. Politically let's remember when he ran in 1984, he went to the convention with over 300 delegates. He won 3 million votes. First, I don't want to say the first black person to run for president because there was a black man who ran in 1907, 1904, excuse me. But the point is, this was the first significant, you know, entree, if you will, where he really did some major work there and had a pretty successful result. And that was in 84. But then in 87, it was even better. 7 million votes and over 1,200 delegates that he took to the convention. So, I mean, you can easily make the case there's no Barack Obama today without Jesse Jackson, what he did politically. And let's also remember, Dr. G, he was there the day that Martin Luther King died in 1968 at the Lorraine Hotel. He was in the courtyard, one of the first people at Martin Luther King's side. There's some controversy as to whether or not he actually died. Martin Luther King died in Jesse Jackson's arms. That's what Jesse Jackson had said at the time. He continues to say. He continued to say that throughout the rest of his career, but there is some controversy as to whether or not that happened. We do know he was one of the first people there are at his side for sure.

[Dr. Gina]

Dr. G. Well, I'll tell you, one of my college trips in my undergrad was to visit, to go live in the city of Chicago. It was sort of an internship kind of thing, and to live where people in the inner city lived and do what they did. And one of the things we did, my husband actually went with me on this trip, but we weren't married at the time. We were in the class together, it was a sociology class, and was to live and do Operation Push, which was his church. And so Jesse Jackson was also very inspirational to me, a way that he probably didn't mean to be because he actually at that church preached politics. It was pure politics. And this was at a time where it was very accepted among Christendom in Protestant churches around the country, that you don't speak politics from the pulpit. But I learned that Jesse Jackson absolutely spoke almost exclusively politics from the pulpit.

[David Brody]

That's right.

[Dr. Gina]

And I went back and that became my crusade. And that is actually was very inspiring to me. I will also say I did a lot of. A lot of television with Jesse Jackson back when I did Fox. And he was always very congenial and very nice. And I always told him my Operation Push story and how much that college moment inspired me. So. Yeah.

[Terrence Bates]

Wow. Yeah, there you go.

[Dr. Gina]

So interesting. He's a historic figure. You can't get around that.

[Terrence Bates]

No doubt. Whether you like his politics or not, that's fair. But I think he absolutely has an indelible mark, or made an indelible mark on US Politics and US History, for sure. All right, we'll be talking more about that throughout the day, guys. But first, get to our Bible verse.

[Dr. Gina]

If you don't mind, Dr. G. Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is new in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. All right. The funding standoff for the Department of Homeland Security continues. Congress on recess's lawmakers failed to reach agreement on funding for the department, leaving the tsa, fema and the Coast Guard affected. The Senate Democrats demanding more oversight of ice, while Republicans push back on those demands. Key agencies continue to operate without new appropriation. Lawmakers are expected to return next week to try and break the impasse. I'm going to bring in Missouri Congressman Mark Alford. Congressman, I'll tell you what. I read news today and I just hear blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Because all I can do when I am home is look at those. I don't want to say the name. I don't even want to call them Epstein files anymore, because it's not about Epstein. He's dead. Or maybe he's not dead. I guess there's debate on that as well. He's not what I want to discuss. I want to discuss these victims, these child victims. I cannot get beyond this. Every moment I spend studying it, the more profound it becomes, the more I realize this isn't something that happened. This isn't even something that is happening. This is something that will continue to happen if we don't scream it from the rafters. And here's what I learned, Congressman. I looked through these files by myself for hours on end, every single day, hours I've been spending on this. And here's what I realized. They didn't just redact the victims. The redactions are a lot of the perpetrators in these emails. What's up with that? And will we ever see see investigations or justice on this?

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Well, look, I applaud your effort of going through these files. I have not done that. There's some over 3 million pages that Pam Bondi and the DOJ say now they've released everything they're going to release. There's some question as if there are more files that need to be Released. Look, we passed a bill that said release the files. I have been in favor of transparency from the very beginning. We've got to get to the bottom of this and get the truth out there. The Justice Department did on Saturday release about 300 names of prominent people, mostly in the political world, who were, whose names were contained in those files, but not necessarily did anything wrong. There were a lot of names just attached to emails that had nothing to do with sexual crimes in, on the island or here in America. Nevertheless, Gina, you're absolutely right. And I've been talking to some Republicans here in Missouri and Kansas who are very concerned that if you, if we don't see some perp walks pretty soon, then we're going to lose the midterms. America is honed in on what is going on still with the Epstein files. And the president, you know, he called it a hoax early on, what he was talking about. It is a big distraction. He is not complicit in this, as far as we know from the files. But it has been a huge distraction for what we need to be talking about. The economy improving under President Trump. The deportation of several million illegal aliens now, which is. Is making our economy better. Apartment rents are down. Food prices, some food prices are going down. Not all fuel is certainly down in America. Things are starting to turn around. And with the one big beautiful bill that we're going to see, the true benefits of this quarter next, this economy I still think is going to take off like a rocket ship. Americans spent yesterday on President's Day filling out their tax returns and they're going to get one of the biggest tax refunds that they have seen in a long time. My point is, is that Epstein files continue to haunt this administration even though President Trump is not complicit in this, other than being in the files, his name being in the files. And we've got to figure out a way to get the truth out there and tell our story of really what's going on in the economy.

[David Brody]

Yeah, if there are not arrests, then this is not going to go away. And nor should it go away, by the way. And I've been going through those files now. Thank you, Gina, for leading the charge on that. It is seedy is not even the word. No, it's horrible. I mean, you take a shower afterwards and you need a shower. It's torture. I mean, just go through all of the guys. Doj, right. I'm talking to our audience and you guys know doj, you just go to the Epstein. It literally says Epstein Library and you go to it, I mean, it's just. It's bad. It's really bad. We're not going to give up the fight on that. And we're going to bring it to you every single day, every, every time. Hey, let me ask you real quick about the DHS funding. That was, I guess, the original question before we went on, Epstein, where are we on that? Is the answer. Cricket, Crickets at this point. What's going on?

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Well, look, I'm back in Kansas City. Most of our Republicans are back in their districts working. I'm going to be going over to St. Louis today, meeting the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, at some facilities over there. The Democrats, they're over in Munich, Germany, running down America at the Munich conference. Over there, the DHA s funding. This is, let me put it simply, this is the stupidest shutdown in US History. Why? Because we funded ICE for four years through the one big beautiful bill. The Democrats needed something to hang their hat on, needed to be relevant again. They have no message, no vision, no hope. And so they've got to have this subject matter to hold FEMA hostage, hold TSA hostage, to hold the Coast Guard Secret Service, our cybersecurity hostage in America. These people are going to go without pay the next pay cycle. And until pressure is put upon the Democrats to. To come off of this shutdown, I don't think anything's going to happen. And that's the sad part about it, that once again, the Democrats are making the American people suffer and putting our security at risk. So, guys, one, one other thing. We funded body cameras. The Democrats wanted body cameras. We have $20 million for body cameras in the bill that we sent them, which is they wanted more training for ICE officers. We've got money for that.

[Dr. Gina]

Common Sense Solutions.

[Terrence Bates]

Yeah, yeah. So just really quickly, Congressman, how long are you expecting? You say you don't see really any movement on the horizon. How long is this going to last then? Like, you know, the reality is, as you said, FEMA's not getting paid. You know, TSA agents are showing up to work, not getting paid. You know, these are real life issues for people, for Americans.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Well, they just had a pay cycle. So the next pay cycle is in two weeks. If you remember back in November, the pressure didn't start mounting on the Democrats until TSA and the flight controllers did not get paid and the airlines came out and said, hey, stop this madness, guys. You need to end the shutdown. And that's in. You know, there is enough public pressure to make that happen, it would take a while to see those ramifications. Again. We got spring break coming up and if the lines are backed up at the airports and young people in particular not able to get to their spring break destinations, there's going to be some, there's going to be some action. I think President Trump is very much involved in this negotiation with the Democrats and he wanted to be involved, he should be involved. And so we'll see what happens. It's a lot different than the November shutdown that we had. And again, it's the stupidest shutdown ever because we have already given them three points that they demanded on their 10 demands and we fully funded ICE. So they really have no leg to stand on.

[Terrence Bates]

Good point.

[Dr. Gina]

Congressman Alford, thank you so much for being with us.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Thank you.

[Terrence Bates]

Thanks, Congressman.

[Dr. Gina]

All right. Coming up, we're going to check out the hottest headlines from the RAV newsroom with T. Bates. Also later, Iran says it's ready to talk about a nuclear deal, but only if the US Eases sanctions against them. New round indirect talks set for Geneva as Tehran claims. The ball is now in Washington's court. Will this unlock a breakthrough or deepen the standoff? We'll have analysis ahead as American Sunrise continues carefully.

[Bill Donahue]

To you by amac, association of Mature American Citizens.

[David Brody]

That's a New Orleans, or as Colin would say, Nolans, our director who just got in my ear and said, nollins, by the way, that's Bourbon street. Obviously. Here's a suggestion. If you go to Bourbon street and you'd like to stay morally pure, don't look up on the balcony. Welcome back, everybody, to American Sunrise. I'm David Brody. A lot of news ahead, so let's get straight to it. T. Bates in the real America's Voice newsroom in Denver.

[Bill Donahue]

Sponsored by amac, the association of Mature.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

American Citizens is the conservative voice for.

[Bill Donahue]

Americans 50 and older.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

AMAC is fighting for the values that you hold dear.

[Terrence Bates]

Join today.

[Bill Donahue]

Together we can right the course of America.

[Terrence Bates]

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Continuing to try and make America healthy again by starting to look into the safety of ultra processed foods. The secretary claims the current industry standards just aren't enough because food companies are allowed to independently verify the safety of their ingredients without government oversight if they are recognized by experts as safe. Kennedy plans to challenge this standard, though.

[Bill Donahue]

In Europe there's only 400 legal ingredients.

[Peter Gillooly]

This agency does not know how many.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Ingredients there are in American food.

[Peter Gillooly]

We do not know.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

They do not know.

[Bill Donahue]

The estimates are between 4,000 and 10,000.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

We have no idea what they are.

[David Brody]

How do we know what is safe to eat?

[Congressman Mark Alford]

There is no way for any American.

[Bill Donahue]

To know if a product is safe.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

If it is ultra processed.

[Terrence Bates]

Kennedy says there's currently no single definition of ultra processed foods used by the federal regulators. As a result, the FDA and the Department of Agriculture are now working to establish a uniform definition. Lawmakers in New Mexico are set to start work today on an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro ranch. Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and even women there. A bipartisan committee wants to hear testimony from survivors of alleged sexual abuse at that ranch, which by the way is located about 30 miles outside the state capital of Santa Fe there in New Mexico. New Mexico's so called truth commission will be comprised of four lawmakers who are tasked with identifying ranch guests and staff state officials who may have known what was going on there or even taken part in sexual abuse at that mansion. The two and a half million dollar investigation led by Democratic lawmakers comes after the Justice Department's latest document dump revealed ties between Epstein and two former Democratic governors of that state along with an attorney general. The committee will deliver interim findings in July and a final report by the end of the year. Year Civil rights icon and two time presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson is dead. He passed away early this morning at 84 years old, surrounded by family. In a statement about his death, Jackson's family members write, quote, our father was a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless and the overlooked around the world. His unwavering belief in justice, equality and love uplifted millions. And we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by. Jesse Jackson, dead at 84 years old. That's a quick check of your headlines. Now let's get a quick check of your forecast. Weather Nation meteorologist Tracy Anthony standing by with more on what you can expect today throughout the day. Also, just a quick reminder, go to our various social media sites, get a rumble, YouTube, let us know where you're hanging out. And who knows, Tracy might hook you up with a hometown forecast. Okay, Tracy, I ain't too bright, but wherever that is, I know I don't want to be there.

[Tracy Anthony]

I know you've got the trash can. You're losing it down the street. This is LA yesterday. They are still going to be bracing for more rain. Just incredible videos. And it's not just the rain. We're also talking about a good amount of snow and snow in the high passes so, Terrence, they're talking about four to eight feet of snow. This was a look at Donner Pass. Yeah, Donner Pass yesterday, travel going to be nearly impossible. So the snowfall totals by about 3 o' clock yesterday in Donner Pass were about 9 inches. And still waiting for that morning update. But it's going to be significant when you have snowfall rates that were expected, you know, 2 to 3 inches per hour in some locations. So still going to be a big concern here. And that's one of our top weather headlines. Is California going to continue to get socked by this atmospheric river and widespread snow and also cold air? We're talking about the snow levels dropping to about 2,000ft and accumulating snow there. But we also have a good amount of fire danger. So we've got some heat out across the Central Plains under a particularly dangerous situational red flag warning. Those are only issued with historic and life threatening fire conditions. That's what we're going to be dealing with across the plains. So all the active weather out west today. And Terrence, these stories are really going to continue into midweek.

[Terrence Bates]

Wow. Okay. Well, we'll be checking with you then every day. And of course, next hour we'll get our hometown forecast from you. Tracey, thanks so much.

[Peter Gillooly]

Yep.

[Bill Donahue]

Okay.

[Terrence Bates]

All right, folks, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Russia says the main issues in Ukraine, including territorial questions, are going to be discussed at upcoming peace talks in Geneva. The Kremlin is signaling that it wants to address these sensitive points as diplomacy moves forward. So could there actually be progress? That is the critical question. We'll break it all down for you.

[David Brody]

Kansas City, Missouri on a Tuesday. Just double checking. It's Tuesday. It is February 17, 2026. Welcome back, everybody, to American Sunrise. David. I'm David Brody. All right, Iran says it's ready to discuss its nuclear program with the U.S. but of course, they have a caveat. Only if Washington is prepared to ease sanctions. These clerics are a piece of work. This comes as indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue the new round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland today. Iran insists it seeks a fair deal. I'm sorry I laughed. That was an imprompter. And says the ball is in America's court to show sincerity on sanctions relief. All right, let's bring in former Pentagon spokesperson and Alabama Senate candidate Morgan Murphy to the show. Morgan, really? Rubio said the quiet part out loud yesterday or a couple days ago where he said going to be tough to negotiate with folks that want to. In essence Kill you. And the theology is going to get in the way. I mean, Iran is just. This is part of their. Part and parcel of what they do from a theological standpoint is that they talk a good game, but they don't really want any sort of negotiation. Oh, by the way, that didn't sound like a question. That was more like a soapbox statement. I'm sorry, but please tell me what you think.

[Peter Gillooly]

All right, David, you're absolutely right. You know, Iran has been at odds with our country for the better part. Morgan, are you there of 45 years? Does anybody else shame America? They chant death to America in the streets. They believe we are the Great Satan. They have bombed us. They have used their proxies to attack our soldiers across the region. When I was in Afghanistan on active duty there in 2010 and 2011, a lot of the deaths that occurred while I was in country and while most of us were fighting in Afghanistan throughout that 20 year war were due to funding by Iran. Iran has been building nuclear weapons that is indisputable. And they have built ballistic missiles that can target not just its neighbors in the Middle east, but us. So they've been, they've been trying to kill us, as the Secretary of State said, for a very long time. And they just, they just don't seem reasonable and they don't think that President Trump means it and what a mistake that is. I mean, they found out, they fooled around and they found out over their nuclear program. And with two carrier strike groups in the region right now, they're about to find out again.

[Dr. Gina]

The Kremlin says that the main Ukraine issues will be discussed in Geneva talks, including territory. The next round of talks in Geneva is tomorrow and also on Wednesday. Wait, I think tomorrow is Wednesday.

[Terrence Bates]

Today and tomorrow.

[Dr. Gina]

Today and tomorrow. There we go. Trump wants a deal to end that senseless bloodbath. He says, what are your thoughts?

[Peter Gillooly]

Well, it is a senseless bloodbath, but it is probably the hardest Rubik's Cube any president has had to solve since the Cuban Missile Crisis. And you think back to, in fact, that crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, when a small southern neighbor of the US Tried to align itself with our major geopolitical rival at the time, the Soviet Union. We lost our minds. We invaded, we tried to kill Fidel Castro. We, we, we went to DEFCON 1. We brought the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon over Cuba. And Putin has said to NATO very clearly, he's been saying it for 15 years, stop encroaching on Russia. He said that you know, Ukraine in Slavic literally means border country. And so the Russians see the territory there, the territory they've seized as a vital buffer zone. Now, whether or not you disagree with that, that's the Russian point of view. And I think it's important to realize where they're coming from at the negotiation table. And Trump seems to take that very seriously. Biden didn't listen to him at all, didn't even speak to Putin for three years. So we're closer now to peace than we have been since this war broke out. I'm encouraged that they're getting together in Geneva and having serious discussions about territory. That's what needs to. To bring this war to an end. It's not a war that Ukraine can kill its way out of, meaning there's just not enough. They don't have the manpower, the combat power, to seize the territory back that Russia has taken.

[Terrence Bates]

Morgan, I want to switch gears and talk about Taiwan a little bit. I'm sure you've heard Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's bumbling response to a question about how she would intervene if in fact, China were to attack Taiwan. In the meantime, Taiwan's foreign minister is saying that his country will not back down from China's intimidation, also will not escalate tensions. He says that Taiwan is basically committed to defending its democracy and keeping peace in the region. This warning comes as China continues military pressure and drills near the island. Taiwan says that it's just going to stand firm against threats from Beijing. Do you see the United States needing to increase its posture in that region? How does the United States need to respond? I guess I'm similar. I'm similar. Are they asking you the question that Alexandria Ocasio Cortez bumbled? But how do you think the United States is going to ultimately respond to all of this?

[Peter Gillooly]

I'm praying that my response makes more sense than that. That was like watching a score.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Trust us.

[Terrence Bates]

As I started asking the question, I was thinking to myself, oh, I'm kind of asking this. I hope he does better. Please let him do better.

[Peter Gillooly]

Well, I mean, if you just look at the metrics of it, it's really tough. Basically, this is the end of a civil war, right? Taiwan was a part of China up until the Red Communists took over that nation. And it has been protected by the strong arm of the United States and our allies there in the Pacific, you know, for the better part of 70 some odd years. And so, you know, when Clinton, when China saber rattled in the Clinton administration, he sent two carrier strike groups much like Trump has done to Iran in the past week. And China backed down, but forgot that. And so China has built up their navy today. Their navy is bigger than ours. They've got, they've got three carriers there in the region. They pose a very significant military threat. And after all, China's got 2 billion people. Taiwan is just several tens of millions. So it's an unfair match militarily. But what our president has done, which I think is so smart, is taking Venezuela off the table. Right. Taking Iran off the table. What is that doing to China? Well, China gets all of its oil basically from those two nations. So the president is making economic moves and using the rest of our military power to dissuade China from seizing Taiwan. And that's our best shot at preserving the independence for the people of Taiwan.

[David Brody]

Morgan Murphy, great to have you. We gotta run. You are a Senate candidate from Alabama. We'll have you on next time. Talk more about that. But where can people go and get more information about your campaign?

[Peter Gillooly]

Come to murphyforsenate.com hey, guys, thank you for having me on. Really appreciate being with you today. All right.

[Terrence Bates]

Take a look at the website.

[David Brody]

Appreciate it. Thank you, Morgan. Coming up, February marks cancer prevention awareness month, a time to focus on early detection and healthy living. Experts say simple steps like routine screenings, exercise, balanced diet can all lower your risk. But what more can you do now to protect your health? And when we come back.

[Dr. Gina]

That's the Kansas City Plaza right there, I reckon. Recognize that. I have shopped that. I have shopped that like a champion. You guys. Not gonna lie. Welcome back to I Could be an Olympic Kansas City Plaza shopper. All right. Welcome back to American sunrise. I'm Dr. G. Thank you for joining us. It is time now for today's health news, sponsored by the Wellness Company. And under the microscope today, the warning signs of colorectal cancer. The disease just took the life of Dawson's Creek actor James Van Der Beek, who was just 48 years old. I'm sure you saw his beautiful testimony of faith in his last days. But health experts warn that colorectal cancer is now killing younger people as cases rise in adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Medical professionals say symptoms like blood in the stool, abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits should never be ignored, even in younger adults. Screening guidelines recommend starting tests at age 45. But doctors urge people with the risk factor or warning signs to talk to their doctor earlier. I would say this has to do with glyphosates. This is just going to be My pitch out there into the ether that I think that we will ultimately figure out that is what is causing it. I think if we get rid of the glyphosates in our food and the dyes and all the other things we're working on right now, the horrible eating habits, I think it's, it will change all of that because it didn't used to be this way. Early detection greatly improves survival and health officials say if you notice persistent symptoms, do get checked. I don't know. I have all my questions about all of this. For more, let's bring in the CEO of the Wellness Company, Peter Gillooly. Peter, I'm not going to leave that on the table without letting you comment because you are at the tip of the spear on all of this at the Wellness Company. Talk to us about why are so many younger people getting this? Does it have to do with vaccines? Does it have to do with glyphosates? What is it?

[Peter Gillooly]

It's a combination of both of those things, Gina. And we've seen an explosion in cancer rates in young people not only in the 40s like poor James van der Beek, but in the 30s and 20s now, which was unheard of even five years ago before the pandemic. But you're absolutely right. We live in an environment that has a lot of cancer promoting chemicals like glyphosates and a number of other things in ultra processed food that contribute. And additionally the COVID 19 vaccine as well as other vaccines seem to have a strong correlation with the increased rise in cancer. And we can't rule that out.

[Dr. Gina]

Yeah, they certainly seem to have exacerbated it because why all of these turbo cancers?

[Tracy Anthony]

Now?

[Dr. Gina]

That's the question that all the doctors at the Wellness Company have been asking. As we mentioned last week, February is the National Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. I saw a recent number that said the vast majority of cancers are not genetic but are instead linked to lifestyle or environmental factors. I also saw a study, a statistic, that said that one in three people are now predicted to get cancer. First of all, I wonder how they know that. But secondly, you know, we talk a lot about prevention and we're going to get to what the Wellness Company is doing about prevention because. Because that is actually really exciting. But we hear a lot about these tests. We hear a lot about mammograms. I'm seeing now even some of the Wellness Company doctors coming on and questioning all the radiation in these tests and whether that might actually be causing some of this cancer. Peter, talk to us you're absolutely right.

[Peter Gillooly]

Gina, when the statistics now show that one in three Americans will contract cancer in their lifetime. And for way too many people, Gina, it's a kind of wait until the scare, until you start to care type scenario, which is really a terrible way to approach your health. But you're absolutely right. There's also a increasing amount of evidence that shows the correlation between radiation, things like X rays, MRIs, even mammograms, and a rise in cancer that has a lot of people actually questioning, hey, do I really need to get scanned so often? And even with things like mammograms, I think there is incredible utility. And women getting checked for cancer, something everyone should do. But there's ultrasound. There's other ways you can go about doing it that offer safer and very effective ways of identifying whether or not you have a precancerous mass in yourself.

[Dr. Gina]

Yeah, really, really smart to look into ultrasound and some other things that don't involve radiation. So that's something to ask your doctor about when it comes time for those checks. What are the lifestyle choices that can be made to help prevent cancer?

[Peter Gillooly]

Diet, sleep, exercise. Those are the big ones. Anything that increases the level of inflammation in your system, whether it's ultra processed foods, low amount of sleep, high amounts of alcohol or tobacco use, those all increase links to cancer. And these are things that I think everybody knows. I mean, they've been drilled into our head since we were children, but they do make a big difference and they compound over time. And I think people need to be aware and conscious of their level of information. Inflammation, stress, because those do directly contribute to cancer. Because really, what happens when you contract cancer? Oftentimes the body can't recognize that there are cancerous cells inside it. You have cancer right now? I have cancer right now. But it's no big deal because our bodies proactively clean out those cells. It's part of our immune system. It happens every single day. But when you are stressed or inflamed, your body loses that ability, and that's really when it can get in trouble.

[Dr. Gina]

Yeah, it's so confusing because so many of the things we've been told are not true. You know, like now we hear nicotine is preventing Alzheimer's, and we hear, you know, not to get the radiation from the man. It's just. It's all very confusing. But there are natural preventatives, such as things that I take now, thanks to you all, Turmeric, green tea extract, black cumin seed oil. Key components in the wellness company's new Product which I, I personally am very excited about. It's called SHIELD. Tell us about it.

[Peter Gillooly]

Dr. Kelly Victory created this product out of her own cancer experience. So kind of like you just mentioned, she went through surgery, she got radiation, and then she was looking at her options and she was looking at chemo, but realized that chemotherapy really damages all cells in the body. It's a very blunt instrument.

[Terrence Bates]

Right.

[Peter Gillooly]

And she really wanted to make sure that her immune system was strong. So she did extensive research, as doctors do, and found 12 different compounds that directly contribute to the body's ability to effectively fight cancer. The problem was that it was a whole plate full of pills that she had to take every day. So we worked really hard together, Kelly and I, and we came up with SHIELD which is a two part product. It's a hot cocoa based drink mix as well as a soft gel that you take with food, and you take it every day, and it naturally enhances your body's ability and your immune system's ability to. To clear itself of cancer cells, which is really what you want for a long and healthy life.

[Dr. Gina]

Hot cocoa. I didn't realize that, Peter. Well, I can't wait to try that. Thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

[Peter Gillooly]

Thank you, Dr. Shunia.

[Dr. Gina]

All right. February is national Cancer prevention awareness month. Now more than ever, we want to be asking what each of us can do to lower our chances of cancer. And if you or a loved one is battling it well, you want to make sure that no stone is left unturned. So that's where the Wellness Company comes in. You know them, we have their great doctors like Dr. Kelly Victory, who invented the Shield product, and also Dr. Peter McCullough. We have them on all the time. The Wellness company and their doctors are medical professionals. You can trust them. The Wellness Company is committed to providing safe, low cost alternatives to big pharma, from ivermectin to methylene blue. Some of the fan favorites to their fantastic new product we were just talking about with Peter Gillooly called Shield Hot Chocolate. How can you beat that? And so much more. The Wellness Company gives you the opportunity to make sure the promise of the Maha movement is a reality for your life. This February, let's take control of our health. Go to TWC Health. RAV. Give it an order. TWC Health RAV. Use the promo code, RAV. It'll save you 10%. Prepare now. Don't wait. Deep row. Oh, wait.

[John Solomon]

No.

[Dr. Gina]

Sorry. Coming up. Wrong block. Gina. Senate minority leaders, stick to the prompter. Gina. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer slams GOP efforts on election integrity in moments. Find out what Democrat, what this Democrat dinosaur is accusing Republicans of doing. We have his comments next on American Sunrise.

[Terrence Bates]

Welcome back to American Sunrise. It's now time to stay awake, not woke. And who's woke today, you ask? Well, cue Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer claiming that Republicans are pushing for election integrity so that poor people and people of color can't vote. Don't. But secondly, what they are proposing in this so called save act is like Jim Crow 2.0. They make it so hard to get any kind of voter ID that more than 20 million legitimate people, mainly poorer people and people of color, will not be able to vote under this law. We will not let it pass in the Senate. We are fighting it tooth and nail. It's an outrageous proposal that is, you know, that shows the sort of political bias of the maga, right? They don't want poor people to vote. They don't want people of color to vote because they often don't vote for them. Ooh, I wish I had some popcorn for these responses. Let's bring in Gina and David to talk a bit more about this. David, I know you got something to say. Go ahead, brother. This is what you call a softball. David, knock it out of the park.

[David Brody]

I'd love to. And I'd like to say bless his heart, but what an idiot. That's ridiculous. First of all, okay, a couple of things. You know what? You know what MAGA wants? You know what Normal regular Americans want? US Citizens to vote in US Elections. What a novel concept. What a novel concept. It's not that hard. Now here's the thing to be clear. Let's all just get on the same page here. The SAVE act is not saying that you need a driver's license to vote. In other words, that's not what they're talking about here. It's about proof of citizenship, not id. So, so we're not talking about driver's license here. What Schumer and the Democrats are saying is that, and what the ACT does say is that you have to prove citizenship. So therefore you're going to need either a passport or a birth certificate. And Schumer saying there are 20 million people out there that pretty much aren't going to be able to get that. Now I got a lot of problems with that, number one. First of all, just because they don't have it, at least according to these figures that he's citing from the Brennan justice or Brennan Department, just because they're out there with these figures. It doesn't mean they can't get the documents. And more importantly, Dr. G, that there's actually in the SAVE act an actual provision that says, look, if you can't get the documents, just go to your state, go online. If you've been verified in other ways in other places, whether through a driver's license or some sort of federal program, you're in and you've already been verified, then that's it. That's all you need. You don't need the documents. You've already been verified. Don't worry about it. So look, I'm sick and tired of this stuff. Really I am.

[Dr. Gina]

For real. You know, you need a driver's license to fish, to catch fish, legally. I mean, to drive a boat. I mean, it's just the list goes on and on. And I realize that they're not asking for licenses. This is separate, this is requesting citizenship. But like you said, David, you can have it that way if you have a real id. Imagine voting for someone who thinks you're too stupid to obtain a piece of paper proving your citizenship. Imagine the insult to what did he say? Minorities and low income people, poor people. Imagine voting for someone that thinks you're so stupid and incompetent you can't obtain a piece of paper that proves that you're a citizen. Just imagine that.

[David Brody]

Is it just me or how do you go about getting a birth certificate? Don't you? I think the way you do it, you just go online, right. And you pay X amount.

[Terrence Bates]

Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off.

[David Brody]

Is there a fee though? There's a fee, right?

[Dr. Gina]

10 bucks.

[Terrence Bates]

Last time I did it. Last time I did it, and this was quite honestly for my daughters for something, I think for that passport. Yeah, we were getting them passports we went through. I guess at this point it's probably maybe 10 years ago, it was maybe a 15 to $25 fee. You go to the county where your child is born or where you're born, you can go online and you request the birth certificate and it's maybe, you know, I think you have to put in a Social Security number, which most people would have. One would think you'd have your Social Security number. Either the card or you at least know the number. It's a 15 to $20 fee.

[David Brody]

I thought the Democrats love to spend money. If they love to spend money, then why don't they just put that in the bill? Say, you know what, we'll pay for everybody's birth certificate if it doesn't have one. I know.

[Dr. Gina]

They already do. There are many ways to get all that. For free, of course.

[David Brody]

Give me a freaking break.

[Dr. Gina]

I mean, I don't even have to at look to know that. I just know it.

[David Brody]

I'm being facetious and rhetorical and all those other things. Go ahead, Gina.

[Dr. Gina]

I should have read.

[Terrence Bates]

Well, facetious. Facetious. We're going to have to take a break. Oh, you're saying you're being facetious. Okay, I get it. Hey, I told you guys it was going to be a doozy. I wish I had my popcorn on hand. Look, there's a new book out that's sounding the alarm on religious liberty. Catholic League President Bill Donahue releases Christianity in the Crosshairs, claiming that elites and radical activists are targeting Christian believers, especially Catholics. His call to action for people of faith ahead.

[David Brody]

God bless the USA.

[Bill Donahue]

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

[Tracy Anthony]

Welcome back to American Sunrise. It's time now for our Moments of Faith brought to us by Lee Greenwood and the God Bless the USA Bible. In focus today, the president and CEO of the Catholic League, Bill Donahue, has a new book out today called Christianity in the Ruling Class. And radicals find a common enemy. Their target, Christian believers, especially Catholics. Bill Donahue is calling on readers to stand up for religious liberty and defend their faith. And he joins us now. Welcome to the show, Bill. Thank you so much for being with us. Tell us, what was your inspiration behind this book? Why did you decide to write this?

[Bill Donahue]

Well, I'm a sociologist and I've been tracking many cultural changes for a long time. This is my 12th book. But I really, I got to the point where I'm just so fed up with the intolerance and the hypocrisy on the part of the intellectuals. I was a professor for many years. There's a lot of good people in the professoriate, but unfortunately, too many of them had been indoctrinated and they're on the hard left. They're all secularist. Now, the secular militants are the ones who really hate religion and particularly Christianity. Why? Because their ultimate goal is control. They want power. Here we have the radicals joining in with many members, not all of them, but many of the ruling class. They'd like to seduce us intellectually. Their goal is to basically make us into the compliant citizens. That's not my term. That's a term by Bill Ivey, who was a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton. We want a compliant citizenry. In other words, a passive, docile group of people who will do what we tell them to do to reset society. But the problem for them is Christians. Christians are so committed to their religion that they stand as an obstacle to their mission.

[Tracy Anthony]

Well, our founding fathers would be rolling in their graves because what they stood for was freedom and including religious freedom. And Christians in this country, this is a Christian country, should be able to have those freedoms. And you know, this anti Christian rhetoric does have ripple effects. It does have implications. All over the world we're seeing religious persecution against Christians. I think of Nigeria, for example, something that we don't even see covered in the mainstream media. Talk to us a little bit more about this and how it really does have, like I said, ripple effects and bigger impacts throughout the rest of the world.

[Bill Donahue]

Well, you're quite right. And the example you gave, and I gave the example of the militant secularist, you gave the example essentially of Islamist, the radical Islamist. So in both cases, you have extremes, don't you? If you happen to be a secularist, if you happen to be a Muslim, you're not a problem. The problem is when you become a militant secularist and you have an agenda to shove it down the throats of everybody and you have a problem because family and religion stand in the way, which means you have to disable them. The situation in Nigeria is similar, but it's also different. It's similar in the sense that it's a kind of a totalitarian situation where they want to control you. On the other hand, in this case, it's the extremists on the religious end, in this case, Muslim extremists. But both extremes really work against us. And in both cases, they go after Christians. The secularists and the Islamists both target Christians.

[Tracy Anthony]

Well, builds on. Hugh, we so appreciate you being with us this morning. For our viewers, if they want to go check out your book, where can they go?

[Bill Donahue]

Well, it's available by chan booked. It's available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, every place. Today is the actual publication day.

[Dr. Gina]

So I'm very excited about it, very excited as well.

[Tracy Anthony]

Christianity in the crosshairs. Bill Donahue, thanks again. We'll see you soon.

[Bill Donahue]

Thank you.

[Tracy Anthony]

Back with the second hour of American Sunrise in just two minutes. Stick around.

[Terrence Bates]

Coming up on this second hour of American Sunrise, authorities reveal new information in the deadly shooting inside a Rhode island ice rink. Police now say Robert Dorgan, who identifies as Roberta Esposito, opened fire during a high school hockey game. We'll have the very latest in just a moment. Plus, the search for Nancy, Nancy Guthrie enters its 17th day as TMZ now reporting, it has received a fourth email demanding a bitcoin payment in exchange for information about Nancy's disappearance. We'll have the very latest on the search for Nancy Guthrie coming up. And then later, former Vice President Kamala Harris leads the pack in a poll of potential Democrat contenders in the 2028 presidential election. However, California Governor Gavin Newsom is polling very closely behind. We'll talk about the upcoming battle for the Democrat nomination and its weak bench of nominees. Those stories and so much more right now on this second hour of American Sunrise.

[David Brody]

Good morning, America.

[Dr. Gina]

Welcome to American Sunrise. Whether it's culture, we have breaking news to share with you.

[Terrence Bates]

Politics.

[David Brody]

President Trump is joining us live now from Florida.

[Terrence Bates]

We've got you covered.

[David Brody]

This is what it looks like to be a patriot.

[Terrence Bates]

We have to protect the American family.

[Dr. Gina]

The American dream is still alive.

[David Brody]

I'm David Brody.

[Terrence Bates]

I'm terrence.

[Dr. Gina]

And I'm Dr. Gina.

[David Brody]

Welcome back, everybody, to the second hour of American Sunrise. I'm David Brody coming to you from D.C. let's bring in Dr. G in West Palm and T B in our Denver newsroom. Good morning. So Jesse Jackson passing away at the age of 84. We talked about in the first hour, President Trump out with a statement. We'll put up the statement a little later. But basically, just to summarize, he very nice things to say, Called him a force of nature. Dr. G. Said he was a good man. He said that he loved his family greatly and sending deepest sympathies and condolences. And there was more in there, you know, President. Oh, there it is. You can see some of it there. But bottom line is, overall, very gracious from President Trump.

[Dr. Gina]

Well, that's good. We all should be on the day someone dies, very gracious toward them. And as Terrence and I both pointed out, you know, you cannot take away from Jesse Jackson. Yes, he was a leftist. Yes, he, you know, participated in making a lot of money on things that seem divisive to some of us. But at the same time, you cannot take away from him what a cultural impact he definitely had. And it did seem to me, Terrence, that he softened in his later days. I know he was not a friend of Obama's. So to the degree that he was political in his final days, it seemed that he was much more ecumenical about it and certainly was always very friendly to me when I saw him in green rooms and tv.

[Terrence Bates]

Yeah. Very nice person. Veryin fact, I'm just gonna read what President Trump writes here. He was a good man with lots of personality, grit and quote, street smarts. Excuse me. He was very gregarious, someone who truly loved people. So that really I think encapsulates it all. And Jesse Jackson unfortunately passing away now at 84 years old. As you said, Dr. Jean, as many of us do, as we get older, we become wiser. And Jesse Jackson, of course, left his imprint on US Society and the world. In other headlines, guys, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Continuing to try and make America healthy again by looking into the safety of ultra processed foods. The secretary claims the current industry standards just aren't enough because food companies are allowed to independently verify the safety of their ingredients without government oversights, particularly if they are recognized by experts as safe. Kennedy says there is currently no single definition of ultra processed foods used by the federal government in federal regulators. So as a result, the FDA and the Department of Agriculture are now working to change all of that and establish a uniform definition. Lawmakers in New Mexico set to start work today on an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein Zorro Ranch. Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women there. A bipartisan committee wants to hear testimony from survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the ranch, which is located about 30 miles outside the state capital of Santa Fe. New Mexico's so called truth Commission will be comprised of four lawmakers who were tasked with identifying ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was going on there or even taking part in sexual abuse at that mansion. Early voting in Georgia's 14th congressional district special election continues this morning after opening just yesterday. Nearly 20 candidates are volunteers to fill the seat that was vacated by Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene. President Trump is endorsing former prosecutor Clay Fuller. However, with so many people in the race, it may be difficult for one candidate to earn the majority needed to win the race outright. If that happens, the top two vote getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to a runoff. By the way, President Trump will be in that district later this week. I believe it's Thursday. He'll be there campaigning a little bit and talking to voters. So that's going to be interesting in a story that we'll be watching throughout the week.

[David Brody]

All right.

[Terrence Bates]

Let's get a quick check of your headline or for your forecast. Now, I apologize. I just gave you your headlines, didn't I? Meteorologist Tracy Anthony joining us in our West Palm studios. Tracy, you've got our hometown forecast. Good morning.

[Tracy Anthony]

Hey, good morning. Yeah, this one coming in from the early hour as well. And it actually kind of ties right into the weather story because These systems that we're going to watch that are impacting the intermountain weather will move out over the Plains and areas like Worcester, Ohio, will have a chance for some severe potential. So we're trending well above average for this time of year. Temperature wise, we're going to be in the 50s and 60s, but by about Thursday and Friday, we do have the chance for some strong and potentially severe thunderstorm activity across this area. So as you can see here, Cincinnati, Evansville, back towards St. Louis under that slight risk or a level two threat, and this is several days out, so oftentimes we've got a pretty high confidence that we will have some stronger storms across that region. So over the next 72 hours, it's the snow out west, but all the red dots over top of the rain and snow forecast is where we're going to have record potential highs. So extremely warm here across parts of the Southeast, east. That's going to stretch along the Gulf Coast. And speaking of the Gulf Coast, Terence, we know that today is Fat Tuesday. I know we all have, you know, our own Nolan's story there. But it's going to be very active on Bourbon street, and they've got a pretty nice forecast today. This weekend, this forecast, they had to deal with some stronger storms, but should be relatively nice for Bourbon street this afternoon.

[Terrence Bates]

It's going to be a lot going on there, Tracy. And just word to the why, if a drink is called hurricane and you know the damage that a real hurricane does, you may want to stay away from it. I'm just gonna put it out there.

[Tracy Anthony]

Hey, if you've been there.

[David Brody]

Yeah.

[Tracy Anthony]

Stay away from the hurricane.

[Terrence Bates]

Yeah, that. That ain't what you want. That ain't what you want. Tracy, always good to talk to you. Have a good rest of the day.

[Tracy Anthony]

You, too.

[Terrence Bates]

All right, let's get you over to David. DAVID Similarly, I'm just gonna give you that warning. I don't know if you partake in spirits, but if you ever go to New Orleans, if you've ever been, when you see the hurricane stand, it ain't the storm and it will. Kind of drink. I guess I'm telling all my business, but, you know, I guess I needed some therapy this morning. David, thank you for listening.

[David Brody]

No doubt about it. T. Bates, the only spirit right now I dabble in is the holy spirit. I used to do spirits back in college, but thank you. T. Bates all right. We have new information regarding the recent shooting at a Rhode island ice rink. Police have identified the shooter as a 56 year old Robert Dorgan. He identifies as transgender.

[Bill Donahue]

Wow.

[David Brody]

Well, what do you know? And goes by the name Roberta Esposito. We're also learning that the night before the shooting where Dorgan shot four family members, Dorgan posted the following on X. He said, keep bashing us, but do not wonder why we go berserk. This, of course, follows another recent shooting in Canada where another transgender shooter killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more. And of course, there have been transgender shooters so often cited in the news, especially in the last couple of years. Joining us now with reaction is the editor in chief for Just the News, John Solomon. John, good morning. This feels like an investigation that my guess is the New York Times won't do anytime soon. But my goodness, transgender shootings, I mean, this is becoming more and more commonplace. And I think that's an understatement.

[John Solomon]

Yeah, there's no doubt. And you look at the court records associated with his family in the year or two before this tragic shooting yesterday, and you see how this man's transgender transition roiled and ruined his whole family. His whole family was taken apart by his desire to be something that God didn't intend him to be. And so it ends tragically. We've had a whole bunch of these. And go back to the Covenant shootings in Nashville. There's about eight or nine major shootings in the last three years that involve a transgender suspect. And I think that that is a really significant clue. And the FBI often does assessments looking at emerging threats. And it'll be very interesting now with this pattern to see if their profilers, if their threat assessments begin to say, hey, people that are in these transgender surgeries because of the hormone changes, all the things that that they go through to try to force the body to be something that it's not, whether that is creating a potential proclivity for violence. And I think you're going to see some sort of assessment on that in the next few months.

[Terrence Bates]

John. Shoring up our elections is really critical these days, and it's something that Congress has been focusing on. Of course, the Save America act has already made it through the House, the Senate. We all know what's going to ultimately act happened with that. And in the meantime, President Trump declaring that voter ID will be required for this year's upcoming midterm elections even if Congress doesn't pass the legislation. Taken to Truth Social on Friday, the president claiming that Democrats oppose voter ID and citizenship requirements in order to cheat. Those were his words in elections. He also says he has a new legal argument to impose voter ID regardless of Congress. And he's promising that you if will apply to the midterms. He's even calling for ending mail in ballots, except for in limited cases. It sounds to me, John, like the president is willing to maybe push this through executive order. Is that something that he ultimately can do that would be implemented coast to coast?

[John Solomon]

He could. It'll get challenged in the courts and we'll see whether of course the ultimately where the Supreme Court came down remote. Remind everybody that during Joe Biden's tenure there were a couple of executive orders involving election that the Supreme Court didn't overturn. They just didn't look, didn't weigh in one way or the other. So there is some precedent for this. I don't think we should give up on the Senate yet. I know the president had a long and painful conversation Friday with Senator John Thune, the Senate majority leader. I think there's about to be some really significant revelations about the threats to our election system, potentially some improper collaboration between foreign powers and American, American figures trying to gain improper advantages in the election. I think our intelligence community has been far more aware of this and not been willing to tell the American public. I have a funny feeling Donald Trump's going to tell the public. And when, when that narrative is built, when people realize that maybe we're not as secure as we thought, that maybe there are bad actors even on our own soil, sometimes they collaborate with foreign powers that maybe then some of the reluctant senators will flip. Their votes are at 49 votes right now in the Senate. It you need 51 and then you need John Thune to change the filibuster to an old fashioned talk and standing filibuster where eventually people drop because they get tired and then you can vote. That's the way Calhoun and Clay did it back in the 1800s. It's the way we should do it in the 21st century. But I actually think there's a strong possibility and probability that this summer the Senate gets this signature piece of legislation through John.

[Dr. Gina]

I think I thought that the Epstein files were largely about underage girls. You know, we see them. You know, I thought, oh, it's really terrible. These things happen. I don't think I realized this was literally about babies and child torture and that this wasn't just something that used to happen. That happened when Epstein was prolific in what he was doing, that it's still happening now very much. And there are very powerful names being mentioned now. Now I'm so tired of hearing about all of the innocent people that are in it. Because we realize there are innocent people in it. But John, I don't understand when they say names were redacted to protect victims. Well, how come people to and from in these disgusting child torture emails, people that wrote them that they were to or that they were from are redacted? I don't understand that. I know you know the answer to that probably, but I don't understand that because I thought we were hearing just to protect victims. And secondly, the current names mentioned in these files, will there be punishment? I mean, there are. Obviously there are innocent people, but there are a lot of people that are not innocent who have exacted this. Not just on young women, on children, on babies, mutilation, torture, infanticide. The list goes on. John, talk to us about what's going to happen here.

[John Solomon]

As I've said many times, and that's why we did the 2021 series of stories. We did adjust the news with one of the premier child sex trafficking experts in the country. She worked as a reporter for a year. We wanted people to know just how bad it was and also how bad the decision making was when, when this could have been rolled up when people were in the statute of limitations on these crimes. That goes back to the Bush Justice Department. I keep saying this, but it's so important. It was an incredibly derelict decision for the Bush Justice Department to let Jeffrey Epstein Walk in 2006 and seven when all the evidence of what you just mentioned was sitting in front of them. It is a story of power. It's a story of elitism. It's a story of insulation, much like we saw with the Biden family. And very different allegations. Right. Weren't sex allegations so much as it were corruption allegations. But the rich protect their own. The political elite protect. Protect their own. In this case, the people who didn't get protected were the men and women.

[Dr. Gina]

But John, it's still happening.

[John Solomon]

Subjected to the horrific stuff.

[Dr. Gina]

I mean, that's, that's the horrible part is that it's still happening today. This isn't something that happened in the past. This is something that is still happening today and will continue to happen unless.

[John Solomon]

The drug cartels are trafficking people today. They're doing it today. I mean, we just saw a whole bunch of arrests last week. There is a massive sex trafficking ring all across this United States. The FBI is beginning to roll up the bad actors today. I fear those who participated in Jeffrey Epstein's sick fantasies probably are going to walk, given the statute of limitations and the mishandling of things, but we need to stop those who are currently in action, and I think that's what the FBI is doing very well. DA Is doing a good job. ICE is doing a good job. We're rolling up a lot of bad actors today, but I fear there be a stain in our country for a long time on the way we handled Epstein.

[Dr. Gina]

Thanks.

[David Brody]

John Solomon, great to have you. Speaking about jail, we're going to anchor jail. We're back in a moment, everybody.

[Tracy Anthony]

Welcome back to American Sunrise. We're continuing to follow the latest developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie. A man claiming to know who took Guthrie is demanding $50,000 in Bitcoin for information. This is the fourth email that TMZ says they've received from him, all using the same crypto account. This comes as Arizona authorities announce all of Guthrie's family members have been cleared as potential suspects, including spouses. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says the family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious. Joining us now with the latest is RAV correspondent Kevin Posobec. Kevin, good morning to you. You're there on the scene. Nancy Guthrie has been missing for 17 days now. What more can you tell us this morning as the search continues? Looks like a little bit of a rainy morning there outside of the house.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

It certainly is.

[Terrence Bates]

It certainly is, Emily.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

And thanks for having me back. It's field correspondence.

[Terrence Bates]

So, yeah, the TMZ thing is a little. Little fishy.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

It's the fourth one that we've seen so far.

[Terrence Bates]

And, yeah, so he's been putting it back onto this ransom person in that.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

They will get the money, you know.

[Peter Gillooly]

If we get information.

[Terrence Bates]

But really, if this is the kidnapper, he won't be able to do much with that money anyway. And also, I want to make a point that regarding. Regarding this TMZ report, one thing Harvey.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Seems to have overlooked is that the.

[Terrence Bates]

People are being referred to as them.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

He's seen them, and they have her.

[Peter Gillooly]

So, you know, we take that in.

[Terrence Bates]

The big picture here.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

This could be, you know, perhaps a trans person, actually. I mean, we've seen a Rhode island shooting yesterday.

[Peter Gillooly]

So just another point there to it is that, you know, he's claiming that he's seen Nancy and he's with them.

[Terrence Bates]

So, you know, they.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Them.

[Terrence Bates]

The pronoun thing has been overlooked.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

And now also, you can see the glove there.

[Terrence Bates]

I want to give you an update.

[Peter Gillooly]

On that, too, if we can.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

So I originally thought that was, you know, faux leather.

[Bill Donahue]

It looks kind of thick, but I'VE.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Been told that this is actually like.

[Terrence Bates]

A latex glove, very similar to what mechanics wear.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

And you know, so that's very thin.

[Bill Donahue]

That'S a very thin kind of glove. I mean, they're, they're a couple mils.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Thick, you know, just so they don't rip.

[Terrence Bates]

But it's a fragile, it's much more fragile than we're led to believe initially.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

But yeah, you could, I thought that was leather at first, but it's, it's.

[Terrence Bates]

Just, you know, slightly thick plastic latex. So you take that into account as.

[Peter Gillooly]

Well regarding sending it across the country here for evidence. Yeah, yeah.

[Tracy Anthony]

A lot of, lot of details, A lot of questions still to answer. Kevin Posobic there on the scene for us. Thank you for being with us this morning.

[Bill Donahue]

Oh, you're welcome.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Thanks for having me.

[Tracy Anthony]

Coming up on American Sunrise, the first ever mission signals a new era for war fighting and nuclear power. After a fleet of C17 transports moved a new micro reactor across state lines. We'll have those details right after the break.

[David Brody]

Break.

[Tracy Anthony]

Don't go anywhere.

[Bill Donahue]

At Real America's Voice, we know that you want to be a part of something bigger. That's why we've teamed up with amac, the association of Mature American Citizens to build a real community of friends, folks who care about fate and our country's future.

[Dr. Gina]

There is no force on earth that can stop us from saving our country.

[Bill Donahue]

Want to be a part of this movement?

[Peter Gillooly]

It's easy.

[Bill Donahue]

Just scan the QR code on your screen right now. That's right.

[Terrence Bates]

Grab your phone and scan the QR.

[Peter Gillooly]

Code to join the AMAC and Real.

[Bill Donahue]

America's VOICE family today. By scanning the QR code, you'll unlock exclusive content, connect with like minded Americans and be first in line for events.

[Peter Gillooly]

That celebrate our shared values.

[Bill Donahue]

So don't wait. Scan the QR code, join us today and become part of a community that stands for faith, family and freedom.

[Dr. Gina]

Real rights.

[Bill Donahue]

They come from God. With AMAC and Real America's voice. Go ahead, scan the QR code now.

[Terrence Bates]

Welcome back, everyone. We're about six minutes away from the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. We'll of course take you there. Live the moment that happens. In the meantime, here's a quick look at the futures board. Not so good. Top to bottom, you can see a lot of red on that board. All of this as Wall street is looking to rebound from a fairly tough week last week and some significant losses. Again, we'll take you to Wall street and the opening bell in just a little bit but first, let's get you over to David Brody. In fact, David, you've got another David that you're going to be introducing here momentarily. It's the David and David Show.

[David Brody]

I do. He's got a great first name, by the way. And I really, I like it.

[Peter Gillooly]

I like it a lot.

[David Brody]

All right, T. Bates, the U.S. air Force just hauled a full microreactor, the Ward 250. They hauled it across state lines in a series of C17 transports. This is wild stuff. It's a first of its kind move. It could revolutionize how America powers remote bases and disaster zones and also the battlefield. The van sized reactor, that's how big it is built by Valor Atomics, isn't fueled yet, but the message is clear. Nuclear power no longer has to basically stay put. It can be deployed anywhere, anytime. You hear that, China? Joining us now is the host of Breaking Point here on rav, that would be our good friend David Zier. So, David, you just got back after traveling with the energy secretary and the Department of War undersecretary. So tell us more about this. Really, it's an incredible development.

[Terrence Bates]

It's huge. And flying 6,000 miles in about 14 hours on Sunday from D.C. to California to Utah, back to D.C. when they asked me if I packed my own cargo that day, I had to say no, of course, because we had a 5 megawatt nuclear reactor on board that we brought to the San Rafael testing labs to Utah. And as Secretary Wright told me and confirmed, you know, China and Russia have led the way on the small modular reactor technology. China conducting an smart test about two weeks ago in the island province of Hainan. And the current global landscape has China holding the lead in deployment and grid integration on these things. And Russia has the first floating SMR going all the way back to 2020. But the United States leads in the number of private designs. And the difference between this is that Chris wr, Pete Hegseth and Trump are focused on nuclear energy. And we're facing a nuclear renaissance because if these things test well, according to Trump's executive orders, to get this reactor online with critical performance by the 250th anniversary of America and being deployed in about a year or two out there, we can scale these things by the thousands, something no other country can do for civilian AI production, manufacturing and military applications here and globally.

[David Brody]

So you mentioned that's interesting because you mentioned about getting it deployed in what, about a year or so after the 250th anniversary. Is that what you're hearing? End of 2027. Is that kind of the timetable, David?

[Terrence Bates]

Yes. And if you recall, if you've been following the small modular reactors, I think there was 1 in Abilene, 1 megawatt, 30 megawatts in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. And the normal nuclear power plants are like under a gigawatt or which is 300 to 900 megawatts. So these are small, but they were talking about this technology being available on scale by 2030, 2031. So because of Trump's impetus and because of all the focus on our military with Hegseth and Secretary of Energy partnering up with Valor Atomics, this young leadership in this company here producing these incredible high temperature gas cooled reactors cooled by helium. This is unprecedented. And I think we're moving at a speed and scale which is the focus of all of Trump's executive orders that were codified in the ndaa. I know I talk about that a lot, but rapid capabilities, getting stuff to the marketplace, holding defense contractors and private companies accountable. And as Hegseth said to us in Maine at Bath Ironworks last week, he doesn't care whose name is on the side of these products. He wants them delivered to the war fighters and to our community. So we have national security and our electric grid is safe from, say, EMPs, other natural disasters. And we're producing stuff in manufacturing capacity at light speed.

[David Brody]

Yeah, I mean, just fascinating stuff. You mentioned the electric grid. Obviously, that's key. And I know this. I think these things power like 5000 homes or something like that, or something along those lines. David Zier, great to have you with us. Boy. Can you get some sleep? I mean, you look great, by the way. For like no sleep, by the way.

[Terrence Bates]

Yeah, yeah, we slept like a baby on the way back. But our cameraman, Will Lawrence got incredible footage. I'll be playing that on Breaking Point this weekend. And it was just an honor to be part of it.

[Peter Gillooly]

You're the best.

[David Brody]

We appreciate you as always. My goodness.

[Terrence Bates]

Thanks, David.

[David Brody]

That is some serious work. All right, we are over to T Bates now. The opening bell.

[Bill Donahue]

Sponsored by amac, the association of Mature.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

American Citizens is the conservative voice for.

[Terrence Bates]

For Americans 50 and older.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

AMAC is fighting for the values that you hold dear.

[Bill Donahue]

Join today together we can write the course of America.

[Terrence Bates]

We're less than a minute away from the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The applause is already underway as US Today co is at the podium. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. That means the bell is going to ring here in short order and we'll get an idea of how the markets are shaping up up on this Tuesday of trading was a rough week last week. So many investors hoping that this week is going to be a little bit better. All right, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The bell is ringing. And just like that, it looks like the Dow is up a couple of blemishes there. The S P500, the NASDAQ down right now. The rest of the board generally looking pretty good with Vic or actually generally not looking so hot at the moment. VIX is the one bright, bright spot at the bottom of our screen. Of course, we'll continue to monitor all of this for you throughout the day. And if you're one of those people who's going to be trading or investing, we do hope it ultimately turns out to be a good day for you. Still to come here on American Sunrise, though, new polling data shows that former Vice President Kamala Harris leads the field of potential Democrat contenders for 2028. Harris is out front, but not far, not by far. Who really has the early edge? We'll talk about it after the break.

[Bill Donahue]

From powerhouse vocalist Natasha Owens, known for standout singles like Trump 1 and Somali.

[Peter Gillooly]

Waltz, comes her brand new release the Boss, released on on real America's music.

[Bill Donahue]

This is the direct response to Bruce Springsteen's recent release the Streets of Minneapolis. While Springsteen once branded himself as a voice of the working class, the Boss gives a voice to everyday Americans and reminds listeners who truly shapes the future. The real America's voice audience has the power to move charts and shake the industry. Download it right now, scan the QR code or search the Boss on itunes. Push it up the charts, make em notice.

[David Brody]

Thank God God you're not I thank God you're not.

[Dr. Gina]

All right. Welcome back to American sunrise. I'm Dr. G. Thanks for joining us this morning. We invite you to hop on our conversation on YouTube. Getter and Rumble. Time now to take the political pulse of America. Here's the beat today. A new polling snapshot from the tracker race to the White House shows Kamala Harris is out front in the early 2028 primary landscape, but not by much. Harris sits at 27.5% nationally, just ahead of Gavin Newsom at 22.7. Far behind them, Alexandra Ocasri, you know who she is. AOC at 9%, Pete Buttigieg at 8.7, Josh Shapiro at 4.9 and JB Pritzker at 3.4. While NewSreek reports that Harris leads the early polls betting market, Kalshee paints a different picture, giving Newsom the edge with a 32% chance of winning the nomination. Separate survey from focal data shows Harris with an even wider lead. But with a crowd this, with a field this crowded. There we go. And divided, what does it really mean for 2028? Well, joining us now with analysis, the host of America's Voice Live and the Steve Gruber Show. Steve, good morning.

[Bill Donahue]

Good morning.

[Dr. Gina]

Who do you think the nominee is on the Democrat side in 28?

[Bill Donahue]

Well, if I was going to place a bet today, I'm going to say it's going to be aoc and the reason is she's going to need piles of money. Yeah, there it is. Yeah, she was a train wreck in Munich and that's fine. But look, she is the representative of this fringe part of the party. And when she announces her candidacy, which she certainly will, she's going to get boatloads of money. Does she survive the primaries? I don't know. But right now she's the leading contender to bring in more money than anybody else because it's going to be the Soros backed wing of the party. It's going to bring in trainloads of cash for her. Kamala Harris has no political future. All right, so that's just, that's just to. That she has no political path forward. Whatever she has for support now will evaporate quickly. JB Pritzker with all of his money, might be able to contend for a while. Josh Shapiro out of Pennsylvania, also a strong contender for the Democrats. But compare that any of them to Marco Rubio's speech in Munich and they all pale in comparison. Marco Rubio knocked it out of the park. Best speech defending Western civilization since Reagan, I think would be fair to say. I mean, his speech was remarkable and a real clear definition of what the Trump administration is. That's why Marco was so effective, because it's a clear delineation and explanation of what the Trump doctrine is globally, and that is defending Western civilization. Don't be ashamed of who you are, America. Stand up and be proud for who you are, America. It's about damn time.

[David Brody]

So let me just say let's go there then, shall we? Marco Rubio and J.D. vance in 2028. Let's talk about it. I know what's been said. I got it right. Rubio's not. Vance is running. I'm not running. Yeah, whatever. Bottom line is, I'm sorry, this feels like a Rubio momentum situation. Vance as an heir apparent is that's Gina's been saying for a while here, the worst spot to be in when you're the heir apparent. That is not a good place to be in. And I'm sorry, there's just a lot of talk about Rubio now. And I can see Trump endorsing Rubio over Vance. I. People don't think it will happen. I think it could. And I think if that happens, that's a game changer, clearly, Steve, 100%.

[Bill Donahue]

And you say, let's talk about what's been said. What Donald Trump said recently was, I like them both. I think they're both great. And let's go back to Munich. Let's be honest about Marco Rubio. At that podium, on that stage, he sounded, shall I say, presidential.

[David Brody]

Yes, he did.

[Terrence Bates]

You better preach.

[Bill Donahue]

Yeah. And the fact of the matter is, look, look, he talked to the whole world and explained the situation about Western civilization in a way that was terrific. I mean, it was a home run speech.

[Congressman Mark Alford]

Yes.

[Bill Donahue]

There's talk about him and Donald Trump. Let's talk about what he said. He thinks they're both terrific. Meaning he's not putting his chips on any horse in 2026. We're a long way from 2028. We gotta get through these midterms first. And so I agree, he could certainly endorse Marco Rubio, who has done a fabulous job as Secretary of State, I think. I don't think you could argue that. You know, he's flown all over the world, he's made deals, they've stopped wars, they've inserted American power and authority and, yes, moral clarity on the world stage by way of Marco Rubio, far more than JD And I like JD don't get me wrong. But when it comes to moral clarity and defining what America is in 2026, that job has fallen to Marco Rubio. And that's why the conversation is focused on him today.

[Terrence Bates]

And it seems to me that he can still tout Marco Rubio, in this particular case, can still tout America first, he can still tout maga. But now he also has those foreign policy chops that he's really sharpened.

[Bill Donahue]

Absolutely, Absolutely true. I mean, look, he's meeting with world leaders. He's on the world stage. He's out there delivering in a way that others have not. I mean, this. But it is a reflection. Marco Rubio is of this president, of this administration, of what they truly believe at their core, which is America's worth defending. Our traditions, our heritage, our place in world history, all of that is worth defending. Stop apologizing for America. We're not interested in that anymore. We're interested in saying, look, we are the greatest example of freedom ever displayed on this planet. We are. And I'm tired of people saying, well, you know, this or that, you know, yeah, were we perfect?

[Terrence Bates]

No.

[Bill Donahue]

We've had our missteps along the way, but we've saved this world not once, but twice. World War I, World War II. We've asserted ourselves as the leader of the free world, and it must remain a free world. And you look at Europe, what an embarrassment the EU is, truly. I mean, they throw people in jail for Facebook posts now while allowing those that have raped their citizens to walk free in their streets. That is an upside down world. I want nothing to do with it. I want American leadership. And that's what we're talking about. Don't apologize for being an American. Be proud of it. And I don't care what your skin color is, because that's part the of. Of the distractions from the Democrats. Look, they want to. Oh, it's diversity. It's white supremacy. No, it's not. It's American exceptionalism. That's who we are. Be proud of it. And stand up and fly that flag like you mean it. Because people died for us to sit here and have this conversation today. And they did it for good reason, because freedom always prevails.

[Dr. Gina]

Steve, what impact do you think if there are no arrests and no investigations regarding these children who are victims that we're hearing more and more about every single day? I think a lot of us thought it was young girls who were maybe hanging out at the mansion and this kind of thing. As you look into these files, you see the names of the very rich and powerful people who have made politicians in both parties, people who are politicians in both parties named in this. You also see a lot of, by the way, of redactions from perpetrators, people who these emails are to and from talking about the horrendous things they've done to children finding out this is babies and children. Steve, it really changed everything for me. I mean, it's not that I didn't think that the files were important before, but now, I mean, like a lot of maga, I'm not alone in this, Steve. A lot of people say this isn't going away, we're not moving on. What happens if nothing happens? What impact does it have on the midterms?

[Bill Donahue]

Well, I would say this. If you're a MAGA person and you're complaining about the first year back in the White House for Donald Trump, he's not the problem. You are. And I say that quite bluntly. Look, he's delivered on the border, he's delivered on the economy, he's delivered on the world stage. He's delivered over and over again. And if you didn't get everything you wanted for Christmas in the first year, I'm sorry, Donald Trump didn't show up with a magic wand in the Oval Office. All right, give it some time. There's a lot of unwinding to do here. It's not just four years. It's 40 years of bad policies, bad decisions, and, yes, evil leaders that did bad things. Let's see where it leads before we, you know, get all worried about the midterms. The number one thing for the midterms is the economy. The number two thing for the midterms is a save act. The number three thing for the midterms is that case out of Louisiana in front of the Supreme Court that will nullify congressional districts based on race, which, by the way, will freeze California and Virginia. They won't be able to use new maps because they both explicitly talked about race. And they're redistricting. The Supreme Court will vote six to three in June. Those will be frozen. Louisiana will come back in line with three new seats. Texas is clear because they didn't do it that way. So there's five seats, plus eight for the Republicans to start the race on November, on the election day of 2026. So if you're complaining that you didn't get everything you wanted at Christmas, take a breather, please. This is the greatest list of accomplishments in the first year of a presidency I've ever seen. And if you don't see that, you need to take your blinders off.

[David Brody]

All right, but. So just so I understand, but you can walk and chew gum at the same time. So are you saying this is a distraction and. Because for some folks, this is the red line right here.

[Bill Donahue]

What red line is Donald Trump in there?

[Dr. Gina]

If I could just build up Donald Trump in these.

[David Brody]

It's not about Donald Trump.

[Bill Donahue]

Give it some time. We've got three and a half million documents that are being rifled through now. And so here we are in February, which is basically like being a basketball team that peaks in December. Nobody wants to peak in December. You want to peak at the end of February going into March. You want to peak in September, going into October. For this administration, we've got plenty of time on the clock here to get some things done and to sit here in February and whine, basically. But I didn't get everything I wanted in the first year. Stop it. This is the most accomplishments in the first year of any presidency I've ever seen in historically speaking, it's on par with what any president has ever done. So my advice, take a break. I don't know what's in the Epstein files completely, but I see that they're bringing down the monarchy in Britain, is bringing down the government in Britain, is bringing down big powerful players in the United States. Let it play out. Stop jumping to conclusions. Let it play out. And then you can decide if you want to support Donald Trump because of what's in the Epstein files or what's not in the Epstein files.

[Dr. Gina]

I don't think anybody's saying that. I don't think and I don't think it's limited to Donald Trump. I don't think anyone can wash away what Donald Trump has done. He's been the best president in our history. I don't think anyone's doubting that. It doesn't change that. I think there's a level of distrust among the base for those in power, generally speaking on both sides of the aisle. And I was just asking what impact you thought that would have in the midterms.

[Bill Donahue]

Well, we'll see.

[Dr. Gina]

Because Donald Trump isn't going to be on the ballot.

[Bill Donahue]

I don't have any idea. I don't have any idea in February what the impact's going to be in November. Neither does anybody else, no matter what they might tell you. And I would say that I'm sorry, this might offend a couple of people. Donald Trump is not the best president in American history. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln. Without those two, we wouldn't be sitting here today in our lifetimes. Potentially fair point, but did you notice the Democrats didn't even mention Bill Clinton on President's Day? Just as an aside. Thought that was kind of cute.

[David Brody]

Great point, Steve.

[Dr. Gina]

We have to wrap up the impact.

[Bill Donahue]

Of the upstream's gonna be.

[Dr. Gina]

I'm so sorry but this conversation will be continued because you're right, this isn't gonna be solved today. There's of a lot, lot more information coming. Steve Gruber, thanks for being with us today.

[David Brody]

Thanks, Steve.

[Dr. Gina]

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[Peter Gillooly]

Let's spill some tea.

[Tracy Anthony]

Let's Spill Some Tea is sponsored by Artillery Tea Company, the veteran owned patriotic tea brand delivering premium whole leaf tea and biodegradable sachets that brew twice as strong. Patriots, if you love great tea on your terms, check out the Patriots Brew Club for automatic shipments that you control. You can cancel or swap flavors anytime with no commitment. You'll also get free shipping on every order, tiered discounts up to 20% off, and free milestone rewards along the way. Brew strong. Stay patriotic. Head to artillerytco.com right now and click Join the Patriots Brew Club to get started. It's time now to spill some tea. And in the cup. Today, former President Obama and space aliens. The former president is now walking back a viral comment that he made during a recent podcast appearance. Speaking to podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama joked about looking for aliens at Area 51, saying that aliens are real, but clarifying that he hasn't seen them. Take a look at this viral moment.

[Dr. Gina]

Are aliens real?

[David Brody]

They're real, but I haven't seen them.

[Terrence Bates]

And they're not being kept in.

[John Solomon]

What is it? Area 51?

[David Brody]

Area 51.

[John Solomon]

There's no underground facility.

[Terrence Bates]

Unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they.

[David Brody]

They hid it from the President of the United States.

[Bill Donahue]

What was the first question you wanted.

[Terrence Bates]

Answered when you became president.

[Bill Donahue]

Where are the aliens?

[David Brody]

Where are the aliens?

[Tracy Anthony]

The former president now says that he was just joking and playing along, adding that statistically life elsewhere in the universe is extremely likely, but there's no sign that Earth has ever been visit it. However, his comments have caught attention from UFO enthusiasts and skeptics alike. For more, let's bring in David Brody, Terrence Bates, and Dr. Gina Terrance. He says that the aliens are real. I want to know how he knows that they're real if they're not at Area 51. How does he know this? Where's the information?

[Terrence Bates]

Yeah, I think he was trying to couch this in a joke and trying to be facetious, if you will. But I would guess that if there are in fact aliens, he may have some sort of inkling or have gotten some sort of information as president to confirm and affirm that. And just personally, I do believe that there is life out there. Yes. I am one of those believers that we aren't the only people in the universe, that there is life out there somewhere. So put a tinfoil hat on me and go ahead and call me a couple conspiracist. Okay, David, go ahead.

[David Brody]

No tinfoil needed. No tinfoil needed. You look at the polling, 60% of Americans believe there is life, intelligent life, somewhere else in this world. No doubt about it. So you're in the majority. You're actually in the supermajority. So there's no tinfoil needed. It's the people that don't believe there's anything out there that are the tinfoil people at this point. One other interesting stat is one out of every three Americans. One out of every three Americans believe that aliens have actually come to the United States. Now, obviously, that would be 30, what, 3% or so. So that's. If you want to throw some tinfoil on there, that's fine. But anyhow, that's kind of where the stats wind up. Gina, what say you in terms of intelligent life? Well, all I can say is that some days I don't have intelligent life.

[Dr. Gina]

I was just going to say intelligent life is waning at this point in general, but I believe Obama's an alien. I mean. No, that's not what I meant.

[David Brody]

Oh, hello.

[Terrence Bates]

What?

[Dr. Gina]

Okay, I believe.

[Tracy Anthony]

I thought he was a reptile person. Gina.

[Dr. Gina]

Yeah, yeah, I don't know.

[Tracy Anthony]

Now we're getting real tinfoil hat.

[Dr. Gina]

That's right, Emily. I've seen all the apocalyptics movie and I think there's a good chance that Obama could star in one of those.

[Terrence Bates]

We'll just leave it at that.

[Dr. Gina]

I guess he's seen the aliens.

[Tracy Anthony]

He is the alien. Too funny. All right. Still to come on American Sunrise, our own T. Bates is standing by with the top story that he's keeping his eye on this morning. The One to Watch is next on American Sunrise. Don't miss it.

[Dr. Gina]

All right. Welcome back to American sunrise. I'm Dr. G. Thanks so much for joining us today. It is time for THE One to watch. And Terrence, you have your eyes on something.

[Terrence Bates]

I do. I do. It's you, David. Well, I guess I have to look straight ahead to see you guys both. So I am watching the story and kind of the reporting unfold about Reverend Jesse Jackson's passing. He, of course, passed early this morning. At 84 years old, he's a known civil rights leader from his early days marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. To his two runs for president. Dr. Reverend Jackson, excuse me. Definitely an indelible part of U.S. culture. President Trump taking to truth social earlier this morning. I'm just going to read part of the post. It's a very long post. He writes, The Reverend Jesse Jackson is dead at 84. I knew him well long before becoming president. He was a good man with lots of personality, grit and quote, street smarts. He was very gregarious, someone who truly loved people. The president going on to say, despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a racist by the scoundrels and lunatics on the radical left Democrats all, it was always my pleasure to help Jeff, Jesse along the way. That's just part of the post from President Trump as we bring back in Dr. Gina and David, you know, the world has lost an icon. US Politics has lost the icon. Whether you agree with his politics or not. The picture you're seeing right here is Jesse Jackson with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There right before Dr. King's assassination. In fact, there's another iconic picture of Jesse Jackson pointing off of the balcony at the Lorraine Motel there in Memphis, Tennessee. And he's reportedly pointing at where the deadly shot came from. So he's been part of history in so many different levels, David.

[David Brody]

Yeah, there's no doubt about that. You know, he's, we always call him the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

[Bill Donahue]

Right.

[David Brody]

Well, he was a Baptist preacher. He never had a church, never actually had a church, but he was ordained a Baptist preacher back in, I think it was the 60s or so. But anyhow, so but he brought in, he kind of ushered in, he was at the beginning, forefront of the progressive social justice gospel that we talk about so much today. So there's the faith legacy as well, which, you know, a lot of folks in the liberal stratosphere will give him credit for. So he had Parkinson's. Actually, he was diagnosed in 2015 with Parkinson's. So he's kind of stayed off the stage quite a bit, typically in the later stages of his life. Gina.

[Dr. Gina]

Yeah. You know, and while it's important to eulogize people in the most positive light we possibly can, I also think authenticity is really important. And that's why I appreciated President Trump's very authentic. I don't like that he called me a racist, but I didn't mind helping him. You know, like Grant, this is when Grandma, what grandma said applies the most. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. So it is. War Room will be up next. And, wow, how about when that Bannon documentary comes out on Epstein? That should be good. War Room is up next. Go Foley. Now live the truth.

[David Brody]

Drop that with four seconds to go.

[Dr. Gina]

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.