The Megyn Kelly Show – AM Update 10/24/2025

Host: Emily Jashinsky (filling in for Megyn Kelly)
Date: October 24, 2025
Podcast Theme:
A fast-paced morning update covering the day’s top political, legal, and cultural news stories, featuring honest analysis and notable soundbites. This episode focuses on the FBI's massive NBA-and-mafia gambling bust, President Trump’s cartel crackdown roundtable, NYC mayoral drama with Eric Adams endorsing Andrew Cuomo, and updates on the Irina Zyrutska murder case.

Main Stories and Discussions

1. FBI NBA Gambling & Mafia Bust (01:57–08:05)

FBI Takedown Overview

• The FBI arrested over 30 individuals in a sweeping operation spanning 11 states, targeting illegal sports gambling and rigged poker schemes.
• Defendants include prominent current and former NBA figures:
  • Chauncey Billups (Portland Trailblazers head coach)
  • Terry Rozier (Miami Heat guard)
  • Damon Jones (Former Cavaliers assistant coach)
  • Members of the Bonanno, Genovese, Lucchese, and Gambino crime families
    (01:57)
• Two major indictments:
  • NBA insider betting
  • Rigged poker games

Details of the NBA Cheating Indictment

• Players and coaches allegedly provided non-public information (such as player injuries and absences), allowing co-conspirators to place fraudulent bets.
• In some cases, threats were made to extract info from indebted players.
  • Quote [03:33]:
    “The non public information included when specific players would be sitting out future games... In at least one instance, they got their information by threatening a current player... because of his preexisting gambling debts.”
    – FBI Director Kashmutal
• Used information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets, mostly prop bets, via sportsbooks and casinos. Proceeds were laundered through various tactics.
• Impacted teams included the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, LA Lakers, and Toronto Raptors.
• Defendants charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering.

Poker Scheme Details

• "Face cards" (ex-athletes) lured “fish” victims into rigged games.
• Dealers and accomplices used advanced technology:
  • Altered shuffling machines
  • Chip tray analyzers
  • Contact lenses/glasses that read marked cards
  • X-ray tables
• Off-site operators relayed info in real time, with "quarterbacks" signaling to partners at the table.
  • Quote [05:27]:
    “They used off-the-shelf shuffling machines that had been secretly altered… the quarterback then signaled secretly the information he had received to others at the table... and together they used that information in order to win... and cheat the victims.”
    – U.S. Attorney Nocella
• Total victim losses exceeded $7 million; one individual lost $1.8 million.
• Mafia members enforced payment, using threats and violence when necessary.
• NBA placed Billups and Rozier on leave; all defendants face up to 20 years if convicted.

Notable/Memorable Quotes

• [04:39]: Attorney for Rozier:
  “He... is not afraid of a fight and he looks forward to winning this fight.”

2. President Trump’s Cartel Roundtable (09:51–13:38)

White House Event Overview

• President Trump assembled officials to highlight aggressive new initiatives against drug cartels following their designation as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).
• Executive order unlocks new counterterrorism tools (sanctions, asset freezes).

Trump on Cartels [10:29]

• Quote:
  “It should now be clear to the entire world that the cartels are the ISIS of the Western hemisphere... burning their enemies alive, and burning innocent people alive too, by the way...”
  – President Trump

Administration Claims and Initiatives

• AG Pam Bondi:
  • Over 3,200 violent gang members/drug dealers arrested.
  • Recent seizures: 91 tons of drugs (including enough cocaine to fill a swimming pool), massive amounts of fentanyl and weapons.
  • [11:01]
• DNI Tulsi Gabbard:
  • Intel sharing led to major arrests, including a notorious CJNG baby trafficker (“La Diabla”).
  • [12:00]
• Secretary Pete Hegseth:
  • Ninth US strike against suspected drug boats, described as a direct effort to save American lives.
  • Compares cartels to Al Qaeda; asserts the US will “hunt you down and... kill you.”
  • Quote [13:31]:
    “We will find you, we will map your networks. We will hunt you down and we will kill you.”
    – Pete Hegseth

Criticism & Controversy

• Critics claim the administration is exceeding its authority and denying due process (Colombian President claims a fisherman was killed).
• Official defense:
  • [13:51] US officials say targeted vessels are identifiable as smuggling, not fishing:
    “When you see five engines on a boat... loaded up with white powder... they’re not going fishing. Likewise, you don’t see fishing in submarines either.”

3. NYC Mayoral Race: Adams Endorses Cuomo (14:21–15:39)

Dramatic Turn in the Mayoral Race

• Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out last month, formally endorses former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo for mayor over frontrunner Zoran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
• Adams and Cuomo appeared together courtside at the Knicks’ opener before Adams made it official.

Notable Endorsement Speech [14:48]:

• Quote:
  “Am I angry that I’m not the one taking down Joran, the socialists and the communists? You’re darn right I am. But you know what? The city means more to me than anything... While you criticize Andrew and you called him names, you know what? And he called me names. But you know what? Now it’s time to fight for the family. And I’m a fight for the family with Andrew Cuomo as the next mayor of the city of New York.”
  – Eric Adams

Polling Update

• New poll: Mamdani 43%, Cuomo 29%, Sliwa 19%.
• Sliwa’s refusal to drop out keeps gap wide; if he did, Cuomo would be within 4 points.
• Election day set for November 4th.

4. Irina Zyrutska Murder Case Update (15:39–17:00)

• Decarlos Brown Jr. indicted by a federal grand jury for Irina Zyrutska’s murder, charged both federally and at the state level; death penalty eligible.
• Background: Zyrutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail (August 22).
• Brown: Prior convictions in 2013 and 2015, held without bail.
• New “Irina’s Law” in North Carolina: Toughens bail rules for violent offenders; mandates mental health evaluation.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• [03:33] FBI Director Kashmutal:
  “They got their information by threatening a current player... used this non-public information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent bets.”

• [05:27] U.S. Attorney Nocella:
  “The quarterback then signaled secretly the information... to others at the table and together they used that information in order to win their games and to cheat the victims.”

• [10:29] President Trump:
  “The cartels are the ISIS of the Western hemisphere.”

• [13:31] Pete Hegseth:
  “We will hunt you down and we will kill you.”

• [14:48] Eric Adams:
  “Now it’s time to fight for the family. And I’m a fight for the family with Andrew Cuomo as the next mayor of the city of New York.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• FBI Gambling Bust Overview: 01:57–08:05
• Trump Cartel Roundtable: 09:51–13:38
• NYC Mayoral Race & Endorsement Drama: 14:21–15:39
• Irina Zyrutska Murder Case: 15:39–17:00

Summary Tone

The tone is brisk, urgent, and direct. Facts are conveyed unflinchingly, echoing the Megyn Kelly Show’s emphasis on “no BS, no agenda.” Notable speakers’ quotes are delivered verbatim, capturing the intensity of law enforcement and political rhetoric.

Conclusion

This episode delivers a whirlwind tour through extraordinary national scandals and local political drama, highlighting a new peak in sports corruption, tough-on-crime government action, and a shifting New York political landscape. With hard-hitting original quotes and timely updates, the AM Update sets the table for more detailed analysis to come.