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The Megyn Kelly Show
SAVE America Act Showdown, Vaccine Shakeup Halted, Kouri Richins Found Guilty: AM Update 3/18
00:18:09
The Senate clears a key procedural hurdle on the SAVE America Act in a near party-line vote, setting up a contentious fight over voter ID requirements and election integrity. A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, ruling the changes likely violated established scientific review procedures. National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigns, citing opposition to the war in Iran and alleging outside pressure influenced the decision to engage. Utah mother Kouri Richins is convicted of murdering her husband with fentanyl, as prosecutors’ financial motive and prior poisoning attempt help drive a swift jury verdict - MK True Crime Contributor Dave Aronberg weighs in. PureTalk: Save on wireless with PureTalk visit https://PureTalk.com/MEGYNKELLY Herald Group: Learn more at https://GuardYourCard.com
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- [00:01]
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- [00:33]
Mark Halpern
Good morning everyone. I'm Mark halpern, host of NextUp, filling in today for Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, March 18, 2026 and this is your AM update.
- [00:41]
Senator Thom Tillis
I think it's an important debate to have because it is an issue that is at the very core of elections in this country.
- [00:48]
Mark Halpern
The Senate kicking off a high stakes fight over election integrity, moving the Save America act one step closer to passage. As Democrats line up in opposition, a federal judge blocks Trump administration sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule.
- [01:02]
Donald Trump
When somebody is working with us that says they didn't think Iran was a threat, we don't want those people.
- [01:09]
Mark Halpern
A high level counterterrorism official resigning over the Iran war and a verdict in the Corey Richards murder trial. The Utah mom of three who allegedly poisoned her husband and then self published the children's book she says to help her children grieve. All that and more coming up on your AM Update.
- [01:29]
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- [02:32]
Mark Halpern
The Senate voting yesterday almost entirely along party lines to advance debate on the Save America act clearing a key procedural hurdle in a 51 to 48 vote. Senator Lisa Murkowski Velasquez, the lone Republican to join Democrats in opposing the motion, while Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who previously expressed opposition to the bill, did not vote. The Save America act, passed in the House last month, Requires proof of U.S. citizenship to vote, mandates photo ID to vote, and imposes new requirements on mail in ballots, including submitting identification or in requesting and casting absentee ballots. President Trump weighing in on Truth Social yesterday morning, quote, the Save America act is one of the most important and consequential pieces of legislation in the history of Congress and America itself. I will never, ever endorse anyone who votes against Save America. Debate on the bill expected to stretch through the weekend, some Republicans calling for eliminating the filibuster, which would allow the Senate to pass the measure with a simple majority as Opposed to the 60 vote threshold the legislation needs to end debate and trigger a final vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, however, rejecting that approach, instead planning a marathon debate session to generate public support and call attention to Democratic opposition.
- [03:49]
Senator Thom Tillis
I think it's an important debate to have because it is an issue that is at the very core of elections in this country and I think this is something that the American people care about. So whether how it ends remains to be seen. There will be a point at which it will end and there will be a series of votes that come with that. But at the end of the day, I just don't know how you defend a position that you need to be a citizen in this country not only to register a vote, but also to be able to show ID when you vote. And we'll see how long the Democrats want to defend that position and maybe, maybe none of them will be won over at the end. That's entirely possible, but I think the having the fight, having the debate on the floor of the Senate is important.
- [04:31]
Mark Halpern
Democrats manning a unified opposition, suggesting the bill would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters by making it unnecessarily burdensome to vote here. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday from the chamber floor.
- [04:45]
Senator Chuck Schumer
It could disenfranchise over 20 million American citizens. It would kill online voter registration. It would kill vote by mail. It would kill voter motor registration. It's a naked attempt to rig our elections. The most common ID forms for anyone to register are rejected in the SAVE act for the first time in just about every state. Not even military IDs would be enough. Can you believe that? That would be radical. The Save act is not about protecting the vote. It's making it harder to vote and easier to steal an election. And we know what the deal is here. Donald Trump said Republicans pass the SAVE Act. It guarantees his midterm Senate Democrats will never let this rotten bill move through this body.
- [05:36]
Mark Halpern
The debate unfolding as polling finds voter ID laws continue to draw broad public support. A recent Harvard Harris poll finding 81% of voters supporting voter ID and 71% in favor of the overall Save America Act. A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily blocking the Trump administration from implementing a sweeping overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The department rolling out major changes to federal vaccine policy. Last May, Secretary Kennedy announcing the COVID vaccine would no longer be recommended for children and pregnant women. Six medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, suing in response, arguing the new guidance is unscientific and harmful. The following month, Secretary Kennedy dismissing all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, also known as ACIP, replacing them with handpicked medical professionals, including Dr. Robert Malone, one of the original inventors of early MRNA technology. ACIP is the federal body setting vaccine guidance. In December, the newly formed panel voting to drop the decades old recommendation that every newborn receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Also in December, the president ordering a fast track review of the childhood vaccine schedule. Then in January, HHS issuing a memo adopting sweeping changes to the vaccine schedule reduced the number of targeted diseases from 17 down to 11, according to the Trump administration. This updated vaccination schedule aligns the US More closely with nations like Denmark. Even under the revised guidance, the vaccines would still be available after consultation with the doctor. As those changes took shape, the lawsuit was expanded to challenge them. Biden appointed District Judge Brian Murphy for the District of Massachusetts on Monday, siding with the medical groups in a preliminary injunction blocking the new vaccine policies from taking effect. Judge Murphy finding the administration's vaccine decisions were, quote, arbitrary and capricious. Concluding officials broke from the long established scientific review process and undermined the credibility of their own actions. Judge Murphy also concluding the new ACIP panel was likely unlawfully appointed, blocking those members from serving and postponing planned meetings today and tomorrow on Covid vaccines and how federal recommendations are set. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon issuing a statement to the New York Times, quote, hhs looks forward to this judge's decision being overturned, just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing. The Supreme Court last year blocked two rulings by Judge Murphy in a case involving the Trump administration's third country deportations, where an illegal immigrant is deported to a country other than his own. Judge Murphy's decision Monday puts the Trump administration's vaccine policies on hold, but any final decision won't be made until a full trial is held in the case. Coming up, President Trump's top counterterror official quits, alleging outside pressure pushed the US into war with Iran, a fast verdict in a high profile murder case. We break down what likely swayed the jury and what comes next to the now convicted mom of three. Corey Richards.
- [08:55]
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- [09:43]
Mark Halpern
Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, resigning yesterday from his position over his opposition to the war in Iran. The Counterterrorism center is responsible for tracking and analyzing counterterrorism intelligence across various government agencies. Kent yesterday posting a letter to the president on social media, stepping down from the Senate confirmed role quote, I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Kent is an Army Special Forces combat veteran deploying 11 times the middle east and other high threat regions. According to his his biography during his service, Kent earning six Bronze Stars for actions in combat. Kent's wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, killed in 2019 by an ISIS suicide bombing in Syria. While expressing support for President Trump's past foreign policy approach, including taking out Iranian Quds force leader Kossam Soleimani and defeating isis. Kent now accusing Israeli officials and pro Israel voices in the US of misleading the administration and steering the US into war with Iran. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt pushing back on that claim on X, saying Iran had been rapidly expanding its missile capabilities in ways that could threaten global security. Levitt calling the allegation that President Trump was influenced by others, quote, absurd, insulting and laughable. President Trump himself responding from the Oval Office.
- [11:12]
Donald Trump
I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. I didn't know him well, but when I read his statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it. And many people, many of the greatest military scholars are saying for years that president should have taken out Iran because they wanted a nuclear weapon. They were if we didn't do the attack, or if I'll go a step further, if I didn't terminate the Iran nuclear deal given to us one of the worst deals ever made by Barack Hussein Obama. If I didn't terminate Obama's horrible deal that he made, the Iran nuclear deal, you would have had a nuclear war four years ago. So when somebody is working with us that says they didn't think Iran was a threat, we don't want those people.
- [12:14]
Mark Halpern
Fox News reporting. A senior administration official said Kent was a known leaker and had been removed from intelligence briefing months ago, adding he was not involved in Iran planning. According to Fox, the White House complained to the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard several times before about Kent, but did not specifically request that he be fired. DNI Gabbard, who expressed opposition about military intervention in Iran before joining the administration, posting to X. After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion. Director Gabbard set to testify in front of the Senate Intel Committee later today. Utah mother Corey Richins convicted Monday evening of the March 2022 murder of her husband Eric Richards. The jury finding the 35 year old guilty on all five counts, aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, two counts of life insurance fraud and forgery. The case drawing national attention after Richards was arrested just weeks after self publishing a children's book, which she said was meant to help her three young sons cope with the loss of their father. Prosecutors alleging that Richards spiked her husband's Moscow Mule cocktail with nearly five times a lethal dose of fentanyl at their home near Park City. According to court records, Richards handed Eric the drink in their bedroom, then left to comfort one of their sons, returning hours later to find him unresponsive in their bed over several weeks of testimony. Prosecutors arguing Richards, who was millions in debt due to her real estate business, was motivated by access to her husband's assets and life insurance payouts. Jurors also hearing evidence of an alleged affair with Iraq war veteran Robert Josh Grossman, with text messages showing Richten's disgust leaving her husband, securing millions and starting a new life with him. The jury also finding Richten's guilty of attempting to poison her husband weeks earlier on Valentine's Day by spiking his sandwich with drugs. Eric became seriously ill at the time, but ultimately surviving. A housekeeper testifying she helped obtain pills for Richards, telling her she could get fentanyl, and later purchasing illicit pills for Richards after she asked her to do so. In closing arguments, prosecutor Brad Bloodworth pointing to Richen's Internet search history.
- [14:34]
Senator Chuck Schumer
This one's the most insightful. If someone is poisoned, what does it go down on the death certificate as she didn't search if someone accidentally ODs. She doesn't search if somebody is dead for unknown reasons. She searches if somebody is poisoned because that is what happened.
- [14:54]
Mark Halpern
The defense suggesting Eric had an addiction to painkillers, asking his wife to purchase them for him. Richen's legal team also emphasizing investigators found no fentanyl residue on drinking glasses or straws inside the home, raising questions about how the drug was administered. The defense moving for a mistrial following closing arguments.
- [15:13]
Defense Attorney
Your honor, at this point, we'd like to make a motion for mistrial and make a proffer on it. First of all, at multiple points in the prosecution's closing, he made efforts to dehumanize the defendant, in fact, calling her a black widow, comparing her to a deadly spider, calling her a narcissist, when there's been no evidence introduced to support that, no expert testimony, nothing of the nature. Furthermore, is completely improper for the prosecution to comment on her demeanor while she sat at council table. That's a comment on her failure to testify. Asking the jury to take into consideration facial expressions which in his opinion may or may not have happened. I don't know what he's basing that on, but it's improper.
- [16:06]
Mark Halpern
That motion denied after about three weeks of trial. The jury deliberating for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict. Richen's now facing 25 years to life in prison with sentencing set for May 13, 2026. She also faces a separate case involving more than two dozen additional charges related to financial fraud. We spoke to MK True Crime contributor Dave Aronberg about the trial. He says the prosecution's case was built on a death by 1000 paper cut strategy.
- [16:36]
Dave Aronberg
It just was so compelling, all the pieces that came together. I mean, she had means, motive and opportun. I mean the motive could not be clearer. Sometimes jurors can get confused over motive. And even though motive is not a required element of a murder case, jurors always want to know the why. But here, the why was easy. She wanted the money, she was deep in debt and she hated her husband and she had a lover on the side and the fact that she previously tried to do it, threw poison and failed just made it so simple to get that she was the one who gave him this huge amount of fentanyl that killed Eric Richards.
- [17:20]
Mark Halpern
Ehrenberg reacting to how quickly the jury was able to deliver a verdict.
- [17:24]
Dave Aronberg
The fact that the jury came back after a multi week trial with a quick guilty verdict tells you that the jury right away knew that she was guilty. And this they just had to pretty much cross their t's, dot their I's.
- [17:38]
Mark Halpern
We asked Ehrenberg for his prediction on the sentencing.
- [17:41]
Dave Aronberg
Well, because there's premeditation here and you had a prior attempt on Valentine's Day just a couple weeks before the murder, I think she's getting life without the possibility of parole. I mean, there was pecuniary motivation here, meaning she was doing it with a monetary objective and that makes it worse for her. So the the sentencing is going to be in mid May and ironically the date is set on May 13, which would have been Eric's 44th birthday. And that to me is justice. It's not full closure for the family because they'll never get Eric back, but at least there's going to be justice.
- [18:24]
Mark Halpern
That'll do it. For your AM update, I'm Mark Halpern, host of NextUp. Catch the Megyn Kelly show today live on SiriusXM's the Megan Kennedy Kelly Channel 111 at noon east or on YouTube.com megan kelly and on all podcast platforms. So good, so good, so good.
- [18:42]
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