
The Supreme Court weighs whether mail-in ballots received after Election Day can be counted, in a case that could reshape election rules nationwide - America First Policy Institute’s Director for Election Integrity Thomas Lane weighs in. Cuba’s collapsing power grid and worsening fuel crisis raise new questions about potential U.S. action and regime change. President Trump highlights a major drop in violent crime as his Memphis Safe Task Force touts thousands of arrests and sweeping enforcement gains. ICE agents deploy to major U.S. airports to assist overwhelmed TSA workers as the DHS shutdown drives staffing shortages and massive delays. Shopify: Launch your dream business with Shopify. Sign up for your $1/month trial at https://Shopify.com/megyn and start selling today! Relief Factor: Find out if Relief Factor can help you live pain-free—try the 3-Week QuickStart for just $19.95 at https://ReliefFactor.com or call 800-4-RELIEF.
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Good morning everyone.
Megyn Kelly
I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Tuesday, March 24, 2026 and this is your AM update.
Justice Samuel Alito
If I have nothing more to look at than the phrase Election Day, I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place.
Megyn Kelly
The Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in a case that could limit how mail in ballots are counted.
Donald Trump
I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba.
Megyn Kelly
As Cuba struggles with fuel short blackouts and a collapsing electrical grid, the Trump administration publicly weighs taking action. President Trump in Memphis, Tennessee, highlighting a successful task force cracking down on violent crime in what was once one of the most dangerous cities in America. ICE agents arriving at airports nationwide assisting overwhelmed TSA agents amid a partial DHS shutdown. All that and more coming up in just a moment. On your AM update.
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Megyn Kelly
the US Supreme Court yesterday hearing oral arguments in a case that could reshape how states handle mail in ballots, specifically whether ballots postmarked by election Day but arriving later can still be counted. At issue a Mississippi law adopted in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, allowing mail in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and then received within five business days thereafter.
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Four years later, the Republican National Committee,
Megyn Kelly
the Mississippi Republican Party, a voter and a county election official challenging that law, arguing it conflicts with a federal statute that sets a single national election day the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. A separate lawsuit by the Libertarian Party of Mississippi eventually combined with the Republicans case. The Constitution grants states authority over the, quote, times, places and manner of elections, but also gives Congress the power to override those rules. Mississippi arguing that an election occurs when voters cast their ballots, not when officials receive or count them, and that timely postmarking therefore satisfies federal law. The challengers arguing election day means when officials receive the ballots, making Mississippi's mail in policy in violation of federal law. The case appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court, where after more than two hours of arguments, several of the more conservative justices appeared skeptical of Mississippi's position. Right out of the gate, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett pressing Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart with a rapid fire round of questions.
Justice Clarence Thomas
If I give my ballot, mail in ballot to my neighbor, is that a choice?
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart
It's a choice. It's not a final choice that can be recognized in the context of an election.
Justice Clarence Thomas
So when do I know whether or not a choice is final?
Thomas Lane
Is there any limit to that as
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart
to how early people could vote?
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Sure.
Justice Elena Kagan
You know, they fill out a ballot,
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
if you're giving them a ballot and you know, drop it off two weeks before.
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart
Your Honor, I don't think there, there is a limit to how early that could occur.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
If I have someone in my neighborhood in my HOA who says, listen, I'm going to take everybody's votes in, what if the state said that's fine. If you've cast your final vote and you've, you know, you've designated someone to carry your vote to, as long as it gets to the ballot box five days after election day, it's fine.
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart
Submission to mail or common carrier is, is different in common kind than say, submitting it to a relative or sort of a neighbor.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
What's the difference? They're not government officials.
Megyn Kelly
Justice Samuel Alito zeroing in on the meaning of the term election day.
Justice Samuel Alito
We have lots of phrases that involve two words, the last of which, the second of which is day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, George Washington's birthday, Independence Day, birthday and election day. And they're all particular days. So if we start with that, if I have nothing more to look at than the phrase election day, I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place and or almost everything.
Megyn Kelly
President Trump long critical of mail in balloting, arguing it opens the door to fraud and undermines confidence in the integrity of the election system. That concern echoed during arguments with Justices Alito and Brett Kavanaugh raising questions about delayed ballot counts.
Justice Samuel Alito
Some of the briefs have argued that confidence in election outcomes can be seriously undermined if the apparent outcome of the election on the day after the polls close is radically flipped by the acceptance later of a big stash of ballots that flip the election.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Late arriving ballots open up risk of white might destabilize the election results. If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode.
Megyn Kelly
Mississippi's Solicitor General arguing that there is little evidence that late arriving ballots lead to fraud. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan questioning whether the RNC's argument could also call into question early voting.
Justice Elena Kagan
You're basically saying there are two things that have to happen and they have to happen on election day and it's the voting and, you know, the casting of the vote and the receipt of the vote. And both of those things have to be on election day. And just like a normal person says, okay, well when I early vote, I'm not doing that on that first Tuesday.
Megyn Kelly
Paul Clement arguing for the challengers that early voting is different because those votes are still finalized on election Day. More than a dozen states allow for late arriving mail in ballots to be counted if they're postmarked by election Day, meaning the court's decision could have ripple effects well beyond Mississippi. We spoke with America First Policy Institute's Director for Election Integrity, Thomas Lane, about yesterday's arguments and what's at stake. He describes how a ruling striking down the Mississippi law could affect elections in other states with similar laws if this
Thomas Lane
case is resolved so that the ballot receipt deadline is struck down. This question was asked, hey, does this affect primary elections? Is it just the general election in November? And while Mississippi's law applies to all of their elections, primary elections, recall elections, the general election in November, what is at hand in that issue before the court is just the federal general election in November. So for primary elections that are coming up or in some states have already gone by, this ruling would not affect them. But what it does affect those 18 states and the District of Columbia is in November.
Megyn Kelly
One way this case is unusual is it's not California or New York defending late arriving ballots, but Mississippi, a reliably red state now on the opposite side of President Trump, the RNC and many Republicans. We asked Lane about that when the
Thomas Lane
RNC was looking at challenging the post receipt deadline. If you go and you sue in Illinois or you go and sue in New York, that you're not going to have a favorable decision in those lower courts and you're going to hope that you can appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court. But what I think happened here is the RNC saw that Mississippi is a very favorable venue for this. Mississippi's solicitor general who argued for Mississippi here actually was the lawyer who argued the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade. And so it is odd that you have a red state, you have Mississippi on the opposite side of the administration or in my view, very common sense practice and policy of having election day be election day. I think in the end, no matter how formidable the argument was from Mississippi, their law will be overturned.
Megyn Kelly
Lane giving us his prediction on the outcome.
Thomas Lane
If I were to predict how this would go down, I think this is a very easy 5 and up to 6 vote majority for striking down Mississippi's law of receiving ballots. Five days after the election.
Megyn Kelly
An opinion is expected by late June. Cuba's power grid collapsing Saturday, marking the third nationwide outage this month as the communist regime struggles to maintain its aging infrastructure amid ongoing fuel shortages. The US imposing sanctions on Cuba in various forms since the 1960s aimed at pressuring the regime on human rights and democratic reforms, tightening further in recent years to target financial transactions, tourism and energy imports. Cuba previously leaning heavily on subsidized oil shipments from Venezuela, now largely cut off following the U. S. Backed operation that led to the arrest and extradition of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on drug charges. With the island now facing protests amid exacerbated energy and economic struggles, many wondering if the Trump administration is preparing to push regime change.
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President Trump and Secretary of State Marco
Megyn Kelly
Rubio in recent weeks openly discussing the possibility. President Trump on March 16, speaking to reporters.
Donald Trump
You know, all my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it? I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good. That's a big honor, taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form. Yeah, taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it.
Donald Trump (Casual Remarks)
You want to know the truth?
Donald Trump
They're a very weakened nation right now. They were for a long time very violent, very violent leaders. Castro was a very violent leader. His brother is a very violent leader. Extremely violent. That's how they governed. They governed with violence. But a lot of people would like to go back.
Megyn Kelly
Secretary Rubio, whose family emigrated to the US From Cuba, leading negotiations with Cuban officials, reportedly tying any sanctions relief to sweeping government reforms, including the removal of current President Miguel Diaz Canel, The Atlantic reporting Sunday. One administration official telling the outlet, quote, regime change is lined up with the White House eyeing a Venezuela style model. That approach removes the head of state while leaving parts of the governing structure intact so long as they align with US Interests. A White House spokesperson telling the Atlantic, quote, we are talking to Cuba whose leaders want to make a deal and should make a deal. Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela.
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Meanwhile, Cuban officials warning they are preparing
Megyn Kelly
for the possibility of military conflict. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cosio telling NBC on Sunday, quote, our military is always prepared and in fact it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression. Coming up, President Trump in Memphis touting a sweeping crackdown on violent crime, crime and ICE agents now deploying to major airports nationwide as lawmakers remain deadlocked in DHS funding negotiations.
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the administration's push to crack down on violent crime. Showcasing the work of the Memphis SAFE Task Force. The president forming the interagency task Force in September, citing Memphis as one of the most dangerous cities in the country with some of the highest per capita rates of murder, robbery, aggravated assault and property crime. The president Joined by a slate of top officials including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Task force Chairman Gaddy Serralta
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and Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee, the task force chairman.
Megyn Kelly
Laying out the results so far pointing to thousands of arrests and a sharp drop in major crimes.
Task Force Chairman Gaddy Serralta
In just over six months, the Memphis Safe Task Force has made over 7,342 arrests. This is last week's numbers with charges ranging from homicide. There was 44 of those 812 drug offenses and 757 gang related offenses. We have seized over 1200 illegal firearms and located and returned 150 missing children in the past six months. Collectively, our efforts have resulted in a 43% reduction in total serious crimes. 37% reduction in murder, 40% reduction in sexual assault, 56% reduction in robbery, 68% reduction in motor vehicle thefts. And the most impressive of all is a 65% increase in the solvability of the crimes that have been committed.
Megyn Kelly
AG Bondi, highlighting the real life impact behind those stats.
Attorney General Pam Bondi
There was a horrible murderer, Arsenio Davis, who last October committed a gruesome double homicide. He killed his mother and dismembered another person. And based on this task force working hand in hand, he's off the street. Another example, a horrible monster who's charged with raping a small child. This task force, all of these members working together arrested him. We can give you countless examples of that. 770. Over 770 gang members off the streets. And we know there's no normal day for a law enforcement officer. We know it's so dangerous, dangerous what our law enforcement officers do. But know this Donald Trump and this administration, we have your backs.
Megyn Kelly
Also on the agenda yesterday, a stop at Graceland, home to Elvis Presley. President Trump on the King of Rock and Roll.
Donald Trump (Casual Remarks)
I'm going to see Graceland after this, I think. Is that right? I love Elvis. I never met Elvis, Everyone said, did you? I met them all. I met Sinatra. I knew all of them. I never met Elvis. Sometimes I feel I should tell the little phipps that I knew him well.
Megyn Kelly
ICE agents now deploying to airports across the country as TSA operations buckle amid the partial DHS shutdown now stretching into its sixth week. Between 100 and 150 ICE agents sent to 14 major airports, including Chicago, O', Hare, Hartsfield, Jackson, Atlanta and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental stepping in to assist overwhelmed TSA agents. According to the New York Times.
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The move coming as TSA faces a growing staffing crisis.
Megyn Kelly
Agents going unpaid, leading to mass call outs and resignations. On Sunday alone, more than 3,450 TSA officers failing to report to work. That's over 11% of the scheduled workforce, the highest absence rate yet. During the shutdown at some airports, callout rates ranging from 37 to 42%, according to Reuters, deployed ICE agents under the direction of border czar Tom Homan, assigned to non screening roles like crowd control, monitoring exit lanes and checking IDs, allowing trained TSA officers to stay focused on security screening. As to whether the added manpower is making a meaningful difference, results appear mixed so far.
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Yesterday afternoon wait times at George Bush
Megyn Kelly
Intercontinental topping three to four hours with only two of eight security checkpoints open to handle the traffic.
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At Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta, the effort appearing more successful. CNN reporting by yesterday afternoon wait times
Megyn Kelly
dropping to about 40 minutes, down from three to four hours over the weekend. All of this unfolding as lawmakers remain at an impasse over funding for the Department of Homeland Security with no clear agreement in sight.
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President Trump speaking to reporters yesterday, urging
Megyn Kelly
Senate Republicans to hold the line, pushing to tie any DHS funding deal to passage of the SAVE act, an election integrity measure.
Donald Trump (Casual Remarks)
The Democrats are being blamed for the shutdown and it's their fault and they're getting killed. That's why when I when I announced yesterday about ice, the Democrats called we want to settle, we want to settle. And I told the people, don't settle, don't settle because we have something bigger. Only settle if you get the Save America act, voter ID and so important proof of citizenship, et cetera.
Megyn Kelly
Good luck, travelers. Maybe consider driving and that'll do it. For your AM Update, I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the MK show live on Sirius XM's the Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east on
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Megyn Kelly
podcast platforms,
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Date: March 24, 2026
Host: Megyn Kelly (SiriusXM)
Today’s episode covers breaking political and legal developments, with Megyn Kelly unpacking complex headline stories. The main focuses are:
Expect concise legal breakdowns, frank political commentary, and direct quotations from both public figures and expert guests.
Justice Samuel Alito (on "Election Day"):
“If I have nothing more to look at than the phrase Election Day, I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place and or almost everything.” (05:21)
Justice Clarence Thomas (to Mississippi’s counsel):
“If I give my ballot, mail-in ballot to my neighbor, is that a choice?” (04:17)
“So when do I know whether or not a choice is final?” (04:27)
Justice Brett Kavanaugh:
“Late arriving ballots open up risk... If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode.” (06:35)
Justice Elena Kagan:
“Just like a normal person says, okay, well, when I early vote, I'm not doing that on that first Tuesday.” (07:01)
Thomas Lane (America First Policy Institute) on impact:
“If this case is resolved so that the ballot receipt deadline is struck down... what is at hand before the court is just the federal general election in November. But what it does affect [is] those 18 states and the District of Columbia... in November.” (07:56)
On Mississippi as Defendant:
“It is odd that you have a red state, Mississippi, on the opposite side of [Trump, RNC]... I think in the end, no matter how formidable the argument was from Mississippi, their law will be overturned.” (08:56)
Prediction:
“I think this is a very easy 5 and up to 6 vote majority for striking down Mississippi's law of receiving ballots five days after the election.” (10:00)
Decision expected by late June.
President Trump on Cuba (03/16 remarks):
“I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That’d be good. That’s a big honor, taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form. Yeah, taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it.” (11:23)
“They govern[ed] with violence. But a lot of people would like to go back.” (11:47)
White House Spokesperson to The Atlantic:
“We are talking to Cuba whose leaders want to make a deal and should make a deal. Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela.” (12:37)
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cosio:
“Our military is always prepared and in fact it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression.” (12:56)
Task Force Chairman Gaddy Serralta:
“In just over six months, the Memphis Safe Task Force has made over 7,342 arrests... a 43% reduction in total serious crimes, 37% reduction in murder, 40% reduction in sexual assault, 56% reduction in robbery, 68% reduction in motor vehicle thefts... a 65% increase in the solvability of the crimes that have been committed.” (15:22)
AG Pam Bondi:
“There was a horrible murderer, Arsenio Davis, who last October committed a gruesome double homicide... he's off the street. Another example, a horrible monster who’s charged with raping a small child. This task force... arrested him... Over 770 gang members off the streets... Donald Trump and this administration, we have your backs.” (16:23)
President Trump (on Graceland):
“I love Elvis. I never met Elvis... Sometimes I feel I should tell the little phipps that I knew him well.” (17:13)
This episode is densely packed with national headlines, sharp legal arguments, and compelling statistics—delivered in Megyn Kelly’s direct, “no agenda” style. Listeners get a comprehensive, fast-moving rundown of the day’s defining political, legal, and policy news.