$200 Billion Iran Question, Intel Heads on "Imminent" Threat, Mamdani's Wife's Posts: AM Update 3/20

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Good morning everyone, I'm Emily Gisinski, host of After Party and the Megan Kelly

Wrap-Up Show on Series XM Channel 111.

It's Friday, March 20th, 2026, and this is your AM update.

No, I'm not putting troops anywhere, if I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you.

President Trump delivering updates on several new reports relating to Operation Epic Fury,

including possible troop deployments, budget requests, and more.

The American people need to know if this was an imminent threat or not.

Top intelligence officials pressed on Iran threats in a hearing in front of the House

Intel Committee.

A California bridge intended to save wildlife, now sparking backlash over soaring costs

and delays.

New York City Mayor Zoron Mamdoni's wife, under fire for old social media posts, praising

terrorists and using offensive slurs.

All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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Brent Crude, the International Oil Benchmark, briefly spiking to $119 per barrel Thursday

before settling near $103 as Iran launches retaliatory strikes targeting oil and gas

infrastructure across the Gulf.

The barrage coming after a Wednesday is really strike on Iran's south-pars gas field,

part of the largest natural gas reserve in the world.

Iran responding by striking cutters Ross-Lafen industrial city, the world's largest

liquefied natural gas facility responsible for roughly 20% of global liquid natural gas

or LNG supply.

The escalation marking a significant expansion of the conflict into global energy markets.

President Trump with a lengthy post on Truth Social Wednesday night explaining the US had

no prior knowledge of Israel's strike warning Iran against further attacks on Qatar, threatening

additional consequences if escalation continues.

The developments raising new questions about coordination between the US and Israel after

President Trump has recently said he does not want Iranian oil and gas infrastructure

targeted.

Secretary of War Pete Hagceth asked about the Israeli strike at a briefing yesterday.

It kind of seems like a trend of Israel apparently pursuing their own objectives over

US objectives.

Why are we hoping Israel will prosecute this war if they're going to pursue their own objectives?

We hold the cards.

We have objectives.

Those objectives are clear.

We have allies pursuing objectives as well.

And the truth speaks for itself.

I mean, President Trump was very clear about that.

Iran has weaponized energy for decades.

Israel clearly sent a warning and Potus has made it clear, very clear.

Iran knows when you hit Carg Island and you hit military capabilities on Carg Island,

which is the only thing we hit, we can hold anything at issue.

Anything.

The United States military controls the fate of that country.

Iran has the ability to make the right choices.

It should not go forward target Arab allies, Arab countries.

President Trump also addressing the issue yesterday in the Oval Office during a meeting with

Japanese Prime Minister Sinai Takaiichi.

As the conflict nears entering its 4th week, the Pentagon now seeking more than $200 billion

dollars from Congress to fund Operation Epic Fury, according to a Washington Post report,

the request aimed in part at ramping up weapons production and replenishing U.S. stockpiles.

President Trump also asked yesterday about that reporting.

We're asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we're talking about in Iran.

We want to have vast amounts of ammunition, but it was taken down by giving so much to

Ukraine.

So much, our manufacturers of military equipment are building at a level they've never seen

before.

They've never done before.

Raytheon is building four factories.

Laquita is building five or six factories, and they're building them fast.

So we're in very good shape, but we want to be in the best shape, the best shape we've

ever been in.

So we want to be sure, and it's a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy

top.

Meanwhile, Reuters reporting this week, the president is considering deploying thousands

of additional U.S. troops to the region.

President Trump responding.

No, I'm not putting troops anywhere.

If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you, but I'm not putting troops, and we will do whatever

is necessary to keep the price.

The escalation also drawing a response from U.S. allies.

Germany, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan issuing a joint statement condemning

attacks on civilian infrastructure and calling for safe passage through the strait of her

moves.

The statement expressing readiness to support efforts to secure the vital waterway, but

stopping short of committing military assets.

Mr. Trump also asked about coordination with allies following the initial strikes, including

why key partners like Japan were not notified in advance.

One thing you don't want to signal too much, you know, when we go in, we went in very

hard, and we didn't tell anybody about it, because we wanted surprise.

Who knows better about surprise than Japan?

Okay, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?

Okay?

Right?

You know, he's asking me, do you believe in surprise?

I think much more so than us.

Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Cash Patel, CIA Director

John Ratcliffe, and other top national security officials back on Capitol Hill yesterday,

this time before the House Intelligence Committee.

An epic fury dominating the hearing, with Democrat zeroing in on whether the administration

had clear intelligence of an imminent threat from Iran and whether the president's military

response was justified.

Here two Democrats, Congressman Jimmy Gomez of California and Congressman Andre Carson

of Indiana.

The American people need to know if this was an imminent threat or not.

If they're a week away or not, if they're a months away or not, none of this dodging

were they an imminent threat?

Yesterday you said that only the president, only the only person who can determine what

is an imminent threat is the president of the United States.

Do you stand by that statement?

Yes, I do.

So is there any evidence that Iran intended to conduct a preemptive attack on the US prior

to beginning this war?

Yes or no?

There's a body of intelligence that will be able to cover in the classified portion of

this hearing that does reflect that in the likely event of a conflict between Iran and

Israel that the US would be immediately attacked, regardless of whether the United States

stayed out of that conflict.

Republican Congressman Pat Fallon of Texas, questioning CIA director John Ratcliffe on Iran's

nuclear ambitions.

Director, what nation state has achieved 60% enrichment and then not produced a nuclear

weapon?

I'm not aware of any.

There's none.

You get to 60%.

There's a reason you're at 60% because you are pursuing nuclear ambitions.

So last June we have midnight hammer.

And not only did they see the resolve, I mean, they saw that we were committed to actually

taking action and not just the words this time.

And even after all of that, did they abandon their pursuit and their nuclear program?

They absolutely did not.

Our intelligence is also clear that they have not lost their ambition and that the activities

to rebuild or reconstitute their nuclear facilities and centrifuges is something that

the intelligence, there's a body of intelligence that I think confirms that.

Tensions also rising over a growing disconnect between US and Israeli objectives.

Their Israel struck around South Par's gas field, despite President Trump signaling that

energy infrastructure should be off limits.

Democrat Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas, pressing director Gabbard on whether the

two allies are still aligned.

What does the intelligence community assess Israel's goals in this war to be?

And are those goals aligned with the goals of the United States?

The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives

that have been laid out by the Israeli government.

And how do they differ?

The Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership and taking

out several members, and they continue to focus on that effort.

And how does that differ from our goals?

The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile launching

capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their navy, the IRGC, navy

and mind-length capability.

To the best of your knowledge, do you know whether Israel is supportive of the president's

call to make a deal with Iran?

I don't know the answer to that.

I don't know Israel's position on that.

Meanwhile, FBI director Cash Patel outlining the scale of the domestic terror threat in

the wake of multiple recent Islamic-inspired attacks.

We had 2,300 arrests related to foreign terrorist organizations.

We had 700 counterterrorism arrests, and the FBI had 640 counterterrorism disruptions

where we stopped attacks on the homeland.

Specifically in December, we stopped four in an 18-day span.

What I need is specifically highlighting the Norfolk attack in Norfolk and individual

who is convicted of terrorism and sentenced, based upon that conviction, should have still

been in prison.

I want to work with the legislation to figure out how to increase the sentencing for a convicted

terrorist and also work on the denaturalization process for someone who should not be in

this country who wants to attack and kill American citizens and American servicemen.

Coming up, a California wildlife bridge drawing backlash over soaring costs and construction

delays.

New reporting servicing past social media posts tied to New York City Mayor Zoram Amdani's

wife praising terrorists and using offensive slurs.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom facing criticism over a costly state infrastructure project

now dubbed a bridge to nowhere.

City Journal reporting on a wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway in Southern California,

designed to allow cougars, butterflies, and other animals to safely pass over one of

the busiest highways in the country.

The project breaking ground in 2022 with Governor Newsom announcing $54 million in state funding

at the time, and suggesting it could be completed for roughly $10 million more.

But the timeline's slipping, the original completion date passing last year and costs continuing

to climb.

According to City Journal, the total price tag now reaching $114 million, about $21 million

over previous estimates, with approximately $77 million coming from state funds.

Photos of the site showing a landscaped structure spanning the freeway, but no ramps yet

for animals to access it.

Beth Pratt, a member of the project's leadership team, attributing the overruns to inflation,

tariffs, and rising construction costs, and issuing pleas to the public on social media

for donations to help finish the project.

When we started Stage 1 and we're waiting to start Stage 2, the world changed beneath

us though.

This spring construction costs increase considerably, and although we were holding reserves to finish

construction, all those are exhausted at this point because of tariffs, inflation, and

so many other factors impacting construction projects, not just ours.

So we need your help one more time to get us to the finish line and help us build back

those reserves so that we can ensure that we finalize construction by November.

Please donate today to Save LA Coopers, and we're going to complete this together, this

dream that we started.

Thank you for being a part of it.

Supporters argue the crossing is critical to preventing deadly vehicle collisions and

preserving the region's endangered Cougar population.

City Journal pointing out the state could pursue the lower-cost alternative of importing

cougars to bolster the population.

Mayor Newsom's office pushing back on the reporting on X-Quote, MAGA's outrage over

a project that literally saves lives tells you everything.

This freeway project grounded in decades of research, restores a critical wildlife corridor

and reduces deadly collisions on one of the busiest highways in the country, protecting

both drivers and animals.

The post going on to blame rising construction costs due to tariffs and inflation, and

weather delays for project extensions, noting, quote, five years of work it's far from

a boondoggle, online critics pointing to similar projects in other states, completed

at a fraction of the cost, and in a fraction of the time, including a roughly $15 million

wildlife crossing over Interstate 25 in Colorado, completed in just one year.

The Washington-Freebeak and uncovering social media accounts tied to New York City Mayor

Zora Mamdani's wife, Rama Duwaji, featuring posts praising Palestinian terrorists and

using racist and homophobic slurs.

In one 2017 Tumblr post, Duwaji, now 28 years old, sharing a picture of Palestinian

terrorist Layla Khaled with her quote, if it does good for my cause, I'll be happy to accept

death.

Khaled, a member of the U.S. designated terror organization, the popular front for the

liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, praised by her supporters as the first woman to

hijack a plane, according to the Freebeak and the majority of the posts made by Duwaji

are from her late teens and early 20s.

The accounts, though still accessible, appear inactive.

A repost from 2015 criticizing American service members, quote, American soldiers fighting

in imperialist wars are not brave, nor are they fighting for anyone's freedom.

They are mercilessly slaughtering third-world civilians and fighting to maintain American

hegemony.

In a post from 2013, then 15-year-old Duwaji responding to another user writing, quote,

hell yeah, and word, soft ey, super duper genius.

Following this reporting, ex-users digging up more posts, including one from 2013, appearing

to use an abbreviated pejorative for gay men, quote, why are all these F words following

me?

The mayor's office did not respond to the Freebeak's request for comment.

Freebeak and also reporting last week that Duwaji provided illustrations for an essay by

an author who called the October 7th attack, quote, spectacular, and frequently refers

to what she calls Jewish supremacist vampires.

In early March, Jewish insider reporting Mamdani's wife liked social media posts, celebrating

the October 7th, 2023 attacks, when Hamas terrorists killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and

kidnapped 251 people.

Mayor Mamdani asked about that reporting on March 6th.

My wife is the love of my life, and she's also a private person who has held no formal

position on my campaign or in my city hall.

I, however, was elected to represent all 8.5 million people in this city, and I believe

that it's my responsibility because of that role to answer any questions about my thoughts

and my policies and my decisions.

We reached out to the mayor's office for comment on this latest reporting and have not

heard back.

That'll do it for your AM update.

I'm Emily Jyszynski, host of Afterparty.

Catch the Megan Kelly Show live on Sirius XM's The Megan Kelly Channel 111 at Noonies

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