SAVE America Act Showdown, Vaccine Shakeup Halted, Kouri Richins Found Guilty: AM Update 3/18

0:00In 2024, a truck crashed into Cannot and will rescue, where I work. 146 of our dogs needed homes fast. We asked for help on Facebook. Our story spread through WhatsApp messages and Instagram reposts, immediately people stepped up. And just six hours later, every dog was fostered. I'll never forget how our community showed up for us. Learn how over 3.5 billion people connect to what matters with meta at meta.com slash community. Good morning, everyone. I'm Mark Calprin, host of Next Up, filling in today for Megan Calli. It's Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, and this is your AM update. 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. The Senate kicking off a high-stakes fight over election integrity, moving the save of America at one step closer to passage as Democrats line up in opposition. A federal judge blocks the Trump administration's sweeping changes to the child's vaccination

1:00schedule. When somebody is working with us that says they didn't think Iran was a threat, we don't want those people. A high-level counter-terrorism official resigning over the Iran War, and a verdict in the Corey Ritchie's murder trial, the Utah Mama 3, 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. It's time for a little spring cleaning. Here's a place to start. Go drag your old dated wireless contract out of the closet and beat it with a broom. Then freshen things up by switching to pure talk, who gives you unlimited talk, text and plenty of data for just $25 a month with no contract, no cancellation fees, and no overseas customer service if you ever need help. Maybe you'll like them as much as Lois. Listen to this review, quote, switch to pure talk a few years ago, amazing, same coverage and clarity as Verizon or AT&T at a fraction of the price.

2:02Award-winning customer service just upgraded to an iPhone 16E and the support and deals were superb. Why anyone is still getting ripped off by the big guys is beyond me. Want to make the switch, dial pound 250 and say, Megan Kelly and then switch to pure talk. You get an extra discount if you say it with an Irish accent, dial pound 250 and say, Megan Kelly. No, it's not true. You get the same discount, but try it just for fun and you could say 50% off your first month. Good deal. The Senate voting yesterday almost entirely along party lines to advance debate on the Save America Act, clearing a key procedure or hurdle in a 51 to 48 vote. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the lone Republican, to join Democrats in opposing the motion, while Senator Tom 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 US citizenship to vote, mandates photo ID to vote and imposes new requirements on mail and ballots, including,

3:03submitting identification or in requesting and casting absentee ballots. The Trump weighing in on true 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 will 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. Senator majority leader John Thune, however, rejecting that approach instead, planning a marathon debate session to generate public support and call attention to democratic opposition. 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,

4:05and 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 an ID when you vote. And we'll see how long the Democrats want to defend that position, and maybe none of them will be one over at the end that's entirely possible. But I think that having the fight, having the debate on the floor of the Senate is important. Democrats, mounting 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. It could disenfranchise over 20 million American citizens. It would kill online voter registration, it would kill vote by mail, it would kill voter voter registration, it's a naked attempt to rig our elections. The most common ID forms for anyone to register are rejected in the SAV Act for the first time

5:06in just about every state. Not even military IDs would be enough. Can you believe that? That would be radical. The SAV 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 passed the SAV Act that guarantees his midterm. Senate Democrats will never let this rotten bill move through this body. 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 SAV 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

6:11and 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 hand-picked 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 U.S. more closely with nations like Denmark.

7:11Even 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, citing with the medical groups and 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 a 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 plan 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 judges 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,

8:12and 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 counter-terror official quits alleging outside pressure pushed the U.S. into war with Iran. A fast verdict and 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 Riches. Our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, says Washington politicians are always getting in your wallet, and now they're messing with your credit card. They say your credit card and the security it offers are under attack, and that senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall want to change the nation's payment system to benefit corporate megastores like Walmart and

9:13Target at the expense of everyday Americans. Credit cards can keep your payment secure and provide rewards that families use to help make everyday purchases more affordable. The Electronic Payments Coalition says the Durbin Marshall mandates would let corporate megastores cut corners on credit card processing, routing transactions over cheaper untested networks with weaker security and fewer protections. Find out more at guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. 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 or on post 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

10:19the Middle East and other high threat regions according to 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 passport policy approach, including taking out Iranian coulds force leader Kusam Salamani and defeating ISIS, Kent now accusing Israeli officials and pro-Israel voices in the US have missed leading 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. 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 a statement I realized that it's a good

11:23thing 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 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. 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

12:27Gabbard several times before about Kent but did not specifically request that he'd be fired. DNI Gabbard who expressed opposition about military intervention in Iran before joining the administration posting to X quote 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 said to testify in front of the Senate intel committee later today. Utah mother Corey Richards 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 for jury. 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

13:29five 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 a rock war veteran Robert Josh Grossman with text messages showing Richards discussed leaving her husband securing millions and starting a new life with him. The jury also finding Richards 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 Richards' internet search history.

14:33This one's the most insightful. If someone is poisoned what does it go down on the death certificate ass? She didn't search if someone accidentally owed ease. She doesn't search if somebody is dead for unknown reasons. She searches if somebody is poisoned because that is what happened. The defense suggesting Eric had an addiction to painkillers asking his wife to purchase them for him. Richards 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. Here on at this point we'd like to make a motion for mistrial and make a profit 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

15:38testimony, 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. That motion denied. After about three weeks of trial the jury deliberating for less than three hours before he returning a guilty verdict. Richens now facing 25 years to life in prison with sentencing set for May 13th, 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 Aaronberg about the trial. He says the prosecution's case was built on a death by 1000 paper cut strategy. It just was so compelling all the pieces that came together. I mean

16:41she had means motive and opportunity. 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 the 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 through 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 Richens. Aaronberg reacting to how quickly the jury was able to deliver a verdict. 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 teeth dot their eyes. We asked Aaron berg for his prediction on the sentencing. Wow because there's premeditation here and you had

17:44a prior attempt on Valentine's Day. Just a couple weeks before the murder, I think she's getting 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 sentencing is going to be in mid-May and ironically the date is set on May 13th 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. That'll do it for your AM update on Mark Halperin host of Next Up Catch The Making Kelly Show today live on Series XM's The Making Kelly Channel 111 at noon east or on youtube.com slash making Kelly and on all podcast platforms. When a trip to the hospital or pharmacy leads to a bill no one saw coming. We're here to help.

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