2028 Dem Race Heats Up, Historic Mississippi Flip, Migrant Tries to Hijack Plane: AM Update 11/13

(upbeat music) Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Gisinski, host of After Party and the Megan Kelly Wrapup Show on Series XM, Channel 111. It's Friday, November 13th, 2026, and this is your AM update. - The last thing that people want to hear from, we or any other politicians here to talk about the next election. - Despite their insistence that voters aren't interested in the next election, some of the biggest names in the Democrat Party are already positioning themselves for 2028. President Trump removing JD Vance from efforts to end the war with Iran, declaring the U.S. no longer needs a peace deal. - My commitment is to be someone that continues to stay in prayer, continues to have faith, and continues to work to make every Mississippi and life better. - A major upset in Mississippi as Democrats flip a Senate seat Republicans have held for decades. In a twice-deported illegal immigrant, accused of trying to hijack a passenger plane, as DHS reveals he was granted asylum after claiming to be transgender. All that more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. - You might already own a firearm, but what if you could start with less lethal methods to avoid the financial and mental repercussions of pulling the trigger? That's where Berna comes in. It's B-Y-R-N-A. Berna's less lethal launchers are equipped with tear gas and also kinetic ammunition and designed to incapacitate an attacker for up to 40 minutes. And Berna is excited to introduce the all-new compact launcher. It's sleek, slim, and it hits like a sledgehammer. The same size as a smartphone, allowing women to conceal carry everywhere comfortably and with confidence. It fires at 400 feet per second. That's a lot of power to stop aggressors in their tracks. 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In its place, hiring aisle 518 strategies led by Tim Tigaris, who oversaw online fundraising for Bernie Sanders to presidential campaigns. The move, following another round of staff changes earlier this year, including the departures of her longtime campaign manager and creative director. The Washington Sun reporting Ocasio-Cortez recently hired another former Sanders aide to handle communications. The 37-year-old progressive now considering whether to challenge Senator Schumer for his seat, launcher White House bid, or remain in the house. Mr. Schumer's term expiring in 2028, when he would be 77 years old. Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez said stepping questions about her political future. "The last thing that people want to hear from me or any other politician here is about the next election. And what they actually want to hear from us is about what we are going to do with the electoral results they just gave us on Tuesday." Ocasio-Cortez telling the Washington Sun she intends to deliberate privately and does not expect to announce her plans anytime soon. Meanwhile, other potential 2028 presidential contenders beginning to position themselves for a White House run as Democrats prepared to take control of Congress. Some of the party's biggest names gathering in Denver this week for a conference focused on Democrats' future and how to build on their sweeping midterm victories. The event bringing together several possible presidential hopefuls, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Senators Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock, other potential contenders, taking a more traditional step towards a presidential campaign, publishing books that lay out their visions for the country. Among them, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announcing his new book Repair just days after winning reelection in a landslide. - My new book Repair is available for pre-order. So we all know that things in this country feel pretty broken right now. And so this book invites us to together and solve the hard question, what do we do about it? It's an honest look about where we're at, about what we need to do to rebuild, but differently, and what we need to protect at all costs. - Governor Moore joining a list of potential 2028 contenders with new books, including Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Kentucky Governor Andy Bashir. Governor Bashir recently publishing Go and Do Likewise, although insisting to CNN, he has not made any decisions about a White House bid. - Well, there is no such plan. I spent two years as either chair elect or chair of the DGA, putting every moment I have into trying to win as many races as we could. We had a historic night, best cycle we've ever had. So I'm trying to savor it a little bit, and I'm trying to get a little bit of sleep, which hasn't happened quite yet. But here in the near future, I will get together with my family. We'll talk it through, we'll make a decision, and we'll let you know. - According to the latest real clear polling average, former Vice President Kamala Harris leading the potential 2028 Democrat field with 21% support, followed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, tied at nearly 14%. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, close behind at 13%, followed by Senator John Assof of Georgia at 11%. President Trump pulling Vice President JD Vance off diplomatic efforts to end the war with Iran, instead directing him to focus solely on alleged corruption in Democrat-run states and cities. The President announcing the shift yesterday in a lengthy truth social post, writing, quote, "I have asked Vice President Vance to focus his complete and total attention on the massive corruption and crime taking place in Democrat-run cities and states throughout the US." Trump singling out Minnesota, California, and Illinois, accusing Democrat leaders of allowing billions of dollars in fraud each month. The President then turning to Iran, declaring, quote, "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, hundreds of billions of dollars, and we've got their straight." The announcement marking a significant reversal for Vice President Vance, who had been leading diplomatic efforts to end the eight-month conflict. The Vice President traveling to Pakistan in April for lengthy negotiations that failed to produce a lasting resolution. More recently, Axios reporting that Mr. Vance contacted a top Iranian security official through intermediaries proposing a new round of peace talks under his leadership. The President's decision coming just over a week after Mr. Vance diagnosed the war as the reason for Republicans devastating midterm losses. According to The New York Times, President Trump has been weighing several options with Iran, including renewed military strikes, a withdrawal that would leave regional allies to manage the conflict or maintaining the current blockade. Although large-scale fighting has subsided, smaller clashes continue, and the struggle over the street of her moves remains unresolved. Coming up, Democrats pulling off a historic upset in deep red Mississippi, flipping a Senate seat for the first time in decades. And DHS revealing that a twice-deported illegal immigrant secured asylum by claiming to be transgender before allegedly threatening to blow up a passenger plane. Everyone's talking about weight loss injections because the results can be so dramatic. They work by lowering blood sugar and reducing appetite. But what if you're looking to lose weight and yet you're not interested in painful weekly injections? Especially when you hear about some of the intense side effects? 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With 99% of the vote counted, coloma leading Hyde Smith by about 5,000 votes. 49.2% to 48.7%. The 43-year-old district attorney becoming the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from Mississippi since 1982, and the state's first Black Senator since Reconstruction. Colome celebrating the historic victory Wednesday night at Tugaloo College in Jackson. Promising to represent all Mississippians, regardless of how they voted. - I wanna have a final word to every Mississippian. The ones that voted for me, the ones that didn't vote for me, and the ones that didn't vote. My commitment to you, each and every one of you, is that first, I wanna treat your children, like I want my children to be treated. I'm gonna treat your parents the way I want my parents to be treated. I'm gonna treat, your future the way I want my future to be. My commitment is to be someone that continues to stay in prayer, continues to have faith, and continues to work to make every Mississippi's life better. His opponent, Republican Senator Cindy Heitzmith, conceding after more than a week of ballot counting. While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters. I want to congratulate Scott Colombe and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state. The result marking a dramatic political shift in a state that has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980. President Trump carrying Mississippi by 23 points just two years ago. According to the Wall Street Journal, Colombe dominating traditional Democrat strongholds including Heins County, home to the state capital, while making gains in Republican territory, among them forced county, which President Trump carried with roughly 58% of the vote in 2024. The race carrying an unusual personal history between the two candidates. In 2023 Heitzmith blocking Colombe's domination to a lifetime federal judgeship after then President Joe Biden selected him for the position. Colombe later indicating that he would likely not have entered the Senate race had he been confirmed. Affordability also playing a central role in his campaign, particularly in one advertisement that drew national attention. On price of beef continuing to go up. You know you have so many proteins to choose from. Pick another protein. Shit, I'd rather pick another senator instead. Shoot a loss and down mine. I'd rather pick another senator. Colombe's victory delivering Democrats their eighth Republican-held Senate seat of the midterm elections, bringing their projected total to at least 55 seats in the next Congress. The Department of Homeland Security revealing that a twice deported illegal immigrant accused of attempting to hijack a United Airlines flight was granted asylum after claiming to be transgender. Fox News reporting that 34-year-old Honduran national Roni Gomez Alberto told immigration authorities he feared being killed in his home country because of his gender identity. DHS now accusing Gomez Alberto of exploiting weaknesses in the U.S. asylum system, filing his arrest in connection with a bomb threat aboard a commercial flight earlier this week. The incident unfolding Monday night aboard United Airlines flight 2174 traveling from Newark, New Jersey to New Orleans. Authorities alleging Gomez Alberto threatened to hijack the aircraft, claimed to have a bomb and attempted to force his way into the cockpit. The pilots reportedly issuing a hijacking alert as the 46 passengers and six flight attendants and pilots remained on board. The plane landing safely in New Orleans were law enforcement officers took Gomez Alberto into custody. Emergency radio traffic capturing the response on the ground. The advice pilots are going to stay in the cockpit with the door locked, flight attendants are going to come off so we can bring them off and bring them over here as well. No injuries reported. Gomez Alberto now held without bond in Louisiana, facing charges including terrorizing, communicating false information about planned arson and being a fugitive from justice. According to DHS, Border Patrol first apprehending Gomez Alberto after he illegally entered the U.S. near El Indio, Texas in September 2011. Authorities deporting him, only to catch him crossing illegally again near Columbus, New Mexico in October of 2014. Gomez Alberto deported a second time. In 2019, Border Patrol arresting him during a third attempted illegal entry near San Isidro, California. This time, Gomez Alberto seeking asylum, claiming he feared persecution because he was transgender. In an excerpt of his application released by DHS, Gomez Alberto writing that he feared being killed by either private citizens or police because of his gender identity. An immigration judge ordering his release from ICE custody in January 2020, pending removal proceedings. DHS now confirming that an immigration judge subsequently granted him asylum, although the agency has not specified when that ruling occurred. Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen condemning the circumstances surrounding Gomez Alberto's admission to the country. Secretary Mullen accusing the suspect of taking advantage of a weak asylum system that allowed him to game the process, despite his two previous deportations. Following Monday's arrest, ICE filing a detainer with a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, requesting notification before Gomez Alberto is released from custody. That'll do it for your A.M. update. I'm Emily Gisinski, host of Afterparty. Go and check out more at AfterpartyEmily.com, catch the Megan Kelly show later today live on Series XM's, the Megan Kelly channel 111 at Noon East, on youtube.com/megankelly and all podcast platforms.