Midterm Warning Signs For GOP, UK Terror Suspects Released, Cornell Case Reopened: AM Update 9/29

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, September 29, 2026, and this is your AM update. The levy has been breached. The blue wave is coming over the wall. New midterm data giving Republicans agito, even in state's President Trump won handily. Five men arrested near a U.S. bomber base in the U.K. as investigators examine impossible connection to Iran. A New York prosecutor reopening an investigation into an alleged gang rape at a Cornell fraternity house nearly two years after his office declined to bring charges. "There's no benefit I came out of you putting you in school. There's no benefit at all." 1619 project creator Nicole Hannah Jones confronted by her daughter over the education opportunities, her mother kept from her to make a political point. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. That is why there's home title lock and their million dollar triple lock protection. 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We have great people and we're running against communists, lunatics, socialists, and we have a strong border. We have the best economy, the biggest investment in the history of our country. Think of that. $21 trillion is being invested. We have a rent. We'll never have a nuclear weapon. We're going to win that war very soon. That'll be over. And the gas prices will come tumbling down. The Wall Street Journal reporting Republican candidates, strategists, and lawmakers growing worried about November, despite the president's confidence. One reason for their concern, a new journal poll finding just 37% of registered voters approve of Mr. Trump's job performance. That's the lowest rating for a president approaching a midterm in journal polling dating back to 1990. 11% of his 2024 voters report that they regret their vote. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten comparing the president's standing in key house districts with his position before Democrats won the Chamber back in 2018. The blue wave is coming over the wall, Speaker Johnson and President Trump. And you can see it here. You can just look at President Trump's approval ratings. It's not approval ratings in the year's key house district. You know, back in September of 2018, when Democrats easy one back the house, President Trump was at minus eight points, not very good. His disapprover rating was eight points higher than his approval rating. But look at this year. Look at the key districts this year. President Trump is even worse. He's twice as unpopular in this year's key races in the key districts this year. Then he was back in 2018 when Democrats easy got back majority. He's now 16 points underwater in the key house districts. Simply put mathematically, this equals a Democratic majority for the House of Representatives. Democrats need to gain just three seats to take control of the House. The Cook Political Report now shifting 15 race ratings toward Democrats. At present, 17 Republican held seats rated toss-ups, just five Democrat held seats get the toss-up label. The Senate map also giving Republicans reason for concern. In Texas, Democrats state representative James Tallahrico leading Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton by 2.9 points in the Real Clear Politics polling average. A New York Times opinion discussion with 12 Texans who voted for Mr. Trump in 2024, finding sharp criticism of Paxton among voters considering Tallahrico or unsure whether they will vote in the Senate race at all. Asked for their impressions of Paxton participants, including Republicans, calling him a "crook," a moral and disgusting. Tallahrico drawing mixed reviews, some describing him as "fresh" or "inspiring," while others object to his extreme views on social issues. One voter, arguing Republicans picked the wrong candidate in Paxton. On prediction market Calci, traders giving Tallahrico a 60% chance of winning compared with 40% for Paxton. In South Carolina, a Republican Senator Darleen Graham, the late Senator Lindsey Graham's sister, facing Democrat Annie Andrews in a state president Trump carried by nearly 18 points in 2024. Still, Graham leading by just 2.6 points in the Real Clear Politics polling average. Calci traders showing considerably more confidence in Graham's chances with Graham trading at an 87% chance of victory and just 13% for Andrews. Calci is actually a sponsor of this show, give it a try by using code Megan Kelly, or clicking the link in the description. All new users get $25 free when they trade $25. Earlier this month, President Trump holding a first-ever Republican midterm convention in Dallas, hoping to give GOP candidates a lift. Real Clear Politics Tom Bevin summing up the post-convention polling this way, quote, "GOP's midterm convention bounce plus 2.5 for the Democrats." Five men arrested near a UK base used by US bombers over a suspected terror plot now out on bail. UK counterterrorism police say the men have not been charged, but remain under investigation. The case beginning early Sunday near Royal Air Force Base Fairford in Southwest England. Police reporting an initial call about three suspicious vehicles around 12.45 in the morning. A local farmer also calling authorities after finding three vans blocking a village road. Here she tells Sky News about the moment. We suddenly saw a large group of men, and they were panicking. I think the reason, well, I suppose they're panicking because anyone saw them, but our vehicle is quite similar to the patrol vehicles that they use, and we had lights on main beam because it wasn't another car, so I think we still dazzled them, and they started to run. It's such a flash moment of seeing them, but they were definitely more than five. We think maybe between eight and ten of them were there at that point, and a lot of them had their faces covered. They're all wearing, like, similar. Almost you'd have thought, perhaps it was like what they've been told to wear. Quite similar, like, slim fitting clothes. So then I realised this was probably something a bit more unusual than undercover policemen parked in some vans. The farmer saying armed officers arrived within minutes of her call, arresting five men in welfare near the base on suspicion of explosives offenses. Investigators later saying the men were also suspected of preparing a terrorist act. As to whether officers were looking for anyone else, glossed to share police chief Maggie Blythe, saying she believed the incident was, quote, contained. Police identifying the five arrested as British nationals from London, ages 23 to 25, but have not yet publicly identified them in accordance with the law. Investigators examining the three vans, as bomb disposal crews were called in, and roughly 85 nearby households were evacuated. Police have not said publicly what if anything was found in the vehicles. After questioning the men through Monday, UK counterterrorism chief Lawrence Taylor announcing their release. I can confirm that following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon. To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiries. Police say the men had been held under the UK's Police and Criminal Evidence Act instead of under terrorism laws. The Wall Street Journal reports the law allows police to impose bail restrictions while continuing their investigation potentially for weeks. In contrast, detention under the UK's terrorism laws generally requires authorities to charge a suspect or release them without bail within two weeks, according to the journal. While Air Force Fairford serves as a launch point for US bombers flying missions in the war with Iran. Iran's revolutionary guards warning in July that any base used to launch those strikes would be considered a legitimate target, specifically citing Fairford. President Trump on Sunday praising the arrests, saying the US had been investigating the men alongside U.K. authorities and believe they intended to do major damage yesterday. from the Oval, Mr. Trump reacting to the suspects' release. The journal reporting investigators are examining a possible connection to Iran or an Islamist group. Coming up, prosecutors reopening an investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell after a former student files a civil lawsuit against seven fraternity members and the university. An activist Nicole Hannah Jones' daughter confronts her over a virtue signaling school enrollment choice that left the child struggling to catch up in high school. We are just over a month out, but the midterms are fast approaching and make no mistake if the house flips, it's a big deal for our economy, what if the house in the Senate flip? This uncertainty is one of the reasons to consider diversifying with gold from birch gold group. In the three months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, the price of gold jumped over 12% why it's a hedge against uncertainty. If you do not own gold, consider talking with birch gold. They will discuss your goals and explain how precious metals can fit into your savings. They can even help you convert an existing IRA or 401K into an IRA in gold for no additional money out of pocket. Text the letters MK to the number 989898 and get a free info kit and some solid info. The midterms are going to be here before you know it. Text MK to 989898. An ethical New York district attorney reopening a 2024 investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University fraternity house. The decision follows a civil lawsuit filed this month by a former student identified as Jane Doe, who was 20 years old at the time of the alleged incident. Doe filing the civil suit in New York County Supreme in Manhattan, suing Cornell, seven members of its chi-fi fraternity, the overarching fraternity and her own sorority organizations, and other parties over what she alleges happened in October 2024. She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. So alleging she went to the chi-fi house to see a friend after drinking at two bars. She alleges she was already visibly intoxicated when she arrived, and that two fraternity members then pressured her to use a substance they described as ketamine. According to her complaint, they also gave her marijuana and more alcohol before several men repeatedly had sex with her, she says, without her consent over the course of the night. The lawsuit, including a screenshot of a message allegedly sent by Chi-fi member Jonathan Newell to the fraternity's Snapchat group at 142am, telling members there was, quote, free P-word upstairs. Doe accusing two members of taking her to another room later that night, where she says they gave her more ketamine and sexually assaulted her while she was incapacitated. Doe reported the alleged incident to campus police three weeks later, but no charges were filed. Her lawyer says the alleged assault caused her to leave Cornell. In a written statement yesterday, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houghton pointing to a six-page statement Doe signed in November 2024, Tompkins County covers Ithaca. He writes that she recounted events substantially differently than she does now in her civil lawsuit. According to the DA's summary of that earlier account, Doe described agreeing to sexual activity and knowingly taking drugs. She also described refusing some sexual contact with Van Houghton writing that the men stopped when she asked them to stop. He argues prosecutors could not bring charges based on the facts they were given at the time. Van Houghton saying, quote, "To be clear, the credibility of the woman who described the facts in excruciating detail was never in question." Van Houghton has not publicly released Doe's signed statement. Van Houghton acknowledging, however, to ABC News that his office relied on Cornell University police and did not conduct an independent investigation. He says prosecutors were never given the snapchat screenshot now included in the lawsuit. Jane Doe's attorney, Thomas Jifrock, disputing the DA's description of the original account, telling CNN in a written statement that Doe's police report was, quote, "not materially different from the allegations in her lawsuit." He writes that after Doe spoke to the officer who took her initial report, no one from the DA's office or anyone trained to interview sexual assault survivors contacted her. Jifrock also telling ABC News that Doe did give campus police the snapchat messages in 2024. In a written response reported by CBS News New York, Jifra describes Jane Doe as traumatized and struggling to process what had happened when she first spoke to police. He writes, quote, "It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted." Jifra says Doe will cooperate with the reopened investigation. The Ithaca Police Department, as opposed to the Cornell Police, telling CBS it never received a report about the alleged incident. The lawsuit also alleges Cornell did not treat the allegations seriously enough, claiming that the accused students were offered an opportunity to submit essays to reduce their discipline. According to the court filing, Cornell temporarily suspended the seven students and the Kaifai chapter when Doe reported the incident on November 8, 2024. Cornell began its Title IX investigation around January 2025 and held at least 12 hearings that may hurt the suit. Cornell responding in a statement that its Title IX investigation involved multiple days of hearings and resulted in sanctions, including suspensions and expulsions. Doe's attorney noting two of the seven accused students were expelled. The university writing, quote, "none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement." Cornell says it closed the Kaifai chapter in 2024 and continues to bar it from campus. The national fraternity telling CBS it condemns sexual violence but cannot discuss the specific allegations during litigation. An attorney for a former student is disputing the allegations against his client, Jeremy Saland representing Scott Cretchmar saying Cretchmar never sexually assaulted or even touched Doe. Saland acknowledging Cretchmar made a separate, quote, immature comment on Snapchat, but accuses Doe of, quote, "intentionally victimizing an innocent person for a money grab." Ben Houghton, the DA, says he is planning to present Doe's testimony and any new evidence to a grand jury and let it decide whether or not to indict, saying if the grand jury does so, his office will, quote, "zealously prosecute the case," but giving no timeline for when that will happen. 1619 project creator Nicole Hannah Jones confronted by her own daughter over the schools in which the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist chose to enroll her. 16-year-old Naja Hannah Jones challenging her mother in a "This American Life Podcast" interview asking why her mother sent her to schools that left her struggling to keep up. In a widely discussed 2016 New York Times magazine essay, Hannah Jones the Elder describing choosing a predominantly black, low-income Brooklyn public school for Naja. Now, in a follow-up essay out earlier this month, Hannah Jones writing that she is, quote, "overcome with regret," and that Naja, quote, "deserved better." In the new essay, Nicole writing that she enrolled Naja in algebra tutoring, only to learn her daughter had major gaps in elementary school math, including long division and fractions. The tutoring center warning that catching Naja up would require intensive help. In the interview, Hannah Jones arguing it would have been wrong to give Naja an escape from schools other black children could not leave. Naja rejecting the idea that her education should have been the sacrifice. It's like why should my child be the one that's rescued? Like you should escape what we can sign so many other kids just like you too. I just would never feel right about that. Why? It makes no sense. You're talking about, oh, I'm just going to give you the worst, just because it's not fair that you, I actually board. All you're supposed to do is just like putting in a good school like, oh, well, I don't want to put you in a great school and have you have advantages over other kids. Isn't that what you want? Isn't that what you want me to have? Is that, no, no, normal thing you want me to have? Everyone's not sure. Not sure, kid. You can't save everyone. Doesn't want to be saved. But there's no benefit that came out of you putting me in those schools. There's no benefit at all. Hannah Jones later letting Naja choose her own high school. Naja selecting a competitive public school with mostly white and Asian students, a choice Hannah Jones described as quote, the exact opposite of her life's work. The two returning to the question of what their years at Naja's earlier schools had accomplished. We've talked about like over and over, like our lives are the products of people who didn't just say we think segregation is wrong, we think injustice is wrong, like they were willing to put themselves, their families, their children on the line for that. So you put me on the line to help a school, but it didn't work. I put, yeah, I put you on the line, but even in hopes of even when you're making a change, yeah, I think I'm fine because I'm in the school. I am now. I feel like if I picked a different choice that you wanted me to, I don't think I would be fine. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MKG. show live on SiriusXM's The Megan Kelly Channel 111 at noon East on youtube.com/megankelly and on all podcast platforms.