Russia Plague Worry After Lab Worker Death, JD on Trail, Alleged Chinese Spy Arrest: AM Update 10/6

(upbeat music) - Good morning everyone, I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, October 6th, 2026, and this is your AM update. - A historically unpopular Republican in Kansas and Donald Trump and a historically popular Democratic Senate candidate and Alan Hamilton, that may be the equation that gets Kansas its first Democratic center in 94 years. - President Trump and Vice President Vance hitting the campaign trail as Republicans confront tightening Senate races across the map. - What was in that test, too? - And that's what I think everybody's pushing for transparency on. Had that bacteria been modified in any way during the research that they were doing? - US officials seeking answers after the unexplained death of a worker at a Russian plague research lab as Moscow offers few details about the case. A suspected Chinese spy arrested on American soil accused of surveilling the family of Taiwan's president for the Chinese Communist Party. And Prince Andrew fighting to get police search warrants tossed months after his arrest for allegedly sharing sensitive government information with Jeffrey Epstein. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. - I wanna talk to you about Cozy Earth. This is the most luxurious thing you can do for yourself. Just go on their website, search around and buy anything. The quality is that good. I am telling you this from my own personal experience. This thing's been a game changer in my life when it comes to making the bed and the couch infinitely more comfortable, my sleepwear, everything. They're towels like these guys. I don't know how they do it. It must be some patented technology. It's the bamboo I guess, but Cozy season is officially here. And the nights are starting to get a little cooler. So look, there's two specific pieces I need to tell you about. First, the bamboo sheet set. It can fix your hot sleeping. It can fix your bad night's sleep. 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Four weeks from Election Day, President Trump and Vice President Vance hitting the campaign trail as Republicans fight to hold seats in states the party carried comfortably just two years ago. The President campaigning in Nebraska yesterday for a Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, who is facing a competitive challenge from independent Dan Osborne, while Vice President Vance traveled to Alaska to rally for Senator Dan Sullivan, more on that race in a minute. The push coming as new polling shows an increasingly difficult map for Republicans. New York Times polling showing Democrats ahead in Senate races in red states like Texas, Alaska, and Ohio, tied in Kansas and trailing by just one point in Iowa. President Trump carrying all five states by double digits in 2024. His approval rating now averaging just 40% across those five. In Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall locked in a dead heat with Democrat Adam Hamilton, despite President Trump winning the state by more than 16 points two years ago. Hamilton, a first-time candidate and senior pastor of the country's largest United Methodist congregation, posting the strongest favorability rating of any candidate tested across the five Senate races. CNN's Chief Data Analyst, Harry Enten, breaking down the implications. - Adam Hamilton is popular. Take a look at this. Okay, key Senate races, the highest net favorable rating of any of the candidates that the New York Times tested is Adam Hamilton in Kansas, the Democrat nominee. His net favorable rating is plus 12 points. The average candidate that the Times tested was actually a point underwater. This to me is potentially a mathematical perfect storm, a historically unpopular Republican in Kansas and Donald Trump and a historically popular Democratic Senate candidate and Adam Hamilton. That may be the equation that gets Kansas its first Democratic Center in 94 years. - In Texas and even more severe warning sign, Democrat James Talleriko leading Republican Ken Paxton by six points in the latest Times polling, matching a string of recent surveys showing an extremely competitive race. President Trump's approval rating among likely Texas voters falling to 38%. While Paxton is the least popular of the 10 Senate candidates tested across the five states. The race also showing a dramatic shift among independence. According to the New York Times, Talleriko now leads Paxton among independence by 23 percentage points. Paxton also dramatically underperforming in another core voting block, says CNN's Enten. - How about this, Texas evangelical voters. Texas evangelical voters, if you can't read it, Trump won them by 73 points back in 2024. Greg Abbott, who's running for the governorship of Texas, is leading them by 62 points. How about white evangelicals? Ken Paxton, though, only winning them by get this. Only winning them by 48 points. Only winning them by 48 points compared to Abbott's 62 points. In other words, maybe scandals do matter. Maybe, maybe, maybe. It turns out that white evangelicals do not want candidates who, in fact, leave their wives. He's winning, but they don't even like him. They don't even like him. His favorability rating is only plus 14 white evangelicals. So it turns out that scandals may actually matter. And this is something we've seen in the polling data going forward. Maybe Republicans aren't going to be nominating candidates who are scandal plague. - Alaska proving to be another major concern for Republicans. Former Democrat Congresswoman Mary Peltola, leading Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, by seven points in the latest New York Times poll. Alaska uses a top four primary system where candidates from every party run on the same ballot and the four highest finishers advance to November. Peltola finishing eight points ahead of Sullivan in that August primary before both moved on to the general election. Vice President Vance acknowledging to reporters yesterday, the race is competitive. - It's a very interesting state. In very deep red years, Alaska is competitive and very deep blue years, Alaska is still competitive. So I think it's just a reality of the politics of the state. They obviously have the kind of weird ranked-choice voting system that I don't fully understand. But I think that whether this was gonna be a blue wave or a red wave year, you're gonna have a competitive Senate race in Alaska. That's been true historically. And I suspect it's gonna be true this year too. - The broader economic picture also working against Republicans. CBS News finding voters continue to judge the economy largely through prices and the cost of living. While 91% say the war with Iran has driven oil and gas prices higher, including 64% who say prices have risen a lot. 52% say the war is more likely to end if Democrats win control of Congress compared with 17% who say the same if Republicans remain in power. President Trump pushing back yesterday on the suggestion that his own standing could make matters worse for Republicans insisting his appearances on the trail give them a boost. - I think when I travel there, the numbers go way up. We have massive crowds. We have another sold-out crowd today. We went to Ohio. We went to Texas. We went to Oklahoma. We're going to Michigan. We're going all over the country. And we have another massive sold-out. They say the lines are, it's already sold out. So when I go there, they pick up a lot of steam. When I go there, they win. And that's what I'm doing. Over on the Democrat side, former president Barack Obama preparing to return to the campaign trail. Mr. Obama set to appear in Detroit, October 24th, alongside Democrat Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sahed, who is leading Republican Mike Rogers by 3.6 points in the real clear politics average of all polls. The New York Times reporting on Monday that El-Sahed is struggling somewhat with black voters in Michigan, up 76 over 13 over Rogers. I'll compare that to the gubernatorial race there, where the Democrat is leading with black voters 92 to 1. Prediction market, Calci has El-Sahed with a 74% chance of winning the race right now compared with 26% for the Republican Rogers. That's a 12% shift in the Democrat direction in just the last month. Give our sponsor Calci a try by using code Megan Kelly or click the link in the description. All new users get $25 free when they trade just $25. Republicans currently hold a 53 to 47 Senate majority, meaning Dems need to flip four seats and hold on to all of their own in order to win control of the chamber. Calci has the Democrat's chance of winning the Senate at 64%. A mysterious death at a Russian laboratory that studies plague now prompting quarantines US government scrutiny and questions about what exactly happened inside this facility. A 28-year-old technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plaig Research Institute in Siberia reportedly dying last week after developing what Russian health officials describe as "numonia of unknown origin." A local Russian outlet reporting the woman became sick after allegedly breaking a test tube containing the bacteria that causes pneumonic plague. That account has not been publicly confirmed by the Russian government. Russian officials acknowledging the hospital where the woman was treated was placed under quarantine, while Russian media reporting nearly 200 people who may have come into contact with her have been placed under medical observation. Russia's public health agency saying no microorganisms tied to the woman's work were detected in her body and reporting no additional illnesses among employees at the lab. At least one regional Russian official saying publicly that the woman may have died from plague. Moscow has not confirmed that diagnosis. Numonic plague is caused by the same bacteria as bubonic plague, but infects the lungs, allowing it to spread not through infected mice but through respiratory droplets. The NIH says the disease has a nearly 100% death rate without treatment, though antibiotics are reportedly highly effective when given early. There is also the possibility that this bacteria was being modified by the Russians. The reported lab accident and broader quarantine response now drawing scrutiny from U.S. officials. The Washington Post reports the CDC State Department and other federal agencies are trying to learn more about what happened, but officials say their efforts have been complicated by Russia's reluctance to provide information. The Post also reports U.S. officials are examining whether researchers at the facility may have been modifying existing plague samples, potentially involving what is known as gain-of-function research, the practice of altering pathogens to give them new or stronger traits, such as making them more contagious or more lethal. The controversial research becoming a major focus of the investigation into COVID's origins, former White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Debra Berks, Sunday on News Nation, calling for more transparency from the Russians. This area of Russia is where they do a significant amount of plague research. They also have significant number of military labs there, and so I've heard that it was a broken test, too. What was in that test tube? That's what I think everybody's pushing for transparency on. This woman traveled after exposure with pneumonic, the pneumonic plague means it's in her lungs, so she had it in her lungs, she traveled, she potentially could have exposed many people, because that is then transmissible by droplet. So a lot of concerns and a lot of reason for the Russians to be transparent. Russia, meanwhile, pushing back on the speculation, a Kremlin spokesperson telling NBC News the public should rely on statements from the country's health authorities, rather than what he called quote, rumors and speculations. The State Department says many of the details surrounding the case remain unconfirmed, it's calling on Moscow to provide accurate information quickly and openly. Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling reporters yesterday the admin is watching very closely. We know what we know, obviously, about whatever the Russians have provided, which is it seems that it was a worker at the lab that was infected and is concerned that that could have spread, at least internally, so you've seen them be quarantined, so that's in that nature. There's very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously. But like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread. So we're watching and monitoring it closely. I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus, and it just keeps an eye on it. And we're doing that. Former White House COVID response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha posting on X last night that he is quote, concerned, noting that Russia is well known to have an active military biological weapons program. There are reports of FSB or Russian intel involvement in the response here, and that security services are accompanying ambulances carrying exposed contacts. Jha earlier yesterday telling NBC that even if the woman did contact pneumonic plague, the chances of it developing into a large outbreak, much less a global pandemic, are exceedingly low. President Trump saying yesterday he's concerned about the potential outbreak. Well, I hate to see them having it, it's a rough, it's a rough disease, you know, that's a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those bike roads were gotten stronger than like an army. And we don't have to say medical, even with great advancement, the germs that really become relatively stronger than they were. And things that used to work are pneumonia, don't work in color, but we'll help. Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we'll always let it out. Coming up, potential Chinese espionage on U.S. soil. A California woman accused of spying on Taiwan's first family for Beijing. And Prince Andrew taking police to court, challenging the warrants used to search his homes after he's arrest over alleged government leaks to Jeffrey Epstein. We are less than a month out, and the midterms are coming at us like a freight train. With no mistake, if the house flips, it's a big deal for our economy, and it might be the Senate too. That 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 spot price of gold jumped more than 12 percent. Why? Because 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. And if you want to just do a portion of your IRA into gold, they'll let you do that too. They'll walk you through. Honestly, just text the letters MK to the number 989898 and they will give you a free info. When you like to know about gold, everybody is diversifying into it. The midterms are going to be here before you know it, so try to do it sooner rather than than later, text MK to 989898 today. A California real estate agent arrested at LAX accused of secretly working for the Chinese government and spying on the family of Taiwan's president here in the United States. 34-year-old Juan Ying Heather Zhang of Irvine, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China, arrested Sunday as she was preparing to leave the country, now charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China. The FBI says Zhang conducted surveillance last year in the United States on the son of the Taiwanese president, Li Qingda, and his family, allegedly photographing and recording them and passing information about their vehicles back to Chinese officials. According to federal investigators, Zhang and another person identified only as individual one, flying to the Seattle area in September 2025, at the direction of Chinese officials, then conducting surveillance outside the target's home. A nearby security camera reportedly capturing the pair filming the family from inside a vehicle, Zhang then allegedly sending Chinese officials photos and videos from the operation, along with license plate info from the family's vehicles. The FBI affidavit detailing Zhang's longstanding ties to people connected to the Chinese government, Zhang previously attending Beijing's University of International Relations, described by federal officials as closely linked to China's intel apparatus. First assistant U.S. attorney Bill Asaley, Sunday on Fox, saying the alleged surveillance reflects a much broader Chinese strategy inside America. "This is what China does, China is very good at using people who are ready here, and they do it to elected officials, so they know how to game our system. And so that was a big blow to us when the birthright case came down, because the other thing they're doing now, this might be breaking news as well, it's not just birthright tourism. They're sending sperm and eggs, and they're implanting them in syrogates here in the American syrogates, here in the U.S. to get around the visa stuff. China is working at every level, they're very smart, and they play the long games." Taiwan's presidential office confirming President Lai's relatives were targeted, calling the alleged surveillance a "classic case of transnational repression." China's embassy in Washington, not immediately responding to the Associated Press's request for comment yesterday, while the foreign ministry in Beijing was closed for a holiday. Andrew Mountbatten-Winzer launching a legal challenge after his historic arrest earlier this year, now asking Britain's high court to throw out the search warrants police used to raid two royal properties as part of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The former Prince Andrew, arguing that Tems' Valley police did not lawfully obtain warrants to search his former home at Royal Lodge in Windsor and Marsh Farm on King Charles's Sandrigam Estate. The legal fight coming nearly eight months after the King's younger brother was arrested in February on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew accused of sharing sensitive government information with Epstein while serving as the UK's special representative for international trade. The allegations emerging from the massive cash of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice, including emails appearing to show Andrew, forwarding official government documents to Epstein and others while he held the trade position. Police questioning Andrew for hours in February before releasing him without any charges as the investigation continued. Investigators also spending several days searching Marsh Farm and Royal Lodge Removing documents and other material under warrants approved the day before Andrew's arrest by a judge at Britain's Central Criminal Court. Andrew now asking the High Court to quash those warrants. Tems Valley Police issuing a statement quote, "We are engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court." Newsweek Chief Royal correspondent Jack Royston yesterday on Good Morning Britain breaking down the significance of the police response. The most interesting line in it is the reference to the Central Criminal Court, which to ordinary people is the Old Bailey. So they bit with got warrants from effectively the most senior criminal court in the country. It's a far cry from the old fashioned go down your local magistrates court and ask permission to arrest somebody. So I would say that that's quite a robust and false response actually. And what Andrew's doing here is he filed something called a judicial review, which is a legal challenge to the decision that was taken. I mean part of what the police are kind of saying here is that they asked for this from the Old Bailey and were given the warrants and then executed those warrants. So I think part of what they're saying is that actually we didn't simply just take this decision ourselves. We asked for permission to do it and were given that permission. So I think they're effectively saying in no uncertain terms that they're going to contest this judicial review and they seem fairly optimistic about the outcome of it. I think what Andrew probably wants is to try and find some technicality on which he can try and wriggle out of this investigation. A high court hearing now scheduled for Thursday beginning behind closed doors as police ask the judge to keep some of the court documents private. Former head of special crime at Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, Nick Vamos telling the New York Times that even if Andrew succeeds in getting the warrants thrown out, police could still ask a court for permission to keep the material they seized and the investigation could continue. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK show on Series XM's The Megan Kelly Channel 111 at New East on youtube.com/megankelly and on all podcast platforms.