The Megyn Kelly Show - McConnell Makes Senate Return, Hayden Panettiere Death Probe, China's AI Response: AM Update 9/15

Episode Date: September 15, 2026

Senator Mitch McConnell makes his return to Capitol Hill after a three-month absence as he continues recovering from a fall and pneumonia. Investigators focus on a suspected fentanyl-laced pill as the working theory in actress Hayden Panettiere’s death while awaiting toxicology results. China rejects calls to slow artificial intelligence development as President Trump argues the US must continue advancing to maintain its lead. Nearly half of the colleges in FIRE’s latest nationwide rankings receive failing grades for campus free speech - FIRE president Greg Lukianoff joins.  ARMRA: go to https://tryarmra.com/MEGYN to get 30% off your first subscription order  Birch Gold: Text MK to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, September 15th, 2026, and this is your AM update. After three months out of the public view and mounting speculation about his condition, Senator Mitch McConnell returning to Capitol Hill yesterday in a wheelchair. A possible fentanyl-laced pill, the suspected cause of actress Hayden Penitier's death. We have to do them prudently, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop an industry. The great AI debate going global, China pushing back against calls. to slow development as President Trump warns, America cannot afford to fall behind.

There's like a sense that sort of like woke one was over, but that's just not true. And I do think that we continue to expand the number of things that people can't talk about. And a failing grade for free speech on America's college campuses as nearly half the schools in a new nationwide ranking earn an F. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. Feeling sluggish?

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Ahead of the vote, Senator McConnell telling reporters it was, quote, time to get back to work and to, quote, finish the job for this Congress, identifying the farm bill and continued support for NATO allies fighting Russia among his priorities. The senator arriving on the Senate floor just minutes before the Monday vote, casting the deciding yes vote to advance the nomination of President Trump's pick Matthew Byrne to serve as a federal judge in southern Ohio. The 47 to 46 vote in favor of cloture or allowing a substantive vote on the nomination,

clearing the way for a separate confirmation vote in the coming days. Senator McConnell's return coming after he acknowledged in a statement that he is still not fully recovered, describing the past three months as a, quote, long and often frustrating process. Mr. McConnell adding that he will continue physical therapy while promising Majority Leader Thune that he will do his best to return for close votes whenever Republicans need him. Senator McConnell hospitalized June 14th after his team says he fell, inside his Washington home and briefly lost consciousness, later revealing that doctors also treated him for a mild case of pneumonia. EMT dispatches from the scene reported a cardiac arrest and that CPR was

administered, the senator later denying that he had a heart attack. Senator McConnell eventually transferred to a rehab facility returning home in early August to continue his recovery. The lack of public information surrounding his condition fueling intense speculation during his absence, as Mr. McConnell gave no interviews and his office released only two photographs during his recovery. His return coming at a critical moment for Senate Republicans ahead of a major vote today on cryptocurrency legislation. Senator McConnell's vote expected to prove essential Wednesday as well when Republicans make another attempt to advance their stalled farm bill out of committee. The previous committee vote falling one vote short during McConnell's absence, forcing party leaders

to postpone another attempt until his return. Senator McConnell now entering the final months of a Senate career spanning more than four decades. His term expires in January after a record 18 years leading Senate Republicans. New details emerging in the investigation into the death of actress Hayden Penitier as authorities reportedly focus on a suspected fentanyl-laced pill and the dealer who may have supplied it. TMZ reporting multiple. law enforcement sources believe Penitier took an oxycodone pill containing fentanyl on the morning of her death. The outlet's sources saying the 36-year-old actress reportedly obtained oxycodone and other black market prescription drugs from a longtime dealer in L.A., taking several of those drugs

while flying to South Carolina the previous day. However, this is reportedly only the working theory, not yet an official cause of death. The Greenville County coroner's office saying Penetier's cause and manner of death remain undetermined as investigators await the results of toxicology tests. TMZ's law enforcement sources similarly acknowledging those results will determine whether their theory is correct. DEA agents in LA and South Carolina reportedly working alongside local authorities to trace the suspected pill, including examining Penitiers' alleged relationship with the dealer. Her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, reportedly speaking with the DEA, as part of that investigation. Hickerson giving first responders a bag containing

penitiers' medications after she was found unresponsive inside their South Carolina rental. He reportedly administered Narcan before paramedics arrived. The case drawing comparisons to the death of rapper Mack Miller in 2018 at the age of 26, multiple individuals convicted of supplying him with counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. A representative for Penitier telling page six the investigation remains ongoing and describing the case as complex, adding that they hope to have more answers soon. Coming up, China rejecting calls to slow the pace of artificial intelligence advancement as President Trump dismisses fears of a technological takeover and vows the U.S. will remain in the lead. And a new poll reveals nearly one in three college students still says violence, can be an acceptable response to speech.

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solid information. The midterms will be here before you know it. Text MK to 98-9898 now. China now weighing in on the great AI debate, rejecting calls from American tech leaders to slow development and accusing them of using safety concerns to undermine Beijing's growing AI industry. The dispute erupting after Anthropic CEO Dario Amadeh proposed new government oversight and greater coordination among leading AI companies to prevent the technology from advancing faster than researchers can safely control it. Amade also calling for tighter restrictions on advanced AI chips reaching China, arguing the U.S. must preserve its technological advantage while pursuing broader international safety agreements. Open AI CEO, Sam Altman, and ex-AI founder Elon Musk, broadly agreeing

that the industry needs to move more slowly and cautiously, while critics argue the largest companies could use new regulations to box out smaller competitors. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman responding yesterday by accusing American AI companies of spreading what he called quote, threat narratives and engaging in confrontation and malicious competition. The spokesman telling reporters China favors open and inclusive AI development, warning that a slowdown would disrupt international cooperation and benefit no one, according to the Chinese state-run China Daily. The Communist Party aligned global times going further,

portraying Amade's proposal as part of a, quote, Cold War playbook, intended to preserve American technological dominance and to hold back Chinese competitors. Beijing nonetheless acknowledging serious risks from the tech itself. The Financial Times reporting China's Ministry of State Security on Sunday, issuing its first public statement focused on AI, warning that foreign adversaries could use deepfakes, fabricated content, and automated troll networks to spread political rumors and inflamed divisions inside China. State security minister Chen Yi-Shin also reportedly raising concerns about AI-powered cyber attacks, military vulnerabilities, and Chinese companies exposing sensitive information by using foreign AI tools.

The Chinese warnings focus on specific national security threats rather than the possibility of AI, you know, wiping out humanity, offering no support for slowing the country's own development of the technology. Here at home, Vice President J.D. Vance yesterday expressing similar skepticism toward the American executives asking Washington to intervene. You know, it's something that we're concerned by, but we want to make sure that we actually regulate smartly and we're thoughtful about the risk here. So there are obviously risks to AI.

There are some benefits to AI. I have to say just personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse. So I think we just have to be careful about this. Throughout the day, President Trump also firing off a series of truth social posts, arguing the government already has sufficient authority to punish AI companies that cross the line.

The president accusing critics of trying to cripple a transformative American industry and hand China an advantage while dismissing the most catastrophic predictions and insisting the U.S. must remain in the lead. Mr. Trump also calling into the All-In podcast summit, yesterday as NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang appeared on stage. Well, I know about AI. I know, I also have common sense about AI. The robots will not be taken over. The AI will not be taken over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax. Now, with that, we have to be a little bit careful. We have to very be, you know, we have to do things and we have to do

them prudently. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop an industry because, you know, as we work on the next 10 years about how to destroy it. So I'm with you all the way. I didn't even know how you felt about it. I assumed you felt the same way as me. Yes, sir. And we're going to lead, and I have an expression. It's whoever wins, AI wins. That's how big it is. It's bigger than the internet. And whoever wins, AI wins. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to meet at the White House September 24th. AI safety, expected to be among the issues on the agenda, sounds like it could be a short discussion. Nearly half of the colleges

included in a new nationwide survey receiving a failing grade for their campus speech climate. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression or Fire, finding 121 of the 261 schools in its annual college-free speech rankings, earn an F, while 30% of students say violence can be acceptable, at least in rare circumstances,

to stop someone from speaking on campus, a four-point decline from last year. The report arriving one year after Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University while engaging students in political debate. UVU falling from 71st place last year to 210th this year, as students there report growing self-censorship and declining comfort expressing controversial views. That'll happen when someone's killed for speaking on your campus. At Utah Valley, Charlie Kirk now ranking as the single most difficult subject for students to discuss, while nationwide he ranks third behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and President Trump. We spoke with fire president and CEO Greg Luk Yanoff asking how Charlie Kirk's assassination continues to shape campus speech one year later.

I visited Utah Valley not two about a month after Charlie was murdered. and it was clear that both students had come together trying to recover from witnessing something so terrible, but it was also clear that students were still afraid to talk about it. And we've seen this trend nationally is that students all over the country, you know, are afraid to even discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk. It's been added to the list of radioactive topics on campus. Researchers examining not only which subjects students have voiced, but how often they censor themselves, whether they tolerate controversial speakers, and whether

they trust administrators to defend free expression when controversy erupts. The findings complicate a growing perception that campus culture wars of the past decade had begun to fade. I think there's like a sense that sort of like woke one was over, but that's just not true. And I do think that we continue to expand the number of things that people can't talk about. Meanwhile, you know, it's turning off a lot of people from higher ed, particularly young men. So I think it's going to hire higher ed, which could potentially decrease our polarization is, you know, turning it up to 11. Some universities showing how dramatically a campus can improve, while most of the others continue losing the trust of their own students.

Luke Yanoff pointing to the factor he believes most clearly separates the two. overwhelmingly what makes a good distinguishes a good school from a bad school is leadership that's been made very clear by schools like Dartmouth and Vanderbilt that are both on the top 10 now

they weren't always great on free speech they got excellent leadership and they rocketed up the charts and they really mean it Chicago has a combination of great leadership but also a reputation for being a place where people can actually talk and more serious-minded

students tend to go. So it's hard to beat a place that has that longstanding reputation where they get the kind of students already mature enough to talk across lines of difference. NYU, though, I mean, you know, a lot of the schools in New York, also Columbia, I mean, they just don't seem to know what they're doing at all. And their students appropriately don't trust them. The University of Chicago taking the top spot for the third time in seven years, while New York University finishes dead last. The overall picture remaining bleak, though Fire says this year's findings provide some reasons for very cautious optimism. The number of schools receiving failing grades falling from 166 last year to 121 this year, though just 24 schools receive a C or better, the average campus score reaching its highest level since the rankings began seven years ago,

though that average corresponds to a D-minus on the report's grading scale. We asked Luke Yanoff what the University of Chicago, the highest scoring school in the rankings, would need to do to earn an A. I think some of the easiest stuff that they could do is decrease the number of students who think violence is okay in response to free speech. They already have a relatively low number of those students, but I still think it covers around 20%, which is nuts. a lot of students are coming in, believing that they have a right to decide for everyone else who they can hear.

And that's something that schools should be actively screening against. Luke Yanoff, arguing that the message should begin before students ever arrive on a college campus. If it came down from Yale and Harvard and all these schools to the big K-12 theater schools to say, listen, if it indicated to us that you're the kind of person, who believes that they have a right not to hear things that offend them and nobody else may either, that we don't want you. That would change attitudes quick. And they could work it into the essays. They could talk about tolerance and curiosity.

There's a million ways higher ed could fix this. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK show. Live on SiriusXMs, the Megan Kelly Channel 11 at noon east on YouTube.com slash Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.