The Megyn Kelly Show - Rachel Morin's Killer Convicted, Trump Moves to Defund PBS and NPR, Biden Returns: AM Update 4/16

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

A Salvadoran illegal immigrant is convicted of brutally raping and murdering Maryland mother Rachel Morin. Harvard refuses a Trump administration demand to curb antisemitism, prompting $2.2 billion in frozen grants and a broader federal review. The White House moves to revoke $1.1 billion from NPR and PBS, citing left-wing bias and controversial taxpayer-funded programming. President Biden makes his first post-presidency appearance in Chicago, in a speech about Social Security. Tax Network USA: Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit https://TNUSA.com/MEGYN to speak with a strategist for FREE today120Life: Go to https://120Life.com and use code MK to save 15%

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Wednesday, April 16th, 2025. And this is your AM Update. My daughter suffered so terribly in a very brutal and violent way. And these type of immigrants should not be in our country. Maryland mother of five, Rachel Morins,'s suspected killer convicted on all charges. Harvard refuses to comply with the Trump administration's task force combating campus anti-Semitism. And Social Security is more than a government program. It's a sacred promise. We made it a sacred promise.

And Joe Biden makes his first public speech since leaving the White House. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update. The IRS is the largest collection agency in the world. And with April 15th fast approaching, it's more aggressive than ever. If you owe back taxes or have unfiled returns, waiting is not an option. April 15th could mark another tax year that has passed you by. So the smart move is to get ahead of it now, but listen, never contact the IRS alone. Instead, you could let the experts at Tax Network USA handle it for you. Why? Well, not all tax resolution companies are the same.

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24-year-old illegal immigrant Victor Martinez Hernandez accused of raping and murdering Maryland mother of five, Rachel Morin, convicted on all four charges. After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury finding Mr. Martinez Hernandez guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and kidnapping. Ms. Morin, 37, reported missing by her boyfriend on August 5th, 2023, after she didn't return home from a morning jog. Her body discovered the next day in a drainage ditch near the Ma and Pa Trail northeast of Baltimore. The autopsy revealing Ms.

Morin suffered 15 to 20 blows to the head, dying from strangulation and blunt force trauma. Mother of the victim, Patty Morin, testifying in front of Congress last summer. My daughter suffered so terribly in a very brutal and violent way. And these type of immigrants should not be in our country. And because we have open borders, and because everyone is allowed in, and because the law is not being carried out at the borders, if they had done a DNA swab, the three times they encountered this person that's allegedly accused of killing my daughter,

they would have known that he had an Interpol warrant for murder in his country. The killer, a Salvadoran national, fled his home country after allegedly murdering a woman there. After two attempts to cross the southwestern border, Mr. Martinez Hernandez successfully entering the country illegally in February 2023. Maryland authorities matching DNA evidence from Ms. Morin's crime scene with DNA recovered from an unsolved home invasion and assault in Los Angeles. That match helping investigators use cell phone data

to track Martinez-Hernandez to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was arrested 10 months after the murder. Mr. Martinez-Hernandez is facing a sentence of life without parole in a Maryland prison. Illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes, like those inflicted on Ms. Morin, are typically only subject to deportation after they complete their sentence. However, the Trump administration is exploring legal options allowing deportation or the transfer of inmates to El Salvador. President Trump discussing the idea on Monday with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval. As many as possible. And I just asked the president, you know, it's this massive complex that he built,

jail complex. I said, can you build some more of them, please? As many as we can get out of our country that were allowed in here by incompetent Joe Biden through open borders. We have millions of people that should not be in this country that are dangerous. Harvard University President Alan Garber announcing the school will not comply with federal directives aimed at curbing illegal anti-Semitic activity on campus. The Trump administration immediately moving to freeze $2.2 billion in grants and contracts from the Department of Education, HHS, and the General Services Administration. These departments working in coordination under the DOJ as part of the Joint Task Force on Antisemitism. An additional $7 billion in federal funding is currently under

review. On Tuesday morning, President Trump posting on Truth Social, quote, perhaps Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status and be taxed as a political entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist-inspired slash supporting sickness. Remember, tax-exempt status is totally contingent on acting in the public interest. In early April, the Trump administration issuing a formal list of demands to Harvard in a letter reading, quote, Harvard University has fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from anti-Semitic violence and harassment, in addition to other alleged violations of Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The requested areas of action,

including oversight and accountability for biased programs that fuel anti-Semitism, disciplinary reform and consistent accountability, governance and leadership reforms, and cooperation with law enforcement, among others. The complaints originating from a series of events on the Harvard campus following the events of October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror organization unleashed a wave of violence against Israel. 34 Harvard student groups immediately co-signed a letter laying the blame for the horrific attack squarely on Israel. A group of Jewish Harvard students in January 2024 sued the university for failing to adequately protect them against illegal demonstrations of anti-Semitism. In the suit, one student alleged encountering demonstrations, quote, celebrating the terrorist attack and referring to it as an act of justified

resistance by brave freedom fighters. Another student reporting physical assault from pro-Hamas activists, alleging the school only took disciplinary action when forced by Congress. Following widespread condemnation for the lack of response from the administration, then-Harvard President Claudine Gay forced to resign from the post in January 2024. She was also facing a plagiarism scandal. In January 2025, Harvard settled the lawsuit with the Jewish students, agreeing to adopt an official definition of anti-Semitism, to host an annual symposium on anti-Semitism, and to partner with an Israeli university. President Garber responding to the Trump administration demands, writing in a

letter, quote, although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating anti-Semitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the intellectual conditions at Harvard, such as they are. President Obama, a Harvard grad, praising the decision on X, writing, quote, Harvard has set an example for other higher ed institutions, rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate, and mutual respect. Let's hope other institutions follow suit. Harvard is the first university to directly

challenge the Trump administration's crackdown on campus anti-Semitism by refusing to comply with the new conditions tied to federal funding. The federal task force saying Harvard's response is indicative of a, quote, troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges, that federal investment does not come with a responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. Coming up, defunding NPR. Is it happening? And President Biden makes his first public remarks since leaving the White House. One in two adults have high blood pressure. Many don't even know it. That's a ticking time bomb. But here's the good news. You have the power to take control naturally with 120 Life. 120 Life is a blend of great tasting super fruit

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Go to 120life.com. That's 120life.com. And remember to use the code MK to save 15% off your order. This is serious. This is your life we're talking about. 120 Life can help take control of your life and your health today. The Trump administration taking aim at publicly funded outlets, NPR and PBS. The White House preparing a formal request to Congress

to rescind $1.1 billion in already approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS, part of a larger $9.3 billion revision package targeting various government programs. Both NPR and PBS receiving a mix of direct and indirect funding from the federal government. NPR reporting 8% of their 2022 budget funding from the federal government. NPR reporting 8% of their 2022 budget coming from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and another 6% from federal, state, and local governments. PBS reporting 14% of their operating budget coming from the feds. Republican lawmakers long accusing both outlets of using public funds to push a left-wing agenda.

CEOs for the outlets appearing in March on Capitol Hill to answer for their political bias. Here's an exchange with NPR CEO, Catherine Marr. And in 2020, unfortunately, NPR's managing editor for news refused to cover the story and he branded it a, quote, waste of time. How many times did you all interview Adam Schiff about the Russia collusion? I'm sorry, sorry, I don't have that number. It was 25 times. You know how many times NPR interviewed chairman of this committee,

Oversight Committee, Jamie Comer, about the Biden impeachment inquiry, the Hunter Biden tax evasion and illicit business dealings of the Biden family? I'm sorry. Sorry, I don't know. I believe that's zero. So it's 25 to zero. Lawmakers also pressing Maher on the political makeup of NPR's newsroom. In the D.C. area, editorial positions at NPR, he said he found 87 registered Democrats, zero Republicans. Is that accurate? We do not track the numbers or the voter registration, but I find that concerning. Was award-winning journalist who worked 25 years at NPR, Mr. Berliner, was he lying when he wrote that? I am not presuming such. I just don't have, we don't track that information about our journalists.

In 2017, PBS were producing a documentary called Real Boy about a teen girl's gender transition. I am a boy with the wrong body parts. I'm a little over two months on testosterone. A teen in transition fights for acceptance. And my name is Ben because I changed it. You are Rachel. That is who you are. He's going down a path that is going to be a huge struggle. Your tax dollars at work. A request to rescind federally allotted funds requires only a simple majority in both chambers to pass, with lawmakers given 45 days to act. If approved, it will mark the first

permanent funding cuts of the second Trump administration. President Biden on Tuesday making his first public remarks since leaving the White House. Mr. Biden addressing an advocacy group for the disabled in Chicago, highlighting Democrat talking points on Social Security. We know just how much Social Security matters to people's lives. Everyone in this room fights for people with disabilities who rely on Social Security to survive. You make sure folk get the benefits they earn after a lifetime of hard work. The work they do is more than just a

profession. What you do, it's a calling. It's not just a profession. And Social Security is more than a government program. It's a sacred promise. We made it a sacred promise. Seventy-three million Americans receive Social Security. From their first paycheck to their entire life, they pay into Social Security. In return, they count on Social Security to be for them when they're going to need it. Folks must never, ever betray that trust or turn our backs on an obligation. The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee timing the launch of its first 2026 ad campaign with Mr. Biden's event. The DSCC targeting GOP Senators Tom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine with digital ads featuring a dial tone and captioned, quote,

Trump and Elon Musk are threatening sweeping cuts to the Social Security Administration, making it harder for seniors to get their benefits. Republicans could stop this, but they won't. Democrats consistently portraying Doge efforts to rid the government of waste, fraud, and abuse as a plot to eliminate Social Security. It is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American that Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and House Republicans are dismantling and closing Social Security offices, jacking up wait times, and preventing hardworking Americans from securing their benefits. What Elon Musk and Donald Trump, our co-presidents are doing right now, is effectively cutting the benefits that people were promised and they are making people suffer all across this country. This administration

is intent on slashing Social Security so that they can get more tax breaks for their billionaire buddies. Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt questioned about Mr. Biden's remarks on Tuesday afternoon. My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was I'm shocked that he is speaking at nighttime. I thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight. I understand the topic of his speech will be Social Security. Let me make it very clear ahead of former President Biden's remarks. The president, this president, President Trump, is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens and seniors.

President Trump differentiating between making cuts and cutting fraud. I'm not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. We're not going to touch it. Now, we are going to look for fraud. Social Security won't be touched other than fraud or something we're going to find. It's going to be strengthened. Public polling consistently showing support for eliminating government waste and fraud. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for The Megyn Kelly Show, live on Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all podcast platforms