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Fox Report with Jon Scott 2/21/26 FULL END SHOW | ᗷᖇEᗩKIᑎG ᑎEᗯS Tᖇᑌᗰᑭ February 21, 2026
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00:03Tensions are building in the Middle East, along with the U.S. military presence, as President
00:07Trump warns Iran, make a deal or else.
00:10Good afternoon.
00:11I'm John Scott, and this is the Fox Report.
00:19Possible war with Iran growing louder.
00:21The Pentagon continues moving assets into the region, while President Trump says Tehran
00:26had better negotiate a fair deal.
00:30Nearly three weeks now since the last time anyone saw Nancy Guthrie, investigators in
00:35Tucson, Arizona, are still working leads, reviewing video, and tracking tips as her family waits
00:40for answers.
00:42And British lawmakers are considering whether to remove former Prince Andrew from the line
00:47of succession, as the royal family faces its biggest crisis in nearly 100 years.
00:53More on all of those stories in moments, but first, Lucas Tomlinson at the White House, where
00:58the Supreme Court's tariff ruling is on the president's mind, along with the situation
01:03in Iran.
01:04Lucas.
01:05Good afternoon, John.
01:07Three times as much firepower in the Middle East and in Europe compared to Operation Midnight
01:13Hammer over the summer.
01:14And President Trump has threatened to unleash it on Iran unless it comes forward with a good
01:19deal.
01:21They better negotiate a fair deal.
01:25You know, the people of Iran are a lot different than the leaders of Iran.
01:29And it's very, very, very sad situation.
01:33But 32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time.
01:40There are now over 100 refueling planes either in the Middle East or Europe, John.
01:45That's double the amount used for the B-2 strike during Midnight Hammer in June.
01:49Fifteen of those tankers are in the Azores right now in the Atlantic.
01:52In June, tankers based on those Portuguese islands refueling their sites.
01:57And they're there again.
01:58USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group passed through Gibraltar yesterday.
02:02She's still three to four days away from the Eastern Med in the Suez Canal.
02:05She first put to sea in June.
02:07This deployment could end up being 11 months long.
02:10If the Eastern Med is her destination, her destroyers could be used to protect Israel,
02:14her jets to strike Iran if necessary.
02:17Speaking of plans, John Trump's top economic advisor says the White House has a new one
02:21after the Supreme Court ruling yesterday.
02:25President Trump told us from the beginning that we had to have a backup plan and a backup plan
02:29for the backup plan in case the Supreme Court ruled against his first try.
02:34Now, one day after announcing a 10 percent global tariff, a few hours ago, the president
02:39posting the following on Truth Social saying, quote,
02:43based on a thorough and extraordinarily anti-American decision on tariffs issued yesterday after
02:49many months of contemplation by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement
02:53serve to represent that I, as president of the United States of America, will be effective
02:58immediately raising the 10 percent worldwide tariff on countries, many of which have been
03:02ripping the U.S. off for decades without retribution until I came along to be fully allowed
03:08and legally tested 15 percent level.
03:10So the short answer, John, global tariffs being raised from 10 to 15 percent.
03:15But that 15 percent, this new tariff deadline, comes with a deadline of 150 days until Congress
03:21has to step in 150 days from now.
03:23That will take us to July in the middle of the midterm election campaign season.
03:27John?
03:28Lucas, during Operation Midnight Hammer, so much attention was focused on the whereabouts
03:32of the B-2 bomber fleet.
03:35What do we know about that?
03:36Are they still at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri?
03:39They are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
03:41We have not seen...
03:43What do we know about that?
03:44Are they still at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri?
03:47They are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
03:49We have not seen any signs that they've been moved or taken flight yet.
03:53But as noted in the piece, John, 15 of the tankers that refueled those B-2s, remember that
03:59European air bridge with dozens of tankers, some of those were based in the Azores, Portuguese
04:05islands off the coast of Portugal in the Atlantic.
04:08Those tankers are now there right now, as well as 100 total throughout the Middle East and
04:14Europe, and that's about double what was used for Midnight Hammer.
04:17So there's a lot that's being planned if the president chooses to authorize it.
04:20You've got to have the B-2s.
04:21I'm sorry.
04:22You've got to have the tankers to make the B-2s work.
04:25Lucas Tomlinson at the White House.
04:26Keep an eye on him for us.
04:27Thanks.
04:30For more on the fallout from the Supreme Court striking down the president's tariffs program,
04:35let's bring in Georgia Republican Congress.
04:38So the president wants to issue now 15 percent global tariffs.
04:43What do you think about that idea?
04:45Well, first of all, I think it's a great idea.
04:47However, let me tell you, the Supreme Court got it wrong.
04:50I disagree with their decision.
04:52I think it is wrong.
04:53And I agree with Judge Kavanaugh.
04:55They have created a mess.
04:57They have created economic uncertainty.
04:59Look at what this president has done.
05:01He has used this tool in his tool chest to our advantage.
05:05He's protected the American worker.
05:07He has brought investment into America.
05:10He's decreased our trade deficit almost 17 percent.
05:14He has utilized this in such a way that it has benefited us.
05:19And now the Supreme Court is taking it away from them.
05:21That's why I say they've gotten it wrong.
05:23Not only has he increased and improved our economy, but he's also used it in other ways.
05:31He has made sure and actually negotiated world peace.
05:35If you remember back in the deal between India and Pakistan, two nuclear nations, he actually used tariffs as a
05:43tool in his tool chest to negotiate that deal.
05:46You can make the argument he saved lives with tariffs.
05:49And now the Supreme Court, again, has created a mess.
05:53But is it possible that Congress would take up the issue and perhaps delegate to the president some of those
06:00powers that the Supreme Court says he doesn't have right now?
06:04Certainly I'd be in favor of that if that president wants us to do that.
06:07I'd be in favor of it and I would try to do my best to help him achieve that goal.
06:13But the Supreme Court, again, they got it wrong.
06:15And it's really unfortunate that they made this wrong decision.
06:20Illinois' governor, J.B. Pritzker, who has presidential aspirations himself, is for, let's see, $8,679,000,000 in change
06:32for the tariffs that he says were illegally imposed.
06:38What do you say to the governor?
06:40Well, the governor, you know, it's as bad as valuable as the paper that it's written on.
06:46So he knows what he can do with that piece of paper.
06:50But at the same time, again, the Supreme Court has taken away a valuable tool.
06:55Yes, it brought billions of dollars into our economy at a time when we needed it.
06:59It brought investment into our economy, trillions of dollars that we've been able to have invested in our company and
07:06our country as a result of these tariffs.
07:09An important tool in the tool chest that the Supreme Court has now taken away.
07:21Let's turn our attention to Iran for just a moment.
07:24Obviously, the tensions are pretty thick right now.
07:28The president says there's still time for the mullahs there to make a deal.
07:32Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and ambassador to Israel, says it's quite clear that Iran is still trying
07:39to build a nuclear weapon.
07:41Listen.
07:42We know that they're continuing to try to enrich uranium.
07:46They haven't given up on it.
07:48Yes.
07:48So we know that they have not scrapped their program and said, yeah, we don't really need this after all.
07:54We also know that they are building up at an alarming rate their ballistic missile capacity.
08:00That's not a defensive posture.
08:02They're not doing that to defend themselves.
08:05If he's right, then.
08:08And that's unfortunate because they're fixing to learn an important lesson if they don't cooperate.
08:13You know, say what you will about this president.
08:15You may not like what he says, but you can bet the farm that he means what he says.
08:19And he means this.
08:21And Iran better take heed of this because if they don't, he is going to make sure that they suffer.
08:27And it will be so unfortunate.
08:28But the president's made it clear.
08:30You've got to come to the table.
08:31You've got to negotiate.
08:33We've got to negotiate a nuclear deal.
08:35You've got to stop killing protesters.
08:38You've got to stop funding terrorism.
08:40All of those things are things that Iran needs to understand.
08:44This president means what he says.
08:47So would you expect that if there is going to be kinetic action in Iran, would you expect that if
08:53there is going to be kinetic action in Iran, that it's going to be much more dispersed, much larger than
09:00Operation Midnight Hammer was, those attacks on the nuclear sites?
09:04Well, it certainly appears it's going to be.
09:06Our hope, and I'm sure the president's hope, is that it doesn't escalate to that point.
09:11Our hope is that Iran will come to their senses and recognize and realize that they need to negotiate.
09:18And I think the point that has been made is an important point, and that is the president has said,
09:23you know, the people of Iran, they don't want this.
09:27It's the Aitoha's.
09:28These are the ones who are bringing this about.
09:31And that's so very unfortunate.
09:34Republican Congressman Buddy Carter of Georgia.
09:37Congressman, we're going to be watching that situation.
09:44Well, across the Atlantic, British police searching the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle, the former home of the former Prince
09:51Andrew.
09:52The U.K. government might officially remove him from the royal line of succession as the investigation into his connections
09:58with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to deepen.
10:02Nate Foy is live outside Buckingham Palace in London for us.
10:07Nate.
10:09Hey, John, good afternoon.
10:10So, yeah, despite everything that has happened, and boy, a lot has happened with the former Prince Andrew losing all
10:16of his royal titles, he's been kicked out of where he lives.
10:18It's crazy to think he's still eighth in line to the British throne.
10:22But as you mentioned, the British government is considering changing that, weighing the possibility of new legislation that could eventually
10:28make its way before Parliament.
10:29Also, John, there are now multiple investigations into the former Prince with the Met Police announcing last night they're interviewing
10:38members of his old security team to see if they noticed any possible crimes related to the Epstein files, particularly
10:45human trafficking at London airports.
10:48So the former Prince remains under investigation.
10:50He was, of course, arrested on Thursday under suspicion of misconduct in public office.
10:56He's reportedly suspected of sharing confidential government information with Epstein while Andrew served as a trade envoy.
11:03Police released Andrew after hours of questioning on Thursday, which was his 66th birthday.
11:09Again, he's free now, but he can be charged as the investigation continues.
11:14Legal experts say proving misconduct in public office is notoriously difficult, John.
11:21He was a trade envoy for 10 years, started 25 years ago, I think.
11:26And so there's plenty of material in government archives, in government records.
11:32Look through before they can decide whether they have enough evidence.
11:38John, police were back out today still searching the Royal Lodge.
11:42That's where Andrew used to live in Windsor before being removed.
11:45Police also searched the king's 20,000-acre estate where Andrew now lives.
11:50Meanwhile, as for the king, Andrew's older brother, King Charles III, he went out for London Fashion Week on Thursday.
11:57He didn't speak about Andrew's arrest at the event, but he did say earlier in the day that he fully
12:02supports the authorities and that the law must take its course.
12:06Now, the fallout of the Epstein files here in the U.K. has been quite large.
12:10Of course, former British ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, was fired from his job.
12:15He's also under investigation right now.
12:18Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under quite a lot of pressure after his chief of staff was forced to resign.
12:28Well, the I-95 corridor could grind to a halt tomorrow
12:36with a major blizzard set to slam millions across the northeast.
12:40Forecasters say the second big winter storm this year could bring one to two feet of snow from Philadelphia to
12:47Boston
12:47and winds could approach hurricane force.
12:50National correspondent Brian Gennis is in New York City.
12:54I guess it's the calm before the storm right now, huh, Brian?
12:59Yeah, John, absolutely.
13:01And here we go again.
13:02A punishing winter is about to get worse for 75 million Americans who are now on this path of what
13:09looks to be a historic bomb cyclone.
13:12New York City is under a blizzard warning for the first time in nine years since March 2017.
13:21The National Weather Service also issuing blizzard warnings not only for New York City but for Long Island, coastal New
13:28Jersey, and coastal Connecticut.
13:31A blizzard is when sustained winds exceed more than 35 miles per hour
13:35and visibility drops to less than a quarter mile for at least three hours.
13:40And Fox Weather's peak wind gust forecast shows we're expecting 50 to 60 mile-an-hour wind gusts in New
13:46York City,
13:47Long Island, and Boston, 40 to 50 miles per hour in D.C. and Philadelphia.
13:53And monster snow totals are also forecast.
13:56We're talking historic levels potentially.
13:58New York City and Philadelphia expecting 12 to 18 inches of snow.
14:02The Jersey Shore, Long Island, Boston, 18 inches to two feet of snow.
14:09Now, New York City's Mayor Zoram Mamdani just had an emergency press conference on this blizzard,
14:13and this is his second snowstorm in his second month in office as a Democratic Socialist.
14:23And Mamdani was criticized for his response to the last storm last month that left 26 New Yorkers dead,
14:30including 19 outside in sub-zero temperatures.
14:33And look, there were also many people frustrated over snow and ice on the streets and sidewalks
14:38for more than a week after the storm.
14:40This time, he says, the city is ready and has taken unprecedented action.
14:46What we are utilizing is even more workers per shift than we saw in the last time around.
14:51We have more than 2,600 workers per 12-hour shifts.
14:54Those are beginning tomorrow.
14:56They will be supplemented by even more emergency snow shovelers who will be assisting them across the city.
15:01And what we are talking about is not only a response for tomorrow,
15:05but a response for Monday, for Tuesday, for Wednesday, and beyond.
15:10Sunday night and Monday morning, just in time for that commute.
15:13They are urging people to stay home if they can.
15:16And, John, if you plan on flying Sunday and Monday,
15:19major airlines are urging folks to change those flights.
15:22They are getting rid of those change fees as well as the difference in fares.
15:26They're saying they're also waiving that as well.
15:29This is going to be a beast.
15:31John.
15:31All right.
15:32We've been warned.
15:33National correspondent Brian Yenis.
15:35Thanks, Brian.
15:38Well, it is now day 21 in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
15:42Matt Finn, live in Tucson, Arizona, for us.
15:44Matt.
15:46Hey, John.
15:47The president of Crimestoppers, all the way in Milwaukee,
15:50personally gave $100,000 towards the Nancy Guthrie reward.
15:55We talked to him, and we'll tell you what he has to say.
16:00Today marks three weeks since Nancy Guthrie was last seen.
16:04In Tucson, Arizona, hundreds of investigators continue to comb through thousands of tips
16:08as the search continues for her and any suspects.
16:12Matt Finn has more from Tucson.
16:14Matt.
16:16John, the president of Crimestoppers, although he has $100,000, the Crimestoppers president says he hopes the money will incentivize
16:24people to talk,
16:25and he claims that people can call Crimestoppers and remain anonymous.
16:31The case wasn't solved.
16:33They weren't featuring Crimestoppers, which I thought was an important step.
16:41No one else did it, so I stepped in and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the
16:48arrest of the perpetrator.
16:52This afternoon, we're waiting on possible matches from DNA recovered from inside the house,
16:56but there's no guarantee on that or timeline.
16:59The sheriff also acknowledges more than one person could be involved.
17:04Here in Pima County, the 911 dispatch center is asking people to stop calling 911 with just theories or thoughts
17:10because it's clogging the phone lines and taking up detectives' time.
17:15We're looking for facts at this point.
17:21Opinions, people have thoughts, people have opinions as to how this investigation should be handled.
17:29Those are just not helpful to us.
17:33And the Pima County sheriff says investigators will be back out here at Nancy's neighborhood today
17:40talking to people and possibly collecting new evidence.
17:43Back to you, John.
17:44All right.
17:45Matt Finn in Tucson.
17:46Matt, thank you.
17:49For more on the Guthrie Search list, James Gagliano, retired FBI supervisory special agent, also a Fox News contributor.
17:57So it's been three weeks, James.
18:00Does it surprise you?
18:02Because it certainly surprises me that with the doorbell video and everything else,
18:06they don't seem to have any solid leads right now.
18:10Or if they do, they're keeping them very quiet.
18:15Yeah, John, day 21.
18:16And I've been out here off and on the past couple of weeks.
18:19And obviously, we've seen the ebbs and flows of the investigation.
18:23It's important to caution that just because we don't see boots on the ground,
18:27that does not necessarily translate into law enforcement isn't on an actionable lead and things aren't happening.
18:33I'm hearing through channels that the FBI is taking a more, I wouldn't say dominant role,
18:38but a more engaged role as far as this investigation is going.
18:42I believe that we need to have a press conference at some point in time.
18:48Early on, I cautioned that it was probably not in the best interest to continually give these updates
18:55when you're forced to walk back information you put out.
18:58But I now think that without a press conference, not the sheriff sitting one-on-one in his office with
19:04various reporters,
19:05I think the public has a right to know.
19:07And I think also that it would help move this investigation along.
19:10But if you call a press conference like that, aren't you going to generate more of those same kind of
19:15phone calls
19:17that the 9-11 dispatch manager was just complaining about?
19:20People are calling up the sheriff's department and saying,
19:23hey, I think she might be across the border in Mexico, that kind of thing.
19:27Yeah, you're going to sift through a lot of useless leads.
19:31But we still caution people to, if you see something, say something.
19:33And in this instance, I think I've heard that there's upwards of 30,000 bundles as far as sending agents
19:40out to do this.
19:41And look, you just spoke to Matt Finn, our reporter, and discussed the raising of the reward money.
19:47That's important.
19:48And I just want to put that in context.
19:50Think about 1932 and the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.
19:53In that instance, 1932, 94 years ago, the Lindberghs put up 50,000.
20:00The state of New Jersey put up 25,000.
20:03And that money was the equivalent of $1.8 million in today's dollars.
20:08So I think the additional money that was added, we went from $2,500 to $50,000 to $100,000
20:14and now to $200,000.
20:15I think that's going to generate more leads as well, John.
20:18Yeah, let's hope so.
20:19So we've seen the creep at the door in the doorbell video camera.
20:23But Mark Lamb, the former Pinal County sheriff, says he thinks there is more than one person involved here.
20:30Listen.
20:32There is more than one person involved here.
20:33Listen.
20:35I think that there's been an accomplice all the way along, whether it was somebody that gave inside information as
20:41to where she would be, where the cameras were on the house.
20:44These are tough crimes to pull off by yourself, a one-person thing.
20:48So I firmly believe that there's been an accomplice all along.
20:52And if there are accomplices, if there are, you know, more than one person involved and somebody starts feeling the
20:58heat, maybe because of the reward or something else, it's always possible that they could snitch on whoever else was
21:05involved.
21:07Yeah, I agree with Mark here because I think it's impossible, having been on the ground, having been in Nancy
21:14Guthrie's neighborhood, having walked much of the neighborhood, driven much of the neighborhood.
21:19I don't think it was possible for one person to be able to do that, one, to get a vehicle
21:23in there, not get picked up on a ring or nest doorbell camera, and two, to get Mrs. Guthrie alive
21:35or dead out of the house.
21:38I think it would have required some help.
21:39There definitely had to have been a vehicle.
21:41The terrain there is so arduous.
21:43I mean, it's the desert.
21:45It's the high desert.
21:46It would have been very difficult.
21:47I'm not 100% certain, but I have heard through channels that, yes, you have to keep the aperture open.
21:54You've got to look for as many people as possibly involved in this.
21:57I don't think it could be done by one person.
22:00There were the ransom demands fairly early on, and to my knowledge, those haven't absolutely been authenticated.
22:08It seems like whoever took her has gone radio silent unless there are communication channels open that we don't know
22:16anything about.
22:19Absolutely.
22:20And in this instance, you know, typically kidnappings happen for profit or for revenge.
22:25I mean, sometimes there's an ideological bent to them.
22:28This doesn't appear to be one of those.
22:30The fact that the FBI has not been able to certify 100% that those ransom notes are legitimate,
22:36that says to me that these were probably opportunists.
22:40I mean, social media, the attention this case has generated sometimes pulls people out of the woodwork to try to
22:45take advantage of a bad situation.
22:48This abduction, it defies gravity.
22:51It's like none that I worked north of the Mexican border or the time I spent south of the Mexican
22:56border.
22:56It just doesn't meet any of the metrics, John.
22:58And every day it just appears to be getting odder and odder in how this was done.
23:03James Gagliano, our Fox News contributor and a former FBI special agent, thanks for your insights, James.
23:10Thanks, John.
23:12Well, the U.S. is increasing Navy military strike on Iran, plus a former American Idol contestant now charged with
23:22murdering his wife, Madison Scarpino, with more on that.
23:26Madison.
23:27John, season 12 contestant Caleb Flynn is now facing murder charges after investigators say he shot his wife and staged
23:34a crime scene.
23:35Bill Mazeroski died yesterday at age 89.
23:38He won eight Golden Gloves as a Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman and might be best known for his iconic walk
23:44-off homer in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the Yankees.
23:50The second major winter storm this year is expected to hit the Northeast tomorrow.
23:54The blizzard forecast to bring up to 18 inches of snow from Philadelphia to New York City and Boston and
24:00winds up to 50 or even 60 miles an hour.
24:04In the Middle East, tensions are high as the U.S. military buildup near Iran could give President Trump the
24:10ability to carry out weeks of airstrikes if Tehran does not make a deal on its nuclear program.
24:17And the potential for a U.S.-Iran war is already affecting oil prices.
24:23Let's bring in oil trader and Fox Business contributor Phil Flynn.
24:28Phil, I go back to the attacks on Iran's nuclear program.
24:33The oil facilities were left pretty much alone in that strike.
24:37And I think most observers felt like President Trump doesn't want to see the oil facilities damaged and doesn't want
24:42to see oil prices spike.
24:44He's trying to get this economy under control and inflation down.
24:48What are you thinking?
24:49What are you expecting?
24:51No, I think you're absolutely right.
24:53I mean, when you look at the previous, it's always been about doing it in a strategic way with the
24:59least impact on oil prices as possible.
25:02You know, we saw that during the attack of Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
25:06We saw it in Venezuela, you know, with the quick removal of Maduro.
25:11And actually, that's one of the things that's probably going to be done, John.
25:15Because if you had to write a scenario about a potential oil price spike, you know, Iran's threat against the
25:21Strait of Hormuz is that script.
25:23And it's going to be very much a challenge.
25:26But I think President Trump has some plans to do that.
25:30So oil prices are climbing, as we noted in the introduction.
25:34Is that because of worries over Iran?
25:37It is.
25:38I mean, what we're seeing is what they call in the business risk premium being put in.
25:43You know, we buy the rumor of war.
25:45We sell the fact of war.
25:46And that happens all the time.
25:48And we've seen the prices move up dramatically.
25:50In fact, rent crude went to the highest level since the last time we attacked Iran.
25:55And, of course, people thought they'd go a lot higher after the attack.
25:59But it didn't come back down.
26:06Now, this is what the oil market's trying to wonder about this time.
26:10Is it going to be the same type of operations, quick, one and done, and it's over?
26:14You know, we're not sure.
26:17I mean, the amount of ships the Navy is sending over, this huge armada, they're getting prepared for a longer
26:24conflict.
26:25And if that's the case, it's going to have more of an impact on oil prices than it has in
26:30the past.
26:30We have a graphic showing oil prices and where they've been going back to March of 2025.
26:36You can see the dip in January of this year.
26:40We'll put that graphic on the screen here momentarily.
26:42You can see there's the dip around January of this year.
26:46And prices have been kind of on an upward spiral ever since.
26:50Now, these are oil prices, but you can pretty much directly translate that into gasoline prices.
26:56Phil?
26:58You sure can.
26:59I mean, when you see the price of oil go up, look at your gas tank, right, and diesel.
27:04You know, but I'll tell you, under President Trump, prices are generally lower than they were during the last administration.
27:10Even though they've been creeping up, they're still at relatively stable prices.
27:15You know, the market has been in balance.
27:17The extra supply we've been getting from Venezuela has kept those prices under control.
27:22But when you have a growing economy, you have more risk to supplies, you know, they start to go up.
27:27And, you know, the doomsday scenario here is if Iran tries to follow through with their threat, if attacked, to
27:35try to shut down the Strait of Hormuz,
27:36that's going to be the scenario the traders are going to watch.
27:39Because that could cause a major price spike.
27:42I don't think they're going to have the ability to do it over the long run.
27:45But even in the short run, it would have a major impact on prices, major impact on your wallet, too.
27:55Yeah, you talked about the prices under the Trump administration.
27:58If you go back a year when the president had just taken office, gasoline prices were averaging about $3.12
28:06a gallon, according to AAA.
28:08By last month, it had dropped nearly $0.30 to $2.83.
28:13Now it's up to $2.93.
28:15And I guess it sounds like, Phil, you expect it might go a bit higher, huh?
28:21I think it will, at least in the short term.
28:24Yeah, but we could see a price crash if there is some way to postpone this attack or if something
28:32doesn't happen.
28:33You know, if the Iranian regime gives in, I don't know if that's going to happen.
28:38But if it does, you could see the prices go down dramatically.
28:41I really think, you know, if you look at the way that the Trump administration, the U.S. military has
28:46planned these attacks, you know, I would think it would be successful.
28:50So any short-term pop, you know, probably would lead to an even bigger drop, you know, once the market
28:56calmed down and got a real viewpoint of how this attack or peace situation would work out.
29:03Yeah, well, the president is giving the mullahs a chance to come to the table.
29:08Let's see whether they take advantage of it.
29:11Phil Flynn, we'll be talking to you some more, I'm sure.
29:13Thanks, Phil.
29:14Thanks, John.
29:15Appreciate it.
29:16You bet.
29:18A former American Idol contestant now faces murder charges in the death of his wife.
29:2439-year-old Caleb Flynn booked after authorities say his wife, 37-year-old Ashley Flynn, was found shot to
29:31death in their Ohio home.
29:33Flynn has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody as the investigation continues.
29:38Madison Scarpino has more on this story.
29:41Madison.
29:43For the Lord and his wife.
29:46Well, now investigators are accusing him of shooting and killing her, staging a crime scene, all while his daughters were
29:52home.
29:52And he then allegedly tried to fool a 911 operator.
29:56Here's part of that call.
29:59Somebody, somebody broke into my home.
30:01Somebody broke into my home and shot my wife.
30:03Are they still in there?
30:04I don't know.
30:05I don't know.
30:06My wife is, she's got two shots to her head.
30:10There's blood everywhere.
30:11Oh, my God.
30:11Oh, my God.
30:12Oh, my God.
30:12The man, once described as a very talented church leader, is now charged with murder, two counts of felonious assault,
30:21and two counts of tampering with evidence.
30:23Flynn was booked into jail Thursday, three days after the murder.
30:26He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment yesterday, as his attorney says in part, quote,
30:31We are both disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment in this case.
30:41When the government runs out of leads or can't develop leads and looks at surviving spouses in cases such as
30:46these, the chance of a wrongful conviction increases.
30:49But the family of Ashley Flynn believes the arrest was made carefully and, quote, not without serious consideration.
30:56The 37-year-old mother was also a local teacher, a volleyball coach, and her family says she brought endless
31:03light into their worlds.
31:04Well, John, again, her husband is now in the local jail with a $2 million bond, and his attorney says
31:10that his next court appearance is set to be on Wednesday.
31:14Back to you.
31:14Wow, what a sad story, Madison. We'll keep an eye on it. Madison Scarpino, thank you.
31:20So we're approaching four years since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
31:26The latest on the push to finally find peace there. Next.
31:31The Munich Security Conference was a chance to burnish their foreign policy credentials and counter the Trump administration's approach to
31:39American alliances.
31:39California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among the possible 2028
31:51contenders who made their way to the annual summit.
31:54With Ocasio-Cortez making headlines for this answer on whether the U.S. should commit troops to defend Taiwan against
32:02an invasion from China.
32:03I think that this is such a, you know, I think that this is a, this is of course a
32:17very longstanding policy of the United States.
32:23And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to
32:29that point.
32:31We are back with our panel. So, Kim, what do you make of AOC's debut on the global stage?
32:39You have presidential ambitions. You feel you need to go to Munich. But if you're going to go to Munich,
32:46be prepared.
32:47One of the things I loved about AOC's answer there, she ended up mumbling something about longstanding U.S. policy
32:53without really knowing what the longstanding policy is.
32:56Making it even funnier that the actual longstanding policy is to not answer this question about whether or not we
33:02commit troops in the event of China invading or going after Taiwan.
33:08I don't think any of them made a particularly strong impression at that event.
33:13And that's a problem for the Democratic Party because this comes in the wake of Joe Biden, his very weak
33:20foreign policy, the lack of deterrence that he...
33:27Because the world has never been a more unsafe place, at least not in this century.
33:32And a lot of Americans are increasingly caring about strong leadership here.
33:36This was a terrible performance by all of those top leaders.
33:39Dan, did Gavin Newsom, the California governor, who really, really, really wants to be president,
33:45his main message to Europe was Donald Trump is an anomaly. This will pass. Just wait. The cavalry is coming,
33:53I guess, in the form of his presidency.
33:54What did you make of his message?
33:56I think the average European leader at this point in time, with the threat from Russia looming, would find it
34:02laughable that Newsom said that.
34:05Don't worry that Trump is...what they want is...the Europeans want more support from Trump.
34:12The thing about the Democrats here, Paul, is that foreign policy implies deterrence and defense spending.
34:18And this is a subject that they don't want to think about, so they don't.
34:22Donald Trump, to his credit, has proposed increasing defense spending to $1.5 trillion, 5% of GDP, up from
34:313.3%.
34:32The Democrats would never consider doing something like that, because they want all of that money spent on domestic programs.
34:40And so they have basically stopped thinking about foreign policy, and that is being reflected there in Munich by AOC
34:47and Governor Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom.
34:50And what do you make of Governor Whitmer's performance, Jason, in the larger context here, of the Democratic problem on
34:59foreign policy is the perception of weakness.
35:02Yes, exactly. Also, Paul, they don't prioritize it. I don't think particularly progressive Democrats do not really prioritize foreign policy,
35:12or they only do so insofar as to paint the U.S. as a force of evil throughout the world.
35:18So you saw AOC weighing in on genocide in Gaza and by Israel with the help of America, or that
35:26capturing Maduro was a war crime in Venezuela,
35:29even implying that the whole effort was part of some animus against brown people.
35:34She mentioned that they were below the equator, which was, of course, geographically incorrect, but that's what she was getting
35:39at.
35:39What was really motivating the U.S. to go down there and do that sort of thing?
35:44But yes, when you become president, you're not only president of the United States, you're leader of the free world.
35:49And if you have to think more deeply about these issues, then it's clear a lot of progressive Democrats have
35:55done.
35:55Kim, what about Whitmer? What struck you about her performance?
36:00Well, I mean, it was right up there with AOCs. It was incredible.
36:04She was asked again, like AOC, a very straightforward question.
36:08What's a good outcome in Ukraine?
36:10And she hemmed and hawed and said something about, well, it would be nice if they kept their landmass.
36:15This was, by the way, after she tried to dodge getting out of the question, saying, oh, why don't why
36:20don't you answer that ambassador?
36:21And the Trump ambassador said, no, I'd actually really like to hear what you have to say on that.
36:26And she went on to kind of, you know, there was a lot of ums and ahs, and it was
36:30clear, just utterly clear she was out of her depth.
36:33And I think these Democrats went to this event and they're so used to getting this spawning American press corps
36:39treatment where all they get to do is just, you know,
36:43monder on about Trump all day long.
36:45They get asked with these serious questions and they were just totally unprepared.
36:49And Dan, there was another motivation here, it seems, for AOC.
36:54And so that is to spread the kind of left wing populism in Europe to counter what they view as
37:00the right wing populism that J.D. Vance and others have been promoting in Europe.
37:05So they're spreading a lot of class warfare.
37:08Unfortunately, Europe's problem is they got too much socialism already.
37:11That's why they can't grow.
37:13And they know it.
37:14They're moving away from that.
37:15And they know they have a spend more on defense, which is precisely the opposite of what AOC's message was.
37:21So I don't think it came across over there.
37:24All right.
37:24When we come back, FCC Chair Brendan Carr dismisses as a hoax the furor over Stephen Colbert's unaired interview with
37:32a Texas.
37:33With a Texas.
37:35Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr this week dismissed as a hoax the controversy surrounding Stephen Colbert's unaired interview with
37:44Texas.
37:44Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico.
37:47Colbert said Monday that CBS lawyers pulled the segment for fear that it would violate the.
37:56That Colbert could run the.
37:59Interview that he wanted with that political candidate.
38:02They just said you may have to comply with equal time, which would have meant potentially giving air time to
38:07Jasmine Crockett and another candidate.
38:09But instead of doing that, they claimed that they were victims.
38:13This was all about a political candidate trying to get attention and clicks.
38:18We are back with our panel.
38:21And Dan from Tallarico's point of view, it worked great because he got to went on social media and got
38:25many, many more clicks and views than he would have done.
38:29Had he had run on the, on the, on the network.
38:32Is Carr right?
38:34No, he's not right.
38:36Tallarico couldn't have been more overjoyed.
38:38He raised two and a half million dollars online.
38:40And this is the point, Paul.
38:42He raised it on social media.
38:43The equal time rule for cable television.
38:48And the idea was that the networks had so much power that if they did anything politically, they had to
38:54give somebody else time.
38:55The world of media has changed so much in the years since.
38:59We have so many social platforms.
39:01There are podcasters out there, influencers, all different kinds of ways to raise money other than just going on Stephen
39:08Colbert's show.
39:08The equal time rule is just a dinosaur from the past.
39:14And the Trump administration, Mr. Carr at the FCC, is trying to raise it to try to bully some of
39:19these legacy networks into being kinder to Donald Trump.
39:24But as a legal matter, I think it's just a non-starter.
39:27What do you think about Colbert blaming his network for this?
39:31Non-starter.
39:32What do you think about Colbert blaming his network for this, blaming his employer, CBS, for this?
39:38Now, he's going to be off the air in a few months anyway.
39:41But he's basically saying, blame this evil corporation to help Tallarico.
39:50Is CBS the bad guy here or is the FCC?
39:54Well, you do have a little bit or I do have a little bit of sympathy for the Stephen Colbert's
39:59out there and the Jimmy Kemmel's and the rest of these guys on broadcast television because they get government supervision.
40:04Right.
40:05Whereas, you know, Bill Maher and, you know, Joe Rogan, Dan was mentioning the prominence of social media these days,
40:12get to do what they want, say what they want.
40:14And this is because broadcast media is regulated by this equal time rule.
40:19But cable news and are not.
40:23And it's also arguably a free speech issue when it comes to broadcast media as well and whether the government
40:29is interfering with that.
40:30So as Dan said, this is outdated regulation.
40:34The 1934 Communications Act is where we get this equal time rule from.
40:39It's a relic of that.
40:40Well, you remember that fight, don't you?
40:42Yeah, pretty much.
40:44Okay.
40:45But yeah, get rid of all of it is what I would say.
40:48Well, Kim, okay, so explain to me why the free market Trump administration is and the free market FCC supposedly
40:56is actually trying to resurrect this rule.
40:59And if they do it and succeed and, you know, basically insisting that if Colbert has a Democrat, he must
41:06have another Democrat for a primary and then must have a Republican on.
41:10These are new.
41:11These are comedy late night shows, not news shows.
41:14So why is the administration doing this?
41:18Yeah, I don't know.
41:19You explain it to me, Paul.
41:20I mean, look, Brendan Carr, when he was a commissioner in the Biden administration, was a hero to those of
41:28us who believe in free speech because he was just an indefatigable proponent of it and constantly trying to make
41:37sure there was more speech.
41:40The Kamala Harris appearance on Saturday Night Live a couple of days before the 2024 election and Republicans cried foul.
41:49You know, it's a much watched show.
41:51And and they, you know, they ended up trying to make it up to Donald Trump by having him run
41:55some messages during some sporting events.
41:57But they have been on a tear ever since then.
42:00And, you know, this equal time rule, Congress had actually gone and exempted hard news from it.
42:06And it had kind of just faded into obscurity.
42:09It could have easily have stayed in obscurity.
42:12And I think it's important to note that this was instead a proactive move by the Trump administration and Carr
42:17to revive it under this new claim that, well, there's these, you know, they're going after the view with an
42:23action because it's a mix between news and entertainment and therefore should be a different category.
42:31This is not necessary.
42:32It's clearly designed to bully the bully the networks into being nicer to Republicans, even though we now live in
42:41this world, as Jason and Dan are saying, where these kind of distinctions are just irrelevant given how much media
42:47there is everywhere.
42:48And if Congress doesn't repeal it, the Democrats, when they get back in power, we'll try to use it to
42:53stifle Republicans.
42:56All right. We have to take one more break when we come back.
42:58Hits and misses of the week.
43:02A hit to Palantir, the tech giant that got a start in California, fled that high-tech state to move
43:08to Denver and has now announced this week it's fleeing that high-tech state to go to Miami.
43:13This is a reminder that it's not just New York and California that risk losing some of their productive members
43:20with taxes and regulations and a reminder that one of the greatest American freedoms remains federalism, the right to move
43:28to a new place to hire that U-Haul truck, Paul.
43:31All right, Jason.
43:32Well, this is a miss for the teachers unions in California who are organizing walkouts up and down the state.
43:38They want higher, better pay packages for their members.
43:42The problem, Paul, is that more and more families are opting out of traditional public schools.
43:51In Los Angeles since 2018, there are 20 percent fewer kids in the school system.
43:56But the number of teachers has remained the same.
43:58And the number of teachers staff has actually gone up over that period.
44:01If we're going to give teachers higher pay, it should at least be linked to accountability in the classroom.
44:06All right. And Dan.
44:07Well, my miss goes to the American auto companies whose failed romance with electric vehicles has led to about $50
44:13billion in write downs.
44:15What an astounding loss.
44:17Part of the collapse, of course, is because Congress ended the $7,500 subsidy or tax credit for EV purchases.
44:23But the larger reason is really that despite endless promotion from the media and the car companies of electric vehicles
44:35saving the planet, the public just didn't buy the sales pitch.
44:39This really may be history's biggest example of the disconnect between elite opinion and the public's common sense.
44:46All right. Thank you, Dan. And remember, if you have your own hit or miss, be sure to send it
44:51to us at JER on FNC.
44:54That's it for this week's show. Thanks to my panel and to all of you for watching.
44:59I'm Paul Chigot. Hope to see you right here next week.
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