NYC Shooting Victims Identified, DOJ vs. Boasberg, EPA to Kill Climate Rule: AM Update 7/30

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Good morning, everyone.

I'm Megan Kelly.

It's Wednesday, July 30th, 2025, and this is your AM update.

New details on the victims of the Midtown Manhattan shooting.

The Department of Justice is asking that a special investigative committee have an inquiry to determine if the conduct was prejudicial.

The DOJ filing a complaint against DC's chief district court judge alleging judicial misconduct against the Trump administration.

So this has been referred to as basically driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldon announcing a major proposal aimed at gutting strict Obama-era greenhouse gas emission regulations.

And the Democratic New York City mayoral candidate struggles to collect endorsements even from the most progressive Democrats.

All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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New details emerging about the victims of the Monday mass shooting in a Manhattan commercial office building home to the NFL, which authorities say appears to have been the shooter's intended target.

A suicide note found on the shooter's body claiming he suffered from CTE, a brain disease linked to head trauma commonly found in former NFL players, of which he was not one.

The 27-year-old lone gunman killing four people, three civilians, and one police officer, leaving a fourth victim in critical condition before turning the gun on himself.

An unarmed security guard, 46-year-old Aland Etienne, among the victims, shot while taking cover behind a security desk in the lobby.

Mr.

Etienne's brother telling the New York Times, quote, he was a father, a son, and a light in our lives.

Our hearts are shattered.

Blackstone executive, 44-year-old Wesley Lepatner, survived by her husband, whom she met on their first day freshman year at Yale University and two children.

The family releasing a statement, quote, she was the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and relative who enriched our lives in every way imaginable.

An associate for Rudin Management, the company that owns the high-rise where the shooting took place, 27-year-old Julia Hyman, also killed when the shooter appears to have mistakenly arrived on her floor while in search for the NFL offices.

Hyman, a Cornell graduate, had been with Rudin for less than a year.

NYPD officer Didarul Islam, working a paid security detail at the time of the shooting, leaves behind an eight-months pregnant wife and two young sons.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch Tuesday afternoon providing an update on the investigation into the gunman.

The weapon used, an AR-15 style assault rifle, was assembled by using a lower receiver purchased by an associate.

We have located that associate and others, and will be questioning him about that purchase.

Two groups of detectives are currently en route to Las Vegas to conduct interviews and execute a search warrant.

They'll also visit the gun store where he legally purchased a revolver on June 12th using a Nevada concealed carry permit.

A shooting at the Grand Sierra Resort Casino in Rideau, Nevada, also on Monday, leaving three dead and several more injured.

Investigators yet to reveal much information about the attack, though they say there is no reason to believe there was any connection between the suspect and the victims.

The suspect remains in critical condition, Reno police officers returning fire after the rampage began, preventing the shooter from entering the casino.

Authorities releasing the identity of just one victim so far, Andrew Canepa, a co-owner of a cafe in Newberry Park, California.

Canepa was attending a bachelor party.

At least three of the the victims were part of that same group waiting at a valet stand when they were met with gunfire.

A former neighbor of Canepa telling the Ventura County Star, quote, Canepa's son was the love of his life.

Oh, it's just so awful.

On Monday evening, Attorney General Pam Bondi posting to X, quote, today at my direction, the DOJ filed a misconduct complaint.

against U.S.

District Court Chief Judge James Boesberg for making improper public comments about President Trump and his administration.

These comments have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that.

This filing in response to a story we reported to you here about two weeks ago with investigative journalist at the Federalist Margot Cleveland.

The Federalists exclusively obtaining a memo from the March Judicial Conference, a biannual meeting of the lead judges from the various circuits, detailing a concern raised by Obama-appointed DC District Chief Judge James Bozberg.

According to the memo, Judge Boseberg, quote, raised his colleagues' concerns that the administration would disregard rulings of federal courts leading to a constitutional crisis.

Chief Justice Roberts addressing the concerns by talking about his interactions with President Trump, noting them to be civil and respectful, expressing hope that no such crisis would materialize.

Cleveland explaining why Judge Bosberg's comments were inappropriate.

The first reason that that's inappropriate is because the Trump administration is not just the administration separate branch of government.

Judges can criticize the executive branch just like the executive branch can criticize the judiciary.

But here the criticism was about the president as a defendant and that they would disregard court orders.

The second reason that that was an inappropriate comment, again, the comment is inappropriate because of what it conveys.

And that was that they had not not just prejudged the president, but that it goes against the normal presumption that the courts are supposed to have, which is that public officials will properly discharge their official duties.

So my bigger concern was the comment is not that it was made.

There's a concern there about comments on public cases.

But my biggest concern is the sentiment that it indicates or represents, which is that there is this anti-Trump bias and that the judges are not presuming that public officials are probably discharging the law, but rather that Trump is not going to do what they are told to do, what he or his administration is told to do.

In fact, just days after that comment, Judge Bozberg went on to block the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan nationals, alleged gang members, to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, then scheduling contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for failing to halt deportation flights already underway.

The Supreme Court ultimately vacating Judge Boseberg's injunction order, ruling that Alien Enemy Act cases must be brought in the district where the illegal immigrants are detained.

Given that the detainees were in Texas, the High Court found Judge Boseberg's court in Washington, D.C.

was the wrong venue.

Bozberg held on to the case anyway, proceeding with his contempt hearing and finding probable cause that the Trump administration removed the aliens in criminal contempt of Judge Bozberg's orders.

That finding has been appealed to a higher court.

The misconduct complaint just filed against Judge Bozberg by the DOJ reads: quote, within days of his statements to the Chief Justice, Judge Bozberg began acting on his preconceived belief that the Trump administration would not follow court orders.

By singling out a sitting president who was and remains a party to dozens of active cases, Judge Boseberg attempted to transform a routine housekeeping agenda into a forum to persuade the Chief Justice and other federal judges of his preconceived belief that the Trump administration would violate court orders.

Cleveland walking us through the finer points of the DOJ complaint.

They argue that Judge Bosberg's words and deeds violated three different canons, including canon one that says a judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.

Canon two that states that a judge should at all times promote public confidence in the integrity and partiality of the judiciary.

And then canon three,

which says that a judge should not make public comments on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's Chief of Staff, Chad Mizell, addressing the complaint to the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Sri Srivanasan.

Cleveland here on what happens next.

The Chief Judge of the DC Circuit will decide whether or not to launch an investigation based on this, and then he will make recommendations.

So, in this case, the Department of Justice is asking that a special investigative committee have an inquiry to determine if the conduct was prejudicial.

And he also is asking, or I should say the department is also asking that in the interim that the court reassign the cases to another judge, so the cases in which Trump is before Judge Boesberg.

And then they also request any appropriate disciplinary action.

It could be that there's a public reprimand or a reference to the judicial conference for consideration of any sort of impeachment-related recommendations if the committee finds that it was a willful misconduct, I highly doubt that it is going to get to that point.

I don't think that Judge Bosberg was purposely trying to express bias.

I think that it was actually him saying what he thought and what the other judges thought.

And frankly, that's the problem, that they had prejudged a party in a lawsuit and that that is inappropriate, but at least we know what his state of mind was because he actually verbalized it.

The timeline for when Chief Judge Srivanasan will act on the complaint remains unclear.

Coming up, the EPA is planning to repeal an Obama-era regulation in a move described as, quote, a dagger to the heart of the climate change religion.

And former Transportation Secretary Pete Budigej has no problem praising New York City Democratic candidate for mayor Zoran Mamdani, but stops short of an official endorsement.

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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday announcing what he says is the largest deregulatory action in the history of America.

Zeldin putting forward a plan to rescind an Obama-era regulatory determination called the Endangerment Finding, which says six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are a threat to public health and welfare and therefore can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

The Obama administration and later the Biden administration using that determination to apply strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, airplanes, power plants, and other major sources of fossil fuel emissions, they did it through the EPA as an end-around Congress.

Zeldin, Tuesday, on the Ruthless podcast, blasting the endangerment finding as junk science.

The left would say that it means that carbon dioxide is a pollutant.

Carbon dioxide is an endangerment to

human health.

They might say methane is a pollutant.

Methane is an endangerment to human health.

And that's an oversimplified, I would say, inaccurate way to describe it.

They'll never acknowledge any type of benefit or need for carbon dioxide.

Just stop breathing, right?

Yeah, like right now, as we're doing this interview, I mean,

it's important to note, and they don't, how important it is for the planet.

And they'll say, well, let me lock you in a tank of just carbon dioxide.

Well, it's like, you lock me in a tank of just water and see what happens.

I guess bad things would happen if I was just stuck in that tank full of water.

They then actually studied carbon dioxide individually and they made assumptions on the science that actually turned out not to be true.

And they didn't go out for public comment and they didn't weigh the economic impacts of the regulations that would follow if they did the endangerment.

The proposal now entering a 45-day period allowing for public comments.

Zeldin expressing confidence in the process to the fellas.

We're going to go out to public comment.

We're not afraid of allowing the public to weigh in.

We are going to consider all of the advancements in technology over the course of the last 20 years.

We shouldn't shy away from all of the innovation in the way that we tap into an energy supply here in the United States better than so many other countries around the world.

We aren't going to ignore the fact that emissions are down in this country over the course of the last 20 years.

Legacy media reacting in a predictably negative fashion.

The New York Times reporting, quote: The proposal would be President Trump's most significant step yet to derail federal climate efforts.

It marks a notable shift in the administration's position from one that had downplayed the threat of global warming to one that essentially flatly denies the overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change.

The final rule likely to face legal challenges from environmental groups, many of which have pocketed millions of U.S.

taxpayer dollars since the endangerment finding under the banner of fighting climate change.

Far left socialist Democrat nominee for New York City mayor, Zoran Mamdani, struggling to pick up endorsements from his fellow Democrats, including far-left progressive former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Monday on the NPR Morning Edition podcast, Butijej lavishing praise on the candidate, but then going a little clammy when asked about an endorsement.

I want to remind people that we're talking in New York City, where the Democratic candidate for mayor, the nominee for mayor, is Zoran Mamdani.

What do you make of him?

I think that what he achieved is extraordinary.

No matter what the context, the topic, the news of the day, he went straight to the thing that was on New Yorkers' minds, which is how hard it is to afford anything, rent, groceries, you name it.

I think that he also, just as a matter of campaign strategy, was omnipresent.

He was everywhere.

He was going on podcasts.

He was doing social media.

And so I think a lot of more conventional political operatives didn't see him coming.

Would you endorse him?

Say, Big Ten approach.

I don't agree with him about everything, but I endorse him.

He hasn't asked me to endorse.

I'm not really a player in New York City municipal politics, but that's something that he asked.

I would talk to him about it, sure.

You would talk to him about it.

Meaning, you're not sure that you would or wouldn't.

Yeah, I would want, to be honest, as somebody who follows this from afar but hasn't exactly dug in on it, I haven't kind of dug in on these policy proposals he's put forward and how they would actually work.

I'd want to kind of talk through that.

I think the most important job, though, of any mayor, and by the way, I also emerged as a very young, some would have said, untested, disruptive figure running for mayor, right?

The most important job of any mayor is to pull a community together.

You are the walking symbol of what all of the diverse, disparate people in your city have in common.

And if I get a chance to talk with him, I want to talk with him about how he aims to do that.

Awkward.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, representing Brooklyn, Congressman Richie Torres, representing the Bronx, Congressman Dan Goldman, representing Lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, among several others, all yet to endorse Mom Donnie.

The elections in November, where former Democrats Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo are also running as independents.

And that'll do it for your AM update.

I'm Megan Kelly.

Join me back here for the Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at Noon East, on youtube.com/slash Megan Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.

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