Trump Agrees to Temporary Ceasefire with Iran, DOJ Fraud Crackdown, Ye's UK Setback: AM Update 4/8
President Trump secures a temporary two-week ceasefire with Iran, contingent on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and accepting Tehran's ten-point proposal including sanctions removal. Simultaneously, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch launches a National Fraud Enforcement Division with 93 new prosecutors to combat taxpayer fraud, while DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen threatens customs operations at non-cooperative airports like LAX. Finally, Kanye West faces a UK entry ban for the Wireless Festival due to past controversies, derailing his comeback. These developments highlight a surge in executive enforcement actions across foreign policy, domestic justice, and cultural regulation. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: CohereLabs/cohere-transcribe-03-2026, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Double-Sided Ceasefire Proposal00:04:53
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Good morning everyone.
I'm Emily Jaschinski, host of Afterparty and the Megan Kelly Wrap-Up Show on SiriusXM Channel 111.
It's Wednesday, April 8th, 2026, and this is your AM update.
A last minute deal in the Iran standoff with less than two hours to spare.
President Trump pulling back from the brink and agreeing to a conditional ceasefire with Iran.
When I see reporting about shock and awe at this supposed weaponization of this department, it means nothing to me because it's completely false.
Acting AG Todd Blanch announcing a new nationwide fraud fighting unit and forcefully pushing back on media claims the department is being politicized.
We're asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they're not going to enforce immigration policy.
DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen suggests a major escalation against sanctuary cities, potentially stripping customs operations from airports in cities that refuse to work with federal immigration authorities.
And Kanye West's comeback effort hits a roadblock as the U.K. bans him from entering the country.
All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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With just 88 minutes to spare before President Trump's 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to make a deal or face massive destruction, Mr. Trump announcing a temporary two-week ceasefire yesterday, beginning with a stark warning from the president, declaring on Truth Social, quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.
Following that threat, Iran reportedly breaking off direct communications with U.S. negotiators while continuing talks through intermediaries, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A public intervention from Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif posting a proposed compromise on Axe, urging the U.S. to extend the deadline by two weeks and calling on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture during that same period.
Hours later, President Trump responding on TrueSocial, agreeing to a conditional pause, contingent on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr. Trump writing, quote, I agreed to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.
This will be a double-sided ceasefire.
The president writing that the U.S. has already met and exceeded its military objectives and is now, quote, very far along on what he describes as a definitive agreement toward long-term peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Trump adding the U.S. has received a 10-point proposal from Iran, now serving as the basis for continued negotiations.
The Israelis also reluctantly agreeing to the ceasefire, according to CNN.
The New York Times reporting Iran accepted the terms of the deal after last-minute prodding from China to show flexibility and defuse tensions, quote, amid growing concerns about the economic devastation from damages to critical infrastructure.
The ceasefire reportedly approved by new Supreme Leader Mashtaba Khomeini, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi releasing a statement, quote, for a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordinating with Iran's armed forces.
The Wall Street Journal publishing the 10 points in Iran's proposal.
Justice Department Enforcement Mission00:12:23
outlining sweeping demands.
The plan calling for the U.S. to commit to guaranteeing non-aggression and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region.
Iran insisting on maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz and acceptance of a nuclear program involving uranium enrichment.
The proposal calling for the removal of all sanctions, both direct and secondary, targeting foreign entities doing business with Iran.
Dropsite news reporter Ryan Grimm pointing out the 10-point plan has been in circulation for weeks.
The New York Times reporting the U.S. and Israel received a copy on Monday.
President Trump saying, quote, it's a significant step.
It's not good enough, but it's a very significant step.
It is unclear if there are significant changes to the 10-point plan between then and last night.
Oil prices dropping drastically on the news.
Brent oil, the international benchmark, dropping from about $110 per barrel, where it hovered most of the day, to about $91.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch announcing a new nationwide initiative targeting fraud in his first press conference since taking over the Justice Department from former AG Pambondi last week.
The Trump administration making fraud enforcement a top priority, swearing in Colin McDonald last week as the first ever Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement.
Here, AG Blanch outlining the mission.
I'm proud to announce in greater detail the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
Its core mission will be to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal taxpayer dollars and rip off the American people.
Our vision is to build a robust fraud fighting squad capable of investigating and prosecuting the full spectrum of fraud against taxpayer dollars.
Every U.S. attorney's office across the country will also be joining this re energized fight against fraud.
This means in pure numbers that there will be an additional 93 prosecutors in every district across the country devoted to the mission of combating fraud with the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The new division will bring together data and investigators from across the entire government so that you can track down even the most sophisticated fraudsters and hold them accountable.
The rollout quickly giving way to pointed questions from the press about Blanche himself and the direction of the Justice Department.
Blanche, before joining the administration, served as President Trump's personal attorney, defending him in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, the election interference case, and the New York business records case.
Reporters pressing him on how that background could shape his leadership at the Justice Department and whether the Trump administration is weaponizing the department.
One reporter referencing a recent comment by A.G. Blanche at a political conference where he told the audience that not a single prosecutor who participated in the Trump prosecutions remains in office today.
The reporter asking if that's a sign the DOJ is firing people for political reasons.
Mr. Blanche's response.
It's much more simple than that.
I mean, look, if you were a prosecutor and you were trying to prosecute your boss, you have ethical duties as a lawyer that I think prevent you from continuing to work in that environment.
And so, in this case, what we saw and what President Trump went through, every single prosecutor in this department, whether you're in AUSA or working here, you have a duty to do the right thing.
And so, in cases where you had prosecutors that were absolutely not doing the right thing, okay?
And so, none of those prosecutors, I hope everybody agrees they shouldn't work here if you're not doing the right thing.
And that's what I meant by that.
And, you know, listen, it's been talked about a lot, but what happened the last four years is something that will never happen again.
When questioned about the White House's role in directing fraud investigations, A.G. Blanch responding forcefully What if the White House or somebody in the White House says, we want you to investigate this state or this program?
I mean, how do you.
Handle that because historically, as you know, since Watergate, there's been a kind of a firewall, if you will, on criminal investigations between the White House and the Justice Department.
I mean, that is the most false statement I've ever heard in my life.
There is always communication between a president and his priorities and what the Department of Justice should be focused on and not focused on.
That is not a new thing in this administration, although I know it sounds fun to say that it is.
So, as far as whether we would take a referral from the White House or take a referral from you, even, yes, I mean, yes, if somebody knows about fraud.
Please tell us.
And so, if the president of our United States says, I have heard that there is ongoing fraud in Minneapolis, Minnesota, like any president before him, I hope that the attorney general would absolutely say, Yes, we'll investigate that.
Blanche rejecting ongoing claims of, quote, weaponization of the DOJ and arguing the department is finally being refocused on its core mission.
What we're doing and what we've been doing for the past 14 months is changing this department.
We're no longer.
People say the president wants to go after his political enemies.
No, the president has said time and time again that he wants justice.
And if you look at what happened to him, his family, his administration, the agents that protected him, people that happened or just walked by him on a given day, they got subjected to massive investigations by this department.
So I understand the question, and I understand the pretty constant role of the media that somehow this department is weaponizing itself.
But it happens not to be true.
We have tens of thousands of prosecutors all over this country putting bad guys in jail.
That's something that wasn't happening like it should have been happening for the past four years.
That's going to happen tomorrow, and it's going to happen in the coming days.
Coming up, DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen raising the stakes against sanctuary cities, suggesting airports in non cooperative areas could lose customs operations in their airports.
And Kanye West's comeback derailed overseas, banned from entering the UK ahead of a major music festival.
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Newly sworn in DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen speaking with Fox News on Monday in his first major interview since taking the job in late March, stepping into a department still mired in what is now the longest government shutdown in American history.
Funding for DHS expiring mid February, and with lawmakers currently on recess, negotiations remain stalled and complicated.
Secretary Mullen, who just left the Senate to take the role, says the impasse is simply political theater.
Unfortunately, what you see from a lot of Democrats right now is political theater.
Because what they've done is they've defunded the Department of Homeland Security.
I mean, that's like defunding the Department of War, right?
The Department of War takes care of us abroad.
The Department of Homeland Security, we take care of everything that is in our backyard.
ICE agents are simply trying to enforce the policies that Congress passed.
I don't get to pick and choose which policies I enforce.
I enforce all the policies that Congress put on my plate.
If Corey and some of our Democrats want to change it, then let's have immigration reform.
But instead, they're wanting to defund ICE and they're wanting to defund our Custom and Border Patrol.
Essentially, what they're saying is, we don't want to deport any of our felonies or our felons or the criminals that are here that came underneath the Biden administration, and they want to open our border completely.
And I don't know how we get past that.
At the same time, the Trump administration pushing forward on a separate front its effort to conduct the largest mass deportation effort in history, which Secretary Mullen says has already resulted in nearly 3 million removals since taking office.
A major obstacle sanctuary jurisdictions, where local policies restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The administration ramping up pressure on these jurisdictions, threatening funding cuts, and increasing federal immigration enforcement efforts, with many of those actions facing legal challenges.
On Fox, Secretary Mullen suggesting the federal government may revisit whether sanctuary cities should process international arrivals.
Some of these cities have international airports.
If they're a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?
I mean, seriously, if they're a sanctuary city and they're receiving international flights and we're asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they're not going to enforce immigration policy, maybe we need to have a really hard look at that because we need to focus on cities that want to work with us.
So you're saying that big cities that are sanctuary cities that have a big airport, they might lose their customers?
Well, I'm saying we're going to have to start prioritizing things at some point.
Such a move could potentially block those airports from receiving international flights altogether.
In August, then Attorney General Pam Bondi officially identified dozens of jurisdictions accused of obstructing federal immigration enforcement, including cities home to some of the busiest international airports in the country LAX in Los Angeles, SFO in San Francisco, Chicago O'Hare, Newark, New York's JFK, among others.
An attempt to remove customs from any of these ports of entry would certainly result in legal challenges.
The next step in Kanye West's attempted comeback hitting a major setback overseas after the UK blocks the rapper's entry into the country, where he was set to headline a major music festival.
Ye working to re-enter the public sphere in recent months, releasing a new album in late March and selling out two shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last week, earning about $33 million, according to Bloomberg.
The renewed push coming after years of controversy that derailed much of his career.
including a series of anti-Semitic remarks beginning in 2022, which led major partners like Adidas, Balenciaga, Gap, and talent agency CAA to cut ties.
In January, West taking out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for his past statements and attributing his behavior in part to bipolar disorder, writing that during manic episodes, quote, you feel like you're seeing the world more clearly, when in reality, you're losing your grip entirely.
Despite the repeated controversy, his latest album, Bully, performing strongly.
debuting at number two on the Billboard 200, marking his 14th top 10 album, according to Variety.
Ye aiming to build on that momentum this summer, with plans to headline London's Wireless Festival in July, one of the largest hip hop festivals in Europe, drawing about 50,000 people per day.
That announcement sending corporate sponsors fleeing, major brands including PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch InBev withdrawing their support.
Then yesterday, the UK government denying West's travel authorization, Determining his presence would not be, quote, conducive to the public good, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In response, event organizers canceling the wireless festival entirely, issuing refunds to ticket holders.
Ye has yet to publicly respond following the cancellation.
Festival Cancelled After Sponsor Flight00:00:32
That'll do it for your AM update.
I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party.
Catch the Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon East on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly and all podcast platforms.
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