Suspect left note saying he planned to kill Charlie Kirk, later confessed in texts, prosecutor says
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university has been charged with aggravated murder. The charge means 22-year-old Tyler Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem. Robinson appeared briefly before a judge by video from jail. Kirk was gunned down Sept. 10 as he spoke with students and died soon after. Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby campus building. Robinson also is charged with felony discharge of a firearm and obstructing justice. Prosecutors say Robinson’s DNA was found on the trigger of the gun used to kill Kirk.
Social media has us in its grip and won't let go. The Charlie Kirk killing is a case study
Charlie Kirk's mastery of social media was key to his becoming a force in conservative politics. The extent to which Kirk's killing and its aftermath have played out on those forums shouldn't come as a surprise. Links to videos of Kirk being shot flooded social media platforms like X, TikTok and Instagram before his death was even announced. Since then, social media has become the town square for increasingly strident debate and the forum for which conservatives have sought to punish people they feel aren't offering Kirk the proper respect. Divisive posts and conspiracy theories are pushed forward through algorithms on social media sites, since they drive interest to advertisers.
Israeli military begins its ground offensive in Gaza City as thousands of Palestinians flee
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has launched its offensive in Gaza City, vowing to overwhelm a city already in ruins from nearly two years of war. Vehicles strapped with mattresses and other belongings clogged a coastal road as thousands of Palestinians fled Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands more remain. The operation into the largest Palestinian city further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceasefire farther out of reach. The military wouldn’t offer a timeline for the offensive, but Israeli media suggested it could take months. It says it aims to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure.”
FBI Director Kash Patel clashes with skeptical Democrats at contentious Senate hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel is defending his record and pushing back on criticism that he has politicized law enforcement. The appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee was the first oversight hearing of Patel’s young but tumultuous tenure. It provided a high-stakes platform for him to try to demonstrate that he is the right person to lead the FBI at a time of internal upheaval and mounting concerns about political violence after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Patel boasted that the man suspected in Kirk’s killing was arrested within 33 hours, but acknowledged he should have been more careful in a statement about the investigation.
Robert Redford, Oscar-winning director, actor and indie patriarch, dies at 89
Robert Redford has died at 89. The Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema died in Utah on Tuesday. His publicist didn't immediately provide a cause of death. After rising to stardom in the 1960s, Redford was one of the biggest stars of the ’70s with such films as “The Candidate,” “All the President’s Men” and “The Way We Were.” Redford played the wily outlaw opposite Paul Newman in 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” a box-office smash from which Redford’s Sundance Institute and festival got its name.
Trump's UK visit will mix trade and tech talks with royal pomp
LONDON (AP) — Donald Trump has arrived in the United Kingdom, where he'll become the first U.S. president to get a second state visit to the U.K. As Trump left the White House on Tuesday, he noted that during his past state visit he was hosted at Buckingham Palace and this time he'll be at Windsor Castle, which he says people call “the ultimate.” Trump will meet King Charles III at Windsor Castle and hold talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers. Trump says U.K. officials want to continue trade negotiations during his visit. The British government hopes a multibillion-dollar technology deal will show strong trans-Atlantic ties despite differences over Ukraine and the Middle East.
Democrats stake out opposition to spending bill, raising threat of a shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders are lashing out at a stop-gap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month. They warned Republicans they will not support a measure that doesn’t address their concerns on the soaring cost of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. House Republicans unveiled the spending bill Tuesday. It would keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to work out their differences. Republicans said that they were providing exactly what Democrats have insisted upon in past government shutdown battles — a clean funding bill free of partisan policy riders.
FDA takes aim at Hims & Hers, weight loss drugs in new advertising blitz
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has issued its first warnings to online services that offer unofficial versions of popular drugs like the blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday sent letters to Hims & Hers and dozens of other companies, ordering them to halt “false and misleading” statements about their medications. It's the first time regulators have gone after online prescribing services, which don't typically fall under FDA authority. The FDA says that Hims must drop language comparing its compounded drugs to brands like Wegovy, which are approved by the FDA.
New York judge tosses terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, lets murder count stand
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has dismissed terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione in New York state’s case over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but he kept the state’s second-degree murder charges against him. Judge Gregory Carro ruled Tuesday that although there is no doubt that the killing was not an ordinary street crime, New York law doesn’t consider something terrorism simply because it was motivated by ideology. The ruling came as Mangione made his first court appearance in the state case since February. The 27-year-old Ivy League graduate has attracted a cult following as a stand-in for frustrations with the health insurance industry after Thompson was fatally shot in Manhattan in December.
Georgia Supreme Court declines to hear Fani Willis’ appeal of her removal from Trump election case
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s highest court has declined to consider Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ appeal of her removal from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others. The Georgia Court of Appeals had ruled that Willis and her office could not continue to prosecute the case because of an “appearance of impropriety” created by a romantic relationship she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to lead the case. Willis appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, which on Tuesday declined to take up the case. That means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case.
