Erika Kirk Unanimously Elected CEO and Chair of Turning Point USA
The organization has received 62,000+ requests from high school and college students nationwide to get involved in recent weeks
GetSmart Preview: The Red Panda’s Self-Defense Tactic is More Cute than Scary
Newsbites
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by .25% on Wednesday marking the first cut in over nine months. A narrow majority of Fed officials expect two more cuts in October and December. Fed Chair Jerome Powell cited a slowing job market with fewer people being hired as the reason for the change.
Simplified: Cutting interest rates makes it cheaper to take out a loan for a business, a house, or a credit card. The general economic idea is to spur the economy by encouraging more spending and business investment, which could lead to more hiring. The risk is an increase in overall spending and heightened inflation.
President Trump and First Lady Melania made a state visit to the UK, hosted by King Charles III. Great Britain rolled out the red carpet for President Trump with an elaborate experience. The day included a military parade with more than 100 horses and 1,000 soldiers (video). It concluded with a fancy banquet inside the state dining room where King Charles and Trump exchanged toasts honoring one another and cementing a partnership between the U.S. and the UK.
More: Trump has long been fascinated by the Royal family. During his first presidential term, one of his highlights was visiting the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Air Force One traffic control scare: A Spirit Airlines flight was scolded by air traffic control for being too close to Air Force One during a flight on Tuesday. Air Force One, carrying President Trump and Melania, was en route to a state visit in the UK, while the Spirit Airlines flight was headed to Boston. Audio from the traffic control team can be heard, “Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right IMMEDIATELY! … Pay attention! Get off the iPad!” A Spirit Airlines spokesperson said the flight followed proper safety procedures and landed safely.
Erika Kirk elected: Turning Point USA unanimously elected Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s wife, to be the next CEO and Chair of the Board. According to multiple people inside the organization, Charlie said if anything ever happened to him, he wanted Erika to take the lead. Just two days after Charlie's death, Erika Kirk gave a heartfelt and passionate speech about her husband's death, promising to grow the organization to be bigger than it’s ever been. (video)
More: Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Turning Point USA has received 62,000+ requests from high school and college students nationwide to start a chapter or get involved with an existing chapter.
The Aftermath of the Assassination of Charlie Kirk
Alleged shooter arrested and charged
Tyler Robinson, 22, was found and arrested 33 hours after allegedly assassinating Charlie Kirk. He has been charged with 1st-degree aggravated murder and several other counts. Prosecutors have affirmed they will seek the death penalty. Video footage from the court appearance shows Robinson wearing an anti-suicide smock that is supposed to prevent him from harming himself in prison.
How was he found?
Robinson's parents played an important role in keeping their son alive and convincing him to turn himself in to the authorities and not take his own life. Upon seeing the photos released by the FBI, Robinson’s Mother suspected it was her son and sent him text messages asking where he had been. He responded, saying he had been sick for the past couple of days and was at home in his apartment in St. George, not far from his parents' home.
Robinson’s Father eventually got him talking on the phone and convinced him to meet at their house, where “Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it.”
The Father, who worked as a law enforcement officer for 27 years, called Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby to come over to the house and speak with Tyler. What followed was an exchange and negotiation between Brooksby, the alleged assassin, and his parents.
Within an hour, Robinson decided to turn himself in, and noted he did not want to be shot by the police or have a SWAT team raid the house, according to charging documents. Officer Brooksby and his parents brought him into the local Sheriff's Department, where they waited for authorities to arrive and officially arrest and charge him.
What do we know about the shooter?
Tyler Robinson, 22, had a 4.0 GPA in high school and received a full-ride scholarship to Utah State. He spent only one semester at Utah State before dropping out and pursuing an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College.
The charging document explained had become more left-wing in recent years. “Over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented. She stated that Robinson began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders.”
His roommate and boyfriend, Lance Twiggs, is a biological male “transitioning” to female, according to authorities. Twiggs was kicked out of his parents’ house at the age of 18 due to “substance abuse, gender identity, and a persistent video game addiction,” a relative told Fox News. He then lived with his grandparents for a stint before moving into the current townhome that Robinson began living in as well.
The two had a romantic relationship. It is unclear how much Twiggs knew about the assassination attempt, if anything at all. He has not been charged with any crimes to this point.
A text exchange between the two in the immediate aftermath of the shooting was released by authorities. Here’s how some of it reads:
Robinson: drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard.
[When the roommate looked under the keyboard, there was a note that allegedly read: "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it."]
Roommate: "What?????????????? You're joking, right????
Robinson: I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn't be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.
Roommate: you weren't the one who did it right????
Robinson: I am, I'm sorry
Roommate: I thought they caught the person?
Robinson: no, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing. I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. Its quiet, almost enough to get out, but theres one vehicle lingering.
Roommate: Why?
Robinson: Why did I do it?
Roommate: Yeah
Robinson: I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out.
You can find the full text exchange here.
Myriad of responses cause firings, debates about free speech
Numerous people have been fired from their employers in the last week due to their comments about Charlie Kirk’s death, most notably ABC’s late-night host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, whose show was cancelled “indefinitely.” During his nightly monologue, Kimmel said the “MAGA gang” was "desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and score “political points.”
Kimmel also made jokes during his monologue about Trump’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death, where he immediately began to speak about the White House ballroom renovation project.
Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way…these companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
Hours later, Nexstar Media, a large owner of TV stations, said it would not air the show for the “foreseeable future.” Then ABC decided to cancel the show. President Trump said the cancellation was “great news” for America, while others on the right are wary about censoring speech or participating in the cancellation of shows.
Some of the chaos erupted after Trump’s Attorney General said, “There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech,” in response to Charlie Kirk’s death and the numerous vulgar responses to it. Charlie Kirk was a proponent of free speech and did not support limiting even “hate speech.” Bondi later clarified her comments, saying, "My intention was to speak about threats of violence that individuals incite against others."
Insight: watch this video of Bondi’s comments on hate speech vs. what Charlie Kirk said about hate speech in the past.
Some other notable responses from public figures
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett: "I really hope that the assassination of Charlie Kirk is a turning point for us as a society where we look and see where things have come, the point at which we've come to in the United States." (article)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization. I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place…” (post)
Actor Chris Pratt led a prayer in a video posted on X, reciting Psalms and asking his audience to join in. Following the prayer, he said, “Now, you can continue scrolling, or you can turn your phone off and go outside. Might suggest the latter. Go get some sunshine, go look at a tree, touch some grass.”
GetSmart: The Red Panda’s Self-Defense Tactic is More Cute than Scary
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