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      The US on the edge after Charlie Kirk’s killing – podcast

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      Charlie Kirk inspired a generation of conservative youth. He toured campuses whipping up culture wars, actively courting controversy. But his horrific killing last week, in broad daylight, as he addressed a crowd of students left the US reeling. While the US is no stranger to political violence, a new mood has taken hold.Rightwing politicians – and the president himself, have laid the blame squarely at “leftwing” violence. And insisted he would take action. While Kirk’s widow gave an extraordinary speech saying her grief would act as a “battle cry” around the world. The calls for calm and unity that more often follow such political violence are being drowned out.Ed Pilkington explains to Nosheen Iqbal why this moment feels so perilous. “The response has been entirely polarised,” he explains, “and what we’re seeing, it’s kind of happening in front of our eyes. We’re seeing Charlie Kirk emerge as a martyr.” But with rightwing political figures saying this is now a war what could happen next? More

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      Kash Patel denies politicizing FBI in fiery grilling by Democratic senators

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      A defiant Kash Patel on Tuesday denied Democratic senators’ accusations that the firings of top FBI agents were politically motivated and insisted he was staying as the bureau’s director despite reports that the White House had grown concerned with his leadership.“I’m not going anywhere. If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on. Over to you,” Patel said at the conclusion of his opening statement to the Senate judiciary committee, where he made his first appearance since being confirmed to lead the bureau in February.Several Democrats on the committee accepted the invitation, getting into angry exchanges and at least one shouting match with the director over the course of the four-and-a-half-hour hearing.“What I am doing is protecting this country, providing historic reforms and combating the weaponization of intelligence by the likes of you,” Patel told California’s Adam Schiff in a heated back-and-forth that devolved into name-calling.Schiff, a longtime antagonist of Donald Trump, had pressed the director on why the Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell had been moved to a lower-security federal prison after speaking with a top justice department official in July, prompting Patel to insist he was not involved in that decision, before calling Schiff a “liar”, the “biggest fraud to sit in the United States Senate” and “a political buffoon at best”.Demands that the Trump administration provide more transparency into its investigation of Epstein, who died while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019, loomed large over the hearing, but Patel gave little ground, insisting that a court order prevented him from making public further documents related to the case.Other Democrats zeroed in on reporting, including from Fox News over the weekend, that top aides to Trump were losing faith in Patel.“I don’t think you’re fit to head the bureau, but here’s the thing, Mr Patel, I think you’re not going to be around long. I think this might be your last oversight hearing,” the New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker said.“That rant of false information does not bring this country together,” Patel replied. He and the senator began talking over each other, with Patel at one point saying: “You are an embarrassment.”Democrats had waged a strident but ultimately ineffective effort to prevent Patel’s confirmation by the Republican majority, outraged by his support for those accused of carrying out the January 6 insurrection, as well as his compilation of an “enemy’s list” of Washington politicians and bureaucrats in a 2022 book.Their concerns have only grown in the months since he took over the bureau. Last week, three former senior FBI officials, including one who served as acting director, sued Patel for wrongful termination. They alleged that the bureau had become politicized, with Patel at one point stating that he had been instructed to fire agents who investigated Trump, according to the lawsuit.The director declined to comment on the allegations by the former agents, saying they were the subject of litigation, but insisted people were fired from the FBI only if it was justified.“The only way, generally speaking, an individual is terminated at the FBI is if they have violated their oath of office, violated the law, or failed to uphold the standards that we need them to have at the FBI,” Patel said.Patel’s leadership came further in to question last week amid the search for the suspect in the murder of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The director at one point announced that a suspect had been taken into custody, before retracting his statement. The New York Times reported that Patel used profanity on a conference call where he criticized subordinates for not quickly updating him on the case.Under questioning from the Democratic senator Peter Welch, Patel refused to concede that the premature announcement of an arrest was a mistake, instead describing it as part of the investigative process.“In my commitment to work with the public to help identify subjects and suspects, I put that information out, and then when we interviewed him, I put out the results of that. And could I have been more careful in my verbiage and included a subject instead of subject? Sure, in the heat of the moment, but I was doing the best I could,” Patel said. He later added: “I don’t see it as a mistake.”He later refused demands from the Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono for precise details of how many agents had resigned, been fired or retired since Trump took office, saying he did not immediately know the numbers. The Democrat continued asking, prompting Patel to say: “When you’re talking about firings, you’re looking for a media hit and a fundraising clip, and I’m not going to give it to you.”Patel is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the House judiciary committee. Its top Democrat, Jamie Raskin, on Tuesday released a memo arguing that Trump had undercut efforts to fight sex trafficking and abuse through a host of policies he implemented since taking office. More

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      Charlie Kirk murder suspect told he faces death penalty if convicted in first appearance – live updates

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      Tyler Robinson is now appearing for his first, virtual court appearance from the Utah jail where he is being held.A Utah judge has ruled Robinson indigent, saying he qualifies for a court-appointed attorney.The judge has also granted a pre-trial protective order for Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk.A Utah state prosecutor has also shared that the state intends to pursue the death penalty.Viewers of Tyler Robinson’s recent court appearance may have witnessed the suspected shooter of far-right political activist Charlie Kirk wearing a green vest.The BBC’s Kayla Epstein reports that two court officers told her the vest is intended to prevent self-harm and that it is not a bulletproof vest. So-called “anti-suicide smocks” are not uncommon in US prisons.While announcing the charges against Robinson earlier today, Utah county attorney Jeff Gray shared that Robinson suggested he might harm himself, rather than turn himself in, while speaking with family after the shooting.The next hearing in Tyler Robinson’s case is scheduled for September 29, and will be conducted virtually.A lawyer must be appointed to represent Robinson by then.Today’s hearing has concluded.Judge Tony F. Graf is currently reading Tyler Robinson the charges that Utah county attorney Jeff Gray announced earlier today.Those are:1. Aggravated murder,2. Felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury,3. Obstruction of justice for moving and concealing the rifle used in the shooting,4. Obstruction of justice for disposing the clothing he wore during the shooting,5. Witness tampering for directing his roommate to delete his incriminating text,6. Witness tampering for directing his roommate to stay silent if police questioned him,7. Commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.Tyler Robinson is now appearing for his first, virtual court appearance from the Utah jail where he is being held.A Utah judge has ruled Robinson indigent, saying he qualifies for a court-appointed attorney.The judge has also granted a pre-trial protective order for Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk.A Utah state prosecutor has also shared that the state intends to pursue the death penalty.Earlier today, Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace introduced a resolution to censure Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar over comments Omar made following the death of far-right political activist Charlie Kirk.“Ilhan Omar has shown us exactly who she is: someone who defends political violence and refuses to condemn the loss of innocent lives when it doesn’t suit her agenda, even the cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Mace said in a statement released before she introdued the resolution. “If you mock a political assassination and celebrate murder, you don’t get to keep your committee seat, you get consequences.”A spokesperson for Omar challenged that characterization in comments shared with CNN.“Congresswoman Omar was one of the first to condemn Charlie Kirk’s murder. She explicitly expressed her sympathies and prayers to his wife and children. She condemned his assassination and has routinely condemned political violence, no matter the political ideology,” the spokesperson said. “In her interview, she also grappled with his divisive legacy, but she in no way implied violence was deserved, nor did she celebrate his death.”The news comes as members of the Trump administration have fired public officials who have spoken out about Kirk’s legacy, and just one day after JD Vance guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast, where he told listeners to “Call them out, and hell, call their employer,” if they knew anyone celebrating Kirk’s death.Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of murdering far-right political activist Charlie Kirk last week, is expected to appear in court at 5pm ET, according to the Utah County Attorney’s Office.The hearing will be conducted online and will be Robinson’s first court appearance in the murder case.We’ll bring you the latest when it begins.Here is footage from our coverage earlier of Utah state prosecutors charging Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with aggravated murder, among other charges.A separate piece of news from the United Kingdom as Donald Trump is expected to land there shortly: Microsoft has announced that it will invest $30bn in the UK through 2028.The company’s president, Brad Smith, told reporters, including the Associated Press, that Microsoft planned to invest in the UK due to the company’s “regulatory stability” and commitment to developing power data centers.In other news, Air Force One is due to land soon at London Stansted airport as Donald Trump heads to the UK for an unprecedented second state visit.The UK’s largest and tightest security operation since King Charles’s coronation is now under way, with police boats in the River Thames, and snipers and drones also in place.There will be no public-facing engagements for the duration of the president’s two-day visit, with last week’s fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk – as well as the attempt on Trump’s life last year – at the forefront of security considerations.Tomorrow Trump is expected to meet with the king in Windsor before heading to Chequers – the prime minister’s country residence – on Thursday to meet with Keir Starmer.The suspect in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, has been charged with aggravated murder and weapon and obstruction offenses, and the state of Utah will be pursuing the death penalty. He continues to be held without bail and is due to appear in court for the first time – via video link – at 5pm ET.DNA “consistent with” Robinson was also found on the trigger of the bolt-action rifle believed to have been used in Kirk’s shooting, as well as on other parts of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two of the three unfired cartridges, and the towel the rifle was found wrapped in.According to charging documents filed today, Robinson allegedly planned the shooting for a little over a week and confessed to his roommate/partner.His roommate told authorities that Robinson texted on 10 September and told them to look under a keyboard. A note was under the keyboard that stated: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.”The roommate then texted Robinson and asked if he was joking. Robinson responded: “I am still OK, my love. … Shouldn’t be long till I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret until I died of old age.”In further messages, Robinson said he was the one who shot Kirk. Roommate: you weren’t the one who did it right???? Robinson: I am, I’m sorryWhen the roommate asked why he did it, Robinson responded: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”In further text messages, Robinson told his roommate that the rifle belonged to his grandfather and sent several messages about how he might retrieve it while police were searching for him. He appeared to consider whether it could be traced back to him.Authorities said the suspect might have concealed the murder weapon in his pants as he walked on campus, tipping off authorities with his “unusual gait”. The suspect walked “with very little bending in his right leg, consistent with a rifle being hidden in his pants,” the charging documents read.Robinson then instructed the roommate to delete “incriminating” text messages and to not speak to police or media, according to the documents.We’ve also learned that the suspect’s mother identified him in a photo released by authorities. His mother told the police that her son had “become more political and started to move more to the left” over the last year or so and had become “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented”.In one conversation with his parents before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robinson said was a “stupid venue” for the event. Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate.While talking to his parents at their home after the shooting, Robinson allegedly implied that he shot Kirk, “and stated that he couldn’t go to jail, and just wanted to end it”, alluding to suicide. He allegedly told his parents when they asked why he did it: “There’s too much evil in the guy.”My colleagues Anna Betts and Ramon Antonio Vargas have the full report on the news conference:Utah state prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting the far-right activist Charlie Kirk, on Tuesday with aggravated murder, meaning the 22-year-old could face the death penalty if convicted.Jeff Gray, the top prosecutor in Utah county, said Robinson also ordered his roommate to delete incriminating text messages and stay silent if police questioned him in the aftermath of the Turning Point USA executive director’s killing on 10 September.“I do not take this decision lightly,” Gray said. “And it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”And that’s it, the briefing is over.Asked why his office has been measured in sharing the investigation information around Charlie Kirk’s killing, in stark contrast to FBI director Kash Patel, Gray says:
      Well, as attorneys, we typically like to control that information to preserve an impartial jury and a fair trial.
      Gray says he talked to officials from both the governor’s office and the Trump administration before filing charges, but said the decision to seek the death penalty was his.Gray says he wants to ensure a fair and impartial trial.Robinson confessed to his roommate in a series of messages after the incident, according to the charging documents filed today.Roommate: you weren’t the one who did it right????Robinson: I am, I’m sorryRoommate: 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.In another part of the exchange, Robinson’s roommate asked why he did it. “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson replied, according to the documents.Robinson also told his roommate that the rifle he allegedly used belonged to his grandfather. He sent several messages about how he might retrieve it while police were searching for him in the hours after the shooting.“I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas rifle,” Robinson said in the messages, and appeared to consider whether it could be traced back to him.“I might have to abandon it and hope they don’t find prints. how the f*ck will I explain losing it to my old man,” he said, according to the documents.Robinson also told his roommate to delete the messages and not to speak to police or the media.According to charging documents, Tyler Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner appears to have discovered that Robinson carried out the Kirk shooting when Robinson sent a text saying: “Drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard.”That’s where the partner found a note that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” according to the charges.After reading the note, the roommate asked Robinson if he was joking. Robinson responded: “I am still OK, my love. … Shouldn’t be long till I can home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret until I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”The roommate then asked Robinson if he was involved in the shooting. Robinson confirmed that he was and said he intended to grab his rifle, but the area was on lockdown.When the roommate asked why he did it, Robinson responded: “I had enough of his hate. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”Robinson instructed the roommate to delete their text conversation, Gray said.Robinson’s mother told the county sheriff’s office that her son had accused Charlie Kirk of spreading hate, Gray says.While talking to his parents at their home, Robinson allegedly implied that he shot Kirk, “and stated that he couldn’t go to jail, and just wanted to end it”, Gray says.When Robinson was then asked why he did it, Robinson said that Kirk “spreads too much hate”, Gray said.“There’s too much evil in the guy,” Robinson allegedly told his parents, Gray says.Robinson’s mother told the police that her son had “become more political and started to move more to the left” over the last year or so and had become “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented”, Gray says.He had also become romantically involved with his roommate, who was transitioning, Gray says.This resulted in several discussions with family members, but especially between Robinson and his father, who have very different political views, he adds.In one conversation with his parents before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robinson said was a “stupid venue” for the event. Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate, says Gray. More

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      GOP lawmaker pulls measure to allow Marco Rubio to revoke US passports

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      The chair of the House foreign affairs committee moved to cut a contentious provision from legislation that would have granted the secretary of state sweeping powers to revoke US citizens’ passports over allegations of supporting terrorism.Representative Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, filed an amendment to eliminate the measure from his department of state policy provisions act, a bill meant to reform the state department in the Trump administration’s image, after widespread criticism from civil liberties advocates, according to the Intercept.The original language would have given Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, the power to deny or revoke passports for individuals the department determines have provided “material support” to terrorist organizations. Given similar language employed by the Trump administration in other contexts, it is believed to have been intended to target pro-Palestinian activists specifically.Since Rubio became secretary of state, he has overseen efforts to deport pro-Palestinian international students and deploy an AI-powered “Catch and Revoke” system to target foreign nationals government authorities allege support Hamas. The US also recently announced it will look for “anti-American” views when assessing visa applications.But the new measure would have significantly escalated these efforts by targeting US citizens. Mast had initially defended the broader legislation, saying it “ensures every dollar and every diplomat puts America First and is accountable to the president’s foreign policy” when the House foreign affairs committee introduced the package last week.However, a committee spokesperson told the Intercept the committee would not allow the passport revocation amendment to “overshadow the bipartisan effort to restore command and control of the State Department to the Secretary”.A committee spokesperson did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment on Mast’s decision to remove the provision.Among other provisions, the bill package also includes a proposal to create a new “state sponsor of unlawful or wrongful detention” designation to penalize foreign governments that detain US nationals and require stronger accountability measures in those cases.The episode unfolded as Rubio wrapped a trip to Israel, Qatar and the UK to discuss Israel’s war in Gaza, ahead of the UN general assembly meeting in New York next week.The amendment to remove the passport provision still requires approval at a committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Even without it, the broader state department reform package faces uncertain prospects in the Senate. More

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      Top Democrat accuses Trump of dismantling efforts to prosecute sex crimes

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      A top House Democrat on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of “systematically dismantling” efforts to prosecute sex crimes and hunt down traffickers, as the president faces continued pressure to make public investigative files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.The memo from House judiciary committee ranking member Jamie Raskin and his staff, shared exclusively with the Guardian, said that beyond refusing the demands for transparency around Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, Trump has also undercut efforts to hold people accused of similar crimes accountable by “systematically dismantling the offices and programs we rely on to combat human trafficking and prosecute sex crimes”.“President Trump in office has repeatedly taken the side of criminal sex predators and violent abusers against their victims, and this pattern goes well beyond his strenuous efforts to bury the Epstein Files,” Raskin wrote in the memo.“Far from aiding victims and survivors, President Trump consistently sides with their abusers,” he said. “His all-of-government policy to aid traffickers and sex criminals and abandon survivors has made American women dramatically less safe.”White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called the accusations “total nonsense” before criticizing former president Joe Biden and his handling of immigration. “Their party’s president spent the last four years coddling and apologizing for criminals and sexual predators. Joe Biden’s wide open border allowed hundreds of thousands of innocent children to be kidnapped across the southern border by smugglers and gang members illegally residing in our communities,” Rogers said.She added that Trump had “totally secured our border to stop the trafficking of children” and “implemented tough-on-crime policies to hold these disgusting monsters accountable to the fullest extent of the law”.Raskin’s memo to Democratic members of the judiciary committee comes in advance of testimony scheduled for Wednesday by FBI director Kash Patel, at which Democrats are expected to press him for details on the bureau’s handling of its investigation into Epstein.Appearing before the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, Patel acknowledged shortcomings in how an investigation into Epstein was handled that led to the financier pleading guilty in 2008 to charges related to procuring a child prostitute. However, the director insisted that court orders prevented him acceding to Democrats demands to release more files related to Epstein.In the memo, Raskin argues: “The Trump Administration’s sympathetic alignment with powerful sex traffickers and rapists goes far beyond its efforts to suppress the truth of what happened in one explosive case,” and pointed to several policies Trump implemented that he believes help criminals.Among those are its dismantling of USAID, which he described as one of the most effective agencies at documenting trafficking routes and undermining efforts to use forced labor to scam Americans.“Closing USAID has blinded federal law enforcement to developing threats overseas, allowing trafficking networks to strengthen in power, influence, and size, almost certainly leading to an increase in the number of women and children trafficked into the United States,” Raskin said.About half of the federal law enforcement personnel who would normally be investigating criminals and terrorists are now focused on deportations as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the memo said. This includes one in five FBI agents, almost two thirds of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and three quarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration, among other agencies.“By diverting extraordinary amounts of money and personnel to its immigration crackdown, the Trump Administration has undermined the investigation and prosecution of nearly every other law enforcement priority, including human trafficking and child exploitation,” Raskin wrote.Trump has also cancelled hundreds of grants to local law enforcement agencies and non-profits that were used to help victims of such crimes, according to the memo. Federal funds are no longer flowing to trainings of sexual assault nurse examiners in disadvantaged areas or victim advocates employed at rape crisis centers, nor to American Sign Language interpretation for survivors of domestic violence.Trump’s immigration crackdown has intruded into efforts to help trafficking survivors, with the memo saying one organization has been told it cannot use grant money to help anyone in the country illegally. Such a notice may violate federal law, and the groups receiving the grants typically have no way of knowing their clients’ immigration status, Raskin said.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAnother group that received federal funding to work with child abuse victims had its funding terminated after more than three decades, then partially restored with instructions that “its affiliates to never again mention race, class, and gender diversity in it training materials”.“These findings reveal the Trump Administration’s structural bias in favor of human traffickers, rapists, and sexual violators and against their victims, survivors, and opponents. The question of why this alignment exists cannot be answered in this memo, but the pattern is unmistakable,” Raskin wrote.He also noted that several top officials, including defense secretary Pete Hegseth and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, have been accused of inappropriate conduct, while the Trump administration acted to facilitate the return of “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan from Romania, where they faced charges including rape. Dozens of those who were pardoned of charges related to January 6 had also faced trafficking and sex abuse charges before and after the insurrection, Raskin said.The memo comes amid a spike in interest in the Epstein case, which began in July after the justice department released a report concluding that his death was a suicide, and saying no further information about the matter would be released. The assertions flew in the face of conspiracy theories Trump and his senior officials have encouraged that held Epstein was at the heart of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving global elites.A bipartisan group of lawmakers is circulating a petition in the House of Representatives that would force a vote on legislation mandating the release of the Epstein files. The petition needs just one more signature to succeed.Trump opposes the effort, calling it a “Democrat hoax”, but sent a deputy attorney general to interview Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and petitioned unsuccessfully for release of grand jury transcripts related to the financier’s indictment.The House oversight committee is also investigating the Epstein matter, and earlier this month released a “birthday book” containing a sexually suggestive drawing Trump appears to have made for his one-time friend. More

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      Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro says leaders need ‘moral clarity’ amid rising political violence

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      Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said on Tuesday that the arson attack on his home earlier this year had “left emotional scars” while calling for leaders to recognize that political violence is not a one-sided problem.Shapiro talked about the arson attack and political violence at this week’s Eradicate Hate summit in Pittsburgh, designed to discuss tools and action that can prevent and confront violence.Shapiro ran through a list of acts of targeted violence in the past year, including the assassination attempt of Donald Trump, the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO, the gunman who killed Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The one common thread, he said, was “people using violence to settle political differences”.“Leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity – and as I have made clear time and time again, this type of violence has no place in our society, regardless of what motivates it, who pulls the trigger, who throws the molotov cocktail, or who wields the weapon,” he said.People have a responsibility to be “clear and unequivocal” in condemning all forms of political violence. He chided those who have celebrated political violence against their opponents and those who have called for revenge in the wake of it.“Unfortunately, some the dark corners of the Internet all the way to the Oval Office want to cherry pick which instances of political violence they want to condemn,” he said. “Doing that only further divides us and it makes it harder to heal. There are some who will hear that selective condemnation and take it as a permission slip to commit more violence, so long as it suits their narrative or only targets the other side.”In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, the Trump administration has said it will go after left-leaning organizations, declaring without evidence that they were somehow tied to the shooting.Shapiro said these acts of vengeance will deepen the divide and that using the government to censor people and “silence people, silence businesses and nonprofits and restrict their right to free speech” will only deepen mistrust.The governor also detailed his own first-hand experience with political violence. In April, on Passover, a man set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Shapiro, his wife and kids were inside. Shapiro said that he woke up to a bang on the door – a state trooper telling him to evacuate because there was a fire. He and his wife grabbed their kids, dogs and other family members who had gathered at the home for seder hours earlier in the room the arsonist set ablaze with molotov cocktails. The man had a metal hammer that he later said he had planned to use to kill Shapiro if he found him, Shapiro said.Cody Balmer was charged by police for terrorism, attempted murder and other charges associated with the attack. Police say Balmer was allegedly motivated by “perceived injustices toward the people of Palestine”. Shapiro is Jewish.Shapiro said he thanks God every day that his family was able to evacuate safely and no one was injured or killed.“That doesn’t mean that the attack hasn’t left emotional scars,” Shapiro said. “I can attest to that, especially as a father, a father to four children, knowing that my life choices put them at risk.”He called the rise in political violence dangerous because it not only seeks to injure or kill opponents but to intimidate people into silence.“I’m here today to tell you that I will not be deterred in my work on behalf of the good people of Pennsylvania and I sure as heck will not be silenced,” he said. More

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      The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s Ukraine strategy: talking tough and doing very little isn’t working | Editorial

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      Back in January, with Donald Trump’s campaign promises to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” still fresh in the memory, there was genuine unease in Moscow over the US president’s intentions. When Mr Trump mused that “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russia might be necessary, one high-profile and pro-war Moscow commentator wrote: “It’s better to prepare for the worst. Soon, we’ll look back on Biden’s term with nostalgia, like a thaw.”How wrong can you be? Since then, the US president has repeatedly talked the talk without coming close to walking the walk. In May, when Vladimir Putin rejected a 30-day ceasefire, and peace talks in Turkey went nowhere, a “bone-crushing” US sanctions package failed to materialise. An 8 August deadline for Mr Putin to agree to a ceasefire somehow morphed into a red carpet welcome in Alaska, where Mr Trump applauded a leader wanted for war crimes as he disembarked from his plane. The “severe consequences” threatened by Mr Trump if the Alaska talks failed to lead to peace never happened.Emboldened, Mr Putin has thus continued to prosecute his war aims in Ukraine, and probe for western weaknesses. Last week’s incursion of Russian drones into Polish territory laid bare inadequate Nato planning, as F-35 and F-16 fighter jets were hastily scrambled to deal with cheap kamikaze devices that cost around $10,000 each to produce. It also communicated a warning of possible escalation in the event of any future “reassurance force” deploying European troops on Ukrainian soil. Such a provocation called for a robust and unified response, exerting the kind of pressure on the Kremlin which Mr Trump has so far refused to countenance. Instead the US president appears, once again, to prefer bullying his European allies to targeting Mr Putin. In a statement which reeked of bad faith, Mr Trump declared over the weekend that the US was “ready” to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, but only if certain unlikely conditions were met.Eyeing a considerable economic prize, Washington is insisting that the EU must increase its imports of US liquified natural gas at a rate that analysts judge undoable. Other demands include the imposition by the EU of 50%-100% tariffs on Russia’s most important ally, China, and an end to all imports of Russian oil by Nato members. This includes Turkey, which has refused to sanction Moscow, imports 57% of its oil from Russia, and lies outside the EU.Those looking on the bright side in Brussels hope that Mr Trump’s pressure may persuade Maga-friendly governments in Hungary and Slovakia to end their deep dependence on Russian energy imports. That is extremely unlikely to happen, as Mr Trump and his advisers must know. Nor can the EU afford to court the kind of economic retaliation from Beijing that caused Mr Trump himself to back down from a full-blown trade war recently.During this week’s state visit, it will be Sir Keir Starmer’s turn to try to pin Mr Trump down on decisive action. But from the unproductive Alaska talks to his latest diversionary tactics with the EU, Mr Trump keeps finding reasons not to get tough on Russia. Last week’s drone incursion in Poland represented an ominous upping of the ante. Ukraine’s prospects, and wider European security interests, are being steadily undermined by a president who, in this context, barks but never bites.

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      How memes, gaming and internet culture all relate to the Charlie Kirk shooting

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      Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Dara Kerr here, filling in for Blake Montgomery, who promises he’ll come back from vacation. Meanwhile, I’m looking at the memes, gaming and internet culture behind the shooting of Charlie Kirk.The bullet that killed conservative activist was inscribed with a message: “Notices bulge OwO whats this?” The online world quickly recognized the reference. It’s a phrase used in internet culture to troll people in online role-play communities, specifically furries (a subculture that cosplays as anthropomorphic animal characters).“The phrase has been popularized not only as a way of making fun of furries and related communities for being cringe, but has also been embraced by furries as a way of owning the meme,” writes Know Your Meme, a website that documents viral phenomena. “Ultimately, the phrase is portrayed in memes as being one of the most cringeworthy things someone could possibly write to another person.”Other bullet casings recovered by law enforcement in Utah also had etched inscriptions that appeared to nod to online gaming and insider memes, which have become part of the intense social media speculation on a possible motive for the killing. One said: “O Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao”, another said: “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO.” The first message refers to an Italian anti-fascist folk song that has become a gamer reference that’s big in Twitch and Discord circles. The second message is what web culture writer Ryan Broderick calls “just boilerplate edgelord speak” in his newsletter last week titled “Charlie Kirk was killed by a meme”.The final inscribed casing that law enforcement released said: “Hey fascist! Catch!” and was followed by an up arrow, right arrow and three down arrow symbols. The arrow sequence appears to reference the video game Helldivers 2, and is a set of commands used by players to release a 500kg bomb in the game.The alleged shooter, Tyler James Robinson, is a 22-year-old from a small town in Utah near the Arizona border. He is accused of killing Kirk at a campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk was struck by a single bullet fired with a “high-powered bolt action rifle” from a distant rooftop.As the suspect was steeped in online culture, so was Charlie Kirk, who was 31. He was at the school on behalf of his conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA. He’d become known worldwide speaking about and debating others, often on his extremist views on race, immigration, gender identity and gun rights. Kirk’s rise to fame was also largely bolstered by being extremely online.As my colleague Alaina Demopoulos wrote:A key figure in Donald Trump’s success, Kirk galvanized college-aged conservatives who moved in a different ecosystem from traditional media. The decade or so between Kirk’s beginnings as a teen activist and the shooting saw the rise of Maga politics alongside the shake-up of the conventional media landscape, with Kirk playing a crucial role in both.Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 with a clear goal of making Obama era-style youth outreach work for the right, and even those who didn’t agree with his values could not deny his ubiquity on the political scene. For the young Americans who grew up watching Kirk on their screens, he was a savant at YouTube, Twitter and later X, TikTok and live events. He was like a gen Z and millennial version of Rush Limbaugh – the rightwing, shock-jock commentator who dominated US airwaves in the 1990s – even if his base had no clue who that was.Read the full story here.Whistleblowers against Meta stack upView image in fullscreenMeta was hit by two separate whistleblower claims last week. One by a group of six former and current employees, who allege the social media company has covered up harm to children on its Metaverse virtual reality devices and apps. And another by Meta’s former head of security for WhatsApp, Attaullah Baig, who alleges the company brushed aside major security and privacy flaws in its messaging app, according to the New York Times.In response to my reporting about VR devices, Meta spokesperson Dani Lever said the company has approved 180 studies related to its VR Reality Labs since 2022, which include research on youth safety and wellbeing. “These few examples are being stitched together to fit a predetermined and false narrative,” she said, adding that Meta has introduced features to its VR products to limit unwanted contact and supervision tools for parents.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionOne of the first whistleblowers was Sophie Zhang, who brought her findings to the Guardian in 2021. Zhang documented how Facebook allowed political manipulation in more than 25 countries, which led to disastrous circumstances in several places including Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Honduras. Later that same year, Frances Haugen turned over to the Wall Street Journal reams of documentation verifying much of Zhang’s allegations and also bringing to light Facebook’s knowledge of how its social media apps harmed teens.In 2023, Arturo Bejar also went to the Wall Street Journal with evidence that Meta knew its algorithms for Facebook and Instagram were pushing content to teens that promoted bullying, drug abuse, eating disorders and self-harm.This year alone, eight more whistleblowers have come forward. Baig and the group of six former and current employees went public last week.US lawmakers are taking the allegations seriously. Politicians as disparate as Josh Hawley, the Republican senator from Missouri, and Richard Blumenthal, the democrat from Connecticut, have said they see eye-to-eye when it comes to regulating Meta and other social media companies.“The details in these disclosures are hard to stomach – because they reveal such major risks to kids’ safety, and because they are so painfully familiar. Yet again, Meta is revealed to be willfully misrepresenting abuses on its platforms,” Blumenthal said of the whistleblower claims last week. “‘Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil’ is simply not an acceptable business philosophy.”Blumenthal added that he and other senators were looking forward to pushing ahead with “long overdue reform”.The wider TechScape

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