Hundreds gather at Kennedy Center to honor Charlie Kirk after tragic assassination
Hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service and prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Sunday night to honor the political activist’s legacy after an assassin’s bullet took his life last week.
Lines of people, many of whom were wearing black or shirts and pins with the word “freedom,” were seen waiting to enter. Inside, young children were seen running up and down the aisles as their parents sang praise and worship songs at the faith-filled memorial, where top Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, delivered remarks.
“It’s been a mixture of unspeakable sadness and grief and anger and even fear,” Johnson said. “It’s as if a dark shadow was cast over our country.”
Johnson added that he believes Kirk “would never want us to be overcome by despair, he would want exactly the opposite.”
VIGIL FOR CHARLIE KIRK HELD IN ALLEGED GUNMAN’S UTAH HOMETOWN DRAWS HUNDREDS OF MOURNERS
“And we’d do well to be reminded that the best way to honor his memory and to honor his unmatched legacy is to live as Charlie did,” the Louisiana Republican said.
Other members of the Trump administration who spoke at the service included White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Gabbard reflected on how even though the 31-year-old’s life was cut short, “his impact here and around the world is profound, and it is a beautiful thing to see it playing out now.”
“Ultimately, for every one of us, the time that we have in this world is temporary,” said Gabbard. “Our time will come sooner or later.”
“And so the critical question that we have for ourselves is whatever time we have, what are we doing with it? How are we making the most of every day that we have?”
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Leavitt recalled Kirk’s sincerity and encouragement and echoed his belief that the greatest legacy is “family.”
“He encouraged young people to get married and to have children. It is our most important mission on this earth,” she said.
Kennedy said he and Kirk became “spiritual brothers” after meeting during a podcast interview in 2021 before sharing a personal anecdote about dealing with grief and loss in his family.
“When my brother David died, I had a conversation with my mother who had been through more than her share of loss and tragedy,” Kennedy said. “And I said, I asked her … does the hole they leave in you when they die, does it ever get any smaller?”
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“And she said, no, it never gets any smaller. But our job is to build ourselves bigger around the hole,” he added.
Ex-Washington Post columnist lashes out after being fired over Charlie Kirk post
A left-wing columnist revealed in a Substack on Monday that she was fired by the Washington Post over social media posts amid the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the Colorado school shooting.
“On Bluesky, in the aftermath of the horrific shootings in Utah and Colorado, I condemned America’s acceptance of political violence and criticized its ritualized responses — the hollow, cliched calls for ‘thoughts and prayers’ and ‘this is not who we are’ that normalize gun violence and absolve [W]hite perpetrators especially, while nothing is done to curb deaths,” Karen Attiah wrote.
Kirk, a leading conservative activist, was assassinated at a campus event in Utah on Wednesday. That same day, a separate shooting at a Colorado school left two students injured and the assailant dead.
Attiah included multiple screenshots of her posts on Bluesky, including one that read, “Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for [W]hite men who espouse hatred and violence.”
PROFESSOR SLAMMED FOR ‘DESPICABLE BEHAVIOR’ WITH CONTROVERSIAL REPOSTS ON CHARLIE KIRK
“My only direct reference to Kirk was one post— his own words on record,” Attiah wrote on Substack.
In a post to her Bluesky account, Attiah wrote, “‘Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a [W]hite person’s slot’- Charlie Kirk.”
Attiah appeared to reference a July 2023 remark made by Kirk during “The Charlie Kirk Show” about affirmative action in which he named Joy Reid, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee, according to Reuters, rather than speaking broadly about all Black women, as one viral X post suggested.
Attiah said she was fired for speaking out against political violence, “racial double standards” and America’s “empathy towards guns.”
“The Post accused my measured Bluesky posts of being ‘unacceptable’, ‘gross misconduct’ and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues — charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false. They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the Post claims to uphold,” Attiah wrote in the post, where she included a 2019 photo of herself and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos.
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Attiah argued her former newspaper no longer reflected the people it serves in a diverse city, noting she was the last Black full-time opinion columnist on the Post’s roster.
“What happened to me is part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media — a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful — and tragic,” she continued.
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Attiah first joined the Post in 2014. A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment on personnel matters.
The Post’s Policies and Standards includes a section on social media that reads, “Post journalists should ensure that their activity on social media platforms would not make reasonable people question their editorial independence, nor make reasonable people question The Post’s ability to cover issues fairly.”
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GOP senator warns White House to back off after Ukrainian refugee murder
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. warned he would have a problem if the White House decided to focus its attention on his state as scrutiny grows on Democratic policies and their connection to crime.
Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, was killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month while taking public transit. The suspect in the crime, Decarlos Brown Jr., had previously been arrested 14 times before being arrested and charged with murder.
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As the story, propelled by a harrowing video of the alleged interaction between Brown and Zarutska, has spread nationally, so too has criticism of Democratic crime policies in blue cities like Charlotte.
President Donald Trump charged that “blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail,” and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who directed Justice Department prosecutors to federally prosecute Brown, contended that Zarutska’s “horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.”
Their sentiment comes as the Trump administration has pushed for federal intervention in Democratic-led cities. The administration has already sent troops into Washington, D.C., and is planning to send the Guard to Memphis and possibly Baltimore next.
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Tillis told Fox News Digital that there were “a lot of cities that we should be going to before Charlotte.”
“And I, for one, don’t think that we should be the nation’s police force, because, you know what happens? We’re going to mask the failure of Democrat leaders that are making their cities less safe,” Tillis said. “But we also have to be realistic and see that there are some cities and red states that are also in the top 20 list.”
“All I’m saying is we’ve got an issue, and I’m down there working before it became a national thing, work that we need to do down there to fix basically the free ride of the subway there,” he continued. “But it doesn’t rise to a level of national intervention. I think that’d be an overreach that I’m against, generally.”
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Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., had a different view of the situation.
He argued that it was “broken policies” encouraged by former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for Tillis’ seat, and current Gov. Josh Stein, D-N.C., that led to “this reimagining criminal justice nonsense.”
“What I want to see is local government to operate like it should,” Budd said. “That’s city government without these leftist, cashless bail crimes on the streets turning a blind eye to homelessness and drugs. If they will stop doing that, those crazy policies, then sure there’s no need to send in the National Guard.”
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“I would say being negligent, like those local governments have been in that case, invites greater rule,” he continued. “And that’s the feds, and they’re doing it in Chicago, they’re doing it in Washington, D.C. That’s because it’s been negligent locally. So policy matters, and policy matters at home, too.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Stein’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Schumer silent while Senate Democrat slams New York colleagues for Mamdani snub
A Senate Democrat accused his colleagues from the Empire State of being “spinless” for not endorsing New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., did not name names but still railed against New York Democrats for not backing Mamdani, whose brand of politics has shaken the Democratic Party since his primary victory earlier this year.
And those New Yorkers who haven’t thrown their support behind Mamdani happen to be the most powerful Democrats in Congress: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
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“Many Democratic members of the Senate and the House representing New York have stayed on the sidelines,” Van Hollen said during an event in Iowa on Saturday. “That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of. They need to get behind him and get behind him now.”
Neither Schumer nor Jeffries, both natives of Brooklyn, have endorsed Mamdani, despite having met with him a handful of times in recent weeks amid growing pressure from congressional Democrats to throw their weight behind him.
Van Hollen also went after the Democratic Party as a whole, arguing, “We’ve become a party that too often trims its sails.”
“Too cautious, too rudderless,” he said. “Too attached to poll-washed, pundit-rinsed, and donor-dried messages. What comes out of the wash is all bleached and blow-dried.”
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A spokesperson for Jeffries fired back at Van Hollen in a statement to The New York Times.
“Leader Hakeem Jeffries will have more to say about the general election well in advance of Nov. 4,” said Jeffries spokesperson Justin Chermol. “Meanwhile, confused New Yorkers are asking themselves the question: Chris Van Who?”
Schumer met with him last week and told reporters that it went well.
“We had a good meeting,” Schumer said. “We know each other well, and we’re going to keep talking.”
Since Van Hollen’s remarks, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul threw her support behind the self-described democratic socialist, and she gave her rationale behind her endorsement in a New York Times opinion piece on Sunday.
She noted that though they disagreed on many items, they found common ground on affordability and safety issues in the city. And in Mamdani, Hochul said she saw a mayoral hopeful who would not “surrender one inch to President Trump.”
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“Mr. Mamdani and I don’t see eye to eye on everything, and I don’t expect us to,” she said. “I will always reserve the right to disagree honestly and to argue passionately. But I also believe that New York State and New York City are at our best when we stand together against those who attempt to tear us apart.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer and Jeffries for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump admin nearing deal for US to take full ownership of popular social app
The U.S. and China agreed on a framework deal to allow TikTok to keep operating in the U.S. amid trade negotiations as the social media app faced being shut down as early as Wednesday without action.
“The framework for a switch to a U.S.-controlled ownership,” Bessent told reporters in Madrid following two days of negotiations with the Chinese delegation.
President Donald Trump is planning to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to finalize the deal.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that there may be a short extension of the Sept. 17 deadline, while Bessent added that “It would not have been extended without a framework.”
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Bessent previously said that China sought concessions from the U.S. on trade and technology policy in exchange for divesting from TikTok.
“Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,” Bessent said, while the treasury secretary added, “We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app.”
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Trump took to his Truth Social platform to say that, “The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly.”
“A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday,” Trump added. “The relationship remains a very strong one!!!”
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Last year, Congress enacted a law signed by then-President Joe Biden that banned TikTok and other apps controlled by foreign adversaries. After it survived a Supreme Court challenge, the law took effect on Jan. 19, 2025, though it allowed a 90-day extension.
The app was banned amid national security concerns over the Chinese government’s access to user data and its ability to serve as a platform for foreign influence operations.
TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, refused to sell the social media platform and after President Trump took office, he issued an initial 75-day delay in enforcing the law.
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Trump then provided another 75-day extension in April – when a dispute over tariffs derailed a pending deal on TikTok’s divestment – followed by a 90-day delay in June that was due to expire this week.
Crime threatens popular fall tourist destination as businesses plead for help
Business owners in a New England college city are reportedly close to a breaking point as crime affects its downtown, potentially bringing trouble for students’ parents and leaf-peeping tourists in the area.
Officials in Burlington, Vermont — home to the University of Vermont — have said they are working on new strategies to combat crime in the city’s downtown, where business owners have raised concerns about graffiti, shoplifting and open drug use. While Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak has noted there is no simple solution, she has argued that a heavier police presence could undermine progress, local news outlet WCAX Channel 3 reported.
Jimmy Baldea, a deputy with the Rutland County Sheriff’s Office, about 65 miles south of Burlington, told Fox News Digital that the mayor should reconsider her stance and that a greater police presence could be helpful for keeping crime at bay.
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“Officer presence is something that I think is one of the best crime deterrents possible,” Baldea told Fox News Digital. “The fact of having police officers in the neighborhood — on the streets, in their cars, clearly visible — police presence is definitely a good crime deterrent.”
“I think that the mayor should definitely consider it as a viable option,” he added.
Baldea noted that when officers are approachable and interact casually with residents in places like stores and gas stations, it can help build trust and make the public more willing to share concerns or tips — allowing officers to proactively address issues.
“Any concerns that do exist can become addressed,” Baldea said. “It’s a partnership thing, and it takes effort on everybody’s part.”
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In May, more than 170 businesses in Burlington signed an open letter urging city officials to act on what they described as a growing crisis in the downtown area. They called for a more comprehensive approach to public safety, WCAX Channel 3 reported at the time.
“It’s always been edgy, but it was edgy and fun,” Burlington Business Association’s Kelly Devine told WCAX Channel 3 in May. “Now, it’s edgy and kind of scary, and icky, and we need to fix that.”
As of Aug. 28, Mulvaney-Stanak said that police officers were conducting walkthroughs of the central gathering area of City Hall Park and that she was planning to collaborate with state leaders.
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“I hope that folks will seize upon the restorative justice aspect of this,” Interim Police Chief Shawn Burke said, WCAX reported. “I have done this job long enough to know that we are not going to arrest our way or fine our way out of this crisis.”
Since 2020, the Burlington Police Department has stepped up directed and foot patrols, according to WCAX. And while Baldea pointed out that crime in Burlington is consistent with areas of similar size, he acknowledged that residents have legitimate concerns.
“What we need to focus on is understanding…what we could do to mitigate some of those concerns,” Baldea said. “And truthfully, I’m of the impression that it’s at a local politics level.”
However, Baldea emphasized that Vermont is a “beautiful” place and stressed that tourists should feel safe visiting the state. He pointed out that first responders across the state are highly trained professionals and eager to keep communities safe.
“We don’t want anybody to not want to come to Vermont in fear of any reason,” he said. “I hope that we get ongoing support from our legislators … and I hope the local residents continue to communicate with their elected officials and voice their concerns … because we need that in order to be able to do our jobs.”
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Mulvaney-Stanak and the Burlington Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
‘The Office’ star hails Charlie Kirk as ‘courageous’ after assassination
Rainn Wilson is calling for unity following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
On Saturday, “The Office” alum took to social media to speak openly about the tragic death while urging followers to “dig deeper” when it comes to finding compassion for others.
“These are really dangerous, tragic times. I wanted to address the recent assassination-slash-murder of Charlie Kirk,” Wilson said in the video. “I didn’t always agree with him, but this whole idea of ‘I’m going to kill someone that I disagree with’ is disgusting and dangerous, and our hearts go out to him, his soul, his wife, his kids, and all of his family and supporters.”
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He continued, “He was a courageous man, actually. He was unafraid to speak his truth, and would go often into hostile environments in order to do that. How many of us have that same courage?”
“A lot of people have been saying, ‘Hey, we need to bring the temperature down,’ and certainly that’s true in the short term. But we need to go deeper than that. We need to build bridges of love and unity, especially between those we disagree with. As Arthur Brooks says, we need to learn how to disagree better, and still know that we all love our country, and we all want to build a better tomorrow. We just have very different ideas of how to do that.”
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Rainn, who hosts the “Soul Boom”podcast, said we have to be cautious about the “division and hatred” within our country.
“We have to be very cautious about social media,” he said. “There are so many things that cause division and hatred. There can be and should be spiritual tools that we can use to create community, to come together with people that are very different than us.”
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“How can we dig deeper to find the compassion necessary for a true spiritual revolution?” he concluded.
A representative for Wilson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Wilson isn’t the only celebrity who has spoken out since Kirk’s death.
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Kirk, who was killed Wednesday during a speaking engagement in Orem, Utah, was a well-known conservative activist. Despite the often heated political climate in Hollywood, it seems one thing many can agree on is that there’s no justification for this type of violence.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor of California who in recent years has been critical of the party, took to social media after the shooting to urge people to come together after the tragedy.
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“My heart is with Charlie Kirk’s family, and with the United States,” he wrote on X. “Politics has become a disease in this country, and it’s deadly. But don’t listen to the pessimists who say there is no cure. There is a cure. It is inside of us. We must find our better angels and walk back from the extremes. If we can’t agree on anything else, we must find agreement that we don’t solve our debates with violence.
“This is a horrible tragedy. May it also be a moment for everyone to rediscover their humanity.”
Actor Josh Duhamel took a similar stance. He posted a photo of Kirk with his wife and two children on Instagram with the caption, “RIP Charlie Kirk. Please remember, no matter what your political beliefs, that this man had a wife and 2 beautiful children who no longer have him. Please pray for this madness to stop.”
Jillian Michaels, who told Fox News Digital that she’s personally “more centrist,” shared on X following the shooting that even though she and Kirk “did not see eye to eye on certain topics,” he still welcomed her to events and onto his podcast.
“The hatred that has seeped into our culture must stop,” she wrote. “If we give in to this anger, if we allow hate to breed hate, we lose not only lives but our very humanity. We have got to reject this darkness — in our media, in our politics, and within ourselves.
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“Let’s take the pain of this loss as a solemn call to ensure it never happens again. All of our leaders on both sides of the aisle, of all colors, all genders, and all orientations need to set a better example. Come together. Choose empathy, understanding, and unity — in honor of Charlie, for the sake of our culture, and the well-being of generations to come. Rest in peace, Charlie.”
‘We can both use it’: Wife furious after husband’s selfish anniversary present
Anniversaries are meant to honor love and commitment. But for one Reddit user, a second wedding anniversary became a painful reminder of unequal effort.
In her post, the 31-year-old wife described weeks of planning: “I spent weeks saving up to buy him a smartwatch he had been eyeing. I wrapped it nicely, cooked his favorite meal, and set up candles.”
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Her husband’s gift? A $100 gift card to his favorite gaming store. “He laughed and said, ‘We can both use it, since you watch me play all the time.’” For her, the gesture stung.
“On our anniversary, my ‘gift’ was literally something for him,” she wrote. After expressing disappointment, she was told she was “being ungrateful.” She then left and spent the night at her sister’s.
The story struck a nerve with readers, who didn’t mince words.
One commenter summed it up: “That’s not a gift. That’s him buying himself something and trying to pass it off as for you.”
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Others urged her to reconsider the long-term pattern this revealed. As one user put it: “The gift card isn’t the real issue, it’s the message behind it. If he sees anniversaries as ‘what’s convenient for me’ instead of ‘how can I show I value us,’ that’s a huge red flag long term.”
Several commenters even suggested turning the situation around, throwing out ideas such as buying herself something using the gift card or donating it to a children’s hospital.
Another user took it even further.
“Just go to the game store and give the card to some random kid,” said this person. “Really make their day. Or… if you really want to stick it to him… buy some plushies and throw them on the bed on his side. He will have to remove them every night to go to bed and be reminded of his bad behavior. Every. Single. Day.”
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The original poster confirmed she hadn’t walked away empty-handed: “Oh I definitely kept the gift card no way was I leaving that behind.”
Expert weighs in
Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert at the Protocol School of Texas, told Fox News Digital that the real issue wasn’t the cost of the gift but the lack of thought.
“The silent treatment and leaving are equally damaging, if not worse, to a relationship.”
“This woman, the wife, went to great lengths, thinking of her husband and making their anniversary special. He gave her a gift card [for] something he wanted to do, with little regard for what she would like.”
Gottsman noted that while the wife’s frustration was justified, her decision to leave mid-celebration might not have been the best move.
“While the wife was unhappy, and relayed the message to her husband, leaving the table and going to her sister’s may be seen as overkill,” she said.
Gottsman framed the moment as a potential turning point for the young marriage.
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“They both need to work on their communication skills and attempt to have a serious conversation about thoughtful gestures and expectations,” said Gottsman. “Marriage is about working through issues, and this could be a good learning opportunity. The silent treatment and leaving are equally damaging, if not worse, to a relationship.”
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She went on, “Ultimately, the post paints a picture of how anniversaries can symbolize more than presents. To hear it from the commenters, they’re often about thoughtfulness and recognition. A lopsided exchange could even signal deeper imbalances in respect and care.”
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As one commenter bluntly put it, “Your husband knows who really ruined your anniversary. And it wasn’t you.”
Late-night host makes emotional plea about US during Emmy win after cancellation
Late-night host Stephen Colbert won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series on Sunday night at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards — months after CBS announced it would cancel his show — telling the audience he had never loved his country more.
“Sometimes, you only know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it,” Colbert said during his acceptance speech. “I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America.”
Colbert, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, revealed in July that his show was being canceled by CBS next year. “The Late Show,” which Colbert took over from David Letterman in 2015, will go off the air for good in May.
“Stay strong and be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor,” the late-night host added in the acceptance speech, making a reference to a Prince song lyric.
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Colbert beat out Jimmy Kimmel, host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
He also thanked CBS for the opportunity during his acceptance speech.
“I want to thank CBS for giving us the privilege to be part of the late-night tradition, which I hope continues long after we’re no longer doing this show,” he said.
Earlier in the night, Colbert received a standing ovation while presenting another award. He joked about his show’s cancellation during the bit, asking if anyone was “hiring” and giving his resumé to Harrison Ford.
CBS said in a July statement that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” as accusations flew that the network was bowing to Republican political pressure ahead of Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media.
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“‘THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT’ will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” CBS said in a statement. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘THE LATE SHOW’ franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.”
Colbert received support from Democrats and members of the media, who praised him for speaking “truth to power.”
After Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday, Colbert opened his show with a statement denouncing political violence.
“Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones. I am old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s, and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences,” Colbert said.
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He added, “Political violence only leads to more political violence. And I pray with all my heart that this is the aberrant action of a madman and not a sign of things to come.”