Conservative Activist Killed on Utah Campus

What's Happening

US News

Conservative Activist Killed on Utah Campus

What's going on: Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump, was shot in the neck and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The co-founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing political organization, was hosting an outdoor event when a suspect fired from a campus building about 200 yards away, according to a university spokeswoman. He was the only person hit, she said, and Kirk’s private security removed him from the scene. No suspects are in custody, according to officials. Political leaders from both parties condemned the attack, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) called it a clear “political assassination.” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.” He ordered flags to fly at half-staff in memory of Kirk.

Tell me more: Over the past decade, Kirk had become a key player in right-wing politics, especially among younger conservatives. Through Turning Point USA, Kirk aimed to spread conservative values on college campuses. He invited students to debate him on topics ranging from transgender rights and abortion to gun control at his “Prove Me Wrong Table.” About 3,000 people attended Wednesday’s event, the first stop on the fall leg of his “American Comeback Tour,” according to a university official. Turning Point USA said it was expected to feature “a lively discussion on freedom and America.” An online petition had called on the school to bar Kirk from speaking. Over the past year, edited clips of his campus debates gained momentum online, racking up tens of millions of views.

Related: Community Reeling After Deadly Shooting at Colorado High School (CNN)

Education

Phone Bans Get a Mascot

What's going on: New York students returned to classrooms this fall under a new rule: no smartphones. The state joined 16 others and the District of Columbia in rolling out fresh tech restrictions, bringing the total to 35 states with limits on devices in schools. To drive the point home, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) introduced a neon-green, shaggy-haired mascot named Frankie Focus. His job — besides pantomiming the dangers of constant scrolling — is to warn kids about the pitfalls of too much screen time and cheerlead the state’s new phone ban. (Hey, when all else fails, try… spending taxpayer dollars on a cartoonish beast with PBS Kids energy.)

What it means: The push comes after the US Surgeon General warned of a youth mental health crisis tied to social media use. Lawmakers, psychologists, researchers, and educators have echoed concerns about how phones affect kids. The distraction in class may seem like the smaller problem, but studies suggest even that has lasting effects. Technology has been cited as one factor behind the bleak Nation’s Report Card results, which showed high school seniors with their lowest reading scores since 1992. Improving students’ focus might be a tall order, but we wish Frankie Focus luck.

Related: AI Is Changing the Way We Talk (Fast Company)

Sports

Fans Show FIFA a Red Card Over World Cup Tickets

What's going on: If you tried getting tickets to the Eras Tour, congrats — you were unknowingly also training for FIFA’s ticket Hunger Games. Many fans who entered an exclusive presale ticket drawing expressed frustration online, saying they were stuck in a digital waiting room for over an hour, according to The Athletic. Then, they were hit with a dreaded “HTTP Status 400 — Bad Request.” FIFA chalked it up to “extraordinary demand” and said long waits were expected. The drawing for a chance to buy tickets started yesterday and runs through Sept 19 — but no prices are listed yet, and no one actually buys until October.

Tell me more: Anticipation is building for the 2026 men’s World Cup — the first to be co-hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada, and the biggest yet with 48 teams and 104 matches. But fans are stressing about more than just the long waits to apply. FIFA has pitched $60 group-stage tickets as an “accessible entry point,” while the most exclusive seats for the final could reach $6,730 (the US Men’s National Team needs to step up their game, especially at that rate). On top of that, FIFA’s introducing “variable pricing” for the first time — not quite dynamic pricing, though the difference is murky. But from the fan perspective (and we hate to make the joke, but the cleat fits), this already feels like a rough kickoff.

Related: Peyton Manning Handwrote Letters to the Pope. It Wasn’t Exactly Holy Business (Today)

Settle This

Selena Gomez gave us a wedding planning sneak peek and apparently announced her ring bearer. Who is it?

Game Time

Brick Breaker meets word search in Spelltower, your new favorite game. For every word you find, letter tiles disappear. The fewer tiles left when you run out of words, the better your score. Try it.