In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first U.S. pope is starting a 10-day tour to ​four African countries, the pontiff also said the Christian message ​was being “abused”.

“I don’t want to get into a debate with ⁠him,” Leo told Reuters as he greeted journalists on the plane. “I don’t ​think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused ​in the way that some people are doing.”

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the ​states to look for just solutions to problems,” he said, speaking ​on English.

“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” said Leo. “Too many innocent ‌people ⁠are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”

“The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do ​not look at ​my role as ⁠being political, a politician,” he said.

Leo, originally from Chicago, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the ​U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in recent weeks and decried ​the “madness of ⁠war” on in a peace appeal on Saturday.

Trump, in an apparent response to the pope’s criticisms of both the conflict and the White House’s ⁠hard-line ​immigration policies, said late on Sunday that ​Leo was “terrible”.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote in ​a post on Truth Social.

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As the global medical community shifts its focus from merely managing symptoms to actively restoring vitality, Irvine.health has emerged as a central player in what many are calling “The Biological Reset.” This transition is being fueled by a perfect storm of groundbreaking research from Harvard Medical School, a seismic regulatory shift in early 2026, and a unique business model designed to navigate California’s stringent medical laws.

The MSO Model: Navigating California’s Medical Landscape

Unlike traditional corporate health clinics, Irvine.health operates as a Management Services Organization (MSO). This distinction is vital for regulatory compliance in California. Under the state’s Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) doctrine, business corporations are prohibited from practicing medicine or employing physicians to do so.

“As an MSO, our role is to provide the infrastructure, the technology, and the administrative expertise that allows doctors to practice at the absolute top of their license,” says Christopher South, the founder of Irvine.health. “We provide the bridge between the complex science emerging from places like the Sinclair Lab at Harvard and the day-to-day reality of patient care.”

By handling the administrative “heavy lifting,” Irvine.health ensures that the “Reset” is conducted under direct physician supervision, maintaining the highest standard of care while allowing medical professionals to focus entirely on patient outcomes.

The “Information Theory of Aging”

The conceptual foundation of this revolution is rooted in the “Information Theory of Aging,” championed by Dr. David Sinclair and the Sinclair Lab at Harvard University. Sinclair’s theory suggests that our cells do not lose their fundamental “blueprint” (DNA) as we age; rather, they lose the ability to read it accurately.

Sinclair famously compares the genome to a digital CD and the epigenome—the cellular machinery that reads the DNA—to the CD player. Aging, he argues, is the result of “scratches” on the disc (epigenetic noise) that prevent the music of our youth from playing clearly.

“The discovery from the Sinclair Lab is that the body retains a ‘backup copy’ of youthful information,” South explains. “By using specific signaling molecules like peptides, we can effectively ‘polish the scratches’ and reboot the system. We aren’t just masking a problem; we are tapping into the body’s internal software.”

This theory moved closer to clinical ubiquity in early 2026, when the FDA cleared the first human clinical trials for cellular reprogramming therapy, an effort spearheaded by Sinclair-backed biotech initiatives seeking to reverse the biological age of specific tissues.

A Regulatory Renaissance: The “Essential 14”

The practical application of these principles today primarily involves peptides—short chains of amino acids that act as the body’s own messenger system.

In a landmark decision in February 2026, federal health authorities announced that approximately 14 essential peptides—including the highly sought-after BPC-157, Thymosin Alpha-1, and GHK-Cu—would be moved from the FDA’s “Category 2” restricted list back to Category 1. This reclassification allows licensed 503A compounding pharmacies to legally prepare these compounds again when prescribed by a physician.

“The FDA’s decision to re-legalize these peptides is a win for clinical transparency,” says South. “It allows our affiliated physicians to move away from unregulated ‘research chemicals’ and provide patients with pharmaceutical-grade, physician-supervised treatments that prioritize safety.”

The Evidence Gap: From Lab Rats to Living Rooms

Despite the clinical excitement, the peptide revolution still faces a significant “evidence gap” that researchers and practitioners must navigate.

Critics point out that the vast majority of rigorous, peer-reviewed studies on peptides like BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound) have been conducted primarily in animal models. While these studies show near-miraculous tissue repair and gut healing in rodents, large-scale, “gold standard” human trials are still catching up.

“We have to be grounded in reality,” South admits. “While the animal data is stunning and the anecdotal success stories from thousands of patients are incredibly compelling, we are still on the frontier. That is why physician oversight via our MSO model is so critical. We aren’t just selling a product; we are facilitating a medically-monitored protocol where we track real human biomarkers to ensure the safety and efficacy of the treatment.”

California’s Legislative Frontier: AB 2442

As 2026 unfolds, California is positioned to lead this movement through new legislative frameworks. Currently, the state is monitoring Assembly Bill 2442, which aims to establish a state-authorized research and therapeutic access program for advanced medical treatments, potentially providing further legitimacy and oversight to the work being done at facilities supported by Irvine.health.

Digital Edition Note: Readers can track the progress and details of this legislation via the official CA AB 2442 Bill Analysis on Digital Democracy.

“We are standing at the threshold of a new frontier,” says South. “The ability to rebuild the body at a cellular level is no longer a distant hope—it is a clinical reality. We are finally learning to speak the body’s own language, and the results are transformative.”

Medical Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Irvine.health is a Management Services Organization (MSO) and does not practice medicine. All medical services are provided by independent, licensed physician-owned practices. Peptide therapies are subject to medical evaluation and must be prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional. For more on the research cited, visit the Sinclair Lab at Harvard Medical School.

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Gasoline prices are climbing, and many people will find some of the most immediate economic pain at the pump.

But you don’t have to drive a car to be affected. Nearly all goods — including food — that are bought and sold must travel from where they’re produced. Those costs will climb with higher gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices.

And the spike in oil prices will likely be a big factor for U.S. inflation. As the war continues, some experts say the price of, well, everything could be affected.

“The longer this lasts, the more significant the shock would be,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at consulting firm EY-Parthenon.

Here’s how the growing cost of oil and gas could impact consumers as the war continues.

At the pump: Gas prices are likely to continue climbing

Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are made from crude oil. As the cost of crude climbs, so do the prices of those widely used products, which keep equipment, cars, buses, delivery trucks and airplanes running.

Across the U.S., drivers were paying an average of $3.48 for a gallon of regular gasoline Monday, compared with $2.98 before the war started. Prices have increased about 17% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Prices vary across states. In California, drivers were paying $5.20, up 12% from a week ago. Some of California’s refineries have shut down in recent years, so the massive state relies on imports of gasoline and other refined products from Asia.

By contrast, the average price in Louisiana, which has oil production and refineries, was $3.04.

The spike in oil prices is likely to further push up gasoline prices, and could be felt more significantly in Asia and Europe, which are more dependent on Middle Eastern oil and gas than the United States.

The cost of shipping and goods increases alongside the price of diesel

The price of diesel — which powers 18-wheeler trucks — climbed Monday, too: to $4.65 a gallon in the U.S., a 23% jump since the war started.

“Can’t underscore what a massive jolt this is to the logistics, trucking, (agriculture) sectors,” Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, wrote on X Monday.

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that carries a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas, already has caused problems for the shipping industry. Quickly rising oil and gas prices will add to the burden.

Fuel prices account for 50% to 60% of the total operating cost of shipping goods by ship, according to Patrick Penfield, professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University, so higher fuel prices have a huge effect on the industry.

“When fuel prices start to go up, everything starts to slow down,” Penfield said. “So your ships slow down, your trucks slow down. People are less apt to ship things via air. And it really kind of causes a drag on the economy when fuel price go up.”

Fuel surcharges will also rise — as shipping companies aim to pass along higher costs to their customers, ultimately making goods more expensive.

Home energy bills will probably rise, and items made from plastic could cost more

Heating your home and cooking food with natural gas are also likely to cost more as the war grinds on.

Europe’s benchmark natural gas rose 75% since the war began, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange.

That could also affect the cost of products made from natural gas, such as petrochemical feedstock. It’s used to make plastic and rubber, as well as nitrogen fertilizer.

Eventually, groceries might be more expensive, too

The spike in oil prices likely won’t be felt immediately at U.S. grocery stores, said David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University. But if oil prices remain high for a month or more, he said, “we’re in different territory.”

Higher oil prices impact the agricultural sector in two ways, Ortega said. They raise the cost of inputs such as fuel for farm equipment and the fertilizer, which is derived from natural gas. They also raise demand for soybean oil, palm oil and other vegetable oils that can be used as replacements for petroleum-based fuel.

But Ortega said on-farm costs are only a small part of what consumers pay at the supermarket. A larger share comes from the cost of processing and transporting food, which uses a lot of energy.

“Food gets to the grocery store on diesel, whether it’s on a truck or on a boat,” Ortega said.

If oil prices remain elevated, fresh foods that must be transported quickly could see price hikes more quickly than packaged foods, which are less perishable, Ortega said.

If inflation rises, everything gets more expensive

With U.S. oil prices increasing by roughly 42% from their pre-war levels, to roughly $95 a barrel from about $67 before the conflict, that could push up inflation in the United States from 2.4% in January to 3% or higher in the coming months, according to a rough estimate by economists at JPMorgan.

Economist Daco, of EY-Parthenon, estimated that the bump in gas prices could push monthly inflation to as high as 1% in March, which would be the highest monthly increase in four years. Yearly inflation would near 3% in that case.

“That’s a significant shock in and of itself,” Daco said.

Some experts say consumer spending will decrease

Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research at the National Retail Federation, said higher gas prices would likely affect consumer spending, particularly lower-income shoppers.

U.S. households pay on average $2,500 a year, or nearly $50 a week, to fill up their tank, he said. If consumers are paying, say, $10 more per week, he said, their budgets are certainly affected.

“How do they offset that?” he said. “Going out to a movie theater or going to a theme park or going out to eat — all those areas would be … more likely see cuts.”

Some see hope that prices stay down — for now

Mathews expects that retailers will absorb higher transportation costs for a while — as many did with higher tariff s — before they increase prices.

Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned against passing along higher energy costs to consumers, recalling the lessons learned after Russia invaded Ukraine.

“We must act immediately to stop energy prices from spreading to all consumer goods, as happened in 2022,” he told a Monday G7 meeting in Brussels, according to a statement from his office.

Ed Anderson, a professor of supply chain and operations management for the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, said shippers won’t immediately pass on costs to customers.

“If the conflict is only in the short run, companies will eat it,” he said.

The post How the Iran war and surging oil prices are affecting consumers at the gas pump and beyond appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The casualties occurred amid rapidly escalating military conflict in the Middle East after coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran. Officials say the broader conflict has already resulted in hundreds of deaths across the region and could continue for weeks.

According to the Department of Defense, the six service members were killed Sunday when an unmanned aerial attack struck the port area of Shuaiba in Kuwait. Authorities said the incident remains under investigation.

The soldiers were assigned to the Army Reserve’s 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa. The unit plays a critical logistical role, delivering supplies such as food, water, fuel and ammunition to U.S. forces and transporting equipment throughout operational areas.

Military officials confirmed the identities of five of the service members: Capt. Cody A. Khork, Sgt. Nicole M. Amor, Sgt. Declan J. Coady, Sgt. Noah L. Tietjens and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien. The Defense Department also reported that Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan is believed to have been among those killed.

Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, head of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, expressed condolences to the families and emphasized the importance of their service.

“Their commitment to duty and the sacrifices made by their loved ones will always be remembered,” Harter said in a statement.

Sgt. Noah L. Tietjens

Sgt. Noah Tietjens, 42, grew up in a family with strong ties to the military and enlisted in the early 2000s. Over the course of his career he served multiple overseas deployments, including missions in Iraq and Kuwait.

His twin brother, Nicholas Tietjens, said Noah had hoped to finish his latest assignment and return home within a few months.

Tietjens leaves behind his wife and teenage son. Outside of the military, he was passionate about martial arts and had become a certified instructor. Those close to him said he hoped to one day open a martial arts school in his Nebraska hometown.

Friends described him as calm and dependable, someone who naturally stepped in to help whenever needed.

Capt. Cody A. Khork

Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida, began his military journey in the National Guard in 2009 before later becoming a commissioned officer in the Army Reserve.

His family said he believed strongly in serving his country and carried that sense of responsibility throughout his life.

Khork deployed to several locations during his career, including Saudi Arabia, Poland and Guantánamo Bay. His service earned him multiple commendations, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Loved ones said his dedication to duty was matched only by his devotion to family and friends.

Sgt. Nicole M. Amor

Sgt. Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had nearly two decades of military service.

According to her brother, she had been thinking about stepping away from the military after completing her most recent deployment so she could spend more time with her children.

Amor joined the National Guard in 2005 before transitioning to the Army Reserve. She previously deployed to Iraq and later Kuwait, where she worked in logistics operations.

Her brother said she often spoke about how much she missed her children while serving overseas.

Sgt. Declan J. Coady

Sgt. Declan Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, was only 20 years old.

Originally from Iowa, he was attending Drake University in Des Moines as a sophomore at the time of his death.

Family members described him as intelligent and thoughtful, someone who could speak enthusiastically about topics he cared about. He had been active in scouting and enjoyed fencing, video games and fitness.

His sister said he had always been a steady presence in their family despite his young age.

Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien

Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, lived in Waukee, Iowa. He joined the Army Reserve as a signal corps officer in 2012.

Throughout his service, he received multiple awards recognizing his contributions and leadership.

O’Brien had previously deployed to Kuwait in 2019 and continued serving in various operational roles within the Reserve.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, was present during the attack in Kuwait. Military officials believe he was among those killed, though final confirmation is pending completion of a medical examiner’s investigation.

Conflict Continues

The deaths come as tensions across the Middle East intensify following recent military actions targeting Iranian facilities and leadership.

Officials in Washington have warned that further casualties may occur as the conflict develops.

For the families of the six service members, however, the focus remains on remembering their loved ones — not only for their military service but for the lives they lived beyond the uniform.

The post Families Remember Six U.S. Service Members Killed in Middle East Attack appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The ban on employment would apply to those who are actively involved in arresting and deporting people between Jan. 20, 2025, and Jan. 20, 2029 — the duration of President Donald Trump‘s second term — and would disqualify them from future employment as a police officer, peace officer, public school teacher or civil servant, among other jobs.

“I am introducing a bill today that draws a moral line here in California. We’re calling it like we see it, like we feel it, and respectfully, the GTFO ICE Bill — in other words, Get the Feds Out,” said Assemblymember Mark González, D-Los Angeles, apparently playing off another acronym that normally involves an expletive.

The official text of the proposed bill was not yet available on Friday, Feb. 6, but González, who is co-introducing the legislation with Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, said people who engage in permissible law enforcement activities as outlined under California’s sanctuary state law, known as Senate Bill 54, would be exempt from his proposed employment ban. (An example of an exemption would be if a law enforcement agent arrested a violent, convicted offender.)

The intent of the bill, he said, is to bar future public employment for agents who are on the ground and actively rounding up and arresting people as part of Trump’s mass deportation program.

“The message is very simple: If you choose to terrorize communities instead of serving them, California will not reward you with a public paycheck,” González said during a news conference.

González said details of the bill are still being worked out and hasn’t decided whether the restriction on future public employment in California should be a lifetime ban.

The news conference was held outside the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. The location was no accident.

It was there in 1942 that Japanese Americans were ordered to report and be transported to internment camps during World War II.

It was also there that federal agents carried out an immigration enforcement operation last August as Gov. Gavin Newsom led a kickoff rally in support of Proposition 50, the congressional redistricting measure which voters ultimately passed.

State Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, who is considering signing on as a co-author of the proposed legislation, said since Trump returned to office, “immigration enforcement has transformed into something unrecognizable — militarized authoritarian force that operates without warrants, without accountability, without any sense of humanity.”

Similar legislation was introduced last month by Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías, a Democrat from the Bay Area.

Her bill would disqualify someone from becoming a peace officer or working in school settings — as a teacher, principal, superintendent or other administrative positions, for example — if they worked for ICE between Sept. 1, 2025, and Jan. 20, 2029, or for corrections departments in Alabama or Georgia between Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2026.

Democrats in the Legislature are pushing a number of immigration-related bills this year.

The Senate recently advanced legislation that would make it easier for people to sue federal immigration officials if their civil rights are violated.

Sen. Tony Strickland — who, along with the rest of his GOP colleagues, voted against S.B. 747, the No Kings Act passed last month to make it easier to sue federal officials — criticized the effort at the time of the vote as “a little bit more about politics and a little less about policy.”

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But the outrage had started to grow online more than 24 hours earlier — first as a whisper, then eventually as a shout, as social media users, influencers and right-wing news outlets began sharing Mr. Kimmel’s monologue, according to an analysis by The New York Times of thousands of posts on social media and mentions on radio, television and podcasts.

It began with a muted reaction on X on Tuesday morning after one user, whose job involves monitoring late night shows for liberal bias, posted a clip of the monologue. Conservative influencers and radio hosts started to take notice throughout the day, and Fox News hosts turned their attention to the clip by the evening.

Then, hours before Mr. Carr’s podcast taping on Wednesday, Elon Musk, the most-followed user on X and the site’s owner, posted that Mr. Kimmel was “disgusting” for the jokes.

The accelerating furor reflects how online outrage does not always emerge organically, but is often the result of a small number of prominent voices redirecting their audience’s attention.

“Outrage is fomented by influential figures in both media and politics, for whom outrage is a communication strategy,” said Anthony Kelly, a member of University College Dublin’s Centre for Digital Policy, who has studied how partisan online outrage spreads. “Lead figures or media outlets wouldn’t be solely responsible. You also have, increasingly, the role of platforms, so outrage is being driven by algorithms.”

Critics have said Mr. Kimmel’s monologue was inaccurate because he said that “the MAGA gang was desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” According to charging documents, the accused shooter had written of Mr. Kirk, “I had enough of his hatred.”

Mr. Kimmel’s comments ultimately contributed to the show being pulled by ABC indefinitely.

There was only muted criticism online and in broadcasts for nearly 24 hours after Mr. Kimmel’s show, according to data on X from Tweet Binder, an analytics company by Audiense that collects data on the platform, and Critical Mention, a media monitoring company.

Early on Tuesday morning, only hours after Mr. Kimmel’s show aired, articles began appearing in conservative media criticizing the monologue. Breitbart, the right-wing news site, highlighted the show in an article published at 6:40 a.m. Eastern time. But the writer focused on Mr. Kimmel’s commentary about President Trump’s grief. It made only a fleeting mention about Mr. Kimmel’s comment that the shooter was “one of them.”

One of the first posts on X to share a clip from Mr. Kimmel’s monologue came from Alex Christy, a staff writer for NewsBusters, a conservative publication that reports on mainstream media with the goal of “exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias,” according to its website.

That post was published at 9:02 a.m. on Tuesday and gained steam slowly over the coming days as it ricocheted among social media users and across video platforms. The post ultimately gained more than 15 million views on X. It was amplified by top users there including Mr. Musk.

NewsBusters is a publication from the Media Research Center, a media watchdog and nonprofit founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III, a conservative media critic who was also nominated this year by Mr. Trump to be the next ambassador to South Africa. The M.R.C. has repeatedly campaigned against mainstream media in a bid to have shows canceled or networks boycotted.

“We’re going to look for media bias anywhere and everywhere we need to go look,” said David Bozell, the president of M.R.C., in an interview. “Late night included.”

After a handful of mentions of Mr. Kimmel’s monologue on radio programs on Tuesday, Fox News addressed the comments on “The Five,” its prime-time round-table talk show.

“Isn’t it easier for them to pull the plug on someone like Jimmy Kimmel, given the political and media vibe that we are in right now?” Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, one of the hosts, asked.

“It’s certainly easy to give them an opportunity to walk it back or to try and clarify exactly what he meant,” replied another host, Katie Pavlich.

But the tenor was already changing online.

Auron MacIntyre, a host for The Blaze, a right-wing media company, wrote on X on Tuesday night that Mr. Kimmel was promoting a “conspiracy theory” about the shooter’s political ties, concluding: “He must lose his job, this is deeply evil.” The post was seen more than half a million times.

“Jimmy Kimmel is disgusting,” Mr. Musk wrote the next morning.

On Wednesday, Mr. Carr, the F.C.C. chairman, appeared on “The Benny Show,” a livestream and podcast hosted by Benny Johnson, a conservative activist. Mr. Carr appeared to pick up on the online outrage, suggesting that the F.C.C. could use its powers against ABC, the network that airs the show, unless it acted against Mr. Kimmel.

The comments propelled the criticism from a mostly online feud to the mainstream, prompting its own surge of outrage over Mr. Kimmel and the F.C.C.’s potential actions.

“What makes a huge difference here is that you now have people in power, people that are highly visible and powerful, that can make actual change happen, who will pick up things that maybe 5 percent or 10 percent of the population is listening to,” said Kate Klonick, an associate professor at St. John’s University School of Law, who has written about how misinformation spreads by exploiting online outrage.

Calls for Mr. Kimmel’s firing grew online afterward, to hundreds of posts per hour on X from fewer than a dozen accounts, according to data from Tweet Binder.

After ABC announced it was pulling Mr. Kimmel’s show, Mr. Johnson, the podcaster who had interviewed the F.C.C. chairman on Wednesday, took credit for the outcome.

“Mean tweets are great,” he wrote on X. “But they can be ignored. What can’t be ignored are your paying customers organizing against you and FCC investigations. That is exactly what we did.”

The post How Outrage at Kimmel Grew to a Shout From a Whisper appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Here’s what some high-profile speakers said:

• House Speaker Mike Johnson urged the audience of mourners to adopt the Turning Point founder’s principles and approach, insisting that “Charlie loved the vigorous debate, but he loved people more.”
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Kirk’s legacy as one that championed conservative and Christian values and highlighted the impact his organization, Turning Point USA, had on the 2024 election. “President Trump loved you, Charlie, so much too,” Leavitt said. “Charlie was a beaming light in a world that is so consumed by darkness. It’s going to take all of us in this room and all of us across the country to take up Charlie’s torch.”
• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recalled joining Kirk at visits to college campuses and detailed how he sought out lively debate with those who disagreed with him. “Charlie lived by the principle that no matter how horrible another person’s speech may be, their ideas must be defeated by better ideas, not by resorting to violence,” she said.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described Kirk as the “primary architect” for his “unification” with Trump, calling the conservative activist his “spiritual brother.” Kennedy went on to criticize limits on First Amendment rights he felt took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that “Charlie, more than any figure in our country, led the resistance that has restored freedom of speech to this country.”

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But a family member told investigators that Robinson “had become more political in recent years,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at a press conference Friday morning – and in particular had lashed out at Kirk, the family member said.

Authorities, who have described Kirk’s killing as a “political assassination,” discovered anti-fascist messages engraved on ammunition with a rifle near the site of the shooting that hint at that political transformation, Cox said.

Those messages included one that said, “Hey fascist! Catch!” and another that appeared to reference an Italian anti-fascist song.

Robinson grew up in Washington, Utah, and earned a scholarship to attend Utah State University after a strong academic record in high school, but dropped out after just one semester, according to public records, social media and a university statement.

Voter registration records show that Robinson is registered to vote unaffiliated with any party, although he is also listed as an “inactive” voter, meaning he hadn’t voted in at least the most recent two general elections.

Social media photos show Robinson wearing grey Converse shoes and sunglasses that appear similar to those worn by the shooting suspect in photos released by law enforcement earlier this week.

Cox said at the press conference that a family member of Robinson had reached out to a family friend Thursday night, and the family friend told the Washington County Sheriff’s Office that “Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”

Robinson was taken into custody around 10 p.m. Thursday night, after a 33-hour manhunt, FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday.

Robinson’s hometown is a quiet suburb of St. George, a city in the southwest corner of the state. It’s about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Utah Valley University, where Kirk was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon while holding a campus event.

Cox said that a family member of Robinson had told investigators that at a recent family dinner, Robinson had mentioned Kirk’s upcoming Utah Valley event, and “they talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Cox said. “The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”

The bolt-action rifle Robinson used and left in a wooded area near the campus had various phrases engraved on the bullet casings, Cox said, including “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao ciao,” which appeared to reference an Italian anti-fascist song.

Other engravings hinted more at connections to online trolling and memes, including one that said, “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.”

Robinson graduated from Pine View High School in St. George in 2021, a spokesperson for the school confirmed. He received a resident presidential scholarship to attend Utah State University, according to a Facebook video his mother posted of him reading a letter about the award.

A spokesperson for the university said in statement Friday that Robinson “briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021.”

Kirk’s American Comeback Tour had an event scheduled at Utah State University on September 30.

The post What we know about Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

 A 22-year-old Utah man who was arrested and booked on murder charges in the assassination of Charlie Kirk held deep disdain for the conservative activist’s provocative viewpoints and indicated to a family member that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday.

The arrest marked a major break in a case that shocked the country and raised fresh alarms about political violence in a deeply polarized United States.

Tyler Robinson had become “more political” in the run-up to the shooting and mentioned during a dinner with family that Kirk would be visiting Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference. The Republican governor cited as evidence engravings on bullet casings found in the rifle that authorities believe was used in the attack, as well as chat app messages attributed to the suspect that a roommate shared with law enforcement.

The governor credited Robinson’s family with helping turn him over to authorities.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” Cox said soon after the arrest was first heralded by President Donald Trump on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends.”

Robinson is believed to have acted alone, and the investigation is ongoing, Cox said. He was arrested on suspicion of capital murder, weapons and obstruction offenses. He was expected to be formally charged Tuesday ahead of an initial court appearance.

Robinson’s arrest late Thursday capped a frenetic day-and-a-half search that just hours earlier seemed stuck when authorities pleaded for tips and leads from the public. The assassination while Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University reverberated across the country because of his outsize influence in conservative circles, his close connections with Trump and because of the questions it raised about the escalating toll of political violence that has spanned the ideological spectrum.

“This is our moment: Do we escalate or do we find an off-ramp?” Cox asked, making an impassioned plea for young people to bridge differences through common ground rather than violence. “It’s a choice.”

New details on evidence

Authorities, who have yet to reveal a motive, described evidence they said shed potential light on the slaying.

Ammunition found with the weapon was engraved with taunting, anti-fascist and meme culture messages, including one bullet casing that said, “Hey, fascist! Catch!” Cox said.

In addition, a roommate shared with authorities messages from the chatting app Discord that involved a contact named Tyler and discussed a rifle wrapped in a towel, engraved bullets and a scope, the governor said. A Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle was found in a towel in a wooded area along the path investigators believe Robinson took after firing a single shot from a distant roof and then fleeing.

The clothes the suspect wore when confronted by law enforcement late Thursday matched what he had on when he arrived on campus, and a family member confirmed he drove a gray Dodge Challenger like the one seen in surveillance video that recorded Robinson driving to the university the day of the shooting, Cox said.

Robinson’s father recognized him from the photos released by the FBI and told him to turn himself in. Robinson refused at first, but then changed his mind, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. His father contacted their youth pastor, who also occasionally works with the U.S. Marshals and called the agency so Robinson could turn himself in.

Meanwhile, investigators continued to dig into the background of Robinson, who was admitted to Utah State University, about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, on a prestigious academic scholarship, according to a video of him reading his acceptance letter posted to a family member’s social media account. However, he attended for only one semester in 2021, a university spokesperson said.

Robinson currently is enrolled in an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College near his hometown, a suburb of St. George in southern Utah.

He is registered as an unaffiliated voter and does not appear to have a prior criminal record. His address was still listed as his parents’ home, about a 3.5-hour drive south of the campus where Kirk was shot.

Family members of Robinson did not immediately return messages seeking comment. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.

At his family’s home, window coverings were drawn, and a pickup truck blocked access to the driveway. There was a heavy law enforcement presence, with several police vehicles parked along the street, which was closed at both ends.

‘He didn’t deserve this’

Kirk was a conservative provocateur who became a powerful political force by rallying young Republican voters and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.

Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA, based in Arizona. He had had been speaking at a campus debate on the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour,” at the time of Wednesday’s shooting.

He was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence when a shot rang out. Kirk reached up with his right hand as blood gushed from the left side of his neck.

Two days later, law enforcement officers continued to sweep the Utah Valley campus for evidence while the announcement of an arrest brought some relief.

“There’s been this like really heavy, dark weight pressed over my heart and soul for the last two days, and waking up to the news of the shooter being captured today, it is a great thing,” said Creighton Baird, who was close enough to the stage to see horrific images that continue replaying in his mind.

Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, escorted Kirk’s casket to his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two on Thursday.

“He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”

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The death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, as “Great, and even Legendary.”

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

The suspected shooter has not been arrested, Orem, Utah, Mayor David Young said. A person who was taken into custody by law enforcement at the university where Kirk was speaking was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.” A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away. The AP was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.

“We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie,” said Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for Turning Point USA.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions for an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience members asked. Kirk responded: “Too many.”

The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

The event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit to Utah colleges was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”

Trump and a host of Republican and Democratic elected officials decried the shooting and offered prayers for Kirk on social media.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox News Channel that he heard one shot and saw Kirk go back.

“It seemed like it was a close shot,” Chaffetz said, who seemed shaken as he spoke.

He said there was a light police presence at the event and Kirk had some security but not enough.

“Utah is one of the safest places on the planet,” he said. “And so we just don’t have these types of things.”

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.

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