Today in one sentence: Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and a central MAGA organizer who built a conservative student network tied to spreading false claims the 2020 election was stolen, organizing for Jan. 6, Christian nationalism, and anti-LGBTQ+ culture wars, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University; Trump, without evidence, blamed “radical left political violence” for Charlie Kirk’s killing, saying liberal rhetoric was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today,” and vowed to target “the organizations that fund it and support it"; “THIS IS WAR”: Right-wing figures used Charlie Kirk’s killing to call for retribution against the left, even before authorities named a suspect or motive; Speaker Mike Johnson led a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on the House floor that collapsed into a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats; a teenage student opened fire at Evergreen High School on Wednesday, shooting two classmates before shooting himself and later dying at the hospital; a federal judge blocked Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook; consumer prices rose 2.9% in August from a year earlier, up from 2.7% in July; and 42% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, with 56% disapproving.

1/ Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and a central MAGA organizer who built a conservative student network tied to spreading false claims the 2020 election was stolen, organizing for Jan. 6, Christian nationalism, and anti-LGBTQ+ culture wars, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. He was hit in the neck mid-sentence while answering a question about transgender politics and mass shootings. Officials said they had “good video footage” of the suspect and recovered a “high-powered bolt-action rifle,” but the “college-age” gunman remains at large. Kirk used his podcast, campus events, and media platforms to push conspiracy theories, tell women to abandon careers for the home, and claim LGBTQ+ rights would “endanger children.” He leaves behind a wife and two young children. It was the 46th school shooting of 2025, so far. (Desert News / New York Times / The Guardian / Axios / Politico / NPR / Washington Post / NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

2/ Trump, without evidence, blamed “radical left political violence” for Charlie Kirk’s killing, saying liberal rhetoric was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today,” and vowed to target “the organizations that fund it and support it.” He cited attacks on Republicans, including his own 2024 assassination attempt and the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise, but omitted recent political violence against Democrats: the June killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband; the separate June shooting of another Democratic state lawmaker and his wife by a man carrying a hit list of 45 elected Democrats; the 2022 hammer attack on Paul Pelosi; the 2021 pipe bombs mailed to Democrats by a Trump supporter; the 2025 Molotov cocktails thrown into Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home; and the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He also left out the Jan. 6 threats to Mike Pence by pro-Trump rioters who beat police officers while trying to overturn the election. Nevertheless, Trump ordered flags to half-staff, promised a posthumous Medal of Freedom ceremony with “a very big crowd,” and called him “the Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk.” (The Guardian / New York Times / NPR / NBC News / Associated Press / New York Times / Axios / NBC News / Politico)

3/ “THIS IS WAR”: Right-wing figures used Charlie Kirk’s killing to call for retribution against the left, even before authorities named a suspect or motive. Elon Musk called the left “the party of murder,” Laura Loomer warned that “More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state,” Federalist co-founder Sean Davis demanded “extermination of the entire anarcho-terrorist network,” and Stewart Rhodes – the Oath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy for Jan. 6 before Trump commuted his sentence – vowed to rebuild the group and urged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. That law allows presidents to deploy the military to suppress large-scale rebellions, which doesn’t apply to an isolated shooting like Kirk’s. (Mother Jones / Wired / Politico / New York Times / Vox / Salon / Reuters / Axios / Washington Post)

4/ Speaker Mike Johnson led a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on the House floor that collapsed into a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats. Rep. Lauren Boebert said, “Silent prayers get silent results,” prompting Democrats to shout about a school shooting in Colorado. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna yelled at Democrats, “You all caused this,” while a Democrat replied, “Pass some gun laws!” Johnson, meanwhile, urged calm, saying, “we can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner.” (New York Times / Politico / Axios / Slate / Politico)

5/ A teenage student opened fire at Evergreen High School on Wednesday, shooting two classmates before shooting himself and later dying at the hospital, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said. All three students were taken to St. Anthony Hospital, where one victim remained in critical condition, another was stable, and the suspect was pronounced dead. It was the 47th school shooting of 2025, so far. (Denver Post / ABC News / CBS News / Associated Press / CNN / New York Times / Axios)

6/ A federal judge blocked Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, allowing her to remain on the board and participate in the Sept. 16–17 meeting. Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the Federal Reserve Act’s “for cause” standard covers only a governor’s “behavior in office,” not alleged conduct before joining the Fed, adding that “the public interest in Federal Reserve independence weighs in favor of Cook’s reinstatement.” (ABC News / NBC News / Politico / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

7/ Consumer prices rose 2.9% in August from a year earlier, up from 2.7% in July, the Labor Department reported. Prices increased 0.4% over the month, with groceries up 0.6%, gasoline up 1.9%, and shelter up 0.4%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% on the month and 3.1% over the year. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN / NBC News / New York Times / NPR / Axios / CBS News)

  • Youth unemployment hit 10.5% in August, the highest since 2016 outside the pandemic. Economists blamed Trump’s tariffs, high interest rates, and AI replacing entry-level jobs, warning of “a lost generation” of young workers. A New York Fed survey found Americans put their odds of finding a new job at just 45% – the lowest on record. (Axios)

poll/ 42% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, with 56% disapproving. Trump’s approval on the economy was lower at 36%, compared to 43% on crime and 42% on immigration. (Reuters)

⏭️ Notably Next: Congress has 19 days to pass a funding measure to prevent a government shutdown; and the 2026 midterms are in 418 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. Democrats added one more seat in the House after a Virginia special election, bringing the partisan breakdown in the House to 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats. There are three vacant seats, which means Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose two Republicans in any party-line vote. (CNN)

  2. Senate Republicans voted down a Democratic measure to force the Justice Department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Republicans tabled the effort in a 51-49 vote, with Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Josh Hawley —joining with Democrats. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

  3. House Republicans passed its $892.6 billion defense policy bill by a vote of 231 to 196, largely along party lines. (Politico)

Two years ago today: Day 965: "Personal grievances."
Six years ago today: Day 965: Boneheads.
Seven years ago today: Day 600: Reckless escalation.
Eight years ago today: Day 235: Too bombastic.