--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, September 15th. Here's what we're covering.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Utah, authorities are preparing to file formal charges against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Robinson, who officials say acted alone, is being held without bail and is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: According to family and people that we're interviewing, he does come from a conservative family, but his ideology was very different than his family. In a series of TV interviews over the weekend, the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, didn't identify a specific motive for the shooting, but said Robinson had a leftist ideology and had been, quote, radicalized after dropping out of college.
--:-- Spencer Cox: Clearly, there was a lot of gaming going on. Friends that have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark Internet where this person was going deep. I described Robinson, who is 22 years old, as a very normal young man, who he said then became immersed in video games and message boards.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Several of the bullet casings found near the scene had online memes and gaming references carved into them. One had the phrase, hey fascist, catch. He has not confessed to authorities, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that's very important.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: We can confirm that his roommate was indeed a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female and that he is cooperating with authorities as well. Cox also said that Robinson had been living with a romantic partner who had no advance warning of the shooting and was shocked by the attack.
--:-- Spencer Cox: Some LGBTQ activists in Utah told The Times they were troubled that the governor had publicly discussed the partner's gender identity so early in the investigation, bringing in such a fraught social and political issue.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Kirk himself had been an outspoken critic of transgender rights and was answering a question from the crowd about trans people and mass shootings when he was fatally shot. Meanwhile, in D.C. last night...
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Hundreds of people gathered at the Kennedy Center for a prayer vigil celebrating Kirk, including members of Congress and top Trump administration officials like White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt.
--:-- Caroline Levitt: When so many influential voices in our society are brainwashing young people to abandon our faith to stay single not to have children and to bash our country Charlie Kirk offered us an alternative path
--:-- Tracy Mumford: It was one of many vigils for Kirk across the country and around the world as Christian conservatives say his killing could be a watershed moment that galvanizes their movement.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: One popular Christian podcaster said, quote, This is what happens when you make a martyr. You embolden everyone who believes like they do.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: At the same time, there's been a rapid and widespread effort from conservative influencers and government officials to target people who criticized Kirk after his death.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: A website has gone up featuring a tip line for reporting people who allegedly disparaged Kirk or celebrated his killing. Dozens of names have been listed on it. Also, a growing number of people have been fired or suspended from their jobs because of similar posts online.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And the Secretary of the Navy said that any sailors or Marines who showed what he called contempt toward a fellow American who was assassinated, would be, quote, dealt with swiftly and decisively.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: This week, President Trump is headed to England for a state visit with the king. He'll arrive tomorrow, and sources tell The Times that Charlie Kirk's assassination has prompted British authorities to intensify security preparations.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: As planned, they'll have drones and snipers, as well as armed police who are being brought in from across the country to provide extra security. In England, only 4% of officers are authorized to carry guns.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: One former royalty protection officer from London's police department said authorities will specifically be re-evaluating any elevated position that a gunman could use to try and fire a shot.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Trump's visit will include meetings with King Charles along with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. And the president is expected to ride in an open carriage with the royal family ahead of a state banquet at Windsor Castle.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Trump's visit to England comes just days after an estimated 100,000 people marched through central London for a far-right rally. They have underestimated us for so long.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The event was led by Tommy Robinson, a divisive figure who rose to prominence by founding a nationalist anti-Muslim group whose events previously turned violent.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The crowd on Saturday marched along the Thames River and passed Big Ben and Parliament, carrying English flags and signs calling for deportations of asylum seekers.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: There's genuine risk of rape and murder and the destruction of the country and dissolution of the entire way of life.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Elon Musk, who has promoted Tommy Robinson on social media, addressed the crowd on a giant video screen.
--:-- Elon Musk: You in a fundamental situation here where whether you choose violence or not violence is coming to you You either fight back or you die
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Musk told the crowd that in the wake of Kirk assassination they needed to push back against what he described as a murderous left-wing movement.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Counter-protesters also gathered on Saturday, though they appeared to be outnumbered more than 20 to 1.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Sudan, the civil war that started more than two years ago has now become the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, according to aid groups.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The country's army has been battling a rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces. 12 million people have been forced from their homes, tens of thousands have been killed, and famine is gripping the country.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The worst battleground of the war is in the Darfur region, in the city of El Fasher, which is under siege.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: It's incredibly difficult to get access to El Fasher, but we do know from satellite images that the group that's pressing the siege, the Rapid Support Forces, has been steadily building an earthen wall or a berm around the perimeter of the city, effectively to trap people inside it.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: My colleague Declan Walsh has been covering the conflict. He says that about a quarter million people are trapped inside the city and that the residents and aid workers he was able to reach by phone described increasing desperation.
--:-- Declan Walsh: There is very little food. Many of the inhabitants are now reliant on eating this animal feed that is now the staple food for most residents, including malnourished infants who are being brought to the last functioning hospital in the city.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I spoke to a couple of doctors who work at that hospital. They described how that hospital has been bombed over 30 times since the start of the conflict.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Many of the hospital buildings are destroyed, the medics are working in what remains, and they're running out of medicine as well as food.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In short, many of the people I spoke to described an impossible choice. They said that if they stay in the city, they risk being bombed or starved. But if they try to leave, they have to travel along this incredibly dangerous road where they risk being attacked or killed or raped.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And so they feel that there are no good choices. And worse of all, because the city is so isolated, they feel that their plight is being ignored and that they are being forgotten.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Declan says there have been attempts to get aid into El Fasher, but the United Nations hasn't been able to reach the city after its convoys were hit by drone attacks.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Times has been looking at how a growing number of Americans are turning to chatbots for financial help. It's one of many roles people have carved out for the technology. AI chatbots have been serving as therapists, travel agents, career coaches, but using it for money advice has become incredibly popular.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: According to one survey from a personal finance company, 82% of millennials and Gen Zers who use AI said they ask it for financial guidance. They're looking for investment tips or help with a savings strategy.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: One woman told the Times she asked for daily AI prompts to help her pay down her credit card debt, and she followed what it said, including donating her plasma, looking for money in her state's unclaimed property registry, things like that.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those getting this kind of advice from AI say it's more accessible than going to a human advisor. Plus, it's free. But like any info from a chatbot, experts say that guidance should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: AI can and does get things wrong, which people are finding out the hard way. The same survey found that more than half of the Americans who acted on the financial advice from AI said they made a poor financial decision or a mistake trying to follow the guidance.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And finally, another financial story that comes with a little bit of caution. Imagine $5,000 a week, week after week. For the rest of your life. For years, Publishers Clearinghouse sold people on the idea of winning big.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I don't believe it. You gotta believe it. The company's famous prize patrol would show up outside people's houses with huge, oversized checks. And people really did win.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: 60-year-old John Wiley in Bellingham, Washington, won $5,000 a week for life back in 2012. He retired, bought a house on a bunch of land, and kept cashing his annual checks of a quarter million dollars each.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: But this year, the checks stopped. Publishers Clearinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection without warning. An online casino operator then bought the company, which had about $100 million in debt.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The new owner said it's going to keep the famous giveaways going, but it's not going to pay past prize winners. That'll eventually be up to a bankruptcy judge, and it's unclear if they'll get anything.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Wiley, who said he got a part-time job after the money stopped coming, used to keep the oversized check up on his wall as a point of pride. He's since taken it down, telling the Times, looking at it makes me sad and it makes me mad.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a look at the Supreme Court's so-called shadow docket. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.
