September 11, 2025 • 34 mins
Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, has been killed at age 31 in a Utah campus shooting, sparking national shock and reaction from political leaders. Commentary is pouring in across North Carolina, where lawmakers also paused to reflect on the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and addressed the murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte. Meanwhile, NCInnovation is facing new legislative demands as leadership changes bring further scrutiny to the taxpayer-funded program.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Thursday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Obviously the huge national news unfolding over the last fifteen
hours or so. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA,
a father of two and a young husband, is dead
(00:32):
after being assassinated during a camp campus event at Utah
Valley University yesterday afternoon. President Donald Trump confirming Kirk's death
in a truth social post after about an hour and
a half after the shooting. A lot of commentary on
social media on his current status. Unfortunately, President Donald Trump
(00:52):
confirming that situation. Kirk died after he was taken to
a hospital in critical condition after being shot at that
event in Utah, according it to law enforcement videos. Video
posted from the event appears to show Kirk being shot
as he spoke to a crowd from under a white
pop ump tent after the shot. As you can imagine,
(01:14):
the large crowd more than two thousand people estimated dispersed
with onlookers, a shouting run in students hitting the ground
and running for their life. This morning, a manhunt remains ongoing.
Afore the assassination suspect. The FBI previously noting that they
had a suspect in custody, but later announcing in a
(01:34):
release that was not the case. FBI Director Cash Ptel saying, quote,
the subject in custody has been released after an interrogation
by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue
to release information in the interest of transparency. Campus police
on Wednesday afternoon asks students to call a hotline and
(01:56):
be escorted off public transportation, as the college campus there
is one of the state's largest public universities in Utah,
with more than forty four one thousand students. Charlie Kirk
a very prominent conservative icon, very well known for his
campus events, which he did all over the United States,
(02:18):
bolstering free speech, giving individuals the opportunity to challenge him.
He challenged them and allow free of public discord to
take place in literally the public square, which is exactly
what he was doing yesterday when he was shot and
gunned down at thirty one years old in Utah at
a college campus. President Donald Trump releasing something similar to
(02:42):
an address to the nation last night on social media,
posting this on his ex account describing the horrific situation
in Utah.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief
and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk or
a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions, and tonight
all who knew him and loved him are united in
shock and horror. Charlie was a patriot who devoted his
(03:12):
life to the cause of open debate and the country
that he loved so much, the United States of America.
He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people.
He's a martyr for truth and freedom, and there has
never been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie
was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we
(03:36):
take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at
peace with God in Heaven. Our prayers are with his wife, Erica,
the two young beloved children, and his entire family, who
he loved more than anything in the world. We ask
God to watch over them in this terrible hour of
heartache and pain. This is a dark for America. Charlie
(04:02):
Kirk traveled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in
good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people
into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever,
to share his love of country and to spread the
simple words of common sense on campuses nationwide. He championed
(04:26):
his ideas with courage, logic, humor, and grace. It's a
long past time for all Americans and the media to
confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic
consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day,
year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible.
(04:49):
For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful
Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass
murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible
for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today,
and it must stop right now. My administration will find
(05:13):
each and every one of those who contributed to this
atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that
fund it and support it, as well as those who
go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else
who brings order to our country.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
President Donald Trump, commenting on the assassination of Charlie Kirk
from the Oval Office, posted on his social media last night,
other reaction coming in across North Carolina this morning, Governor
Josh Stein immediately commenting on the situation, saying, quote, my
heart is heavy with sadness from the senseless murder that
(05:56):
took place in Utah with Charlie Kirk. That reaction coming
in from a Democrat, Governor Josh Stein. Some other commentary
coming in, including former Governor Roy Cooper saying quote, I
am praying for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones. Violence
must have no place in our community, and we should
all remember our common humanity. The governor following up by
(06:20):
saying violence is unacceptable. I strongly condemned the attack on
Charlie Kirk and political violence in all forms. Our two
United States senators also jumping in on this as well.
US Senator Ted Budd posting on social media yesterday afternoon, quote,
Charlie Kirk challenged people to think differently and defend their beliefs.
(06:42):
He was met with violence. This is the ugly face
of the left's moral collapse, normalizing hate, applauding chaos, and
fueled by a media that profits off dispair. Political violence
has no place in America. May God grant eternal rest
and reward to Charlie and may God provide grace and
(07:03):
comfort to his wife and two children as they deal
with this unimaginable grief. Our other US Senator and Tom
Tillis also commented in on this as well, putting a
short statement on his social media yesterday afternoon as well
saying quote, praying for Charlie Kirk. Political violence has no
place in our society. Again. This happened just after noon
(07:27):
local time yesterday in Utah, where the Turning Point USA
founder was hosting an event at Utah Valley University. The
event had just started about twenty twenty five minutes prior
to the bullets ringing out and Charlie Kirk being shot
in the neck. He was taking and doing exactly what
(07:47):
he typically does at these college events, speaking to individuals
in the crowd, having a back and forth a conversation.
When his life was taken from him again this morning,
a manhunt does continue as now. National law enforcement preses
is also on scene. Not only a local and state police,
but the FBI and other national officials on scene this
(08:09):
morning trying to track down the individual that is responsible
for these actions. We'll continue the coverage and the conversation
this morning on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five
twenty Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine to three WBT. One of the other
(08:32):
major stories that, of course, we have been a following
throughout the week, a big national news up until yesterday afternoon,
was the brutal murder of Irena Zaruska on a Charlotte
light rail back on August the twenty second. We've got
some detail, some new details today about some potential legislation
here in North Carolina. Senate Leader Phil Berger, the Republican
(08:54):
out of Rockingham County, and House Speaker Destin Hall, the
Republican out of Caldwell County, are set to hold a
press conference in Raleigh today at noon to discuss legislative
action from the state side following that brutal murder back
on the twenty second. The invite for the event of
the media advisor, I should say, notes that Senator Berger,
(09:16):
Speaker Hall, and some special guests will be in attendance. Again,
that will be happening at noon today. We will have
a continuing coverage of the entire situation surrounding Arena Zaruska
over on our website that we'll have that up this
afternoon over at Carolina Journal dot com, and of course
the latest details coming up for you tomorrow morning right
(09:37):
here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Continuing our coverage
this morning on the horrific and tragic murder of Charlie
Kirk out in Utah yesterday, we continue that with Donna King,
the editor in chief of Carolina Journal dot com. Donna,
Charlie has become a cultural icon for a younger individuals
just getting into politics. Assess the situation as you see
(09:58):
at unfolding right now.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
You are sure you know, I am, just like most
of America, just horrified at this situation. His legacy, his
impact on American politics just cannot be overstated. He started
turning point USA as a teenager, like nineteen eighteen, nineteen
years old. It has grown to be a such a
(10:22):
powerful force in American politics. The last two three election
cycles were fundamentally changed and shifted because of the influence
of Charlie Kirk. And it's not because he's a bully
or he would shout or any of those things. He
truly was a happy, faithful, true believer kind of person
(10:42):
who saw the degradation of critical thinking on America's college
campuses and went into the town square, went onto the grass,
visited universities, debated, disgust, prayed, listened to students from all
walks of life on America's college campuses. He did things
that for generations politicians, people were in the political space,
(11:05):
whether they were candidates or consultants or lobbyists or whatever,
just didn't weren't willing to do Babian didn't think to do.
He took that message to America's college campuses and we
saw the impact of that in the last two election cycles.
And what went on in Utah Wednesday is he came
(11:27):
out around twelve o'clock and the very first question was
about his faith, and he told the crowd that he
believed that his savior was Jesus Christ. And he was
very quick to say, I know, I'm in Utah and
I am not here to denegrate the Church of Latter
day Saints, which, of course, you know, being Utah, a
lot of folks were members of that church. And he
(11:50):
wanted to speak openly about his own faith and encourage
others to be on a faith journey. And you know,
not fifteen minutes later this attack happened, which is I say,
it's safe to call it, you know, political violence at
this point. But his influence, even in my own family,
with my teenagers, he was tremendously influential in opening up
(12:14):
their aperture of what they are aware of in American politics,
when to question what your government does and how to
question it, how to make sure your voice is heard
in a positive way. And he modeled that for them,
and I'm forever grateful.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, and it's interesting you bring up this concept of
speaking out in the public square and questioning things, Donna.
It's no surprise, and it's no secret. There's been reports
on it for the better part of five ten years
now about conservative speech on college campuses, primarily where Charlie
Kirk and Turning Point USA went and toward where conservatives
felt like they couldn't speak up. They were afraid that
(12:53):
they'd get a failing grade, that they would be singled
out by their professor, singled out by the administration. I
would imagine probably gave a lot of young conservatives they're
not even conservatives, but young folks trying to figure out
their political path in life. The courage and the motivation
to maybe allow their thoughts to be heard in a
place where maybe it wasn't so such such a great
(13:14):
thing for them to be able to do that.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I mean, I think that's exactly what his legacy is,
and what an impact for one human being in this
country to be able to say that they did that,
to be able to step forward and look around and say,
I gave top cover to those kids who weren't heard
on America's campuses, who had to pretend to believe, to
pretend to toe the line and not ask the tough questions,
(13:39):
not exercise the critical thinking that their parents and that
their you know, perhaps high school teachers taught them to do.
They had to walk into campus and tow the line,
and he gave them permission not to. He gave them
permission to ask the hard questions and to show up
in the town square with them. One of the things
that we're hearing from witnesses yesterday is that the vast
majority ninety nine percent of the folks who were there
(14:00):
were there because they love him, and they were there
to support him and to be excited to see him.
He's a celebrity in conservative conservative politics, certainly particularly among
young people. So when people would come out to see him,
it wasn't to argue with him, it was because they
admired him. Certainly, there were those who wanted to show
up and be the one at the microphone to argue
(14:20):
with Charlie Kirk. That was like a you know, a
real badge of honor, I think on college campus as
we saw it, he was here last about this time
last year at East Carolina and you couldn't get near
the place. The line was all the way through campus
to try and get in to see him and hear him.
He had a brainwash tour, and now he was doing this.
You know, he continually did this prove me wrong where
(14:43):
people could come up and challenge and he could debate
on just about anything. And now he was doing America's
Comeback tour because he saw this ground swell of young
people who were you know, politically engaged and registering to
vote and asking the tough questions and taking in in information,
not just you know, following a party line because they
(15:03):
thought that that's what they were supposed to be doing.
So this is a really interesting impact that he has.
And he had far more supporters than he had detractors.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Donal, let's sum this out a little bit you mentioned
earlier and what I'm sure is going through most people's
minds this morning, the continued ratcheting pressure that is building
in the political sphere, political violence over the last twelve months.
Of course, the assassination attempt on now current President Donald
Trump's life. You got a couple of lawmakers gunned down
in Minnesota, now, the Charlie Kirk situation. There's been a
(15:35):
lot of these examples over the last year. So, Don,
it's a very concerning trend.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It's extremely concerning, you know, especially for you know, folks
who who are speaking out and don't feel safe doing so.
And that's the question, do you tell your child to
sit down and be quiet because you're concerned for their safety.
This is a bad example, you know. He went out
into the town square, He prayed with people, he talked openly,
he laughed, he enjoyed, you know, being with young people
(16:02):
and sharing information and hearing from them. And this is
what happens. It is a terrifying trend in the United
States at this time, and I don't know where it's going.
It feels like we are right on the edge of
something and it could be that people on the fringe,
on the far left of society are spending way too
(16:22):
much time by themselves and you know, ruminating on social
media and vilifying people they disagree with. I'm concerned for
the future. Certainly.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
We have some continuing coverage of this tragedy unfolding in
Utah over on our website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com.
We appreciate the details and the insight. The editor in
chief of Carolina Journal dot com, Donna King, joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five point thirty five.
(16:54):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour news stock
eleven ten ninety nine three WBT. Tough morning across the
board on the Carolina Journal News Hour and across the
nation as Americans today are also marking the twenty fourth
year since September the eleventh, two thousand and one, the
nine to eleven terror attacks that are happened twenty four
years ago. Today, many loved ones of the nearly three
(17:18):
thousand people killed will join dignitaries and politicians at commemorations
today that will be happening all across the nation, but
specifically highlighting the events in New York at the Pentagon
and in Pennsylvania. At Ground Zero in Manhattan, the names
of the attack of victims will be read aloud as
they are each and every year by family and loved ones.
(17:41):
In a ceremony that will be attended by Vice President JD.
Vance and his wife. Moments of silence will mark the
exact times when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center's
iconic twin towers, as well as when the skyscrapers crumbled
to the ground. At the Pentagon in Virginia, the one
hundred and eighty four service members and civilians killed when
(18:04):
hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the US
military will be honored. President Donald Trump and First Lady
Milania Trump are set to attend that service before heading
to the Bronx for a baseball game between the New
York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, where President Donald Trump will
be in attendance. Later on today, and in a rural
(18:25):
field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a similar ceremony, marked by the
moment by moments of silence and reading of the names
and laying of wreaths will honor the victims of Flight
ninety three, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members
and passengers stormed the cockpit trying to take control of
that airliner that was undoubtedly set its sight on creating
(18:47):
more devastation and destruction back in two thousand and one.
That service is set to be attended by Veterans Affair
Secretary Doug Collins. In all of the attacks by the
Al Qaya militants killed two thousand, nine hundred and seventy
seven people, including many financial workers at the World Trade
Center in New York City, as well as first responders, firefighter, firefighters,
(19:12):
police officers, and EMS officius who rushed into burning, crumbling
buildings trying to save as many lives as possible. That
anniversary does continue to take place again throughout the day today,
many ceremonies happening all across the United States. Hard to
(19:33):
argue the most impactful one will be in New York City,
where they will read the names of every single victim
as America marks twenty four years since the devastating terror
attacks on September the eleventh, two thousand and one. In
some other tough news this morning, recapping our big story
this morning, Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA,
(19:54):
a thirty one year old father of two, is dead
after being assassinated during a campus event at Utah Valley
University on Wednesday after noon, happening just after twelve o'clock
local time, about twenty five minutes into is a very
popular event that he does all across the United States
(20:17):
on college campuses, allowing individuals to avoice their opinion, challenge
some of the beliefs some of the things that Charlie
Kirk and his team believe, and have an open and
public debate and dialogue. Kirk died after he was taken
to a hospital in critical condition after being shot Wednesday
at that Utah event. According to law enforcement, the official
(20:39):
announcement being made by President Donald Trump, the chilling details
this morning indicate that a manhunt is remaining ongoing for
the individual who is suspected in the political assassination of
Charlie Kirk. The FBI and local law enforcement for a
period of time last night said that they did in
(21:00):
fact have a suspect in custody, but then later announced quote,
the suspect in custody has been released after an interrogation
by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue
to release information in the interest of transparency. That's from
FBI Director Cash Pattel. As the manhunt does continue. As
(21:22):
you can imagine with the high profile murder of Kirk yesterday,
not only local police working the scene, but federal authorities
swooping in as well to try and find the individual
that is responsible for what can only be described as
again a horrific act of political violence. At Utah Valley
University the college campus there yesterday. Charlie Kirk, a very
(21:46):
well known political icon, was in North Carolina late last
year as part of his college campus tour, the tour
in which he was at East Carolina University at Your
Being Brain Watch Tour, packing a facility over at ECU
ahead of the twenty twenty four presidential election, in which many,
(22:08):
including President Donald Trump, credit to some success of Charlie
Kirk and his Turning Point USA group for activating countless
amounts of young voters across the United States. Reaction also
coming in this morning from political figures across North Carolina.
US Senator Ted Budd releasing a statement saying, quote, Charlie
(22:30):
Kirk challenged people to think differently and defend their beliefs.
He was met with violence This is the ugly face
of the left's moral collapse, normalizing hate, applauding chaos, and
fueled by a media that profits off despair. Political violence
has no place in America. May God grant eternal rest
(22:52):
and reward to Charlie, and may God provide grace and
comfort to his wife and two children as they deal
with their unimaginable grief. Former governor turned Senate candidate Roy
Cooper also commenting on it, saying, quote, I am praying
for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones. Violence must have
no place in our country, and we should all remember
(23:14):
our common humanity. The governor following that up saying violence
is unacceptable. I strongly condemn the attacks on Charlie Kirk
and political violence in all forms. Governor Josh Stein also
commenting on this, highlighting the senseless murder of Charlie Kirk, saying,
we are grappling with a series of devastating travity tragedies,
(23:37):
one after another. I urge everyone to spend time with
loved ones tonight. This was last night when he posted this,
Hold them close, and then come back tomorrow ready to
fight for the soul of the nation. We will not
give up on America. I will note some odd word
choice there from Democrat Governor A. Josh Stein talking about
(23:57):
fighting for the soul of our nation. The governor getting
some pretty negative response to that post on social media
yesterday due to his choice of words. Not exactly sure
why he would choose to put that in his statement, however,
he did so and tweeted out from the official at
ncgovernor account on x We've got additional and continued coverage
of this tragedy this morning over on our website, Carolina
(24:21):
Journal dot com. The headline story there unfortunately reads, Charlie
Kirk dies after being shot at campus event in Utah.
We've got that additional coverage at Carolina Journal dot com.
It's now five point forty two. You're listening to the
Carolina Journal News Hour. A group known as NC Innovation
has been in our spotlight over at Carolina Journal dot
com over the last year or so. We've got some
(24:42):
new updates on then this morning to walk us through that,
Donna King, Carolina Journal dot com. It joins us on
the News Hour. Donal, We talked about NC Innovation about
a month ago. There's been some board meetings where things
have gotten rather controversial between certain board members over some
financial stuff and ongoing problems the gas talking about taking
some of their money back. It's a really fluid situation
(25:03):
over there. What's the latest that you're tracking this morning?
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Sure, sure, So the latest that's happened just this week
is the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations the short
term we call it gov OPS. So gov OPS has
sent a formal demand letter to the NC Innovation Board
of Directors that's signed by their investigative Council and their
Deputy Council for the Speaker for the North Carolina House Speaker,
(25:27):
and it's ordering the release of documents related to an
internal investigation that they've had going on in C the Innovation. Now,
you know, just as a quick recap, INC the Innovation
got five hundred million dollars in taxpayer money is an
endowment in the twenty twenty three state budget. In with that,
they were to be using the the that investment to
(25:50):
start turning university research into commercial ventures and helping this
read these researchers, you know, bridge what they call the
valley of death where work comes out of the universities
and doesn't get a commercial application. So this. The idea
of NCI and c Innovation was to help those researchers
bridge that gap, make the connection between the commercial world
(26:11):
and the university research world, and they wanted originally wanted
about one point two billion dollars to do it, ending
with about five hundred million. Well, ever since they got
that check, got that money from North Carolina taxpayers, there
are lots of strings and oversight attached to it. And
that's something we've been tracking pretty closely at Carolina Journal
and how that process goes. The latest is this letter.
(26:33):
The letter from lawmakers says that it outlined first of all,
it outlines the state law, saying that NC Innovation, once
they had taxpayer money, that they were required to be
fully transparent with legislators and that was something that they
wanted to say that. This demand letter says that their
requests for these documents has been denied by NC Innovation,
(26:56):
saying that they have refused. This is what the letter says,
that they're outside council has refused to release reports citing
attorney client privilege. That's what these attorneys for the North
Carolina General Assembly GOV Ops Committee say, and they say nope,
the House rejects House Council rejects that theory that NC
(27:17):
Innovation would be allowed to retain outside attorneys for the
purpose of shielding itself from legislative oversight. Now that is
a quote from the letter. You can read the letter
on Carolina Journal dot com, and that letter says that
they have until September fifteenth to turn over the documents
that lawmakers want for this investigation.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
And Donna, it's interesting because this group, as I mentioned
in the open as we've talked about over the last
couple of months, there's been some talks in the General Assembly,
various budget proposals looking at clawing back, if not all,
some of the money from NC Innovation. You would imagine
that this group would try and stay in the good
graces of lawmakers to maybe hold on to at least
(27:58):
some of that money. Yet it looks like, at least
according to this letter from gov Ops, that they're almost
stonewalling the General Assembly. I can't imagine that's going to
buy them any favor or good grace with lawmakers.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Well, that's what these attorneys seem to be alluding to
in this letter from gov Ops, saying like, look, you
can't withhold documents from US because we are the oversight
in the bill, the twenty twenty three budget, the legislature
has eight of the thirteen board positions as appointees. So
there are eight appointees on the thirteen member Board of
(28:33):
Directors that are supposed to be providing overfight for the
North Carolina General Assembly as stewards of you and of
our tax money, of our tax dollars. And that's what
lawmakers in or the Council in this letter are saying
that they that they have until the fifteenth to get
these turn these documents over. This letter was sent on
(28:55):
the on the ninth, so you know, but there's been
moves before for this that the lawmakers have already advanced
proposals to try and claw some of this money back.
There was a House Bill one fifty four that was
introduced earlier this year. It would dissolve the state's partnership
with NCI and redirect that money to the general fund.
(29:15):
But then also we have the budget process, right, so
in the House budget, lawmakers included clawing back all the
money and reallocating that five hundred million to Helene recovery
disaster relief. And then the Senate budget, on the other hand,
claws back about four hundred million of it for a
new children's hospital around the Triangle area and gives NCI
(29:37):
twenty five million dollars a year for the next four
years as kind of a short runway to gear up
and become self sustaining, privately funded. So this effort has
been coming for a while. This letter isn't completely out
of nowhere, but it certainly is an indicator of a
major development and lots more scrutiny.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
As you mentioned, Donna, folks cannot only go and read
this letter from government ops, but some of our continuing
coverage on NC innovation over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com. We appreciate the update. This morning, Dona King
joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five
(30:16):
fifty four. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour,
Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT. It has
been a very busy and sad week here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. Turning our attention back to some
North Carolina news this morning and some potential legislative action,
as so much national attention has been spent on the
state of North Carolina this week after the brutal and
(30:39):
senseless murder of a twenty three year old Ukrainian refugee
by the name of Irena Zaruska back on August the
twenty second. Senate Leader Phil Berger, the Republican out of
Rockingham County, and House Speaker Destin Hall, the Republican out
of Caldwell County, are set to hold a special press
conference at noon today in Raleigh at the North Carolina
(31:01):
General Assembly to discuss legislation actions following that brutal murder
on a Charlotte light rail car back on the twenty
second of August. The media advisory indicates a Burger and
Hall will both be there, and it does note some
other guests as well, but it just has special guests.
Not immediately clear who is going to be there. However,
(31:22):
it is happening at noon today in Raleigh. We will
be running in and watching the details on that. We'll
have the breaking news coverage as it is relevant over
on our website Carolina Journal dot com, and of course
have any audio, video and news for you coming up
tomorrow morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Well,
a manhunt does continue in Utah this morning as we
(31:44):
recap our big breaking news story conservative activist and political
icon Charlie Kirk murdered assassinated in front of more than
three thousand people out of a college campus known as
Utah Valley University yesterday after noon as his group Turning
Point USA, was doing what they do best, go to
(32:05):
college campuses across the nation, challenge individuals on their beliefs,
and allow open discourse and dialogue to take place. It
was just about twenty five minutes into the event at
Utah Valley University yesterday when bullets rang out from video
posted and I'll note a graphic, horrific video posted on
(32:26):
social media shows a bullet hitting Kirk square in the neck.
It was just about an hour and a half two
hours after that that President Donald Trump made the official
announcement on truth Social that the thirty one year old
founder of Turning Point USA, father of two and young husband,
had been a brutally assassinated, shot and killed at that
(32:47):
event in Utah. The scary information this morning is that
local law enforcement, alongside federal authorities the FBI and others,
are continuing a statewide manhunt in Utah to try and
track down the individual that is responsible for firing the
shot that killed Kirk in a crowd of again about
three thousand people at Utah Valley University. Kirk just late
(33:11):
last year, less than a year ago, was at East
Carolina University as he brought his very popular college tours
all over the United States. We've got some additional coverage
of that, including some reaction from lawmakers across the state
of North Carolina over on our website this morning, Carolina
Journal dot com. It has been a very busy and
(33:32):
sad newsweek. You can keep up to date with all
of our coverage again over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it for a Thursday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next,
followed by Good morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning,
five to six right here on News Talk eleven, ten
and ninety nine to three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into a Thursday edition
of the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Obviously the huge national news unfolding over the last fifteen
hours or so. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA,
a father of two and a young husband, is dead
(00:32):
after being assassinated during a camp campus event at Utah
Valley University yesterday afternoon. President Donald Trump confirming Kirk's death
in a truth social post after about an hour and
a half after the shooting. A lot of commentary on
social media on his current status. Unfortunately, President Donald Trump
(00:52):
confirming that situation. Kirk died after he was taken to
a hospital in critical condition after being shot at that
event in Utah, according it to law enforcement videos. Video
posted from the event appears to show Kirk being shot
as he spoke to a crowd from under a white
pop ump tent after the shot. As you can imagine,
(01:14):
the large crowd more than two thousand people estimated dispersed
with onlookers, a shouting run in students hitting the ground
and running for their life. This morning, a manhunt remains ongoing.
Afore the assassination suspect. The FBI previously noting that they
had a suspect in custody, but later announcing in a
(01:34):
release that was not the case. FBI Director Cash Ptel saying, quote,
the subject in custody has been released after an interrogation
by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue
to release information in the interest of transparency. Campus police
on Wednesday afternoon asks students to call a hotline and
(01:56):
be escorted off public transportation, as the college campus there
is one of the state's largest public universities in Utah,
with more than forty four one thousand students. Charlie Kirk
a very prominent conservative icon, very well known for his
campus events, which he did all over the United States,
(02:18):
bolstering free speech, giving individuals the opportunity to challenge him.
He challenged them and allow free of public discord to
take place in literally the public square, which is exactly
what he was doing yesterday when he was shot and
gunned down at thirty one years old in Utah at
a college campus. President Donald Trump releasing something similar to
(02:42):
an address to the nation last night on social media,
posting this on his ex account describing the horrific situation
in Utah.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief
and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk or
a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions, and tonight
all who knew him and loved him are united in
shock and horror. Charlie was a patriot who devoted his
(03:12):
life to the cause of open debate and the country
that he loved so much, the United States of America.
He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people.
He's a martyr for truth and freedom, and there has
never been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie
was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we
(03:36):
take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at
peace with God in Heaven. Our prayers are with his wife, Erica,
the two young beloved children, and his entire family, who
he loved more than anything in the world. We ask
God to watch over them in this terrible hour of
heartache and pain. This is a dark for America. Charlie
(04:02):
Kirk traveled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in
good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people
into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever,
to share his love of country and to spread the
simple words of common sense on campuses nationwide. He championed
(04:26):
his ideas with courage, logic, humor, and grace. It's a
long past time for all Americans and the media to
confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic
consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day,
year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible.
(04:49):
For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful
Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass
murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible
for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today,
and it must stop right now. My administration will find
(05:13):
each and every one of those who contributed to this
atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that
fund it and support it, as well as those who
go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else
who brings order to our country.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
President Donald Trump, commenting on the assassination of Charlie Kirk
from the Oval Office, posted on his social media last night,
other reaction coming in across North Carolina this morning, Governor
Josh Stein immediately commenting on the situation, saying, quote, my
heart is heavy with sadness from the senseless murder that
(05:56):
took place in Utah with Charlie Kirk. That reaction coming
in from a Democrat, Governor Josh Stein. Some other commentary
coming in, including former Governor Roy Cooper saying quote, I
am praying for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones. Violence
must have no place in our community, and we should
all remember our common humanity. The governor following up by
(06:20):
saying violence is unacceptable. I strongly condemned the attack on
Charlie Kirk and political violence in all forms. Our two
United States senators also jumping in on this as well.
US Senator Ted Budd posting on social media yesterday afternoon, quote,
Charlie Kirk challenged people to think differently and defend their beliefs.
(06:42):
He was met with violence. This is the ugly face
of the left's moral collapse, normalizing hate, applauding chaos, and
fueled by a media that profits off dispair. Political violence
has no place in America. May God grant eternal rest
and reward to Charlie and may God provide grace and
(07:03):
comfort to his wife and two children as they deal
with this unimaginable grief. Our other US Senator and Tom
Tillis also commented in on this as well, putting a
short statement on his social media yesterday afternoon as well
saying quote, praying for Charlie Kirk. Political violence has no
place in our society. Again. This happened just after noon
(07:27):
local time yesterday in Utah, where the Turning Point USA
founder was hosting an event at Utah Valley University. The
event had just started about twenty twenty five minutes prior
to the bullets ringing out and Charlie Kirk being shot
in the neck. He was taking and doing exactly what
(07:47):
he typically does at these college events, speaking to individuals
in the crowd, having a back and forth a conversation.
When his life was taken from him again this morning,
a manhunt does continue as now. National law enforcement preses
is also on scene. Not only a local and state police,
but the FBI and other national officials on scene this
(08:09):
morning trying to track down the individual that is responsible
for these actions. We'll continue the coverage and the conversation
this morning on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five
twenty Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine to three WBT. One of the other
(08:32):
major stories that, of course, we have been a following
throughout the week, a big national news up until yesterday afternoon,
was the brutal murder of Irena Zaruska on a Charlotte
light rail back on August the twenty second. We've got
some detail, some new details today about some potential legislation
here in North Carolina. Senate Leader Phil Berger, the Republican
(08:54):
out of Rockingham County, and House Speaker Destin Hall, the
Republican out of Caldwell County, are set to hold a
press conference in Raleigh today at noon to discuss legislative
action from the state side following that brutal murder back
on the twenty second. The invite for the event of
the media advisor, I should say, notes that Senator Berger,
(09:16):
Speaker Hall, and some special guests will be in attendance. Again,
that will be happening at noon today. We will have
a continuing coverage of the entire situation surrounding Arena Zaruska
over on our website that we'll have that up this
afternoon over at Carolina Journal dot com, and of course
the latest details coming up for you tomorrow morning right
(09:37):
here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Continuing our coverage
this morning on the horrific and tragic murder of Charlie
Kirk out in Utah yesterday, we continue that with Donna King,
the editor in chief of Carolina Journal dot com. Donna,
Charlie has become a cultural icon for a younger individuals
just getting into politics. Assess the situation as you see
(09:58):
at unfolding right now.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
You are sure you know, I am, just like most
of America, just horrified at this situation. His legacy, his
impact on American politics just cannot be overstated. He started
turning point USA as a teenager, like nineteen eighteen, nineteen
years old. It has grown to be a such a
(10:22):
powerful force in American politics. The last two three election
cycles were fundamentally changed and shifted because of the influence
of Charlie Kirk. And it's not because he's a bully
or he would shout or any of those things. He
truly was a happy, faithful, true believer kind of person
(10:42):
who saw the degradation of critical thinking on America's college
campuses and went into the town square, went onto the grass,
visited universities, debated, disgust, prayed, listened to students from all
walks of life on America's college campuses. He did things
that for generations politicians, people were in the political space,
(11:05):
whether they were candidates or consultants or lobbyists or whatever,
just didn't weren't willing to do Babian didn't think to do.
He took that message to America's college campuses and we
saw the impact of that in the last two election cycles.
And what went on in Utah Wednesday is he came
(11:27):
out around twelve o'clock and the very first question was
about his faith, and he told the crowd that he
believed that his savior was Jesus Christ. And he was
very quick to say, I know, I'm in Utah and
I am not here to denegrate the Church of Latter
day Saints, which, of course, you know, being Utah, a
lot of folks were members of that church. And he
(11:50):
wanted to speak openly about his own faith and encourage
others to be on a faith journey. And you know,
not fifteen minutes later this attack happened, which is I say,
it's safe to call it, you know, political violence at
this point. But his influence, even in my own family,
with my teenagers, he was tremendously influential in opening up
(12:14):
their aperture of what they are aware of in American politics,
when to question what your government does and how to
question it, how to make sure your voice is heard
in a positive way. And he modeled that for them,
and I'm forever grateful.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, and it's interesting you bring up this concept of
speaking out in the public square and questioning things, Donna.
It's no surprise, and it's no secret. There's been reports
on it for the better part of five ten years
now about conservative speech on college campuses, primarily where Charlie
Kirk and Turning Point USA went and toward where conservatives
felt like they couldn't speak up. They were afraid that
(12:53):
they'd get a failing grade, that they would be singled
out by their professor, singled out by the administration. I
would imagine probably gave a lot of young conservatives they're
not even conservatives, but young folks trying to figure out
their political path in life. The courage and the motivation
to maybe allow their thoughts to be heard in a
place where maybe it wasn't so such such a great
(13:14):
thing for them to be able to do that.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I mean, I think that's exactly what his legacy is,
and what an impact for one human being in this
country to be able to say that they did that,
to be able to step forward and look around and say,
I gave top cover to those kids who weren't heard
on America's campuses, who had to pretend to believe, to
pretend to toe the line and not ask the tough questions,
(13:39):
not exercise the critical thinking that their parents and that
their you know, perhaps high school teachers taught them to do.
They had to walk into campus and tow the line,
and he gave them permission not to. He gave them
permission to ask the hard questions and to show up
in the town square with them. One of the things
that we're hearing from witnesses yesterday is that the vast
majority ninety nine percent of the folks who were there
(14:00):
were there because they love him, and they were there
to support him and to be excited to see him.
He's a celebrity in conservative conservative politics, certainly particularly among
young people. So when people would come out to see him,
it wasn't to argue with him, it was because they
admired him. Certainly, there were those who wanted to show
up and be the one at the microphone to argue
(14:20):
with Charlie Kirk. That was like a you know, a
real badge of honor, I think on college campus as
we saw it, he was here last about this time
last year at East Carolina and you couldn't get near
the place. The line was all the way through campus
to try and get in to see him and hear him.
He had a brainwash tour, and now he was doing this.
You know, he continually did this prove me wrong where
(14:43):
people could come up and challenge and he could debate
on just about anything. And now he was doing America's
Comeback tour because he saw this ground swell of young
people who were you know, politically engaged and registering to
vote and asking the tough questions and taking in in information,
not just you know, following a party line because they
(15:03):
thought that that's what they were supposed to be doing.
So this is a really interesting impact that he has.
And he had far more supporters than he had detractors.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Donal, let's sum this out a little bit you mentioned
earlier and what I'm sure is going through most people's
minds this morning, the continued ratcheting pressure that is building
in the political sphere, political violence over the last twelve months.
Of course, the assassination attempt on now current President Donald
Trump's life. You got a couple of lawmakers gunned down
in Minnesota, now, the Charlie Kirk situation. There's been a
(15:35):
lot of these examples over the last year. So, Don,
it's a very concerning trend.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It's extremely concerning, you know, especially for you know, folks
who who are speaking out and don't feel safe doing so.
And that's the question, do you tell your child to
sit down and be quiet because you're concerned for their safety.
This is a bad example, you know. He went out
into the town square, He prayed with people, he talked openly,
he laughed, he enjoyed, you know, being with young people
(16:02):
and sharing information and hearing from them. And this is
what happens. It is a terrifying trend in the United
States at this time, and I don't know where it's going.
It feels like we are right on the edge of
something and it could be that people on the fringe,
on the far left of society are spending way too
(16:22):
much time by themselves and you know, ruminating on social
media and vilifying people they disagree with. I'm concerned for
the future. Certainly.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
We have some continuing coverage of this tragedy unfolding in
Utah over on our website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com.
We appreciate the details and the insight. The editor in
chief of Carolina Journal dot com, Donna King, joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five point thirty five.
(16:54):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour news stock
eleven ten ninety nine three WBT. Tough morning across the
board on the Carolina Journal News Hour and across the
nation as Americans today are also marking the twenty fourth
year since September the eleventh, two thousand and one, the
nine to eleven terror attacks that are happened twenty four
years ago. Today, many loved ones of the nearly three
(17:18):
thousand people killed will join dignitaries and politicians at commemorations
today that will be happening all across the nation, but
specifically highlighting the events in New York at the Pentagon
and in Pennsylvania. At Ground Zero in Manhattan, the names
of the attack of victims will be read aloud as
they are each and every year by family and loved ones.
(17:41):
In a ceremony that will be attended by Vice President JD.
Vance and his wife. Moments of silence will mark the
exact times when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center's
iconic twin towers, as well as when the skyscrapers crumbled
to the ground. At the Pentagon in Virginia, the one
hundred and eighty four service members and civilians killed when
(18:04):
hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the US
military will be honored. President Donald Trump and First Lady
Milania Trump are set to attend that service before heading
to the Bronx for a baseball game between the New
York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, where President Donald Trump will
be in attendance. Later on today, and in a rural
(18:25):
field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a similar ceremony, marked by the
moment by moments of silence and reading of the names
and laying of wreaths will honor the victims of Flight
ninety three, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members
and passengers stormed the cockpit trying to take control of
that airliner that was undoubtedly set its sight on creating
(18:47):
more devastation and destruction back in two thousand and one.
That service is set to be attended by Veterans Affair
Secretary Doug Collins. In all of the attacks by the
Al Qaya militants killed two thousand, nine hundred and seventy
seven people, including many financial workers at the World Trade
Center in New York City, as well as first responders, firefighter, firefighters,
(19:12):
police officers, and EMS officius who rushed into burning, crumbling
buildings trying to save as many lives as possible. That
anniversary does continue to take place again throughout the day today,
many ceremonies happening all across the United States. Hard to
(19:33):
argue the most impactful one will be in New York City,
where they will read the names of every single victim
as America marks twenty four years since the devastating terror
attacks on September the eleventh, two thousand and one. In
some other tough news this morning, recapping our big story
this morning, Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA,
(19:54):
a thirty one year old father of two, is dead
after being assassinated during a campus event at Utah Valley
University on Wednesday after noon, happening just after twelve o'clock
local time, about twenty five minutes into is a very
popular event that he does all across the United States
(20:17):
on college campuses, allowing individuals to avoice their opinion, challenge
some of the beliefs some of the things that Charlie
Kirk and his team believe, and have an open and
public debate and dialogue. Kirk died after he was taken
to a hospital in critical condition after being shot Wednesday
at that Utah event. According to law enforcement, the official
(20:39):
announcement being made by President Donald Trump, the chilling details
this morning indicate that a manhunt is remaining ongoing for
the individual who is suspected in the political assassination of
Charlie Kirk. The FBI and local law enforcement for a
period of time last night said that they did in
(21:00):
fact have a suspect in custody, but then later announced quote,
the suspect in custody has been released after an interrogation
by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue
to release information in the interest of transparency. That's from
FBI Director Cash Pattel. As the manhunt does continue. As
(21:22):
you can imagine with the high profile murder of Kirk yesterday,
not only local police working the scene, but federal authorities
swooping in as well to try and find the individual
that is responsible for what can only be described as
again a horrific act of political violence. At Utah Valley
University the college campus there yesterday. Charlie Kirk, a very
(21:46):
well known political icon, was in North Carolina late last
year as part of his college campus tour, the tour
in which he was at East Carolina University at Your
Being Brain Watch Tour, packing a facility over at ECU
ahead of the twenty twenty four presidential election, in which many,
(22:08):
including President Donald Trump, credit to some success of Charlie
Kirk and his Turning Point USA group for activating countless
amounts of young voters across the United States. Reaction also
coming in this morning from political figures across North Carolina.
US Senator Ted Budd releasing a statement saying, quote, Charlie
(22:30):
Kirk challenged people to think differently and defend their beliefs.
He was met with violence This is the ugly face
of the left's moral collapse, normalizing hate, applauding chaos, and
fueled by a media that profits off despair. Political violence
has no place in America. May God grant eternal rest
(22:52):
and reward to Charlie, and may God provide grace and
comfort to his wife and two children as they deal
with their unimaginable grief. Former governor turned Senate candidate Roy
Cooper also commenting on it, saying, quote, I am praying
for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones. Violence must have
no place in our country, and we should all remember
(23:14):
our common humanity. The governor following that up saying violence
is unacceptable. I strongly condemn the attacks on Charlie Kirk
and political violence in all forms. Governor Josh Stein also
commenting on this, highlighting the senseless murder of Charlie Kirk, saying,
we are grappling with a series of devastating travity tragedies,
(23:37):
one after another. I urge everyone to spend time with
loved ones tonight. This was last night when he posted this,
Hold them close, and then come back tomorrow ready to
fight for the soul of the nation. We will not
give up on America. I will note some odd word
choice there from Democrat Governor A. Josh Stein talking about
(23:57):
fighting for the soul of our nation. The governor getting
some pretty negative response to that post on social media
yesterday due to his choice of words. Not exactly sure
why he would choose to put that in his statement, however,
he did so and tweeted out from the official at
ncgovernor account on x We've got additional and continued coverage
of this tragedy this morning over on our website, Carolina
(24:21):
Journal dot com. The headline story there unfortunately reads, Charlie
Kirk dies after being shot at campus event in Utah.
We've got that additional coverage at Carolina Journal dot com.
It's now five point forty two. You're listening to the
Carolina Journal News Hour. A group known as NC Innovation
has been in our spotlight over at Carolina Journal dot
com over the last year or so. We've got some
(24:42):
new updates on then this morning to walk us through that,
Donna King, Carolina Journal dot com. It joins us on
the News Hour. Donal, We talked about NC Innovation about
a month ago. There's been some board meetings where things
have gotten rather controversial between certain board members over some
financial stuff and ongoing problems the gas talking about taking
some of their money back. It's a really fluid situation
(25:03):
over there. What's the latest that you're tracking this morning?
Speaker 3 (25:05):
Sure, sure, So the latest that's happened just this week
is the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations the short
term we call it gov OPS. So gov OPS has
sent a formal demand letter to the NC Innovation Board
of Directors that's signed by their investigative Council and their
Deputy Council for the Speaker for the North Carolina House Speaker,
(25:27):
and it's ordering the release of documents related to an
internal investigation that they've had going on in C the Innovation. Now,
you know, just as a quick recap, INC the Innovation
got five hundred million dollars in taxpayer money is an
endowment in the twenty twenty three state budget. In with that,
they were to be using the the that investment to
(25:50):
start turning university research into commercial ventures and helping this
read these researchers, you know, bridge what they call the
valley of death where work comes out of the universities
and doesn't get a commercial application. So this. The idea
of NCI and c Innovation was to help those researchers
bridge that gap, make the connection between the commercial world
(26:11):
and the university research world, and they wanted originally wanted
about one point two billion dollars to do it, ending
with about five hundred million. Well, ever since they got
that check, got that money from North Carolina taxpayers, there
are lots of strings and oversight attached to it. And
that's something we've been tracking pretty closely at Carolina Journal
and how that process goes. The latest is this letter.
(26:33):
The letter from lawmakers says that it outlined first of all,
it outlines the state law, saying that NC Innovation, once
they had taxpayer money, that they were required to be
fully transparent with legislators and that was something that they
wanted to say that. This demand letter says that their
requests for these documents has been denied by NC Innovation,
(26:56):
saying that they have refused. This is what the letter says,
that they're outside council has refused to release reports citing
attorney client privilege. That's what these attorneys for the North
Carolina General Assembly GOV Ops Committee say, and they say nope,
the House rejects House Council rejects that theory that NC
(27:17):
Innovation would be allowed to retain outside attorneys for the
purpose of shielding itself from legislative oversight. Now that is
a quote from the letter. You can read the letter
on Carolina Journal dot com, and that letter says that
they have until September fifteenth to turn over the documents
that lawmakers want for this investigation.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
And Donna, it's interesting because this group, as I mentioned
in the open as we've talked about over the last
couple of months, there's been some talks in the General Assembly,
various budget proposals looking at clawing back, if not all,
some of the money from NC Innovation. You would imagine
that this group would try and stay in the good
graces of lawmakers to maybe hold on to at least
(27:58):
some of that money. Yet it looks like, at least
according to this letter from gov Ops, that they're almost
stonewalling the General Assembly. I can't imagine that's going to
buy them any favor or good grace with lawmakers.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Well, that's what these attorneys seem to be alluding to
in this letter from gov Ops, saying like, look, you
can't withhold documents from US because we are the oversight
in the bill, the twenty twenty three budget, the legislature
has eight of the thirteen board positions as appointees. So
there are eight appointees on the thirteen member Board of
(28:33):
Directors that are supposed to be providing overfight for the
North Carolina General Assembly as stewards of you and of
our tax money, of our tax dollars. And that's what
lawmakers in or the Council in this letter are saying
that they that they have until the fifteenth to get
these turn these documents over. This letter was sent on
(28:55):
the on the ninth, so you know, but there's been
moves before for this that the lawmakers have already advanced
proposals to try and claw some of this money back.
There was a House Bill one fifty four that was
introduced earlier this year. It would dissolve the state's partnership
with NCI and redirect that money to the general fund.
(29:15):
But then also we have the budget process, right, so
in the House budget, lawmakers included clawing back all the
money and reallocating that five hundred million to Helene recovery
disaster relief. And then the Senate budget, on the other hand,
claws back about four hundred million of it for a
new children's hospital around the Triangle area and gives NCI
(29:37):
twenty five million dollars a year for the next four
years as kind of a short runway to gear up
and become self sustaining, privately funded. So this effort has
been coming for a while. This letter isn't completely out
of nowhere, but it certainly is an indicator of a
major development and lots more scrutiny.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
As you mentioned, Donna, folks cannot only go and read
this letter from government ops, but some of our continuing
coverage on NC innovation over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com. We appreciate the update. This morning, Dona King
joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five
(30:16):
fifty four. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour,
Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT. It has
been a very busy and sad week here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. Turning our attention back to some
North Carolina news this morning and some potential legislative action,
as so much national attention has been spent on the
state of North Carolina this week after the brutal and
(30:39):
senseless murder of a twenty three year old Ukrainian refugee
by the name of Irena Zaruska back on August the
twenty second. Senate Leader Phil Berger, the Republican out of
Rockingham County, and House Speaker Destin Hall, the Republican out
of Caldwell County, are set to hold a special press
conference at noon today in Raleigh at the North Carolina
(31:01):
General Assembly to discuss legislation actions following that brutal murder
on a Charlotte light rail car back on the twenty
second of August. The media advisory indicates a Burger and
Hall will both be there, and it does note some
other guests as well, but it just has special guests.
Not immediately clear who is going to be there. However,
(31:22):
it is happening at noon today in Raleigh. We will
be running in and watching the details on that. We'll
have the breaking news coverage as it is relevant over
on our website Carolina Journal dot com, and of course
have any audio, video and news for you coming up
tomorrow morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Well,
a manhunt does continue in Utah this morning as we
(31:44):
recap our big breaking news story conservative activist and political
icon Charlie Kirk murdered assassinated in front of more than
three thousand people out of a college campus known as
Utah Valley University yesterday after noon as his group Turning
Point USA, was doing what they do best, go to
(32:05):
college campuses across the nation, challenge individuals on their beliefs,
and allow open discourse and dialogue to take place. It
was just about twenty five minutes into the event at
Utah Valley University yesterday when bullets rang out from video
posted and I'll note a graphic, horrific video posted on
(32:26):
social media shows a bullet hitting Kirk square in the neck.
It was just about an hour and a half two
hours after that that President Donald Trump made the official
announcement on truth Social that the thirty one year old
founder of Turning Point USA, father of two and young husband,
had been a brutally assassinated, shot and killed at that
(32:47):
event in Utah. The scary information this morning is that
local law enforcement, alongside federal authorities the FBI and others,
are continuing a statewide manhunt in Utah to try and
track down the individual that is responsible for firing the
shot that killed Kirk in a crowd of again about
three thousand people at Utah Valley University. Kirk just late
(33:11):
last year, less than a year ago, was at East
Carolina University as he brought his very popular college tours
all over the United States. We've got some additional coverage
of that, including some reaction from lawmakers across the state
of North Carolina over on our website this morning, Carolina
Journal dot com. It has been a very busy and
(33:32):
sad newsweek. You can keep up to date with all
of our coverage again over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it for a Thursday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next,
followed by Good morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning,
five to six right here on News Talk eleven, ten
and ninety nine to three WBT
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