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Following Kirk’s assassination, lawmakers react to lethal political climate: ‘Violent words precede violent actions’

Following Kirk’s assassination, lawmakers react to lethal political climate: ‘Violent words precede violent actions’

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were in agreement that political discourse in the United States has reached a startling level following the assassination of Charlie Kirk and other recent acts of political violence. Kirk’s assassination is the latest in a string of political violence that has left several high-profile figures dead or injured since July 2024, when President Donald Trump was shot while campaigning for his second term in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was targeted again by a would-be assassin just months later. In April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was the victim of an arson attack. And in June, two Minnesota lawmakers and their families were attacked, leaving two dead.  The political violence has had a chilling effect on the nation, with some lawmakers going so far as to cancel public appearances amid fears of physical violence.   “We have a climate right now where people who are frankly unhinged … like the two guys who tried to shoot President Trump, one who did shoot him, the person – whoever it is – who killed Charlie, the person who went after the Minnesota lawmakers – these people are nuts,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. “But they are egged on by a climate that says, ‘Hey, you know, it’s okay basically to go out and shoot your opponents because they’re really Hitler.’” ANTI-TRUMP VOICES PRAISE CHARLIE KIRK’S LEGACY AFTER ASSASSINATION, SAY HE WAS DOING POLITICS ‘THE RIGHT WAY’ The sentiment was echoed by Democratic lawmakers on the Hill as well.  “It’s really sad and just scary, you know, honestly, just how dire things have gotten in this country in terms of our political discourse,” said Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J. “I was actually just remarking the other day how, in a survey, over 50% of Americans surveyed said that they would call people in the other political party ‘the enemy.’ I just think that’s terrifying, that’s so dangerous of a place for our country to be.” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon added that in order for this Republic to work, people must be able to “passionately share [their] viewpoints and do so knowing that we resolve our differences through advocacy and voting, not through violence.” CHARLIE KIRK WARNED ‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE IS SPREADING ON THE LEFT’ IN EERIE ONLINE POST MONTHS BEFORE MURDER “I don’t know what it says about political discourse, but it certainly says something about violence, and it has no business in political discourse. You can have a robust disagreement with people, but when it turns to violence, something’s gone badly wrong,” responded Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., when asked about what Kirk’s death said about the current state of political discourse. Kirk was known for engaging passionately, but also respectfully, with students of all political stripes on college campuses as part of Turning Point USA, the grassroots organization he co-founded in 2012. He would regularly visit college campuses all around the country and debate with students from different perspectives on various issues of the day. Oftentimes, Kirk would hold “Prove Me Wrong” events, where he would give students a chance to do just that – prove him wrong. “I mean, that’s the shame of this. Charlie Kirk was polite, he had a message, and he spread that message, and he engaged people to speak and debate, and then he lost his life for that,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. “That’s the thing about this country, we have freedom of speech. Nobody should ever take out violence based on something somebody said.” “I would hope that all people would take a moment, reflect, and bring down this political rhetoric,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital. “These violent words precede violent actions.”  Hawley, meanwhile, suggested a tactic to help solve the issue. “I’ll just say again, part of the way we stop it, is we realize that there’s stuff in life that’s more important than politics,” he told reporters.

California legislature passes bill prohibiting law enforcement from wearing face masks to shield identities

California legislature passes bill prohibiting law enforcement from wearing face masks to shield identities

California lawmakers passed a measure that would ban most law enforcement officers from covering their faces while on the job in response to recent immigration raids in the Los Angeles area where some federal agents wore masks and hid their identities. The bill, approved on Thursday, now heads to Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. If he signs it into law, it is unclear whether the state could enforce the ban on federal agents who have been carrying out raids and arrests at local businesses under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. The bill is the first of its kind to pass through a state legislature, although similar legislation has been introduced elsewhere, including in Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Democrats on Capitol Hill have also proposed a mask ban for law enforcement officers. Under the bill, local and federal officers, including immigration enforcement agents, would be banned from wearing neck gators, ski masks and other facial coverings while carrying out official business. LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUSHES TO PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM HIDING THEIR IDENTITIES WHILE ON THE JOB Exceptions would be permitted for undercover agents, for those using medical masks like N95 respirators or as part of tactical gear. Newsom has about a month to sign the legislation into law. While he has criticized federal agents’ use of masks during arrests, he has also raised questions over the summer about the state’s authority over federal agents. Federal agents have conducted immigration raids in Southern California since June, sparking protests and the subsequent federal deployment of the National Guard and Marines. Proponents of the bill said the proposal is needed following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week allowing the federal government to resume sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles, which also permits agents to target migrants based on things like race or ethnicity, speaking in Spanish or presence at specific locations. Assembly member Juan Carrillo, a Democrat, said the court ruling is “effectively allowing federal agents to stop suspects based solely on their race, language or job.” MASSACHUSETTS BILL WOULD FORCE ICE AGENTS TO UNMASK “How is anyone supposed to reasonably believe that they are law enforcement officers and not masked individuals trying to kidnap you?” he said ahead of the vote. “Imagine the absolute fear of being pulled over at gunpoint by a group of masked individuals.” Bill supporters also cited constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky at the University of California, Berkeley. He wrote in an opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee that a state cannot directly regulate the federal government, but that does not mean federal employees can ignore state rules “unless doing so would significantly interfere with the performance of their duties.” “ICE agents have never before worn masks when apprehending people, and that never has posed a problem. Nor have other officers of local, state and federal law enforcement faced dangers from the public because they don’t wear masks in the streets,” he wrote. Republican lawmakers and law enforcement agencies argue that the legislation would only make the job more dangerous for officers. “Bad guys wear masks because they don’t want to get caught. Good guys wear masks because they don’t want to get killed,” GOP state Sen. Kelly Seyarto said. Trump administration officials have attempted to defend the practice of face coverings by stating that federal immigration agents have been subject to an increase in harassment in public and online. But others, including several state attorneys general, argued that the use of face masks generates fear among the public and must be stopped. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Qatar PM meeting Trump after Israel’s deadly strike on Doha

Qatar PM meeting Trump after Israel’s deadly strike on Doha

Prior to talks with Trump, Sheikh Mohammed met US Secretary of State Rubio, who is heading to Israel to pledge continued support. Published On 12 Sep 202512 Sep 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is meeting United States President Donald Trump in New York in the wake of Israel’s deadly strike on Doha this week. Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the country’s foreign minister, has been engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity in the US since Israel’s attack on a Hamas meeting in Doha on Tuesday, which killed a Qatari security official and five Hamas members who were discussing a new deal proposed by Trump to end the Gaza war. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Ahead of Friday’s dinner meeting with the US president, Sheikh Mohammed met US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, where they discussed Israel’s strikes and the US-Qatar security arrangement, according to Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett. Washington counts Qatar, which hosts its Al Udeid airbase in the desert outside Doha, as a strong Gulf ally. Trump has already said he was “very unhappy” about Israel’s targeting of Qatar, which appeared designed to derail ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks. “The concern is that the relationship between Qatar and the United States has become increasingly complicated as a result of those strikes, so they’re looking for a path forward on both of those issues,” said Al Jazeera’s Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC. Halkett said Friday’s scheduled meeting with Trump would “continue the conversations regarding Israel’s attack on Doha earlier this week and the negotiations to end Israel’s war on Gaza”. Advertisement The location and time of the dinner remain unclear, but Trump is currently in New York and is staying at his eponymous Manhattan tower. Balancing act This week has also seen the Trump administration engaged in a balancing act between Middle East allies and Israel. The issue was brought to the fore on Thursday, when the US – which traditionally shields Israel on the international stage – joined fellow members of the United Nations Security Council in condemning the country for its attack on Qatar. But in what appears to be a show of continued support for Israel, Rubio will arrive in Israel this weekend for a two-day visit before attending an upcoming UN summit on September 22, where a number of Western countries plan to recognise a Palestinian state. That meeting signals growing international momentum towards a viable post-conflict settlement for Israel and Palestine, which was manifest at Friday’s meeting of the UN General Assembly, which endorsed a resolution pushing for a revival of the two-state solution. France and Saudi Arabia have been instrumental in pushing for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, which has so far killed at least 64,756 people. During his visit to Israel, Rubio will speak to leaders about “our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions, including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism”, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “He will also emphasise our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home,” Pigott added. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,297

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,297

Published On 13 Sep 202513 Sep 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is how things stand on Saturday, September 13: Fighting An early morning Russian attack on Friday killed three people in northern Ukraine’s Sumy region, a regional official reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow’s attempts to advance in the Sumy area had failed with heavy losses, and Russian operations in the region were being “completely foiled by our forces”. A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s northwestern port of Primorsk has, for the first time, forced the suspension of loading at the key western oil terminal, according to two industry sources and Ukraine’s military. An attempted Ukrainian attack at the Smolensk nuclear power station in western Russia was carried out overnight, but the drone was downed and no damage or casualties were reported, officials said. Regional security The number of Polish airspace violations by Russian drones this week may be higher than previously reported, with further analysis revealing that there may have been 21 incursions over Poland, the country’s defence chief said. Polish Secretary of State Marcin Bosacki urged the United Nations Security Council to issue a strong response to Russia over drones violating Poland’s airspace. More than 40 nations, including the United States, participated in a joint statement at the UN for stronger international action over Russia’s drone incursion into Polish airspace. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk contradicted US President Donald Trump’s assessment that the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace may have been a mistake. Writing on X, Tusk said: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.” NATO is preparing a new operation, dubbed Eastern Sentry, to add military equipment from France, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom to its existing air and ground-based defences on its eastern European flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, NATO Supreme Commander General Alexus Grynkewich said. Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal said he met with US presidential envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv. The pair discussed “the possibility of Ukraine’s Defence Forces receiving new Patriot systems and ammunition for them”, he wrote on X. Russian and Belarusian armed forces kicked off their large-scale, joint military exercises known as “Zapad 2025” on Friday, as German forces in neighbouring Lithuania led their own military drills. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attends a joint news conference at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on September 12, 2025 [Omar Havana/Reuters] Military aid Advertisement President Zelenskyy said that many details on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine were already on paper as US special envoy Kellogg and national security advisers from Britain, Germany, France and Italy are in Kyiv, Ukraine. Sanctions Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, on countries they consider to be “enabling” Russia’s war on Ukraine, while exploring other mechanisms to further increase financial support to Ukraine. Japan, the UK and New Zealand imposed new sanctions on Russia, including lowering the price cap on Russian oil and enforcing sanctions against companies linked to Russia’s weapons industry, including a producer of the Iskander missiles, as well as shadow naval fleet operators and suppliers. The European Union could phase out use of Russian gas within six to 12 months by replacing it with US liquefied natural gas, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the Reuters news agency on Friday. Politics and diplomacy US President Donald Trump said his patience with Putin is “running out and running out fast”, but blamed the “tremendous hatred between [Putin] and Zelenskyy” for the prolonging of the war. President Zelenskyy said his country’s allies should encourage China to use its leverage with Russia to halt Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasised that diplomacy is the only viable path to ending the Ukraine-Russia war and that the US must change its stance from neutrality, which had left a leadership gap. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to join President Trump on a state visit to the UK, where he and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper are due to discuss US-British cooperation on “ending the Russia-Ukraine war”, the US State Department said. Denmark is launching a 375-million-euro ($439m) programme to support Ukraine’s integration with the EU, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. Economy Russia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate on Friday to 17 percent as growth has slowed and spending on the war against Ukraine increases the budget deficit. Peace talks Russia said peace talks with Ukraine were on “pause” as the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday. Charity Britain’s Prince Harry arrived in Kyiv on Friday with a team from his Invictus Games Foundation to detail his charity’s plans to help rehabilitate wounded Ukrainian soldiers, his office said in a statement. 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