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As questions swirl about FBI Director Kash Patel’s leadership of the agency, particularly in the immediate hours after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Senate Republicans appear ready to back him.

Patel is due before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an annual oversight hearing of the FBI on Tuesday morning, but the timing comes at a crucial moment for him as scrutiny mounts over a wave of firings at the agency and his handling of the investigation into Kirk’s alleged killer.

There is also a new face in FBI management — former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was sworn in on Monday in a power-sharing role with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

But Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee intend to look at Patel’s track record as a whole over the last nine months, and they signaled that they still have confidence in him.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital that he just planned to talk about oversight of the FBI during the hearing.

When asked if he felt there should be increased scrutiny of Patel, Grassley said, ‘Well, that’s why we have an oversight hearing, we do it once a year.’

The top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., however, signaled that he would be going after Patel, particularly in the wake of a lawsuit from three former senior FBI officials last week, who alleged they were fired from the agency for political reasons, and Patel’s firing of former Salt Lake City FBI field office head Mehtab Syed.

Durbin said it was unclear what kind of impact Syed would have had on the investigation, but he noted her lengthy career and specialty in counterterrorism.

‘We do know that the person who pushed her out, Director Patel, quickly took to social media and falsely announced that the suspect was in custody,’ Durbin said on the Senate floor. ‘Remember that? Only to be forced to walk back those claims shortly after.’

Patel has again come under the microscope for a post he made on X in the hours after Kirk was killed where he wrote, ‘The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.’

However, that individual and another were caught and released before law enforcement nabbed 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, some 33 hours after the shooting.

Patel pushed back on criticism of his performance during an appearance on ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday, where he argued that his post was made in a push for transparency.

‘I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings as I had them,’ he said. ‘Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment? Sure. But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not.’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a member of the committee, told Fox News Digital that there would be ‘a lot of things to learn’ during the hearing, but appeared to still back Patel as director.

‘You know, my view is, listen, he serves at the pleasure of the president,’ Hawley said. ‘If the president has confidence in him, then I think that, you know, that’s good enough for me.’

To Hawley’s point, President Donald Trump appears to still support his embattled FBI director.

‘I am very proud of the FBI,’ Trump said Saturday. ‘Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job.’

And Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and a member of the panel, said that he was sure that ‘a lot of people are going to be looking at the shooting,’ but argued his focus was on the whole of Patel’s tenure at the FBI — one that he supported during his nomination and one he still supports now.

When asked about Patel’s performance during the investigation in Utah, Tillis contended, ‘Those things are fluid.’

‘I’ve seen a lot of armchair quarterbacks in my day, and I saw a lot of armchair quarterbacks, or Monday morning quarterbacks,’ Tillis said. ‘Could they have been tighter? People are demanding updates.’

‘I mean, if the only thing that they’re criticizing you for is talking about the potential suspects or persons of interest too soon, that’s kind of weak. Go after some more foundational things.’

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said that he believed it would be a ‘very important hearing tomorrow’ in light of Patel’s social media post and direction of the agency.

‘[It’s] something that even the lowest level comms director knows,’ Booker told Fox News Digital. ‘You don’t push out information that’s wrong in an investigation, you stick to the facts, and it’s very disappointing. I think, indicative of the kind of leader that he is.’

‘I’m also more concerned right now with how many of the FBI officials he’s fired for no cause. He’s politicized this department and weaponized the department in a partisan way that’s disappointing,’ he continued. ‘And then, finally, him actually undermining investigations that are ongoing that keep Americans safe is very troubling.’ 

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Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM,ASX:NEM) is preparing to withdraw from the TSX, the latest in a string of moves to streamline operations and rein in costs following its US$15 billion takeover of Newcrest Mining in 2023.

The Denver-based miner said on Wednesday (September 10) that it has applied for a voluntary delisting of its common shares from the TSX, effective at the close of trading on September 24.

The company cited “low trading volumes” on the Canadian exchange, and said the decision is expected to “improve administrative efficiency and reduce costs for the benefit of Newmont’s shareholders.”

Newmont’s shares will continue to trade on the NYSE, where it maintains its primary listing, as well as on the ASX and the Papua New Guinea Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NEM.

Rising costs and restructuring plans

Newmont’s all-in sustaining costs reached record levels earlier this year, eroding profits even as bullion prices hit all-time highs above US$3,500 per ounce in April and remained above US$3,300 through most of the summer.

The company has acknowledged that its cost base has outpaced peers.

In the second quarter, Newmont’s costs were nearly 25 percent higher than those of Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM,NYSE:AEM), a Canadian rival considered one of the industry’s leanest producers.

Newmont’s costs have risen more than 50 percent over the past five years, driven by higher energy, labor and material prices, as well as integration expenses tied to Newcrest’s operations.

CEO Tom Palmer told investors in July that Newmont was pursuing additional measures to lower its expenses.

Behind the scenes, Newmont has been preparing for more aggressive measures.

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that management has set an internal target to lower costs by as much as US$300 per ounce, or roughly 20 percent. Meeting that benchmark could require thousands of layoffs across the company’s global workforce of about 22,000, excluding contractors.

While Newmont has not disclosed the scope of planned reductions, some employees have already been informed of redundancies, according to the report. Managers have also been briefed on potential curbs to long-term incentive programs as part of a broader restructuring. A company spokesperson confirmed earlier this year that Newmont launched a cost and productivity improvement program in February.

Alongside cost cutting, Newmont has moved to divest non-core assets acquired in the Newcrest deal.

Since late 2024, the company has sold multiple Canadian operations: the Eleonore mine for about US$795 million, the Musselwhite mine in Ontario for US$850 million and its stake in the Porcupine operations for US$425 million.

The asset sales are intended not only to cut debt at the company, but also to sharpen its focus on higher-margin operations, particularly in North America and Australia.

Despite higher costs, Newmont shares have surged 95 percent this year; the company also announced a US$3 billion share repurchase program in July.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Barrick Mining (TSX:ABX,NYSE:B) has agreed to sell its Hemlo gold mine in Ontario, Canada, for up to US$1.09 billion, continuing the company’s shift away from non-core assets.

The company announced on Thursday (September 11) that Carcetti Capital (TSXV:CART.H), which will be renamed Hemlo Mining, will acquire the mine under terms that include US$875 million in cash, US$50 million in Hemlo Mining shares and as much as US$165 million in contingent payments tied to future gold prices and production.

Barrick President and Chief Executive Mark Bristow said the sale is part of the company’s ongoing capital allocation approach, noting that proceeds will help bolster the firm’s balance sheet and fund returns to shareholders.

“The sale of Hemlo at an attractive valuation marks the close of Barrick’s long and successful chapter at the mine and underscores our disciplined focus on building value through our Tier One gold and copper portfolio,” Bristow said.

Hemlo, located near Marathon, Ontario, has produced more than 25 million ounces of gold over three decades of continuous operation. The mine transitioned from open-pit to underground operations in 2020.

The incoming Hemlo Mining board will include Robert Quartermain, founder of Pretium Resources and former CEO of SSR Mining (NASDAQ:SSRM,TSX:SSRM). He played a key role in the original discovery of Hemlo while at Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TSX:TECK.B,NYSE:TECK). The company will be led by incoming CEO Jason Kosec, and supported by a consortium that includes Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM,NYSE:WPM) and Orion Mine Finance.

To finance the acquisition, Hemlo Mining has secured a US$1 billion package comprised of US$400 million in gold streaming from Wheaton, US$415 million in equity and US$200 million in debt.

Wheaton will also take up to US$50 million of the equity raise.

“Hemlo offers a unique opportunity to add immediate, accretive gold ounces from a politically stable jurisdiction, backed by a long history of production and a capable operating team,” said Wheaton CEO Randy Smallwood.

Under the streaming agreement, Wheaton will purchase 13.5 percent of Hemlo’s payable gold until 181,000 ounces are delivered, after which the rate will fall to 9 percent for another 157,330 ounces, and then to 6 percent for the remainder of the mine’s life. Wheaton’s attributable production is expected to average around 20,000 ounces annually for the first decade and more than 17,000 ounces annually over the life of mine, which is forecast to extend for at least 14 years.

For Barrick, the sale continues a multi-year effort to trim smaller, less profitable operations in favor of large, long-life assets that meet its “tier one” criteria. Earlier this year, the company also divested its stakes in Donlin and Alturas, bringing expected gross proceeds from non-core asset sales in 2025 to more than US$2 billion.

While Barrick has emphasized that Canada remains an important exploration jurisdiction, the Hemlo arrangement effectively ends its role as a mine operator in its home country.

Reports of a potential sale had circulated since mid-2024, spurring rumors that Barrick was in advanced talks with Discovery Silver (TSX:DSV,OTCQX:DSVSF) to divest Hemlo; those discussions ultimately did not result in a deal.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

(TheNewswire)

Vancouver, British Columbia TheNewswire – September 15th, 2025 Prismo Metals Inc. (the ‘ Company ‘ ) (CSE: PRIZ,OTC:PMOMF) (OTCQB: PMOMF) is pleased to report that its exploration team has identified porphyry style mineralization at its Silver King project located outside the town of Superior in Arizona. Given the proximity of the nearby Resolution Copper deposit (a joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP), the team is excited about the potential of this same style of mineralization identified at surface within the eastern portion of our claim.

This region is world-class for porphyry systems and base and precious metals, and we believe there is significant untapped potential. Our recent field work at the Silver King mine was successful in identifying several exploration targets apart from the historic silver mine deposit including polymetallic veins, manto replacements and a strongly altered intrusion with stockwork quartz-pyrite veining. Identifying this porphyry style mineralization on the claim block is a very positive development ,’ said Dr. Craig Gibson , Chief Exploration Officer.

Figure 1 . Map showing Silver King project and nearby mineral deposits.

The Silver King deposit is located three kilometers from the Resolution Copper deposit and the high-grade Magma mine, a former copper and silver producer, located 0.6 to 1.5 kilometers to the southwest Mineralization at Silver King is hosted by the same rock sequence that hosts those two deposits but is exposed at surface and is not covered by the thick sequence of unmineralized volcanic rocks that covers Resolution Copper. From 1911 to 1996 the Magma mine was developed on veins and replacement deposits in the Paleozoic and Precambrian strata and intrusive rocks, producing approximately 27.6 million short tons of ore averaging about 4.9% copper with important quantities of zinc, gold (689K oz) and silver (34.3M oz) (Briggs, 2015), eventually leading to the discovery of the nearby Resolution copper deposit (Fig. 1).

M ineralization similar to that at the Magma mine is exposed in several historic mine workings with abundant oxide copper minerals, mainly malachite, which were developed along a northeast dipping limestone horizon near the contact with a quartz diorite intrusion and quartzite along the same structural and stratigraphic trend of the Magma mine. The largest occurrence, at the Black Diamond mine in the eastern portion of the claim block, was developed on a large outcrop of abundant specular hematite and malachite replacing a limestone bed (Fig. 2) .

Additionally, an erosional window in a regional quartz diorite has exposed a felsic intrusion to the east of the Silver King workings that was identified in historical records and now confirmed by Prismo geologists.  This felsic intrusion, previously described as a breccia pipe, is characterized by very strong stockwork quartz-pyrite veining in a quartz-sericite altered host rock. This target contains anomalous metal values in soil samples analyzed with the XRF. According to historical reports it has high salinity fluid inclusions typical of a porphyry system, providing evidence for porphyry mineralization on the Silver King claim package.

Figure 2 . Geologic and land map of the Silver King project showing newly described veins in magenta (Ag-Pb-Zn) and green (Cu-Ag) and replacement mineralization in red. The strongly altered intrusion with stock work quartz-pyrite veining is indicated by the crosshatch.

‘Much of the focus of the exploration program to date consisted of a property wide survey of historic mines and prospects surrounding the Silver King workings, said Gordon Aldcorn, President of Prismo .

The exploration work has resulted in the identification of several mineralized occurrences on the property, including veins in the vicinity of the Silver King mine, and replacement and skarn mineralization in limestone units of the sedimentary sequence near the contact.’

Part of the initial exploration program consisted of a reconnaissance survey of the geology and mineral occurrences as well as a geochemical and alteration mineral survey around the surface expression of the Silver King deposit and a second separate target to the east.

The geochemical survey used a handheld XRF instrument to measure soil samples, and showed discrete anomalies for Cu, Ag, and Sb around the historic glory hole, with the copper geochemistry also associated with the ENE striking Cu bearing vein mentioned previously (Fig. 3). Twenty-nine samples have been submitted to the lab, with an additional fifteen samples from the Ripsey mine.

This initial phase of Prismo exploration on the Silver King project is already generating a better understanding of potential with new structures not fully uncovered in historical mining approaches. This work also helps qualify our upcoming drill program which is currently in the permitting stage and is anticipated to be advanced shortly.

Figure 3 . Soil geochemistry maps for Cu, Ag, and Sb from the Silver King mine.  Contours are from values measured in soils by a handheld XRF in the field, with ranges for Cu at 5,619 ppm to 12.5 ppm, Ag at 186 ppm to 1.3 ppm, and Sb at 300 ppm to 3.9 ppm.

Click Image To View Full Size

As previously reported in Primo’s news release of August 28, 2025, the Company geologists identified two previously undescribed veins in the area surrounding the historic glory hole developed on the original exposure of high-grade silver at the Silver King deposit.  Visual inspection and analysis with a handheld XRF show two distinct veins, one with abundant silver lead and zinc and the other with copper and silver values.

Figure 4 . Location of the Company’s projects within the Arizona Copper Belt

Qualified Person

Dr. Craig Gibson, PhD., CPG., a Qualified Person as defined by NI-43-01 regulations and Chief Exploration Officer and a director of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosures in this news release. The historic data presented in this press release was obtained from public sources, should be considered incomplete and is not qualified under NI 43-101, but is believed to be accurate. The Company has not verified the historical data presented and it cannot be relied upon, and it is being used solely to aid in exploration plans. References to mineralization at the Magma Mine and Resolution Copper deposit is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Silver King property.

  1. (2) Briggs, D., 2015, Superior, Arizona: An old mining camp with many lives, Ariz. Geol Survey Contributed Report CR-15-D, 13p.

About the Silver King and Ripsey Mines

Discovered in 1875, the Silver King mine was one of Arizona’s most important historic producers, yielding nearly 6 million ounces of silver at grades of up to 61 oz/t.  The Silver King mine sits only 3 km from the main shaft of the Resolution Copper project — a joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP and one of the world’s largest unmined copper deposits with an estimated copper resource of 1.787 billion metric tonnes at an average grade of 1.5% copper (1) . The unique land position is fully surrounded by Resolution Copper’s claim block, offering strategic upside. Selected samples from small-scale production in the late 1990s returned grades as high as 644 oz/t silver (18,250 g/t) and 0.53 oz/t gold (15 g/t), indicating that high-grade mineralization remains.

The Ripsey mine is a historic gold-silver-copper producer located about 20 km west of the Hot Breccia project. Historic mine workings consisting of tunnels and shafts on several levels were developed along a vein over about 400 meters of strike length and 160 meters vertically. A small tonnage of mineral was produced by the Optionor in the late 1990’s. Limited sampling by Dr. Craig Gibson from the mine workings has yielded 15.9 g/t gold and 275 g/t silver over 0.75 meters and 8.7 g/t gold, 181 g/t silver, 3% copper and 9% zinc over 1 meter.  No modern exploration has been carried out at the project, providing significant exploration upside and multiple drill targets.

About Prismo Metals Inc.

Prismo (CSE: PRIZ,OTC:PMOMF) is a mining exploration company focused on advancing its Silver King, Ripsey and Hot Breccia projects in Arizona and its Palos Verdes silver project in Mexico.

Please follow @PrismoMetals on , , , Instagram , and

Prismo Metals Inc.

1100 – 1111 Melville St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 3V6

Phone: (416) 361-0737

Contact:

Alain Lambert, Chief Executive Officer alain.lambert@prismometals.com

Gordon Aldcorn , President gordon.aldcorn@prismometals.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as intends’ or anticipates ‘, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may’, could’, should’, would’ or occur’. This information and these statements, referred to herein as ‘forward‐looking statements’, are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management’s expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things: the timing, costs and results of drilling at Hot Breccia.

These forward‐looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: delays in obtaining or failure to obtain appropriate funding to finance the exploration program at Silver King.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that: the ability to raise capital to fund the drilling campaign at Silver King and the timing of such drilling campaign.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial outlook that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire – All rights reserved.

News Provided by TheNewsWire via QuoteMedia

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Five years ago this week, history was made on the South Lawn of the White House when Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords. What many had long dismissed as an impossible dream became an undeniable reality: Arab nations publicly embracing peace with Israel not as the byproduct of endless negotiations, but as the result of American leadership. 

I had the great privilege of working alongside President Donald Trump to make that day possible. The Abraham Accords were no accident of wishful diplomacy or naïve illusions. 

They were born of a policy deeply rooted in reality: that strength is the surest guarantor of peace, that America must stand unapologetically with Israel, and that Israel’s Arab neighbors, with the right encouragement, could find common cause with the Jewish state.

Five years later, their impact is unmistakable. The accords have preserved peace among the signatory nations, which now include Morocco and Sudan, even through some of the darkest days in Israel’s modern history. 

When Hamas launched the barbaric terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, plunging Israel into open warfare against Hamas-controlled Gaza, many feared the young partnerships would collapse. Instead, ambassadors remained in Israel, governments maintained ties and trade continued. In a region where alliances are often fleeting, that resilience is itself historic.

And the peace has been fruitful. Trade between Israel and its new partners has surged into the billions. 

Joint commercial ventures are not only creating jobs but knitting societies together in ways few ever imagined. Direct flights now link Tel Aviv with Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Manama. 

Israeli tourists now vacation in lands where Jews were forced to flee just decades ago. These human connections make future conflict far less likely and lasting stability more attainable. History reminds us that nations that prosper together seldom go to war with one another.

These achievements are even more remarkable considering that the Biden-Harris administration did virtually nothing to expand the accords’ circle of peace. In fact, the prior administration prioritized concessions to malevolent actors. The result is a peace that has endured but also stagnated, with untapped potential to reshape the Middle East for good.

Now, America has another chance to regain the momentum for peace that President Trump created in his first term, and the administration should make broadening the accords a top foreign policy priority. The United States should reaffirm our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our promise that any nation seeking partnership with Israel will find America to be a willing partner as well. In particular, Saudi Arabia’s entry into the accords would be a giant step forward. 

Normalization of Riyadh’s relations with Jerusalem would end the Jewish state’s long isolation in the Arab world, ushering in a new era of security, cooperation and economic growth that would bless the region for generations to come.

The Abraham Accords have already written a new chapter in the story of the Middle East. They proved that true peace does not come from appeasing terror, but from uniting those with the courage to oppose it. 

As we commemorate their fifth anniversary, America must not only preserve what has been achieved but expand the circle of peace until it includes all who yearn for a future built on hope rather than hatred. 

The dream of a Middle East defined by peace and prosperity is closer today than at any point in living memory. With strong leadership from the Trump administration, it can yet become a lasting reality.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Turning Point USA has seen a massive surge in inquiries for new college chapters as the organization works to advance Charlie Kirk’s vision following his assassination last week.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ said that Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has received more than 37,000 inquiries from people wanting to start new campus chapters. Kolvet said that TPUSA currently has 900 official college chapters and approximately 1,200 high school chapters.

Kolvet, who is also a spokesman for TPUSA, also said the organization has seen an increase in job applications. 

‘I have personally received hundreds of offers to work for us, or to work for free, or to just help however,’ Kolvet told Fox News Digital.

‘Charlie’s vision to have a Club America chapter (our high school brand) in every high school in America (around 23,000) will come true much, much faster than he could have ever possibly imagined,’ Kolvet wrote on X on Sunday, calling the response to expand Kirk’s mission ‘truly incredible.’

In a separate post, Kolvet wrote, ‘This is the Turning Point.’

Kirk was assassinated during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon. The event was the first in what was supposed to be a series called ‘American Comeback Tour.’

Kirk, the charismatic 31-year-old founder of the conservative youth activist group, gained recognition for his signature political debates on college campuses. 

On Thursday evening, the second family escorted Kirk’s casket and family from Utah to their home state of Arizona on Air Force Two. A video of the moment showed his wife, Erika Kirk, visibly emotional on the tarmac as the casket passed before her. The couple have two young children.

Kirk’s celebration of life ceremony is scheduled for next Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. President Donald Trump said he will attend Kirk’s funeral. 

On Friday evening, Kirk’s widow galvanized the TPUSA movement and vowed to carry on her husband’s mission.

‘To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,’ Kirk said. ‘I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name. And I will make sure of it. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever,’ Kirk said.

She also said that TPUSA’s annual ‘AmericaFest’ conference in Phoenix this December will continue as scheduled.

Judah Waxelbaum, a former campus activist at Arizona State University for Republican causes, said that the assassination likely awoke a ‘sleeping giant’ and will likely see an increase in members.

Turning Point’s not going anywhere. Turning Point, I think, will probably actually get significantly larger in the wake of what happened to Charlie,’ he told Fox News Digital in an interview on Saturday. ‘You couldn’t do youth politics in Arizona, really anywhere in the United States without coming across Charlie Kirk.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve woken up a sleeping giant.’

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.

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The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk signals a troubling new chapter in America’s political violence, former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan said.

Kirk, 31, died after he was shot in the neck during his ‘American Comeback Tour’ at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The assassination comes a year after two attempts to take the president’s life. 

‘We like to say that something happened gradually and then suddenly,’ Noonan wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. ‘It’s from Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises’: A character, asked how he went bankrupt, says, ‘Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.’ That’s how political violence in America has been growing in this century. I would say the 2024 assassination attempts on Donald Trump, and now the assassination of Kirk, are the ‘suddenly’ moments. The reality continues while the dark tempo is picking up.’

‘We know this can’t continue and we don’t know how to stop it,’ Noonan wrote. ‘That is our predicament.’

Noonan, now a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, previously served as former Presdient Ronald Reagan’s head speechwriter from 1984 to 1986. 

Kirk’s assassination is one of multiple examples of political violence – or attempted political violence. 

For example, 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump from a rooftop during a campaign rally in July 2024, and one of the eight bullets shot grazed Trump’s ear. The gunman also shot and killed Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father and husband attending the rally, and injured two others.

Likewise, Ryan Routh was apprehended and charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024. Routh was charged with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, among other things, and his trial is currently underway. 

Other instances include an assassination plot against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Nicholas John Roske, 29, pleaded guilty in April to attempting to kill Kavanaugh in June 2022, according to the Justice Department. 

Trump said Friday on ‘Fox & Friends’ that an arrest had been made in Kirk’s assassination, and Utah officials confirmed the suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

‘I hope he’s going to be found guilty, I would imagine. And I hope he gets the death penalty,’ Trump said Friday. ‘What he did, Charlie Kirk was the finest person, he didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard and so well. Everybody liked him.’

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The federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a round of golf in September 2024, resumes Monday after a week that saw jurors seated, opening statements delivered and a flurry of early testimony.

In just two days of testimony last week, prosecutors called 13 witnesses — mostly FBI and Secret Service agents — to walk jurors through the investigation and security response to the alleged attack.

Prosecutors opened Thursday by reading Ryan Routh’s own words — ‘Trump cannot be elected’ and ‘I need Trump to go away’ — to argue he plotted for months, traveled from Hawaii, and positioned himself at Trump International Golf Club with a rifle chambered and ready to fire. 

Routh, representing himself, delivered a seven-minute opening statement that Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon cut short after he veered into rambling remarks about Adolf Hitler and the Wright brothers, at one point telling jurors, ‘This case means absolutely nothing. A life has been lived to the fullest.’

The week’s witnesses included a Secret Service agent who testified Routh smiled at him while pointing a rifle ‘directly at my face,’ a civilian who identified Routh fleeing in a black Nissan Xterra, and bomb squad and FBI agents who described the alleged sniper’s hideout — backpacks clipped to a fence, a camera zip-tied to it, and Vienna sausages on the ground. 

Jurors were also shown photos prosecutors said linked Routh’s clothing to the scene, including pants with a red stain prosecutors compared to red paint on a bag recovered from the brush. Routh’s cross-examinations were brief and sometimes bizarre, from asking witnesses ‘Is it good to be alive? to quizzing them on AK-47 mechanics.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, told jurors to expect the trial to go until 5:30 p.m. daily. More FBI agents and law enforcement witnesses are expected to take the stand Monday as the government continues presenting evidence.

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