Charlie Kirk Shot & Russian Drones Over Poland

Hello readers, happy Thursday! We’ve got an abbreviated edition today due to some scheduling conflicts, but the news is definitely not lacking in this one. Today, we’ll be covering Charlie Kirk’s shooting, Russian drones over Poland, FBI agents suing Kash Patel, and the new iPhone.

“Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, ‘Is life a multiple choice test or is it a true or false test?’ ...Then a voice comes to me out of the dark and says, ‘We hate to tell you this but life is a thousand word essay.’” ― Charles M. Schulz

Shock & Awe In Utah

Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing activist and the founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University yesterday. Kirk, a close Trump ally, was debating an audience member over mass shootings when he was shot in the neck. “Before he could even answer, we heard a gunshot and we just saw Charlie Kirk’s neck turn to the side and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck. There was blood, immediately a lot of blood,” said an audience member. The 31 year-old was quickly taken to a nearby hospital by his security guards but died soon after.

Within an hour of the shooting, authorities said they’d apprehended a suspect – an older white male – before releasing him. According to a spokesperson for Utah Valley University, the shooter had fired at Kirk from a rooftop roughly 200 yards away before escaping on foot. Later in the day, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that a “person of interest” had been caught and taken into custody, while local police said they were still looking for the shooter. Patel then announced that the second suspect had been released following a brief questioning. At time of writing, the suspect is still at large. 

Politicians from across the globe and political spectrum, from California Governor Gavin Newsom to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were quick to condemn the shooting. “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” said Trump after Kirk was pronounced dead. The president then ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half staff to mourn the right-wing activist’s death.

They know how fast you run—and how much you earn.

Almost-War Over Warsaw

• Yesterday, Poland shot down multiple drones in the country’s airspace, claiming that the drones were Russian aircraft. The incident marks the first time that a NATO country has officially fired shots in the Russia-Ukraine war, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two.” However, he added, there is “no reason to believe we're on the brink of war.”

• Soon after the drones were detected, Poland activated Article 4 of the NATO treaty, asking its military allies for assistance. While Dutch F-35s, Italian surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft were scrambled in response to the incursion, the drones were ultimately taken down by Polish guns, crashing down to earth deep within Polish territory. 

• Leaders from NATO countries, including France, the U.K., Germany, and Canada all condemned Russia for the incident, and Donald Trump even chimed in, asking “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” before jumping on a call with Polish President Karol Nawrocki. Moscow has denied that the drones were Russian at all, though analysts believe the incident was an attempt by the Kremlin to test NATO’s air defenses.

Additional World News

• UK PM Starmer and Israeli president clash during 'tough' meeting (BBC) 

• Israel will kill Hamas leaders next time if they survived Qatar attack, Israeli official says (Reuters)

• Global press freedom suffers sharpest fall in 50 years, report finds (Guardian)

• Israeli airstrikes on Yemen kill at least 35, Houthi officials say (AP)

• Military Enforces Calm in Nepal After Two Days of Chaos (NYT, $)

• France hit by protests as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu takes office (BBC)

Time For Kash To Pay Up

• Three former senior FBI officials sued Kash Patel (the agency’s current director) and the federal government for wrongful termination yesterday. The officials – Brian Driscoll Jr, Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans – claimed that their firings were illegal, and are requesting that the judge reinstate them and give them backpay for their time away from the agency.

• “Driscoll, Jensen, and Evans were the targets of defendants’ retribution for their refusals to politicize the FBI, and they seek to vindicate their constitutional and legal rights,” their lawyers wrote in a complaint, adding that “the FBI tried to put the president in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.” The three officials had decades of experience at the agency between them, and were high up on the totem pole – Driscoll served as the interim FBI director for a short period after Trump’s inauguration, Jensen was the head of the agency’s Washington field office, and Evans was in charge of the Las Vegas field office.

Additional USA News

• ‘War Is Here’: The Far-Right Responds to Charlie Kirk Shooting With Calls for Violence (Wired, $)

• Republicans Block Schumer’s Effort to Force Vote on Epstein Files (NYT, $)

• Nasa blocks Chinese nationals from working on its space programs (Guardian)

• Authorities say a boy shot two other teens then himself at a suburban Denver high school (AP)

• Klarna hits $19bn value in Wall Street debut (BBC)

• 33 million voters have been run through a Trump administration citizenship check (NPR)  

New iPhone, Who Dis?

• On Tuesday, Apple unveiled its latest range of products, including its new iPhone lineup and the next generation of Airpods Pro. This generation of iPhones includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and the all-new iPhone Air. The Air is just 5.6 mm thick and weighs 165 grams, but remains competitive in terms of processing power and battery life. The other iPhones will feature improved battery life, stronger processors, and Apple’s new “ceramic shield” displays. The Air and Pro are also sporting a much-larger camera bump across their back side, which will house extra camera processors and battery capacity.

• Outside of the new iPhones, Apple also unveiled the Airpods Pro 3, featuring longer battery life, stronger active noise cancellation, new fitness tracking technology, and improved sound quality. They will also apparently ship with live translation capabilities, so you can pretend to have the Babel fish from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in your ear. The Apple Watch lineup got a smaller range of updates, with new health tracking features, faster processors, and better network connectivity.

Additional Reads

• Larry Ellison briefly tops Elon Musk as world's richest person (BBC) 

• Disgruntled NYT journalist to ‘anti-woke’ power grab: how far can Bari Weiss go? (Guardian)

• How New York Police Officers Avoid Drunk Driving Charges (NYT, $)

• Why we should treat caffeine like the brain-altering drug it is (Psyche)

• Spotify adds lossless streaming after 8 years of teasing (Verge)

• Life on Mars? NASA says a rock sample shows potential signs of ancient life (NPR) 

Please consider supporting Daily Pnut, an independently operated and bootstrapped publication, and you'll receive our exclusive Sunday edition. Many thanks to everyone who already supports us!

Editor & Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella