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- [00:00]
Constellation Energy Announcer
At Constellation, we bring the energy powering America's growing economy every minute, every day. As the nation's largest producer of clean and reliable American made energy, Constellation is wherever you are. From families to corner stores to manufacturers to the biggest data centers, we meet the nation's energy needs by generating emissions free electricity today and for our future.
- [00:34]
Hannah Jewell
The conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Thursday, September 11th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Charlie Kirk was shot yesterday at Utah Valley University in the city of Orem. The right wing influencer had been speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 people when a single gunshot rang out. Graphic video of the shooting spread online showing him suddenly slumping over. An eyewitness named Danielle described the crowd's reaction in a video shared by Reuters. She said she was about 15ft away from Kirk.
- [01:23]
Eyewitness Danielle
I just, all I hear is screaming and I see people running and I'm like, it's not safe to run. It's not safe to get up. It's not. And all I'm saying, please God, please God, please God. Because I don't want to die. I don't want anybody else to die. And I, I think I just saw a guy die, you know.
- [01:36]
Hannah Jewell
Later it was confirmed that Kirk had died. He was 31 years old. Kirk was one of the most prominent right wing voices in the age of Donald Trump. He was a strong ally of the president and founded the youth focused conservative nonprofit Turning Point usa. He had millions of fans. Two suspects were taken into custody but later released. A search is ongoing and the shooter's identity and motive are not yet known. But in a tribute video from the Oval Office, President Trump said he was filled with grief and blamed his political opponents.
- [02:13]
Donald Trump
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 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.
- [02:47]
Hannah Jewell
Again, neither a suspect nor a motive have been identified. Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half staff until Sunday evening. It was a remarkably quick display of official mourning for a man who held no public office and who was a deeply polarizing figure in a deeply polarized nation. FBI leaders alleged in a lawsuit that they were unlawfully fired over political loyalty. That's our second story. Brian Driscoll was briefly named the acting director of the FBI earlier this year. Before that, he says, he got a call from a Trump administration official. According to Driscoll, the official peppered him with a series of pointed questions that seemed to be a test of his loyalty to President Trump. He said he was asked, who did you vote for? When did you start supporting President Trump, and have you voted for a Democrat in the last five elections? Driscoll was promoted to the temporary post despite refusing to answer most of the questions. But now he and two other former senior FBI officials are suing. They allege they were ultimately fired by Kash Patel, who's now the FBI director, for unlawful and politically motivated reasons. Number three, Kamala Harris said letting the Bidens decide to seek re election was recklessness. The former vice president's memoir, 107 Days, will be released on September 23. It promises to recap the abbreviated campaign that Harris waged and lost after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid last summer. Yesterday we got a little preview of what's inside. In an excerpt published in the Atlantic, Harris said more should have been done to persuade Biden not to run in the first place. She wrote the stakes were simply too high. This wasn't a choice that should have been left to an individual's ego, an individual's ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision. The book's release is poised to revive uncomfortable questions for Democrats. Many of them continue to contemplate whether Biden should have initially run for re election. And the book will also fuel speculation that Harris plans to run for president again in 2028. Monthly mortgage payments are the highest they've been in decades. That's number four. You don't need me to tell you that it's increasingly difficult to find and afford a home. But now we have some fresh data to show exactly how hard it is. People who moved in 2024 faced a median mortgage payment of $2,225 per month, according to the census. That's 20% higher than those who moved just three years earlier, and it's the highest in decades. Renters also faced a tougher market Growth in median rent, including utilities, increased by 4.1% to reach $1,307 after inflation. The latest figures are consistent with what data has made clear for years. Housing costs are rising rapidly while the median income has stagnated, and that is placing homeownership out of reach and straining budgets for many Americans.
- [06:36]
Eyewitness Danielle
Foreign.
- [06:42]
Hannah Jewell
A single exercise session may slow cancer cell growth. That's our fifth story. A new study found that exercising muscles pumps out substances that can suppress the growth of breast cancer cells. Researchers recruited 32 women who had survived breast cancer but didn't exercise. Half of them were invited to try high intensity interval training. The others lifted weights for 45 minutes. The researchers drew blood before and after the sessions and then added them to human breast cancer cells that were living and growing in a lab. When they were drenched in plasma from the interval trainers or the lifters, many cancer cells quit growing or even died. The impacts were greatest with the blood drawn after interval training. Testing showed that blood contained the highest concentrations of a molecule that affects immune responses and inflammation. The study adds to mounting evidence of the cancer fighting power of exercise Number six. You may have just experienced one of the most humid spots summers ever. According to a data analysis from the Post, more than 120 million people across the US experienced one of their three most humid summers on record. Parts of the Mid Atlantic Southeast and Plains were especially hard hit by sticky, sultry heat. This summer's trend reflects a long term shift toward more humid days across the eastern two thirds of the country. And it's happening as summer heat itself is lasting longer. Warmer air can hold more water vapor. So as the planet gets hotter, expect to sweat even more. We have a tool in our newsletter today that will show you how humidity is changing where you live. Find a link to that in our show notes. And at number seven, NASA discovered the clearest sign of life ever found on Mars. The Perseverance rover landed on Mars in 2021. It's been exploring a part of the Red Planet that scientists say was once a lakebed that could have been conducive to life. And it's been doing a great job. It beamed back images of rocks it collected last year that had peculiar green, blue, black and white dots. After detailed image analysis, scientists have come to a very intriguing if those speckled rocks were formed like they are on Earth, they may have been evidence of past life on the dusty planet. It's not a sure thing. There are other ways these speckles could have formed. To find out with more certainty whether the rocks are evidence of life, scientists will need to study them in person. And that is a tricky prospect, especially in light of the Trump administration's budget cuts. But in the meantime, well done, little rover. You're doing amazing. All right, you're all caught up. But before you go, a reminder that if you're a subscriber to the Washington Post, you can get access to our shows ad free in Apple Podcasts. All you have to do is find the Washington Post Channel and Apple Podcasts and connect your Post subscription. Then stay tuned for more subscriber only audio benefits like exclusive and early access episodes. If you're not a subscriber, this is a great time to start. You can sign up at our channel and Apple Podcasts or through the link in our show Notes. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.
- [10:51]
Constellation Energy Announcer
At Constellation, we bring the energy powering America's growing economy every minute, every day. As the nation's largest producer of clean and reliable American made energy, Constellation is wherever you are. From families to corner stores to manufacturers to the biggest data centers, we meet the nation's energy needs by generating emissions free electricity today and for our future.