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The NewsWorthy
Shooter’s Confession?, RIP Robert Redford & Fyre Festival Sold - Wednesday, September 17, 2025
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The news to know for Wednesday, September 17, 2025! We’re talking about new court documents that shed light on a confession and possible motive in the Charlie Kirk shooting investigation. Also, more manufacturing expanding in the U.S., and President...
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Today is Wednesday, September 17th. We're talking about new court documents that shed light on a confession and a possible motive in the Charlie Crook shooting investigation. Also, more manufacturing expanding in the US And President Trump's historic state visit to the UK plus, we'll bring you tributes for a Hollywood icon, how ChatGPT is trying to become safer for teens and what LimeWire wants with the Fyre Festival. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the days news in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun and on the go. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. The person accused of killing prominent right wing activist Charlie Kirk is now formally charged with murder. And prosecutors in Utah say they're seeking the death penalty. Court documents filed along with the charges shed more light on a possible motive. Investigators uncovered text messages the suspect apparently sent his romantic partner after the shooting, saying he killed Kirk because he, quote, had enough of his, his hatred. A key break in the case apparently came from the suspect's mother, who recognized his photo on the news when police were still searching for him. The court docs say his parents then persuaded their son to turn himself in. Since then, they told police their son had moved to the left politically over the last year, specifically on gay and transgender rights. The suspect made his first court appearance yesterday wearing a suicide prevention smock. He only spoke once when asked to state his name. His next court hearing is set for later this month. FBI Director Kevin Patel was the subject of a heated hearing on Capitol Hill this week. He and Democratic senators got into shouting matches about a few different issues, like the investigation into Charlie Kirk's murder, the Epstein files, agents who say they were fired for political reasons and more. At one point, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff pressed Patel on who made the decision to move Jeffrey Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell to a minimum security prison. Patel called Schiff, quote, the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate. He also had a heated exchange with Democratic Senator Cory Booker. Booker told him, quote, I believe you have made our country weaker and less safe. The two shouted over each other and ridiculed each other. But Republicans mostly rallied around Patel, praising law enforcement for arresting Kirk's alleged killer and more. Patel has another hearing set for today. Over in the House, several U.S. national Park Service sites are being ordered to take down materials related to slavery and Native Americans. That includes a famous photograph from 1863 that shows a formerly enslaved man with scars on his back. It's been on display at Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia, and it's seen as one of the most powerful images of the Civil War era. But the Trump administration is encouraging a more positive view of American history, and in an executive order earlier this year, he told the Park Service to take down or cover up any materials that inappropriately disparage Americans. And that picture apparently qualifies. Supporters say the Trump administration is restoring balance to history education, but critics say President Trump is trying to downplay uncomfortable truths like racism. Besides the photograph in Georgia, officials in Philadelphia plan to substantially change a memorial for nine people who were enslaved by George Washington. At several other state parks, the Trump administration has ordered signs and other materials be removed if they say the land once belonged to Native American tribes, and those are just a few examples of what's being taken down. The Trump administration is going to start removing all the flagged material starting today. As expected, Israel has launched a ground invasion into Gaza City. The Israeli military says it's a necessary step to defeat the terror group Hamas, but it also means driving hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians from their homes, even though many of them have been displaced multiple times already. Also yesterday, an independent United nations commission said Israel's conduct in Gaza amounted to genocide. But the Israeli government says that's not true, that Hamas is to blame for hiding behind the Palestinian people, and that it's been warning civilians to leave Gaza City for a month now. Israel suggested they go to a designated humanitarian zone, but aid agencies say conditions there are dire with overcrowding, poor sanitation and famine. By the way, this all comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wraps up a visit to the Middle East. There, Rubio said, there's just a very short window of time in which a deal can happen to end the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also invited back to the US for his fourth visit so far this year. President Trump is on an unprecedented second state visit to the UK he's actually the first American president to be invited for a second time. And like the first, this one comes with plenty of pomp and circumstance. Today, King Charles, Prince William, and more than 1500 soldiers will welcome President Trump to Windsor Castle. Trump and the first lady will travel in a horse drawn carriage to the sound of military bands. They'll see firing cannons in a flyover, and they'll be guests of honor at a lavish banquet. Some British lawmakers specifically requested Trump not address the Parliament during his trip, but the British Parliament is in recess, so there likely won't be much of a clash anyway. Both the US And British governments are still expected to announce more cooperation in technology, financial services, artificial intelligence and nuclear energy. To be continued. We have more news for you still coming up, but first a quick break to thank our sponsor. Every parent knows how hard it can be to start healthy habits with kids, but in our house, Haya made it easy. My 4 year old takes his vitamins and probiotics every day and he actually looks forward to it. He loves the taste and for me, it's nice to see him building a healthy ritual he's excited about. Unlike most children's vitamins that are loaded with sugar and gummy additives, Hayya has zero sugar and zero junk. Just essential nutrients like vitamin D, B12C, zinc and folate, plus a blend of organic fruits and veggies. 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This week, the nation's biggest drug maker, Eli Lilly, announced plans to build a $5 billion manufacturing plant in Virginia, and the company says it will create hundreds of jobs. It's actually just one of four plants the company plans to build. The goal is for them to all make key raw ingredients for medicines within the next five years. Separately, electric vehicle maker Rivian just broke ground on its new $5 billion plant in Georgia. The company expects the factory will eventually create thousands of jobs and will be able to make as many as 400,000 of its electric vehicles a year. The plant is scheduled to open in 2028. Rivian CEO has criticized the Trump administration's policies on electric vehicles, but yesterday he said the company's goals do align with some of President Trump's, like American manufacturing, American technology and more. Eli Lilly CEO has also criticized President Trump's policies, saying it would be better for the US to adopt tax incentives rather than punishing tariffs. If it wants to encourage manufact, well, this new investment is seen as a response to those tariffs, even if the drug maker didn't mention it. Hollywood is paying tribute to one of the biggest movie stars to ever grace the screen. Robert Redford died at 89 years old this week. He became known for starring in movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Way We Were and the Sting. Then Redford directed movies like Ordinary People, which he won an Oscar for, as well as A River Runs through it, the Legend of Bagger Vance and Lions for Lambs. Redford created the Sundance Independent Film Festival, which helped launch the careers of other filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Ryan Coogler, the Coen Brothers and Christopher Nolan. Plus, Redford was known for being a champion of the environment. Now tributes are pouring in from stars like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Morgan Freeman, Ron Howard and many more. Bob Woodward, who Redford depicted in all the President's Men, spoke about Redford yesterday, saying, quote, I loved him and admired him for his friendship, his fight, independence and the way he used any platform he had to help make the world better, fairer, brighter for others. OpenAI is rolling out a different version of ChatGPT just for teenagers. ChatGPT's new Teen Experience will give much of the responsibility to the adults in teens lives. Parents and other caregivers can link their own accounts to those of their teens. Then they can restrict how the chatbot responds to teens and enable or disable certain features like memory and chat history. They can set blackout hours when a teen cannot use ChatGPT at all, and they can set up notifications if ChatGPT detects the teen is in a moment of distress. In particularly severe cases, it will even contact local police. This all comes as new research and lawsuits have raised concerns about how artificial intelligence can impact teens mental health. But one big hurdle in all of this will be figuring out who's actually underage, even if users don't enter that information themselves. OpenAI says it's building a long term system to actually predict someone's age, and if its tools cannot confidently predict it, ChatGPT will default to its under 18 version. Meanwhile, the FTC just opened an investigation into chatbot safety last week, so stay tuned. So we told you over the summer, the infamous Fyre Festival sold the brand on eBay for $245,000 and this week we found out the buyer was a file sharing website that upended the music industry in the early 2000s. We're talking about Limewire now. Limewire says it will be using the Fyre Festival name for, quote, real world experiences, community and surprise. Though to be clear, it won't actually be bringing the festival back, just the brand. For example, LimeWire's executives say they already made a licensing deal to produce a Fyre Festival themed ad for Visa. And even before the sale, there was a deal for a musical based on the Fyre Festival. You probably remember the festival originally promised a luxury music experience in the Bahamas back in 2017, but delivered tents, cheese sandwiches and a social media fiasco. Organizer Billy McFarlane later served time for fraud and made headlines again last year by selling tickets to a Fyre Festival too, which ended up falling apart. McFarlane now says it's time that the Fyre Festival's next chapter be incredible without him at the helm. As he put it, quote, I look forward to continuing to make cultural moments, paying restitution and shocking the world. Well, that's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Work Wednesday when we break down one interesting career or work related news story every Wednesday. But first, a quick break for our sponsor. I'd like to note that the supplements I'm taking are backed by science. That's why I was interested in fatty 15 and it's become something I look forward to taking every day. Fatty 15 is built around C15, the first essential fatty acid discovered in over 90 years. It was identified by a scientist working with the US Navy to improve the health of aging dolphins and now it's helping people too. More than 100 studies help to show that C15 helps strengthen cells and keep in mind when our cells age, our bodies do too well. Fatty 15 is said to repair age related damage to cells, protects them from future breakdown, and activates pathways in the body that help regulate sleep, mood and natural repair mechanisms that support overall health. And unlike fish oil, which always has left me with A strong aftertaste, Fatty 15 is one small vegan capsule with no flavor and no fillers. It's an easy habit that fits right into my day. Fatty15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help you live healthier longer. You can get an additional 15% off their 90 day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.comnewsworthy and using code newsworthy at checkout. Okay, now back to work. Wednesday. Employees all around the country are learning just how easily their words can get them fired. People who have seemingly mocked Charlie Kirk's killing online have lost their jobs at several different companies from American Airlines to Nasdaq. They've lost jobs at restaurants, schools, law firms, sports teams, newsrooms, and so on. Some of them are being reported by online activists who have collected the names of people who make contentious posts. And many employers are not hesitating to respond. But others say this whole issue poses new challenges for them. One challenge is verifying controversial posts on social media, since some online campaigns have wrongly implicated some people. Another challenge is deciding exactly which posts cross a line and which fall under free speech. Either way, free speech protections don't automatically translate to the employer employee relationship. Legal experts say most bosses have the right to punish their workers for speech that doesn't align with company values, even by firing them, though the exact laws vary from state to state. To be even more protected, many companies have updated their social media policies in the wake of Kirk's death. Of course, those will last well beyond the immediate aftermath of this murder case, but experts say changes will still be necessary since the norms are shifting. Thank you so much for listening today and for sharing the show. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.