Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Killed at Event in Utah

Summary

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WSJ What's News: Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Killed at Event in Utah

Host: Alex Osola (The Wall Street Journal)
Date: September 10, 2025

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Episode Overview

This somber PM edition centers on the shocking killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a public event at Utah Valley University. The episode also covers dramatic gains in Oracle stock following a major AI deal, Klarna’s successful IPO, significant upcoming increases in US employer health insurance costs, and notable global developments, including the EU’s moves on Israel and unrest in Nepal.

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Major Stories and Key Insights

1. Charlie Kirk Killed at Event in Utah

• Breaking News: Conservative activist and author Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking on stage at Utah Valley University.
• Incident Details: Shots were fired around noon local time according to social media footage.
• Political Impact: President Trump publicly acknowledged Kirk’s death. Kirk was a prominent figure in conservative political circles, particularly close to Trump and influential among younger voters.
• Context of Political Violence:
  • White House reporter Alex Leary describes a somber, tense atmosphere at the White House.
  • The attack has reignited debates on political rhetoric and violence, referencing two recent assassination attempts on Trump.

Quote:

"This is a major shock. I'm at the White House now and there's a lot of sad faces and a lot of just stunned looks on people as they kind of react to this."
— Alex Leary [01:37]

Quote:

"A real sense of vulnerability and the fact that political violence is very real and very much in front of our faces. Just a generally hotter political environment now, and this certainly will add to that."
— Alex Leary [02:13]

• Further Info: Listeners directed to WSJ's live blog for developing updates. [02:32]

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2. Oracle Stock Soars on AI-Fueled Revenue Projections

• Historic Surge: Oracle shares closed up 36%, entering the top 10 of US companies by market cap for the first time since 2011. [02:32]
• Revenue Expectations: Announced $455 billion in ‘remaining performance obligations’—tripling from three months ago.
• OpenAI Deal: OpenAI reportedly signed a $300 billion, five-year contract for computing power, a commitment described as “unprecedented.”
• Risks and Context:
  • Asa Fitch compares Oracle’s moment to Nvidia’s early AI-driven leap.
  • Oracle’s future fortunes are now closely tied to OpenAI’s success and the broader health of the AI sector.

Quote:

"The scale of it is just unprecedented. It reminds a lot of people of what happened when the AI boom kicked off and Nvidia suddenly gave this projection... it's kind of a similar moment for Oracle right now."
— Asa Fitch [03:37]

Quote:

"It's possible that this business is going to be in serious trouble, at least relative to its forecasts."
— Asa Fitch on risks of AI dependence [05:09]

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3. Klarna’s Record IPO Debut and Market Response

• Shares Surge: Klarna shares jumped 30% intraday, closing up 15% on its first day. [05:36]
• Market Sentiment: The debut adds momentum amid renewed interest in US IPOs after years of stagnation.
• Early Winners: Sequoia Capital, an early investor, stands out among major beneficiaries.
• Indexes Movement: S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached new closing highs, though the Dow dipped due to falling Apple shares.
• Economic Data Update: Unexpected decline in wholesale prices as the Producer Price Index fell by 0.1%, ahead of CPI release and impending Fed decision. [06:05]

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4. US Employer Health Insurance Costs Set to Surge

• Preview of 2026: US businesses face the biggest increase in health insurance costs in 15 years—estimated at over 9% for 2026. [07:44]
• Drivers of the Increase:
  • Lagging impact of general inflation on hospital contracts.
  • Increased healthcare usage, especially rising incidence of cancer in working-age adults.
  • Expensive drug therapies, notably GLP-1 medications (Wegovy, Mounjaro).
• Employer Responses:
  • Many may shift greater costs onto workers via premiums and deductibles.
  • Concerns mount on sustainability for both employers and employees.

Quote:

"Health costs are going up and there are a lot of reasons for that... hospitals getting bumps up in the rates that they are paid by the insurers and thus by the employers."
— Ana Wieldy Matthews [08:19]

Quote:

"It's always a question, will there be a point at which employers, or some employers throw up their hands and say, no, I can't do this anymore or I need to do this really differently."
— Ana Wieldy Matthews [09:51]

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5. International Developments

a. European Union–Israel Trade Freeze Proposal

• EU Action: The EU plans a partial suspension of its trade deal with Israel, aiming to pressure for more action on Gaza and proposing sanctions plus a Gaza reconstruction fund. [10:30]

• Powerful Statement:

  "Man made Famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity, this must stop."
  — Ursula von der Leyen, EU President [10:53]

• Reaction: Israel's Foreign Minister called the remarks “regrettable.”

b. Unrest in Nepal

• Curfew and Violence Control: Nepal’s army enforces a national curfew after deadly anti-corruption protests; at least 19 dead, PM resigns, country in political crisis. [11:30]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:37 | Alex Leary | "This is a major shock. I'm at the White House now and there's a lot of sad faces and a lot of just stunned looks on people..." | | 02:13 | Alex Leary | "A real sense of vulnerability and the fact that political violence is very real and very much in front of our faces." | | 03:37 | Asa Fitch | "The scale of it is just unprecedented. It reminds a lot of people of what happened when the AI boom kicked off..." | | 05:09 | Asa Fitch | "It's possible that this business is going to be in serious trouble, at least relative to its forecasts." | | 08:19 | Ana Wieldy Matthews | "Health costs are going up and there are a lot of reasons for that..." | | 09:51 | Ana Wieldy Matthews | "It's always a question, will there be a point at which employers, or some employers throw up their hands and say, no..." | | 10:53 | Ursula von der Leyen | "Man made Famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity, this must stop." |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Charlie Kirk Shooting & Political Fallout: 00:33 – 02:32
• Oracle AI Revenue News: 02:32 – 05:32
• Klarna IPO and Markets Roundup: 05:36 – 07:11
• Health Insurance Cost Increases: 07:44 – 10:23
• EU/Israel Trade News, Gaza, Nepal: 10:30 – 12:10

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Episode Tone and Style

• Gravitas and Urgency: The episode opens with and maintains a serious tone, especially regarding Kirk’s killing and its political ramifications.
• Direct and Analytical: Experts and reporters offer clear, data-driven insights on business and policy news.
• Respectful and Factual: Sensitive topics, particularly surrounding violence and political unrest, are handled thoughtfully and without sensationalism.

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Conclusion

This episode of WSJ’s What's News delivers a rapid yet thorough update on one of the most stunning acts of political violence in recent American history, connects it to ongoing questions about political rhetoric and safety, and pivots deftly to dramatic shifts in the tech and finance spaces. Strong, authoritative reporting offers listeners clear context and takeaways on events that will likely shape the coming weeks in politics, business, and global affairs.

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Transcript

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[Alex Osola]

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been killed at an event in Utah. Plus, Oracle's stock surges as it announces hundreds of billions in new revenue, much of it from OpenAI. And US businesses are facing the biggest health insurance cost increases in 15 years.

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

It never gets cheaper. So it's always a question, will there be a point at which employers, or some employers throw up their hands and say, no, I can't do this anymore or I need to do this really differently?

[Alex Osola]

Alex It's Wednesday, September 10th. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. President Trump said that conservative political activist and author Charlie Kirk has died. He was shot while on stage speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Videos on social media appear to show shots fired at Kirk as he spoke from a stage around noon local time. Our White House reporter Alex Leary sent us this just before it became known that Kirk had died.

[Alex Leary]

This is a major Charlie Kirk is beloved figure in the Trump orbit, very influential, especially among younger voters, very close to not just the president, but the president's family and a lot of his advisors. So this is a major shock. I'm at the White House now and there's a lot of sad faces and a lot of just stunned looks on people as they kind of react to this. This is really going to ratchet up the what has already been a really ongoing discussion about political rhetoric and attempts of violence and really amplify a lot of sharp feelings that have been circulating for years, really. But since last summer when a man tried to kill President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, then another man tried to shoot him at his golf course in Florida. A real sense of vulnerability and the fact that political violence is very real and very much in front of our faces. Just a generally hotter political environment now, and this certainly will add to that.

[Alex Osola]

For more on this developing story, you can follow our live blog on WSJ.com we'll leave a link in our show Notes Shares of database Software company Oracle surged today, closing 36% higher and bringing the company to the top 10 largest US companies by market cap for the first time since 2011. This followed Oracle's fiscal first quarter earnings report late yesterday that showed that its remaining performance obligations so money that's not yet actually in their coffers was $455 billion more than tripling from three months ago. Plus, the company claimed that it has even more multibillion dollar deals in the pipeline that will soon take that number past half a trillion dollars. People familiar with the matter said OpenAI signed a contract to purchase $300 billion in computing power over roughly five years from Oracle, a massive commitment that far outstrips the startup's current revenue. For more, I'm joined now by WSJ Heard on the street writer Asa Fitch. Asa, it sounds like investors were quite shocked by this. Why was this so surprising?

[Asa Fitch]

Oracle has been involved with the AI boom for a long time, basically since the beginning. But nobody expected this kind of leap in revenue or potential revenue, let's call it that they came out with yesterday. The scale of it is just unprecedented. It reminds a lot of people of what happened when the AI boom kicked off and Nvidia suddenly gave this projection of $11 billion of revenue for its next quarter back at that time, and it surprised everybody and set the stock way up. It's kind of a similar moment for Oracle right now.

[Alex Osola]

As we just mentioned, this money is not yet in hand. What does it depend on for Oracle to actually get it?

[Asa Fitch]

First of all, a huge portion of the future revenue that Oracle is talking about comes from OpenAI. And of course OpenAI develops ChatGPT. So its fortunes now are tied very closely to OpenAI's fortunes. And the ability of the company to collect the money that it's talking about is really tied to OpenAI's story. But as we've seen in cases in the past, the business can shift and if that happens, those contracts will be renegotiated. And it's not like the global economy is in a state of great vigor and certainty at this point. That could change too. It has to be said, though, that Oracle seems very confident about it because otherwise they wouldn't have given these very, very strong projections. This is a lot of money and they're putting their weight behind it.

[Alex Osola]

Obviously, as you said, a lot of how they're doing in the sort of medium term and short term even is tied to AI.

[Asa Fitch]

If you look at the way that the AI picture is shaping up, and if this revenue comes in from OpenAI and other customers. The company's going to be very much an AI company that's going to drown out the rest of the revenue of the company. And if AI really hits the skids, it's possible that this business is going to be in serious trouble, at least relative to its forecasts.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ heard on the street writer Asa Fitch. Thanks Asa.

[Asa Fitch]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

Another big success on Wall street was Klarna. Shares of the online payments provider, which made its stock market debut today, jumped as much as 30% before eventually closing up 15%. Klarna's big first day pop adds to the recent momentum among new listings in the US this summer, following three years of weak issuance and poor returns. The big winners of today's offering were early investors in Klarna, including Sequoia Capital, which first invested in the company 15 years ago. Klarna's debut and Oracle's surge helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rise to new closing highs today, a day after all three major indexes did so. The S&P 500 added 0.3%, while the Nasdaq was little changed. The Dow fell by about half a percent, weighed down by Apple stock, which fell for a second day. Data from the Labor Department out today showed that wholesale prices fell 0.1% last month, surprising economists who had expected a slight rise. Today's Producer price index comes a day ahead of the more widely followed Consumer Price Index. Together, the two reports contribute to a key inflation gauge. The Federal Reserve tries to steer toward 2%. The Fed's next interest rate decision is due in a week. Coming up, how US Companies are handling an upcoming rise in the cost of health insurance. That's after the break.

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[Alex Osola]

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[Alex Osola]

We'Re exclusively reporting that US businesses are facing the biggest health insurance cost increase in 15 years. Estimates from two different benefits consulting firms, Aon and wtw, estimate that costs for employer coverage are expected to surge more than 9% in 2026. Other employer surveys conducted this year have generated similar findings. Sharp hikes in health coverage spending for next year. That comes on top of two years of significant increases. Ana Will DeMathews who covers health insurance for WSJ is here now to discuss. Ana, what's driving up these costs?

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

It's really a combination of things. Health costs are going up and there are a lot of reasons for that. One is just still the impact of inflation in the general economy, which had a delayed effect on health care costs as hospitals asked insurers for higher rates, higher prices, negotiated those. Usually those contracts are on a three year cycle. So you're still seeing hospitals getting bumps up in the rates that they are paid by the insurers and thus by the employers. You're also seeing just people accessing more healthcare services. One thing that insurers and the benefits firms were telling me is that they're seeing higher incidence of certain health conditions, including cancer in the working age population. And that leads to greater need for health care and greater costs. Another factor that came up was the really expensive drug therapies across a number of different areas, but including the GLP1 drugs, those high profile drugs we've all heard of, Wegovy, Mounjaro, et cetera, that can be a significant cost for the employer.

[Alex Osola]

What are employers doing about this?

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

One thing that employers can look at as the costs get bigger is to shift more of that burden to their workers, ask them to pay a bigger portion of that premium. Another way that we all pay for our coverage is in terms of are out of pocket. So that's stuff like deductibles, right? The amount you pay when you access care. And again, that's another way in which employees also share a part of the burden. And it's a way in which employers can maybe move more of that cost to employees. So it's always a question, will there be a point at which employers, or some employers throw up their hands and say, no, I can't do this anymore or I need to do this really differently. I don't think any of us know, but the increase that is expected heading into next year is coming on top of two years of already pretty steep increases in the cost of employer coverage. Employers are feeling that and are not happy.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter Ana Wieldy Matthews. Thanks Ana.

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

In international news, the European Union plans to propose a partial suspension of its trade agreement with Israel as it faces pressure to take a harder line on Gaza. Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, EU President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would also propose sanctions and would establish a so called Palestine donor group in October with a dedicated instrument for Gaza's reconstruction.

[Ursula von der Leyen]

What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. People killed while begging for food, mothers holding lifeless babies. These images are simply catastrophic. So I want to start with a very clear message. Man made Famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity, this must stop.

[Alex Osola]

In response, Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said that von der Leyen's comments were, quote, regrettable. And Nepal's army has deployed its troops to enforce a nationwide curfew in a bid to stop violence and vandalism from spiraling. The move comes after days of protests against politician and corruption turned deadly, killing at least 19 people. Yesterday, Nepal's prime minister resigned, leaving the country with no clear leader. And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bienname and Rodney Davis with supervising producer Michael Cosmides. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning.

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