Up First briefing: Charlie Kirk shooting update; Inflation Police shared photos and a video of a person fleeing from the scene after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot. Plus, inflation is rising, and the job market is weakening. So why are stocks soaring?
Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.[1][2]
Today’s top stories
Authorities last night shared images of a person of interest in the killing of Charlie Kirk. The person is shown wearing a black T-shirt, white Converse shoes and a hat with a triangle on it, running from the scene[3] after the fatal shooting of the right-wing activist. Investigators also recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle and unused rounds believed to be the shooter’s. Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox yesterday made a plea for anyone who might recognize the possible shooter, who is still at large, to come forward.
The FBI released photos of what a person of interest in Wednesday’s shooting of Charlie Kirk, asking for the public’s help identifying them. FBI Salt Lake City hide caption
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FBI Salt Lake City
- 🎧 Last night’s press conference on the Utah Valley University campus where Kirk was killed was “essentially a blinking ‘help wanted’ sign,” NPR’s Bobby Allyn tells Up First. Cox says investigators have received more than 7,000 tips. The FBI hasn’t received this many tips since the Boston Marathon bombing more than a decade ago. Cox adds that disinformation, some of which is being spread by Russian and Chinese bots, complicates the investigation. Allyn says some students he spoke to in the area remain rattled and unsure[4] of whether they’re safe, while others assume the shooter has long since left the city.
- ➡️ In the wake of Kirk’s death, legions of his young conservative followers must now confront the question of how to sustain the movement[5] that he built.
New reports from the Labor Department show inflation and consumer prices inching higher. The job market is also showing fresh signs of weakness. Employers added just 22,000 jobs in August. Revised figures show the economy lost jobs in June for the first time since 2020. Despite this, the stock market is soaring. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 600 points yesterday, and all the major indexes closed at record highs.
[6]
- 🎧 Investors think the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, and stock prices tend to go up when it looks like interest rates will go down, NPR’s Scott Horsley says. The Fed has been cautious about cutting interest rates because policymakers wanted to see how President Trump’s tariffs would affect inflation. Horsley says the Fed is expected to pay more attention[7] to the sagging job market. A weaker job market means consumers are more cautious about spending money, which could lead to firms cutting more employees. The Fed may hope to avoid this cycle by cutting interest rates next week.
Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election. The historic verdict marks the first time a former Brazilian head of state has gone to trial for attempting to overthrow the government. Bolsonaro is a close political ally of Trump. The president called Bolsonaro an “outstanding man” and said it was “very surprising that that could happen.”
[8]
- 🎧 Bolsonaro remains hugely popular in Brazil, says freelance journalist Julia Carneiro. His supporters consider the trial unfair and will likely pressure Congress to approve some kind of amnesty law. Still, just as many Brazilians greeted Bolsonaro’s conviction with relief[9] and consider it a landmark defense of democracy in a country that has endured repeated coup attempts and many years of military dictatorship. Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the sentence should discourage any future attempt to destroy democracy, according to Carneiro. Bolsonaro’s defense lawyers said the sentence was excessive and disproportionate.
Life advice
Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR
Pithy advice like “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” and “Winners never quit and quitters never win” creates a culture where quitting can feel like failure. But abandoning a goal can be an opportunity to make space for something better. Cognitive psychologist Annie Duke, author of Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away; career educator Colin Rocker; and psychologist and professor Angela Duckworth give NPR’s Life Kit advice on how to recognize when it’s time to let go.
[10]
- ➡️ If the thought of quitting has stayed in your mind for some time, set a deadline to make your decision and come up with an off-ramp plan.
- ➡️ It’s OK if what you wanted a few months or years ago isn’t what you want now.
- ➡️ We sometimes spend so much time and effort on something that we feel we have to stick with it. That’s called the sunk cost fallacy. Be honest with yourself about why you haven’t quit yet.
- ➡️ Success requires hard work and passion. If you’re working hard but you hate what you’re doing, it may be time to make a change.
Read all the signs that it’s time to quit in this comic[11] from NPR’s Life Kit. Subscribe to the Life Kit[12] newsletter[13] for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.
Weekend picks
Parisa Taghizadeh/Netflix; Macall Polay/20th Century Studios; Yannis Drakoulidis/Amazon MGM Studios; MUBI; Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures; Davi Russon/Paramount Pictures
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:[14]
🍿 Movies: NPR’s fall movie guide[15] is here just in time for your autumn escape to the theater. The anticipated releases cover nearly every genre, including rom-coms, heist flicks, sports/horror mashups, Broadway musicals and more.
📺 TV: The Paper[16] is a spinoff of The Office, but this time, a team of journalists is at the center of the hijinks. The Peacock mockumentary follows the staff of a local newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, that’s facing financial and cultural headwinds.
📚 Books: Beverly Cleary’s character Henry Huggins[17] turns 75 this week. Take a look back at the history of Ramona Quimby’s big-kid neighbor.
🎵 Music: Ed Sheeran performs live later today at NPR’s Tiny Desk. Tune in to the live stream here[18] at 12:00 PM ET.
❓ Quiz: Nothing stings quite as badly as getting a “Competent” message after finishing your NPR news quiz. Will you get a better score[19]?
🎮 Games: Fans of the smash hit Hollow Knight have waited six years for the sequel, Hollow Knight Silksong[20]. The wait was worth it. The game is brutally difficult, but never feels unfair. Reviewer Keller Gordon writes that every loss is a “reminder that you could have won if you were just a little sharper, a little more focused,” and the release that comes from victory is electric.
3 things to know before you go
Jonaki Mehta/NPR
- Music legend Herb Alpert got his start playing trumpet in Los Angeles’ public schools. Now, he’s giving back to make that magic possible for more students. He recently donated $1 million[21] to one of the last remaining publicly funded repair shops for musical instruments in the country, where students get their instruments fixed for free.
- Even in pristine, untouched areas, insect populations are on the decline[22], according to research published in the journal Ecology this month. Climate change is a likely culprit.
- Kevin Struthers, the senior director of music programming at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, has been fired. He had been at the D.C. arts institution for 30 years[23]. His dismissal is the latest upset in a line of firings and resignations since Trump became the Kennedy Center’s chair in February.
This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.[24]
References
- ^ Subscribe (www.npr.org)
- ^ listen (www.npr.org)
- ^ running from the scene (www.npr.org)
- ^ remain rattled and unsure (one.npr.org)
- ^ sustain the movement (www.npr.org)
- ^ fresh signs of weakness (www.npr.org)
- ^ expected to pay more attention (one.npr.org)
- ^ attempting a coup (www.npr.org)
- ^ greeted Bolsonaro’s conviction with relief (one.npr.org)
- ^ when it’s time to let go (www.npr.org)
- ^ comic (www.npr.org)
- ^ Life Kit (npr.org)
- ^ newsletter (npr.org)
- ^ NPR (www.npr.org)
- ^ fall movie guide (www.npr.org)
- ^ The Paper (www.npr.org)
- ^ Henry Huggins (www.npr.org)
- ^ live stream here (www.npr.org)
- ^ Will you get a better score (npr.org)
- ^ Hollow Knight Silksong (www.npr.org)
- ^ donated $1 million (npr.org)
- ^ insect populations are on the decline (npr.org)
- ^ been at the D.C. arts institution for 30 years (www.npr.org)
- ^ Obed Manuel (www.npr.org)