NPR News: 09-12-2025 4AM EDT

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens.

Federal and state investigators in Utah are asking the public to help find the suspect who murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Investigators say they've received thousands of tips and are reviewing surveillance footage from the Utah Valley University campus where Kirk was fatally shot.

President Trump says he's getting regular updates on the investigation.

I think progress is being made.

He's an animal, total animal.

And hopefully they'll have him and they'll get him.

What he did is...

disgraceful.

Charlie Kirk was a great person, a great man,

great in every way, especially with youth.

Trump says he'll award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, and authorities say they've recovered the murder weapon that was used to kill Charlie Kirk.

Steve Futterman has more from Oram, Utah.

The weapon, a high-powered bold-action rifle, was found in a wooded area in a neighborhood near the college campus where the killing took place.

At a news conference, authorities also disclosed they have good video footage of the suspect and know his precise movements as he made made his way to the building rooftop.

FBI Special Agent Robert Bowles, though, did not give any hint as to a motive.

I understand there are a lot of questions about motive.

I assure you that all leads and tips are being fully investigated.

As of this morning, we have received more than 130 tips.

Authorities say the suspect appears to be of college age and was able to blend in with the crowd.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Orem, Utah.

The Federal Trade Commission is looking into how artificial intelligence chatbots are affecting children.

As NPR's John Rewich reports, there is growing concern about the impact of popular technology on young people.

The FTC says it's ordering several companies to provide information about how they measure, test, and monitor potentially negative impacts of AI technology on children and teens.

The companies include some of the biggest in the arena, like Facebook owner Meta, Google Parent Alphabet, and OpenAI, which operates Chat GPT.

Chatbots have been in the spotlight after reports surfaced of young people who died by suicide following discussions with them.

Last month, the parents of a 16-year-old California boy sued OpenAI, claiming that ChatGPT had coached him on how to end his life.

The FTC is asking for a wide range of information, including how AI characters are developed, how the companies make money from user engagement, and how they deal with personal information obtained from users through chats.

John Rewich, NPR News.

Nadine Menendez, wife of former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for her role role in a bribery scheme.

The senator is serving an 11-year prison sentence for his conviction.

The couple are accused of accepting money and gifts in exchange for political favors for Egyptian officials.

You're listening to NPR.

An Arizona judge has extended her temporary injunction against deporting Guatemalan and Honduran children who arrived in the U.S.

without adult chaperones.

Last month, U.S.

District Judge Rosemary Marcus blocked the removal of dozens of minors who had been staying in government shelters and in foster care.

Marcus says she's concerned about where the children will end up if they are not reunited with parents or legal guardians.

An attorney for the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Phoenix argued that the minors could face neglect, human trafficking, or other hardship.

The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

has fired another high-profile administrator in its ongoing shake-up.

NPR's Anastasia Sioukas has the story.

Kevin Struthers had been an arts administrator at the Kennedy Center for 30 years.

He ran the center's jazz programming and was in charge of other special concerts.

He confirmed to NPR that he has been terminated.

Struthers is the latest in a long line of staff dismissals and resignations at the famed DC Arts Institution since President Trump became its chair in February and appointed Richard Grinnell its its new president.

Previously, the Kennedy Center had been celebrated for inviting a vibrant roster of established and emerging jazz artists.

The only main stage jazz performance still on the Kennedy Center schedule is an October performance by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, a group which began recording in 1939.

Anastasiate Silkas, NPR News, New York.

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