Top Stories — Thursday, September 11, 2025
What is trending in the USA today? Here is Breaking News:
- Who was Charlie Kirk, Trump ally and conservative activist? — CNBC
- European Central Bank leaves rates unchanged as tariff fallout lingers — CNBC
Who was Charlie Kirk, Trump ally and conservative activist?
Source: CNBC • Published: 9/11/2025, 6:03:53 PM
Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk might have been a household name in America, but as news of his shooting and death spread on Wednesday, many people beyond the U.S. were left asking who he was.
Google trends showed a spike in searches of the phrase on Wednesday as news alerts pinged on mobile phones spreading the word of Kirk's shooting, as he spoke at a rally at Utah Valley University in Orem.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced his friend and ally's death on social media, saying he was filled with "grief and anger" over the murder of "patriot" Kirk, while Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox described the killing as a "political assassination."
"I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law," said Cox.
The manhunt for Kirk's killer was ongoing as of Thursday morning, after law enforcement released two initial suspects in their investigation.
CNBC has a brief summary of Charlie Kirk's life and work, and why he mattered to the Republican Party and U.S. conservative movement.
Born in 1993 in Illinois, Charles James Kirk showed the early signs of his political leanings in high school, when he volunteered to help in the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, to whom he bore no relation.
Kirk later went on to co-found the conservative student group Turning Point USA at the age of 18, which really established the activist in Republican circles.
The group became infamous for its popular rallies on school and college campuses, drawing large crowds with the heady mix of rock music and festival vibes with provocative right-wing rhetoric on race, Islam, immigration and American identity.
The group's ability to galvanize America's conservative youth meant Kirk's prominence grew in the Republican Party, and in 2019 Kirk launched Turning Point Action — an affiliate advocacy group backing conservative candidates for office, including Trump.
Turning Point USA was seen as pivotal in rallying young people's support for Trump after he lost the 2020 presidential election — which Kirk and his groups disputed. Social media later helped fuel youth support for the president's 2024 election campaign that secured his second mandate.
On Wednesday, Kirk was murdered at one of Turning Point USA's campus events during "The American Comeback Tour" at Utah Valley University, which was attended by 3,000 people, according to the FBI.
Kirk was married to Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA beauty pageant winner, with whom he had two children. He amassed a large following on social media, with 8.7 million followers on Instagram and 5.6 million followers on X. He also presented The Charlie Kirk Show podcast which garnered 8.2 million followers on TikTok and 254.3 million likes as of Thursday morning.
Building that audience reach to spread the political right's message in an era of heightened culture wars and division made Kirk a household name. He frequently appeared on TV and right-leaning news outlets such as Fox News, taking part in fractious news debates.
The support for Trump wasn't a one-way street, with the Republican politician showing his appreciation for Kirk at a rally in Washington the day before he was sworn in for a second term in office in January, telling the audience: "Charlie Kirk is here. And I want to thank Charlie. Charlie is fantastic."
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated his admiration for Kirk, calling him "Great, and even Legendary" in a post on Truth Social that announced the activist's death.
"No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."
Trump ordered American flags throughout the U.S. to be flown at half-mast until Sunday evening.
European Central Bank leaves rates unchanged as tariff fallout lingers
Source: CNBC • Published: 9/11/2025, 5:56:05 PM
The European Central Bank held interest rates steady on Thursday as economic uncertainty persists in the wake of U.S. Donald Trump's aggressive tariff agenda.
Ahead of the decision, markets had been pricing in an around 99% chance of the ECB's key deposit facility rate being left at 2% for the second consecutive time. The central bank last cut rates in June, bringing rates further down from last year's record high of 4%.
"Inflation is currently at around the 2% medium-term target and the Governing Council's assessment of the inflation outlook is broadly unchanged," the ECB said in a statement.
The central bank added that it would follow a meeting-by-meeting, data-dependent approach and was not pre-committing to a specific path for interest rates.
The ECB is grappling with global economic uncertainty, despite inflation in the euro zone hovering around the central bank's 2% target in recent months, and the EU striking a trade agreement with the U.S.
The transatlantic partners agreed to 15% blanket tariffs on EU exports to the U.S. in July, with further details about the framework emerging last month. It addressed some questions for key European sectors like pharmaceuticals.
However, questions remain as some issues — such as provisions for the wine and spirits sector — were left open. Concerns over further tariffs have also grown following Trump's threat of retaliations against the EU after it hit Alphabet's Google with a $3.45 billion antitrust fine.
Fears about the impact tariffs could have on economic growth remain. Growth in the euro zone has remained sluggish even as rates have come down, with the latest figures showing just 0.1% growth in the second quarter after a 0.6% expansion in the previous period.
While the interest rate decision itself was widely anticipated, Deutsche Bank economists last week noted that "the focus will be on the signals for the path that lies ahead for monetary policy."
Markets on Thursday are therefore expected to focus on ECB President Christine Lagarde's press conference and the latest projections for inflation and economic growth. The central bank last updated its economic forecasts in June.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates.
For complete details, visit the original sources linked above.
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