Up First from NPR - Kirk Probe Latest, Rubio in Israel, Emmys Recap

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

Authorities in Utah are still searching for a motive in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Jerusalem after Israel’s strike on Doha put the U.S. at odds with two close allies. And at the Emmys, Adolescence, The Studio, and The Pitt took top prizes.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, Kevin Drew, Matteen Mokalla, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Olivia HamptonIt was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from David Greenburg. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Authorities are still searching for a motive behind the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. We're all drawing lots of conclusions and how someone like this could be radicalized. Utah's governor says the suspect is not cooperating, but his family is. I'm Michelle Martin with A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. Israel's strike on Qatar's capital put the U.S. in a difficult position with one of its closest Middle East partners. Qatar's been a very great ally. So Israel and everybody else, we have to be careful. When we attack people, we have to be careful.

So how does Washington balance support for Israel with its ties to Qatar? Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Jerusalem trying to answer that. And Hollywood handed out its biggest TV awards last night. Adolescents swept the limited series category and a surprise, the pit took best drama. Stay with us. We'll give you Emmy highlights and the news you need to start your day. Here at Life Kit, we take advice seriously.

We bring you evidence-based recommendations. And to do that, we talk with researchers and experts on all sorts of topics. Because we have the same questions you do. Like, what's really in my shampoo? Or should I let my kid quit soccer? Or what should I do with my savings in uncertain economic times? You can listen to NPR's Life Kit in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast. It's time for the Emmy Awards, and we've kept up with all the nominated TV shows, so you don't have to.

We're recapping television's biggest night, breaking down the big wins and the moments everyone is talking about. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Rachel Martin. I'm the host of Wild Card from NPR. For a lot of my years as a radio host, silence sort of made me nervous. That pause before an answer, because you don't. know what's going on on the other side of the mic. But these days, I love it. Hmm.

Ah. Gosh. Give me a minute. Yeah, yeah. Think. Listen to the Wild Card podcast only from NPR. It's been five days since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot at a university campus in Utah. And authorities still don't know, or at least haven't said, what they think motivated, the 22-year-old they arrested.

Utah's Republican Governor Spencer Cox spoke on the Sunday talk shows about the suspected shooter. Tyler Robinson. He said, Robinson is not cooperating, but authorities believe he had left-leaning political beliefs and dislike the conservative influencer. Here's what Cox told NBC's meet the press, and he specifically warned about speculation. We're all drawing lots of conclusions and how someone like this could be radicalized. And I think that those are important questions for us to ask and important questions for us to answer. We're joined now by KUER's Elaine Clark in Salt Lake City. Elaine, what did Governor Cox say about the suspect? Well, the governor pointed to the suspect's online activities.

In addition to that, leftist ideology, he talked about. He said Robinson had been spending a lot of time on the deep web. And so by way of example, Cox pointed to writings on the shell casings of the rifle that was allegedly used in the shooting. And he said that represented what he called the memeification that is happening in our society today. And one of the big new details he talked about on Sunday was about Robinson's romantic partner. Yeah, so who was that person and were they involved at all? So the governor said this person was not involved and that they were shocked by what happened. Now, he didn't name the person, but he did say they were being very cooperative.

So this person who's called a roommate in the suspect's probable cause affidavit was also, quote, the governor here, a boyfriend who was transitioning from male to female. We don't know any more than that right now or whether transgender rights had anything to do with Kirk's assassination. We could get more information on that tomorrow, though. That's when the suspect is expected to be charged in state court. Okay. So while we're waiting for more information on all that, what has Utah's governor been saying about social media and divisiveness?

Well, the governor is not shy about speaking out about social. media. He says it is fueling outrage and getting users addicted to outrage. He also accused big social media companies of doing it just to make money. And here's what Cox suggested on Sunday. We have to turn it off. We have to get back to community caring about our neighbors, the things that make American great. Cox called social media a cancer. He mentioned community. So how are people responding to all this? Well, there was an NPR producer at a church service on Sunday in Orham. That's the city where the shooting happened Wednesday at Utah Valley University. This is an evangelical church. It's called Center Point, literally within walking distance from

campus. People at the service were filled with emotions. There were tears, there were hugs. Let's listen to Pastor Mike Smith as he talked to the very large crowd. Whatever you walked in here with, whatever difficult emotions you carried in with you, it's okay. It's okay to be not okay today. we get it and we're grieving with you. We're hurting with you and we're here for you. In addition to the sermon, there was a table set up that provided counseling resources and the church had a uniform police officer at this service. That's something the pastor said they had never had before. Wow, that's KU-E-R news director Elaine Clark in Salt Lake City.

Elaine, thank you. Thank you. U.S. Secretary-State, Marco Rubio, is in Jerusalem today holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nearly one week after Israel struck Doha, the capital of Qatar, in an attack against senior Hamas leaders. The attack killed at least six people, none of whom was a senior Hamas leader, and has put the U.S. in a difficult position between its strong support of Israel and a key ally in the Gulf. President Trump appeared to address that balancing act in comments yesterday with a warning to Israel. Qatar's been a very great ally. So Israel and everybody else, we have to be careful. When we attack people, we have to be careful. Rubio's visit also comes as Israel has intensified its offensive into Gaza City and is gearing up to occupy it.

Joining us now is NPR's Kerry Kahn from Tel Aviv. Kerry, Secretary of State Rubio arrived yesterday in Israel. What is he telling Israelis? Well, today he's holding talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu and with other officials. Yesterday he toured the Jewish holy site, the Western Wall. Their Netanyahu referenced what he said was the strength of the U.S. and Israeli alliance, quote, as strong and durable as the stones of the wall. Before arriving in Israel, Rubio said he would be talking about releasing the hostages,

ending the war, and rebuilding Gaza once the war ends. I did speak to some Israelis at the wall yesterday about his visit. Here's 72-year-old L.E. Ben Lulu, who said, he's concerned about international criticism growing against Israel, and he wants to make sure U.S. support is solid. He says, even the Americans, I love them, but one day they could change. He supports Israel's airstriking Qatar, and added everyone has to look out for themselves. And what is Qatar saying about the attack?

And maybe any possible retaliation against Israel? Today in Doha, Qatar, they've convened an emergency regional summit with Arab and Muslim heads of state to discuss a response, which Qatar says must be strong and decisive. In remarks yesterday ahead of the meeting, Qatar's prime minister called on the international community to, quote, abandon double standards and punish Israel for its crimes. He also added the Qatar's efforts in mediating an end to the war in Gaza will continue. But this past week, he also said that those talks have completely stopped now, and it cannot host Israeli negotiators if it's being hit by Israeli warplanes.

And analysts aren't expecting a significant retaliation from the countries. They too are balancing this relationship with the U.S. and Trump's strong support of Israel. You mentioned Gaza. What's the situation there now, considering that Israel is moving ahead with plans to take over Gaza City? Yeah, the weekend has been deadly. According to health and hospital officials in Gaza, more than 70 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and attacks. Yesterday, just in Gaza City alone, 35 people were killed.

Evacuations for the city, which is nearly a million people, continue. The military is telling people to get out and move south to what they say are humanitarian zones or empty spaces. And they say there is water and services available there. The problem with that is that first people don't have money or transportation to move out. They are exhausted. They've been displaced multiple times already. And zones in the south are already severely overcrowded without enough basic services, according to UN agencies. Most of those sites, too, have been attacked by Israel. And

airstrikes in Gaza City are intensifying, and Israel has been leveling tall buildings in the city, about a dozen and little more than a week. Israel says Hamas uses the high rises, but they've yet to provide any evidence of that. All right, that's MPR's Carrie Khan in Tel Aviv. Carrie, thank you. You're welcome. The comedy series, the studio and the drama The Pit were big winners at last night's Emmy Awards. Gene Smart and Hannah Einbinder also picked up awards for the comedy series Hacks.

NPR's Manalit del Barco was on the red carpet and backstage at the ceremony in Los Angeles. He's here to tell us about television's biggest nights of Manalit. Tell us about these two series, The Studio and the Pit. Well, it was a big night for Seth Brogan and his creative partner, Evan Goldberg. They created the studio, satire of Hollywood, and it set a record for him. a comedy show by winning 13 Emmys in all, including one for Seth Rogan as lead actor in a comedy. He plays the head of a movie studio, and after winning, Rogan walked into the media room with his castmates, and he was carrying a handful of Emmy Awards. Someone asked him if this might inspire

future storylines in the studio. This is, like, far too good a thing to happen on our show, unfortunately. Our show is generally based on stress and disappointment, and right now we're all very happy. And so I don't know if this would comedically work for the show, but it's very encouraging and it's so nice and it's very surreal for all of us, I think. But you know, one of the big surprises of the night was for the five Emmys won by the medical drama, The Pit. It won for Outstanding Drama Series against popular shows, including Severance and the White Lotus. Executive producer Noel Wiley won his first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama. He plays an ER doctor more than three decades after he first played one on the show, ER.

On stage, he said the show is dedicated to first responders. To anybody who's going on shift tonight or coming off shift tonight, thank you for being in that job. This is for you. All right. Now, another show that seemed to come out of nowhere last March to become kind of a cultural touchstone was adolescence. How did adolescence perform last night?

Yeah, adolescence was a huge hit. The Netflix Limited Series picked up six awards. Owen Cooper, the British 15-year-old. newcomer became the youngest male actor to win an Emmy. He played a 13-year-old accused of murdering a classmate. And in the show, his father was played by Stephen Graham, who also

won an acting Emmy. Graham also wrote and produced adolescence. And here are Graham and Cooper accepting their awards. This kind of thing doesn't normally happen to a kid like me. I'm just a mixed race kid from a block of flats and a place called Kirby. I was nothing about three years ago.

I'm here now. So I think if you're listening, you're focus and you just step out of your comfort zone a little bit. Who cares if you get embarrassed, you know? Now, Manalita, the Emmys are on CBS. The late show at Stephen Colbert is also on CBS, and CBS recently canceled his show. So when his show won for Outstanding Talk Series, what did Colbert have to say? Well, you know, Stephen Colbert had been the favorite going into the ceremony, and even his fellow nominees, John Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel, were reading for him. You know, on his show, Colbert regularly skewers President Donald Trump,

and some people in the industry thought his show getting canceled was politically calculated, though the network said it was purely financial. But in his acceptance speech, Colbert thanked CBS, and he said this. My friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong. Be brave. And if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.

Cobert told reporters that the tradition of comedy variety show, which stretches back to Jack Benny and Bodbill, will continue. All right, that's NPR's Bandolit del Barco. Thanks a lot. Thank you. And that's a first for Monday, September 15th. I mean, Martinez. And I'm Michelle Martin. Make your next listen consider this. The team behind NPR's All Things Considered goes deep into a single news story in just 15 minutes.

Listen now on the NPR. PR app or wherever you get your podcast. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, Kevin Drew, Matine McCalla, Mohamed El Bardisi, and Olivia Hamden. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Mia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow. How are you choosing to live on autopilot or with intention, the way you think you should or the way you want to? I'm Mariel Segarra, host of the Life Kit podcast. Each episode is like a mini guidebook for your vida. So you can manage time, money, fitness, amor, and other life things on your terms.

Listen to the Life Kit podcast from NPR. Keeping up with the news can feel like a 24-hour day. job. Luckily, it is our job. Every hour on the NPR News Now podcast, we take the latest, most important stories happening, and we package them into five-minute episodes so you can easily squeeze them in between meetings and on your way to that thing. Listen to the NPR News Now podcast. Now.