Monday morning news: September 22, 2025

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

SOUND: [Amazing Grace]

Charlie Kirk memorial » Sounds from a memorial service on Sunday to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Tens of thousands packed out State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Thousands more crowded into an overflow arena … bringing the total, by some estimates, to more than 100-thousand including President Trump.

DONALD TRUMP: I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither now will history.

Trump said he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Many in attendance vowed to continue Charlie’s work, including his wife Erika Kirk:

ERIKA KIRK:  Through all the pain. Never before have I found as much comfort as I now do and the words of our Lord's Prayer, thy will be done.

She was unanimously elected CEO and Chair of the Arizona-based Turning Point USA. Charlie Kirk founded the political action group when he was just a teenager.

Erika also spoke about the 22-year-old suspect accused of fatally shooting her husband during a campus event in Utah earlier this month.

KIRK:  That man … that young man … I forgive him.

Others honoring Kirk from the stage included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump Jr.

Taliban reject Trump's Bagram bid » President Trump delivered a threat over the weekend to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban government.

It follows earlier remarks by Trump last week, when he said he wants to once again station U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. He said it could be strategically important to counter threats from China.

But the Taliban said it’s not interested in striking a deal with Trump for U.S. forces to return to the base.

President Trump responded saying he will not keep asking nicely.

TRUMP:  We're talking now to Afghanistan and we want it back, and we want it back soon. Right away. If they don't do it, if they don't do it, you're gonna find out what I'm.

He followed that up on social media, saying "If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!"

The Taliban seized full control of the base after the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal four years ago.

More countries recognize Palestinian state » The U.K., Australia, and Canada have formally recognized a Palestinian state, a coordinated move that drew an angry rebuke from Israel.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move is meant to move closer to a so-called “two-state solution” to the regional turmoil.

STARMER: Ordinary people, Israeli and Palestinian deserve to live in peace … free from violence and suffering.

The announcements reflect growing frustration with Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

But for now, the recognition may be mostly symbolic. None of the three governments has outlined firm steps toward embassies or full diplomatic ties. And leaders have stressed conditions attached to those kinds of future steps, such as excluding Hamas and advancing reforms.

But U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized the move, saying Israel is not only fighting to eliminate Hamas:

HUCKABEE: What has been an existential threat to them since October the seventh. But they’re also dealing with a war with all of the PR nonsense that’s coming all over the world, but particularly out of Europe, and it’s very troubling.

More countries, including France, are expected to follow suit at the United Nations this week.

U.S. lawmakers visit China » A bipartisan group of lawmakers made a rare trip to China on Sunday, marking the first visit by a House delegation to Beijing since 2019.

The group met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith said the two sides clearly have their disagreements:

SMITH:  But open dialogue is absolutely crucial, uh, to resolving those and, and making sure, um, that we find a way to peacefully deal with those.

He said that dialogue is especially crucial on military matters.

Smith was joined by Democrats Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan as well as Republican Michael Baumgartner. All serve on either the House Armed Services or Foreign Affairs Committee.

Li welcomed the delegates, calling it an “icebreaking trip” to strengthen ties.

Sonny Curtis obituary » Sonny Curtis has died at the age of 88. Curtis was a vintage rock 'n' roller who wrote the chart-topping hit, “I Fought the Law” and the theme to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

MUSIC [Moore Show theme]: … You’re gonna make it after all.

Starting as a teenager, he wrote or co-wrote hundreds of songs, from Keith Whitley's country smash “I'm No Stranger to the Rain” to the Everly Brothers' “Walk Right Back.”

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of the Crickets.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: comedy and free speech on Legal Docket. Plus, David Bahnsen talks about conflict with in the Fed.

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