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美拟修法简化商业太空项目审批 无须满足环境保护法要求

2026年7月29日 17:55 / 联合早报

美国联邦航空管理局拟制定新法，允许商业太空项目不必满足一系列环境和生态保护法规要求，以此加速审批流程、鼓励创新和竞争。图为SpaceX上周在得州基地试射太空飞船。 （路透社）

（华盛顿综合电）为了在与中国的太空竞赛中取得先机，美国联邦航空管理局拟制定新法，允许商业太空项目无须遵守多达13条环境保护相关的法规，并加速审批，以鼓励商业创新和竞争。

美国交通部长达菲星期二（7月28日）说，新措施将优化商业太空项目审批，让创新企业可以更快、更容易地获取发射火箭、再入飞行器以及运营相关基地的资质。

他说：“美国赢得了第一次太空竞赛，也可以再次做到——但前提是必须扫除政府的繁文缛节。”

联邦航空管理局在新闻稿中说，申请者需要面对耗时耗钱的环境影响评估和不同联邦部门重复信息审批，给近期发射任务带来不必要的延误。

在2025财年，联邦航空管理局批准了204个商业太空活动，而在2036年则预计会增长到超过500个。

新法将允许管理局在发放执照时，豁免13部“拖慢美国创新的不必要的环境法规”中的要求。这包括环境保护法、濒临灭绝物种保护法，以及清洁空气保护法等。但业者仍须遵守保护公共健康安全、国家安全和国际政策的相关法规。

这项拟议新法还须经过30天的公众意见征询期才会最终确定。

在2025年8月，美国总统特朗普签署行政令，要求联邦政府简化商业太空活动审批流程，鼓励商业太空领域竞争。

同年9月，美国法院驳回了一起环保组织抗议联邦航空管理局批准SpaceX在得州一处野生动物保护区发射火箭的诉讼。

Japan earthquake death toll hits 18 as teams race to find people missing in damaged mall and paper factory

July 29, 2026 / 6:18 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Kumamoto, Japan— Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 18 people in southwestern Japan.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit a day earlier in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu, also left at least 62 people injured, six of them seriously, the prefectural government said. The tally has been steadily growing, fanning fears it may continue to rise. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake as a magnitude 6.8.

The sweltering weather heightened worries about the survivors as rescuers braved the heat. It remained unclear how many people might still be missing.

Some of the most serious damage was at the Aeon Mall shopping center in Kashima city, which was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened.

Journalists gather outside the damaged Aeon Mall Kumamoto, in Kashima, Japan, July 29, 2026, after an earthquake struck southwest Japan the previous day. Philip FONG/AFP/Getty

The company said some 3,000 customers were evacuated to a parking lot before a gas explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some people were still working.

The mall’s second floor collapsed, trapping people. Witnesses said the explosion shook the area as much as did the quake.

Aeon Mall president Akio Yoshida told reporters at the site on Wednesday that three people were still missing — all story employees who had been working when the explosion struck. He said three people were confirmed to have been killed in the blast.

“We take it seriously that an explosion happened and precious lives were lost,” Yoshida said, bowing deeply along with two other executives.

CBS News correspondent Anna Coren was at the scene on Wednesday as work continued to locate people still trapped inside the structure. She spoke with a man who helped evacuate 200 shoppers, but believed his 23-year-old friend was working inside the mall when the suspected gas explosion went off an hour after the quake.

“I’m worried,” he told CBS News. “He’s a close friend for a long time, and I’m wanting him to just be safe.”

This aerial image shows the damaged AEON Mall after an earthquake in Kashima, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Kyodo News via AP

A girl at the scene told Coren that when Kumamoto was last hit by a major earthquake, 10 years ago, she was in an area devastated by the temblor, “but what happened yesterday was so strong, I felt like death was close.”

Japanese media aired video of the mall showing part of a ceiling had caved in, and metal parts and other debris were scattered about as helmeted and masked rescue workers searched the area.

In nearby Yatsushino, a chimney collapse at a Nippon Paper Industries factory killed five people while seven others were rescued from the debris, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government disaster team.

Four people were still believed to be trapped there, it said.

Part of the compound of the Shohinken garden is seen damaged in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 29, 2026, after an earthquake struck the area the day before. JIJI Press/AFP/Getty

Nearly 34,900 homes were still without electricity and some 15,000 homes were without running water, Kumamoto officials said. More than 8,800 people left their homes to stay in more than 400 shelters, where power sources were being added so the evacuation centers had air conditioning.

Aerial police footage showed some homes in residential areas were completely flattened, including a few that crumbled into a nearby river.

Japan’s Self Defense Forces are joining rescue workers in the search and rescue operations. Hundreds of professionals were helping with the effort, including firefighters from Taiwan.

“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”

Takaichi said the federal government was preparing to deliver food and other necessities to hard-hit areas. She also offered her condolences to the victims and sympathy to their relatives, while urging those affected by the quake to take care of themselves under the hot weather.

Bullet train services remained suspended. Although operations at Aso Kumamoto airport resumed Wednesday, some airlines canceled flights as a precautionary measure.

Kumamoto was hit with a deadly quake in 2016 that killed at least 50 people. Japan is one of the most quake-prone nations in the world.

美国东北部遭强风暴侵袭 纽约逾千航班取消

2026年7月29日 18:14 / 联合早报

强风暴横扫美国东北部，纽约逾1100趟航班取消，市政府开放51所学校应对水灾威胁。 （法新社）

一股强烈风暴系统横扫美国东北部，带来暴雨、强风、冰雹和龙卷风威胁。纽约及周边地区交通严重受阻，纽约三大机场超过1100趟航班取消，市政府也开放51所学校作为临时避难所。

彭博社报道，从北弗吉尼亚州、华盛顿至新泽西州沿岸，超过1600万人星期二（7月28日）处于龙卷风警戒范围。随着低压系统增强并向东移动，当地可能出现破坏性强风和大型冰雹。

雷暴导致纽约拉瓜迪亚、肯尼迪和纽瓦克自由国际机场，以及华盛顿里根和杜勒斯机场一度暂停航班起降。纽约地区出发航班延误超过两小时。截至星期二傍晚，纽约三大机场已有1153趟航班取消，全美取消航班超过2000趟。

纽约州西部和宾夕法尼亚州部分地区已发生水灾。气象部门预测，纽约将迎来多轮强降雨，降雨量可能达到约9厘米，局部地区一小时内也可能降下近9厘米雨量。

纽约市长马姆达尼警告，短时间暴雨也可能迅速淹没街道、地下室和低洼地区。他呼吁住在地下室单位或水灾高风险区的居民准备撤离。纽约市已开放五个行政区的51所公立学校，供受灾居民临时避难。

这股风暴此前已横扫美国中西部，引发至少五场龙卷风，并造成超过50万户停电。

Fauci to face Rand Paul’s US Senate committee after diary release

2026-07-29T10:07:42.96Z / Reuters

Summary

• Paul and Fauci have long clashed over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Paul this week published 1,141 pages of Fauci diary entries during pandemic
• Trump administration barred federal funding for gain-of-function research on Tuesday

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) – Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease ​expert, is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security Committee under a subpoena from its chairman and ‌longtime Fauci critic, Senator Rand Paul.

The Kentucky Republican has for years called for Fauci to be indicted and accused him of lying to Congress about whether the National Institutes of Health funded “gain-of-function” research in Wuhan, China, and of helping cover up the origins of COVID-19.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.

Fauci denies both claims and says he has testified truthfully multiple ​times before Congress on these issues.

Gain-of-function research is, broadly, work that modifies a pathogen in ways that could make it ​more transmissible or dangerous, though scientists disagree over how narrowly the term should be defined.

That disagreement is ⁠the crux of the Paul-Fauci dispute: Paul says the NIH funded such work in Wuhan and that Fauci lied when he denied it, ​while Fauci says the research did not meet the government’s formal regulatory definition.

COVID-19’s origins remain unresolved. The FBI said in 2023 that a leak from ​a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan likely caused the pandemic, a claim China said had “no credibility whatsoever”. The CIA said in January 2025 it had shifted its assessment and concluded a lab leak was likely, but with “low confidence,” while four other U.S. intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council believe ​the virus most likely emerged via natural transmission.

Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for 38 years, quickly ​became the most recognizable face of the U.S. pandemic response in 2020.

Ahead of the hearing, Paul this week published a 1,141-page tranche of Fauci’s pandemic-era diary entries, spanning ‌December ⁠2019 through December 2022.

“Many entries in Fauci’s daily historical account completely undermine the official narrative that Fauci and other public health officials espoused,” he said in a statement.

A fact-check document provided by a representative of Fauci said the diary entries match what he said publicly at the time. He has said since 2021 he kept an “open mind” that COVID could have leaked from a lab, and spoke publicly in early ​2020 about asymptomatic transmission and China’s ​lack of transparency, the very ⁠matters Paul says the diary reveals.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and, like Paul, a frequent critic of Fauci, told Fox News on Monday he handed the files to the ​senator after finding them on government servers.

Both Kennedy and Paul have signaled Fauci’s testimony could expose him ​to a perjury ⁠charge despite a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden.

Paul has for years pledged to see Fauci imprisoned.

The entries largely chronicle Fauci’s media appearances and fame. A review of his public record provided by a representative of Fauci shows his positions were consistent with the diary.

The Trump administration issued ⁠a policy ​on Tuesday barring federal funding for “dangerous gain-of-function” research, the category at the heart of ​the Fauci dispute.

In April, former Fauci adviser David Morens was indicted on charges of concealing federal records about research grants and the origins of COVID, though Fauci was not ​charged. Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci in January 2025 to guard against “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”

Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Caroline Humer and Lincoln Feast

US weapons stockpiles continue to dwindle with permanent end to Iran war nowhere in sight

2026-07-29T10:00:25.391Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/29/politics/us-weapons-stockpiles-dwindle-iran-war

The US military’s weapons stockpiles, including its inventory of crucial air defense missiles, remain severely depleted following a major flare up of the war with Iran in recent weeks, according to three sources familiar with recent Pentagon data and a new report by outside analysts.

A substantive settlement to end the conflict remains elusive, and the shortage of the missiles could impact the US’ ability to engage on other fronts.

In a Monday report, researchers from the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank estimated that fewer than 827 Patriot interceptors remain in US stockpiles, and fewer than 278 THAAD ballistic missile interceptors are left. The three sources familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss the US stockpile, told CNN that the CSIS estimates were close to internal government figures.

The figures represent a significant depletion of the pre-war stockpile, which CSIS estimated numbered around 2,200 Patriots (of the platform’s two most-modernized variants) and 452 THAAD missiles. The systems are the US military’s primary means of taking down incoming enemy ballistic missiles, and each interceptor missile costs millions of dollars.

“Diminished stockpiles may force the United States and its coalition partners to take more risks with interceptions. There are no good alternatives to Patriot and THAAD for ballistic missile defense. Navy ships, with Standard Missiles that can intercept such threats, generally are too far away,” the authors of the CSIS report wrote.

President Donald Trump expressed his desire to replenish “the more sophisticated stuff” when asked about munitions stockpiles aboard Air Force One on Monday, but the president held that the inventories are “in very good shape.” And Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators last week that without the additional funding it’s asking for, the Pentagon will “not get the munitions” it needs.

CNN previously reported that Caine cited the dwindling munitions stockpile in a Friday meeting with Trump during which the commander-in-chief was weighing a major escalation in the war. Trump, whom Caine and others briefed on additional downsides to ramping up the conflict, announced a pause in strikes against Iran after the meeting. But that pause may have been short-lived. On Tuesday US and Saudi forces conducted joint strikes on Iranian proxies in Iraq, and after the US military announced it intercepted a “surprise attack” by Iran on US forces in the Middle East.

The report’s lead author, CSIS defense analyst and retired Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian, told CNN earlier this month that continued fighting with Iran could deplete stockpiles so low that it could impact the US military’s ability to fight with China or even North Korea.

NBC News reported that US commanders, motivated by a desire not to waste their interceptor missiles, are opting not to shoot down Iranian projectiles that are on track to hit unpopulated areas of US bases in the region. The reported tactic signifies a change from prior air and missile defense practices in the region, where a US-manned Patriot detachment defended a mostly evacuated Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, against a wave of Iranian ballistic missiles in June 2025.

The Defense Department has accelerated its efforts to expand interceptor missile production in recent months, including two deals inked this week to boost Patriot and THAAD rocket motor manufacturing, but a spokesperson declined to answer questions about when the expansion will lead to results.

Analysts say it could take years to fully replenish the US stockpile of high-end munitions, like Patriot missiles, due to the lead time for producing those weapons.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, in a July 28 statement identical to two sent to CNN on the topic since April, said the military “is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have largely blamed former President Joe Biden’s administration for the munitions shortages. But the issue has been exacerbated by the war with Iran, during which CSIS assesses the US military has fired more than 60% of its key Patriot and THAAD interceptors.

The pending request from the Pentagon for supplemental defense funding includes several provisions related to the stockpile. Hegseth argued to Senate appropriators in a hearing on the supplemental funding ask last week that the Biden administration “took munitions one-for-one and sent them to Ukraine and had tried to replace them with the same bureaucratic process that was too slow and didn’t replace them in real time.”

But lawmakers of both parties have argued that the shortfalls are bigger than any one administration and require bipartisan support to resolve.

“The shortfalls in munitions have been well known to this committee for some time,” said Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in last Tuesday’s appropriations hearing. “While these munitions shortfalls have been years in the making, they are growing increasingly urgent.”

CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Jim Sciutto contributed to this report.

_Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between_Outrider Foundation_and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting._

中国外交部：坚决反对美方泛化国安概念打压中国企业

2026年7月29日 16:28 / 联合早报

美国禁止进口中国新款人形机器人。图为7月25日，人形机器人在广州市海珠区的商场打羽毛球。 （中新社）

美国禁止进口中国新款人形机器人，中国外交部称，坚决反对美方泛化国安概念打压中国企业。

中国外交部发言人毛宁星期三（7月29日）在例行记者会上说，保护主义提升不了美国的竞争力，只会损害美国企业和消费者的利益。

毛宁说，中方将继续采取必要措施，坚定维护中国企业的正当合法权益。

据路透社报道，美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）星期二（7月28日）公布措施，禁止进口中国新款人形机器人、四足机器人，以及用于将可再生能源和电池接入电网及数据中心设备的联网型电力逆变器。

这项措施显示，特朗普政府正加强保护美国AI供应链，防范供应中断、数据窃取和网络攻击等风险，同时推动企业把生产转移到美国。

The gut’s link to Parkinson’s — and more takeaways from this week’s “Healthful”

2026-07-29T07:00:09-0400 / CBS News

By

July 29, 2026 / 7:00 AM EDT / CBS News

I’ve long been obsessed with the idea that there is an important connection between your gut and your brain, and now there’s science to confirm that nutrition can help treat many diseases.

Dr. Trisha Pasricha is a double board-certified internal medicine physician and gastroenterologist. She’s the head of the Gut-Brain Institute and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. And you may know her from The Washington Post, where she’s the “Ask a Doctor” columnist.

“I think the reframe that really helps is if you stop thinking about your gut as plumbing, you think about it as a brain,” Pasricha told me in the newest episode of “Healthful.”

We covered everything from what to do if you get a cyclospora infection to why eating fewer ultra-processed foods can prevent dementia. Here’s what I learned from our conversation — watch it on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts:

Constipation and REM sleep disorder could be early signs of Parkinson’s

Researchers have made significant progress in finding early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that could show up decades before motor symptoms. Pasricha explained the “first-gut theory” of Parkinson’s disease, which is that experts believe some cases of Parkinson’s originate in the gut, not the brain.

A hallmark of Parkinson’s, she explained, is a misfolded protein that destroys dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, leading to the tremors we associate with the disease. Studies have shown that this protein may start misfolding first in the gut before traveling to the brain.

Pasricha said many of her Parkinson’s patients suffer from “debilitating GI symptoms” from constipation to nausea, which started years or decades before their tremors. She said she hopes that in 10-15 years, we’ll be able to diagnose prodromal Parkinson’s from the gut.

Another potential early sign of Parkinson’s: REM sleep disorder, where “your dreams are so vivid that you might start to move.”

GLP-1s may actually protect your gut

It may sound counterintuitive: You’ve heard about GLP-1 side effects like constipation, nausea and indigestion. But Pasricha says her lab showed that GLP-1 users are less likely to develop ulcers and are less likely to develop colorectal cancer, as well as a dozen other cancers.

Pasricha said researchers believe that GLP-1s reduce inflammation in the gut and throughout the body, hence the reduced risk of cancers.

95% of Americans are not meeting their fiber goals

This number shocked me.

Fiber improves your heart health and brain health while reducing inflammation. But Pasricha says 95% of Americans aren’t meeting their fiber goals.

Women under 50 should aim for 25 grams of fiber per day, and women over 50 should get 21 grams of fiber per day. Meanwhile, men under 50 should aim for 38 grams and should get 30 grams per day over the age of 50.

Pasricha says she advises people not to take away or substitute something on their plate but instead to just add a high-fiber food to your plate. (She feeds her kids berries, nuts and Greek yogurt popsicles for breakfast.) And when you’re traveling, remember to pack a fiber supplement to keep your fiber intake high.

Gut-Brain Secret: What Your Body Knows Before You Do

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/healthful-norah-odonnell-07282026-episode-3/

美国东北部遭强风暴侵袭 纽约逾千航班取消

2026年7月29日 18:14 / 联合早报

强风暴横扫美国东北部，纽约逾1100趟航班取消，市政府开放51所学校应对水灾威胁。 （法新社）

一股强烈风暴系统横扫美国东北部，带来暴雨、强风、冰雹和龙卷风威胁。纽约及周边地区交通严重受阻，纽约三大机场超过1100趟航班取消，市政府也开放51所学校作为临时避难所。

彭博社报道，从北弗吉尼亚州、华盛顿至新泽西州沿岸，超过1600万人星期二（7月28日）处于龙卷风警戒范围。随着低压系统增强并向东移动，当地可能出现破坏性强风和大型冰雹。

雷暴导致纽约拉瓜迪亚、肯尼迪和纽瓦克自由国际机场，以及华盛顿里根和杜勒斯机场一度暂停航班起降。纽约地区出发航班延误超过两小时。截至星期二傍晚，纽约三大机场已有1153趟航班取消，全美取消航班超过2000趟。

纽约州西部和宾夕法尼亚州部分地区已发生水灾。气象部门预测，纽约将迎来多轮强降雨，降雨量可能达到约9厘米，局部地区一小时内也可能降下近9厘米雨量。

纽约市长马姆达尼警告，短时间暴雨也可能迅速淹没街道、地下室和低洼地区。他呼吁住在地下室单位或水灾高风险区的居民准备撤离。纽约市已开放五个行政区的51所公立学校，供受灾居民临时避难。

这股风暴此前已横扫美国中西部，引发至少五场龙卷风，并造成超过50万户停电。

泽连斯基：与特朗普讨论重启俄乌和谈

2026年7月29日 18:21 / 联合早报

泽连斯基（左）星期二（7月28日）在白宫椭圆形办公室与特朗普举行一个多小时的闭门会谈。乌克兰总统新闻处过后发布了这张两人的合照。 （法新社）

（华盛顿综合电）乌克兰总统泽连斯基访问华盛顿，与美国总统特朗普讨论重启俄乌和谈以及允许乌克兰生产爱国者导弹拦截器的计划。

泽连斯基星期二（7月28日）在白宫椭圆形办公室与特朗普举行一个多小时的闭门会谈。他当晚接受福克斯新闻访问时透露，他和特朗普进行了良好会晤。

“他（特朗普）同意向乌克兰提供爱国者防空系统拦截弹生产许可，我也和美国非常强大的军工企业的代表见了面。我希望我们能联合生产。”

泽连斯基早前也发文说，重新推动结束乌克兰危机的外交进程至关重要，乌美团队将安排后续沟通的具体事宜。

特朗普则在两人会晤后，在社媒发布照片，并配文说：“我们讨论了许多事情。会谈进行得非常顺利！”

泽连斯基与特朗普的关系近期有所升温。本月，特朗普向基辅提供生产“爱国者”防空导弹的许可证，暗示乌克兰对俄罗斯境内目标的打击可能有助于结束战争。

一名不愿透露姓名的乌克兰高级官员早前告诉法新社，泽连斯基正在寻求新的反弹道导弹供应，希望就重启外交对话进行讨论。

有分析指，生产拦截器需要时间，在眼前的战争似乎用不上，但合作关系对乌克兰有利。

泽连斯基出席格雷厄姆葬礼 见证参议院投票

访问白宫后，泽连斯基出席了已故共和党籍资深参议员格雷厄姆的葬礼。

接着，他在国会山与美国参议员会面，还见证参议院的一场程序性投票。参议院当天以86票对12票，推进针对俄罗斯能源收入的制裁法案，将对中印等主要俄石油天然气买家实施高额关税。

若法案最终获得通过，特朗普将有权对这些国家征收高达100%的关税。格雷厄姆生前极力推动这项法案，特朗普早前也表示支持。

泽连斯基说，对俄罗斯施加制裁压力非常重要，这项法案将削弱俄罗斯为战争融资的能力，同时显示美国对乌克兰人民的支持。

美国参议院少数党领袖舒默说：“通过这次投票，我们将向普京表明，他不能欺凌乌克兰。美国支持乌克兰……我们将支持乌克兰，而乌克兰将会获胜并击败普京。”

乌克兰军方袭击伊朗商船事件后 两国外长通电话

乌克兰军方上周六（25日）在里海袭击一艘伊朗商船，造成一名船员死亡。针对此事，乌克兰外长西比加星期二致电伊朗外长阿拉格齐，强调必须避免局势升级，并要求伊朗停止对俄罗斯的一切支持。

西比加在X平台发文说 ，他和阿拉格齐进行了“坦诚对话”，重申乌克兰的“一切行动旨在保卫国家、抵御俄罗斯的侵略，无意针对民用船只和平民”。

他指俄罗斯是“所有事件的根源，俄罗斯必须对一切挑衅和伤亡承担全部责任”。

阿拉格齐也贴文说，伊朗不寻求升级，但表明任何对伊朗人民或利益的打击都不可接受，由此造成的损失必须得到赔偿。

消息：伊朗曾考虑报复袭击乌克兰港口

《纽约时报》引述消息报道，伊朗曾考虑袭击乌克兰的一个港口以报复乌克兰的打击，不过局势在一轮外交斡旋后降温。

知情人士说，他们预计伊朗可能会向乌克兰发射一枚搭载小型弹头的弹道导弹，以作象征性表态，但造成的破坏相对有限。另一些官员则说，目标很可能是乌克兰位于黑海的其中一个港口。

鉴于伊朗与俄罗斯结盟导致伊乌两国关系紧张，任何从伊朗射向乌克兰的导弹都将构成重大升级，并引发更大范围战争的风险。

Prosecutors say Charlie Kirk was attacked for his politics, cite anti-LGBT views

2026-07-29T08:33:57.727Z / Reuters

U.S. soldiers stand next to the portrait of slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during his memorial service at State Farm Stadium, Arizona, U.S., September 21, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Summary

Prosecutors say Robinson targeted Kirk because of his ‘political expression’
Defense lawyer says no evidence Robinson disagreed with Kirk views
Judge Tony Graf will hold a September 1 hearing on whether the evidence supports a trial
Robinson has not entered a ​plea

July 28 (Reuters) – Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, targeted the right-wing ‌activist for his political views, prosecutors said on Tuesday, citing Kirk’s opposition to gay marriage and transgender rights.

The comments in court documents were prosecutors’ most extensive to date on an alleged motive for the September 10, 2025 shooting of Kirk, an ally of U.S. President ​Donald Trump, at a Utah university.

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Utah County attorneys quoted a letter entered into evidence from a friend ​of Kirk that said the activist’s goal was to promote conservative values such as his ⁠belief that “experimentation with sexual/gender identity is sinful” and that “heterosexuality inside the confines of a marriage is the only virtuous ​pattern for sexuality.”

Prosecutors said the letter from David Engelhardt, a board member at Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization, showed ​Kirk represented “not only a religious movement, but also a political movement against gay marriage and the accommodation and acceptance of transgenderism, homosexuality and sexual experimentation.”

The lawyers alleged Robinson’s “lifestyle” was contrary to Kirk’s religious and political views and the 23-year-old targeted the activist because of ​his “political expression.”

“The circumstantial evidence that Defendant targeted Mr. Kirk because of Defendant’s belief or perception of Mr. Kirk’s political ​beliefs is overwhelming,” prosecutors said in their written argument on why there is sufficient evidence to try Robinson for Kirk’s murder.

Robinson’s ‌lawyer Richard ⁠Novak said in court on July 9 that Engelhardt’s letter gave no evidence Robinson disagreed with Kirk’s political or religious views and shed no light on Robinson’s state of mind.

Prosecutors said Robinson was in a relationship with his roommate Lance Twiggs at the time of the shooting and Twiggs was exploring gender transition.

Twiggs told prosecutors in an April ​interview he began dating Robinson ​after they met in ⁠2023. In video shown in court, Twiggs did not address the issue of gender and said the first time he and Robinson spoke of Kirk was after the shooting.

Prosecutors ​cited a range of evidence that Robinson allegedly targeted Kirk due to his ​political beliefs.

It included ⁠a text message after the shooting in which Robinson allegedly told Twiggs “he had enough of(Kirk’s) hatred. (S)ome hate can’t be negotiated out.” They also cited messages engraved on rounds found in the alleged murder weapon, one saying “Hey fascist, catch.”

The defense has ⁠until August ​18 to file written arguments on why they believe there is insufficient ​evidence to try Robinson. Utah District Court Judge Tony Graf will hold a September 1 hearing on the matter. Robinson, who has been in ​custody since his arrest, has yet to enter a plea.

Reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Editing by Kate Mayberry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.