INTERNACIONAL
Kirk family has powerful evidence — but Utah law could derail wrongful death case: experts
A Utah government immunity law could upend the Kirk family’s efforts to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against Utah Valley University over alleged security failures surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Attorneys for Kirk’s family filed a notice of intent to sue on Sept. 9, one day before the anniversary of his death. The filing alleges a series of security failures by the university, including declining additional police officers, failing to adequately address concerns from Kirk’s security team and not having an adequate security plan in place for his visit.
But legal experts say the Kirks face an uphill legal battle because Utah law grants government entities — including their officers and employees — broad immunity from lawsuits arising from a lengthy list of circumstances, including the performance or failure to perform discretionary functions and claims involving assault, battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and civil rights violations.
«Unfortunately, Charlie Kirk’s family is going to have a very difficult time prevailing in a wrongful death case in Utah,» Tenielle Brown, a University of Utah law professor, told Digital. «And that’s because Utah’s government immunity statute is phrased in such a way that says even if the state and UVU were reckless, they retain immunity in cases that arise out of a battery, and that would include gunshot wounds.»
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Kirk, 31, co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and grew the conservative youth organization into a major force on high school and college campuses nationwide. He was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025.
Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Digital that wrongful death claims against the government are already difficult for plaintiffs to win because government entities generally enjoy broad immunity from lawsuits stemming from assaults or batteries committed by third parties.
«I’ve handled lack of security cases, including lack of security cases against the government,» Rahmani told Digital. «They are tough because you are trying to hold the police or city, county or state responsible for someone else’s criminal actions.»
But Rahmani suggested the Kirk family’s strongest evidence could be a message from UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long acknowledging concerns about rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, a building located «pretty close» to where Kirk was scheduled to speak. The Sorenson Center sits directly west of the Losee Center, where prosecutors say Tyler Robinson fired the shot that killed Kirk. In response to the security concerns, Long messaged Kirk’s team, «I got you covered.»
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«That means they’re gonna argue that they assume the responsibility to make sure Charlie Kirk was safe, and they failed to do so,» Rahmani said of the Kirk family. «In cases where you have the government taking on a duty, that tends to be better than simply arguing that the government has a duty to protect everyone because we know that murders happen all the time, and you can’t sue the government just because someone is killed.»
But Brown said Utah law can shield government officials from lawsuits even when they fail to perform their job functions.
«There have been a number of cases where the plaintiffs and the family of the victims have sued for either wrongful death or battery,» Brown told Digital. «And in some cases, the government did behave recklessly, and they could show carelessness and recklessness and the plaintiffs were not able to prevail because it arose out of a battery. And that’s unusual. Most states don’t have that broad of a statute.»
Brown pointed to the case of Mika Scott, a 19-year-old Utah Valley University student who sued Utah County and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office after Shawn Leonard, a prisoner with a violent criminal record who had escaped from a work-release program, raped her in 2010.
«They were supposed to screen inmates to make sure that they weren’t violent,» Brown told Digital. «And then when they went out in the community on the job sites, they were supposed to make sure that they were policing the boundaries so that these inmates couldn’t escape and in a really terrible situation.»
«And she could have shown carelessness and maybe even recklessness, but because of the government immunity statute and because this claim arose out of a battery, she was not able to prevail against the state,» Brown continued.
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The Utah Supreme Court addressed the statute’s language in its 2005 decision in Wagner v. Utah, which held that civil battery does not require an intent to cause physical or psychological injury.
«The court said, it may not be prudent for the state to continue to retain immunity here,» Brown told Digital. » And they’re kind of signaling to the legislature that the legislature should probably change the statute to allow for suits in cases like Charlie Kirk’s.»
«But the state has not revised the statute and so it still says very clearly that you can’t sue the state if the claim arises out of a battery,» Brown continued.
Brown said state workers who are not elected cannot be held accountable at the ballot box for failing to do their jobs.
«The president of UVU, the campus police, those people are not elected, and so if you were to say sovereign immunity is all about letting people decide whether they’re state actors or careless at the ballot box, then you vote them out of office,» Brown said.
«That doesn’t work,» Brown continued. «That argument doesn’t for the UVU president because nobody can vote them of office, nobody is having any political check on the campus police.»
Astrid Tuminez, who served as the school’s president at the time of Kirk’s assassination, stepped down from her position in May 2026 after eight years. She and Long are named in the filing by Kirk’s family.
«We are aware of the notice of claim,» a Utah Valley University spokesperson said in a statement to Digital. «UVU addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes. Our focus remains on supporting our campus community.»
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Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Kirk and their two small children.
Digital reached out to the Kirk family’s lawyers for comment.
charlie kirk, precedents, controversies state and local, judiciary, erika kirk, utah, law
INTERNACIONAL
Por qué el terremoto en Panamá se sintió durante varios segundos y las hipótesis sobre su origen tectónico
El movimiento pareció no terminar. El terremoto de magnitud preliminar 7,6 que sacudió Panamá y se sintió en Costa Rica se extendió durante varios segundos para quienes estaban lejos de su epicentro, una percepción que respondió a la forma en que viajaron las ondas sísmicas desde la península de Azuero. El evento, ocurrido este viernes 9 de octubre, es considerado el más fuerte registrado en el país en el último siglo y reabrió la atención sobre una zona donde interactúan estructuras tectónicas complejas.
El sismo ocurrió a las 12:56 (hora local, 14:56 de la Argentina) y tuvo su epicentro en la región panameña de Azuero. Las estimaciones iniciales ubicaron la profundidad entre 10 y 33 kilómetros, un rango que lo clasifica como un movimiento superficial. Esa combinación —una magnitud elevada y una fuente cercana a la superficie— ayudó a explicar por qué fue percibido en una amplia zona de Panamá y Costa Rica.
Según la información preliminar, el temblor alcanzó una magnitud de 7,6. El antecedente histórico más fuerte de Panamá se remonta al 7 de septiembre de 1882, cuando un terremoto estimado entre 7,7 y 7,9 afectó el golfo de San Blas, en la actual comarca de Guna Yala. Aquel evento produjo daños en Ciudad de Panamá y Colón, además de un tsunami en el archipiélago de San Blas.
Por qué el terremoto de Panamá se sintió durante tanto tiempo en Costa Rica
Para muchas personas, la duración fue uno de los aspectos más llamativos del movimiento. Leopold Linkimer, sismólogo de la Red Sismológica Nacional (RSN), explicó que la distancia con respecto al foco del sismo cambia la manera en que se percibe el paso de las ondas.
“Entre más distante estamos del epicentro, entonces las ondas sísmicas llegan con diferentes velocidades al lugar donde nos encontramos y por eso la totalidad del movimiento se siente como más extenso”, afirmó Linkimer, de acuerdo con CRHoy.
El terremoto no transmite un único impulso. Libera distintos tipos de ondas, que atraviesan el subsuelo a velocidades diferentes. Algunas llegan primero y otras lo hacen después. En las zonas alejadas del epicentro, esa separación temporal puede ser más perceptible y prolongar la sensación de sacudida.
De esta manera, una persona ubicada cerca de la ruptura puede sentir un movimiento más concentrado e intenso. En cambio, alguien situado a cientos de kilómetros recibe señales sísmicas que se suceden durante más tiempo. La duración percibida no implica que el terremoto haya sido más largo en todos los lugares, sino que las ondas alcanzaron cada región de una manera distinta.
La magnitud también tuvo peso. Un evento de 7,6 libera mucha más energía que los sismos moderados que suelen registrarse en la región. Esa energía se propagó por el terreno y permitió que la sacudida llegara a buena parte del territorio costarricense.
Qué originó el terremoto de Panamá
Una de las primeras hipótesis sitúa el terremoto en una zona de contacto entre la placa de Nazca y la microplaca de Panamá. La placa de Nazca es una gran porción de la corteza terrestre ubicada bajo el océano Pacífico, mientras que la microplaca de Panamá forma parte de un bloque más pequeño que incluye sectores del sur de Centroamérica.
Linkimer advirtió que los análisis todavía eran preliminares. “El terremoto habría ocurrido en la zona en límite entre las placas Nazca y la microplaca de Panamá”, señaló.
Ese contacto puede involucrar dos tipos de movimiento. Uno es la subducción, proceso por el cual una placa se introduce debajo de otra. El otro consiste en un desplazamiento lateral, cuando dos bloques se deslizan de forma horizontal. Ambos mecanismos pueden acumular tensión durante años y liberarla de forma repentina mediante un terremoto.
La profundidad estimada, entre 10 y 33 kilómetros, es otro dato relevante. Un sismo superficial ocurre relativamente cerca de la superficie terrestre. Por eso, aun cuando el epicentro se encuentre en una zona rural o poco poblada, puede sentirse a gran distancia si su magnitud es elevada.
La falla de Azuero, otra de las hipótesis bajo análisis
Los especialistas no descartaron que el evento se haya producido en una falla situada dentro de la placa superior. Entre las estructuras que deberán analizarse figura la falla de Azuero, una formación geológica de gran extensión ubicada en la península panameña del mismo nombre.
Una falla es una fractura de la corteza terrestre cuyos lados pueden desplazarse entre sí. Cuando la presión acumulada supera la resistencia de las rocas, se produce una liberación de energía. Esa liberación viaja en forma de ondas y genera el temblor que perciben las personas.
Por ahora, no hay una conclusión definitiva sobre el mecanismo que originó el terremoto. La RSN indicó que se requieren más estudios de los registros sísmicos para determinar si predominó la interacción entre placas, una falla local o una combinación de ambos procesos.
La revisión posterior de los datos puede ajustar la magnitud, la profundidad y la ubicación precisa de la ruptura. Esa tarea permite reconstruir cómo se movió el terreno y evaluar mejor la secuencia de sismos que siguió al evento principal.
Las réplicas pueden continuar durante días, semanas o meses
Tras el sismo principal, la RSN ya había contabilizado cerca de 10 réplicas considerables. Linkimer alertó que podrían ocurrir más durante las próximas horas, días, semanas e incluso meses, y que algunas podrían sentirse en Costa Rica.
Las réplicas son terremotos posteriores que ocurren en la zona afectada mientras la corteza busca un nuevo equilibrio. Suelen tener una magnitud menor que la del movimiento principal, aunque pueden resultar perceptibles y, en algunos casos, generar alarma entre la población.
La posibilidad de nuevas sacudidas no permite anticipar con precisión la fecha ni la intensidad de cada réplica. Lo que sí señalan los especialistas es que una secuencia de este tipo es esperable después de un terremoto de magnitud 7,6, sobre todo en un sector donde confluyen placas y fallas activas.
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INTERNACIONAL
Massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Panama as officials investigate potential tsunami threat
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A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Panama’s southern coast Friday, shaking the country’s capital as officials investigated a potential tsunami threat.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially measured the earthquake at magnitude 8.0 before lowering its estimate to 7.7. The quake struck at 1:56 p.m. ET, approximately 6 miles beneath the surface, near Pitaloza Arriba, Panama.
A 5.5 magnitude aftershock followed, with its epicenter approximately 50 miles east of the initial earthquake.
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People stand outside the maternity ward of the Santo Tomas hospital after a severe magnitude 7.7 earthquake thet hit the country in Panama City Oct. 9, 2026. (Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)
The earthquake was felt in Panama City and in San José, the capital of neighboring Costa Rica, according to Reuters.
Tsunami officials warned that waves reaching 3 to 10 feet above tide levels were possible along some coastal areas of Panama, while parts of Ecuador could experience waves of approximately 1 to 3 feet.
Smaller tsunami waves of less than 1 foot above tide levels were forecast for coastal areas of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.
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Medical workers and patients gather outside a hospital after a powerful earthquake in Panama Oct. 9, 2026. (Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the potential danger to coastal communities near the earthquake, officials said a Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected.
Earthquakes measuring between 7.0 and 7.9 can cause serious damage, according to Michigan Technological University.
Information about possible damage or casualties from Friday’s earthquake was not immediately available.
People gather in a Panama City square after evacuating a building after a powerful earthquake. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)
This is a developing story; check back later for updates.
earthquakes, tsunami, world, natural disasters
INTERNACIONAL
Culture clash laid bare as violent Somali gangs grip suburban communities: ‘These kids are different’
More than 100 rounds fired in a Minnesota neighborhood have left police struggling to explain a troubling pattern: Somali American youths from financially comfortable households are turning online disputes into gang violence.
The violence raises bigger questions about what is driving these gangs and whether struggles to fit into American life, cultural or clan ties, government policies or failures by schools and other institutions have played a role and what makes these youths different from traditional American street gangs.
«They’re coming from families. They got money, and they have resources,» Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges told Digital of the young Somali American gang members under investigation.
Those questions follow a late-night Bloomington gunfight that left one person injured during a string of shootings across suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul.
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Hodges said the suspects defy traditional drug- or money-driven gang profiles. Asked what drives the violence beyond social media disputes, he acknowledged investigators lack a clear answer.
«I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I really wish I could,» Hodges said.
Somalia, long considered a failed state until the mid-2010s, according to the U.N., has endured decades of clan-based warfare and weak central government authority, including the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu depicted in «Black Hawk Down,» when Somali militiamen battled U.S. forces during an ill-fated military operation, part of the turmoil that drove waves of refugees to America.
More than 111,000 Somali refugees were admitted to the U.S. between 2001 and 2023 through the federal refugee resettlement program, spanning the George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations. Minnesota became a major destination, alongside sizable Somali American communities in New York, Texas and Ohio.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, believes one possible explanation lies in how refugees have been resettled.
«We have to remember also that this population’s origins were as refugees who were a vulnerable population and traumatized in many cases,» Vaughan told Digital.
«But they were settled in clusters in certain places in the United States. And I believe that is a policy that has facilitated the formation of these gangs because it removes a lot of the incentives for people to assimilate.
«And it just makes assimilation to the larger society much more difficult because it’s not necessary for people to get by.»
Vaughan described an emphasis on preserving homeland cultures rather than encouraging integration as a «missed opportunity,» arguing it can leave immigrants in a «separate society within the larger Minnesota community.»
History, however, complicates the argument that maintaining strong ethnic ties necessarily prevents assimilation.
Stanford sociologist Tomás Jiménez cautioned against treating gang involvement among a small subset of second-generation immigrants as evidence that an entire community has failed to integrate.
«I would actually not think of it as, like, a failed assimilation, as much as a particular kind of assimilation,» Jiménez said.
He noted that Italian, Irish, Mexican and Salvadoran communities experienced gang activity while broader integration continued.
Jiménez emphasized that assimilation unfolds across generations, pointing out that the Italian American experience spanned roughly 75 years rather than occurring overnight. He identified education, economic advancement, language and intermarriage as important measures of integration.
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Donald Tricarico, an Italian American immigration scholar at Queensborough Community College, drew parallels between Italian and Irish immigrants, who established close-knit ethnic communities in New York. He said Italian families often followed relatives from the same villages into the same neighborhoods and occupations.
«They came to the same neighborhoods … what migration historians call ‘chain migration,’ and they … went to the same neighborhoods,» he said, citing his own family’s multigenerational experience in New York City.
«There isn’t a switch that gets flipped,» Tricarico said, challenging assumptions that Italian Americans assimilated quickly and noting that close-knit ethnic communities persisted into the 1980s in some cases.
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«Assimilation is a slow crawl,» he said, explaining that economic advancement and integration typically unfold across generations.
Tricarico noted that some Sicilian immigrants arrived with ties to existing Mafia networks overseas, a criminal element distinct from the broader Italian immigrant population. Hodges, meanwhile, said investigators have found no evidence that longstanding clan rivalries in Somalia are driving the Minnesota violence.
Somali American community figures have offered their own explanations, including the challenges facing immigrant parents.
At an Eden Prairie news conference Wednesday, Somali teacher Fardousa Yossuf suggested parents working long hours may have neglected their children’s needs and «expressed disbelief» that people raised with Islamic values could engage in gun violence, according to Alpha News.
Imam Yusuf Abdulle rejected characterizing the violence as a Somali problem in an interview with WCCO – CBS Minnesota posted on YouTube.
«These kids are Americans. They’re born and raised here,» Abdulle said. «It is an American problem. It is not a Somali problem.»
Vaughan, meanwhile, warned that the gangs have not reached the sophistication of transnational organizations such as MS-13 but could become more entrenched without intervention.
She pointed to families and schools as critical to preventing recruitment and argued that local institutions and law enforcement must intervene before the groups become more organized.
Vaughan acknowledged she had not established that specific Minnesota schools or resettlement policies prompted the shootings.
Asked whether longstanding Somali clan rivalries were fueling the shootings, Hodges said investigators found no evidence supporting that explanation.
«No, we have not seen that. I haven’t seen it,» he said.
He added that people from groups in conflict in Somalia can belong to the same cliques in Minnesota.
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Hodges said police are redirecting task force resources toward the gangs and questioned whether some Hennepin County prosecution policies could limit intervention.
He warned the Bloomington gunfire could have endangered innocent bystanders had it occurred during daylight.
«If that had been one o’clock in the afternoon, it would have been a different story on that block,» he said.
minnesota, somali immigrant community, crime world, politics, minneapolis st paul, refugees, immigrant education, donald trump
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