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The family of Charlie Kirk is bracing for an emotionally difficult week as his widow, Erika Kirk, prepares to attend a key court hearing where prosecutors are expected to present graphic evidence in the murder case against accused gunman Tyler Robinson.

A source familiar with the case said the upcoming five-day preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah, is expected to be especially painful for Kirk’s relatives and close friends, many of whom plan to be present in the courtroom.

“It’s going to be a tough week on everybody,” a source familiar with the situation said of Charlie’s family and friends planning to attend Tyler Robinson’s five-day evidence hearing in Provo, Utah.

According to the source, prosecutors are expected to introduce disturbing material during the proceedings, giving family members the option to step outside if they choose.

“There is going to be evidence presented which the family may choose to leave the courtroom for,” the source said. “That’s their prerogative. They are going to make those decisions when in court.”

In Utah, a preliminary hearing allows prosecutors to present the evidence supporting their case so a judge can determine whether sufficient probable cause exists to move forward with a trial. The hearing serves as the state’s alternative to seeking a grand jury indictment.

Among the evidence expected to be presented before Judge Tony Graf are graphic videos of the fatal shooting, along with autopsy-related evidence. The hearing began Monday.

It remains uncertain whether photographs of Kirk’s body will be shown during the proceedings.

Attorneys for both the prosecution and defense have agreed to alert Kirk’s family before especially graphic evidence is displayed, allowing them to leave the courtroom if they wish.

Robinson, 23, is accused of fatally shooting the 31-year-old Kirk from a distance as he addressed a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10.

Prosecutors allege Robinson later confessed to the killing in messages exchanged with his transgender partner, Lance Twiggs. Those communications are expected to be introduced as evidence during the hearing.

The prosecution is also expected to present a recorded interview conducted with Twiggs as part of its case.

Twiggs, 22, who previously shared a residence with Robinson, met with prosecutors on April 20 to discuss the defendant and his alleged actions.

Earlier this year, Twiggs was seen staying with relatives in Texas. Prosecutors granted him limited immunity in exchange for his cooperation during the interview.

If Robinson is convicted, he could face the death penalty. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu on Monday publicly appealed to President Trump to prevent Turkey from acquiring advanced F-35 fighter jets, arguing that such a move would dramatically shift the military balance in the Middle East and threaten Israel’s strategic advantage.

The request comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to press for his country’s return to the F-35 program during this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, despite bipartisan opposition in Washington.

Speaking during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Netanyahu warned that Turkey’s current leadership poses a serious regional threat. “Turkey is a great country, but it’s governed by a man who calls openly for the annihilation of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “He occupies half of Cyprus, a NATO country. He’s threatening Greece, another NATO country. And he talks openly about conquering Jerusalem.”

Netanyahu cautioned that allowing Turkey back into the F-35 program—or supplying it with engines for advanced fighter aircraft—would have serious consequences. “I don’t think they should be given F-35s or the engines for their fighter jets because that’ll upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also by America’s posture in the Middle East.”

The F-35 is widely regarded as one of the world’s most advanced multirole fighter aircraft. Israel currently operates a fleet of more than three dozen of the stealth jets.

Turkey was expelled from the multinational F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defense system. U.S. officials argued that the Russian missile platform could be used to gather sensitive intelligence about the F-35’s capabilities.

Although Turkey fields NATO’s second-largest military after the United States, it has frequently clashed with fellow alliance members, particularly Greece, over longstanding territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea.

In 2019, Erdogan’s government also faced sanctions from the United States and several European nations after launching a major military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

Turkey’s relationship with Russia has likewise been marked by both cooperation and conflict. In 2015, Turkish forces shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter jet after it entered Turkish airspace, an incident for which Erdogan later apologized.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Erdogan sought to portray Turkey as maintaining ties with both sides, declaring in 2023: “I trust Russia just as much as I trust the West.”

Despite that statement, Turkey has supplied military assistance to Ukraine, supported Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO, and worked to counter Russian influence in the Black Sea. At the same time, Ankara previously delayed NATO membership bids by Finland and Sweden over Sweden’s handling of Kurdish activists.

Relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated sharply since Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacre.

Netanyahu accused Erdogan’s government of embracing increasingly extreme anti-Israel rhetoric. “His foreign minister, his number two, said that the Jewish state hasn’t a place among humanity,” Netanyahu vented. “Basically, it has to be wiped out. His interior minister, he looks forward to be the government, governor of Jerusalem.”

The prime minister went on to describe the Turkish government as “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood, an extreme movement that hates America and chants ‘Death to America’ from that side of the spectrum.”

Despite Netanyahu’s concerns, President Trump has repeatedly praised Erdogan in the past, describing the Turkish leader as an “extraordinary leader” and a “good friend.”

{Matzav.com}

In honor of its historic 50th anniversary, ArtScroll is celebrating with something truly extraordinary: a once-in-50-years sale featuring 50 sefarim and books each week for 5 weeks at their lowest prices ever! 50% off list price! Plus, FREE SHIPPING in the USA on orders over $79. No gimmicks!

For five weeks only — July 6 through August 9 — ArtScroll will feature a new group of 50 titles on sale each week. That’s 250 books and sefarim over the course of the celebration, all at an unprecedented 50% off list price!

These are not ordinary sale prices. They are the lowest prices ever offered on these titles — and they won’t last. Each weekly sale runs for that week only. Once a title sells out, or once the week ends, those prices are gone.

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Throughout the five-week celebration, ArtScroll is giving away more than $50,000 in prizes!

Each week, one winner will receive a $10,000 ArtScroll list-price gift card. Thousands of dollars in additional prizes will be awarded weekly as well, including digital libraries, one-of-a-kind book sets, exclusive ArtScroll items, and special prizes that can’t be purchased anywhere.

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{Matzav.com}

More than eight decades after vanishing during a dangerous World War II reconnaissance mission, the remains of a young U.S. Army Air Forces pilot have finally been identified, bringing long-awaited closure to a case that remained unsolved for generations.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on July 1 that 1st Lt. Franklin H. McKinney, who was just 21 years old when he disappeared, was officially identified on May 15 through forensic testing, ending an 80-year search for the missing aviator.

McKinney disappeared on Nov. 5, 1944, while piloting an unarmed F-5E-2-LO Lightning reconnaissance aircraft. Assigned to the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron of the 14th Air Force, he had departed from Yunnanyi, China, on a mission to photograph targets in Thailand and Burma but never returned.

Following his disappearance, personnel from the American Graves Registration Service searched along the aircraft’s expected route near the Chinese-Thai border. Despite their efforts, they found no trace of the plane or its pilot.

With no evidence of the crash ever discovered, McKinney’s remains were not recovered after the war, and he was officially declared dead in March 1946.

The case was revived in 2010 when Daniel Jackson, then a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, began researching McKinney’s disappearance.

Jackson joined forces with Sakpinit Promthep of the Royal Thai Air Force Museum and American researcher Richard Hakanson. Their combined research uncovered new clues that pointed investigators toward a possible crash site in Thailand.

Among their discoveries was a wartime report preserved by the Royal Thai Air Force Museum describing an aircraft believed to have been struck by lightning before crashing in what is now Lampang Province. Investigators also located a witness whose recollections helped narrow the search area.

A major breakthrough came in 2017 when 94-year-old Fong Inma told researchers she had personally witnessed the aircraft crash into an area that later became a rice field near Mae Kua village. Her testimony convinced U.S. officials to launch a formal investigation of the site.

Survey teams examined the location in both 2019 and 2021 before a full-scale excavation was carried out in 2022.

During the recovery effort, investigators located aircraft debris along with possible human remains. The materials were transported to a forensic laboratory, where modern scientific testing ultimately confirmed that the remains belonged to McKinney.

Before his return home, McKinney was honored during a repatriation ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand.

He will now receive a burial with full military honors in the United States. A bronze rosette will also be added beside his name on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, marking that he has now been officially accounted for.

Reflecting on the years-long effort, Jackson wrote, “After almost 82 years, Frank McKinney is home again. America has kept its promise.”

McKinney served with the famed 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the “Redhawks,” whose pilots flew hazardous, unarmed reconnaissance missions over Japanese-controlled territory, gathering aerial intelligence that enabled Allied commanders to monitor enemy movements and plan operations across China, Burma, and Thailand.

Military historians have long credited the squadron’s intelligence-gathering missions with making an important contribution to the Allied war effort in the China theater.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues its worldwide mission to locate and identify missing American service members through archival research, archaeological excavations, DNA analysis, and other advanced forensic methods.

According to the agency, more than 81,000 Americans who went missing during World War II have still not been accounted for.

{Matzav.com}