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President Donald Trump announced that Dr. Ben Carson will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, noting that there will be a ceremony at the White House to honor him.

“Congratulations Ben. He didn’t know this. He didn’t know it. I hope he’s happy,” Trump said after making the announcement at the conclusion of his remarks at the American Cornerstone Institute’s Founders’ Dinner on Saturday.

Carson, who founded the ACI, served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during Trump’s first term in office.

TRUMP REVEALS WHAT BEN CARSON PRIVATELY PREDICTED DURING 2016 GOP PRIMARY FIGHT

Carson, a former neurosurgeon, ran for president when Trump mounted his first successful White House bid, but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump in 2016.

ACI’s website states that “Dr. Carson is ensuring there is an organization fighting for the principles that have guided him through life, and that make this country great: Faith, Liberty, Community, and Life.” 

BEN CARSON: AS A DOCTOR, I KNOW FEWER RESTRICTIONS ON MARIJUANA WILL MAKE CITIES WORSE

Carson is supporting U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for re-election.

In a post on X earlier this month, Carson declared that Graham “has been a steadfast conservative leader for South Carolina and our nation and I’m pleased to endorse him for re-election.”

DR. BEN CARSON’S EDUCATION PROGRAM TEACHES THE ‘GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY’ OF AMERICA, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE GOOD

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Carson was one of the people who spoke at the memorial service honoring slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona on Sunday.

A lunar lander made its touchdown on the moon earlier on Thursday, but controllers on the ground were unable to confirm the Athena lander’s condition upon landing, the Associated Press reported. In addition to its condition, the location of where the craft landed is also unclear.

The lander, which is owned by Intuitive Machines, was carrying an ice drill, a drone and two rovers. Athena was apparently able to communicate with its controllers, the Associated Press reported, citing officials.

Mission director and co-founder Tim Crain was heard telling the team to “keep working on the problem,” despite the craft sending apparent “acknowledgments” to the team in Texas.

FIRST COMMERCIAL MOON LANDER ‘ODYSSEUS’ LANDS ON MOON

NASA and Intuitive Machines ended the online live stream and announced that they would hold a news conference on the status of Athena later on Thursday.

PRIVATE LUNAR LANDER BLUE GHOST LANDS ON THE MOON WITH EQUIPMENT FOR NASA

Last year, Intuitive Machine saw its Odysseus lander make it to the moon, only to end up landing sideways, putting extra pressure on today’s landing. 

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Athena is the second craft to land on the moon this week after Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost made touchdown on Sunday. 

“You all stuck the landing. We’re on the moon,” Firefly’s Will Coogan, chief engineer for the lander, said. Blue Ghost’s landing made Firefly Aerospace the first private company to put a spacecraft on the moon without it crashing or falling over.

Fox News’ Landon Minon contributed to this report.

Even astronauts have a sense of humor, as shown during NASA’s Crew-10 docking on the International Space Station (ISS), when they were met by an “alien” early Sunday morning.

Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner wore an alien mask while welcoming four newcomers after their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked to the station at 12:04 a.m., about 29 hours after launching at 7:03 p.m. on Friday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

While ISS crew members were preparing the capsule for deboarding, Vagner could be seen floating around while wearing a mask, a hoodie, pants and socks during the “lighthearted moment,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov entered the International Space Station shortly after opening the hatches between the space station and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 1:35 a.m. EDT,” NASA said in a statement.

NASA’S STUCK ASTRONAUTS WELCOME REPLACEMENTS WHO ARRIVED TO SPACE STATION ON SPACEX CAPSULE

Following the hatch opening by Suni Williams, the ship’s bell was rung as the new arrivals floated in, shook hands and hugged the Expedition 72 crew after Vagner’s practical joke. 

“It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive,” Williams told Mission Control. 

ELON MUSK’S SPACEX LAUNCHES CREW TO RESCUE STUCK NASA ASTRONAUTS FROM ISS

Williams and Butch Wilmore are expected to show the new arrivals the ins and outs of the space station before they finally return home after nine months. Their mission was only scheduled to last one week after the launch of Boeing’s first astronaut flight, but they were stuck in space after issues forced NASA to bring the Boeing Starliner back empty.

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Crew-9 commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are scheduled to depart the station on Wednesday as early as 4 a.m. before splashing down off Florida’s coast.

Fox News’ Landon Mion, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

What happens when an octopus jumps on a shark for a ride around town? 

A “sharktopus,” of course.

The rare sighting, captured on video off the coast of New Zealand and shared by scientists affiliated with the University of Auckland, shows a Maori octopus riding on top of a mako shark, which is the fastest in the world with the ability to swim up to 46 mph. 

The university said the December 2023 encounter “was one of the strangest things University of Auckland marine scientists had ever seen. It was a mysterious sight indeed… octopus are mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don’t [favor] the deep.”

MASSIVE SHARK HEADED DOWN FLORIDA COAST AHEAD OF BUSY TRAVEL SEASON

The university researchers had been looking for shark feeding frenzies in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island when a mako shark with an “orange patch” on its head was discovered. 

The researchers launched a drone and put a GoPro camera in the water and “saw something unforgettable: an octopus perched atop the shark’s head, clinging on with its tentacles,” University of Auckland Professor Rochelle Constantine wrote in a piece for the university last week. 

AMERICAN TOURISTS FELT ‘NUDGE’ BEFORE SHARK ATTACK AT POPULAR BAHAMAS RESORT

Constantine added that the researchers moved on after 10 minutes, so they weren’t sure what happened to the “sharktopus” next, but the “octopus may have been in for quite the experience, since the world’s fastest shark species can reach [30 mph].”

“At first, I was like, ‘Is it a buoy?’” Constantine told The New York Times this week. “‘Is it entangled in fishing gear or had a big bite?’”

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She pointed out, “You can see it takes a fair amount of real estate on the shark’s head,” noting that neither animal seemed bothered by the encounter. 

“The shark seemed quite happy, and the octopus seemed quite happy. It was a very calm scene,” she said. 

A mysterious spiraling blue light illuminated the night skies over Europe on Monday.

The cosmic whirlpool was captured in stunning video and appears to have been created by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster falling back toward Earth, according to experts.

Time-lapse video taken from Croatia at around 4 p.m. EST, or 9 p.m. local time, shows the glowing light spinning across the sky in what many social media commentators likened to a spiral galaxy. The full video at normal speed lasts for about six minutes.

ELON MUSK CONGRATULATES SPACEX, NASA FOR ‘EXCELLENT WORK’ RESCUING STRANDED ASTRONAUTS

The Met Office in the U.K. said it had received many reports of an “illuminated swirl in the sky” and said it was likely caused by the Space X rocket which launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida at around 1:50 p.m. EST as part of the government’s classified NROL-69 mission. The Elon Musk-owned SpaceX was launching a payload on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the government’s intelligence and surveillance agency.

“This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today,” the Met Office wrote on X. “The rocket’s frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.”

The glowing light is an example of what some people call a “SpaceX spiral,” according to Space.com.

SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE STICKS SPLASHDOWN LANDING AS NASA ASTRONAUTS RETURN HOME AFTER MONTHS STUCK IN SPACE

SpaceX spirals develop after the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket separates from its first-stage booster. As the upper stage continues towards space, the lower stage falls, spiraling back to Earth, dumping what remains of its fuel. 

The fuel then freezes instantly due to its high altitude and light then reflects on it, creating the strange-looking glow in the sky, per the outlet.  

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Fox News Digital reached out to SpaceX for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

Monday’s cosmic display came just days after a SpaceX team working with NASA returned two stranded astronauts from space. 

At Sunday’s memorial service for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, his widow, Erika Kirk, shared a moment of comfort she received from second lady Usha Vance in the immediate aftermath of his assassination, calling her a “precious woman.”

Erika Kirk explained how she had confided in Vance about how she did not know how she could endure the loss of her husband and the father of their two children. Vance offered an analogy about the final 15 minutes of a turbulent airplane ride, when all a parent can think about is getting through to the landing.

TRUMP TO HONOR CHARLIE KIRK AT ARIZONA MEMORIAL, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG CONSERVATIVES EXPECTED TO ATTEND

The second lady “told me, you will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that,” Erika Kirk described. “Usha, I don’t think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear.” 

Vice President JD Vance also addressed the packed crowd at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, earlier in the evening, delivering a stirring tribute to his close friend.

“They tried to silence our dear friend Charlie Kirk,” JD Vance said. “And tonight, we speak with Charlie and for Charlie, louder than ever.”

JD VANCE BLAMES KIRK ASSASSINATION ON ‘LEFT-WING POLITICAL RADICALIZATION’ OF SHOOTER

The vice president praised Charlie Kirk’s unwavering defense of the family and traditional values as the foundation of a thriving society.

“Charlie brought the truth that young people deserve to stake (in) the future, and that they deserve to have a voice,” JD Vance said. 

But JD Vance stressed that Charlie Kirk’s true legacy was not just in what he said publicly, but in the life he lived daily. 

VANCE SAYS HE OWES ‘SO MUCH’ TO CHARLIE KIRK WHILE GUEST-HOSTING SHOW, PRAISES ‘VISIONARY’ CONSERVATIVE LEADER

“Charlie, he did so much more than tell the truth. He lived it,” JD Vance remarked, adding that the conservative activist’s passion for history and ideas gave him a vision for America’s future. 

“In this he showed all of us how to carry on after his death,” the vice president concluded.

Charlie Kirk was a close confidant of JD Vance’s, both personally and politically. The Turning Point USA founder was considered by JD Vance to have been pivotal in President Donald Trump’s decision to choose him as a running mate in the 2024 election.

Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, JD Vance and Usha Vance accompanied Erika Kirk aboard Air Force Two to return his casket to Arizona. In Salt Lake City, the vice president walked alongside the flag-draped casket of his friend as it was carried across the tarmac.

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JD Vance also filled in for his “dear friend” on “The Charlie Kirk Show” where he similarly expressed his thoughts about his assassination.

Erika Kirk told a stadium packed with mourners in Arizona that her late husband’s death had sparked a “revival” across the country.

“Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country. We saw revival,” she told the audience who had gathered Saturday to honor Charlie Kirk, who was tragically murdered on campus at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

“After Charlie’s assassination, we didn’t see violence. We didn’t see rioting. We didn’t see revolution,” she added, during her poignant speech.

ERIKA KIRK, AHEAD OF MEMORIAL SERVICE, INSPIRES CHRISTIAN STAFFER TO REMAIN ‘ROOTED IN FAITH’

After a string of other high-profile speakers, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, the mother of two received a standing ovation as soon as she set foot on stage.

Erika Kirk even recalled the painful moment at the hospital after seeing that her husband had been shot.

 “I saw the wound that ended his life,” she said. “I felt shock. I felt horror and a level of heartache I didn’t even know existed,” she added.

But as Charlie Kirk’s death sent shockwaves across the nation and drew condolences from around the world, Erika Kirk insisted the tragedy had stirred a spiritual renewal. 

WHITE HOUSE RELEASES VIDEO TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE KIRK

“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives,” she said.

Erika also urged believers to take responsibility for nurturing this moment.

“All of you who are already believers, it is your job to shepherd these people. Do not take that lightly. Water the seed of their faith. Protect it and help it grow,” she said.

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She closed by honoring Kirk’s dedication. “He left this world without regrets,” she said.

“He did 100% of what he could every day. But I want you to know something. Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business. And I will miss him.”

Thousands gathered Sunday to pay tribute to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, whose memorial service drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen. 

The organization told Fox News Digital that approximately 90,000 people attended the service, with roughly 70,000 bringing the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to capacity. 

TRUMP HONORS CHARLIE KIRK’S LEGACY AND DESCRIBES HIM AS A ‘MARTYR FOR AMERICAN FREEDOM’

Another 10,000 people gathered at the nearby Desert Diamond Arena, a designated overflow venue, according to estimates provided by TPUSA. Additionally, another 10,000 people watched Kirk’s memorial service from nearby viewing areas.

Taken together, the turnout underscored the event’s extraordinary scale.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK 

Earlier estimates provided by law enforcement officials placed the attendance number around 200,000.

Headlined by political heavyweights, conservative media figures and religious leaders, the memorial service ranks as one of the largest public gatherings ever organized for a private citizen. 

The service for Kirk was broadcast across every major U.S. television network, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. 

ERIKA KIRK FORGIVES HUSBAND’S KILLER AT MEMORIAL SERVICE: ‘IT’S WHAT CHARLIE WOULD DO’

And while memorials take many forms, from intimate ceremonies to massive public gatherings, Kirk’s service highlighted the unique intersection of politics, media and faith that defined his public life.

Similar outpourings have marked the deaths of cultural icons before. Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, for instance, drew an estimated 80,000 people to the streets of Memphis for his funeral procession, though only a few hundred were admitted inside. 

In June 2016, approximately 14,000 people attended a service for legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. Additionally, thousands more watched virtually via live streams. 

In 1968, two massive services were held for Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, one at Ebenezer Baptist Church and then another at Morehouse College. And an estimated 150,000 people gathered to watch King’s funeral procession travel between the two locations, with more inside each venue. 

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Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, was in the middle of taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands before a single shot ended his life.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Kyle Rittenhouse spoke with Fox News Digital Sunday about his friendship with Charlie Kirk, a bond that began in 2021, as he attended the conservative activist’s massive memorial service at State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Rittenhouse — who first connected with Kirk while facing homicide charges that made him a political lightning rod — said he immediately took time off work to grieve the loss of the Turning Point USA founder.

“When Charlie was assassinated, I was on my lunch break at work,” Rittenhouse told Fox News Digital Sunday morning. “I just got home to let my dog out. And I went on X, and the first video I saw was my friend being murdered.”

PASTOR: CHARLIE KIRK’S GRAPHIC DEATH WAS ‘TRAUMATIC’ AS MANY AMERICANS RECONCILE WITH LOSS

Rittenhouse added, “I took the rest of the day off work. I took the rest of the week off of work because Charlie meant a lot to me.”

YOUTH LEADERS MOURN ‘THE GODFATHER OF CAMPUS CONSERVATISM’ CHARLIE KIRK FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION

Kirk had been one of Rittenhouse’s most vocal supporters. He brought Rittenhouse on “The Charlie Kirk Show” multiple times and featured him at multiple events organized by Turning Point USA. 

In December 2021, during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Kirk told Rittenhouse he was “a hero to millions,” according to the Washington Post.

In 2024, Kirk threatened legal action after protesters confronted Rittenhouse during an appearance at the University of Memphis, Newsweek reported.

CHARLIE KIRK ANSWERED ‘HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED’ LESS THAN 3 MONTHS BEFORE KILLING

Since being acquitted of all charges in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings — where he shot three men during a 2020 Black Lives Matter riot, leaving two dead — Rittenhouse largely has kept a low profile. 

Rittenhouse is one of thousands attending the massive memorial service on Sunday for Kirk, who was fatally shot on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

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The public memorial service included speeches from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

President Donald Trump praised Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s legacy Sunday, calling him a “martyr for American freedom.”

“I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither will history,” Trump said to the tens of thousands of supporters gathered to celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK 

Trump spoke of Kirk’s passion for mobilizing young conservatives, his unwavering devotion to the country and the movement he leaves behind. The president described Kirk as a “missionary with a noble spirit,” saying the 31-year-old conservative activist played a decisive role in helping him win the 2024 election.

“He didn’t deserve this and our country didn’t deserve this,” Trump said, adding that Kirk’s assassination was an attack on American democracy. 

Trump has survived two assassination attempts.

The president also said he would honor Kirk at the White House by presenting his family with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. 

LIVE UPDATES: MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR CHARLIE KIRK

Trump’s speech, which also highlighted his administration’s core priorities, followed those of Kirk’s widow, Erika, and several high-ranking members of his administration. 

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were among some of Trump’s Cabinet that spoke at the memorial service. 

At the end of his speech, Trump shared the stage with Erika Kirk and hugged her as “God Bless America” played across the stadium, marking the conclusion of the memorial service. 

ERIKA KIRK FORGIVES HUSBAND’S KILLER AT MEMORIAL SERVICE: ‘IT’S WHAT CHARLIE WOULD DO’

Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, sat beneath a white tent emblazoned with the slogan “Prove Me Wrong,” taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands. 

Moments later, a single shot ended his life.

In the wake of his death, many Americans have been learning for the first time of the unlikely rise of the young activist who vaulted from obscurity in suburban Illinois to become a defining voice for a generation of conservatives and one of the movement’s most formidable power brokers.

‘THIS IS THE TURNING POINT:’ TPUSA SAYS CAMPUS CHAPTER REQUESTS SURGE AFTER KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

At 18, Kirk dropped out of community college to co-found TPUSA. By his mid-20s, he became the youngest speaker at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and a household name in conservative circles. By 31, he commanded a $95 million political empire, galvanized millions of followers online and established a direct line to Trump.

His widow, Erika, has vowed to carry on the energetic movement that indisputably reshaped conservative youth politics. TPUSA recently announced she would assume the roles of CEO and chair of the board.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” said TPUSA has received more than 62,000 requests to establish new campus chapters in the two weeks since Kirk’s assassination — a surge that would add to its existing network of 900 nationwide.

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“For all the fans of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ we will see you Monday,” Kolvet said during his remarks at the memorial service. “Until then, buckle up — here we go,” he added, vowing to continue Kirk’s mission.

Last week, Kolvet told Fox News Digital that he has “personally received hundreds of offers to work” for TPUSA.