By Andi Babineau, CNN

Provo, Utah (CNN) — Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appeared in court Friday while his attorneys argued for cameras to be banned from the proceedings moving forward, arguing news coverage of the high-profile case could harm their client’s right to a fair trial.

The defense’s primary argument is media coverage has been largely prejudicial to Robinson, potentially tainting the jury pool. Cameras and audio recording devices should no longer be allowed inside the courtroom or “the defendant’s fair trial rights will be jeopardized,” Robinson’s attorney Michael Burt argued.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, sought to maintain the presence of cameras, saying in part it was the best way to combat misinformation about a case centered on the public assassination of the prominent conservative activist. A coalition of news outlets – which includes CNN – and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, are also in favor of keeping the proceedings open to cameras.

“Mischief lurks in the dark or in secret,” prosecutor Chad Grunander said in his closing argument. “Conspiracy theories abound, and the antidote is the actual, real proceedings.”

Kirk was fatally shot in front of a large crowd during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University last September. Robinson turned himself into authorities accompanied by his father and a family friend following a 30-plus-hour manhunt.

Robinson has not yet entered pleas for the charges he faces, including aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

On Friday, Robinson’s defense attorneys also argued to delay his preliminary hearing scheduled for next month. Robinson cannot be arraigned until after the multi-day hearing.

Utah Judge Tony Graf said he would issue a ruling on both issues on May 8.

‘Speculation and sensationalism’

The defense showed a montage of video clips and screenshots to make their case Friday, including one local news report analyzing Robinson’s expressions and body language in a past court proceeding – a segment defense witness Bryan Edelman, a trial consultant, testified was “completely speculating.”

“Obviously none of this is informative. It’s all speculation and sensationalism,” Edelman said under questioning by defense attorney Michael Burt.

Edelman testified many of the clips shown in court, including one from CNN, focused on Robinson’s demeanor, credibility and likeability rather than the court hearings they were ostensibly covering.

The defense also called Christine Ruva, a cognitive psychologist who specializes in jurors’ decision-making and the impacts of pre-trial publicity.

Ruva testified about the “primacy effect” – the idea that the information one receives first has priority in a person’s mind. Predominantly negative pre-trial publicity can “impact how jurors process trial evidence, their memory for the evidence, and how they deliberate in the jury room,” she said.

The material Ruva reviewed was “overwhelming anti-defendant” coverage, she said.

Prosecutors called a single witness: Cole Christensen, an investigator with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. They admitted a written report by the investigator into the court record and then rested their argument, ceding their remaining allotted time to the defense.

Christensen’s report asserts the sentiment of media coverage of the case skewed in multiple directions. He testified on cross-examination he found coverage prejudicial toward Robinson

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — Lawyers for President Donald Trump are engaged in discussions with the IRS and the Treasury Department in an effort to resolve his $10 billion lawsuit accusing the agencies of an unauthorized leak of his tax information during his first administration.

Trump’s lawyers disclosed the conversations in a court filing Friday asking a Florida district court for a 90 day extension to allow the parties to engage in discussions and avoid a drawn-out legal process.

“This limited pause will neither prejudice the Parties nor delay ultimate resolution. Rather, the extension will promote judicial economy and allow the Parties to explore avenues that could narrow or resolve the issues efficiently,” the filing states.

The lawsuit – which Trump filed personally, not in his official capacity as president – has sparked conflict of interest concerns given his oversight of the federal agencies he is suing. Further, if the case resolves with any monetary settlement, it would be Trump’s own administration paying him and his family.

News of the talks come after another settlement stirred controversy last month when the Justice Department agreed to pay Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn more than $1 million to resolve his wrongful prosecution case.

CNN has reached out to the Treasury Department and Justice Department for comment. The IRS deferred a request for comment to the Justice Department.

The president, along with his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, filed suit in January, alleging that the government failed to protect his and the Trump Organization’s confidential tax information, which was leaked to the press by Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor.

Littlejohn, who worked as a government contractor at Booz Allen Hamilton, illegally obtained and disclosed Trump’s tax returns to publications like the New York Times and ProPublica, the suit alleged.

In 2024, Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization – from Trump and other wealthy individuals.

Trump’s legal team alleged that the IRS is legally responsible for Littlejohn’s actions because he had “staff-like access to tax returns and confidential tax return information” and exploited longstanding security failures that the IRS had been warned about but had gone uncorrected.

During Trump’s first term, his refusal to release his tax returns, breaking a decadeslong tradition for presidential candidates, became a focal point for critics. In 2022, six years of Trump’s tax returns were made public by the House Ways and Means Committee after a legal fight over their disclosure reached the Supreme Court.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – After a one week delay due to weather issues, the 40th annual Santa Barbara Kite Festival is ready to take flight this Sunday.

The festival will be on the green grassy area on the west campus of Santa Barbara City College known as the "Great Meadow." It overlooks the ocean and captures many wind currents from the coastal zone.

The event is open to all ages.

It takes place from 11:00am to 4:00pm, giving everyone a chance to get their kite airborne and also practice their skills.

That will be important if they are planning to be in any of the competitions.

Kite Festival Organizer David Hefferman said, "about 1,500 folks flying a kite all at once. It is a lot of fun organized events we have tail chase, most beautiful, highest flying, best hand decorated kite, best handmade kite and lots of prizes."

Recently during first Thursday in downtown Santa Barbara, the Kite Festival team had tables out on State Street by the Museum of Art.

There, kites were being made by hand and colorful artistic drawings were added on.

Sunday these kites will hopefully be flying at the event.

There will also be kites for sale, food, and music.

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Por Karen Esquivel, CNN en Español

Visten pollera, sombrero bombín, llevan trenzas a ambos lados de la cabeza y calzan tenis para patinar: un atuendo único con el que reivindican sus raíces indígenas, dominan el espacio público y desafían estereotipos. Todo en cuatro ruedas.

Es Bolivia y ellas las “cholitas skaters”, parte de una cultura urbana que se ha asentado principalmente en las ciudades de La Paz y El Alto. Algunas comenzaron a patinar por interés deportivo y por comunidad. Con el tiempo, su presencia se volvió distintiva por una decisión: mezclar sus raíces con el patinaje.

Las “cholitas” son mujeres indígenas que utilizan pollera —una falda amplia, pesada y de colores vivos— y se han convertido en un símbolo de fuerza, identidad y resistencia cultural en el país. Históricamente han sido estigmatizadas y discriminadas, pero hoy han ganado protagonismo en la vida pública, el comercio, la política y el deporte.

ImillaSkate nació en 2019 en Cochabamba, en el centro de Bolivia, con el objetivo de incentivar a niñas a practicar el deporte. Su nombre tiene un trasfondo familiar: “imilla” significa niña o jovencita en los idiomas quechua y aimara y su inspiración fueron sus madres, tías y abuelas que son cholitas y mujeres de pollera. Ahora ellas llevan la pollera a un escenario poco común.

Aunque el uso de la falda puede suponer un reto técnico para ciertas maniobras, también envía un mensaje visual importante: una mujer indígena puede destacar en un espacio tradicionalmente dominado por los hombres o donde fue vista con burlas.

Huara Chaskanawi, integrante del grupo, dice que “la pollera que yo represento es en honor a la descendencia que me hereda mi abuelita paterna, una bella cholita comarapeña”.

Ella comenzó a patinar a los 21 años, pero su gusto por el deporte inició desde pequeña, cuando veía a sus hermanos mayores subirse a una tabla.

Los estigmas sobre los deportes que son aptos para mujeres y los que no, pesaron en varias integrantes del colectivo. En el caso de Tefy Morales, fueron comentarios de su propia familia de que “patinar no es para mujeres”, un pensamiento que, dice, duró varios años.

“Cuando una mujer empieza a patinar, te dicen que vas a estar con las rodillas raspadas, que no vas a poder andar con vestidos, con falda y muchas cosas más […] pero es algo mucho más allá de las caídas, las caídas te enseñan, pero también te enseña esa felicidad cuando logras algo, ahí es cuando aprendes una fuerza mental de que saber que va a haber caídas y tú te paras y sabes que es parte de lo que haces”, señala.

Las integrantes del colectivo resaltan la importancia de promover un mensaje de empoderamiento de su herencia cultural, la pollera, inclusión, amor y respeto a su cultura.
“[El skate] fue un cambio en nuestras vidas”, afirman.

Señalan que no son solo un colectivo o un club deportivo, sino que son hermanas y familia que se apoya en todo tipo de circunstancias. “Nos basamos en el valor intrínseco del ser humano, vivimos en el pensamiento filosófico de comunidad y apoyo que nos brinda el skateboarding y nuestra cultura originaria”.

Con esa ideología han realizado varios viajes dentro del territorio boliviano y más allá de sus fronteras (Los Ángeles, Washington, Nueva York) para promover su cultura, mostrar la participación de las mujeres en el patinaje y resaltar lo lejos que pueden llegar.

Crear una comunidad de apoyo es uno de los objetivos principales de ImillaSkate, que además de ser un club deportivo que enseña a otros sobre patinaje, difunde el deporte mediante actividades sociales, en refugios, albergues y centros de apoyo escolar para niños en situación vulnerable.

Con “las calles de Coc

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Santa Barbara County supervisors wrapped up their third budget workshop this week as officials work to close a multi-million dollar deficit, with a heated debate emerging over the future of the county’s jail system.

Leaders spent much of Friday discussing how to fund homelessness services, mental health programs, and other community needs, as revenue from cannabis taxes continues to fall short of expectations.

But one of the most contentious topics was how much to expand the Northern Branch Jail.

The proposal under consideration includes adding up to two new housing units, a move that could cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over time.

Supporters, including Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, say expansion is necessary to address overcrowding and maintain safety inside the jail.

“We will continue to have to house a large number of people, many of them very dangerous people in our jail system,” Brown said during the hearing.

Brown is advocating for two additional housing units, arguing that adding just one would not be sufficient to properly manage the jail population.

“This past Monday, our jail population was 769, with 86% being incarcerated for felonies,” Brown said. “Only one added pod would not allow for the proper classification and proper housing of incarcerated persons, so that they can be appropriately housed for their safety, for the safety of other inmates, and for the safety of the jail staff.”

Critics, however, warn that expanding the jail could deepen the county’s financial challenges at a time when budgets are already strained.

“Utilize this one means open to you to divert money away from a wasteful jail expansion, to reduce cuts to essential services needed by a community that is already reeling from federal and state budget cuts,” said Larry Behrendt of Indivisible Santa Barbara.

The debate comes as the Sheriff’s Office continues to face staffing shortages, driving overtime costs into the tens of millions of dollars each year.

Some county leaders say resources should instead be focused on preventing incarceration in the first place.

“Someone like me is adamant and dogged to make sure that we do everything we can to keep people out of our jails, to provide mental health treatment, to provide better education, to keep people off the pathways to incarceration,” said Supervisor Laura Capps. “That is the priority. Those programs take funding.”

No final decisions were made Friday. County leaders are expected to continue budget discussions in the coming weeks before adopting a final spending plan in June.

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