POLITICS

House Call

Federal agents searched the D.C. home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Monday as part of a federal criminal investigation.

Homeland Security and the DOJ have reportedly been digging into the progressive lawmaker for years, in part over the 44-year-old’s immigration paperwork (filed by her late father). The congresswoman fled civil-war-torn Somalia in 1991 and was naturalized in 2000.

The judge-approved search comes as Omar seeks her fifth House term. To avoid election interference, the DOJ typically avoids publicly investigating candidates within 60 days of a red-white-and-blue-sticker day. It reportedly doesn’t consider this a policy violation since the raid wasn’t meant to be public.

Omar, who hasn’t been charged, called the raid the “latest escalation” in President Trump’s “campaign of political intimidation”; Trump said he had “nothing to do” with the probe, calling Omar “totally crooked.”

ABOVE ALL, LOVE
Whether you’re critical of your government or think it’s unfairly criticized, the command for Christians is to love neighbors and enemies alike. That requires speaking about others with dignity and respect, even when we feel like they haven’t earned it.

“With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way… Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.”
James 3:9–10, 13 (CSB) (read full passage)

CULTURE

Off Screen

Hollywood is having a heavy week.

In London, Russell Brand’s trial opened Monday. The 51-year-old comedian-turned-YouTuber with ~6.6M subscribers pleaded not guilty to seven rape and sexual assault charges involving six women between 1999 and 2009.

In New York, Selma Blair, 54, was arrested after reportedly biting one flight attendant and injuring another. After landing, the Cruel Intentions star allegedly kicked an officer and a nurse. She faces a federal case over the on-board incident, but pleaded not guilty in the state’s case over the off-board assaults. Her lawyer cited a medical emergency tied to her multiple sclerosis and missed medication.

And in Texas, RJ Mitte, the Breaking Bad actor and disability advocate with cerebral palsy, died Monday at 34. According to his rep, he died by suicide. On-screen father Bryan Cranston posted, “I’ll miss you, son.”

PRAY WITH US
Heavenly Father, when heaviness settles, we cast our cares on You. When our footing shifts, You are our Solid Rock. When the news is bad, You are always good. Take our sorrow, fear, anger, and hurt and make something beautiful. Amen.

“I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.”
Psalm 62:1-2 (CSB) (read full passage)

If you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, talk to a local pastor, a friend, or text 988.

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POLITICS

November is Nigh

T-minus 20 days until Midterms, and tensions are tightening.

Sunday, a New York federal judge ordered an immediate halt to President Trump’s $20M taxpayer-funded ad campaign. Plaintiffs, including a nonpartisan government watchdog, called the ads “blatantly unlawful political propaganda” meant to influence elections. The White House said the ads were public service announcements—which previous administrations publicly funded—and “the alleged offending conduct” was already ending since DHS agreed to stop buying ads.

Meanwhile, trillionaire billionaire Elon Musk is officially the midterms’ largest donor. The world’s wealthiest man spent $366M this cycle, including $276M to GOP groups and his own super PAC since July.

Republicans are hoping to hold their slim majorities (219-214 House; 53-47 Senate), though polls show Democrats poised to make major gains. Cook Political Report currently ranks 21 House districts and seven Senate seats as toss-ups (see what the current landscape looks like).

Do you know what’s on your ballot? We spent hours researching your state so you can get up to date in 5 minutes in TPO’s 2026 Midterms Guide.

CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
As you look toward November, steer clear of both escapism (“everything will be better once ___ happens”) and anxiety (“we’ll be in trouble if ___ happens”). Walk in righteousness, justice, and gratitude today, trusting our good God for tomorrow.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring ​— ​what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’... So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.”
James 4:13-17 (CSB) (read full passage)

Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with lung cancer yesterday. The pontiff was undergoing surgery to remove a nodule on his right lung when tissue tests determined the lump was adenocarcinoma (learn more about the disease). The Vatican said the operation wrapped up “successfully,” that surgeons had removed a portion of Pope Leo’s affected lung and the procedure would “likely be curative” pending further tests.


A fire destroyed Paris’ oldest covered food market early Monday. Officials say “nothing remains” of the Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges, a fixture of the Marais district since 1615 that Food & Wine ranked fifth worldwide for street food this year (see it before the burn). The cause of the blaze is unknown; it destroyed 17 businesses but spared neighboring buildings.


Six Flags has closed nine rides across six parks after a man fell from Georgia’s tallest rollercoaster Monday. The 42-year-old father died after falling out of the 200-ft-tall Goliath at the Atlanta-area park; four other riders were injured. Similar coasters are roped off as officials investigate. The closures come two weeks after Six Flags retired California’s X2 coaster amid brain-injury lawsuits.


The Nobel announcements went out with a boom. Stanford’s Robert E. Hall and Columbia’s Michael Woodford won the Prize in Economic Sciences for developing economic stabilizing models, built from household and business decisions, that’ll help officials tame booms and busts. The American profs will split the 12M kronor equally, but it’s unclear how they’ll split the medal (jk, they’ll get their own… see what it looks like).

(Discipling young minds? Just want the Nobel Prize winners’ work explained like you’re 12? We’re covering all things Nobel Prizes at a 7th-grade reading level in Decaf: The Pour Over for Families. Subscribe for free in just one click!)


The White House’s new press secretary kept her first briefing brief. In Katie Zacharia’s ~14-minute podium debut, she took questions from three reporters and announced that Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle was asked to resign before cutting the session short, citing President Trump’s Alaska trip (watch the whole thing). POTUS praised her; critics called it “quite unusual.”

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