The Latest: Rep. Omar says she will ‘not be silenced’ after Homeland Security searches her home

Federal agents on Monday searched the home of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a startling escalation in a criminal investigation that brings renewed scrutiny to the frequent target of Trump administration derision in the final weeks of her reelection bid.

The Justice Department confirmed that a judicially authorized search warrant of Omar’s home was executed by Homeland Security Investigations but provided no other details. Trump administration officials have repeatedly hinted at the existence of an inquiry targeting the Minnesota representative. Omar called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”

A senior U.S. official said President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.

And a bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Trump administration to “immediately reverse course” on a plan to purchase diesel from Russia despite a U.S. sanctions law.

The Latest:

Republicans react to Omar by using her own words

Responding to Omar’s social media reaction addressing the search, the Republican National Committee posted a screen grab of an X post from Omar in which she wrote, “No one is above the law.”

The screen grab wasn’t dated, but Omar posted that phrase on social media as the House debated Trump’s first impeachment case in 2019.

The Republican Party in Omar’s home state of Minnesota circulated remarks it attributed to Omar from 2023, when she reacted to Trump’s indictment on charges in New York by calling for people to “support accountability and to follow the facts where they lead.”

Democrats condemn Omar raid as political targeting ahead of election

Across social media, congressional Democrats criticized Trump for the search of Omar’s home.

Calling it “unprecedented, but unfortunately not surprising,” Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell wrote that Trump had “repeatedly targeted Congresswoman Omar with hateful rhetoric, contributing to death threats and violence.”

Arizona Rep. Adellita Grijalva said it represented “the latest — and darkest — chapter of Trump’s racist political persecution against Ilhan Omar and the entire Somali-American community.”

Saying Trump was “weaponizing our government against his perceived political opponents,” Colorado Rep. Jason Crow referenced the administration’s unsuccessful attempt to indict him and other congressional Democrats for a video calling on service members to defy “illegal orders.”

Kremlin relishes in the US-Russia diesel deal

The deal between Moscow and Washington on exports of Russian diesel and fresh U.S. criticism of Ukraine’s leader mark important political victories for the Kremlin.

While the size of Russia’s diesel exports is relatively small and unlikely to significantly impact prices, the revenue will help Moscow replenish its war coffers.

More importantly, it will undermine efforts by Kyiv and its European allies to put up a united front to Putin.

Remarks by Trump suggesting that Ukraine should get a new leader also strengthen the Kremlin’s hand.

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Khanna calls search of Omar’s home ‘chilling’

Fellow progressive Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California also called it “disturbing” that the Trump administration is “targeting Muslim Americans and a Muslim American woman legislator.” Khanna made the remarks in a video posted on social media.

Khanna added that “any decent American needs to stand up and speak out.”

Fellow members of The Squad express support for Omar

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called the search of Omar’s home “an unprecedented abuse of power,” saying Trump’s administration had long “launched slanderous attacks” against the Minnesota Democrat.

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib said the search is “exactly what a fascist police state does.”

Omar, Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez are part of The Squad, a group of progressive lawmakers who have endured repeated attacks from Trump, dating back to his first term.

Both Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez off on their social media posts by saying, “I stand with Ilhan.”

Archbishop says Catholic soldiers should not serve on firing squad

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the Catholic Church’s pastoral services to Catholics in the U.S. military, is condemning the proposed livestream of the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan.

Broglio also is stipulating that any Catholic soldier assigned to the firing squad should ask to be excused from that duty, which he described as contrary to the teachings of the church. He joins other Catholic leaders in speaking out against the death penalty and the livestream plans.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in 2009 at Fort Hood in Texas, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3.

“The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world,” Broglio said. “Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheelchair to the whole world?”

Omar’s spokesperson calls raid ‘outrageous’ and ‘unprecedented’

“This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies,” Jacklyn Rogers, Omar’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back. Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.”

Omar calls search the 'latest escalation' in Trump’s 'intimidation' campaign

“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns,” she said. “This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.”

Trump said at campaign rally that ‘our people’ were investigating Omar

Trump and fellow Republicans from the highest ranks of party leadership have repeatedly and publicly criticized the Somali-born Omar over her status as an immigrant and her progressive views. Trump as recently as this past weekend brought up Omar at a rally in Tennessee, where he attacked her upbringing and suggested that Vice President JD Vance “and our people” were investigating her.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said last month that there was an “ongoing investigation” related in part to whether Omar lied on her immigration forms and that “something’s going to happen.”

House Democratic leaders condemn the search of congresswoman's home as an ‘abuse of power’

“For years, Donald Trump and far-right extremists have relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Omar with vile personal attacks and baseless accusations,” House Democratic leaders said in a statement. “Now, less than 30 days until the midterm election, his violent mass deportation machine has descended upon the home of a duly elected Member of Congress and her family.”

The search of the Minnesota congresswoman ’s home so close to next month’s midterm contests that will determine control of the House and Senate was swiftly condemned by top Democrats in Congress and raised questions about the timing given longstanding Justice Department protocol to avoid overt investigative steps involving political candidates in the direct run-up to an election.

Paid advertisements for ‘Musk’ are being rejected by social media companies

As of Sept. 25, YouTube, Meta, TikTok and X had all refused advertisements for the film paid by its distributor, Bleecker Street. YouTube and Meta later reversed course, saying the trailer had been flagged for “political content.”

There are also concerns about whether “Musk” will eventually land on HBO as originally planned, in the aftermath of the Skydance merger created by Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. CEO David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, is friendly with Musk.

“Would Musk be able to call Larry or David and say, you know, don’t put this doc on? Yeah,” Gibney said in an interview with the AP.

Gibney wrote on X that his film is “about a ‘free-speech absolutist’ who has threatened a lawsuit to try to stop the film from being seen.”

Elon Musk lashes out as ‘Musk’ arrives in theaters

Elon Musk has called filmmaker Alex Gibney a lot of names leading up to this week’s nationwide release of the documentary “Musk,” a sweeping portrait of the power and influence of the world’s richest man.

The nearly four-hour film features interviews with Musk’s family, journalists, business associates, former friends, colleagues and government officials as it charts his rise from Silicon Valley through SpaceX, Tesla and DOGE, the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency that overhauled the federal workforce.

Musk has posted on X that Gibney is an “idiot,” a “horrible human,” a “shill for the far left,” and a “tinfoil hat crackpot” with “zero credibility.” After its Venice Film Festival premiere, Musk wrote that dog feces are “worth more respect than Gibney.”

The Oscar-winner said he learned from making his Scientology documentary “not let them get inside your head.”

“We also have a lawyer who’s really, really good,” Gibney said. “Because, of course, we vet this stuff very carefully.”

Nobel Peace laureate Navi Pillay defends international justice, slams US moves against ICC

Navi Pillay, the South African-born jurist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week, told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that “it does affect the whole world if the rule of law is not respected.”

Pillay had sharp words for Trump, who has coveted the peace prize for years, calling Washington’s attacks on the International Criminal Court “completely unlawful” as well as “negative and cruel.”

Pillay’s career has ranged from defending the rights of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela to leading a panel that found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza to serving as a judge on three international courts. Pillay’s win is seen as a high-profile rebuke to Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both have rejected the findings of the U.N. commission she led on Gaza and criticized the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, where she has served as a judge.

Schumer says he’s running for another term as leader, confident of regaining majority

Interviews with more than a dozen Democratic senators in recent weeks indicate that Schumer has recovered his political standing with many in his caucus. If Democrats gain seats in the election, colleagues expect him to easily win enough support in the closed-door leadership election, likely the week after Election Day.

Interviewed by The Associated Press earlier this month, Schumer stated unequivocally that he’s running for another term as leader and that Democrats have a shot at winning the majority after fighting Trump’s tariffs, forcing more than a dozen votes to end the war in Iran and focusing on affordability, corruption and healthcare.

“I think our caucus is strong, it’s united,” Schumer said. “A year ago, everyone said it was out of reach. Today, we have a broader map, strong candidates, a clear contrast.”

Chuck Schumer has broad support from his caucus, but midterms could decide his leadership

Chuck Schumer has won and lost Senate majorities since becoming Democratic leader a decade ago. But this year’s midterm elections could be his most important yet, with some in the party having said he needs to step down and make way for a new generation.

Schumer, who has directly or indirectly overseen his party’s Senate campaign arm in almost every election cycle over the last 20 years, has regained trust within his caucus, for now, as Democrats are hopeful of making gains in the midterm elections despite a difficult map that favors Republicans.

Allies of the New York Democrat say it’s a significant turnaround from last year, when the party was still reeling from major election losses. A low point came in the spring of 2025, when the party’s base erupted at Schumer for voting to keep Trump’s government open.

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Elon Musk quietly becomes this year’s biggest known campaign donor as he tries to save Republicans

The world’s only trillionaire has donated more than $276 million since July to try to save the GOP’s control of Congress.

The numbers, first reported by the New York Times ahead of this week’s federal filing deadline, were confirmed by Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk’s super PAC.

Musk’s $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates, is one of the largest known political donations in American history. Another $76 million went to a Musk super PAC that has built out a major turnout operation like the one it used to help elect Trump in 2024. And $10 million went to a PAC supporting Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in Texas.

It’s a dramatic turnaround since last May, when Musk said he intended to cut back on future political spending.

JD Vance has accused Rep. Omar of immigration fraud, without offering evidence

Details about what Homeland Security agents were looking for in their search of the Minnesota Democrat’s home early Monday have not been announced, and Omar has yet to comment.

In the past, the vice president has accused her of committing immigration fraud, without providing details, and has said that he and deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller were trying to figure out how to investigate the congresswoman.

Omar has broadly denied the allegations as “disgusting lies.” Her office in March dismissed Vance’s claims as fabricated and defamatory.

“This is rich coming from someone who literally said they were willing to ‘create stories’ to redirect the media,” Omar’s chief of staff, Connor McNutt, said in a statement.

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Spanish-language radio show airs voter frustration in battleground Pennsylvania

“Una sola cosa” — Just one thing. That’s all Victor Martinez asked of listeners to his Spanish-language radio station — to say one positive thing about Trump.

The calls started rolling in. Someone mentioned the $5,000 payout that Trump promised if Republicans keep control of Congress, which Martinez thought was so hilarious that he played a laugh track. Then a trucker shared a silver lining from high diesel prices — he’s taking an unplanned vacation because he can’t afford to fill up his rig.

Latino’s represent nearly 1 in 4 people in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, where Martinez hosts his show. So many are flooding his phone with frustrations over higher prices that he thinks Republicans could soon face election consequences.

“It’s the economy, stupid. That’s what it is. I mean, things have gotten so bad,” Martinez said. “People didn’t think Biden did a good job. Everything was expensive and now it’s worse.”

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Judge orders halt to tree cutting at historic DC course

District Judge Ana Reyes Monday ordered a 24-hour halt to tree cutting at the historic East Potomac Golf Course while she decides on an emergency order from plaintiffs concerned that Trump’s plans for the course are moving forward despite the court case.

“Tree removal for routine maintenance is not exempt from this Order. Plaintiffs are likely to suffer immediate and irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief,” she wrote. “The removal of hundreds of trees from East Potomac Golf Course is permanent.”

The emergency hearing for later Monday was prompted by a National Park Service statement Friday that it is cutting 500 trees “that do not contribute to the historic landscape” at the park.

The judge’s order lays out questions she wants answered by Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, including the timeline for the removal and who ordered the work.

Zelenskyy says Russia attacked gas infrastructure despite Trump’s energy ceasefire announcement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday on Fox News that his country is prepared to engage in an energy ceasefire but that Russia had attacked Ukraine’s gas infrastructure as Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to pause the war.

“I am not sure Putin is ready,” he said.

Zelenskyy said that after Trump announced the energy ceasefire on Truth Social, Ukraine didn’t carry out attacks, but Russia continued to strike Ukrainian infrastructure.

“The communication from Russia was very clear that they don’t know anything about energy ceasefire,” he said.

Agents searched Omar’s home in Washington early Monday

More details about the investigation and its focus were not immediately clear, though Vice President JD Vance last May signaled that the Trump administration would investigate Omar for immigration fraud allegations, which she has denied.

An email seeking comment was sent Monday to a representative for Omar.

The Justice Department said in a statement Monday that HSI agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the department in the Washington, D.C., area but provided no other details. “This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation,” the department said.

A message left with the Department of Homeland Security, of which Homeland Security Investigations is part, was not immediately returned.