US Senate candidates Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Republican Mike Rogers shake hands after the debate on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at WXYZ Channel 7 in Southfield, Michigan. – Robin Buckson/Pool/AP Michigan and Kansas held some of the final major Senate debates of the 2026 midterm elections on Wednesday night. And they were a study in contrasts. The Michigan Senate debate between Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers was bitterly personal and ferociously contested — as befits a contest that could decide the chamber’s majority. Each candidate had a simple task. El-Sayed, the former executive director of the Detroit Health Department, needed to pin Rogers, a former congressman, to the deeply unpopular President Donald Trump and his economy — and to assuage questions from moderates about his politics. Rogers is trying to win in a state currently run by Democrats while dragging Trump’s historically low approval ratings behind him. His only hope is to disqualify El-Sayed as an acceptable senator in the eyes of voters. The debate in Kansas was a little more genial, with less focus on Trump and plenty of focus on whether Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton would be too allied with the political left — from which he repeatedly sought to distance himself — to unseat GOP Sen. Roger Marshall. And Marshall, much more than Rogers, made a point of overtly appealing to Trump’s voters. Here are takeaways from the two crucial debates: Fierce debate over El-Sayed’s loyalty Rogers raised an extraordinary question: Is El-Sayed, a Muslim who was born in Michigan, really loyal to the United States? The charge came against a backdrop of searing false claims by Trump that the Democrat is a “jihadist.” Rogers claimed El-Sayed — who would be the first Muslim elected to the Senate — was bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group founded in Egypt, and that he had donors who supported Iran-backed extremist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. “If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know: Are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers asked. “You can grin and you can smile and you can talk real pretty, but I’m going to tell you what: That is a risk to our national security.” El-Sayed, who has repudiated the Brotherhood, accused his opponent of a “shameful” attack. “To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray,” he said. unknown content item – ‘Pattern of deception’ vs. ‘MAGA bingo’ Rogers also sought to play into the conceit that El-Sayed, as a progressive, is too far to the left of Michigan’s electorate, and he tried to reopen splits that were exposed between rival factions during the Democratic primary. He claimed that El-Sayed was “aligned” with the Democratic Socialists of America and wants “bigger government and more taxes.” El-Sayed describes himself as a capitalist and is not a member of the DSA, but he is supported by several members of the group, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned with him through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula last week. Rogers also tore at Democratic divides by appealing to disaffected supporters of El-Sayed’s defeated primary opponent. “You’re a Haley Stevens voter, and you came out of this, and you said, ‘Man, I just can’t do it. He’s too extreme’ … well, guess what, you have a home with us,” Rogers said in his closing statement. Ultimately, Rogers’ attacks on El-Sayed’s loyalties were aimed at advancing a broader argument — that the Democrat simply couldn’t be trusted — and one that implied, as Trump has, that he is not a fully authentic American. “There is, again, that whole pattern of deception,” Rogers said of El-Sayed’s claim to be in favor of strong border enforcement, using a refrain to which he frequently returned. Pushing back on El-Sayed’s denials that he wants to defund the police, Rogers claimed, “This guy has got new, false information about every 30 seconds.” El-Sayed countered multiple times that it was Rogers who was being untruthful and said he was playing a classic game of distraction practiced by Trump. He repeatedly said people should be playing “MAGA bingo” at home as they ticked off Rogers’ pre-planned buzzwords. But he warned: “When you are winning MAGA bingo, we are all losing.” The Trump factor Rogers, like every Republican candidate in the midterm elections, needs a way to separate himself from Trump’s most unpopular policies without alienating the president’s supporters, who must show up in vast numbers for him to win. He started with a complex pivot — admitting that the Michigan economy was in rough shape and that people were “hurting” but arguing that if Democrats got control of the Senate they’d make it even worse. This was a long way from Trump’s argument that Americans are living through an economic “golden age.” Rogers walked a fine line on tariffs, arguing that some were working to bring jobs home from Mexico and China, but that the trade war with Canada — a huge issue in Michigan’s border-state economy — was not well thought through. Rogers argued that Democratic control of Congress would cause higher taxes and higher costs, including for gasoline. El-Sayed had an easier task given huge public dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the economy; he claimed Rogers and the president stood “hip to hip.” He said that voters should send him to the Senate to ensure “money is going to be spent on you and your kids, rather than dropping bombs on somebody else and their kids.” He narrowed in on Rogers’ biggest vulnerability after the Republican said all his opponent did was say “Donald Trump” over and over again. El-Sayed countered by blaming the president’s decision to go to war with Iran for making the cost of living worse. “Yes, I am going to blame Donald Trump because this is Donald Trump’s economy. We are living in it,” El-Sayed said. “We are paying more for gas, more for groceries, defunding the Department of Education.” “We need to turn the page on Donald Trump, but that means we need to stand up to Donald Trump.” Kansas debate was more about Schumer than Trump Several states away, another Democratic Senate candidate was taking a very different approach. In red Kansas — a state Trump carried by 16 points — the name of the game for Hamilton was less about tying his opponent to Trump than assuring he’d be a candidate from the political middle. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, right, and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton participate in a debate at WDAF TV in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 21. – Charlie Riedel/Pool/AP In fact, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer earned more mentions than Trump, as Marshall repeatedly sought to pitch Hamilton as enabling and supporting the New York Democrat’s agenda. When asked how he differed from the Democratic Party, Hamilton said former President Joe Biden’s border policies were a “disaster” and that he’s “not somebody who favors the Socialist Party.” He said he didn’t support Medicare for All or the Green New Deal, though he liked “parts” of the latter. “We’ve heard Chuck Schumer mentioned, I don’t know, 50 times? … Maybe 20 times so far,” Hamilton said. “I find that interesting. I’ve already said I wouldn’t support Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader if the Democrats [were] to control the Senate.” On the other side, Marshall distanced himself from Trump far less than Rogers has in Michigan. In fact, Marshall mostly bear-hugged Trump. When asked about Trump being unpopular even in Kansas, Marshall turned his response into an appeal to Trump supporters. “I’ve had multiple times when I’ve objected to the president before, but I do want to emphasize: We need the Trump voters to come out,” Marshall said. “And that would be my appeal tonight to people: If you want the Trump agenda to continue, if you want secure borders, if you want a strong military, if you want lower taxes … you need to come out, because we delivered on those things.” He also said later in the debate that Trump’s “tariffs are working.” When pressed again in his differences with Trump, he said he disagreed with ICE’s tactics in southwest Kansas — which many local Republicans recently objected to — and Trump’s plan to import beef. ICE was the big issue — and it got a little personal The ICE issue made for some of the most interesting portions of the debate, with Hamilton clearly seeking to turn it to his advantage. Marshall pitched the topic as an example of his ability to get Trump and his administration on the phone when he disagrees with something that’s happening. “The first thing I did when I saw what was going on in southwest Kansas (with ICE raids), I picked up the phone, called (Homeland Security) Secretary Markwayne Mullin and said, ‘Hey, I don’t think this is quite right. What’s going on?’” Marshall said. Marshall also signaled that there could be a broader conversation about immigration reform now that the border is more secure. He noted he has delivered many babies to undocumented parents. Hamilton pounced on that remark to cast the deportations that are currently taking place as heartless. “With all of those undocumented children that you delivered, did you also call ICE and ask them to be taken away?” Hamilton said. “What did you do with these people? You had compassion for them in delivering these children, but then you support quotas.” He said when he was in Hutchinson, Kansas, “There was a preschool teacher arrested in front of her children. That’s just not OK. We militarized and politicized ICE as opposed to them doing the important job they’re supposed to do, and that is protecting Americans from dangerous, dangerous people.” This story has been updated with additional details. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/21/politics/michigan-kansas-senate-debates

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she will have to move out of her apartment in Washington, D.C., because of threats she’s received after federal agents executed a search warrant at her residence last week as part of an immigration fraud probe.  “Obviously, I can’t continue to live there … Because our address has been public and with the death threats that I deal with, it’s no longer going to be feasible to be in that house and have my kids visiting off and on, having people track them,” she told MS NOW’s Chris Hayes in a Wednesday interview.  The congresswoman, who also has a residence in her home state of Minnesota, told Hayes she woke up at 6 a.m. on Oct. 12 to learn federal agents had “surrounded her house” in D.C. She said the agents provided her a search warrant before going “room by room” and seizing 17 items, including her phone and other electronics.  President Trump and his administration have claimed that Omar’s father lied about her age when she obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000 after their family emigrated from Somalia. The Democratic lawmaker has denied these allegations and accused the Trump administration of waging a “campaign of political intimidation” against her in a social media post following the raid.  “If you had so confidently said I’ve committed a crime, why are you not saying in the beginning … we’re going to subpoena people, we’re going to do a grand jury, we’re going to try to find evidence that would lead to an indictment? It’s just it’s all bizarre,” Omar said in the Wednesday interview. Last week, The Washington Post reported that federal officials under the first Trump administration reviewed Omar’s immigration records in 2019 but did not find evidence of fraud.  The president has for years attacked Omar in social media posts and speeches for her political views and background. During comments to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump slammed Omar as a “sick, very dishonest person … who hates our country.” “I hope they treat her fairly, but she’s a very dishonest person,” he added. The Minnesota progressive said she has received an outpouring of support from her Democratic colleagues. She also responded to former President Obama’s statement condemning the Trump administration’s investigation into her as “appalling.”  “I think a lot of the conspiracy world that I find myself in is the conspiracy world that was created around him, and so while some people might feel reserved in some of the information that they hear from these people, I think he is acutely capable of seeing what this is,” she said.  Omar told MS NOW on Wednesday she feels “confident” that she has done nothing wrong.  “I am a person of enormous faith,” she said. “And I know that … if I continue to live my truth, if I continue to fight for the right things, if I continue to stand up to bullies and people who are carrying out ungodly corruption, I’m going to be OK.” Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.This article originally appeared on The Hill at https://thehill.com/homenews/house/6164465-omar-to-move-dc-residence/

Wednesday was the first day since the shooting that students in the greater Bend-La Pine Schools district in Oregon returned to classes, although not at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, where the shooting occurred. (Payton Bruni / AFP via Getty)A teacher who was shot by a teenage gunman in a Bend, Oregon, elementary school last week said she saw the attacker and tried to shut the classroom door, “but the shooter was already there.”Becky Drury said she was shot at close range in the rampage at Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday.“Lying on the floor, I saw that my left hand was almost completely severed from the gunshot, and my other arm was also severely injured,” Drury said in a statement Wednesday.“I could not get up, defend myself, or protect anyone else,” she said. “So, I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again.”Three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher were killed in the attack, which began around 1 p.m., officials said.The gunman was fatally shot by a bystander who saw him fire at a truck and enter the school, police have said. The bystander followed the 16-year-old gunman and shot him as another teacher was wrestling with him over the weapon, according to police.The motive remained under investigation Wednesday.Investigators are looking into whether the shooter viewed any extremist material online, including material associated with “nihilistic violent extremism,” also known as NVE, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News.The gun was purchased legally, Bend police said in a statement Wednesday. Police have said that it was a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun and that the shooter used birdshot, buckshot and slugs. Police have not said who purchased the gun. Two senior law enforcement officials previously told NBC News that the shooter’s mother bought it in August, around the time of his birthday. “Bend Police detectives continue this complex investigation. They have served search warrants at the shooting suspect’s home, as well as on his electronic devices and his social media accounts on a variety of platforms,” police said in a statement Wednesday.“That work continues, and it takes time,” the police department said.Three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and teacher Megan Lambert, 25, were killed in the Oct. 13 attack. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland / Getty)Students in the greater Bend-La Pine Schools district returned to class Wednesday, although not at Silver Rail Elementary, where the shooting occurred.“Through heartfelt artwork and messages of love, they are making sure every student who walks through the doors knows they are cared for, supported and loved,” the district said Tuesday as it prepared to welcome most students back.Authorities have publicly identified two of the victims who were killed, 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and teacher Megan Lambert. Drury, the wounded teacher, said in her statement that she heard a noise during last week’s shooting and went to investigate.“Here is what I remember: Once I realized something was happening outside, I ran to see what was going on,” she said.“I then saw the shooter and immediately ran back into the classroom. I turned to shut the door behind me, but the shooter was already there,” she said.Drury said that there was nothing more she could have done and that “I was shot before I had any chance to act.”“What happened in that classroom was unimaginable, and like so many in this community, my heart is broken for everyone affected by this tragedy,” she said.“My thoughts are with those who were hurt, those we lost, their families, our school, and the Bend community,” she said. “I am truly grateful for the kindness and support we have received as we face the difficult days ahead together.”This article was originally published on NBCNews.comThis article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teacher-survived-bend-shooting-tried-close-door-shooter-was-already-rcna604904

Billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel said he’s skeptical of the U.S. war with Iran and does not believe the United States should have launched it, putting the major Republican donor at odds with President Donald Trump over one of the administration’s defining foreign policy decisions.Thiel’s remarks, delivered on Oct. 12 at a private event, are his most explicit statements to be revealed publicly about the war with Iran and come less than two weeks before the midterm elections in which Trump’s party is grasping to maintain power in Congress. The audio of Thiel’s comments was obtained by Decoded by POLITICO from a lecture earlier this month.“I’m skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it,” Thiel said. “There were a lot of mistakes that were made.”Thiel added, “Maybe we don’t have the hard power. Maybe we’re going to lose the soft power war.”In the full lecture, Thiel made clear his strong opposition to neoconservatives and Middle East wars. Despite his criticism of the Iran war, Thiel highlighted his continued support of Trump and suggested he wanted to protect the president.Still, Thiel’s break over the war represents one of the most important examples to date of a fierce Trump ally sharing deep concerns about the conflict.The comments were part of Thiel’s lecture series in Nashville, which Decoded has documented since their start this fall. In the latest lecture, Thiel issued extensive warnings about what he described as the unchecked power of the International Criminal Court, drawing on comments from Bush-era figures Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.”I read the Cheney family’s Trump derangement syndrome as an attempt to buy favor with the [International Criminal Court] and avoid prosecution. Probably too late,” Thiel said. “And I have come to suspect that the threat of an ICC arrest warrant is the sword of Damocles hanging over the Trump administration as it tries to persecute this war in Iran.”Thiel also discusses meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early 2024, after the Oct. 7 attack, where he said he asked the leader about his plans in Gaza. Thiel said Netanyahu told him, “I can’t just Dresdenize it,” referring to the Allied bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War II that killed roughly 25,000 people.The first big tech investor to back Trump in 2016, and then have a high-profile speaking role at the Republican National Convention that year, Thiel was also the biggest financial backer of super PACs supporting Vice President JD Vance’s Senate campaign in 2022. POLITICO reported in March that Vance was “skeptical” of the U.S. striking Iran in the lead-up to the beginning of the war.Representatives for Thiel and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.Read more from Thiel’s latest lectures in Thursday’s edition of Decoded by POLITICO, including his sentiments toward Israel and predictions for the 2028 election.CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated Benjamin Netanyahu’s title.This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/21/peter-thiel-trump-iran-war-01131284

Saudi Arabia has faced near-daily attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the kingdom’s deadliest in years (Giuseppe CACACE)The United States has ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, the State Department said on Wednesday, as the kingdom comes under sustained deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.”Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a social media post explaining the measure.”The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority,” he added.A diplomatic source in the Middle East told AFP that some families of US embassy personnel were also being withdrawn in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, but Pigott stressed that Wednesday’s order was for the departure of non-emergency embassy staff and their families in Saudi Arabia only.Saudi Arabia has this month come under near-daily attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the kingdom’s deadliest in years, as the war with the group escalates.On Wednesday, the Saudi energy ministry said that falling debris from the successful interception of a drone targeting an oil facility killed two people and injured a further two.”The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others,” the ministry said in a statement.It did not say who launched the drone aimed at Shaybah oil field near the UAE border. Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen reported intercepting six drones.One person was killed and eight others wounded in an attack on Dammam airport in eastern Saudi Arabia, aviation officials said.In June, a four-year-old truce in Yemen’s civil war collapsed, reviving the conflict that dates back to 2014. The Saudi-led coalition has backed the internationally recognized government since 2015.- Iran explosions -The US previously ordered non-essential staff to leave the Gulf ahead of the start of its war against Iran in late February and again in July before US President Donald Trump called off a new wave of strikes.Late on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported the sound of explosions in the southern Hormozgan province overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, breaking a spell of relative calm.”A few minutes ago, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, in Hormozgan Province,” the official IRNA news agency said.It added that “local sources have not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions.”In late February, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader, along with senior military commanders.Iran has attempted to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, demanding all ships seek its authorization to cross. In peacetime, the strategic waterway carried around a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.In retaliation, the United States has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and ships.bur/gh/sstThis article originally appeared on AFP at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/washington-orders-us-embassy-staff-203401687.html