🚨 HAPPENING RIGHT NOW 🚨
Houthi rebels threatened a “swift and painful” response against American interests overnight as the Saudi-led coalition intercepted a fresh ballistic missile aimed at Khamis Mushait and explosions rocked Riyadh for a second straight night, prompting Saudi aviation authorities to extend King Khalid International Airport’s shutdown through Oct. 17. An American is among at least 20 killed since Saturday’s strikes, and the FAA extended its Saudi airspace warning through Dec. 10. President Trump confirmed a call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying the Houthis are “misbehaving very badly,” and is now weighing harder action against Iran.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13th, 2026
Before we get to today's news, here's what happened on this date in history. More than two centuries before it became the world’s most powerful maritime force, the U.S. Navy traces its roots to October 13, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized the colonies’ first naval force to intercept British supply ships during the Revolutionary War. Rhode Island’s Esek Hopkins was named commander in chief two months later, leading a scrappy fleet that included the frigates Alfred and Columbus on a raid of the British port of Nassau in the Bahamas, before returning home to find himself relieved of command for disobeying orders to strike the Chesapeake first.
George Washington himself helped pick the swampy riverside site where, on October 13, 1792, workers laid the White House’s cornerstone under a design from Irish-born architect James Hoban, whose neoclassical plan beat out a secret submission from Thomas Jefferson. Built from Aquia Creek sandstone by a mix of enslaved laborers and paid workmen, the mansion wasn’t ready for its first occupants until John and Abigail Adams moved in eight years later, and British troops burned much of it to the ground during the War of 1812 before Hoban was called back to oversee its reconstruction.
🏛️ DHS Raids Ilhan Omar's DC Home in 4-Hour Search Over 'Married Her Brother' Immigration Fraud Probe
Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington, D.C. home in a predawn, four-hour operation Monday under a court-authorized warrant, with the Justice Department confirming the search is “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation” into whether she committed immigration fraud by marrying her alleged biological brother.
Border czar Tom Homan said no one, “including a member of Congress,” is exempt from the law and that Homeland Security Investigations will continue the probe, which centers on Omar's 2009 marriage to British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi
President Trump has for years accused Omar of marrying her brother and suggested she could be deported to Somalia, calling the marriage “totally illegal,” while Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to say whether deportation is being considered
Omar said on X she was “ok” and called the search “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” adding, “I will not be silenced”
🔥 Zelensky Accuses Putin of Defying Trump's Energy Ceasefire as Russia Strikes Kyiv, Kharkiv Power Plants
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he doubts Vladimir Putin is honoring the immediate “energy ceasefire” President Trump announced over the weekend, after Russia struck a Kyiv power plant and a Kharkiv thermal plant hours after the truce was unveiled.
Zelensky said Ukraine will honor the ceasefire and has not struck Russian energy facilities overnight, but added “I'm not sure that Putin is ready,” and said Russian strikes are killing 20 to 30 civilians a day
Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Washington said Russia has hit Ukrainian electricity facilities more than 200 times in a single week, even as Trump insists the deal is real “because I said they agree”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov separately rejected a 60-day ceasefire tied to Ukrainian elections, saying of Zelensky, “I don't think he deserves a respite”
🎤 Trump Media Adviser Katie Zacharia Steps In as New White House Press Secretary
Katie Zacharia, a 41-year-old attorney and senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, is taking over as White House press secretary this week, replacing Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August to join MAGA Inc. and later became a Fox News contributor.
Zacharia is a Pepperdine University and Pepperdine law school graduate who previously worked in the Bush White House press office, on Trump's 2024 campaign, and briefly as a DHS spokeswoman for Secretary Kristi Noem before leaving after about six weeks
Trump confirmed her appointment Friday after two White House officials said the job had been offered but not yet accepted, and said she would begin her new role this week
The handoff comes as the administration juggles a crowded news cycle — from the Houthi-Saudi crisis to the Russia diesel deal fight — that Zacharia now has to manage daily from the briefing-room podium
⛽ Trump Says GOP Critics of His Russian Diesel Deal 'Can't Be Serious' as Bipartisan Bill to Block It Gains Steam
President Trump pushed back Monday on Republican criticism of his agreement with Vladimir Putin to import nearly 5 million tons of Russian diesel, including 300,000 tons immediately, as GOP lawmakers warned the deal may violate a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is pushing bipartisan legislation dubbed the “Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act” to block the purchases, which he says “will pass overwhelmingly” if forced to a floor vote via discharge petition
Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis joined Senate Democrats demanding the administration “reverse course,” arguing it skipped a legal requirement to consult Congress
Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called Trump's Russia policy a “failure” and accused the administration of propping up Moscow's war economy, while other Republicans like Rep. Tom Emmer have defended the deal as a way to ease fuel prices before the midterms
🔦 Serial Killer Fears Grip Michigan College Town After 5 Deaths Along Same River Trail
Lansing, Michigan police are investigating whether a serial killer is responsible for five deaths over the past year along the Lansing River Trail near Michigan State University, prompting the campus to add emergency phones, cameras and bike patrols.
All five victims appear to be homeless white men; one suspect, 23-year-old Edward Joseph Smith, has been arrested in the August stabbing death of 22-year-old Daniel Lusk but hasn't been charged in the other four deaths
MSU's police department has added LED lighting, “Green Light” emergency phones with public-safety cameras, and bike patrols along its stretch of the trail while urging students to stay alert at night
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor insisted the trail and downtown “remain safe for residents and visitors” even as the Lansing Police Department has stepped up its downtown and trail presence