🚨 HAPPENING RIGHT NOW 🚨
Rep. Ilhan Omar has not been seen publicly for more than a week since Homeland Security Investigations agents searched her Washington home before dawn, reportedly probing whether she or her father falsified her age on 2000 citizenship paperwork. Her husband insists she hasn't fled the country, but mystery deepened over the weekend when her 23-year-old daughter, Isra Hirsi, pulled into the driveway as Capitol Police arrived on the scene, and a second daughter arrived two days later with a caretaker. More than a dozen relatives have been subpoenaed; Border Czar Tom Homan says the probe could lead to denaturalization.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21st, 2026
Before we get to today's news, here's what happened on this date in history. Off the coast of Spain on October 21, 1805, Britain's Admiral Lord Nelson led a fleet of 27 ships against a larger combined French and Spanish force, signaling from his flagship Victory that "England expects that every man will do his duty." After roughly five hours of fighting, the British had destroyed 19 enemy ships without losing a single one of their own, but a French sniper mortally wounded Nelson, who died believing his country had won.
Boston's Hartt's shipyard launched what would become one of the US Navy's most storied warships on October 21, 1797, when the 44-gun frigate USS Constitution slid into the harbor after three years of construction from Georgia live oak. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides," the ship would go on to defeat Britain's HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812 and rack up 33 victories at sea without a single defeat; today it remains docked in Boston's Charlestown Navy Yard as the oldest commissioned warship still afloat in the world.
🇫🇷 Macron Draws Fire for Gulf Trip as France Imposes Curfews, Braces for Riskier Weekend of Riots
President Emmanuel Macron pressed ahead with an energy-focused trip to Kuwait and Abu Dhabi even as France reeled from its worst unrest in years, defending the decision by pointing to high fuel prices as a root cause of riots that have now swept more than 2,500 people into custody.
Officials say damages from the rioting, which included torched town halls and ransacked businesses, now exceed $1 billion, with curfews in place in Paris, Lille and Marseille.
Macron declined to accept Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez's resignation offer even as critics from Marine Le Pen to Jean-Luc Mélenchon blasted his handling of the crisis.
The State Department has warned of a potentially more violent second weekend, with Marine Le Pen's National Rally holding its convention in Orléans on Oct. 24-25.
— Fox News
🗳️ Klobuchar, Demuth Clash Over Walz Fraud Scandal in First Minnesota Governor's Debate
Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth faced off Monday in their first debate in the race to replace Gov. Tim Walz, who abandoned his reelection bid amid a sprawling pandemic-era fraud scandal that Demuth repeatedly tried to pin on Klobuchar.
Demuth pressed Klobuchar with “why didn't you do more,” while Klobuchar countered that she “would have caught that fraud” and had called the Justice Department for more resources once it surfaced.
Demuth, who would be the first Republican to win a Minnesota governor's race in 20 years, pledged to fire “all of the commissioners” in state government to start fresh.
Fox News Power Rankings rate the race Likely Democrat, with polls showing Klobuchar leading by an upper-single-digit margin.
⛳️ Judge Who Trump Called 'Crazed Lunatic' Backs Off Rule 11 Demand After Marathon DOJ Showdown
Federal Judge Ana Reyes dropped her demand that Justice Department attorneys personally sign a court filing after a nearly seven-hour hearing Monday in the lawsuit over Trump's planned overhaul of the East Potomac Golf Links, hours after Trump branded her a “crazed lunatic” on Truth Social.
Reyes had invoked Rule 11 after a DOJ filing claiming “no agency action” appeared to conflict with Trump's own Truth Social post naming a contractor and a Nov. 15 start date.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who signed the filing alone, had earlier asked that Reyes be removed from the case over alleged “open hostility” toward the administration.
The clash followed the National Park Service's removal of roughly 430 trees at the course, which had prompted Reyes to issue a temporary restraining order.
🩺 Dr. Oz Confronts NYC Daycare Directors in Surprise Medicaid Fraud Sweep
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz personally delivered warning letters to two Queens adult day care centers Tuesday as part of a sprawling federal crackdown that saw officials visit more than 80 New York City providers in a single day, alleging organized rings are billing Medicaid for seniors who never show up.
At Kent Senior Care, Oz questioned billing that implied the facility was full and seniors attended five days a week, while the director said many came only two or three days.
At Evergreen Adult Day Care, Oz counted roughly 25 people in a space billed for up to 200 and said “the numbers don't add up.”
Oz said fraud across the adult day care industry approaches $1 billion a year; Gov. Kathy Hochul called the crackdown a “massive effort to combat fraud and abuse.”
— Fox News
🚔 Suspect in National Guard Shooting Had 13 Prior Arrests, Three Parole Violations, Records Show
Jerrell Jackson, 41, the man accused of shooting a National Guard member during a street-fight intervention near Capitol Hill on Sunday night, had at least 13 prior criminal cases in D.C. since 2004 and three parole violations, according to court records and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Guard members approached a street fight in the 400 block of 8th Street SE around 11:15 p.m. when Jackson allegedly opened fire; Guard members returned fire, striking him in the abdomen.
The wounded Guard member was shot in the leg and has since been released from the hospital; both he and Jackson are expected to survive.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said “the suspect in the shooting has a lengthy rap sheet” and credited a city task force with helping drive down violent crime.
— Fox News