Good evening. I'm Geoff Bennett. Amna Nawaz is away. On the "NewsHour" tonight: Federal agents searched the home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, raising questions about the investigation and its timing ahead of the midterm elections. Ukraine disputes President Trump's claim of an energy cease-fire, as pressure amounts to reverse a diesel deal with Russia. And while the economy remains the top election issue for most of the country, Arizona voters focus on access to water in their drought-stricken state.
It's about making sure that there's resources not just for us, but for the generations that follow.
Welcome to the "News Hour." Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C., home of Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar early this morning. The reason for the search has not been made public. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of ICE, were seen carrying boxes from the home into an unmarked car. Omar accused the Trump administration of political intimidation, writing on social media -- quote -- "Make no mistake, this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement." For more, we're joined now by Devlin Barrett, Justice Department reporter for The New York Times and author of the book "The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice." Devlin, always great to have you with us. So the DOJ says this search is part of an ongoing criminal investigation. What have you learned about what prompted it and what investigators are looking for?
So, Geoff, the Trump administration has been signaling just such a move for months now. If you go back to the spring, J.D. Vance, the vice president, said that Ilhan Omar -- quote -- "definitely committed immigration fraud." And DHS officials have since said they're investigating. So this move isn't much of a surprise, but I think it does speak to the way that law enforcement actions keep happening at the impetus and prodding of the White House. And what's at issue here, according to our sources, is all the paperwork in the congresswoman's family that led them to becoming U.S. citizens. That's paperwork that her father filled out, paperwork that was done later. And what they're investigating is false statements on immigration documents potentially and various types of fraud and conspiracy.
A federal judge had to approve this search warrant, so what does that suggest about the evidence investigators presented? Would it have been the sort of documents that you're talking about?
Right. So they have to show probable cause to believe that evidence of this crime or possible crimes existed at her house. And probable cause is not the same thing as the amount of evidence it takes a jury to convict. We are told by sources that prosecutors first applied for this search warrant more than a week ago. And that led to a back-and-forth with a federal judge over whether they had shown enough of a legal argument for why they needed to do this and whether they had considered the issues related to the constitutional protections that are specific to a lawmaker.
And, of course, we're talking about federal agents searching the home of a sitting member of Congress. How extraordinary is that? What safeguards are supposed to govern an investigation this sensitive?
Well, the federal government does investigate lawmakers all the time. That's not particularly unusual. What's so unusual here is that they're doing it 22 days before an election, because the Justice Department has for many years followed something called a 60-day rule, which is basically meant to go quiet, make the Justice Department go quiet about things exactly like searches of lawmakers' homes and businesses, because they don't want to be seen as trying to influence the election. Here, what you see is a very publicly observable, overt act of investigation that past administrations would have done everything they could to try to avoid doing just before an election.
What would legal experts look for to distinguish a legitimate criminal investigation from one driven by political motivations?
Well, it's things like, what is the basis of the evidence that leads you to probable cause? Obviously, a judge has determined that there is some probable cause here. And -- but, at the same time, we also know that there was -- the judge didn't immediately accept that application, that there was some back-and-forth before they got to this point. I think one of the ways in which the Trump administration sort of creates its own headaches and its own problems when it comes to criminal investigations is, remember how this process began. It began with the vice president of the United States publicly declaring her to be guilty. And there's obviously a long history of the president himself, Donald Trump, accusing Ilhan Omar of various things. So the challenge that will -- that the government will have to overcome if it proceeds to try to charge her is overcoming questions or skepticism about, what was the motivation behind this investigation?
And when you say if the government proceeds, what would come next in this investigation?
Well, if they decide they have enough evidence that they can get an indictment, then they would present their evidence to a grand jury. What's going to happen now is, after -- now that there's been a search and we have seen agents taking away boxes of evidence, they're going to have to sort through everything they have taken. And there may be some fights, legal fights, to come over what of that evidence that is seized is properly part of the investigation. And so we don't know if there's going to be a legal fight over that. I wouldn't be surprised if there is. But the next prosecutorial step, assuming that they know what evidence they have and they believe it would survive a vote in a grand jury, would be to present the evidence to a grand jury.
Devlin Barrett of The New York Times and the author of the book "The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice." Devlin, always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks.
And we start today's other headlines in Saudi Arabia. Officials extended the closure of Riyadh's airport after Houthi strikes over the weekend killed at least 13 people and injured hundreds more. Security camera footage shows the moment that missiles and drones struck King Khalid International Airport. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted the facility during the past week. Saudi officials are reportedly investigating how their defense systems failed to stop the strikes. Meantime in Yemen, Saudi-backed forces released video today claiming to show fighting with Houthi troops to the east of the capital, Sanaa. The latest uptick in violence comes as the Saudis are seeking more U.S. involvement in the ongoing conflict. In Florida, more than 100,000 people remained without power today as the region cleans up from Hurricane Isaias. These apartment units at the end of the Florida Panhandle were laid bare after the storm ripped the roof off. Residents described its sheer force when it made landfall on Friday as a Category 2 storm.
It sounded like a freight train. It was so loud. I can't even -- the sound is almost undescribable.
Local officials say the storm is to blame for four fatalities. It weakened as it moved north, but still brought heavy rains to the Central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic. Meantime, on the other side of the country, powerful waves crashed into homes along the boardwalks of Southern California as Tropical Storm swept through this weekend. It's since been downgraded, but officials warned that possible flooding and heavy rains remain a threat. In Washington, D.C., a federal judge says that she is furious with Justice Department lawyers after hundreds of trees were removed from a local golf course this past weekend. The judge had ordered that any such work at East Potomac Golf Links receive prior approval. At a hearing today, a DOJ lawyer said the government had done its best to gather details on the removal, to which the judge responded -- quote -- "You did not do your best. You did your absolute worst." President Trump has said he wants to turn the century-old public course into a championship-caliber facility, which local preservationists are fighting to block. In Erie, Pennsylvania, authorities released the names of the adult victims and the suspected gunman and what the police chief there described as the worst scene he's ever experienced. Officials believe 45-year-old Matthew Stone Sr. and killed eight people, including his wife, children, and young grandchildren, before killing himself. Members of the community held a memorial yesterday outside the home where it happened. Julius Windham's partner, who was pregnant, and his 1-year-old daughter were among those killed. He says the suspect never seemed distressed and expressed shock at what happened.
Words can't even explain how I'm -- what I'm going through right now. But I got to be strong for my community.
Police say their investigation is ongoing. In France, a fire destroyed the oldest covered food market in Paris today. The fire tore through Paris' historic market Marche des Enfants Rouges before dawn this morning. The site dates back to the early 1600s and has become a popular destination for tourists, offering traditional French cuisine alongside international fare. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire. No injuries have been reported. "Breaking Bad" actor and disability rights activist R.J. Mitte has died at the age of 34. He was best known for playing the son of Bryan Cranston's lead character in the iconic TV drama. Mitte was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child and later became an advocate for disability representation in Hollywood. No cause of death was immediately available. Two American economists have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for research that has helped governments better respond to economic crises. Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford of Columbia University were honored for work that the Nobel Committee says has made it possible to manage major economic crises far more effectively. Their research examines how decisions made by businesses and households shape the broader economy and how policymakers can respond when trouble strikes. Woodford, who is 70, called the award a tremendous honor and a surprise. The Economics Prize is the last of this year's Nobel awards to be announced. Wall Street was open this Columbus Day, also observed as Indigenous People's Day. Stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding nearly 200 points. The Nasdaq lost ground, giving back nearly half-a-percent. The S&P 500 ended just a touch lower. Still to come on the "News Hour": Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines. Author Michael Lewis discusses his new book on government workers who attempted to resist Elon Musk's DOGE cuts; and the founding director of the Smithsonian's Latino Museum discusses finding a permanent home on the National Mall.
Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine continue tonight a day after President Trump declared a cease-fire on attacks against energy infrastructure, an agreement neither country has confirmed. Mr. Trump is blaming Ukraine for rising energy prices, rather than the war in Iran, and has moved to ease sanctions on Russian diesel imports. Our William Brangham brings us up to date.
Despite statements from Washington, in Ukraine today, a supposed cease-fire seemed as far away as ever. Burnt-out buildings and charred memories are familiar sites to people here. Yana Kusik's baby granddaughter has known nothing but war her entire life.
We ran out in whatever we were wearing. They attacked civilians, not soldiers. There were no vehicles here at all. There was nothing. And they attacked civilians. So what sort of cease-fire can there be?
That cease-fire was announced not by Vladimir Putin or Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but by President Trump. He wrote on his social media platform: "There is now an energy cease-fire agreed to by the two countries, where they pledge not to attack each other's energy infrastructure." The president reiterated that point a short time ago outside the White House.
Well, they agreed. You know why? Because I said, you agree. That's why.
And he again blamed Zelenskyy for the continued fighting, even though the Ukrainian president has said he's prepared to meet Putin at the negotiating table.
How are you going to make Putin abide by the cease-fire?
Well, I think -- I think what's happening is, he wants to make a deal. And we have to get Zelenskyy to want to make a deal.
For his part, Zelenskyy said he hadn't heard about the cease-fire before Trump's post, but is ready to comply if Russia reciprocates.
It's a bit typical. They always -- I mean, they will find any kind of reasons not to stop this war. If Russia will not attack our energy, we will not attack their energy.
But just hours after Trump's declaration, Russian drones exploded in Kharkiv, including at an energy facility on the outskirts of the city. More than a dozen people were injured. Today, the Kremlin offered a different proposal. If Ukraine holds elections to replace Zelenskyy, they'd hold their fire on voting day. Separately, on Friday, President Trump announced a controversial agreement to lift America's wartime sanctions on Russian diesel fuel in an effort to lower U.S. domestic prices. And then, this weekend, President Trump's negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly told Ukrainian officials to stop targeting Russian gas facilities and threatened to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons sales if they didn't. In response, European leaders doubled down on their defense of Ukraine and the need for a united front against Russia.
There is a clear understanding that now is not the time to ease pressure on Moscow. And that's why today ministers adopted nearly 1,006 new sanctions listings targeting Russia's military industrial complex. This is the single largest expansion of our sanctions list since Russia's war started.
Even as President Trump's diesel deal alarmed European allies, America's top general in NATO, Supreme Allied Commander Alexus Grynkewich, says this war will not undo the transatlantic alliance.
No one should question the commitment of the United States to this alliance. I mean, I'm right here. I'm an American officer that was sent here by President Trump.
So, for more on the Ukraine-Russia war and on President Trump's recent moves, we return again to Andrew Weiss. He's the former State Department official in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations, and he's now vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Andrew, always good to have you back on the program. President Trump surprised a lot of people on Friday with this move where, contrary to American sanctions on Russia, he announced unilaterally that he will allow Russia to sell millions of gallons of diesel onto the world market. What do you make of that move?
President Trump seems to thrive on throwing out surprises, and, clearly, he is scrambling, with the U.S. midterm election just two weeks out, and American voters focused on affordability and the surge in diesel prices. So the idea, though, that Russia is going to swoop in and make a meaningful impact on diesel prices is a fantasy. And if you start to pick at the numbers that President Trump announced on Friday, this is a drop in the bucket. And let's just be very specific about that. At first month, Donald Trump is telling us the Russians will deliver about 2.1 -- sorry -- 2.2 million barrels of diesel to the United States. That's less than 75 percent of a single day of U.S. transport demand for diesel fuel. It's peanuts.
So, Ukraine -- I'd like to ask you about the war effort here. Ukraine argues that this is a betrayal and that this is money that is simply going to go right back into Russian coffers and fund their war effort. Is that a fair accusation?
The Ukrainians were totally blindsided. They sent their senior negotiating team to Miami to meet with the two main people at the White House, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, the president's longtime friend and golfing partner. And they were in meetings with them when suddenly they heard about a phone call between Trump and Putin and the announcement of this purchase of Russian barrels of diesel. This is -- if you peel back what's going on, there's a series of important diplomatic encounters that are going to be unfolding over the course of the next three months, culminating in a meeting that Donald Trump is hosting at his golf club in Miami of G20 leaders in December. And Donald Trump, who thrives on sort of bully tactics, keeping people off-balance, really wants a peace agreement to be hammered out by December. And given that Donald Trump sees that there's no real point in his mind in pressuring Vladimir Putin, he's going to pressure Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And that's where he thinks he has the greatest leverage. It's really unfortunate, given that the Ukrainians are the victims in this unprovoked war of aggression.
What do you make of that strategy? Do you think that the president doesn't have a lever to press Putin and does to press Zelenskyy?
So the U.S. has more leverage over the Ukrainians simply by virtue of the fact that the United States is a crucial supplier of special types of weapons that Ukraine can't get anywhere else, that Europe is currently paying for, and then, perhaps even more importantly, due to the kinds of intelligence support and targeting support that the United States provides to Ukraine on a daily basis. And now you have the administration for the second time -- the first time was after that horrible meeting in the Oval Office in February of 2025. You have the administration threatening to cut off both of those things to the Ukrainians. It's a way to sort of shock the Ukrainians, Donald Trump, I think, hopes into making some kind of sweeping concessions. The problem, of course, is that Vladimir Putin isn't interested in a deal on reasonable terms. His goal here is to destroy Ukraine's very survival and existence as an independent country. And the idea that the U.S. president is now doing things that will give Vladimir Putin extra confidence that he can possibly wait out the West, that he can sort of split apart the U.S. from our European allies and destroy the U.S.-Ukraine partnership that's been built up over the past nearly five years of war is, again, very unfortunate. And it's bad strategy, to boot.
I mean, you have also seen the president echoing what the Russians have been saying, the president this weekend saying that -- basically calling for Zelenskyy to be kicked out of office or voted out of office, something that the Russians have also asked for. Given all of these developments, this seeming shift in American policy, how do you see this playing out?
It's a really dynamic moment in what has been a roller coaster. And I think, for a lot of us who've been watching the war, we have been sort of, I think, pleasantly surprised by the way the administration's policy had unfolded, particularly the persistence of the intelligence support and the continued provision of advanced U.S. weapons to Ukraine. So a lot of us have been breathing a very audible sigh of relief. That's been now thrown into question after the developments on Friday and over the weekend. The hope, of course, is this will be another tempest in a teapot, and the European partners of Ukraine, key U.S. allies such as France, Germany, and the U.K., will somehow manage to kind of calm things down and bring the administration back into some kind of a reasonable alignment with both Ukraine and Europe. The risk, of course, is that Donald Trump, who has had his popularity hit badly by the war in Iran and the clear inability to end the war in Iran, is now looking elsewhere in the hope that he can distract the American people and put some points on the board. That, again, is a really, I think, misplaced hope. There is no quick solution to the war in Ukraine. The only hope here is for the United States, the Europeans, and the Ukrainians to persuade Vladimir Putin that the war is futile and that he is not going to get what he wants, and that the longer this war drags on, the more the Russians are going to bleed out. And, so far, there's some signs that that strategy is persuasive.
Just in the past month alone, NATO estimates that Ukraine killed upwards of 50,000 Russian soldiers in one month alone. Those are staggering losses.
Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment, always good to hear from you. Thank you.
For many Arizona voters, the top concern heading into the midterms isn't inflation, immigration, or education. It's water. With the state gripped by prolonged drought, candidates are facing growing questions about how to secure the state's water future. Our Stephanie Sy reports now for our ongoing climate series, Tipping Point.
Canals like this one, which winds through the heart of Phoenix, carry water to this desert metropolis. But the water is becoming scarcer.
It's obviously a really big concern. In fact, our family is considering moving, variety of factors, but sustainability overall, and water is obviously a huge factor.
Matt Beidler, a father who works in I.T. sales here, is not the only Arizona starting to fear the worst. For the first time ever, worries about water are the top concern for this swing state's voters, even overtaking immigration and affordability, according to a recent survey from the Center for the Future of Arizona.
Water's certainly been in the political conversation in the past, but this is very new. I don't think I have seen candidates running for governor talking about water issues in the past.
At least not to this degree. The shift follows deep federal cuts this summer to Colorado River water allocated to Arizona cities.
And those before me didn't protect our water, so I tackled the problem.
Now water issues are dominating the airwaves and the political debate for governor.
Everybody's concerned about water.
Reaching into the competitive race for the open U.S. House seat in Arizona's First District. Democrat Amish Shah:
This is the state of Arizona. We live in a desert and we're running out of water. So, obviously, our voters are really scared and upset about this. We have a precious resource that we absolutely need to conserve.
Shah says the state should conserve water, fight for fair allocation and stop using water for data centers. His Republican opponent, Jay Feely, says the economy and affordability are still the district's top issue, but water is a big concern too.
People are concerned about that. And it does impact so many different areas, when we're talking about data centers, we're talking about building more homes to bring down the cost, we're talking about bringing industry here. Those are all impacted.
As Arizona voter Victoria Richardson plays with her young son in the park, she has data centers and his future on her mind.
I'm more concerned with the amount of data centers that are going in Arizona because of the amount of resources that they're taking and the amount of water that they're going through, especially in a desert climate. It's about making sure that there's resources not just for us, but for the generations that follow.
According to one analysis, data centers use a small fraction of water in Arizona, with agriculture consuming 75 percent of the state's water. Sarah Porter, who directs the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, says the state has invested heavily to avoid a water crisis. But headlines have scared many residents.
People imagine -- the worst case that they imagine is waking up and turning on the tap and no water running from the tap. And that simply isn't in the cards.
That doesn't mean there won't be changes coming for residents in the state, whether that's restrictions on water use or higher rates due to the cost of expensive water infrastructure. Phoenix is building an advanced water purification plant meant, the city says, to supplement the Colorado River supply, not replace it. Nazario Prieto is the city's assistant water services director.
How much does it cost to not have enough water, right? What is the cost of that? And then, when we start looking at the shortages on the Colorado, the water -- any water source is going to get more and more expensive.
The Center for the Future of Arizona's Sybil Francis says every community faces different degrees of water shortage, which candidates would be wise to address.
It's not like there's one answer to this, but I think every politician should be communicating with their communities about what they are doing, how they see the issue and what they're doing.
For voter Matt Beidler, it comes down to the long-term economics.
If you want to live here, if you want your home to still have valuation, there needs to be a sustainability plan to proactively get in front of the changing climate here.
With early voting already under way, Arizona voters are asking candidates for exactly that, a plan. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Phoenix.
President Trump is back on the campaign trail tonight in Ohio with the midterm elections closing in. Joining us now to break it down and more is our Politics Monday duo, Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR. It's always great to see you both.
So the president's going to be in Ohio tonight, and he appears increasingly concerned about rising gas and diesel prices. But rather than acknowledge the impact of the war in Iran, he's blaming the war in Ukraine. Tam, what do you make of this effort to shift blame for an economic problem that's becoming harder to ignore?
And he's also trying to solve it by importing diesel from Russia, which seems to be pretty clearly prohibited by laws, including one he just signed. He's getting a lot of bipartisan pushback from Congress on that. The reality is that the American people blame the president and his policies for high prices, and that is a problem for the president and his party in this midterm year.
And, Amy, how do you see Republicans calibrating, if at all?
