GOP spends big on midterm ads and Jim Bakker dies at 86: Morning Rundown

Morning Rundown: GOP floods midterms with $700 million in late ads, how Cornell frat brothers reacted to rape allegations, and Jim Bakker’s tarnished legacy

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.Skip to ContentJim and Tammy Faye Bakker on a hill overlooking their megachurch complex, Heritage USA, in Fort Mill, South Carolina, in 1987.Will & Deni McIntyre / Getty ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 6, 2026, 7:06 AM EDTBy Elizabeth Robinson and Josh FeldmanRepublicans funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into midterm races. Text messages show how Cornell fraternity brothers sought to coordinate their responses after rape allegations came to light. And televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86.

President Donald Trump reacts during a campaign rally in Grand Island, Neb., on Monday.Kent Nishimura / AFP via GettyRepublicans have made more than $700 million worth of new advertising bookings in congressional races since the start of September, according to an NBC News analysis of data from AdImpact, a political ad-tracking firm. By comparison, Democrats booked more than $430 million in new ad reservations across those races last month.

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The unprecedented flood of late ad spending in House and Senate races will test whether hundreds of millions of dollars can buy the GOP some reprieve as it combats eroding standing among voters.

In the battle for the Senate majority, almost 7 of every 10 newly booked advertising dollars are coming from Republicans. The party has poured almost $150 million in new ad dollars to back Ken Paxton over Democrat James Talarico.

In the House, a bit less than 6 in 10 new ad dollars are coming from the GOP.

Take a closer look at which races account for the most spending.

Add to GoogleNATO expands defense training in member states as Russia drone threats escalate in Europe05:00In recent months, several Baltic nations have seen a growing number of Russian incursions into their airspace, as the Kremlin tests the limits of its neighbors. Lithuania, nestled between Kremlin-allied Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, fears they’re at the top of the target list.

That’s why the government-backed paramilitary organization, the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, has seen a boom in new volunteers since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with 18,000 registered as of 2025. About a third are “junior riflemen” aged 11 to 18.

But Baltic countries are not anticipating a repeat of scenes from the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion, when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. Instead, they’re bracing for a hybrid approach that includes cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage and drones while Russia maintains a degree of deniability.

Read more of Richard Engel’s reporting inside Lithuania.

Add to GoogleCornell students protest handling of alleged 2024 sexual assault 04:42When two of the Chi Phi brothers since accused of sexually assaulting Jane Doe first learned in a text message chat that Cornell University had suspended the fraternity, one responded to the chapter’s then-president with a single word: “F–k.”

As news spread across campus that a student alleged that she was raped and plied with drugs at a fraternity party in October 2024, Chi Phi members expressed worry and tried to get their stories straight, according to text messages, campus police and university disciplinary records obtained by NBC News.

The man who replied with profanity immediately asked whether he should call Doe but was told to wait. Meanwhile, a Cornell student, who says she went to campus police after reports of the incident surfaced, said a Chi Phi member told her that fraternity members “needed to have a chapter meeting” to get their stories in line.

What records reveal about the aftermath of the incident.

Add to GoogleTelevangelist Jim Bakker dies at age 8601:28Jim Bakker, the charismatic evangelical preacher who built a Christian television empire, only to see it collapse in scandal, recrimination and prison, has died at the age of 86, his wife, Lori, announced.

Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye, gained popularity in the 1970s after starting a TV puppet show, and later a high-energy talk show called “The PTL Club.” Bakker also launched the first Christian satellite network and built a multimillion-dollar empire complete with one of the world’s largest theme parks, Heritage USA, on the small donations of hundreds of thousands of believers, some of whom pledged their life savings.

But PTL collapsed after reports of a $250,000 payment and lavish spending came to light.

Cheney Orr for NBC NewsThis summer, the Trump administration took a step that shocked disability rights advocates: The Justice Department issued a 39-page legal opinion repudiating the federal government’s longstanding interpretation of Olmstead v. L.C., the landmark Supreme Court ruling that helped disabled people receive care in their communities rather than institutions. My colleague Colleen Long and I set out to understand what drove such a sweeping reversal and what it could mean for millions of Americans.

The answer led us to Trump’s crackdown on homelessness. After the president demanded action against tent encampments in American cities, his administration began pushing to make it easier to force homeless people with serious mental illness into treatment. That agenda eventually collided with federal disability policy, prompting Stephen Miller to press the DOJ to reconsider its approach to Olmstead, according to people familiar with the internal discussions.

Not everyone was caught by surprise. Two days before the DOJ released its opinion, a White House aide from Miller’s office previewed the change during a previously undisclosed meeting with activists and conservative think tank leaders whom the administration hoped would publicly support it. As our investigation reveals, not everyone in attendance was ready to support the administration’s attack on a cornerstone of the disability rights movement. — Mike Hixenbaugh, senior investigative reporter

Vivian Le / NBCStarting today until Oct. 7, Prime members can save big on thousands of products during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days. To make sure you’re getting the best deal, we spent weeks combing through the discounts to find the ones actually worth your money, including up to 80% household essentials, holiday wish list times, tech and more. See the full list of deals here.

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Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson and Josh Feldman. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.

ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleElizabeth RobinsonElizabeth Robinson is a newsletter editor for NBC News, based in Los Angeles.

Josh FeldmanJosh Feldman is a platforms editor for NBC News.