Names and faces
■ U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has married a political consultant who worked for her, months after the two were accused of having an affair, which she denied. A marriage license filed in Washington shows Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett on Wednesday. Omar announced her new marriage Wednesday night on Instagram, with a photo of her and a bearded man smiling and displaying wedding rings. “Got married! From partners in politics to life partners, so blessed,” the post read. Omar’s post didn’t identify Mynett by name. In August, Mynett’s then-wife, Beth Mynett of Washington, accused Tim Mynett and Omar of having an affair. Beth Mynett made the accusation in a divorce filing. In response, Tim Mynett filed his own court document denying his wife’s assertion that he told her he was in love with Omar and was ending his marriage to be with the congresswoman. When Omar was asked at the time whether she was separated from her husband or dating someone, she told WCCO-TV, “No, I am not.” She has since declined to discuss her personal life. In October, she filed for divorce from her husband and longtime partner Ahmed Hirsi, citing an “irretrievable breakdown” in the marriage. That divorce was finalized in November.
■ Officials in Mississippi scrambled to edit a public service announcement about the 2020 U.S. Census that led viewers to an incorrect website. In the 30-second spot, actor Morgan Freeman holds a postcard with a QR code. “It’s one of the most important things you’ll ever find in your mailbox,” he says, before urging residents to fill out their census forms so Mississippi can unlock federal funds that are disbursed based on census results. But on Monday, the U.S. Census Bureau notified Mississippi officials that the ad could confuse people on what they should expect in the mail. This week, the bureau began mailing out initial notices — blue, letter-length papers with ID numbers printed in a box and the signature of Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham — inviting people to participate in the census. And they don’t feature QR codes, images that can be scanned with a smartphone to take someone to a website. While postcards will be sent out later this month to remind people to fill out the form, those won’t have QR codes either. State officials called the mistake an honest one and said that the ad has been edited to make the QR code unreadable. The spot was produced by The Focus Group, a Mississippi-based marketing and advertising firm. CEO Allison Buchanan said the postcard Freeman holds came from “Census Bureau documents that we had researched,” but said, “The point of the commercial is they are getting something in the mail that they can use to fill out their census forms.”