LONDON — You could see the joy on their faces as soon as the game clock expired.

You could hear the relief in their voices as they talked about the escaping with an ugly win.

You could feel the weight lifted off their shoulders as they packed their bags and prepared for a flight back to the Twin Cities.

The unprecedented international swing that took the Vikings through Dublin and London over the past week and a half was finally over.

Asked about the Vikings capping the trip with a 21-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, head coach Kevin O’Connell joked that he couldn’t think because his brain hurt.

“I’m not sure anybody’s had a trip like this,” O’Connell said. “It’s definitely on the podium for the longest I would believe.”

Not that the Vikings backed down from the challenge. They seemed genuinely excited about being the first team in NFL history to play consecutive international games in different countries.

Maybe the biggest reason O’Connell felt comfortable with the Vikings being the guinea pig for the NFL was because of the people behind the scenes handling the logistics.

The long list includes director of team operations Paul Martin, director of equipment services Mike Parson,  vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams and head performance dietician Ben Hawkins, among a handful of others.

“I could not do my job without a lot of folks that put a lot of work into a trip that had not been done before,” O’Connell said. “To see our team come to life and finish the way they did is a credit to a lot of them.”

That doesn’t mean the lengthy trip was devoid of challenges for the Vikings. After losing to the Steelers in Ireland, they were feeling the pressure as they prepared for the Browns in London.

“A dub was a must,” Justin Jefferson said. “We couldn’t go home on that plane 0-2.”

Though nobody would mistake these millionaires for roughing it in the English countryside, living at the Hanbury Manor in Ware, England, was certainly an abnormal way to prepare for such an important game.

They lived out of suitcases in old rooms on the estate built in the late 1800s. They prepared on a practice field plopped in the middle of a golf course. They hardly had free time to leave the grounds.

Nothing about it was normal for the Vikings. Not that they used it as an excuse.

“We made the best of it,” edge rusher Jonathan Greenard said. “We didn’t let that affect us.”

That was exactly how O’Connell wanted his players to approach it. He kept his messaging consistent, saying that if they looked hard enough for excuses, they would probably find them.

“Why would we take the energy to look,” O’Connell said. “Let’s just focus on what we need to focus on.”

That mindset carried over to the game, where the Vikings found a way to walk away with a win over the Browns. As excited as everybody was in the visitor’s locker room, however, the exhaustion was evident amid the euphoria.

“It seems like we’ve been gone a while,” O’Connell said. “We’re very much excited to get back home and try to start getting healthy, as a lot is still in front of this team.”

It helps that the Vikings have a chance to get healthy over their bye before the schedule gets a lot tougher.

If they are able to string together some solid play out of their bye, the past week and a half that had a potential to turn this season upside down will instead be looked at as something that brought everybody closer together.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell leaves the field after a win over the Cleveland Browns in an NFL football game in London, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (Adam Bettcher/AP Content Services for the NFL)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) is tackled during the first half of the NFL game between Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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On Sept. 28, we watched yet another sequel to the American horror show.

An evil man rammed his truck into a Mormon church in Grand Blanc, Michigan, opened fire on the people inside and lit the church on fire. By the time the embers cooled and the bodies were counted, we learned that four people were killed and eight were injured — another terrible day in a series of terrible days in a nation that can feel as if it’s coming apart.

We also knew what would happen next. Before there was a chance to mourn the dead, partisans online worked to find out the identity of the gunman and his ideology. After all, the combatants in the culture war have a voracious need for political ammunition. It’s important to constantly prove that “they” are evil, and “they” want you dead.

There was even an insidious new twist in the post-shooting debate. A number of Christian fundamentalists online chose that day of grief — the same day that many Mormons learned that the president of the church, Russell Nelson, had died — to proclaim that the Mormon Church, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wasn’t truly Christian.

Welcome to America in the year 2025, where every evil act is an opportunity to score political points, and all too many Christians demonstrate profound cruelty in Jesus’ name.

But then …

But then, something remarkable happened — something entirely unexpected.

A member of the LDS Church, Dave Butler, started an online fundraising campaign … for the family of the shooter. He was killed at the scene and had left behind a wife and young child.

As Sonia Rao, my newsroom colleague reported, the money rolled in. It took only two hours to raise $7,000. By the 12-hour mark, the total reached $100,000. By Friday, more than $300,000 had been raised, much of it donated by Latter-day Saints.

The messages attached to the gifts were extraordinary. One donor wrote: “We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are Christians. As Christians and followers of Christ, we ‘mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and stand as witnesses of God.’ We’re praying for you and your family.”

Another person wrote: “We are heartbroken as we think of what you are going through. You are loved and precious, just as much as any other family. We hope that you will have everything you need, both now and in the years to come.”

It would be understandable for members of the church to look at the suspect’s wife with suspicion, to wait for more facts before they showered the suspect’s family with love and support. After all, it’s only human to ask questions. Did she know anything? Could she have stopped him?

But no. In true imitation of Christ, who — according to Christian theology — died for us while we were still sinners, Latter-day Saints did not wait to pour out their love. They just gave it, unconditionally, to a family they did not know.

Can we get through this?

We live in a time of national hopelessness and despair. Last week, The New York Times and Siena University released a poll showing that almost two-thirds of voters now believe that we’re too politically divided to solve the nation’s problems. The same poll showed that concerns about political polarization are now the second-highest concern of American voters, behind the economy but ahead of health care, crime, inequality and foreign policy.

If you combine those who were concerned about polarization with those who said their main concern was the state of American democracy, then worries about the state of our political union become the top concern of American voters.

I see this in real life. When I speak on college campuses or in churches, or when I simply talk politics with friends, I constantly hear different variations of the same questions: Can we get through this? What’s the plan? And perhaps the most poignant question of all — is there hope?

There are, in fact, plans — lots of plans — to restore our nation’s unity and purpose. Whether it’s restoring our country’s capacity to build big things, or amending the Constitution to rein in imperial presidents, or simply doing something about those infernal phones that cause so many children (and adults) to isolate themselves in anxiety and depression, many of our nation’s best and brightest minds are brimming with good ideas.

When I share my own ideas, I get the same response time and again: We can’t do it. People hate each other too much. We are too divided. We can’t compromise.

There is still light and high beauty

But hope isn’t a plan — it’s something else, something far more powerful.

When I speak to audiences that are in despair, I like to close with one of my favorite quotes in all of literature. It comes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Return of the King,” the final volume of his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

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Sam and Frodo are alone in Mordor, the land of Sauron. Their quest to destroy the One Ring is failing. Surrounded by evil, isolated in deep darkness, all hope seems to be slipping away. But then Sam looks up in the sky.

“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains,” Tolkien wrote, “Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach.”

There is profound truth in those words. It reflects the fundamental nature of hope. It’s rooted in eternal truth — as the Book of John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” — but it’s also unexpected. It can arise in the most unlikely of circumstances in the most terrible of times.

America has witnessed two remarkable acts of forgiveness in the past month. Erika Kirk forgave the man who killed her husband. Latter-day Saints loved the family of the man who massacred their brothers and sisters. A nation that produces such acts of such love is a nation that still has life. It’s a nation that still has hope.

On Tuesday, Kelsey Piper, a staff writer at The Argument, responded to the Latter-day Saints church’s act of love with a beautiful and true statement. “If America is going to make it,” Piper wrote, “it will be because people choose forgiving things they should never have had to forgive over hurting people they have every right to be angry with.”

That is the essence of grace. Eight days ago, the shadow came for the men, women and children of a church in Michigan. But there is still light and high beauty, and last week the light that flooded America came from people of faith who were determined to demonstrate the character of the Savior they love.

David French writes a column for the New York Times.

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2025. There are 85 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a wooden fencepost outside of Laramie, Wyoming; he died five days later. Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences for Shepard’s murder.

Also on this date:

In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.

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In 1913, the first moving assembly line began operation at the Ford Motor Company factory in Highland Park, Michigan.

In 1916, in the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta.

In 1985, Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro (ah-KEE’-leh LOW’-roh) in the Mediterranean Sea. The hijackers shot and killed Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish American tourist in a wheelchair, and pushed him overboard, before surrendering on Oct. 9.

In 1992, trade representatives of the United States, Canada and Mexico initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement during a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, in the presence of President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

In 2001, war in Afghanistan started as the United States and Britain launched air attacks against military targets and Osama bin Laden’s training camps in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan to end the 20-year war on Aug. 30, 2021.

In 2003, California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger their new governor.

In 2023, Hamas launched air and ground attacks on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages. The attacks, followed hours later by Israeli counterattacks, marked the beginning of the current Israel-Hamas War.

Today’s Birthdays:

Author Thomas Keneally is 90.
Singer John Mellencamp is 74.
Rock musician Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) is 72.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 70.
Recording executive and TV personality Simon Cowell is 66.
Singer-actor Toni Braxton is 58.
Rock singer-musician Thom Yorke (Radiohead) is 57.
Actor Nicole Ari Parker is 55.
Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson is 49.
Singer Taylor Hicks is 49.
Actor Omar Miller is 47.
MLB outfielder Mookie Betts is 33.

The Prime Big Deal Days event is Oct. 7-8 this year. It’s like the little brother of Amazon’s actual Prime Day sale (in July), with pages of Prime member-exclusive deals to sift through.

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Amazon bills this as a holiday shopping event, but, for deal-conscious consumers, it’s simply a good time to get a price break on popular products.

“I like to say it’s a buyer’s market around this time of year,” says Trae Bodge, the shopping expert at TrueTrae.com.

That’s because it’s not just Amazon rolling out deals. Target’s Circle Week sale is Oct. 5-11, and the Walmart Deals event is Oct. 7-12. Best Buy’s members-only event runs now through Oct. 5.

As you gear up for deal days, it’s important to think about what you need, check prices and set your shopping budget. We’ll help you consider which categories to buy or skip.

Why big sales matter

“Sale moments like this are more important than ever for consumers on a budget,” says Bodge.

Average consumer prices were up 2.9% year-over-year in August, according to the latest inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but in general, everything feels expensive right now.

In the United States, 43% of consumers reported rising prices as their biggest concern, followed by tariff policies (29%), in the McKinsey ConsumerWise Global Sentiment Survey. The data was collected in April-May 2025 and the list of choices included immigration, political polarization, climate change and other key issues.

While cheaper meat and milk would be great, a good price on a new vacuum may have to tide you over.

Early deals are in effect

On Amazon, we’ve spotted worthy “early deals” on items like the Roku streaming stick, a pack of Crest 3D Whitestrips, a Dyson bladeless fan, a vintage-looking cooler from Coleman and a 75-inch LG QNED TV.

If what you want isn’t on sale yet, save the item in your wish list and note the pre-sale price (take a screenshot, even). Refer to that — or a price tracker — when it’s time to buy.

What to buy on Prime Big Deal Days

There are several categories you can count on for deals as you build your shopping list. Based on our coverage of past Prime Day sales, we have a hunch the ‘product we’re watching’ listed below each category will see a price break. Take note of these current prices now so you’ll be able to spot a good deal when you see one.

Toys

Knocking out toy purchases is a logical way to get ahead of the holiday curve, says Bodge. And according to Amazon’s press materials, you can expect deals on the brands kids love, like Lego, Fisher-Price, Magna-Tiles and Tonies. Kids like bikes, scooters and board games, too. With toys, you can buy now and save for Christmas.

Product we’re watching: Magna-Tiles classic 100-piece set (Amazon price at the time of writing: $119.99).

Name-brand tech (like Apple)

Prime Day sales are known for good deals on gadgets, and Amazon often sells Apple products cheaper than Apple does. The regular price of the just-released AirPods Pro 3 earbuds is $249, for example, but Amazon may take a few bucks off this hot new product for the sale.

Check out AirPods Pro 2 (still available on Amazon at the time of writing) or AirPods 4 for the chance to save more. Look for deals from other popular brands, such as Beats, Sony, Samsung, LG and Sonos. Reputable tech brands would be remiss to skip a sale with this much attention.

Product we’re watching: Apple iPad 11-inch Wi-Fi model with 128GB (price on Amazon at the time of writing: $319).

Small home and kitchen appliances

Need a new air fryer, stand mixer, coffee maker or vacuum cleaner this season? Prime Big Deal Days is a great time to get gadgets that make life easier.

Product we’re watching: Ninja 12-cup programmable coffee brewer in stainless steel (price on Amazon at the time of writing: $89.99).

Everyday essentials

Do you need pet food, shampoo, paper towels, socks or granola bars? Use Prime Big Deal Days, Target Circle Week and Walmart’s sale to replenish the stuff that runs out — at a discount. It could be the most guilt-free way to get in on the October sale action. On Amazon, you can navigate to the “buy it again” tab in your cart, then scroll through past purchases.

Product we’re watching: Larabar cashew cookie pack of 16 bars (price on Amazon at the time of writing: $18.56).

What to skip during Prime Day in October

Some product categories may not be worth your time or money during Prime Big Deal Days. Consider skipping:

Large appliances, furniture and mattresses: Steer clear of the big household items — like a new bed or refrigerator — you’d typically buy around Labor Day. “Those were just on sale, so I wouldn’t even look at them right now,” says Bodge.
Off-brand electronics: Gadgets from brands you don’t know well or items without many reviews may lack quality. Plus, a deal on something already priced low may not be as valuable. Take advantage of good discounts from tech brands you trust. Look for items that come with a warranty and good customer service.
Winter apparel: “You’re not going to find clearance-level deals on apparel,” predicts Bodge. Instead, try for later in October or wait for Black Friday sales in November, when many more clothing brands roll out deals.

How to confirm good deals on Big Deal Days

All the sale activity can be “dizzying for consumers,” Bodge says. A little research can level you out.

You can refer to your screenshot of the product price before the sale. You can also spend a few minutes on a site like Keepa or CamelCamelCamel to check the price of products sold on Amazon over time and confirm the quality of an advertised markdown.

Another price history hack? Ask AI for the ‘going rate’ of a popular product. I tried this on ChatGPT for the 2025 base iPad and got results that say somewhere around $299 is a common price for the 128GB Wi-Fi model among retailers in recent weeks, despite the Apple Store price of $349.

Look for less than that at Amazon and other stores on Prime Big Deal Days, or leave it.

But just because it’s a good time to buy stuff, doesn’t mean a new tech product fits into your budget.

“Slow down, take a breath, and be methodical about what you buy,” advises Bodge.

If you miss the chance to save this time, we have a hunch Black Friday will bring another dizzying set of deals.

Tommy Tindall writes for NerdWallet. Email: ttindall@nerdwallet.com.

The article A Buyer’s Market: What To Get During Prime Big Deal Days originally appeared on NerdWallet.