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ICE officers set to deploy to airports as delays mount, border czar Homan confirms

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ICE officers set to deploy to airports as delays mount, border czar Homan confirms

People wait in a TSA line at the John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday in New York City.

Yuki Iwamura/AP


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Yuki Iwamura/AP

President Trump said he is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports as some air travelers face longer security lines due to the partial government shutdown.

“On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job,” Trump posted on social media Sunday.

The Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which has entered its sixth week and paused paychecks for Transportation Security Administration workers.

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“This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told NPR in an email.

She said this has caused hours-long delays for travelers across the country, and said the agency will deploy “hundreds” of ICE officers “to airports being adversely impacted.”

DHS did not respond to NPR’s question of where ICE agents will be deployed.

But Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Sunday evening that agents would be at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to help with “line management and crowd control.” In a statement, he said federal agents “indicated that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement activities.”

The head of the union that represents TSA officers denounced the plan to send ICE to airports.

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“ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security,” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a statement on Sunday.

He said TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats designed to evade detection at checkpoints.

“They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be,” he added.

The ACLU also issued a statement condemning the move, saying immigration agents at airports could “inspire fear among families.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., echoed that concern.

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“The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them,” Jeffries said on CNN.

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, “is in charge” of the ICE deployment, Trump said. TSA and ICE are both part of DHS.

But it remains unclear exactly how the operation will work at airports.

“It’s a work in progress,” Homan said on CNN Sunday. “But we will be at airports tomorrow helping TSA move those lines along.”

Unclear duties for ICE agents

Homan said he is talking with the heads of ICE and TSA to finalize a plan, but said he expects ICE agents to relieve TSA agents of guard duty at some terminal entries and exits.

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“I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine because they’re not trained in that,” Homan said. “There are certain parts of security that TSA is doing that we can move them off those jobs and put them in the specialized jobs, help move those lines.”

But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy seemed to have a different idea of what ICE agents could do at airports.

“They know how to run the X-ray machines because they are again under Homeland Security with TSA,” Duffy told ABC Sunday.

Duffy then warned that wait times at airports would get much worse if Congress doesn’t fund DHS by the end of next week, when TSA workers are set to miss another paycheck.

“I think you’re going to see more TSA agents — as we come to Thursday, Friday, Saturday of next week — they’re going to quit or they’re not going to show up,” Duffy said.

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Scant negotiations progress

Last week, Congress failed to advance a DHS funding bill for the fifth time, leaving TSA, FEMA and other agencies in the lurch. ICE, on the other hand, still has plenty of funding after Congress allocated the the agency billions of dollars last summer as part of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The DHS shutdown started following the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minnesota. The killings sparked demands from Democrats to change ICE policy: a judicial warrant requirement, and a ban on ICE agents wearing masks, among other proposed changes.

It was not immediately clear whether ICE agents deployed to airports would wear masks, as many of them do during immigration enforcement.

Homan said he met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week to discuss DHS funding, but he gave no indication that a deal was nearing.

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“More conversations need to be had because we certainly can’t surrender ICE’s authorities and their congressionally mandated job,” Homan said Sunday.

As for the ICE operation at airports, Homan said agents will continue to enforce immigration laws as they deploy to terminals and security lines.

NPR’s Jennifer Ludden contributed to this story.

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Paul Pelosi in hit-and-run in California, car left with major damage, authorities say

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Paul Pelosi in hit-and-run in California, car left with major damage, authorities say

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband Paul arrive at the funeral services for Clive Davis at Central Synagogue in New York, Monday, June 29, 2026.

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Adam Gray/AP

LOS ANGELES — The husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was involved in a hit-and-run in California that left a parked car with “major” damage authorities said Saturday, and he could face misdemeanor charges.

Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible Friday in Yountville, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

A witness saw the collision and called 911. Shortly afterward sheriff’s deputies found Pelosi with damage to the front of his car on a road roughly a quarter of a mile away. He reportedly told officers he knew he hit something but was not sure when or what caused the damage.

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Pelosi, 86, did not have any alcohol in his system, according to the statement. The sheriff’s office referred him to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a process to determine whether he may continue to drive — something that officials say is common for older drivers.

Pelosi was not arrested, and because no one was injured, the sheriff’s office recommended a misdemeanor charge for fleeing the scene of an accident.

A staffer for Nancy Pelosi did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty in 2022 to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in Napa County and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation. However, he served only two days in jail and received good conduct credit for two other days, leaving just one day to serve in a work program at the courthouse.

As part of his probation, Pelosi was required to attend a three-month drinking driver class and install an ignition interlock device, which forces drivers to provide a breath sample to prove sobriety before the engine will start. He also was ordered to pay about $5,000 in victim restitution for medical bills and lost wages, along with nearly $2,000 in fines.

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Crowds ordered to evacuate National Mall area as stormy weather slams DC

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Crowds ordered to evacuate National Mall area as stormy weather slams DC

The thousands of people attending the Great American State Fair and other areas around the National Mall are being ordered to evacuate as stormy weather approaches.

The National Weather Service previously announced a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in the District. Officials are asking attendees to seek shelter.

SEE ALSO: Historic Fourth of July fireworks to light up National Mall: How to watch live

The DC Homeland Security & Emergency Management released a list of places where the crowds can go to get out of the weather:

Federal Buildings:

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  • Ronald Reagan Building – 100 Pennsylvania Ave NW
  • Dept. of Commerce – 1401 Constitution Ave NW
  • Dept. of Agriculture – 1400 Independence Dr SW
  • Dept. of Education – 400 Maryland Ave SW
  • Internal Revenue Service – 1111 Constitution Ave NW
  • Voice of America – 330 Independence Ave SW
  • Thomas Jefferson Memorial – 16 E Basin Dr SW

Museums:

  • National Museum of American History – 1300 Constitution Ave NW
  • National Museum of Natural History – 1000 Constitution Ave NW
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture – 1400 Constitution Ave NW

Freedom 250 organizers released this statement:

“The safety of our guests, performers, and staff is our top priority. Due to approaching severe storms, Freedom 250, United States Secret Service, United States Park Police, National Park Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and all public safety partners are asking all guests to evacuate event grounds and seek temporary shelter in a nearby building. Available shelter locations include the Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Internal Revenue Service, VOA Building, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, the African American Museum, and the Ronald Reagan Building. Please remain calm, follow the directions of law enforcement and event staff, and stay tuned to Freedom 250’s official channels for updates. Freedom 250 will share updates on programming and doors reopening — please stay close to our official channels for updates.”

The Secret Service said they have suspended screening on the National Mall.

“Security screening on the National Mall has been suspended due to dangerous storms,” the Secret Service said. “If you are already on the grounds, follow directions from officers and event staff and move to shelter immediately. Do not shelter under trees.”

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Metro riders are also asked to seek shelter. Commuters should expect heavy crowds at stations near the National Mall and are asked to consider using L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, Archives, Federal Triangle or Federal Center SW stations to avoid congestion.

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Reflections on America’s 250th birthday

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Reflections on America’s 250th birthday

The nation’s capital may be the focal point of the 250th Independence Day celebration, but people all across America have plans to mark the occasion, from boisterous public parades to quiet personal reflections on history.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP


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Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

As the United States turns 250 years old, Americans across the country are spending the holiday thinking about what the big birthday means to them, with reflections and celebrations as diverse as the nation itself.

NPR’s member station reporters fanned out to collect snapshots of the occasion from sea to shining sea.

In one ‘City of Presidents,’ Main Street is decorated for a party

At least two cities in the U.S.call themselves the “City of Presidents” and Cuba City, in Wisconsin, is one of them, largely due to its patriotic Main Street decorations. Every year from Memorial Day through Veteran’s Day, red, white, and blue shields, one for each U.S. president, are prominently displayed high up on the light poles lining Main Street.

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It’s a tradition that began in 1976 to commemorate the country’s bicentennial, says Donna Rogers, who is president of the ongoing project but admitted that when it first started, she wasn’t particularly tuned-in to the display.

“I was raising three little boys and working at John Deere, so I didn’t really pay too much attention to community service at that time,” she said.

Donna Rogers shows off one of Cuba City's presidential lampposts.

Donna Rogers shows off one of Cuba City’s presidential lampposts.

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A few years later, she was tapped to help keep the initiative alive.

When she thinks of the country’s history, she says the signing of the Declaration of Independence and abolition of slavery top her list, plus a current event–

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“Of course, now, our nation’s 250th birthday. I think those three would be the three most important things in history to me,” she said, quickly adding “[the] right for women to vote, don’t forget that, right?”

Rogers and Cuba City are pulling out all the stops for the 250th, with a parade and a mac-and-cheese festival, because “that was some of our founding fathers favorite foods, along with turkey and cranberries and other items.”

She laughed and admitted she googled that. True or not, Rogers says they’ll go all-out to celebrate the 250th in her “City of Presidents”.

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