A routine baggage screening at an Alabama airport turned into an unexpected Civil War mystery after TSA officers discovered five stolen cannonballs hidden inside a passenger&#8217;s luggage. 
Lead TSA Officer Justin Dupree spotted a large opaque object while reviewing X-ray images at Gulf Shores International Airport on July 18. At first, he thought it looked like a medicine ball. Instead, he found five cannonballs wrapped in paper towels, with the largest being the size of a grapefruit.  
“My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,’” Dupree <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/about/employee-stories/cannonball-run-indiana-jones-esque-discovery-tsa-alabama-airport">said</a>. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been holding a live explosive.”
“I had never seen anything quite this unique,” he added. “I’ve seen inert grenades and training munitions but never an Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.”
Dupree alerted a supervisor, who contacted the TSA&#8217;s regional explosives specialist. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office also responded to determine whether a bomb squad would be needed.
Authorities determined the roughly 150-year-old cannonballs were inert, meaning they posed no explosive threat. Even so, artillery ammunition is prohibited in luggage. 
Investigators identified the cannonballs as artifacts stolen from nearby Fort Morgan after recognizing paint markings the historic Civil War site uses to catalog its collection. 
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/travel/tsa-officer-sees-alarming-shapes-x-ray-before-stolen-civil-war-mystery-unravels">told</a> Fox News that a juvenile stole them from the fort’s storage area and put them in his grandmother’s luggage. Fort Morgan&#8217;s director declined to press charges, and the artifacts have since been returned. 
“I am very proud of the great catch and teamwork by Officers Dupree and Cash and TSA Alabama along with our tremendous partnership with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and Gulf Shores Police Department,” TSA Alabama Federal Security Director Tara Corse said. 
“Even if inert and not active, travelers should avoid bringing weapons of any kind, including replicas, to the airport. They can cause security alerts, flight delays and safety concerns.”

Screenshot 2026-07-30 at 1.18.43 PM

A Routine TSA Bag Check Turned Into An ‘Indiana Jones’ Mystery

Air and Space

airport

Airports

Alabama

Civil War

Indiana Jones

Transportation

U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have descended on airports across the country, expanding enforcement operations to target illegal immigrants who overstayed their visas, according to The New York Times.
Federal immigration officers have been seen arresting individuals at the check-in counters and boarding gates and are said to be operating at 15 airports, the outlet <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/us/ice-arrests-airports-visa-overstay.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, citing documents and interviews with immigration attorneys.
&#8220;This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport,&#8221; a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told The New York Times.
The latest operation builds on a TSA-ICE partnership launched in May 2025 to arrest individuals with outstanding deportation orders at airports, The Times reported.
It also comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on ICE to increase arrest numbers, agency sources have recently told The Daily Wire.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gvhMK7bJvHM?si=_G1cKJtfsuZCK4vC" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Several recent airport arrests have gone viral on social media.
ICE arrested Chantal Alejandra Morales Rojas on July 20 while she attempted to board a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver to Oakland, <a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/latest-news-ott/immigration-judge-grants-bond-woman-ice-dia/73-a462eafa-ef1f-4fc1-af6e-60be892e77ba?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to 9News. The incident was captured on video, appearing to show plainclothes officers intercepting her on the jetway before escorting her away.
All the while, the woman behind the camera was repeatedly calling for &#8220;help&#8221; and crying out &#8220;ICE is here&#8221; and &#8220;f*ck ICE,&#8221; according to the video.
A GoFundMe set up for Morales Rojas said she has a valid work permit and a pending asylum application, 9News reported.
ICE said she entered the United States on October 20, 2024, and that her visa expired on January 4, 2025, according to the outlet. The agency added that having a pending case or work authorization doesn&#8217;t keep ICE from making an arrest.
&#8220;A &#8216;work permit&#8217; and/or a pending asylum case does NOT confer any type of legal status in the United States or prevent ICE from arresting or deporting an illegal alien from the country,&#8221; ICE said.
An immigration judge has since granted bond to Morales Rojas, <a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/latest-news-ott/immigration-judge-grants-bond-woman-ice-dia/73-a462eafa-ef1f-4fc1-af6e-60be892e77ba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to 9News.
As a result of the Trump administration&#8217;s latest arrest effort, immigration lawyers say they are instructing their clients awaiting decisions on pending immigration applications to avoid travel.
&#8220;Before, I was saying, ‘As long as you have an ID, you can travel domestically.&#8217; Now I am turning around and saying, ‘If you are in the process of changing status, avoid any travel,'&#8221; Shannon Shepherd, an immigration lawyer who is vice chair for the Chicago chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told The Times.

Trump Sends ICE Agents To Airports and signs executive order to pay TSA

ICE Ramps Up New Tactic To Nab Foreigners Overstaying Visas

Air Travel

Department of Homeland Security

Deportations

Donald Trump

Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Immigration law

New York Times

The New York Times

Travel

Visas

The Trump administration, in partnership with Amtrak, unveiled a plan earlier this week to renovate the world-renowned Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. 
Penn Station, located in Trump’s hometown of New York City, is the busiest transportation center in the Western Hemisphere. It takes in roughly 600,000 commuters every workday, which is more than the amount of daily traffic at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty airports combined, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-penn-station-trump-reconstruction-7b2eb6ca8f1f32ad591b52066edc59a8">Associated Press.</a> 
But in recent years, Penn Station has become a home for the homeless and violent criminals. The congested transit hub has been in the news recently for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeless-mans-penn-station-stabbing-rampage-wasnt-his-first-attack">stabbings</a>, confirming New Yorkers&#8217; sentiments that the station is no longer safe. 

“It’s a sh*thole,” one law enforcement source <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/08/24/penn-station-shooting-just-latest-in-crime-spike-at-the-terminal/">lamented</a> to The New York Post in 2021. “It’s drugs. They come from all over … Some are just homeless. Now that [Madison Square Garden] is open you’re going to see scalpers, hustlers, and the residual [violence].”
Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) spoke for many New Yorkers when he <a href="https://abc7ny.com/post/penn-station-lirr-tom-suozzi-crime/11403363/">declared</a> in 2021 that Penn Station has become &#8220;a dangerous dungeon,&#8221; adding, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been coming here for decades. It&#8217;s never been this bad.&#8221; 
President Donald Trump wants to change that.
“The Golden Age of Transportation is coming thanks to President Trump,” <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/historic-again-president-trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-amtrak-and-penn">said</a> U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “He had a vision to transform this dirty, falling-apart station in the middle of his hometown into a state-of-the-art transit hub that millions can enjoy for generations to come. American families deserve a safe, efficient, and clean commute to their homes, jobs, and churches.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
LOOK at what is coming to New York City 🚨👀<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> is transforming Penn Station into the world-class masterpiece it was always meant to be
This isn&#8217;t just a renovation, it&#8217;s a complete, mind-blowing REBIRTH 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/gNyAW2U5AM">pic.twitter.com/gNyAW2U5AM</a>
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) <a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/2064425528975634662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The winning design for the remodeled Penn Station was submitted by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), whose founder Vishaan Chakrabarti has <a href="https://pau.studio/who/">worked</a> on American landmarks such as Columbia University, the East River waterfront, and the street grid surrounding the World Trade Center. 
 
PAU <a href="http://pau.studio/work/pennsylvania-station-renewed/">lamented</a> in a statement that the original Pennsylvania Station was a “Beaux-Arts masterpiece designed by McKim, Mead &amp; White” that was destroyed “in an act of extraordinary civic vandalism,” leading to the creation of a modern “subterranean station that has long been unsafe, undignified and unable to meet the demands of a growing city and region.” PAU seeks to fix the ailing station with their new design.
“For PAU, the project represents an ‘architecture of memory’—one that draws from historical precedent without replicating it,” the PAU statement said. “The proposal seeks to unite sustainability, durability, public utility, and civic grandeur in a station designed to serve future generations, while addressing the errors of the past.”
Justin Davidson, New York Magazine’s architecture critic, has stated that the architecture will also make Penn Station more navigable and accessible. 
“What the plan does accomplish is it clears away columns from the congested platforms and adds escalators, so commuters don’t have to stand in line to exit or rush to board in the few minutes between the platform announcement and departure,” Davidson <a href="https://www.curbed.com/article/trump-penn-station-redesign-pau-hok-art-deco.html">observed</a>. 
“An orderly grid of wide, high-ceilinged concourses, all on one level, replaces the multilevel ant farm of today, making the station safer and less stressful for its 650,000 daily passengers. The 18-wheelers serving Madison Square Garden, which now trundle in, back out, and cause gridlock on the street, will move through the building’s innards and stay out of sight.”
The designs will also include a presidential seal featuring Trump’s name. 
The project is projected to cost between $7 to $8 billion, mostly financed through federal grants to Amtrak, together with some private financing, federal loans, and potentially some funds from New York City. They plan to break ground at the end of 2027. In the meantime, the Department of Transportation is open to hearing public feedback on the proposed designs.
The Trump administration unveiled its Penn Station design after other renovation successes, including restoring the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-trump-trolls-libs-with-ai-pic-of-him-lounging-in-lincoln-memorial-reflection-pool">Lincoln Reflecting Pool</a> and cleaning up <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-administration-to-fix-d-c-s-troubled-union-station">Union Station</a> in Washington, D.C.

The historic hall of Penn Station in New York city with the American flag

The Transit Hub That Shapes America’s First Impression Is Getting A Reboot

Amtrak

Department of Transportation

designer

New York City

Railways

Trump

In less than a week, visitors from around the world will descend on Atlanta for the FIFA World Cup 2026, but many residents worry that the city&#8217;s transit system, known as MARTA, isn&#8217;t ready after three attacks in the past two weeks, including one killing.
&#8220;I&#8217;m nervous that it won&#8217;t be ready by next week for the world coming here,&#8221; one passenger told The Daily Wire.
At MARTA&#8217;s North Avenue Station, riders described a system they believe has become increasingly unsafe, citing violent crime, fare evasion, and a lack of visible security. The Daily Wire interviewed several passengers at the station, many of whom said they no longer feel safe while riding.
&#8220;When I say it&#8217;s not safe, there is no security,&#8221; one passenger said, pointing to multiple people walking through fare gates without paying. MARTA officials say fare evasion costs the transit system <a href="https://www.gpb.org/news/2025/06/25/how-can-you-be-confident-riders-officials-question-atlanta-transit-readiness-ahead">$7 million</a> per year. 
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;">  <iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 220px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/eudbjNrI01h3RFP01XidH5I019ENoMSU1cG?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=9fb20955-a416-41eb-b613-b07fcd8655e7&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title='Absolutely%20not'%3A%20Riders%20deliver%20a%20damning%20verdict%20on%20a%20Dem-&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2Fb412ab3f-14f8-441d-9cdc-a33d26554ca0.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
&nbsp;
Other riders said they have witnessed fights on trains. One passenger described an incident in which another rider struck a young girl without provocation. &#8220;There was a little Hispanic girl that got hit on the train,&#8221; the passenger said. &#8220;She was crying. It was really sad to see.&#8221;
Passengers also said weapons are not an uncommon sight. &#8220;Somebody dropped something. It was a gun,&#8221; one rider said. Another passenger recalled watching someone pull out a knife inside a crowded train car. &#8220;I&#8217;ve heard everything from death to rape to murder,&#8221; another rider said.
Several passengers said the trains get worse at night. 
&#8220;Absolutely not,&#8221; one rider said when asked if they felt safe riding MARTA at night.
&#8220;Nighttime is when I like to call them the nightcrawlers — the people you wouldn&#8217;t see in the daytime. The train is their home,&#8221; said another person. 
The riders&#8217; fears are reflected in the numbers and data. 
MARTA openly subsidizes fares for homeless riders while paying riders say they are left to deal with the consequences, such as drug use, outbursts, and mental disorders that can accompany those taking shelter on the train.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1113457" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.44.00-AM.png" alt="" width="1110" height="848" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.44.00-AM.png 1110w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.44.00-AM-300x229.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.44.00-AM-754x576.png 754w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.44.00-AM-768x587.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /></div>
Violent incidents on MARTA&#8217;s rail lines occur at nearly four times the national average for public transit systems, according to federal officials. 
Those concerns have drawn the attention of Washington. The Trump administration launched a federal investigation into MARTA following a series of violent attacks on the transit system.
&#8220;Every American should be disturbed by the horrific crimes we have seen on MARTA in the last month,&#8221; U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said.
&#8220;No one should be forced to fear for their safety simply because they choose to ride public transit,&#8221; Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/soccer/world-cup/kemp-offers-help-to-marta-all-they-gotta-do-is-call-and-ask-us/85-1b493562-a5b2-4c9e-8859-809741d9f59b?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook_11Alive">told</a> Atlanta Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens. “All they gotta do is call and ask us.” 
And while riders raise questions, Dickens projects confidence in the city’s transit system for the World Cup. “MARTA is going to step up big,” he <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/soccer/world-cup/atlanta-mayor-andre-dickens-city-officials-world-cup-pep-rally/85-87e12a83-601e-43cc-9030-3e77d59d94aa?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a>. 
While MARTA operates independently of City Hall, Dickens is not entirely removed from the transit system&#8217;s leadership. The mayor appoints three members to MARTA&#8217;s board of directors, giving him significant influence over the authority&#8217;s direction and oversight. As Atlanta prepares to welcome visitors from around the globe, that relationship is likely to intensify scrutiny of the mayor&#8217;s handling of transit safety.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Venues – Atlanta Stadium

‘It’s Not Safe’: MARTA Riders Sound Alarm As Atlanta Prepares For World Cup

Atlanta

Crime

Georgia

Soccer

World Cup

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Trump administration is drafting plans to stop processing foreign travelers at airports located in sanctuary cities, but the possible change has some former officials questioning the political implications.
Mullin revealed on “Hannity” Tuesday night that officials are “currently drawing up plans” to pull Customs officers from international airports in jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts amid escalating anti-ICE protests outside a facility in Newark, New Jersey.
He then doubled down Thursday, telling Fox News host Brian Kilmeade that while his department won&#8217;t &#8220;halt&#8221; international flights, it will pull Customs officers away from processing those passengers as they attempt to enter the United States.
&#8220;When we have situations like what&#8217;s happening in New Jersey right now, when we have to prioritize where we put federal employees because local law enforcement won&#8217;t help protect their streets &#8230; and keep them from barricading and causing harm to our employees, then we have to decide where we&#8217;re going to prioritize our federal employees,&#8221; Mullin said.
&#8220;What we&#8217;re saying is we just won&#8217;t be able to process them because we don&#8217;t have officers there,&#8221; he added.
The idea immediately sparked concerns from former Homeland Security officials, who questioned the political fallout and consequences of such a move ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the United States is set to co-host.
Former Homeland Security advisor Charles Marino said that while there&#8217;s a need for &#8220;consequences for sanctuary cities, there&#8217;s no way this would be allowed to happen with the World Cup coming up.&#8221;
&#8220;The political pressure on the admin from FIFA, the international community, stadiums, local governments, and businesses would be immense. It also undercuts President Trump, who routinely takes credit for bringing the World Cup to the U.S. To do this now is all risk and no reward,&#8221; he said.
Trump&#8217;s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also appeared skeptical of the proposal.
“We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics,&#8221; Duffy said during a Congressional hearing last week.
Another former Homeland Security official, who was granted anonymity to speak more freely on the issue, said the Trump administration is trying to play &#8220;hardball,&#8221; adding that it&#8217;s &#8220;the federal government&#8217;s right&#8221; to carry out such a plan. The official, however, warned that &#8220;it is only going to piss off the unaffiliated voters and at the end of the day will not change sanctuary jurisdictions.&#8221;
&#8220;Democrats will still vote for sanctuary,&#8221; the former official said.
Former ICE New York field office deputy director Scott Mechkowski said that Trump&#8217;s base will likely support that move, but that Mullin will need to focus his messaging to present it to the general public as a last-ditch effort to force cooperation from sanctuary cities.
Mechkowski said Mullin has to &#8220;frame&#8221; the initiative as &#8220;an extreme measure.&#8221; He pointed to the Trump administration&#8217;s attempts to &#8220;withhold&#8221; federal funds from sanctuary cities, an effort that has been repeatedly blocked by court orders.
It would also have &#8220;devastating effects,&#8221; spelling financial trouble for sanctuary cities, which he expects would cave easily to meet the Trump administration&#8217;s demands as a result.
&#8220;I think they need to realize that [Mullin] means business,&#8221; Mechkowski said.
Mullin first mentioned the proposal in April, presenting it as a tactic to force sanctuary cities to play ball with federal immigration agents.
“I believe sanctuary cities is not lawful,” Mullin told Fox News’ Bret Baier at the time. “I don’t think they’re able to do that, and so we’re gonna take a hard look at this.”
“If they’re sanctuary cities, should they really be processing Customs into their city?” Mullin asked. “If they’re a sanctuary city and they’re receiving international flights, and we’re asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport they’re not gonna enforce immigration policy, maybe we need to have a really hard look at that because we need to focus on cities that want to work with us.”

Newark Liberty International Airport

Mullin’s Proposal To Pull Customs From Airports Gets Mixed Reviews

Markwayne Mullin

Politics

Sanctuary Cities

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rebuked his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, over the pace of efforts to revamp the nation’s outdated transportation system, calling the former Biden administration official a “sloth.”
Duffy posted a <a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/2054697011522179289?s=20">montage video highlighting</a> what he described as failures under the Biden administration’s handling of transportation while touting improvements under President Donald Trump.
&#8220;Pete Buttigieg moved like a sloth. I’m moving at the speed of Trump!” Duffy said on social media. “He did nothing. He spent $80 billion on DEI and on climate change. We did more in one year than the last administration did in all four.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pete Buttigieg moved like a sloth. 
I’m moving at the speed of Trump!
After four years of a do-nothing DOT Secretary, America is back 🇺🇸
Look what <a href="https://twitter.com/USDOT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USDOT</a> has done in just ONE year!👇🏼 <a href="https://t.co/2obqel6bfq">pic.twitter.com/2obqel6bfq</a>
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDuffy/status/2056155348898087364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
“This is AWESOME. There is no doubt<a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy"> @SecDuffy</a> is modernizing American transportation for the future,” <a href="https://x.com/RepOgles/status/2054748620423885054?s=20">Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) said on X.</a> 
The criticism comes after Buttigieg hit the airwaves to slam the transportation secretary&#8217;s decision to film a road trip series during a government shutdown.
Duffy and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, starred in a five-part YouTube reality show titled <a href="https://greatamericanroadtrip.org/#about">The Great American Road Trip</a>. The series, which debuts in June, follows the couple and their children as they travel across the country visiting American landmarks.
“I love road trips. I love America. I actually took a taxpayer-funded road trip lasting about seven months. It was in Afghanistan. This is something very different,” Buttigieg said to CNN anchor Dana Bash. 
“This is not about patriotism, and it is an embarrassment to have him going around saying that a road trip quote fits any budget at a time when more and more Americans cannot afford a road trip because of the explosion in diesel prices and gas prices caused directly by the Iran war,” he added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Mayor Pete Buttigieg tells Dana Bash on Sean Duffy: &#8220;I love roadtrips. I love America. I actually took a taxpayer-funded roadtrip lasted about 7 months. It was in Afghanistan. This is something very different.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/MNCIe4BzRC">pic.twitter.com/MNCIe4BzRC</a>
— Neo Jane (@Neo_Jane8) <a href="https://twitter.com/Neo_Jane8/status/2056035275386548497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
The Biden-era cabinet official and possible 2028 presidential hopeful also swiped Duffy’s job performance. 
“The one thing I think most of us agree on is that there&#8217;s a shortage around air traffic control. Maybe it&#8217;s because they&#8217;ve been struggling to hire. I noticed that under my successor, the pace of hiring air traffic controllers slowed down dramatically&#8230;” he said. 
A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation refuted that characterization, telling The Daily Wire that DOT has hired 20% more air traffic controllers annually than the previous administration. 
Modernization of the air traffic control system is also underway, according to the spokesperson, with the administration having replaced 50% of all copper wiring, converted 278 radio sites nationwide, and installed 58 new surface awareness systems. Under Duffy, the administration has saved taxpayers approximately $14 billion since inauguration and eliminated 600,000 words of regulation, according to the department. 
The back-and-forth comes amid a series of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-united-airlines-plane-hits-bakery-truck-moments-before-landing?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=49&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=WATCH%3A+United+Airlines+Plane+Hits+Light+Pole%2C+Damages+Truck+Moments+Before+Landing">high-profile aviation scares</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spirits-collapse-shows-why-bigger-companies-arent-always-a-bad-thing">industry setbacks</a>, including the recent collapse of Spirit Airlines.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scott-bessent-blames-elizabeth-warren-biden-admin-for-spirit-airlines-collapse">The White House has blamed</a> the Biden administration’s rejection of the Spirit-Jet Blue merger for the company’s ceasing operations, which has disrupted travel for thousands and cost 17,000 jobs. The low-cost airline had dozens of routes, including nonstop flights between major cities such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, New Orleans, and Newark.  <a href="https://x.com/MurfamPost/status/2050556560795996373?s=20">Viral videos on social media</a> showed empty and deserted Spirit check-in counters at airports across the country.
Buttigieg, in the CNN interview, deflected responsibility.  
&#8220;Spirit Airlines shut down because the Iran war sent jet fuel prices through the roof. This is not about an antitrust decision from two or three years ago,” Buttigieg said. “Trying to reach back a year, two years, three years for excuses for what&#8217;s happening on your watch is a tremendous show of weakness.”

Sean Duffy

‘Moved Like A Sloth’: Duffy Rips Buttigieg As Transportation Feud Escalates

News

Pete Buttigieg

Long lines and delays at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have become a flashpoint in the competitive United States Senate race in Georgia.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) faced immediate criticism from Republican primary candidates in his state for voting against funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has resulted in TSA agents and other essential DHS personnel working without pay. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the lone Democrat who voted to fund the DHS.
“Jon Ossoff and Democrats caused this to protect illegal aliens. That’s it,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) posted to X in response to a <a href="https://x.com/MikeCollinsGA/status/2035727466375905481?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> showing the lines. The airport had informed travelers to arrive four hours early for their flights on Monday.
Former NCAA football coach and Republican Senate hopeful Derek Dooley pointed out the contrast between Fetterman and Ossoff on the shutdown in a video he posted from the airport on Sunday.
“It&#8217;s ridiculous. That&#8217;s exactly why we need new leadership in D.C. This is nothing about the people. We need leaders who are gonna put their people first,” <a href="https://x.com/DerekDooleyGA/status/2035810012681920769?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dooley</a> said.
“Just a bunch of politics. Come on, Ossoff. Fetterman agrees. He&#8217;s not for this. He&#8217;s a Democrat. And listen, where&#8217;s the rest of Congress?” he said, calling for a solution to resolve the shutdown, which started over disagreements about federal immigration enforcement policies.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) dubbed it the “Schumer-Ossoff Shutdown” in one <a href="https://x.com/RepBuddyCarter/status/2036100550035411339?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>, and plainly stated in another <a href="https://x.com/RepBuddyCarter/status/2036111733102661690?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> that the six-hour lines at TSA in Atlanta are “because Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff voted to SHUT DOWN the Department of Homeland Security.”
As negotiations continue in Washington, Senate Democrats have argued that Republicans are not interested in funding TSA. Republicans voted against a move by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to fund federal airport employees, though it would leave out other agencies within DHS.
“Donald Trump’s obstruction is denying TSA workers pay and creating havoc at airports. While negotiations continue over ICE, there is no reason TSA should be held hostage. Republicans must stop blocking TSA funding immediately,” Ossoff said in a <a href="https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/press-releases/new-senate-republicans-block-tsa-funding-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on March 21.
When his campaign was contacted by The Daily Wire for comment on the Republican criticism, they deferred to a comment from the Democratic Party of Georgia.
“Senate Democrats have called for funding TSA for weeks, and Republicans have blocked it every step of the way because they are taking orders from Donald Trump,” DPG Chair Charlie Bailey said in a statement. “We could pay TSA agents and end the chaos at airports across the country if Republicans like Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, and Derek Dooley told their Party to quit standing in the way and get it done.”
A 2017 <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/jon-ossoff-race-first-real-battle-millennials-vs-trump-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mother Jones</a> story noted that Ossoff has had a pilot&#8217;s license since he was a teen, and described his plans at the time to rent a Cessna plane for a short hiking trip in the Appalachian Mountains with his friends. <a href="https://freebeacon.com/elections/ossoff-whose-father-took-1-mil-from-govt-relief-fund-slams-greedy-business-owners-for-raiding-ppp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Free Beacon</a> reported in 2020 that Ossoff’s businessman father bought a private plane in 2014.
As for the Republicans in the race, President Donald Trump has yet to make an endorsement ahead of May 19. Whoever wins the race will be in one of the most competitive elections in the country in 2026. Ossoff is the only incumbent Democrat in a “toss-up” race, according to the <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cook Political Report</a>.
“Jon Ossoff cares more about protecting illegals like Laken Riley&#8217;s killer than standing with hardworking Georgians,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia stated. “Ossoff never refuses a chance to use Georgians as political pawns. Ossoff must stop putting illegals first and end his DHS shutdown.”
ICE agents were sent to assist at airports across the nation on Monday, including Hartsfield-Jackson, as hundreds of TSA agents have called out or quit. The Atlanta airport alone had a callout rate of 41.5% on Sunday, according to <a href="https://x.com/krisvancleave/status/2036100167695507499?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a>.

One In Ten Airport Screeners Skip Work As Funding Fight Drags On

Travel Headaches Take On Political Weight — With A Critical Vote In Focus

Battleground Democrat Senator Slammed For Airport Fiasco In His State: 'Ridiculous'

2026 election

homeland security

Jon Ossoff

Senate

Some travelers spent as many as nine hours waiting in line at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, according to <a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/long-lines-out-door-atlanta-airport-ice-agents-arrive-assist-tsa/SIDSKEKZXJGHHNBXBYESLHHYVI/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WSB-TV</a>.
On Monday, the report noted that wait times ranged from four hours down to less than an hour depending on the time of day, as Americans continue to grow frustrated with the high number of TSA callouts. Essential DHS workers, like TSA agents, are forced to work without a paycheck due to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
“Due to TSA staffing constraints, ATL is continuing to see longer than normal wait times at security checkpoints,” the airport posted to X on Monday morning.
“Travelers are encouraged to arrive at least 4 hours early. We appreciate your patience and thank our federal and airport partners for their continued dedication,” the post continued.
According to Reuters, the Atlanta airport had a 41.5% callout rate for TSA agents, with other major airports having callout rates ranging from 20-40%. Hundreds of agents have quit their jobs entirely since the shutdown began in mid-February.
“As the Democrats’ DHS shutdown continues, many TSA officers are facing extraordinary financial hardship—forcing them to call out of work and take on side jobs to support their families,” the Department of Homeland Security posted to X on Monday regarding the <a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2036121763701002738?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">callout numbers</a>. “Democrats are hurting Americans—and they don&#8217;t care.”
Videos on social media also showed ICE agents deployed to assist TSA agents at the airport, along with other airports around the country, on Monday morning in hopes of speeding up the lines. Atlanta is considered the busiest airport in the entire country, as it is a hub for Delta Air Lines and is considered a major connection for travelers.
Trump noted on Monday morning that ICE agents will not be wearing masks at the airport, as it’s become commonplace for the agents to do so during immigration operations, as proponents argue that it prevents doxing.
“I am a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals, many of whom were let into our Country by Sleepy Joe Biden and his wonderful ‘Border Czar,’ Kamala (she never even went to the Border!), through their absolutely INSANE Open Border Policy,” he posted to Truth Social.
“I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc. Thank you!” he added.
It’s unclear when the shutdown will end, as Congress has yet to reach a deal to end the closure, which started because of disagreements over federal immigration enforcement policies.

Long lines form outside Atlanta International Airport

Travelers Spent Nine Hours In TSA Line As Major Hub Becomes DHS Shutdown Flashpoint

Congress

In what proved to be the kind of small divine intervention that gives one comfort the man upstairs is, indeed, looking out for them, I groggily awoke around 8:00 a.m. Sunday despite setting my alarm for 10:00 just a few hours before.
Southwest Airlines flight 1553 was scheduled to depart from New Orleans to D.C. at 12:35 p.m. This was the fourth time I was flying in six days, and I hadn&#8217;t had any TSA troubles yet. I planned to get to the airport a little earlier than usual, but nothing too crazy.
Before going back to sleep, I checked the bachelor party group chat, and everything changed. Our forward scout Will, who had booked a 5:50 a.m. flight home like an absolute psychopath, sent us photos from the TSA line around 4:00 a.m. Miles long. I quickly opened the Everything App (X) and searched &#8220;MSY&#8221;. Horror stories were quickly flooding in. I realized I had overlooked a key factor: spring break travelers.
Having been out on Bourbon Street until roughly 3:30 a.m. with the groom-to-be, my wits weren&#8217;t fully about me. I busted open the two tactical Excedrin Extra Strength packets I had stowed in my backpack for this very moment, swigged down the last bit of bottled drinking water I had, freshened up in the bathroom, and called my Uber.
I hurried downstairs and spotted one of my compatriots passed out face down on a couch. His flight was at noon. It was approaching 0845 CDT. It was over for him, so I left him behind — it&#8217;s what he would&#8217;ve wanted.
My Uber arrived and the real challenges began to stack up. My driver, pronouns stated in his Uber bio, was not aware there was a government shutdown affecting airport activity until I mentioned it.
&#8220;Are you f*cking sh*tting me? Again?&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/Dylan_Housman/status/2035717566815977677">he screamed</a>, immediately growing belligerent just moments after jovially asking me if we had gone to any &#8220;t*tty bars&#8221; (we did not).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In Uber to the airport. I broke the news to my driver that there is a DHS shutdown. He immediately started yelling about Trump, &#8220;we gotta yank this guy out of office man, he&#8217;s fucking up our country!&#8221;
The best argument against democracy is a conversation with the average voter
— Dylan Housman (@Dylan_Housman) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dylan_Housman/status/2035717566815977677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I explained to him it was just for DHS, which of course included TSA. &#8220;We gotta get this guy outta here man, he&#8217;s f*cking up our country!&#8221; he bellowed about President Trump. I didn&#8217;t have it in me to correct him. His blue delusion wouldn&#8217;t go far in deep red Louisiana anyway, and I was fighting for my life in the back seat of his Subaru.
We arrived at the airport. Southwest flight 1553 departed in three hours and 35 minutes. I entered the front door of the terminal and spotted the proverbial huddled masses, snaking in line after line around the floor. I glanced up to the second level, where the lines continued. I asked an employee where the line began, and she pointed me to the parking garage.
<div id="attachment_1064507" style="width: 442px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064507" class="wp-image-1064507 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-432x576.jpg" alt="" width="432" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-432x576.jpg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-225x300.jpg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016262-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" />Lines in the parking garage for TSA at the New Orleans airport. (Dylan Housman)</div>
I walked out to the garage and assumed my spot in the labyrinth. It snaked around floor P1 at least 4 times before making its way inside. I had received a heads-up about the garage situation from the groom, David, who had arrived a couple of hours prior for his 10:00 a.m. flight. He said he was still outside.
Despair and chaos have fully gripped the crowd. &#8220;My flight is boarding now,&#8221; I heard one man say to an airport employee nearby. &#8220;He&#8217;s a goner,&#8221; I turned around and said to the two men behind me. It turned out they would be in due course as well.
&#8220;Ground exfil is proceeding well,&#8221; read a text in the group chat from Hayden, who was making the eight-hour drive back to Nashville. Lucky bastard. There was no sign of the copious amounts of Ole Miss fraternity brothers and their dates we had met the night before, either. A six-hour drive back to Oxford sounded nice right about now.
One hour into the snake. Southwest flight 1553 departed in two hours and 10 minutes. I assume at this point I am thoroughly cooked and begin looking at alternative flight options.
Direct to DCA, Baltimore, or Dulles? Nothing.
One-stop connections? Nothing.
Flights from Baton Rouge, Mobile, or Lafayette? Nothing.
The reality of potentially spending my Sunday night at the New Orleans airport Hilton begins to set in.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve just got to make it through to the gates,&#8221; I say to myself. &#8220;So many people are gonna be missing flights, I&#8217;ll be able to get on something else on standby.&#8221;
Then David throws me yet another curveball. &#8220;They&#8217;re not letting anyone in who has missed their flight already,&#8221; he texted me. &#8220;I had to book a standby seat on a full flight just for TSA to let me through.&#8221;
There were no other flights for me to book, not even for standby. I hurriedly searched for the cheapest flight departing MSY that day in the evening, just so I would have a boarding pass to show the TSA legionnaire manning the scanner. $130 for a Frontier flight to LAX at 7:00 p.m., connecting via Midway, it was.
<div id="attachment_1064513" style="width: 442px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064513" class="wp-image-1064513 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-432x576.jpg" alt="" width="432" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-432x576.jpg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-225x300.jpg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/1000016265-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" />(Dylan Housman)</div>
Southwest flight 1553 departed in one hour and 20 minutes. I&#8217;ve reached the threshold of the airport terminal. A crying child snakes past me in the other direction with her family. Defeated passengers, left for dead, sit on the floor of the Hudson News shop inside. We get to the bottom of the escalator to head up to the *actual* TSA line, where I&#8217;m promptly cut off by a dreadlocked man with three small children. I decide not to call the police, for the sake of the children.
I can see the scanners. Maybe I actually will make it. The line is moving quickly.
&#8220;I need to see your boarding pass,&#8221; the TSA agent says. I show him. Southwest flight 1553, which is leaving in 40 minutes. I&#8217;m through. Bags in the bin. Water bottle poured out. Portable charger through the machine. On the other side, I emerge as my flight begins boarding.
I make it onto the flight as one of the last to board. Total time spent in the TSA line ended up at about two hours and 45 minutes. I spent the taxi time writing a letter to my senators, pleading for mercy to never experience this hell again.

1000016268

Drugs, Sweat, And Tears: My Fight Through Spring Break TSA Lines During The Democrat DHS Shutdown

New Orleans

Washington D.C.

This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute&#8217;s world-class team of scholars.
In this piece, <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/california-wallis-annenberg-wildlife-crossing-gavin-newsom">originally published in City Journal</a>, Christopher Rufo and Kenneth Schrupp dive into California&#8217;s over-budget animal bridge, a boondoggle that exposes the flaws in Governor Gavin Newsom&#8217;s approach to governance.
In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom broke ground on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing (WAWC), a project featuring an overpass for animals atop ten lanes of the 101 Freeway in Southern California. At the ceremony, Newsom boasted that the state had committed $54 million. He promised to “complete the job within another $10 million,” before seeming to hedge on whether that final sum would do the trick. Officials <a href="https://smmc.ca.gov/liberty-canyon-wildlife-corridor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">projected</a> a 2025 completion date for the overpass, and estimated that the entire project—which includes the bridge and other ancillary developments—would <a href="https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-7/district-7-projects/d7-101-annenberg-wildlife-crossing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost</a> $92 million, some of it coming from private philanthropists.
Nearly four years after the ceremony, the bridge is past due and the project <a href="https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2026-01-26/la-wallis-annenberg-wildlife-crossing-is-on-track-for-november-opening" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some</a> $21 million over budget. What was supposed to be the world’s largest wildlife crossing has become a jobs program for environmentalists, with taxpayers on the hook for what WAWC leader Beth Pratt told us is an overpass “for everything from monarch butterflies to mountain lions.”
Pratt, a cougar-sweater-<a href="https://www.noozhawk.com/wilderness-spirit-brunch-honors-human-beth-pratt-and-cougar-p-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wearing</a> environmental activist who <a href="https://101wildlifecrossing.org/partners-stakeholders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serves</a> on WAWC’s Partner Leadership Team, is the program’s public face. She is also a regional executive <a href="https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Leadership/Beth-Pratt-Bergstrom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">director</a> of the National Wildlife Federation. In 2021, the group <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2021/05-14-21-Annenberg-Foundation-Wildlife-Crossing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> a $25 million grant from “Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation” for the bridge that bears the late philanthropist’s name.
That money apparently was not enough. This past January, donning a hard hat and a “#SAVELACOUGARS” jersey, Pratt announced a possible $21 million overage. She effectively <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=916599217377224" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> President Trump, attributing the multimillion-dollar overrun to “tariffs, inflation, [and] labor problems.”
“There’s no boondoggle,” she said. “Given the times we’re living in,” a potential $21 million overage is “not that bad.”
In response to our request for comment on the cost increases, Pratt argued that they were consistent with those faced by other construction projects.
Within days of Pratt’s announcement, the California Transportation Commission <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/02/02/california-closes-in-on-completing-the-worlds-largest-wildlife-crossing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">funneled</a> another $18.8 million to the project, well exceeding the governor’s $10 million cap. The project’s total price tag now <a href="https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2026-01-26/la-wallis-annenberg-wildlife-crossing-is-on-track-for-november-opening" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaches</a> about $114 million, reportedly including some $77 million in state <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/climate/california-mountain-lions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.K1A.-9if.eoqUNFE3ikzX&amp;amp;smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">funds</a>. Newsom’s office <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/02/02/california-closes-in-on-completing-the-worlds-largest-wildlife-crossing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed</a> us to a press release in response to our request for comment.
Why has a project primarily consisting of a <a href="https://101wildlifecrossing.org/crossing-faq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bridge</a> for animals cost over $100 million? One reason is that Newsom and WAWC’s philanthropic supporters apparently don’t mind it becoming a patronage program. As the WAWC-<a href="https://wildlifecrossingfund.org/california-wildlife-reconnected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsing</a> Wildlife Crossing Fund notes, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rd-xEKMC0FCDPRwDEgCvXJrjCLS431Dy/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">citing</a> the California Department of Transportation’s estimate, “for every $1 billion spent” on wildlife crossings, “13,000 jobs are created.”
Some of these jobs are absurd. The National Wildlife Federation’s WAWC website <a href="https://101wildlifecrossing.org/crossing-faq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claims</a> that “[o]ur Native Plant Nursery”—apparently <a href="https://samofund.org/wildlife-crossing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">funded</a> by the nonprofit SAMO Fund and other “partners”—“has prioritized hiring Indigenous team members to help steward the plants that will vegetate the bridge.” The nursery’s co-manager <a href="https://youtu.be/zLcfau1I3_4?si=pyMSbBRjv4x3uQMF&amp;t=414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> she makes an “offering” after collecting seeds, sometimes including pieces of her hair.
Or consider the ways one of the nursery workers and her associates have spent their time. The nursery’s founding manager <a href="https://youtu.be/zLcfau1I3_4?si=kfrzqW220co-6iEj&amp;t=222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked </a>with “helpers and volunteers” to “seed scout[]” across the Santa Monica Mountains. Her associates on the “design team” received “feedback from all the various project partners”—including state and federal bureaucrats—for their plant list.
<h4 dir="ltr"><a href="https://manhattan.institute/subscribe?utm_source=DailyWire&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=reihan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for more from the Manhattan Institute.</a></h4>
A group of experts apparently adds to the operation’s expense. A fungi whiz, Pratt says, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/101wildlifecrossing/posts/from-beth-pratt-i-found-this-really-weird-looking-fungus-in-my-yard-in-the-sierr/1222140663280746" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked</a> as a WAWC habitat designer, periodically <a href="https://youtu.be/zLcfau1I3_4?si=BCpw_81tBakfpUuh&amp;t=597" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutinizing</a> root samples under a microscope. A <a href="https://www.aol.com/news/worlds-largest-wildlife-crossing-finally-100025034.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contracted</a> soil scientist <a href="https://youtu.be/zLcfau1I3_4?si=XXwO9pCrNeK1U_V3&amp;t=758" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> his process involves assessing local dirt to “rebuild it . . . as close to nature as possible.”
One reason California supposedly needs this overpass is to ensure the safety and genetic diversity of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, where only about a dozen non-kitten cougars <a href="https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/nature/pumapage.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">live</a> at any given time. While bridge proponents <a href="https://savelacougars.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim</a> that the local mountain lion population could otherwise face extinction, researchers suggest the bridge is not the only solution to ensure their survival.
According to a 2016 <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/283/1837/20160957/78213/Interactions-between-demography-genetics-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper</a> published by the Royal Society, the mountain lion population living in and around the Santa Monica Mountains is “demographically vigorous.” Still, the paper argues, the population could face “rapid extinction” if it becomes less genetically diverse.
California Governor Gavin Newsom at the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Groundbreaking Celebration in 2022 (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for The National Wildlife Foundation)
While bridge proponents have <a href="https://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/news/local-mountain-lion-population-faces-precipitous-decline-in-genetic-diversity-within-50-years-possible-extinction.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> this study, the researchers say adding just one new mountain lion to the population per generation was apparently sufficient to reduce extinction risk. If Newsom and the philanthropists were really interested in protecting these lions, $114 million could likely <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fund</a> translocations for thousands of years.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Newsom envisioned WAWC as a catalyst for the construction of wildlife crossings across the state. California, he boasted, set aside $105 million “to replicate projects like this all up and down the state.” Pratt reportedly thinks “<a href="https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/wildlife-crossings-california-public-private-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hundreds</a> more crossings are needed.”
Californians can’t afford it. The Newsom administration <a href="https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">projects</a> a $2.9 billion budget deficit for 2026–2027. The state legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal advisor had published steeper estimates and <a href="https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the deficit could rise to $35 billion in coming years.
If the state wants to fund a nine-figure overpass project for animals, it should turn to the Annenberg Foundation, which holds <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/236257083" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.27 billion</a> in net assets. (The foundation did not respond to our request for comment.) California taxpayers shouldn’t have to spend another cent. Gavin Newsom, unfortunately, seems committed to bankrolling what for now is a multimillion-dollar bridge to nowhere.
<a href="https://www.city-journal.org/person/christopher-f-rufo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christopher F. Rufo</a> is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and the author of <a href="https://manhattan.institute/book/americas-cultural-revolution-how-the-radical-left-conquered-everything" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">America’s Cultural Revolution</a>. <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/person/kenneth-schrupp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kenneth Schrupp</a> is an investigative reporter at City Journal.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom’s $114 Million Butterfly Bridge

California

Environmentalism

Airline CEOs are calling on Congress to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown as travelers face longer lines at the airport, and TSA agents are struggling to make ends meet while working without pay.
The department has faced a lapse in funding since Feb. 14 over a dispute regarding federal immigration enforcement policies. TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA are among the most heavily impacted agencies, as the Trump administration’s immigration agenda was already largely funded through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last year.
“Americans-who live in your districts and home states-are tired of long lines at airports, travel delays and flight cancellations caused by shutdown after shutdown,” the letter addressed to Congress said, which was signed by the CEOs of Alaska Air Group, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta, Southwest, Fedex, United, JetBlue, and UPS, as well as Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu. The letter was first published in The Washington Post, according to a <a href="https://www.airlines.org/news/airline-ceos-open-letter-to-congress-published-in-the-washington-post/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>.
“Yet, once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown,” the letter added, saying that the “problem is solvable.”
The letter released on Sunday comes as travelers are headed throughout the United States and around the globe for spring break vacations. The White House confirmed to The Daily Wire last week that 300 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown started, as the essential government employees received an empty paycheck this cycle. The Denver International Airport even asked people to consider giving $10 and $20 grocery store and gas station gift cards to TSA agents. Starting pay for agents can sometimes be under $40,000 a year.
“TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It&#8217;s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid,” the letter added.
“But too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long-and painfully slow-lines at checkpoints. Wait times of 2, 3 and even 4 hours have been reported. Airlines are doing everything we can to mitigate disruption by holding flights for late passengers and rebooking others,” it added.
Talks to end the shutdown have appeared minimal as of late last week, with Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), the top Republican negotiator on the issue, saying that Democrats have yet to come to the table, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mounting-frustration-as-senate-dems-dig-in-on-dhs-shutdown?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hundreds+Of+TSA+Workers+Quit+As+Dems+Dig+In+On+Shutdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> reported.
“TSA officers have gone 74 days without a paycheck in FY26 because of Democrats’ two shutdowns. This is absolutely unacceptable,” Britt posted to X on Monday in response to the airline CEOs&#8217; letter. “Democrats need to end their political posturing, stop using our TSA agents as political pawns, and fully fund DHS.”
However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted last week that “Democrats are ready to fund TSA. Republicans are blocking it. Democrats are ready to fund CISA. Republicans are blocking it. Democrats are ready to fund FEMA. And Coast Guard. Republicans are blocking it.”

Landing in sunset hues, airplane landing at sunrise.

Airline CEOs Send Warning As Americans Face 4-Hour Airport Lines

Airlines

United Airlines is getting a lot of support from fed-up flyers for its new policy, which would require passengers to use their devices with headphones or risk being permanently banned from the airline. 
The new rule was added to United’s contract of carriage terms under its “refusal to transport” section in late February. At the time, the airline didn’t draw attention to the small tweak, but CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/united-airlines-remove-passengers-who-dont-wear-headphones/">reported</a> on the change earlier this week. 
United&#8217;s new rules say they may &#8220;refuse transport, on a permanent basis&#8221; any passengers who &#8220;fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content.” 
The airline had already been encouraging headphone use for passengers. &#8220;Don&#8217;t worry if you forget your headphones for your flight. If they&#8217;re available, you can request free earbuds,&#8221; it says on the official <a href="https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/inflight/inflight-entertainment.html">website</a>.
A spokesperson for United confirmed the change, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/04/lifestyle/united-airlines-updates-contract-of-carriage-rules-to-force-flyers-to-use-headphone-when-using-devices/">per</a> NY Post. “We’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content — and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones,” the spokesperson said. “With the expansion of Starlink, it seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage.”
The policy change was popular among social media users, with many questioning why the practice wasn’t standard across the airline industry.
“If anyone around you can hear any noise coming out of your phone, ever at all, you should be arrested and flogged and then thrown into the Pacific,” Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh <a href="https://x.com/mattwalshblog/status/2029542961025822966?s=43">observed</a>.
“The inane world we’re living in where we have to make this a RULE instead of accepting it as common sense and a courtesy to other humans…,” a second person <a href="https://x.com/BroadsideBrief/status/2029555092177727871">agreed</a>.
“I don&#8217;t get it,” a third person chimed in. “Why do people actually feel the need to use speakers? I never did and never will. Don&#8217;t they know how disturbing it is? I see many people using speakers while talking on the phone like they are the only person in this world.”
Travel expert Scott Keyes told CBS News that only a small minority of travelers violate this standard of decorum, but the comments prove that the policy was needed.
&#8220;This is in line with how the vast majority of travelers comport themselves and would like others to comport themselves,&#8221; he told the outlet. &#8220;It&#8217;s usually only a small number of folks on airplanes who are making noise by not using headphones, so this is a graceful way to handle those folks.&#8221;

Airplane headphones

United Airlines Threatens To Ban Passengers Who Make Noisy Faux Pas

United Airlines

Menu