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In the news today: Markwayne Mullin confirmed to lead Homeland Security as the airport security standoff intensifies; Trump says the U.S. and Iran are talking, but Iran calls that “fakenews”; and the “total miracle” of the flight attendant who survived being thrown from the LaGuardia plane crash. Also, rhinos make a comeback on land where they were extinct for decades.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., testifies during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Wednesday, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

POLITICS

Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin to lead Homeland Security as TSA standoff deepens

The Senate confirmed him as homeland security secretary late Monday, approving President Donald Trump’s nominee to take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a public backlash over the administration’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close friendship with Trump, has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news. He takes over at a difficult time as Trump has ordered ICE agents to bolster airport security during a budget standoff in Congress.
  
  

• Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay. Democrats are demanding the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.
  
  

• Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote, 54-45. Republican Sen. Rand Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote, and again Monday. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined the other Republicans in voting to confirm the nominee.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• California Democrats condemn immigration arrest at San Francisco airport
  
  
• Senators consider deal to fund Homeland Security but not ICE enforcement as airport lines snarl
  
  
• ICE officers aren’t trained in airport security. Can they help ease long lines?
  
  
• Some state officials say shifting mail ballot deadline will complicate plans for November elections
  
  
• Pentagon will remove media offices after judge reinstates New York Times press credentials
  
  
• Voice of America journalists allege Trump wants to make outlet a propaganda source
  
  
• Trump administration to pay French company $1B to walk away from US offshore wind leases
  
  
• Judge appoints new US attorney for New Jersey after Habba, other officials were disqualified
  
  
• Bureau plans to use mail carriers in census test already facing criticism
  
  
• Judge cites ‘stand your ground’ law in clearing 3 more Florida officers in shooting of a UPS driver
  
  
• Nebraska seeks to end retroactive Medicaid coverage. Hospitals say it will have ‘disastrous’ impact
  
  
• Trump makes a detour to Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis during Iran war

WORLD NEWS

Trump says US and Iran are talking. Iran calls that ‘fakenews’

President Donald Trump started the fourth week of his war against Iran by offering the world some guarded optimism that the U.S. could soon be winding operations down, a claim that markets cheered but Iranian officials dismissed as a ploy to buy time for a conflict that is causing economic pain around the globe. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Trump decided to hold back on targeting Iran’s critical infrastructure, Trump explained, because his envoys, son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, had “very good” talks over the weekend with unnamed “respected” Iranian officials on ending hostilities.
  
  

• “No negotiations have been held with the US,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, posted on X. “And fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Iran’s parliament speaker is floated as a possible US contact in talks as war rages
  
  
• Big worries grow as fuel prices surge globally
  
  
• Live updates: Egypt minister and US envoy discuss potential Iran negotiations
  
  
• WATCH: UNESCO concern about impact of war on important historical sites in Iran
  
  
• Photos show life in Israel’s bomb shelters during the Iran war

US NEWS

Flight attendant thrown from LaGuardia plane crash survives in ‘total miracle’

A flight attendant still strapped in her seat survived being thrown from an Air Canada plane that collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, her daughter said Monday. It’s a “total miracle,” Sarah Lepine told Canadian news station TVA Nouvelles. Read more.

What to know:

• Lepine said her mother, Solange Tremblay, has multiple fractures to one leg and will need surgery but otherwise is OK. An aviation safety expert said she likely was helped by being in a seat with a four-point restraint used by crew members. “I’m still trying to understand how all this happened,” Lepine said, “but she definitely has a guardian angel watching over her.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• More stories of survival emerge from deadly collision
  
  
• LaGuardia crash underscores pressures on already strained air traffic control workforce

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