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Democrats broke airport security. Now they’re calling the solution dangerous
Air travel in the United States is in crisis because of policy failures that have escalated from a nuisance into a national crisis. At Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world, passengers faced security lines stretching for hours as TSA callout rates hit the highest since the shutdown began, with more than 3,200 officers nationwide failing to report to work. As the system buckles under this strain, the Trump administration is deploying ICE officers to stabilize operations, a practical response that has triggered immediate outrage from Democrats claiming it is unsafe or unlawful. The reality, however, is political: Democrats are leveraging the crisis to block standalone TSA funding unless ICE and Customs and Border Protection budgets are cut, turning stranded travelers into pawns in a broader fight over federal priorities.
This type of brinkmanship is irresponsible and a national security risk. Airports are designed for efficiency and convenience, but they are also high-risk, high-value targets that require structured, coordinated federal oversight to ensure screening, identity verification, perimeter control, and threat detection. As staffing levels collapse, internal pressure increases and vulnerabilities emerge, creating risks adversaries can exploit.
Political leverage is being applied to the most sensitive parts of our national infrastructure, and Americans are feeling the direct consequences. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that Democrats are refusing to pass standalone TSA funding unless Republicans strip all funding from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Plainly, this means American security is being used as a bargaining chip in a broader political fight over immigration policy, and travelers are being forced to absorb the fallout.
TRUMP DEMANDS ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT’ BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS
As the country faces a Democrat-manufactured strain on airport operations, President Trump ordered the deployment of ICE officers to help stabilize airports, prompting immediate and predictable claims that the move is unsafe or unlawful. Those claims are patently false. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Ice officers operate with full federal authority to question, detain, and arrest removable individuals in the United States. The Homeland Security Act grants DHS broad authority to allocate personnel across its components to secure transportation systems. There is no statute requiring that only TSA personnel perform functions such as identity verification, perimeter security, or line management. Under this broad authority, DHS retains the ability to reallocate federal personnel in a crisis, making clear that Democrats are raising a political objection, not a legal one. This authority has always existed under federal law.
And beyond the politics, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries escalated the rhetoric with outright fearmongering. Appearing on CNN, he warned that deploying ICE agents to airports could result in them “brutalizing or, in some instances, kill” travelers. That is not a legal argument grounded in statute or even reality. It is a political narrative used to block a crisis response.
What this moment exposes is an inconsistency in how Democrats treat federal enforcement authority. They accept it when it suits them and reject it as unlawful when it doesn’t. House Democrats have voted for bills that provide billions to fund ICE and DHS operations, and 75 House Democrats supported a resolution expressing gratitude for ICE’s role in protecting the homeland. Democratic leadership has repeatedly voted to keep DHS funded, including ICE, despite backlash from their own base. However, now the officers are too dangerous to assist with routine airport functions. That contradiction is impossible to ignore.
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Even within the administration, there has been discussion about how best to implement the deployment. Border Czar Tom Homan made clear that ICE agents aren’t trained to operate X-Ray machines but will be assigned to non-screening roles, such as securing exits or assisting with basic security functions to free up TSA officers for screening duties. At the same time, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that ICE officers are trained federal law enforcement personnel capable of supporting airport security. That operational distinction is worth discussing but does not support the claim that the deployment is unlawful.
The more important question is what happens next. There is no clear path to resolution, and TSA staffing will not recover overnight. If Democrats continue to use funding as leverage, the strain on airport operations will persist, forcing a choice between allowing critical infrastructure to degrade or deploying the federal resources already available to stabilize it. This is the direct consequence of turning operational capacity into a political bargaining tool.
While headlines may continue to focus on airport delays, what is happening at airports is a real-time test of whether the federal government can function under pressure. If political actors withhold funding, manufacture operational strain, and then block lawful solutions to extract policy concessions, that playbook will not stop at the TSA. It will extend to border security, disaster response, law enforcement, and every other system where federal resources can be leveraged for political gain. The truth is that the law has not changed, the authority has always existed, and the surrounding outrage is manufactured.
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Kylie Jenner’s BFF shows off new silhouette as top surgeons declare the era of exaggerated curves is over
Stassie Karanikolaou’s decision to reverse her Brazilian butt lift is fueling new questions about whether the era of exaggerated curves is coming to an end.
Karanikolaou was spotted enjoying the Miami sun wearing a fiery red bikini before the Formula One Grand Prix. The 28-year-old influencer, showing off a noticeably different silhouette, sparked fresh questions, as experts point to a growing shift toward more natural results. Karanikolaou, who remains a part of Kylie Jenner’s inner circle, confirmed her “a– reduction” in October and shared her recovery experience on TikTok.
“From what I’ve seen, this a– looks nice, lifted and smaller,” Karanikolaou told her 4.3 million followers. “I’m so excited to be healed and to feel more comfortable in my skin.”
She first opened up about reversing her Brazilian butt lift in May 2025 as she prepared for surgery. Reflecting on what led her to get the procedure in the first place, Karanikolaou pointed to outside pressure and fleeting beauty standards.
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The look Karanikolaou once embraced was popularized by high-profile celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian, whose curvier silhouettes dominated beauty ideals for years.
“I felt just the pressure of the world that we live in and the trend of the times,” she said on her “Better Half” podcast, later warning, “Do not surgically alter your body for a trend at a time because just know that the trend is only going to be relevant for a little bit.”
Her experience comes as plastic surgeons tell Fox News Digital that the era of dramatic BBLs may be fading.
“I am seeing more patients requesting natural, timeless results,” Dr. Stephanie Farber explained. She noted that patients are increasingly moving away from “exaggerated, dramatic” results in favor of a more natural look.
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Dr. Omar Tillo echoed the shift, saying, “We are definitely seeing preferences change.”
“A few years ago, there was a big focus on very dramatic results, whereas now more patients are asking for a shape that looks softer and more natural,” the Creo Clinic surgeon explained.
Surgeons said patients are increasingly prioritizing results that do not interfere with their day-to-day routines. Dr. Farber pointed to a growing cultural trend that has pushed a focus on wellness, fitness and longevity. Patients today are more informed about aesthetics and tend to favor subtle, balanced results that will age well over time, according to the board-certified plastic surgeon.
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“With more patients consciously choosing to live a healthy, balanced life, it is important to them that their surgical results do not interfere with their fitness routine, clothing choices, and other aspects of their lives,” Dr. Farber added. “Again, this applies to the rise in requests for breast reductions, small breast augmentations, high-definition liposuction and micro BBL. Overall, more patients are gravitating toward understated, natural results that age well and that fit into an active lifestyle.”
Dr. Tillo explained, “Aesthetic trends move quickly, especially when celebrities and social media are involved.”
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“We’re now seeing more people wanting results that fit their body naturally rather than going for extreme volume,” he added. “Patients are also much more informed than they used to be when it comes to recovery, long-term maintenance, and surgical risk.”
But doctors cautioned that undoing those results is not always straightforward. Depending on the original technique and a patient’s anatomy, Dr. Farber said reversal could involve a combination of liposuction and skin tightening.
“Revision surgery can sometimes be more complicated because you’re dealing with previous surgery, scar tissue, and changes to the body that have already taken place,” Dr. Tillo added. “Every case is different, which is why it’s important that patients are properly assessed by an experienced surgeon before moving forward.”
That added complexity can also come at a higher price. Experts said revision procedures are often more time-intensive and may require multiple treatments, making them more expensive than the original surgery. This is a reality that underscores Karanikolaou’s warning about chasing short-lived trends.
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UFC boss Dana White exposes the ‘rudest’ celebrity he’s ever met after incident involving his niece
Dana White is pulling no punches when it comes to naming the rudest celebrity he has ever met.
The UFC boss blasted Sean “Diddy” Combs in a fiery retelling of an encounter that White said left a young family member intimidated and upset.
The disgraced rap mogul is currently serving prison time after his federal prostitution-related conviction.
“Who’s the rudest celebrity you’ve ever met?” host Katie Miller asked on her podcast.
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“Ooh, that’s a good question. What a great question. Let me really think about this so I can really f—ing stick it to whoever it was … Oh, Diddy. 100%. The biggest d—–bag ever,” White replied.
White detailed an uncomfortable run-in involving his young niece at one of Tony Hawk’s celebrity charity events years ago.
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“Tony Hawk used to have these charity events and when my kids were little, you’d go to these charity events and lots of celebrities would be there. So, everybody would do things for each other’s kids,” White explained.
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“So, I had my niece at one of them and Diddy shows up … and my niece was all excited like, ‘Oh my God, P. Diddy’s here,’ and whatever. I said, ‘Awesome. Yeah, go take a picture with him.’”
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“She comes back, and I’m like, ‘Did you get a picture?’ She’s like, ‘No, they were scary.’ You know, the guy’s there with f—ing 10 security guards, right? You need security at a f—ing kids’ event? And then they were rude to her and scared her.”
He continued, “That’s who’s listening to your f—ing s—ty music, OK? That’s who’s listening to this. Are you f—ing kidding me? And that’s how you’re going to treat some girl that’s a fan and wanted a picture with you?”
White added that he knew Conor McGregor had also been a fan of Diddy, but after meeting him at a UFC event, he “wanted to punch him in the face.”
White’s scathing comments come after Diddy’s explosive federal criminal case.
After his September 2024 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, Diddy became the center of a sprawling criminal case fueled by lawsuits, misconduct allegations and hotel surveillance video appearing to show him assaulting former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
A jury later convicted the rapper on two prostitution-related transportation charges while acquitting him of racketeering and sex trafficking. He was sentenced to 50 months in prison and fined $500,000.
He is currently scheduled for release in May 2028 from the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
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NYC suspect freed from psych hold hours before fatal subway shoving of 76-year-old former teacher
32-year-old Rhamell Burke had just been released from a psych ward when he allegedly shoved an elderly man down a flight of stairs to his death Thursday night in Manhattan, according to the New York Post.
Cops detained Burke and took him to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday afternoon, a New York Police Department source told Fox News Digital.
The officers reportedly marked him down as an “emotionally disturbed person,” according to the Post.
But a little over an hour later, Burke was released. Five hours after that, Burke allegedly pushed 76-year-old former teacher Ross Falzone down a flight of subway stairs in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, killing the elderly man, an NYPD source confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Police told the Post that Burke had been “acting erratically” outside an NYPD station house when they arrested him. He was allegedly wielding a stick that he had grabbed from a garbage can.
NYC MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER ALLEGEDLY SHOVING COMMUTER IN PATH OF SUBWAY
“We brought him in at 3:30 p.m. and he was released just before 5 p.m. Meanwhile, if you or I walked into Bellevue for a headache, it would take 8 hours just to be seen. NYPD uses its involuntary removal powers all the time. And they just get right out with an Advil,” one high-ranking NYPD officer reportedly told the Post.
Officers reportedly found Falzone unconscious and unresponsive and rushed him to Bellevue where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities said he had suffered a traumatic brain injury, right rib fracture and spinal fracture, according to the Post.
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“He’s just a helpless old guy. What a cowardly and idiotic thing to do,” Falzone’s neighbor Marc Stager told the Post.
When officers arrested Burke on Thursday, it was his fifth arrest of 2026. He had been picked up for alleged robbery, resisting arrest and allegedly assaulting a Port Authority police officer in February and was also arrested on charges of allegedly assaulting a stranger in April, according to the Post.
“There’s no amount of anger that we can express, and shock,” Falzone’s sister, Donna, told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “I mean, to get a call like that at 4 in the morning, you know, just, you know, to find out your brother’s minding his own business, three witnesses, and push down the steps and left for dead.”
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Donna also revealed that her brother was a retired special education teacher with a doctorate from Columbia University.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a city probe into Bellevue’s handling of Burke’s psychiatric evaluation in the wake of the killing.
“I am horrified by the killing of Ross Falzone and the circumstances that led to it. I extend my condolences to his loved ones,” Mamdani said in a statement.
“New Yorkers deserve answers. That is why I’ve directed NYC Health + Hospitals to conduct both an immediate investigation on what steps should have been taken to prevent this tragedy and a comprehensive review of their psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols,” he said.
Fox News Digital contacted the NYPD, the mayor’s office and Bellevue Hospital for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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