American travelers across the nation are facing hours-long security lines as TSA workers continue to receive empty paychecks.

LaGuardia Airport in New York City, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and many other airports have had wait times of over 2.5 hours.

Now, some domestic passengers are “hacking the system” by going through international TSA lines, while others are taking advantage of touchless ID.

VIDEO CAPTURES CRAZY AIRPORT CROWDS AS PASSENGERS POUR INTO TERMINAL AFTER SECURITY CHECKPOINTS CLOSE

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta on Tuesday cautioned travelers about delays in an X-post — and called out passengers for attempting to hack the system.

“We are seeing increased congestion at the International Terminal Checkpoint caused by domestic travelers attempting to bypass lines in the Domestic Terminal,” wrote airport officials. 

Some passengers are skipping long lines by using PreCheck’s touchless ID or hopping onto international TSA security lines. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“If you are flying domestically, please use the Domestic Security Checkpoints. At this time, wait times at the International Checkpoint are longer than those at the Domestic Terminal.”

A TSA worker and union representative in Oakland, California, Joseph Cerletti, told Fox News Digital in an interview that it’s “very unfortunate that people are trying to hack the system.”

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He added, “It shouldn’t be like this. I feel really bad for the traveling public. TSA funding needs to be prioritized immediately as [it’s] a national security issue.”

Many travelers who have TSA PreCheck are taking advantage of the touchless ID program, which “enhances the security screening process with facial comparison technology for faster, more efficient identity verification,” according to TSA’s website.

“TSA funding needs to be prioritized immediately as [it’s] a national security issue,” said a TSA union representative to Fox News Digital.  (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Participants must opt in by creating a profile through their airline by uploading their valid passport information.

“Follow airport signs to the dedicated TSA PreCheck Touchless ID queue,” reads the TSA website. 

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“When your face is all you need to verify your identity, there’s no fumbling with physical documents.”

Photo and personal data are deleted within 24 hours of passengers’ scheduled flight departures.

“The longer this goes [on], the worse the situation is gonna get on a day-by-day basis,” said one TSA worker.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“I think Touchless ID is the best idea for people who want to skip the line,” said Cerletti. 

“The longer this goes, the worse the situation is gonna get on a day by day basis,” he added. 

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TSA PreCheck Touchless ID will be at 65 airports by spring 2026, according to the TSA.

Cerletti said some officers are having very tough conversations with their landlords or with their banks.

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“You have cell phone bills, you have gas, you have groceries, you have car insurance. That [list] doesn’t even account for rent or mortgage,” he said.

“We deal with millions of people every day,” he added, “and TSA [agents] have to make millions of right decisions every day. We have nearly 25 years in protecting this country. And funding TSA immediately would be good for the country. And again, the Democrats are nowhere near making a deal right now.”

The creators of “Love Story” struggled to find a modern actor who could portray the ‘80s-era masculinity of JFK Jr., to the point they nearly had to shut down production.

The FX limited series “Love Story” dramatizes the 1990s romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette before their deaths in 1999. The show has also faced its fair share of controversies since its release. But even before it officially premiered, the show had a major hurdle to overcome as its creators encountered America’s modern crisis of masculinity.

Executive producer Brad Simpson spoke about this directly to People magazine last month, in an interview that resurfaced thanks to the conservative women’s news outlet Evie Magazine.

“JFK [Jr.] was hard,” Simpson said. “We were three weeks away from shooting and we still [had] not cast him. We’d seen every male actor between the age of 25 and 38. [Creator] Connor [Hines] was coming in every day with models he’d found on Instagram, sending cold emails.”

LAST PERSON TO SEE JFK JR ALIVE REVEALS CHILLING PREMONITION ABOUT HIS FATAL FLIGHT THAT NIGHT

Paul Anthony Kelly at FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” Red Carpet Premiere held at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 3, 2026, in New York, New York.  (Adela Loconte/Variety via Getty Images)

Fellow executive producer Connor Hines told the same news outlet that he was desperate to find a good fit for the role, to the point he was “approaching people on the street, at the gym, ‘Would you like to read for John? Please. We need him.'”

While the series has become a cultural phenomenon, Simpson recalled that the struggle to cast the role brought the show to the very brink, saying, “We were about to shut down production and pause because we couldn’t find him.”

Actor Paul Anthony Kelly is somewhat of a newcomer to mainstream fame, but was seen as a perfect choice because he not only looks like JFK Jr. did, but also has one other rare quality that even seasoned Hollywood creators struggled to find in the acting world.

The magazine summarized, “It wasn’t an issue of not liking the actors who were in the running, Simpson says, but there was simply something missing with all of them until they saw Kelly.”

“Part of it was just that sort of ’80s, old school masculinity — a man with hair on his chest, sort of Richard Gere, Tom Selleck, the classic chiseled looks — we’re not making those guys anymore, for some reason, and he really needed to have that,” Simpson said.

BROOKE SHIELDS MAKES RARE PUBLIC COMMENT ABOUT JFK JR’S KISSING SKILLS DECADES AFTER BRIEF FLING

The show’s creators recalled having great difficulty casting the beloved American icon, both in terms of his particularly good looks and his 1980s-era masculine appeal. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images)

Kelly was among a final group of potential choices who were called in to read from the script in person, as was done in the past in what the creators called an “old-fashioned screen test.”

“I remember at the screen test, one of the hair and makeup people passed by me, and was like, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t cast him,'” Simpson said of Kelly’s audition. “It was just clear that he was JFK.”

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The series has faced its fair share of controversies and its hurdles in production, as it bases its story on fairly recent cultural events from only a few decades ago. (Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

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Chuck Norris once credited his mother for saving his “soul” when he needed it the most.

In May 2021, the late actor and martial artist wished his mom a happy 100th birthday in an article published on World Net Daily, where he thanked her for staying by his side through the highs and lows of his life.

“My mother has prayed for me all my life, through thick and thin,” he wrote. “When I was born, I almost died from complications. When nearly losing my soul to Hollywood a few decades ago, she was back home praying for my success and salvation. She even prayed for me to find a woman to change my life, and it worked.”

Norris first found success as a martial artist, earning black belts in multiple disciplines before transitioning to acting in 1972 when he appeared opposite Bruce Lee in “Enter the Dragon.”

CHUCK NORRIS’ DEATH INSPIRES TRIBUTES AS SYLVESTER STALLONE, JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME LEAD HOLLYWOOD REACTIONS

Norris credits his mom for saving his “soul” when he forgot his faith during Hollywood fame. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

He then starred as the main character in “Walker, Texas Ranger” from 1993 to 2001.

In the birthday tribute to his mother, he said she “has been an example of perseverance and faith her whole life,” and opened up about how he lost his way for a short time during his career as an actor.

“I’ve always maintained my faith throughout my martial arts, movie, and television careers, but there was also a time when I lost my way. As resilient as I thought I was, I swallowed the hook of the Hollywood lifestyle,” he wrote in his book, “Official Chuck Norris Fact [Joke] Book.”

“Mom continued to pray for me throughout those years, and I’m convinced that’s how and why God brought Gena into my life,” he added, referencing his wife of nearly 30 years, Gena O’Kelley. “She is a beacon of God’s light and love, just as my mom is. Gena brought me back to my childhood faith – in which compromise was unbecoming, transparency was a virtue, humility was required, and belief was daily practiced.”

Norris found success in Hollywood following his appearance in the 1972 film, “Enter the Dragon.” (Getty Images)

He further elaborated on his journey back to his faith in an interview with “The 700 Club,” explaining how the death of his friend, Lee Atwater, started him on the right path.

When visiting his dying friend, Norris said Atwater told him to “trust in the Lord.” Norris noted that while the moment brought him to tears, he “was still so wrapped up in” Hollywood “and trying to be more successful in my acting,” that he allowed the words to “slide out of the side of my head there.”

“Finally, my best friend said, ‘You have got to get your act together. You are really not a happy guy. There’s a woman I want you to meet. I’m going to invite her to Dallas,'” he said.

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The girl in Dallas happened to be O’Kelley, whom he met in 1997. They were married in November 1998, and they welcomed twins Dakota and Danilee in 2001.

He is also a father to Mike, Eric and Dina Norris.

Norris credits his wife for bringing him back to his faith. (Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)

In an October 2006 article on World Net Daily, Norris addressed the many jokes made about him, such as “When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.” He referred to one which referred to him as “Superman,” saying while he “didn’t always” realize he wasn’t, he does now.

“As a six-time world karate champion and then a movie star, I put too much trust in who I was, what I could do and what I acquired,” he wrote. “I forgot how much I needed others and especially God. Whether we are famous or not, we all need God. We also need other people.”

Norris’ Christian values led to him founding the martial arts program Kickstart Kids, a Texas-based nonprofit operating primarily within Texas public schools, in 1990, in partnership with President George H. W. Bush.

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It first launched in 1992 in four schools and now operates in 58 schools across the state. Since launching over 30 years ago, more than 120,000 students have been through the program.

Norris founded Kickstart Kids in 1990. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

“Our unique multi-year, intensity progressive values curriculum is delivered in the form of videos, stories and group discussion,” the website states. “Through this layered methodology, Kickstart Kids teaches students to be respectful, self-disciplined, driven, confident, and hardworking. It builds resilience for the individual, loyalty for the team, and compassion for their fellow students.”

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The Trump administration’s anticipated multibillion-dollar funding request to bolster its Iran campaign could face resistance from GOP fiscal hawks.

Though congressional Republicans have been broadly supportive of the Trump administration’s conflict in Iran, some conservatives are drawing a red line that an emergency cash infusion, known as a supplemental, cannot increase budget deficits. Multiple House Freedom Caucus members, for example, told Fox News Digital that such a funding bill would have to be made up for by cutting spending elsewhere.

“I think the big thing there is going to be making sure that there’s a pay-for,” Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital. 

“I’d like to see how this is paid for,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said, adding that he’d like to see Iran ultimately cover the costs. 

TRUMP RALLIES DEFENSE TITANS TO SURGE WEAPONS OUTPUT AS IRAN WAR RAGES

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., pauses for questions from reporters as he arrives for an early closed-door Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Neither the president nor Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth has attempted to dispute reports Thursday that the administration is considering an infusion of roughly $200 billion to help finance the Iran campaign and restore depleted munitions. However, no formal request has been sent to congressional leaders yet.

“Our national debt just surpassed $39 trillion. A potential supplemental for Operation Epic Fury — or any supplemental funding for that matter — must be offset,” Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital when asked about the prospective $200 billion request. 

Clyde said he supported the mission but that any resources Congress signs off on must be done “in a fiscally responsible manner.”

Meanwhile, another House conservative granted anonymity to speak freely about the Freedom Caucus’s thinking told Fox News Digital that fiscal hawks were likely to be “skeptical” about the price tag.

HEGSETH WARNS ‘MORE CASUALTIES’ EXPECTED IN OPERATION EPIC FURY AGAINST IRAN

“America isn’t signing up for a $200 billion war. The White House needs to give details of a plan regarding boots on the ground and how much is for replenishing our own arsenal, and how it’s being paid for,” that lawmaker said.

With Democrats’ expected opposition to an Iran supplemental, some Republicans believe putting defense spending in a second “big, beautiful bill” via the budget reconciliation process could be the path of least resistance for the GOP.

Top congressional Democrats were sharply critical of a massive supplemental Thursday — a position that could harden if the conflict drags on.

“They are certainly not going to spend an additional dime on the military, on security, on any of the things that we care about,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview last week, referring to Democrats. “This conflict right now and the future of our country and our Western values have to be secured by additional defense spending, which can only happen in a reconciliation bill.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the U.S. Southern Command Headquarters in Doral, Fla., on March 5, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Pfluger did not comment specifically on the prospective $200 billion request when asked on Friday, but he reaffirmed his support for another reconciliation bill. He also pointed out that reconciliation means that the new spending would be mostly or fully paid for.

“Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and I strongly support the administration’s efforts to ensure the United States and our allies cannot be threatened,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The pathway for additional military funding could be through a second reconciliation bill, with commonsense offsets that ensure the president’s request is fully paid for. Our warfighters will not be left waiting while the left plays politics with national security.”

The budget reconciliation process allows the majority party to steer around the Senate’s 60-vote requirement and pass legislation via a simple majority. Republicans used the legislative maneuver to advance Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act through Congress in the first half of 2025.

Budget reconciliation would also allow Republicans to identify offsets to a substantial increase in defense spending. However, intraparty divisions are likely to emerge over spending cuts.

There is also skepticism among some Republicans that the Pentagon needs a massive infusion of money.

The “big, beautiful bill” gave $150 billion to the Pentagon. The president has also requested a $1.5 trillion defense budget for the upcoming fiscal year — more than a 50% increase from current levels. 

President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act into law during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

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Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that he would like to see the specifics of the supplemental request before committing to supporting one.

“The DoD hasn’t passed an audit for a while,” Self said. “I would like for them to scrub things before they start asking for more money after the $150 billion and before the appropriations get passed.”

And some Republicans are doubtful that the House GOP’s razor-thin majority will be able to pass any reconciliation bill at all, particularly in an election year.

“We’ll see,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who’s already signaled skepticism over the prospect of a second reconciliation bill, told Fox News Digital when asked specifically about military funding in such a vehicle.

And Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital of a second reconciliation bill, “I don’t know how well the prospects are, because there’s some people saying that we aren’t going to do it, and given our small majority, it’s going to be challenging.”

Whatever the circumstances and opportunity, the neighboring country always finds an opportunity to oppose India baselessly. Pakistan’s ‘nefarious’ activities have come to light again. The recent occasion is related to America’s allegations. Pakistan gave clarification on this but also unnecessarily dragged India into this. At the same time, Israeli Ambassador in New Delhi, Reuven Azar, got angry when he called Pakistan a ‘disease country’.

American MP’s claims rejected

Actually, American lawmakers Tulsi Gabbard Taking a dig at the neighboring country, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and missile capabilities were a threat to America. Pakistan rejected these claims. Also took the name of India in clarification. Islamabad stressed that the nuclear program is focused on its neighbor and nuclear-armed India.

What did Pak Foreign Ministry officials say?

According to the Times of India report, Pakistani Foreign Ministry officer Tahir Hussain Andrabi rejected the claim of America’s Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard. Defending Pakistan, he said, ‘Pakistan clearly rejects the recent allegation made by the US official, in which it has been said that there is a possible threat from Pakistan’s missile capabilities.’

Gave this statement regarding India

It was also argued by the Pakistani official that this program is completely of defense nature, the purpose of which is to protect the country and maintain peace and stability in South Asia. Andrabi further said that Pakistan’s missile program is to deal with threats from India.

Questioning India’s missile programme, the Pakistani official also said in the statement that India’s development of a missile with a range of more than 12,000 km is a matter of concern for Pakistan and neighboring countries.

What statement did Tulsi Gabbard give regarding PAK?

America’s National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has called Pakistan and China a threat to the US. He said on Wednesday (18 March 2026) that Pakistan, Russia, China and North Korea pose the biggest nuclear threat to the United States. He also named China, Iran, Russia and North Korea as countries that are developing capabilities that could threaten the US.