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Tuesday, March 31, 2026

TSA workers are getting paid. How are wait times at O'Hare, Midway?

March 31, 2026
TSA workers are getting paid. How are wait times at O'Hare, Midway?

Transportation Security Administration workers arefinally getting paidafter more than a month of no earnings.

USA TODAY

Amidballooning security wait timescaused by the partial government shutdown, PresidentDonald Trumpsigned an orderFriday to redirect funds set for the Department of Homeland Security to TSA workers.

Here's how lines are looking at O'Hare Airport Tuesday as things return to a somewhat normal state.

Is TSA getting paid now?

With legislation stalled in Congress, Trump signed an order Friday, March 27, redirecting federal funds to pay TSA workers. However, it's only a temporary fix, and long-term funding still needs to be approved by lawmakers, who are currently on a previously scheduled recess.

"At the direction of President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Lauren Bis told USA TODAY. "TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as today."

Bis expressed both TSA and DHS's gratitude for putting money back into the pockets of TSA workers who've been working without pay.

How to check TSA wait times at O'Hare, Midway

TSA confirmed to USA TODAY that both theMyTSA mobile appand the agency's wait‑time tracker are down because of the shutdown.

"Airline passengers should visit the airport's website or app for more information on wait times," the agency said.

Travelers flying out of O'Hare or Midway can also checkFlightQueue.

How are TSA wait times at O'Hare?

FlightQueueshows fast security wait times at O'Hare, with an average wait of less than 15 minutes, as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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Travelers reported average wait times of five minutes at Terminals 2 and 3 and an hour at Terminal 5.

The site shows busy wait times for immigration at O'Hare, with average waits of 30-45 minutes.

<p style=Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026. Hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airports to help fill TSA staffing gaps across the country.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. ICE agents walk through the airport drinking coffee as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta. People wait in TSA security lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026 Passengers wait in lines as they maneuver toward a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint after hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airports to help fill TSA staffing gaps, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, March 23, 2026. Travelers stand in long a line outside of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort. ICE agents look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta. Passengers wait in lines as they maneuver toward a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint after hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airports to help fill TSA staffing gaps, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. People wait in TSA security lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026.

ICE agents appear at airports as TSA delays snarl check-in

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026. Hundreds ofImmigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airportsto help fill TSA staffing gaps across the country.

When is the best time to arrive at TSA to avoid long lines?

For the quickest pass through security, the site recommends arriving before 7 a.m. and avoiding peak hours between 4-6 p.m.

How are TSA wait times at Midway? Immigration?

FlightQueueshows fast wait times for security and immigration at Midway Airport, with an average wait of less than 15 minutes for both.

Is ICE still at airports?

Though TSA workers have started receiving paychecks, Border CzarTom Homansaid ICE officersmay remain at airportsa little longer.

Homan appeared onCNN's "State of the Union" on March 29 and said the security line pressure may alleviate slightly. He also said whether or not ICE officers leave airports depends on how many TSA officials return to work.

"I'm working very closely with the TSA administrator and the ICE director to decide what airport needs what, but you know, God bless men and women of ICE," Homan said. "They're plugging those holes, they're keeping the security at the airport at a high level."

The USA TODAY Network reached out to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's office to see if ICE officers would remain at O'Hare, but have yet to received a response.

CONTRIBUTING:Zachary Schermele,Trevor HughesandBart Jansen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Check out TSA wait times at O'Hare, Midway as workers start getting paid

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Infinimmune, Merck enter into antibody discovery pact

March 31, 2026
Infinimmune, Merck enter into antibody discovery pact

March 31 (Reuters) - Biotech firm Infinimmune said on Tuesday it has entered ‌into a deal with Merck, ‌that could be worth up to about $838 million ​in milestone payments, to discover and develop multiple antibodies for various undisclosed disease targets.

Reuters

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* Under the agreement, the privately ‌held Infinimmune willreceive ⁠an undisclosed upfront payment and could earn milestonepayments tied to ⁠multiple drug candidates worth up to about $838million. * Merck will have the exclusive right ​to develop ​andcommercialize antibody ​candidates that come out ‌of thecollaboration. * Infinimmune said it will use its proprietary platform toscreen large numbers of human immune cells and identifynaturally occurring antibodies, then useAI tools‌to refine andimprove them. * ​The companies did not ​disclose the ​disease targets Merckselected for the ‌partnership. * Infinimmune focuses on ​discovering antibody ​medicinesdirectly from the human immune system. * Outside the Merck deal, Infinimmune is ​also ‌developing itsown early-stage medicines for moderate-to-severe ​eczema andother immune-related diseases.

(Reporting by Kunal ​Das in Bengaluru)

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Florida to rename Palm Beach airport after Trump

March 31, 2026
Florida to rename Palm Beach airport after Trump

March 30 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron ‌DeSantis signed legislation ‌on Monday to rename ​the Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump, ‌the latest ⁠in a series of buildings, ⁠institutions, government programs, warships and ​money ​to ​bear the ‌U.S. president's name.

Reuters

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The decision to rename the airport after Trump follows Florida's ‌approval last ​year of ​a ​plan to ‌donate a downtown Miami ​property ​for the site of Trump's ​presidential ‌library.

(Reporting by David ​Shepardson; Editing by ​Chris Reese)

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Universities become new frontline as the US-Israel war against Iran escalates

March 31, 2026
Universities become new frontline as the US-Israel war against Iran escalates

Iranian universities and scientific research centers have come under a series of attacks in recent days, raising concerns that academic institutions are becoming a new frontline in the widening war.

CNN Social Media

Iran's Ministry of Science said at least 21 universities have been damaged in strikes since the war began, and academics themselves have been targeted, in what Tehran claims is an attempt to weaken the country's scientific and cultural foundations.

CNN has geolocated several videos showing damaged buildings at the Iran University of Science and Technology, an engineering-focused institution in the capital that has long trained specialists in fields relevant to Iran's industrial and defense sectors.

One video filmed before sunrise on Saturday shows a research center at the university reduced to rubble, with twisted metal, bricks and debris scattered across the site. A nearby building appears to be on fire. Another posted later shows plumes of smoke rising from the wreckage, with windows in adjacent buildings shattered.

The university, founded in 1929 as Iran's first institution dedicated to training engineers, said US-Israeli strikes had caused damage but no casualties. It condemned the attack, calling strikes on academic institutions a violation of international law.

The attacks have triggered warnings of Iranian retaliation which has already disrupted higher education in Lebanon, Qatar and other Gulf states.

"Universities are normally civilian infrastructure, and directly attacking them can constitute a war crime unless they are being used for military purposes," said Janina Dill, professor of global security at the University of Oxford and co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.

"Storing weapons or planning attacks from a university building could make it a legitimate military target, but education or research alone is not generally considered enough to turn the building into a military object," she said.

The Israeli military said it had targeted what it described as military infrastructure at some university sites, including the IRGC-affiliated Imam Hossein University on Monday in Tehran, alleging the facilities were used for weapons development.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli strikes have killed several Iranian nuclear scientists, framing the campaign as part of a broader effort to degrade Iran's nuclear program.

The University of Tehran's Deputy for Research, Manouchehr Moradi, said the strikes go beyond military objectives.

"Universities are homes of thought and dialogue, and any violence or threat in this space is considered an attack on the foundations of national progress and human dignity," he told Iran's state news agency IRNA.

He called on the international academic community to respond, saying it has a duty to defend "academic independence."

A file photo shows a building on the Texas A&M University campus at Education City, in Doha, Qatar, in October 2011. - Osama Faisal/AP/File

The strikes on universities are raising uncomfortable questions for Iranians who live nearby.

"The universities are basically empty, so people are asking: 'What is beneath the surface? Are they producing ballistic missiles? What are they doing?' People are frightened," said one Tehran resident who asked to be anonymous for fear of retribution.

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Iran threatens US-linked campuses

Analysts say the targeting of universities, and Iran's threats of retaliation against academic institutions abroad, point to a widening conflict and potentially diverging objectives among the parties involved.

"The strikes demonstrate that Israel's objectives aren't necessarily aligned with those of the United States," said Dina Esfandiary, Middle East lead at Bloomberg Economics. "Israel aims to disrupt, change the government and sow chaos. A weak Iran is less of a threat to it."

Esfandiary said Iran's response so far has followed a calibrated pattern.

"Iran has followed a ruthless, but step-by-step escalation. They've responded to each US/Israeli hit in their country by threatening to hit the same in the Gulf Arab states, but giving the US and Israel time to back down before they follow through on their threat," she said.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would target American- and Israeli-affiliated universities in the Middle East in response to strikes on Iranian academic institutions.

Its threat has been taken seriously.

The American University of Beirut said on Sunday it would operate completely remotely for two days "out of an abundance of caution," while the Lebanese American University also announced a shift to online learning "as a precaution given the broad threats to educational institutions in the region."

Many universities moved online when the war began more than a month ago.

Qatar's Education Ministry ordered all schools and universities to switch to distance learning on February 28, the first day of the conflict. US-affiliated campuses in the country, including those linked to Georgetown University, Texas A&M University and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, remain online-only.

In an email to students sent on Sunday and seen by CNN, the dean of Northwestern University in Qatar, Marwan Kraidy said: "In light of recent developments and as a precautionary measure, we will temporarily close access to the NU-Q building until further notice."

US-affiliated institutions in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have taken similar measures.

"There is little doubt they could, if they wanted to, hit US universities in the Gulf," Esfandiary said. "But this would likely erase any remaining sympathy for them internationally."

In Iran, a new academic term will begin in early April, but all classes will be held virtually until further notice.

Shrooq Alyafeiand Farida Elsebaicontributed to this report.

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Artemis II Countdown Forecast: Mission To Fly Around Moon Set To Launch Wednesday

March 31, 2026
Artemis II Countdown Forecast: Mission To Fly Around Moon Set To Launch Wednesday

In just a few days, four astronauts could be heading to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Weather Channel

Liftoff for the Artemis II mission is tentatively scheduled for 6:24 p.m. Wednesday.

An Orion capsule will fly NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency on a 10-day trip to the moon and back.

"Things are certainly starting to feel real," Koch said during a news conference Sunday.

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(MORE:NASA Wants Humans Living On The Moon By 2028)

The astronauts won't land on the moon this time. That's planned for the Artemis III mission in early 2028.

"We can safely say the crew's ready," said Shawn Quinn, program manager for NASA's Exploration Ground Systems. "Rocket's ready. Spaceship's ready. Ground systems are ready, and we only need to have the weather cooperate."

Weather Forecast

The45th Weather Squadronis responsible for providing weather forecasts for rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, Florida. They post their latest forecastshereevery morning. Right now there is a 20% probability of violating weather constraints, meaning there is an 80% chance the weather will cooperate for a successful launch.

The primary concerns are the violation of theCumulus Cloud Rule and ground winds.

Our forecast for the Kennedy Space Center has a mix of sun and clouds, temperatures in the 70s and an easterly wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Isolated storms will be possible across the state, but the coverage will be isolated at best, so here's to hoping any activity stays far away from the launch pad.

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
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