Monday, March 23, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1839, The Boston Morning Post used “O.K.” in the day’s edition, marking the first appearance of the phrase in a formal publication. O.K. is an abbreviated form of “oll korrect,” a slang form of “all correct” at the time.

Today, we cover a delightfully odd airport discovery: a possum tucked in among plush toys in an Australian gift shop. We have the details below.

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ICE Agents Head to Airports Today

President Trump said Sunday that ICE agents will deploy to U.S. airports starting today to assist TSA officers working without pay. The partial DHS shutdown is now approaching day 40 with no deal in sight.

Border czar Tom Homan said ICE won’t operate X-ray machines but will cover exit lanes and check IDs to free up screeners for security checkpoints. It takes four to six months to train and certify a TSA officer, a process ICE agents haven’t undergone.

Lines have stretched to nearly three hours at some terminals, with checkpoints closing at airports in Houston and Philadelphia. See the scene at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson.

With full paychecks stopped, nonprofits and food banks have stepped in across the country, stocking pantries and delivering meals to agents at airports from San Diego to Seattle.

Worst Flooding in 20 Years Hits Hawaii

Hawaii spent Sunday cleaning up from its worst flooding in 20 years after a Kona low storm dumped up to 12 inches of rain on already-saturated ground, forcing 5,500 people to evacuate on Oahu’s North Shore and pushing a 120-year-old dam to the brink of failure.

More than 230 people were rescued from rising waters, including 72 children and adults airlifted by the National Guard and the Honolulu Fire Department from a spring break camp. No deaths were reported.

Actor Jason Momoa, a Hawaii native, evacuated from the North Shore with his family after losing power, later taking to social media to encourage locals to support their neighbors and spread aloha.

Gov. Josh Green called it the worst flooding since 2004 and estimated more than $1 billion in statewide damage to airports, schools, roads, and a hospital. Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, but a flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon.

Map: Income Needed for Middle Class by State

The income needed to qualify as middle class in the United States varies by nearly $30,000 depending on where you live, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau and Pew Research data.

Massachusetts tops the list, where households need roughly $69,900 just to enter the middle-income range, followed by New Jersey at $69,500 and Maryland at $68,600, all driven by proximity to Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.

At the other end, Mississippi requires only $39,400 to be considered middle class, with West Virginia and Louisiana close behind.

A middle-class household in the top three states can afford a home priced around $315,000 to $320,000, while those in the cheapest states can comfortably buy in the $180,000 to $190,000 range. See the map here.

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Student behavior is getting worse, and teachers are pointing the finger at parents, a new survey says. (Hear Details)

➤ Cuba’s power grid collapsed for the third time this month, leaving millions in the dark again. (Hear Episode)

➤ Gen Z is ditching the bar for the gym, and the numbers are striking. (Listen Now)

➤ Speaker Mike Johnson faces a growing attendance problem as lawmakers from both parties prioritize the 2026 midterms, with 22 Republicans and 21 Democrats missing votes on a single day last week, straining the House’s already razor-thin margins. (More)

➤ Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for California governor, seized over 650,000 ballots from the state’s November special election to conduct an independent count after a third-party group alleged roughly 45,000 excess votes. (More)

➤ Israel’s ambassador to the United States said the Iran war will only end when the Iranian people rise up against the regime, adding that the needed “boots on the ground” must be Iranian. (More)

➤ Apple News featured articles from conservative outlets in just 1.4% of its top stories in February, up from zero in January, a shift a media watchdog called “damage control” after the FTC warned the tech giant it may be violating consumer protection laws. (More)

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➤ Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant scored 27 points and passed Michael Jordan for fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a fourth-quarter 3-pointer in a 123-122 win over Miami. (More)

➤ No. 2 Wisconsin beat No. 1 Ohio State 3-2 to win its second straight women’s hockey national title on Sunday. Claire Enright scored the game-winner in the third period as the Badgers secured their ninth championship in a rematch of the last three finals. (More)

➤ The WNBA and the league’s players’ union reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement featuring a revenue-sharing model and major pay increases. The 2026 salary cap is expected to be $7 million, with supermax salaries close to $1.4 million. The cap could climb to about $11 million by 2032 if revenue projections hold. (More)

➤ Team USA dominated the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, beating Tom Brady’s Founders squad 43-16 before closing out the event with a 24-14 championship win on Saturday. Brady threw an early touchdown to Stefon Diggs, but Team USA’s offense scored on every possession except a kneel-down. (More)

Today’s March Madness section is brought to you by:

➤ No. 9 seed Iowa upset defending champion Florida, 73–72, after Alvaro Folgueiras hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, making the Gators the first No. 1 seed to fall in this year’s tournament. (Watch Video)

➤ Dylan Darling made his first basket of the day as time expired to push No. 5 seed St. John’s ahead of No. 4 seed Kansas, 67-65, sending the Red Storm to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. (Watch Video)

➤ LSU women’s basketball set an NCAA record for 100-point games in a season, reaching the century mark for the 16th time in a 101–47 victory over No. 7 seed Texas Tech. (More)

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➤ The movie Project Hail Mary had an enormous opening weekend, with about $80.5 million in box office sales expected through Sunday. It’s the best opening weekend ever for Amazon MGM Studios. (More)

➤ Elon Musk was found liable for misleading Twitter shareholders in the lead-up to his 2022 acquisition of the company. A California jury found that Musk’s tweet saying the deal was “temporarily on hold” misled investors and contributed to a drop in Twitter’s stock price. The same jury rejected the broader “scheme to defraud” allegation. (More)

➤ Gold fell 2% on Friday as energy prices rose due to the war involving Iran, putting the metal on track for its biggest weekly decline since 1983. (See Details)

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The 15-Minute Retirement Plan

A comfortable retirement requires a plan that accounts for all your cash flow needs, as well as inflation’s quiet erosion of your savings. Our guide offers insights to help you prepare. If you have $1 million or more, get your guide to help build a portfolio that lasts.

➤ NOAA’s spring outlook forecasts above-normal temperatures across most of the country, with a “heat dome” potentially trapping hot air for days or weeks over the West, Plains, and South. About 55% of the continental U.S. is already in moderate to exceptional drought. (See Forecast)

➤ SpaceX is now operating 10,000 Starlink satellites, and a photographer composited 343 photos taken over 85 minutes to show just how swamped the night sky has become with satellite streaks. (See Photos)

➤ Chinese company Leapmotor’s T03 electric car model surged to fourth place in European electric vehicle sales in February. With its extremely simple design, the car is priced as low as $5,600 after government rebates. (See Vehicle)

Beyond Our Borders is brought to you by:

➤ A Sudanese army drone strike on a hospital in East Darfur killed at least 64 people, including 13 children, and wounded 89, the World Health Organization confirmed. (More)

➤ Internet blackouts hit St. Petersburg as Russia expanded its government-run “whitelist” beyond Moscow, leaving residents in the country’s second-largest city unable to access anything but state-approved websites. (More)

➤ French voters headed to the polls Sunday for decisive local election runoffs, with closely watched mayoral races in Paris, Marseille, and Lyon seen as a gauge of national sentiment ahead of next year’s presidential election. (More)

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➤ 19 things to cut when money gets tight (most people ignore No. 11). Your money is getting tight. Prices are going up. And figuring out what to cut back on can feel overwhelming. Here’s what you can do: Read our list of money-saving strategies, and start with one or two today. Even doing just one can help you breathe a little easier: LEARN MORE

➤ A Houston woman says a football-sized meteorite crashed through her house Saturday as more than 100 people reported a loud boom in the area. Experts believe it may have been part of a larger meteor behind Saturday’s fireball event. (See Photos)

➤ A possum found a comfy spot among plush toys at a gift shop at Hobart Airport in Australia’s Tasmania state. Footage of the possum, which has gone viral, was taken after a passenger found it while browsing the gift shop. (See Possum)

➤ The international feline beauty competition, nick-named the Feline Oscars, featured more than 200 cats in Bucharest, Romania, on Saturday. (See Photos)

➤ Digital artist Grif’s Equinox series imagined nature reclaiming the built world, with a Porsche in the desert slowly overtaken by roses and wildflowers. This is not AI. (See Series)

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