Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, got into a heated exchange Monday afternoon over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding after the progressive lawmaker attempted to interrupt the senator’s news conference.

«Why don’t you tell the Democrats to vote to pay these poor people,» Cornyn told Casar, referring to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees who missed their first full paychecks due to the shutdown on Friday.

«Let’s do it,» Casar, chair of the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus, responded.

«No, you do it,» Cornyn shot back. «I’ve voted for it time and time again.»

SCHIFF, BOOKER DEFLECT ON SHUTDOWN BLAME AMID TERROR CONCERNS, THOUSANDS OF DHS WORKERS WITHOUT PAY

The shouting match comes as the DHS shutdown entered its fifth week Monday, with negotiations to end the stalemate appearing to stall in recent weeks. Senate Democrats near unanimously blocked a Republican effort Thursday to fully fund the agency, citing opposition to spending measures that do not rein in immigration enforcement.

Cornyn, who is vying against Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-Texas, in a runoff election for a fifth Senate term, held a news conference outside the Austin airport on Monday to protest Democrats’ refusal to fully fund DHS. Casar, who represents the Austin area, crashed the event before Cornyn arrived.

The airport is currently advising passengers to arrive at least 2.5 hours before departure due to a shortage of TSA workers.

Cornyn also brought lunch to TSA employees who are reporting to work without pay — a gesture that Casar criticized.

«Instead of bringing people burgers, he should bring them their paychecks,» Casar told reporters in response to the Whataburger haul following the altercation.

Casar, however, has repeatedly voted against a full-year DHS appropriations bill that would fund the salaries of TSA employees through the end of September.

The Texas Democrat has instead pushed for a standalone measure to fund TSA while leaving the immigration enforcement-related functions of DHS without funding. Republicans have characterized that proposal as a nonstarter, arguing that every individual employed by DHS — including those working for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — should be paid.

House Democrats are expected to force a vote as early as this week on legislation that would fund the non-immigration portions of DHS.

Travelers are encountering flight disruptions and long wait times at security checkpoints at airports across the country due to a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, who are working without pay during the partial government shutdown. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

SWALWELL PRESSED ON DEMOCRATS’ RESISTANCE TO FULLY FUNDING DHS AMID IRAN THREAT

Roughly 300 TSA officers have resigned and absences have more than doubled since the shutdown began, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday. The departures come after many TSA employees — who often live paycheck to paycheck — were also required to work without pay during a 45-day shutdown in fall 2025.

«At some point, when you’re not getting your paycheck, people are going to have to look for ways to support their families, which means they’ll be leaving the TSA for other employment,» Cornyn said Monday. «And that’s unacceptable.»

Lawmakers are guaranteed their pay under the Constitution, though some members of Congress have deferred their salaries in solidarity with federal employees.

Cornyn also excoriated Casar for declining to back a full-year DHS funding bill after a terrorist shooting at an Austin bar left the city reeling. The country has also seen terror-related attacks in New York City, Norfolk, Va., and West Bloomfield, Mich., over the past week.

Austin police respond to the scene of a terror-linked shooting on West 6th Street on Sunday, where three people were shot and killed before the gunman was killed by responding authorities.  (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

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«How about all the terrorist attacks like we’ve seen down on Sixth Street?» Cornyn told Casar. «You want those to continue? These people are keeping us safe. Tell the Democrats to vote for funding the DHS.»

Fox News Digital reached out to Casar’s office for comment.

En medio de un apagón total a nivel nacional, el gobierno cubano dio este lunes la primera señal de apertura bajo fuerte presión de Donald Trump: los emigrados y sus descendientes podrán invertir y tener sus propios negocios en la isla.

“Cuba está abierta a mantener una relación comercial fluida con empresas estadounidenses” y “también con cubanos residentes en Estados Unidos y sus descendientes”, dijo el ministro de Comercio Exterior e Inversión Extranjera, Oscar Pérez-Oliva, en una entrevista con la cadena de televisión estadounidense NBC difundida este lunes.

Leé también: Donald Trump habló del líder supremo de Irán, Mojtaba Jamenei: “No sabemos si está muerto o no”

En la entrevista que concedió en La Habana, el ministro explicó que los emigrados podrán tener sus propios negocios en la isla, lo que constituye un viejo reclamo de la diáspora.

El anuncio se conoce en coincidencia con la confirmación de negociaciones con Estados Unidos y el aumento de las protestas y cacerolazos en distintos puntos de la isla. En la localidad de Morón, en el centro de la isla, manifestantes provocaron un incendio en la sede del Partido Comunista local.

Nuevo apagón nacional

Cuba sufrió este lunes un nuevo apagón nacional, el sexto en apenas año y medio, informó el Ministerio de Energía y Minas (Minem).

“Se ha producido una desconexión total del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN), se investigan las causas y comienzan a activarse los protocolos para el restablecimiento”, explicó en redes sociales

Cuba se encuentra sumida en una profunda crisis energética desde mediados de 2024. La situación se agravó en los últimos tres meses con el bloqueo petrolero impuesto por Estados Unidos y después de la captura de Nicolás Maduro y el ataque estadounidense a Venezuela.

Trump obligó al nuevo gobierno chavista de Delcy Rodríguez a interrumpir de cuajo el suministro de crudo a la isla.

Leé también: El gobierno de Trump ofrece una recompensa de US$10 millones a cambio de información sobre los líderes iraníes

La economía cubana está virtualmente paralizada sin combustible. La generación de electricidad del país está sostenida por una red de termoeléctricas envejecidas, algunas con más de 40 años de explotación.

Desde el 9 de enero no ha llegado a Cuba ningún tanquero, lo que obligó al gobierno de Miguel Díaz-Canel a adoptar medidas drásticas de ahorro, incluidas la suspensión de la venta de diésel y el racionamiento de la gasolina, así como la reducción de algunos servicios de atención hospitalaria.

Comienza la apertura en Cuba

El anuncio de la autorización a los emigrados y sus descendientes a abrir negocios en la isla se copnoce después que el presidente Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmara la marcha de negociaciones con el gobierno de Donald Trump, que viene amenazando con imponer un cambio de régimen en el país.

En la entrevista, el ministro Pérez-Oliva destacó que la apertura “se aplica a las inversiones (y) no solo a las pequeñas, sino también a las grandes inversiones, especialmente en infraestructuras”.

Según afirmó, el objetivo es reactivar sectores clave de la economía, como el turismo y la minería, así como restaurar la obsoleta red eléctrica del país, que lleva varios años sufriendo averías que provocan prolongados apagones.

Leé también: Israel: Netanyahu grabó un video en una cafetería para desmentir los rumores sobre su muerte

Si bien hasta hace poco el 80% de la economía cubana se basaba en un sistema de producción planificado y centralizado por empresas estatales, la crisis impulsó al gobierno a abrirse al sector privado.

En 2021 se permitió nuevamente la actividad de pequeñas y medianas empresas privadas, con hasta 100 empleados, tras haber estado prohibidas durante casi seis décadas.

Para 2025, unas 10.000 empresas privadas del país representaban el 15% del PIB y empleaban a más del 30% de la población activa. Ese mismo año, las ventas minoristas del sector privado superaron por primera vez a las del sector público, representando el 55% del comercio total.

A inicios de marzo, el gobierno cubano autorizó, por primera vez en casi 60 años, la asociación entre empresas públicas y privadas. Hasta entonces, las únicas empresas mixtas existentes eran las constituidas entre el Estado cubano y compañías extranjeras no estadounidenses.

(Con información de EFE y AFP)

As the war with Iran dominates the region’s attention, Hamas is quietly reasserting control inside Gaza, according to videos and photos circulating on social media. An Israeli analyst and a Gazan political commentator say the developments raise fresh doubts about whether postwar plans for the enclave can move forward anytime soon.

Michael Milshtein, a senior analyst at the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, said Hamas has used the past two and a half weeks not only to rehabilitate militarily but to project visible control in public life.

«They are really making good use of them to establish their power in the public sphere, not just for military rehabilitation,» Milshtein said, describing what he said were new recruits, police deployments and even parades in central Gaza. «Hamas is here to stay.»

TRUMP LAUNCHES PHASE 2 OF GAZA PEACE PLAN — BUT HAMAS DISARMAMENT REMAINS THE REAL TEST

He said Gazans have reported that Hamas is also rebuilding the machinery of governance. «Their police are everywhere,» he said. «They are also improving their taxation system.» During Ramadan, he added, Hamas personnel were checking markets and mosques and «starting to build education systems.»

Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a Gazan political analyst, agrees momentum around postwar Gaza planning has largely stalled since the Iran war escalated.

«Everything with regard to Gaza has been put on hold,» Abu Saada told Fox News Digital. Before the regional war erupted, he said, developments had been «moving in the right direction,» including work around the Board of Peace, the Gaza Technical Committee and discussions tied to a possible international stabilization force.

«Yes, Hamas has taken advantage of the current situation,» Abu Saada said. «They are not under the pressure that they were before.»

Both analysts pointed to the same broad dynamic: as attention shifted to Iran, pressure on Hamas eased.

Abu Saada said that before the war, there had been what he described as serious discussions about disarmament, the deployment of an international force and Gaza’s political future. But «the enthusiasm that preceded the war has come down,» he said, adding that Gaza has been pushed to the «back burner.»

«When I talk to Palestinians, they tell me, ‘Listen, we are actually already waiting for the day after the war,’» Milshtein said. He said some expect Netanyahu to become «very indebted to Trump because of the war in Iran, and he will have to accept whatever dictates he has regarding Gaza.»

US SEEKS UN AUTHORIZATION FOR GAZA INTERNATIONAL FORCE LASTING THROUGH 2027 UNDER TRUMP PLAN

Terrorists in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah celebrate the ceasefire on Jan. 19, 2025.  (TPS-IL)

At the center of that conversation is the prospect of an international stabilization force entering Gaza. But both men suggested Hamas may not see such a force as a threat.

Abu Saada said Hamas had «welcomed the deployment» of such a force and appears to view it as «restraining the Israeli army» rather than coming in «to disarm» the group. He said the possibility of troops from countries such as Indonesia may make such a deployment appear less threatening to Hamas, which could see it as a buffer against continued Israeli military operations.

Milshtein took that argument further, saying Hamas sees the model less as a peacekeeping mission than as a version of the Hezbollah-UNIFIL arrangement in Lebanon.

«Hamas says, ‘I have no problem, it will be like UNIFIL in Lebanon,’» Milshtein said. «Don’t even dream about starting to chase us, taking our weapons, and entering the tunnels. You need to protect us from Israel as well.»

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Hezbollah terrorists are taking part in cross-border raids, part of a large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta, bordering Israel, on May 21, 2023, ahead of the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Abu Saada said the next phase depends heavily on how the Iran war ends. If the Iranian regime survives and avoids collapse, he said, Hamas will draw encouragement from that outcome.

«If Iran is not defeated, if the Iranian regime is not collapsing, that’s going to be some kind of moral support for Hamas,» he said.