The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Vivian McCall Fartin’ Around: The ICE agents sent to supposedly help TSA manage snarling lines at 14 airports—hundreds of its officers have quit or called out sick because they’re not be ing paid during this partial government shutdown—are just … standing around and pissing people off, writes Defector. Unsurprisingly, airport wait times haven’t magically improved overnight. This Guy Is Definitely Going to Figure It Out: The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin to lead homeland security on a largely party-line vote Monday. The Republican Senator from Oklahoma and friend to President Donald Trump replacing Kristi Noem says his goal is to get the department off the front page of the news. ICE in the News 2: ProPublica reports that Trump has arrested and detained the parents of at least 11,000 US citizen kids in the first seven months of his second term. That’s affecting roughly 50 kids a day; if the administration held that pace, the number would be about 22,000 by now. ICE in the News 3: KUOW interviewed a couple from Oaxaca who’ve spent their adult lives working the crop and flower fields in the Skagit Valley. Their employer tells them they’re protected from federal agents at work, but there is no protection when they come and go. “Their kids beg them to leave their apartment — to walk to the nearby park and play on the playground, to go shopping for new shoes, or drive across town to get ice cream. These days, their mom and dad, who are undocumented, always say no.” ICYMI, More ICE in the News: Last week, the Urbanist wrote about a “powerful surge” of immigration enforcement in Washington between October and December 2025. According to a report from University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights, the largest increases were in King, Yakima, and Clark Counties. The Center found repeated instances of federal agents running license plates to check immigration status before making an arrest. Republican Sheriff/California Gubernatorial Candidate Seizes 650,000 Ballots from 2025: Riverside County Sheriff/candidate Chad Bianco says a citizen “audit” of California’s special election to re-district California allegedly showed that election workers counted 45,000 fewer ballots than the number of votes certified to the state. So… no. The citizen  “evidence” is imprecise and wrong, and even though Bianco has been “investigating” fraud in Riverside County since 2022, he hasn’t found it. Is the stolen election in the room with us, folks? Stop, Mr. Prince, He’s Impressionable! Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been pushing Trump to continue the war in Iran because he believes it is a “historic opportunity” to remake the Middle East, reports The New York Times. He’s told Trump that he must destroy Iran’s government. Trump appears to be of two minds (or none at all). Some days the war is ramping up. Others it’s winding down. WFH is Dying: By July 1, all Seattle Public Schools employees must return to full-time in-person work, according to a Thursday email to employees. At least 330 SPS employees work in hybrid or fully-remote jobs. Eina Kwon Shooting Won’t Go to Trial: Prosecutors have accepted a plea of insanity from Cordell Goosby, who, according to court filings, was in severe psychosis when he shot into the pregnant Kwon’s car in 2023, killing her and injuring her husband. After Goosby’s attorneys suggested he was insane at the time of the crime, prosecutors sought independent evaluation. Their expert agreed that he was insane. Under the plea, he could be held at a state psychiatric hospital for life. Beautiful, Unseasonable Weather We’ve Been Having: This month’s snowy surprise was no match for climate change. Sorry to remind you of The End, but that abnormally mild winter cost us our precious snowpack. Usually at its highest point this time of year, Washington’s mountaintops currently “sit at or below half their normal levels,” writes The Seattle Times. After a brief hope for more snow, scientists, or the groundhogs of climate, are back to predicting the fourth severe summer drought in a row. The Monster We’ve Created: His enjoyment is sickening. Weather: It’s wet and grey, but we should be thankful for rain while it's still with us. ...read more read less