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‘It's terrible': New Jerseyans scramble to get Real IDs before this week's deadline

‘It's terrible': New Jerseyans scramble to get Real IDs before this week's deadline

CNN06-05-2025

When Scott Case realized the REAL ID deadline was coming up this week, he decided to head to his local department of motor vehicles Monday morning.
'I've known about it and I've been putting it off, so some of it's on me,' the frequent business traveler from Collingswood, New Jersey, acknowledged to CNN.
But during the frenzied final weeks before the federal government starts enforcing REAL ID regulations this Wednesday, Case and others are learning getting one at the last minute is a big challenge.
'I feel bad for anybody who doesn't have a passport,' said Case as he left without securing an ID.
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 as a way to enhance security for identification, requiring new minimum standards for state-issued driver's licenses and IDs. While people without REAL IDs will still be able to drive using current non-compliant licenses and use that identification in other scenarios, REAL IDs will be required for domestic air travel for those without a valid passport or other approved identification.
After years of pushing the deadline for Americans to get a REAL ID, the Department of Homeland Security says it will finally start enforcement May 7.
From Illinois and Washington to Florida and Alabama, Americans across the country are encountering long lines as they scramble to get their REAL IDs before Wednesday.
'It's not gonna happen,' said driver Toe Cooper, from Burlington Township, New Jersey.
At the Motor Vehicle Commission – New Jersey's version of the Department of Motor Vehicles – in Camden, customers packed the small building trying to get a REAL ID.
Cooper tried to walk in to get his Monday because he couldn't get an appointment online.
'I've been on there every night looking. There's nothing on there,' explained Cooper.
'You can get an appointment for anything else, but for REAL ID it said nothing is available,' he added.
In a statement, the state's Motor Vehicle Commission said it has been 'working non-stop to help as many eligible New Jerseyans as possible' obtain a REAL ID.
'Demand is very high right now,' acknowledged commission spokesperson William Connolly.
'And our challenges are not unique to New Jersey – every state in the nation is facing similar pressures as enforcement approaches,' Connolly noted.
The commission said the state is issuing roughly 25,000 REAL IDs per week with 'thousands of new appointments for REAL IDs opening up on our scheduler each morning on a rolling basis.'
New Jersey also has 'dedicated REAL ID days' offering thousands of additional appointments and an expanded mobile unit program for driver services, including the new IDs, he said.
Cooper couldn't get a REAL ID without an appointment, but even for those with appointments, frustration was not always avoidable.
Bruce Beegal, from Brigantine, New Jersey, came to the office with his daughter to get her REAL ID on Monday. But at their appointment they were told they were missing one extra form of identification, and they couldn't complete the process.
'This is a joke,' said Beegal. 'What's going on here, it's terrible.'
Beegal's daughter has a passport, so he's not worried about her boarding a plane, but he said he couldn't believe he might have to do this process again after the REAL ID enforcement deadline passes.
'It sucks,' he said.

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Donald Trump is front and center for Army's big DC birthday parade
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Donald Trump is front and center for Army's big DC birthday parade Trump is poised to be president during the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the LA Summer Olympics in 2028. Show Caption Hide Caption Military equipment headed to DC ahead of Trump's birthday parade Battle tanks, fighting vehicles and infantry carriers departed Texas for D.C. for President Trump's military parade. The June 14 parade reflects the president's vision of his role and of the nation's power. Some predict an inspiring moment of patriotism; others see an alarming echo of authoritarianism. WASHINGTON − Donald Trump loves a parade. Also palace-in-the-sky planes, gold decor in the Oval Office, the adulation of huge rallies, the company of kings (British, Saudi), and the general aura that surrounds power, wealth and royalty. 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It also provided the opportunity for him to solidify control of the Republican Party and for supporters to create ambitious blueprints like Project 2025 to tap when he landed a second term. It even opened the door for the parade he had set his heart on when he watched French tanks roll down the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Bastille Day in 2017. "One of the greatest parades I've ever seen," he marveled, telling French President Emmanuel Macron he wanted to "top" it. During Trump's first term, though, the Pentagon resisted. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a retired Marine Corps four-star general, objected to the idea as a politicization of the military. In 2020, when Trump pushed again despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, Mattis' successor, Mark Esper, arranged instead for an array of warplanes to fly down the East Coast in an "air parade." Now, Pete Hegseth, a Trump loyalist and former Fox News host, is leading the Defense Department. 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Like many things involving Trump, reactions clash between those who predict a stirring moment of patriotism and those who see it as an alarming echo of authoritarianism. The ritualized display of armaments and troops is more routine in places like Russia, China and North Korea, where strongmen show their force to their own citizens and the world. In the USA, liberal and pro-democracy groups have declared a "No Kings" day of protests on June 14, with anti-Trump demonstrations planned in more than 1,500 communities across the country. Trump has never been shy about demanding attention and claiming credit for his presidential record, putting himself in the top rank of the 45 men who have held the job. In his State of the Union address in March, he said that "many" believed he had just recorded the most successful first month of any presidency − with George Washington in second place. Last month, on the facade of the Agriculture Department that faces the Mall, a huge banner of Trump's face was draped between the columns alongside one of Lincoln. By the way, that's the building where thousands of the troops who will be marching in the parade will bivouac, sleeping on cots and bringing their own sleeping bags. Agriculture employees have been directed to work from home for the first three weeks of the month to clear the way for them. $45 million? 'Peanuts,' Trump says The parade's price tag? The Army has estimated the cost at $30 million to $45 million, in addition to the promise to help the D.C. government deal with the aftermath. Huge steel plates are being embedded at some intersections to protect the asphalt, but at 140,000 pounds each, the Abrams battle tanks are expected to, well, leave an impression. That could add as much as an estimated $16 million. "Peanuts," Trump said of the cost on NBC's "Meet the Press" last month, "compared to the value of doing it."

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