
Kristi Noem hints TSA liquid limit for carry-on bags may be changed
July 17 (UPI) -- Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested that changes to the Transportation Security Administration's restrictions on liquids in carry-on bags at airports may be made.
Noem, speaking at the Hill Nation Summit -- hosted by The Hill and News Nation -- in Washington on Wednesday, said she was considering altering the rules for liquids.
"But I will tell you -- I mean the liquids -- I'm questioning. So that may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be," Noem said.
Noem's comments came about a week after the DHS announced its rule to allow travelers to keep their shoes on while passing TSA.
As of September 2006, the TSA's liquid rule allows liquid in carry-on bags to be 3.4 ounces or less.
"Hopefully the future of an airport, where I'm looking to go, is that you walk in the door with your carry-on suitcase, you walk through a scanner and go right to your flight," Noem said. "It takes you one minute."
DHS is working with several different companies to improve the technology used in airports to make that goal a reality, Noem said.
"So ... it's not certainly anything we'll be announcing in the next week or two, but we're working to see what we can do to make the traveling experience much better and more hospitable for individuals, but also still keep safety standards," Noem said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Coming PBS, NPR cuts already hurting many stations
The headquarters for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., in May. Early Friday morning the House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's bill to cut PBS and NPR funding. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- A bill rescinding $1.1 billion in funds to public broadcasting is awaiting President Donald Trump's signature, and many critics, including some Republicans, say it will devastate some rural areas and even put the country in danger. The claw-back bill will cut $9 billion in total, including major reductions to foreign aid. It passed the House early Friday morning. The public stations already have received funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to get them through September. Once that money runs out, more than 100 PBS and NPR stations are at risk of closing. The cuts will hit especially hard in rural areas. For example, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday. Public media helped broadcast a tsunami alert, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Their response to today's earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide," Murkowski said Wednesday on X. "They deliver local news, weather updates, and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives." Murkowski was one of two Republican senators who voted against the bill. The effects of the cutting off of funding could be even wider-reaching than expected, obsersers said. "Failing stations will create a cascade effect in this highly connected and interdependent system, impacting content producers and leading to the potential collapse of additional distressed stations in other areas of the country," Tim Isgitt, CEO of advisory firm Public Media Company, told The New York Times. An analysis by non-profit Public Media Company identified 78 public radio organizations and 37 TV organizations that will likely close. They rely on funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for about 30% of their budgets. "I think unfortunately this is cutting off their constituents' noses to spite NPR's face," NPR CEO Katherine Maher said Wednesday on CNN. "It doesn't help anyone to take this funding away." PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement that the cuts "will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas." "Many of our stations, which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts, will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead," she said. Reporting on local issues will see cuts, too. Michigan's WKAR Public Media general manager Shawn Turner said he has already had to lay off nine staffers because of the impending cuts, noting that about 16% of WKAR's budget comes from federal funding. The cuts will prevent the newsroom from doing investigations into issues like the impact of tariffs on Michigan's manufacturing industry, he said. "We've been able to ask [reporters] to begin to do a deep dive in really understanding how that's going to impact the community so that we have that reporting ready to go," Turner said. "Our ability to do that going forward is going to be limited." Native American areas will also suffer from the cuts. They pose "an immediate threat to the survival of small, rural, and Tribal stations across the country," said Loris Taylor, head of Native Public Media. "These hyperlocal stations, many of which are the only source of local news, emergency alerts, educational programming, and cultural preservation, operate with limited resources and rely on [the Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding to stay on the air." Taylor heads a network of 57 Native radio stations. She had privately implored Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to reject the package, The New York Times reported Wednesday. "Without this federal support, Native and rural communities stand to lose critical lifelines that connect them to the rest of the nation," she said.


The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
ICE will soon have nation's Medicaid data: What to know
The personal health information of 79 million people will soon be in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, who will use the data trove to find undocumented migrants in the U.S. amid President Trump's immigration crackdown. ICE plans to use the nation's Medicaid database to 'receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE,' according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press. Information available to ICE officials will include: Addresses Birthdates Ethnic and racial information Social Security numbers The agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not allow ICE officials to download the data. Instead, officials will be allowed to access the data for a limited period from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Sept. 9. Medicaid is only available to noncitizens in emergencies While immigrants who have entered and remained in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for Medicaid, every state is required to provide emergency Medicaid coverage for life-saving situations. Some states also make exceptions for children and certain adults. That means, despite not qualifying for the federally funded coverage, some noncitizens' information is still available in Medicaid records. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) estimated that emergency care for undocumented patients accounted for less than 1 percent of Medicaid spending from 2017 to 2023. Democrats, advocates slam ICE-Medicaid data disclosure Politicians and immigrant advocates alike have opposed the agreement due to concerns over data privacy and human rights violations. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Thursday on social media that 'the massive transfer of the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients should alarm every American.' Immigration attorney Anibal Romero echoed Schiff's concerns. 'So eventually, what could end up happening is someone might transfer information about … a U.S. citizen, with a Latino name, and all of a sudden, now I have ICE officers in my house, even though I was born here only because my name is Raul Lopez,' Romero told NewsNation. 'So, it's scary. I think it's wrong.' Early this month, a coalition of 20 Democrat-led states sued the Trump administration over the agreement. California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said it has 'created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care.' 'We're headed to court to prevent any further sharing of Medicaid data — and to ensure any of the data that's already been shared is not used for immigration enforcement purposes,' he added. In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agencies are 'exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.' The White House has deferred questions about the agreement to ICE.


The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Which states could get their own ‘Alligator Alcatraz' migrant camps?
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has suggested that a Florida migrant detention tent camp known as ' Alligator Alcatraz' could be used as a blueprint for other states as the federal agency seeks to add locations to hold undocumented migrants facing deportation. Noem said in an announcement about where similar facilities could be opened is coming soon. The secretary noted she has been in touch with at least five GOP governors about their states' housing detention centers, but she did not specify which ones. However, without confirming that they have been contacted, spokespersons for governors in South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas have told NewsNation they are ready to assist in President Trump's expanding immigration enforcement plans. 'Texas will continue to assist the Trump administration in arresting, detaining, and deporting illegal immigrants,' Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott (R), said. 'Mississippi will do whatever it takes to help support President Trump's immigration agenda,' Gov. Tate Reeves' (R) Chief of Staff Cory Custer said. 'Nothing is off the table.' South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) has directed state officials to 'keep exploring how the Palmetto State's unique assets can be utilized', a spokesman said. McMaster's statement came after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) wrote on social platform X that 'South Carolina's gators are ready. And they're not big on paperwork. If I was Governor, we'd be bringing Alligator Alcatraz to South Carolina.' Lawmakers given 'sanitized' tour of Florida detention camp: Democrat Yet, as supporters of Trump's call for the largest domestic deportation plan in American history join the push for more detention centers, at least one Democrat is raising alarms over the ' cruel ' conditions at ' Alligator Alcatraz,' which was constructed over just eight days in the Florida Everglades. Florida State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D) was among lawmakers who attempted to tour the facility on July 3, but they were denied access by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, he told NewsNation. A week later, the group returned and was granted what he called a 'sanitized, state-sponsored propaganda tour' of the facility. The group was shown empty cages with working toilets, which Guillermo Smith said contradicted the reports that his office has received, which included flooded tents, overflowing toilets and limited access to showers. Others are being denied access to their appointed immigration attorneys, Guillermo Smith said, and are missing scheduled immigration court appointments because they are detained. A request for comment from NewsNation to the state emergency management agency, which opened the detention center, was not immediately returned on Thursday. But the state lawmaker's bigger concerns exist on top of those surrounding living conditions at the tent camp. 'This is less about how comfortable is the bed? Or how good or bad is the food that is being served?' Guillermo Smith said this week. 'It's not a joke. This is not a game,' he continued. 'These are people's lives that are being torn apart, and I'm frankly ashamed of what I am seeing.' Who is being held at 'Alligator Alcatraz'? Guillermo Smith says that hundreds of detainees at the Everglades tent camp have been confirmed not to have a criminal record. When the lawmakers were given a tour, he continued, they were allowed to briefly peer into the door of an occupied tent where 32 detainees were being held inside each cage. He said that the group was not allowed to speak to migrant detainees, who he said were chanting, 'Libertad, Libertad' — Spanish for 'freedom.' The Miami Herald reported that families do not have access to lists of migrants being held at the center and that 250 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees only have immigration-related violations, which are civil offenses, not criminal. The New York Times, citing a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that in total, 60 percent of those being held either have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Another official stated some migrants who moved to the center were transferred from local jails after they were detained during traffic stops or had been moved to the center from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Aerial view of structures, including gigantic tents built at the recently opened migrant detention center, 'Alligator Alcatraz,' located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on Friday, July 4, 2025. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Guillermo Smith characterized the chants as 'ironic.' 'They're putting undocumented immigrants in this detention camp who are not facing any criminal charges,' he said. 'They're going after cooks, maids, and frankly, immigrants who had legal status five minutes ago.' The Florida Democrat added that among those who are being held at the center are migrants who previously had Temporary Protective Status (TPS), which was recently revoked by Trump. Guillermo Smith said that these migrants are being told to self-deport or are being threatened with being sent to the Everglades facility and face deportation. Noem announced ahead of her visit to 'Alligator Alcatraz' in early July that the Florida facility would house some of the ' worst of the worst,' that she said were allowed to enter the U.S. under the Biden administration. In the announcement, the DHS chief included the names and photos of 11 migrants who she said had been convicted of crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, child abuse and rape. 'Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags,' she said at the time. 'We will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida. Make America safe again.' The fact that the facility is being held up as an example of what Noem wants to replicate elsewhere is concerning to Democratic lawmakers. The facility operates under a $450 million annual cost, which Guillermo Smith said is three times the amount of that to place migrants in an existing permanent detention center. Florida state officials have announced plans to expand the facility's capacity to 5,000 beds. That calculates to $90,000 per detainee per year, the state lawmaker explained, which compares to the nearly $30,000 that is spent per inmate to currently house those in state prisons. In addition, Guillermo Smith said he is ashamed by the notion that the Florida Republican Party is selling 'Alligator Alcatraz' merchandise, including $30 T-shirts, $27 baseball caps, and $15 beverage coolers. 'They're literally not only pushing, but selling propaganda,' he said, adding that the government is using the facility as a 'gimmick' or part of a larger political game. Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have touted the state-run facility, which operates through a 287 (g) agreement that allows states to partner with federal agencies on immigration enforcement. The Times reported that DeSantis is considering opening another facility in North Florida as federal officials seek to expand migrant detention centers across the country. The report indicated that ICE has distanced itself from the facility, with one top official telling the newspaper that 'the ultimate decision of who to detain belongs to Florida.' A DHS spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on the expansion.