Uncertainty is the feeling du jour for airline travel heading into spring break and Easter, as the partial government shutdown continues to strain TSA staffing.

Why it matters: If you're about to ditch town, you're likely on edge about reports of hours-long security lines. But so far in the DMV, delays have been hit-or-miss.

The latest: At Dulles, security lines "remain steady and within normal wait times," the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority tells Axios.

• Same story at Reagan National — based on its real-time checkpoint tracker (worth bookmarking).

The intrigue: It's not just a D.C. bubble.

• An NPR correspondent who just visited six major airports (from Dulles to Atlanta to Orlando) never waited more than 30 minutes.

Yes, but: The situation isn't overblown — it's unpredictable.

• TSA staffing gaps mean conditions can shift quickly. Airports can suddenly close lanes, triggering major backups.
• That happened at BWI last Sunday, when 38% of TSA officers called out, and travelers waited for hours. Lines have eased since — and the airport says they've been "close to normal" apart from Sunday.
• But you're still advised to arrive at least 3 hours early.

Between the lines: President Trump deployed ICE to some of the worst-hit airports this week.

• Agents have been spotted at Dulles and Reagan.
• No presence reported at BWI, where Gov. Moore has said, "We do not need ICE."

Good to know: Pre-screening lines often move faster.

• Clear biometric screening is available at all DMV airports — including new biometric e-gates at BWI — for a paid membership (typically over $200 a year, unless covered by your credit card).
• Meanwhile, TSA PreCheck Touchless ID lines are moving quickly, per the Points Guy, and can be activated with a simple opt-in.

Tell a traveler

Bob Woodward has been pretty much underground for nearly a year. This town knows what that means: He has a captivating bestseller coming. Bob doesn't talk, and you don't ask. But his friends always speculate.

• Now we know: Woodward will be out Sept. 29 with "Secrets: A Reporter's Memoir." Finally, Bob's long-awaited book about Bob.

"I never planned to write a memoir," Woodward says. "But I'm 83 years old on Thursday, and it was time to put some of my best reporting stories and details of my longest reporting relationships on paper. "

• "Some of the best sources are deceased, and I can tell those stories now," he added. "Elsa Walsh, my wife, calls them 'the forever sources.' But no longer, because they are gone."

✍️ Behind the scenes: Woodward has been working intensely on the book for the last year or so. Claire McMullen, his assistant, had been digging in the files for several years, at least.

• Woodward "has kept notes, transcripts and files of all his interviews with the most important players in Washington," from the Vietnam and Nixon eras to today, per his publisher, Simon & Schuster. "Woodward describes in vivid detail his reporting methods .... How does he get people to talk? Why do people talk? Why do some sources continue to talk for decades?"

📚 The backstory: Legendary for his Pulitzer-winning Watergate coverage, Woodward has written 24 bestsellers, many going deep inside presidential decision-making.

• Jonathan Karp — who edited the book for Simon & Schuster — said: "No reporter has had a greater impact covering our national story. 'Secrets' puts the past 55 years into context in a fascinating and revelatory way."

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The U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday evening was released from the hospital yesterday. The officer was in plainclothes driving a white Tesla in Southeast D.C. near the Maryland line, authorities said, when two suspects fired dozens of shots. (NBC4)

• MPD said it arrested two young men.

🏡 A mansion-to-condo project is moving forward on 16th Street in Mount Pleasant, turning a historic building on a prominent corner into 90 units of housing. (UrbanTurf)

🧠 In hyper-educated D.C., Claude has four times the adoption rate you'd expect for a city of its size, per new data from the AI company. (Axios)

Following backlash, NPS says it'll move up its timeline for reopening Meridian Hill/Malcolm X park's lawn.

The latest: NPS had planned to start reseeding the grass this week, with a closure planned through September. Now, they're telling petition organizers that they'll reopen the lawn "mid-June."

Catch up quick: Nearly 3,500 people signed a petition criticizing NPS' plans to close the lawn for the summer.

What we're hearing: Without confirming exact dates, spokesperson Autumn Cook tells Axios that NPS expects the lawn to be closed "into the early summer."

• Updates will be posted online.

Major League Soccer has rolled out plans for a mini-season in early 2027 as it makes a major calendar change that'll align it with much of the rest of the world.

• Designated a "sprint season," the regular season will run from February until April.
• Each team will play 14 intraconference regular season games (seven on the road and seven at home).

Then: The league's new summer-to-spring season calendar will kick off in July 2027 and culminate in the MLS Cup in May 2028.

• There'll be a break from mid-December through early February.

What they're saying: The long-awaited change will make the league more competitive to poach talent during the summer transfer window, which MLS executives are hyped for — including at D.C. United.

• "This alignment mirrors the global nature of our city and allows our club to exist in rhythm with the rest of the world's game," D.C. United's president Danita Johnson previously said.