The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a previous order on Wednesday that had grounded all flights departing El Paso International Airport in Texas for ten days due to “special security reasons.”

The White House told The Daily Wire shortly after the reversal that the move was related to drug cartels.

“Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones,” the White House said. “The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.”

NEW: Administration official tells @realDailyWire that the FAA temporarily grounded all flights over El Paso because “Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace.”

“The Department of War took action to disable the drones,” the official said. “The FAA and DOW have determined there…

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 11, 2026

Similar restrictions were put in place for Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 15 miles away from El Paso. El Paso, which borders Mexico, is a city of around 678,000 people. 

“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal,” the FAA announced Wednesday morning, just a few hours after announcing flights would be grounded for ten days. The airport handles up to 100 flights daily.

The notice from the FAA put in place flight restrictions for a 10-mile radius around El Paso. Planes flying above 18,000 feet would have been allowed to fly over, but the limitations did not extend into Mexican airspace. 

After the initial grounding was announced, Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, called for the FAA to lift the restrictions. 

“The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community,” she said. “From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”

After the restrictions were lifted, Escobar said there were no safety concerns.

“The FAA is rightfully lifting the Temporary Restricted Airspace. I will again reiterate there is no threat to El Paso or the surrounding areas,” she said.

State Senator Cesar Blanco, a Democrat, said his office was contacting multiple agencies to understand the justification for the temporary grounding. 

“Actions like this are taken out of an abundance of caution to protect our community. I encourage everyone to remain calm and patient as we await further information. We will share updates as they become available,” he said. 

The FBI releases video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s front door, Democrats spar with Trump’s top immigration chiefs on Capitol Hill, and the Epstein files spark a firestorm in the U.K.

It’s Wednesday, February 11, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:

Nancy Guthrie Person Of Interest Detained And Released

The FBI provided a breakthrough on Tuesday, releasing video footage of a potential suspect in the case of Nancy Guthrie before authorities detained a man as a person of interest outside Tucson on Tuesday night. The man was later released from custody.

The photos showed a frightening scene: a masked man approaching Guthrie’s front door and obscuring her Nest camera. The man also appears to be carrying a gun. FBI Director Kash Patel then released 30 seconds of video. The man walks up to the doorbell camera, trying to cover the lens, which doesn’t work. He goes back towards the archway in front of Guthrie’s house, picks up some vegetation, and tries to cover up the camera with it again. 

Immigration Officials Trade Barbs With Democrats

A combative hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday had Democrats sparring with the Trump administration’s top immigration chiefs. Democrats focused fire on the Trump immigration and deportation agenda. The acting ICE director was asked to resign multiple times and, unsurprisingly, said no, defending the officers and agents he leads. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) told acting ICE Director Todd Lyons that Democrats calling ICE the “Gestapo” and “secret police” is justified because it is what they are seeing. “People are simply making valid observations about your tactics, which are un-American and outright fascist,” Goldman said. Lyons told Goldman to go to the Holocaust Museum because he was wrong to make the comparison. The dispute between immigration officials and Democratic lawmakers continued.

The U.K.’s Epstein Crisis

The release of the Jeffrey Epstein files has sparked a firestorm over in the U.K., where British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is embroiled in a scandal involving their ambassador to the U.S., while King Charles says he’s ready to support the British police looking into his brother Andrew. The Royal Family in general has been very quiet on the Epstein scandal, even though the king’s brother, Andrew, until recently Prince Andrew, is so closely related to the Epstein Island events. In politics, the U.K. elected a Labour government about 20 months ago with Sir Keir Starmer as the leader. Now, as part of that administration, one of the most significant positions is the British ambassador to America. Lord Peter Mandelson was given that job, a shock to many, given the upcoming Epstein files. The scandal erupted anew with the latest Justice Department release of files, and Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned over the weekend because of Mandelson’s appointment.