A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.

Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.

Officials confirmed the theft to Sky News’ US partner NBC News on Monday.

The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.

“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”

Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.

He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.

Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.

At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.

They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.

The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.

It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.

When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”

She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.

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Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.

Harvard University is suing Donald Trump’s administration after it rejected a list of demands from the White House and had $2.2bn (£1.6bn) of government funding frozen.

The Ivy League institution, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is accused of ideological bias and allowing antisemitism during campus protests last year against Israel’s war in Gaza.

The Trump administration, which began a review of $9bn (£6.7bn) in federal grants for Harvard in March, had demanded the university screen international students for those “hostile to the American values” and the end of all diversity, equality and inclusion programmes.

The university’s president Alan Garber has remained defiant and rejected those and other reforms, prompting the US President to question whether the university should lose its tax-exempt status.

Mr Trump accused the institution of pushing what he called “political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?'” in a post on Truth Social.

Harvard has seen student-led protests in recent days calling on the institution to resist interference by the federal government.

Harvard’s lawsuit, filed in Boston, described the research funding freeze as “arbitrary and capricious” and violating its First Amendment rights.

“The government has not – and cannot – identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, foster American success, preserve American security, and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation,” the court documents revealed.

On Monday, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields issued a defiant response to the lawsuit: “The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from struggling American families is coming to an end.

“Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege.”

The Trump administration has also paused some funding for universities including Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern and Brown over the campus protests.

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But protesters, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza is wrongly associated with antisemitism.

Mr Garber said the institution would continue to fight hate and fully comply with anti-discrimination laws.

The American Council on Education, a non-profit organisation with more than 1,600 member colleges and universities, supported the legal action by Harvard.

“It has been clear for weeks that the administration’s actions violated due process and the rule of law. We applaud Harvard for taking this step.”

Hundreds of passengers have been taken off a plane after one of its engines caught fire as it was about to take off, airport officials have said.

The Delta Air Lines plane carrying nearly 300 people was pushing back from the gate at Orlando International Airport in Florida when smoke began to appear from the engine on its right wing on Monday.

There were no initial reports of injuries, the airline said.

Pictures and video published on social media showed flames and smoke rising from the Airbus A330 and passengers sliding down an escape chute as they left the aircraft.

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The plane was heading for Atlanta, a journey of more than 400 miles with a flight time of around one hour and 40 minutes.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is going to investigate what happened.

Flight 1213 had 282 passengers and 12 crew members, Delta said.

The airline said its flight crews “followed procedures to evacuate the passenger cabin when flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft’s two engines were observed”.

A social media user posted a video of what appeared to be a serious fire and flames coming from the Airbus plane, and another video of passengers exiting the plane via a slide.

Orlando International Airport said on X that the fire was on the ramp area and that the airport’s aircraft rescue and firefighting team responded quickly. Airbus did not immediately comment.

Delta said maintenance teams will check the aircraft, and the airline will bring in additional aircraft to help customers reach their final destinations on Monday.

It’s the latest in a series of high-profile aviation incidents that have raised questions about how safe flying is in the US.

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Last month, an engine on an American Airlines jet caught fire after the plane diverted to Denver, forcing the evacuation of passengers onto the wing of the aeroplane. The engine caught fire while taxiing to the gate.

In January, 67 people died after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport.