Costa Rica Draws a Hard LinePresident Rodrigo Chaves said Costa Rica no longer recognizes Cuba’s communist government and will close its embassy in Havana for good. He made the announcement at Peñas Blancas, on the border with Nicaragua, and said relations will be limited to consular work starting April 1. Chaves also said the move was made with President-elect Laura Fernández before he leaves office on May 8. In plain terms, San José has decided that keeping a full diplomatic office in Havana is no longer worth the cost or the political drama. Governments love drama, but embassies are supposed to move papers, not stage endless lectures.Havana Calls It PressureCuba’s foreign ministry rejected the decision at once, calling it unilateral, arbitrary, and the result of U.S. pressure. Havana blamed Washington’s embargo for the island’s economic pain and accused Chaves of twisting Cuba’s history to fit the moment. That is a familiar script in Havana, where every shortage is someone else’s fault and every criticism becomes “interference.” Costa Rica pointed instead to reports of repression, shortages of food and medicine, and tighter pressure on activists and opponents. Both sides are speaking in well-worn diplomatic slogans, which is often what happens when…

Travelers Met the Shutdown SpecialAirports felt the first ugly effects Tuesday after about 2,700 TSA officers, roughly 10 percent of the agency, did not report to work. ABC News said Atlanta and New Orleans saw nearly 40 percent of officers call out, JFK saw about 30 percent, and Houston Hobby saw just under 41 percent. On a normal day, TSA says only about 2 percent are absent. That gap matters when security checkpoints already run on thin margins and a bad day can turn a line into a civic endurance test. Apparently, federal travel now comes with a side dish of uncertainty, as if the nation needed one more reminder that bureaucracy loves fragility right up until it has to function.Some Airports May Lose LanesActing Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl told ABC that smaller airports could be forced to close security lanes, and in some cases temporarily stop operations if callouts keep rising. He said more than 100 airports have only one or two lanes, which means staffing problems can hit hard and fast. That is not exactly a shocking design flaw. When a system is built with just enough slack to survive a quiet Tuesday, it tends to wobble when…