Live: Public mourning for Pope Francis begins at St. Peter’s Basilica

Pentagon police are in gas masks and full chemical gear Thursday as a hazmat team locks down floors 2 through 5 of the massive complex.

Floors 2 through 5 in corridors 4 through 7 have been locked down, and other floors have been evacuated, three sources told CNN. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency's hazardous materials response team is on scene alongside the Arlington County Fire Department.

"The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. Systems within the Pentagon, he added, "have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance."

An internal security message obtained by CNN offered a rare glimpse inside the response — and a curious instruction to rattled occupants.

"This additional testing could take one to two hours. Response teams are in place and ready to support building occupants if necessary. You may observe response personnel from multiple agencies and precautionary measures taking place in the center courtyard. Please do not interpret these activities," the message read.

Retired Col. Cedric Leighton, a former Pentagon official, flagged a particular danger for some workers on CNN.

"There are certain facilities within the Pentagon that are windowless facilities, so the only air supply that they're going to get is from the air handling system that is in the Pentagon," Leighton warned.

Arlington Fire & EMS confirmed on X that its hazardous materials team is operating at the Pentagon "during a hazardous materials incident," posting 18 minutes before the Pentagon's public acknowledgment.

Tens of thousands of people work inside the building. The full scope of how many have been locked down or evacuated remains unclear.

This is a developing story.

A Democratic strategist was floored on Sunday after hearing a former Make America Great Again podcaster's blistering rebuke of President Donald Trump.

Tim Dillon, a popular comedian who boosted Trump on his podcast during the 2024 general election, claimed during a recent episode of his podcast that Trump's schtick is "not cute anymore" as Americans struggle to afford basic necessities and the Trump administration "sells the government for parts."

Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist, seemed taken aback by Dillon's comments because they reflect the growing frustration among some Republicans.

"The problem is that a carnival barker now is President of the United States at maybe the worst possible time that we could tolerate a president like this because he has decimated the global economy across the world, but certainly here at home and the economy was already not great for a lot of people because wage growth has been depressed because of the inflationary crisis, because of the job market with AI and robotics," Nellis said.

"And we need a president that has a forward-looking vision for how to deal with the dramatic changes that are occurring in our economy right now," he added. "We need a president that's willing to take on the billionaire class of people who are stripping us of our dignity and making it harder for you to be able to pay your bills, take care of your family, take a vacation, have a hobby, stuff like that. It's disgusting, but he was entertaining."

Dillon has recently criticized Trump for "betraying MAGA" by waging war in Iran. The war has dramatically increased global energy prices, which have been a leading cause of stubborn inflation in grocery prices and other goods.

President Donald Trump is planting a bomb that is sure to explode in Republicans' faces during the midterms as he seeks to get Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed for the full AG role, according to one long-time GOP pollster.

Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, argued during a new episode of her podcast, "Illegal News with Sarah Longwell," that confirming Blanche as Attorney General could be difficult because of the Republicans' narrow majority in the Senate. She added that Blanche's confirmation may spark a bitter intra-party fight among Republicans over some of the baggage Blanche is bringing.

"The Blanche thing is so egregious," Longwell said. "It would not surprise me at all if Blanche gets blocked by the Senate confirmation."

Longwell noted that Republicans can only afford to have four of their own party members vote against Blanche in the confirmation battle. However, there seem to be at least five — and possibly many more — who are willing to vote against Blanche to spite the president.

Longwell added that Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) seem likely to vote against Blanche because of how the president has treated them.

She also said that there are other Republicans who are vulnerable enough politically that they may be willing to vote against Blanche with just a little pressure.

"The obvious thing to do is to start running ads in these guys' states, people who are not completely out of their minds or who are vulnerable, because this is the kind of thing Republicans will attack other Republicans over," Longwell said, noting that the ads would focus on why Blanche was willing to give convicted sex criminal Ghislaine Maxwell a sweetheart deal to move to a low-security facility.