TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

A record number of passengers traveled through U.S. airports over Thanksgiving weekend, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.

Holiday travelers are starting their final sprint.

Whether you’re traveling the skies or roads, here are a few helpful tips for making it to your destination safely, and with fewer headaches.

Across the country, federal workers still stung by memories of past government shutdowns are bracing for the possibility of another extended closure.

Passengers traveling with a firearm must properly pack it in checked baggage and declare to the airline

This is what you need to know after a busy week of Houston traffic.

Summer travel is here y'all!

Ahead of the busy summer travel season, the Transportation Security Administration announced a benefit Monday for TSA PreCheck membership.

The agency tasked with securing America's airports is testing the use of facial recognition technology at a number of airports across the country.

Authorities say an airline passenger was arrested for carrying a self-defense item known as a vampire straw through security at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Congress is taking another look at creating a new no-fly list for unruly passengers.

Spring break travel is here, y’all!

Last year saw a record number of guns intercepted at airport checkpoints across the country.

Officials from the Transportation Security Administration say they were able to stop a passenger who was carrying an assault rifle and 163 rounds of ammunition from getting on a plane headed to Houston.

Power was briefly knocked out at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday afternoon, leaving many passengers at one of the world’s busiest airports in the dark and halting security checks.

The federal agency tasked with airport security says so far this year officers have stopped a record number of guns going through airport security.

The Transportation Security Administration is raising the fine for people caught with a firearm in their carry-on bag.

Holiday travel is here, y’all!

With the holiday travel rush once again in full swing, you should be planning to arrive at the airport early, plan and prepare.

The Transportation Security Administration is reminding travelers how to travel with their pets after a dog was found inside a backpack during an x-ray screening at an airport.

It’s amazing what people try to bring through their luggage or on their person through airports.

Don’t accuse the TSA of catnapping on the job.

The Transportation Security Administration screened 8.76 million travelers during the Labor Day holiday.

Air travelers are finally getting a break on fares.

The fireworks are still a few days away, but travel for the July Fourth weekend is off to a booming start.

Airlines are canceling more than 1,500 flights across the U.S. in one of the worst days yet in the summer travel season.

The people who screen your bag at the airport are expecting big crowds this summer.

The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs.

A poll finds that a majority of people in the United States continue to support a mask requirement for people traveling on airplanes and other shared transportation.

A ruling by a judge in Florida means that the federal requirement to wear masks on airplanes and public transportation appears to be dead.

A federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit Monday, and airlines and airports swiftly began repealing their face covering requirements.

We’ve been recognizing National Work Zone Awareness week which kicked off on Monday, aimed at keeping construction workers safe on our highways.

The Biden administration has announced it will extend through May 3 the nationwide mask requirement for airplanes and public transit as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

The Biden administration says U.S. airport security procedures will become more gender-neutral.

After the last couple years of living through a global pandemic, it seems as though most of us are itching to get in some good travel time.

Thanksgiving travel is here, y’all!

Federal officials are extending the requirement for masks on planes and public transportation through mid-April while taking steps that could lead to lifting the rule.

We are just three months into 2022 and already the Federal Aviation Administration has received hundreds of reports of passengers acting aggressively in the air. Last year, 2021 was a record-setting year for the number of incidents involving disruptive passengers on planes. Because of this, flight attendants are enrolling in the Transportation Security Administration’s Crew Member Self-Defense training course.

There has been a surge in guns being discovered at airport checkpoints.

Delta Air Lines has told the U.S. Department of Justice that any person convicted of a disruption on board a flight should be put on the national “no fly” list.

Newly released video shows a security officer leaping over conveyor belt rollers and saving a 2-month-old boy who stopped breathing at a New Jersey airport security checkpoint.

We rounded up some of the strangest finds that the TSA and CBP documented in Texas in 2021.

Authorities say a passenger awaiting a bag search at the Atlanta airport’s main security checkpoint reached in the bag and grabbed a firearm, and it went off, causing chaos among travelers.

Millions of Houstonians are expected to travel this holiday season, as travel rebounds in the air and on the ground.

The number of airline passengers traveling for Thanksgiving this year is expected to rebound to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, but the Transportation Security Administration says it is ready to handle the surge.

The Transportation Security Administration security administration is reporting a record number of firearms discovered at airports across the country this year.

Travelers who refuse to wear masks could now face up to $3,000 in fines.

Ask anyone old enough to remember travel before Sept. 11, 2001, and you're likely to get a gauzy recollection of what flying was like.

If you're flying on a plane or taking a train, be ready to keep wearing that face mask for a few more months.

Air travel in the United States hit another pandemic-era record over the weekend as vacationers jammed airports, but shares of airlines, cruise lines, hotels and almost anything else related to travel are tumbling on growing concerns about highly contagious variants of coronavirus.

The airline industry’s recovery from the pandemic passed a milestone as more than 2 million people streamed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Friday for the first time since early March 2020.

The Biden administration says it is moving to increase the pay and union rights for security screeners at the nation’s airports.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says people traveling for Memorial Day weekend should be patient because there will be long lines at U.S. airports.

The federal government will issue cybersecurity regulations in the coming days for U.S. pipeline operators following a ransomware attack that led to fuel shortages across much of the Eastern Seaboard.

If you're traveling over the Memorial Day weekend, expect lots of company.

Mother's Day weekend meant bigger crowds at U.S. airports.

The federal government is extending the requirement that travelers wear face masks on planes, trains and buses.

The Transportation Security Administration has extended a requirement that passengers on planes, trains and buses wear face masks.

FILE - In this Friday, March 19, 2021 file photo, an airliner lands at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Fla. On Sunday, March 21, more than 1.5 million people streamed through U.S. airport security checkpoints, the largest number since the pandemic tightened its grip on the United States more than a year ago. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)More than 1.5 million people streamed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Sunday, the largest number since the pandemic tightened its grip on the United States more than a year ago. It marked the 11th straight day that the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 1 million people, likely from a combination of spring break travel and more people becoming vaccinated against COVID-19. The TSA said Monday that it screened about 1.54 million people on Sunday, which appeared to be the largest number since March 13, 2020. Still, the number of people passing through airport checkpoints Sunday was about one-fourth below the number on the closest Sunday in 2019.

Across the United States, air travel is recovering more quickly from the depths of the pandemic, and it is showing up in longer airport security lines and busier traffic on airline websites. "Our last three weeks have been the best three weeks since the pandemic hit, and each week has been better than the one prior,” American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said Monday. Shares of the four biggest U.S. carriers hit their highest prices in more than a year. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said Monday that bookings began picking up five or six weeks ago. Since the pandemic hit, air travel has picked up a few times — mostly around holidays — only to drop back down.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University issued a quarantine order for all of its undergraduates effective Saturday night due to a coronavirus outbreak caused by students who attended recruitment parties, the school said. The university said in a statement that all undergraduate students will be forced to stay-in-place until at least March 21. Suspension or dismissal from the school are potential punishments for “flagrant or repeat violators.”Over the past week, the school has reported more than 180 positive coronavirus cases among students. AdItaly has now tallied some 3.2 million cases in the pandemic. The COVAX alliance aims to share COVID-19 vaccines with more than 90 lower and middle-income nations.

HOUSTON – The Transportation Security Administration said Friday that it has changed language in its face mask requirement to include specific fines -- which could range from $250 to $1,500 or more -- for people who refuse to wear a mask while traveling. Based on substantial aggravating or mitigating factors, TSA may seek a sanction amount that falls outside these ranges. TSA has provided transportation system operators specific guidance on how to report violations so that TSA may issue penalties to those who refuse to wear a face mask. The requirement extends to wearing masks in airports, bus and rail stations, as well as while on planes, public transportation, passenger railroads, and buses. Read more in the news release from TSA.

Federal safety officials are investigating people who took part in last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol to decide whether they belong on the federal no-fly list. The assessments are one of several steps federal agencies are taking to increase security before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week. The assessments could result in rioters being added to the federal no-fly list, the person said. The FBI said earlier this week it was considering adding Capitol rioters to the federal no-fly list but stopped short of saying that individuals were being scrutinized. Airlines and Washington-area airports also have promised tighter security after last week’s riot at the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.

Administrative worker Sander Edmondson, left, hands a COVID-19 testing kit to a woman at a testing site in Los Angeles, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)Here’s what’s happening Monday with the pandemic in the U.S.:THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY— A huge study of another COVID-19 vaccine candidate is getting underway Monday as states continue to roll out scarce supplies of the nation’s first shots. Some 30,000 volunteers are needed to prove if this vaccine — a different kind than its Pfizer and Moderna competitors — really works and is safe. — Homicides in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and other U.S. cities have topped 2019 numbers as violence surged during the coronavirus pandemic. ___Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)BEIJING — Authorities in China’s northeastern port city of Dalian are testing millions of residents after seven new coronavirus cases were reported there in the last 24 hours. It has a deal to secure up to 100 million doses of the potential vaccine produced by AstraZeneca. Koca said the first shipment of three million doses of CoronaVac would be shipped to Turkey on Sunday and arrive Monday. He said Turkey could get 4.5 million doses until the end of March and would have the option buy up to 30 million doses. Indonesia has reported nearly 700,000 COVID-19 cases, the largest caseload in Southeast Asia and second in Asia only to India’s 10.1 million confirmed cases.

HOUSTON – George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston is the 2020 Airport of the Year, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA team in Houston consists of more than 1,100 employees, which includes TSA officers, inspectors, canine handlers, explosives experts, managers and program analysts. The award recognizes team achievements in key operations and mission support functions, such as measurable improvements, superior performance, notable innovation and significant operational improvements in support of TSA’s mission. “We are honored to be named TSA’s 2020 Airport of the year,” Houston Airports Director Mario Diaz said. “On behalf of the entire team at Bush Airport and the traveling public, I also congratulate the George Bush Intercontinental Airport TSA team for their invaluable commitment to safety and efficiency throughout this challenging year.

The Transportation Security Administration screened at least 1 million people on four of the last 10 days through Sunday. That's still half the crowd recorded last year at airports, when more than 2 million people were counted per day. With new reported cases of coronavirus spiking across the country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a warning against Thanksgiving travel just a week before the holiday. On Monday, JetBlue Airways said “booking trends remain volatile,” and a recovery in travel demand will be uneven into next year. Those are slightly deeper reductions in flying and revenue than the New York carrier had expected before the recent spike in infections.

HOUSTON – The Transportation Security Administration at George Bush Intercontinental Airport found eight guns inside luggage over the course of a week, according to a news release. Those eight were part of 92 that have been found in 2020, meaning 11.5% of guns found at IAH were found in just a week, the release revealed. Here is a breakdown:9/20/2020: .40 loaded9/20/2020: 9mm loaded9/22/2020: .380 loaded9/23/2020: .380 loaded9/23/2020: .357 loaded9/24/2020: .380 unloaded9/24/2020: 9mm unloaded9/27/2020: 9mm loaded“Guns are prohibited in the cabins of airplanes. This law has been in place long before TSA existed,” said Juan Sanchez, TSA’s Federal Security Director for IAH. Go online to see the rules for transporting firearms.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)With air traffic nearing a five-month high, airport security is finding guns in passenger carry-on bags at three times the rate recorded before the pandemic. There has been a significant increase in loaded guns at checkpoints, said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. Last year, 4,432 guns were found in carry-on bags, or about 12.1 per day, and 87% were loaded. TSA's public appeal to follow gun rules came the same day that it reported screening 831,789 people on Sunday. It was the first time checkpoint traffic in U.S. airports has topped 800,000 since March 17.

The top TSA official in Kansas, Jay Brainard, says the TSAs actions amount to gross mismanagement." The special counsel has ordered TSA's parent agency, the Homeland Security Department, to conduct an investigation. Brainard filed his whistleblower complaint on June 3, and the special counsel on Thursday ordered the Homeland Security Department to investigate the allegations. By law, the special counsel only takes that step when it believes there is a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing. The special counsel will review Homeland Securitys findings and issue a report to the White House and Congress.

Five restaurants continue to operate with enhanced off-premise service only, while nine restaurants remain temporarily closed. Transactions at fast food restaurants were down 17% the week of May 24, while transactions at sit-down chains were down 49%. CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS & BANKS: Spains national statistics office said that it received zero international tourists in April. That compares with 7 million tourists that spent 7 billion euros ($7.8 billion) in Spain in the prior-year period. Istanbuls 15th century Grand Bazaar, museums, gyms, child care centers and nurseries, were among other venues allowed to resume operations.

HOUSTON – George Bush Intercontinental Airport is among the top five airports where Transportation Security Administration officers found the most guns in 2019. IAH officers detected 138 guns in carry-on bags or on passengers last year, authorities announced Wednesday. NEWS: TSA officers caught more firearms at checkpoints nationwide in 2019 than ever before in the agency’s 18-year history. Read the full press release: https://t.co/n3Zqyfpcnx pic.twitter.com/Qejm69lzwy — TSA (@TSA) January 15, 2020The IAH information was part of a news release that also announced that TSA officers found more firearms at checkpoints nationwide in 2019 than ever before in the agency’s 18-year history. The top five airports where TSA officers detected guns at checkpoints in 2019 were:1.