Airport Security

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration, changing a policy that has unleashed widespread controversy and viral videos , says it will perform fewer pat-downs on young children at airport security checkpoints. The decision, made by TSA Administrator John S. Pistole, was announced Wednesday during testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Associated Press reported. In a change expected to be rolled out nationwide, Pistole said checkpoint workers will now be told to make repeated attempts to screen children without resorting to pat-downs, according to the report.

The Transportation Security Administration is changing the way it performs pat-down searches during airport screenings, but officials aren't saying exactly how. "TSA is in the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe," said a statement posted Friday on the TSA website .  It continued: "Pat-downs are one important tool to help TSA...

NEW YORK -- Twenty years ago, a man named Jerry Thomas died in New York City -- murdered in Queens in a case that was never solved. Not long afterward, a man named Jerry Thomas began working at Newark's international airport. The second Jerry Thomas remained there until this week when police arrested him on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant who had lived and worked using the dead man's identity. The case has underscored concerns about security breaches at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the country's busiest, despite what many say are Draconian measures put into place since 2001 to prevent security violations.

A program that lets preapproved air travelers zip through faster security lines will be expanded this year to 35 of the nation's largest airports, Transportation Security Administration officials announced Wednesday. The pilot program, dubbed PreCheck, lets travelers who get TSA clearance avoid what have become the most annoying steps of post-9/11 screening: removing shoes, belt and coats. PreCheck has been tested for several months with frequent travelers who fly with several major airlines at seven airports, including Los Angeles International.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently offered some good news for air travelers: The days of marching through airport security checkpoints in your stocking feet may soon be over. Technology improvements in the nation's airport screening machines could soon allow travelers to pass through the checkpoints without removing belts, coats, shoes and other clothing, she said in a C-SPAN televised interview last week. "I think one of the first things you will see over time is the ability to keep your shoes on," Napolitano said.

Lebanon's Cabinet decided to remove Beirut airport's security chief over alleged ties to the militant group Hezbollah, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said. Aridi read a statement saying the security chief, Brig. Gen. Wafiq Shoukair, would rejoin the army. He also said the Cabinet declared that a telecommunications network used by Hezbollah for military purposes was illegal and a danger to state security. The Cabinet decisions come a day after Lebanon's top prosecutor began investigating allegations that the militant group set up cameras near the airport to monitor the movement of anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and foreign dignitaries.

It has been nearly a year since a new screening service to zip passengers through airport security abruptly shut down, sending 160,000 paying customers back to regular passenger lines. But the defunct screening service is coming back under new ownership, with plans to offer the service at Los Angeles International Airport. The service, called Clear, is expected to start again this summer. Travelers who sign up for Clear pay $179 a year to undergo an identity check that includes fingerprints and retinal scans.

While many actors wait tables to finance their acting careers, Dean Cameron is trying to demonstrate his belief in the Bill of Rights by selling the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution on a small metal card that is suitable for confiscation by airport security. Cameron -- who plays Deputy Press Secretary Derek Larner on the NBC political drama "Mister Sterling" -- says he invented the "Security Edition" metal card before "Mister Sterling" came along.