Logan International Airport

The explosions in Boston on Monday jangled nerves and created some flight arrival and departure issues at Logan International Airport. What worried fliers may need to calm themselves is a golden kiss -- a golden retriever kiss, that is. Therapy dogs will be spreading the love at boarding gates, baggage claim and ticketing areas at Los Angeles International Airport to put fliers at ease with a cuddle and wag of the tail. It's part of a new program called PUPs, Pets Unstressing Passengers.

BOSTON -- As scores of marathon runners prepared to leave Boston on Tuesday, the gates at Logan International Airport formed a sea of bright yellow and blue race jackets and shirts. Many of those waiting were deep in conversation with fellow runners, sharing tales of Monday's terror. "I'm anxious to get home to see my family," said Christine Kickels, 45, a community college librarian with a 9-year-old daughter waiting for her back in Chicago. Kickels came to run Boston for the first time with Yankee Runners, a local group of about 21 marathoners.

Sen. Dave Durenberger was a "gentleman" following his arrest for disorderly conduct and the incident could have been avoided if he had properly identified himself, state police said Tuesday. Durenberger (R-Minn.) was arrested Sunday night following a shouting match with police as he tried to catch a taxi at Logan International Airport, police said. Charges against the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee were dismissed Monday.

The explosions in Boston on Monday jangled nerves and created some flight arrival and departure issues at Logan International Airport. What worried fliers may need to calm themselves is a golden kiss -- a golden retriever kiss, that is. Therapy dogs will be spreading the love at boarding gates, baggage claim and ticketing areas at Los Angeles International Airport to put fliers at ease with a cuddle and wag of the tail. It's part of a new program called PUPs, Pets Unstressing Passengers.

Boston's Logan International Airport will test a high-tech system to detect phony passports and other doctored identification papers. Logan will become the first U.S. airport to install the $10,000 devices, said Jose Juves, spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs the airport. "Officials here have been impressed with the system and believe that it adds yet another layer of scrutiny to the check-in system without causing undue inconvenience," Juves said.

A Virginia man linked to an alleged $1-million credit card fraud to finance the presidential bid of political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. was arrested in Boston as he arrived from Paris. Paul Neil Goldstein, of Leesburg, was taken into custody at Logan International Airport on a charge of obstruction of justice. Goldstein was one of 10 individuals and five LaRouche fund-raising organizations named in a 117-count federal indictment handed down Oct. 6.

The former security director for Israel's El Al Airlines has been hired as a consultant to improve safety at Logan International Airport. Logan's security has been scrutinized since terrorists hijacked two planes departing from Boston on Sept. 11 and crashed them into New York's World Trade Center. Rafi Ron, who also has directed security at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, was hired by the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Acting Gov. Jane Swift joked about firing staff members after a televised speech in which she announced the ouster of Logan International Airport's security chief. The remark Tuesday was recorded by TV and radio crews. After staff members applauded her announcement that State Police Supt. John DiFava would replace Joe Lawless as airport security chief, she said, "They work for me and they know I'm in a firing mood." She then said, "Just kidding. I hope my mike wasn't on."

Northwest Airlines Flight 59 carried 124 passengers when it left the Netherlands -- and 125 when it landed in Boston. Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for Logan International Airport, says a woman went into labor and gave birth to an apparently healthy baby girl during the eight-hour flight from Amsterdam. Orlandella said a doctor and a paramedic who were aboard assisted in the birth. The plane landed without incident about 10:30 a.m., he said, and mother and baby were hospitalized.

A gunman killed his former wife and then commandeered a small plane and swooped over Boston for three hours, strafing Logan International Airport and firing at baseball fans leaving Fenway Park, authorities said today. Authorities said Alfred Hunter, 42, of Ipswich had only five minutes of fuel left when he finally landed at Logan airport at 1:16 a.m. The 42-year-old licensed pilot took to the skies after killing his former wife, Elvira, in front of their 5-year-old son Tuesday night, police said.

For the next two months at Logan International Airport in Boston, passengers will be casually greeted by Transportation Security Administration officials. But the officers aren't there for a friendly "hello" — they're trying to deter and detect passengers who pose a risk to aviation security. As part of the TSA's new behavior-detection pilot program that started this week, screeners are engaging each passenger in Terminal A in casual conversation in an effort to detect suspicious behavior.

Northwest Airlines Flight 59 carried 124 passengers when it left the Netherlands -- and 125 when it landed in Boston. Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for Logan International Airport, says a woman went into labor and gave birth to an apparently healthy baby girl during the eight-hour flight from Amsterdam. Orlandella said a doctor and a paramedic who were aboard assisted in the birth. The plane landed without incident about 10:30 a.m., he said, and mother and baby were hospitalized.

Nearly six months after two planes that took off from Logan International Airport here crashed into the World Trade Center, officials announced that 20 airport employees were charged Wednesday with a series of mostly minor immigration violations. U.S. Atty. Michael J. Sullivan said Wednesday that the review of employment records of 3,500 airport workers with access to secure areas began soon after the Sept. 11 attacks. "It is an arduous task," Sullivan said at an airport news conference.

Boston's Logan International Airport will test a high-tech system to detect phony passports and other doctored identification papers. Logan will become the first U.S. airport to install the $10,000 devices, said Jose Juves, spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs the airport. "Officials here have been impressed with the system and believe that it adds yet another layer of scrutiny to the check-in system without causing undue inconvenience," Juves said.

The former security director for Israel's El Al Airlines has been hired as a consultant to improve safety at Logan International Airport. Logan's security has been scrutinized since terrorists hijacked two planes departing from Boston on Sept. 11 and crashed them into New York's World Trade Center. Rafi Ron, who also has directed security at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, was hired by the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Acting Gov. Jane Swift joked about firing staff members after a televised speech in which she announced the ouster of Logan International Airport's security chief. The remark Tuesday was recorded by TV and radio crews. After staff members applauded her announcement that State Police Supt. John DiFava would replace Joe Lawless as airport security chief, she said, "They work for me and they know I'm in a firing mood." She then said, "Just kidding. I hope my mike wasn't on."

Two Delta Air Lines jets were forced to return to the Cincinnati airport shortly after takeoff because of equipment failures Sunday, the same day a Delta plane landed on the wrong runway at Boston in a rash of incidents involving the airline, officials said today. Cincinnati airport officials said there were no injuries and no irregularities in the Boeing 767 return landings Sunday. One flight took off from the airport in suburban Florence, Ky.

Seeking to assure her home state--and the country--that security is a priority at Logan International Airport, acting Gov. Jane M. Swift on Tuesday announced a new head of safety for the embattled facility. Swift did not mention the name of Joseph Lawless, the former security chief who ham-handedly told federal officials their help was not needed in the initial phase of the investigation after two planes that took off from Logan struck New York City's World Trade Center. Swift said Col.

A distraught man who allegedly had just killed his ex-wife commandeered a small plane and held the city of Boston hostage for three hours, firing a semiautomatic weapon while flying within 50 feet of motorists and buildings before his capture. Traffic controllers at Logan International Airport said the pilot buzzed them repeatedly, forcing officials to close the facility for an hour and reroute several late-night flights. Controllers fled the tower twice. Alfred J. Hunter, 42, pleaded innocent to one count each of murder and armed robbery after a flight that began late Tuesday and reportedly included a dip beneath a harbor bridge.