TSA replaces X-ray scanners at some major airports
USA TODAY
The Transportation Security Administration has swapped out controversial X-ray body scanners with supposedly safer machines at several major airports, ProPublica is reporting.
The TSA told the investigative news site that the switch from so-called backscatter to millimeter-wave scanners was to speed passengers through checkpoints at busy airports and not because of potential health concerns from low-level radiation. TSA says both types meet federal health and safety standards.
The new scanners, which rely on low-energy, cellphone-like radio waves, have been installed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Orlando, TSA confirmed. The machines are also being used in San Francisco, passengers report..
Scottish tourism chiefs admit wind farms will ‘drive holidaymakers away’
Daily Mail
Tourism chiefs have admitted for the first time that wind farms could drive holidaymakers away.
In an intervention likely to embarrass the Scottish Government, VisitScotland has said an application to put turbines on a site north of Dumfries could have a ‘detrimental effect’ on tourism.
Its statement comes after Alex Salmond claimed wind farms ‘enhance our appeal as a country’ and puts the Scottish Government-funded quango on a collision course with its paymasters.
Pilgrims Rescued Amid Lourdes Floods in France
Wall Street Journal
Pilgrims trek by the millions each year to the Roman Catholic shrine in Lourdes, many looking to drink its spring waters reputed for their healing powers. This time, visitors were fleeing a different kind of water—floodwaters—in the southwestern French town.
Rescue teams helped hundreds of pilgrims escape waterlogged hotels on Saturday after heavy rains led the Gave River to overrun its banks—and even wash up into the town’s famed grotto, where many Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
The regional government issued a statement late Saturday saying 427 people had been evacuated from their hotels. The Red Cross and regional authorities provided food and shelter to the escapees, as authorities warned of forecasts for more rain in the region.
World’s airlines to take on airfare websites
USA TODAY
Airlines around the world, including U.S. carriers, are experimenting with a new way to sell tickets and personalize prices to win back customers from comparison websites such as Travelocity and Orbitz.
The International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines globally, is promoting the experiment to start next year as a way to customize ticket pricing, including fees for luggage and seat assignments that don’t appear on comparison sites now.
But travel agents worry that personalized prices will be even tougher to compare and could raise privacy concerns.
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