A protege of Kanye West was arrested at Laguardia Airport for carrying a set of brass knuckles at Laguardia Airport. At least, that what the TSA thinks 2 Chainz had. But others claim 2 Chainz was just carrying his DOPE four-finger ring and say that the Transportation Security Administration overreacted. more ›

When they're not groping our genitals or practicing pointless security theater, occasionally the TSA gets it right, like when they patted down Henry Kissinger at La Guardia last Friday. According to the Washington Post, TSA agents didn't recognize who Kissinger was, and subjected him to "the full Monty"—a complete pat-down. Surely the TSA agents were aware that Kissinger won a Nobel Prize for ending the Vietnam War, but they were likely cognizant of the role he played in Chile's military coup in 1973 in making people "disappear." So spread 'em, "Heinz," if that's your real name. more ›

Call it the Diaper Defense: the Muslim-American family that got kicked off a JetBlue flight on Tuesday because their toddler daughter was flagged as no-fly says the airline had no right to toss them, since children under two years of age don't even show up on the list. And to top it off, the airline hasn't even apologized over the incident. more ›

The TSA communications department has really been hustling lately, sending out a flurry of press releases with photos and stories about all the potentially dangerous things stupid people try to sneak onto flights. Fruits of the TSA's recent security theater include: land mine casings (filled with shrapnel, but no explosives), three stuffed animals with gun parts inside, a trio of dainty yet deadly throwing knives, and a pepper spray canister gun with a sparkly silver trigger (WANT!). Click through on the photos for the TSA's stories about their recent scores. more ›

The TSA has long been criticized for what overly-invasive security theater, particularly when it comes to elderly travelers. But the next time Grandma's crying about how she had to strip naked and show her colostomy bag for the nosy TSA, remind her that oldsters aren't automatically innocent. Today a TSA spokesperson sent us this photo of a walker used by a 69-year-old Bronx man who tried to get through security with a knife "artfully concealed" on it. Apparently it wasn't artful enough! more ›

A TSA agent at JFK "started screaming at me and cursing me and threatening me," says a Long Island man who used his cell phone to videotape what he describes as an unnecessarily "aggressive" security screening of his developmentally disabled daughter. Dr. Joshua Frank, a Long Island pediatrician, is the father of Dina Frank, a girl with cerebral palsy who walks with crutches and leg braces. She can't pass through metal detectors for this reason, and is usually patted down by security agents, a procedure that frightens her. And the Frank family tells The Daily that on Monday the procedure was particularly harrowing. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Want to file a complaint against the TSA? No problemo, just fill out this simple form with the handwritten instructions to "GO TO HELLLLLL" (and be sure to eat sh*t and die)! Manhattan-based graphic designer Ross Berenson, 26, arrived at JFK on a JetBlue flight from LA yesterday to find that his luggage had been tampered with. And when he went to ask the TSA what happened, he says they gave him a form essentially urging him to cast himself off into eternal hellfire. more ›

Less than a week after a woman stripped naked inside Denver International Airport (and months of stories of the TSA strip-searching grannies), a man has followed, ahem, suit, by strutting through screening at Portland International Airport naked as a jaybird. John E. Brennan, 49, "disrobed completely naked" while going through the screening area and was arrested on charges of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct. more ›

While passing through the dehumanizing maw of a TSA screening checkpoint at JFK airport recently, we overheard one TSA worker say to the other, "I've been stuck in this fu*king hellhole for eight fu*king years." Our faith in the TSA's renowned professionalism was instantly shattered—and our ear hairs badly singed by the profanity—but perhaps we're just lucky we didn't get a cup of scalding coffee thrown in our faces. Such was the fate endured by Steven Trivett, an off-duty TSA officer (and armed pilot) who confronted some foul-mouthed TSA screeners at JFK airport at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. on March 28th. more ›

Yesterday a man tried to smuggle a knife onto a flight from JFK to Mexico City—and he might have gotten away with it too had he not decided to hide it inside another item he wasn't allowed to have. The TSA says the unidentified knife-wielder desperately wanted to bring his precious Leatherman blade aboard the plane. But the uptight TSA rules prohibit these sort of shenanigans! So why not sneak it aboard inside a big full jar of mayonnaise? That plan's a Swiss watch. more ›

In the wake of a lot of bad press about overzealous TSA screeners strip-searching and frisking senior citizens at airports, the TSA has announced that it will grant the elderly a modicum of dignity at a handful of airports. Starting next week, the agency will begin testing modified screening procedures for passengers 75 and older at airports in Chicago, Denver, Portland, and Orlando. At these airports, travelers over 75 will no longer be required to remove their shoes "and light outerwear." more ›

A woman with an antique dagger in her bag managed to get past TSA screeners at JFK Airport—and then the TSA took 10 minutes to call the Port Authority police. The Post says, "Port Authority police are supposed to be called immediately in the event of a security breech. Yet this slip-up was just the latest in a string of embarrassing security mishaps — three in February — by the federal Transportation Security Administration." more ›

Chaos at JFK Airport! An individual who had been flagged by the TSA and was asked for a secondary screening apparently walked away around 5:20 a.m., causing security to shut down Terminal 7, clear it out, and then re-screen all the passengers. The terminal reopened at around 7:40 a.m. more ›

An airline passenger going through security at JFK airport last night was relieved of $5,000 cash by a quick-fingered TSA officer, authorities say. A TSA spokesperson tells us the employee has been working for the TSA for over four years, and she's been identified as Alexandra Schmid. She was allegedly caught on surveillance camera taking the cash from a passenger's jacket as it moved along the X-Ray conveyor belt at the A checkpoint in Terminal Four. more ›

A traveler who tripped up security at LaGuardia airport with a homeopathic medical device yesterday was eventually allowed to proceed on to his destination, albeit without his mysterious New Age device. But long after he was gone, the device—which could possibly be mistaken for a crude pipe bomb—caused a bomb scare at the airport, because security screeners left the pipe behind after their shift change without telling the next team what it was. more ›

The story, which will surprise no one, notes that flight delays are just as bad as they were five years ago, and that airlines pad the statistics to keep things from looking even worse. In 2007, delays that affected 320 million passengers cost the economy a total of $41 billion, roughly the cost of one copy of US Weekly, a pack of gum, and a chicken salad sandwich purchased at La Guardia's food court. more ›

Earlier this week, Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said that he was detained by the Transportation Security Administration at Nashville International Airport, telling a spokeswoman that he was being "detained indefinitely" after he set off an image scanner and refused a pat-down. The TSA countered that Paul was never detained, explaining that he "triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and refused to complete the screening process in order to resolve the issue... Passengers, as in this case, who refuse to comply with security procedures are denied access to the secure gate area. He was escorted out of the screening area by local law enforcement." So here's an annotated video: more ›

Making it past airport TSA screening with that illegal substance that does not harm your lungs and has never killed anyone, is difficult but not impossible. But 43-year-old Adam Blumenkranz was arrested on a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Newark for allegedly smoking dope. Crew members told the AP that they gave Blumenkranz the stink eye after he "dropped a clear plastic bag in the cabin." more ›

Senator Rand Paul, friend to 9/11 Truthers, was detained by the Transportation Security Administration after refusing to submit to a full body pat-down at Nashville's airport. The Kentucky Republican's plight was mentioned by his father, 2012 presidential contender Rep. Ron Paul, who Tweeted, "My son @SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. More details coming." Senator Paul was on his way to D.C. for the Senate session. more ›

The TSA, flush with change from your pocket, has finally gotten around to apologizing to the elderly women who were strip-searched at the JetBlue terminal at JFK over the Thanksgiving holiday. Well, sort of. more ›

It turns out that dignity isn't the only thing lost at TSA screening checkpoints. The Daily News reports that in 2010 the agency made $409,000 in loose change left behind by hurried, worn down travelers. Specifically, $376,480 in US currency and another $32,605 in foreign coins. JFK collected the most, with $46,918. "I wish they would spend that money on mood lighting," comedian Dave Hill told the paper. "If I'm going to get additional screening, how about throwing in a little more romance." Ha ha, he's referring to alleged sexual assault committed by government agents trusted to protect us, get it? more ›

Nevermind those pesky strip searches—people still like to bring guns on planes, goshdarnit. The TSA has found 1,238 firearms, or roughly four a day, at airport checkpoints last year. It's unclear whether that figure includes the many, many stun guns that seem to keep popping up around New York, but either way—that's a lot! more ›

TSA agents write the darndest notes! Hot on the heels of the agent who left a note in a woman's bag next to her vibrator that said "GET YOUR FREAK ON GIRL" (and was later punished for it) comes this hilarious note that appeared in Freddie Gibbs's bag earlier this week. Is pot not a problem for some TSA agents? more ›

Today's air travelers are barely allowed to bring colostomy bags on a plane, so we're not entirely sure why a passenger would think she can fly with five grenades in her bag. And yet, that's exactly what one Belgium-bound passenger tried to do this weekend at Newark Liberty Airport. more ›

Another day, another older woman comes forward with tales of woe from the TSA! Say hello to Linda Kallish, 66, of Boynton Beach, Florida, who says that she too was forced to take her clothes off by TSA agents at JFK Airport while trying to leave after the Thanksgiving holidays. In fact, she says she was made to strip while trying to board the same flight as 85-year-old alleged TSA-victim Lenore Zimmerman. Kallish is now the third woman to say she was stripped by TSA agents at JFK that weekend. more ›

Seems like somebody at the TSA had some issues to work out with Grandma over Thanksgiving. After this weekend's revelations regarding an 85-year-old woman being strip searched, a second elderly woman has come forward saying that she was stripped by agents at the JetBlue terminal at JFK after the holiday—in this case so that they could examine the 88-year-old's colostomy bag. Which, if you've ever known someone who had one, is an embarrassing thing to have to whip out for strangers. Even in a private room. more ›