Real ID deadline is weeks away and most states aren't fully compliant yet
Beginning May 7, Americans and permanent residents will only be able to pass through airport security or enter federal government buildings if they have a Real ID.
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Beginning May 7, Americans and permanent residents will only be able to pass through airport security or enter federal government buildings if they have a Real ID.
Bottles of water and firearms are the most frequently stopped items by TSA officials, but now and then agents come across the unexpected.
The detections, which averaged 16.5 firearms per day in the first three months of the year, were marginally fewer than last year's first-quarter average of 16.8 firearms per day, the TSA said.
The number of guns found by TSA officers last year was the highest annual total for the agency since it was created in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.
The firearm marked the 39th confiscated from Reagan National Airport in 2023 — the most guns caught in a single year, beating a previously held 2021 record of 30 firearms.
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The co-pilot allegedly threatened to shoot the captain multiple times if the flight was diverted for a passenger who may have been suffering a medical emergency, authorities said.
Jonathan J. Dunn, who was a co-pilot for Delta, is accused of threatening to shoot a flight captain during a trip last year.
After the incident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the man said that his wife had packed his bag not knowing there was a loaded gun stored inside.
The program, aimed at speeding up the airport security screening process, has vulnerabilities.
"The behavior displayed by this handler is unacceptable and not within the high standard we hold our officers to," TSA said.
The number — roughly 18 per day — is sparking concern at a time when more Americans are armed.
Of those guns taken at airport security checkpoints, 88% were loaded, the agency said.
Someone tried to board an airplane in Virginia with an electric cattle prod packed in a guitar case, the TSA said.
Police confiscated the gun after security agents flagged it at an airport checkpoint in Portland, Maine, the TSA said.
