US May Relax Passport Policy

66-year-old mom with bad back fields question about Osama

(NEWSER) - This week's TSA bulletin warning of a possible attempt to penetrate security checkpoints with "peculiar items" was caused in part by an incident involving a 66-year-old woman and the ice packs she uses on her bad back. The clay-filled, tape-wrapped packages ignited hazmat suspicions, though their owner says she's been traveling with them for years, ABC News reports. More»

Travelers' applications vanish into 'administrative processing'

(NEWSER) - A student visa for a clean-cut French grad student to attend UC Berkeley sounds like a pretty routine matter—but not when his name is Mohamed Youcef Mami. Mami, who missed both his non-refundable flight and the start of his master's program waiting around in France for his mysteriously delayed visa, is one of a number of recent Muslim travelers to the US who have found their visa applications held up for what US authorities cryptically call "administrative processing," the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Fewer Americans visited Canada last month than at any time since record-keeping began in 1972, as new passport controls and a weak US dollar kept tourists away. One-day car trips dropped 26% from May to June, and US tourists in Canada fell to half their number 5 years ago. The dramatic drop has dealt a blow to the tourism industry on both sides of the border, reports the Globe and Mail. Only 30% of Americans have a passport, which is now required for driving north of the border. More»

Except with Scientology escort, security

(NEWSER) - Who needs five-star hotels and gourmet restaurants? All the Cruise clan needs to have a grand vacation is a tent—and some security and a Scientologist friend, the Mirror reports. In a bid to “do things as a normal family,” Tom Cruise is planning a camping trip across the US, a source says. Katie Holmes revealed earlier this month that she and Cruise love camping. More»

Experiences abroad make for good policies at home, advisers say

(NEWSER) - If you’re seeking a job in the Obama administration, you may want to get out more—way out, Newsweek reports. Like the president-elect, many of his advisers have lived in other countries. Top aide Valerie Jarrett was born in Iran and has traveled widely, mixing with Europeans, Arabs, and Latin Americans. Such travels make her "more open to different perspectives," Jarrett said. More»