New O'Hare Runway Eases Travel Nationwide

Writer would take scan over pat-down, rubber gloves any day

(NEWSER) - Going through security at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, passengers have the choice of a pat-down or a walk through a full body scanner, and Jon Hilkevitch is going “with the touch-less scan every time.” He took a spin through a checkpoint equipped with the newly installed machines, and “my impression was that the process is free of embarrassment,” he writes for the Chicago Tribune . More»

Charleston, Santa Fe, New York, and Chicago round out top 5

(NEWSER) - San Francisco has topped this year’s Conde Nast Traveler list of American cities to visit. The city by the bay edged out Charleston , SC , at No. 2. Metropolises New York and Chicago made a strong showing as well, at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. The list is based on a survey of 25,000 readers, notes the San Jose Mercury News . For all of the Americas, Vancouver , BC , nabbed the coveted top spot. For more of the list, including recommended hotels and travel tips, click the link to the right. More»

(NEWSER) - With summer vacations increasing your chances of an extended stay at an airport, Travel + Leisure offers its annual list of airports likely to leave you grounded. The good news? Airports are getting better; even this year’s “winner” improved its delays by 3%. The list:

1. Newark: That 3% boost wasn't enough; it’s the only airport to delay 30% of its flights.

Glass balconies jut 4 feet into the air

(NEWSER) - The view from Chicago’s Sears Tower just got more vivid. Starting tomorrow, visitors can step into glass enclosures that extend 4 feet out from the building’s 103rd floor and see all 1,353 feet straight down, the Tribune reports. Designed by the original architects of the soon-to-be-renamed Willis Tower, the Ledge has three layers of thick glass that weigh 1,500 pounds. More»

Windy City hit with wet double whammy

(NEWSER) - Chicago officials seeking clean-up funds have asked the state to declare a disaster after the city was hit by a deluge of weekend rains which flooded streets and stranded families, reports CNN. More than six inches of rain fell Saturday—the most in 137 years in a single day. That was followed by more rainfall yesterday, dumping a total of 90 billion gallons of water on the city. More»