TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is apologizing for mishandling the inspection of a wheelchair-bound child, but the agency is denying patting down the young passenger.

The agency on Thursday issued a statement in response to a report from ABC News that a disabled three-year-old child was selected for additional screening at a TSA security checkpoint at St. Louis, Mo.’s international airport.

The child’s parents, Nathan Forck and Annie Schulte, said the TSA workers told them that they would have to pat down their daughter, Lucy, and inspect her wheelchair before they could be cleared for their flight from St. Louis to Orlando.

The family also alleged that they were told they could not film the exchange with the TSA agents, which the girl’s mother did anyway.

TSA said Thursday that the information given to the family was incorrect, although the agency maintained the child was not patted down.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) collected more than $500,000 in loose change that was left behind by airline passengers at its security checkpoints in 2012.

Figures released by the agency showed TSA took in $531,395.22 that was lost by passengers passing through its checkpoints last year. The figure is an increase from $487,869.50 that was collected in similar fashion in 2011 and $409,085.56 in 2010.

Current federal law allows TSA to keep the leftover money in collects for its general operations. 

Your morning transportation speed-read:

German automaker BMW is recalling 500,000 cars for an electrical cable problem.

Chrysler is also recalling 278,000 of its Ram trucks.

One in 4 bicycle accidents are caused by drivers, according to a study.

National Football League player Da'Quan Bowers has been arrested for allegedly attempting to carry a gun through a security checkpoint at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport.

Your morning transportation speed-read: Read more...

A man has sued a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee for a run-in that began when the worker stopped him from carrying peanut butter and jelly in his carry-on luggage.

The plaintiff, Arizona resident Frank Hannibal, was traveling through New York's LaGuardia Airport when he was stopped at a security checkpoint for carrying bottles of gourmet sandwich condiments.

Hannibal was ordered to check the containers because oil had separated from the peanut butter on top of his jar, according to the lawsuit.

However, Hannibal was arrested because he joked to his wife that the TSA employees were "trying to confiscate my explosives."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Major League Baseball player Sergio Romo is not being charged for a New Year's Day run-in with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport.

Airline mergers do not appear to have drastically changed the way the industry operates, according to at least one report.

An Amtrak train derailed over the weekend in Los Angeles, but it was not carrying any passengers.

State lawmakers in Virginia are beginning to debate Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R) plan to eliminate its gas tax.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is doubling its number of security lanes at New Orleans, La.'s Louis Armstrong International Airport to handle post-Super Bowl traffic, a spokesman for the agency said Tuesday.

New Orleans media outlets reported before the game that the airport was expecting as many as 50,000 passengers to pass through on Monday, which would be a single-day record for the airport.

TSA's spokesman for the southeast region, Jon Allen,  tweeted Tuesday that the agency was beefing up its presence at the New Orleans airport to handle the increased Super Bowl traffic. 

"TSA is operating 25 checkpoint lanes today at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (that's 11 additional lanes)," tweeted Allen, who is responsible for the TSA's operations in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The Government Accountability Office report said the TSA fails to completely analyze data collected by passenger and cargo screening dogs. 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is denying allegations that it creates a "hostile work environment" for minority employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said this week that it was launching an investigation into allegations that the TSA did not properly address 2010 complaints from employees at some of its regional offices.

TSA said it provides its employees multiple ways to report incidents.

“TSA absolutely does not tolerate workplace discrimination," the agency said in a statement provided to The Hill. "Easily accessible established processes remain in place for employees to address any concerns related to possible discrimination. Multiple levels of controls in existing policy and procedures ensure independence and objectivity.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is launching an investigation into the workplace environment for employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The TSA is alleged to have fostered a "hostile work environment" in 2010 for minorities and women at some of its regional offices.

The EEOC said in a letter to House Homeland Security Committee member Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) that it is planning to look into the allegations.

"It is our intent to conduct a program evaluation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within the Department of Homeland Security," EEOC Communications and Legislative Affairs Director Todd Cox wrote in a letter dated Jan. 25.