It was 2016, and at the time, the cruise ship Serenity was the largest vessel ever to sail through the Northwest Passage.

But as the Arctic sea ice relents under the pressures of global warming and opens shipping lanes across the top of the world, more tourists are venturing to Nome — a northwest Alaska destination known better for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and its 1898 gold rush than luxury travel.

The problem remains: There’s no place to park the big boats. While smaller cruise ships are able to dock, officials say that of the dozen arriving this year, half will anchor offshore.

That’s expected to change as a $600 million-plus expansion makes Nome, population 3,500, the nation’s first deep-water Arctic port. The expansion, expected to be operational by the end of the decade, will accommodate not just larger cruise ships of up to 4,000 passengers, but cargo ships to deliver additional goods for the 60 Alaska Native villages in the region, and military vessels to counter the presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the Arctic.

It’s a prospect that excites business owners and officials in Nome, but concerns others who worry about the impact of additional tourists and vessel traffic on the environment and animals Alaska Natives depend on for subsistence.

The expansion will “support our local economy and the local artists here, the Indigenous artists having access to the visitors and teaching and sharing our culture and our language and how we how we make our beautiful art,” said Alice Bioff, an Inupiaq resident of Nome.

Bioff was a tour guide who greeted the Serenity’s passengers when they arrived in 2016. One of the guests admired her cloth kuspuk, a traditional Alaska Native garment similar to a smock, and wanted to know if it was water resistant.

It wasn’t, but the interaction inspired Bioff to create her own line of waterproof jackets styled like kuspuks. She now sells to tourists and locals alike from her own Naataq Gear gift store, a retail spot in the post office building, where about 20 Alaska Native artists offer ivory carvings, beadwork or paintings through consignment.

Studies show that cruise ship passengers typically spend about $100 per day in Nome, city manager Glenn Steckman said.

With the expansion, he’s hoping guests on larger cruise ships will extend their stays to experience more of Nome and the tundra, to view wild musk ox, or to sip a drink at the 123-year-old Board of Trade Saloon.

Climate change is making this all possible.

Nome, founded after gold was discovered in 1898, has seen six of its 10 warmest winters on record just in this century. The Bering Strait shipping lanes have gotten only busier since 2009, going from 262 transits that year to 509 in 2022.

“We’re going to be the first deep-draft Arctic port but probably not going to be the last,” Nome Mayor John Handeland said.

The Bering Sea ice on average reaches Nome in late November or December, about two or three weeks later than it did 50 years ago, said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

In 2019, mushers in the Iditarod, who normally drive their dog teams on the Bering Sea ice to the finish line in Nome, were forced onto the beach because of open water. The ice season will only get shorter, Thoman said.

The existing port causeway was completed in the mid-1980s. The expansion will be completed in three phases and effectively double its size. The first part of the project is funded by $250 million in federal infrastructure money with another $175 million from the Alaska Legislature. Field work is expected to begin next year.

Currently three ships can dock at once; the expanded dock will accommodate seven to 10.

Workers will dredge a new basin 40 feet (12.2 meters) deep, allowing large cruises ships, cargo vessels, and every U.S. military ship except aircraft carriers to dock, Port Director Joy Baker said.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, said the expanded port will become the centerpiece of U.S. strategic infrastructure in the Arctic. The military is building up resources in Alaska, placing fighter jets at bases in Anchorage and Fairbanks, establishing a new Army airborne division in Alaska, training soldiers for future cold-weather conflicts and has missile defense capabilities.

“The way you have a presence in the Arctic is to be able to have military assets and the infrastructure that supports those assets,” Sullivan said.

The northern seas near Alaska are getting more crowded. A U.S. Coast Guard patrol board encountered seven Chinese and Russian naval vessels cooperating in an exercise last year about 86 miles (138 kilometers) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island.

Coast guard vessels in 2021 also encountered Chinese ships 50 miles (80 km) off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last yea r warned that Russia and China have pledged to cooperate in the Arctic, “a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests.”

Still, the prospect of Nome welcoming more tourists and a greater military presence bothers some residents. Austin Ahmasuk, an Inupiaq native, said the port’s original construction displaced an area traditionally used for subsistence hunting or fishing, and the expansion won’t help.

“The Port of Nome is development purely for the sake of development,” Ahmasuk said.

New summer parking rates are set to go into effect Thursday at LaGaurdia and JFK airports in Queens, as well as Newark Liberty International Airport, the Port Authority said. It could cost drivers up to $20 more to park their cars, depending on the airport and what garage or lot is being used.

Port Authority said the reason for the increase is the increase in travelers flying during the summer months, and in turn, more people driving to the airports. That creates a significant increase in demand for airport parking.

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In order to ease the demand, and as a way for travelers to save money, Port Authority encouraged those going to the airport to use public transit, taxis and ride shares, if possible. Those looking to fly can also pre-book parking spaces, the price of which is not going up for certain lots and garages.

The steepest increase going into effect? Those looking to park at Terminal A at LaGaurdia and P4 Daily Garage at Newark. Drive-up costs were $55 and $40, respectively, at those two areas; those prices both go up $20 as of Thursday.

For a breakdown of price increases at all on-airport parking locations at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, see the chart below:

Her alarm goes off at 3:30 am, reminding the 21-year-old that she has less than an hour to start driving to Charleston International Airport — otherwise, she’ll miss her flight to the office. 

Since early June, Celentano has commuted by plane once a week to her summer internship at Ogilvy Health in Parsippany, New Jersey, from her parent’s house in Charleston, South Carolina.

Celentano didn’t want to join the legions of summer interns fighting for affordable housing in and around New York City. And her job only requires her to be in the office — about a 45-minute drive from downtown Manhattan — once, sometimes twice, per week.

For Celentano, commuting four-plus hours by plane weekly was a much easier pill to swallow than paying New York rent for three months on an intern’s salary.

“I didn’t think twice about it,” Celentano, a rising senior at the University of Virginia, tells CNBC Make It.

Super-commuting, which the Census Bureau loosely defines as traveling “long distances” by air, rail, car or bus to work — usually 90 minutes or more each way — has become more popular since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Companies adopted hybrid work models, and people fled major cities.

Even some college students are on board. “I really wanted to prioritize my happiness and well-being this summer, and to do that, I wanted to mostly be in Charleston with my family,” says Celentano.

The intern’s super-commuting routine helps her save thousands of dollars, too. Here’s how.

A hassle worth $2,000 in savings

When Celentano first received her internship offer in the spring, she compared the cost of renting an apartment in Parsippany or New York for the summer, versus living with her parents and taking a weekly round-trip budget flight.

The average apartment rent in Parsippany is about $1,730 per month for a studio, and closer to $3,500 in New York, according to data from Apartments.com and Renthop. That doesn’t include utilities, groceries, gas and other expenses Celentano would need to cover for the summer. She declined to share how much she earns at her internship.

All in all, Celentano estimates she would spend a minimum of $4,250 to live and work near Ogilvy Health’s office between June and August, if she was lucky enough to find an apartment for less than $1,000 per month.

That seemed ridiculous: Her job only required her to be in the office on Wednesdays, plus occasional one-off events like an intern orientation.

In contrast, Celentano’s super-commute costs her about $225 per week, including a round-trip flight from Charleston to Newark Liberty International Airport, Ubers between the airport and her office, and food.

Every Wednesday at 6 a.m., she boards a $27 departing flight, according to receipts reviewed by CNBC Make It. Her return flight at 9 p.m. costs about $60. She packs breakfast and dinner in her work bag to save money.

Celentano’s internship is 10 weeks long. She’ll spend about $2,250, saving at least $2,000 this summer — or $200 per week — she estimates.

Super-commuting instead of moving for ‘healthier work-life balance’

The hardest part of Celentano’s super-commute is getting home around 11 p.m. She works remotely on Thursdays and can sleep in until at least 8 a.m., easing the sting of her long travel days. 

Two weeks in, Celentano says her commute cuts out “a lot of the stress” she might otherwise experience, living far from her family and friends. She posted a TikTok video about it on her first day of work. Hours later, it had more than 500,000 views.

She’s posted several follow-up videos on TikTok about her super-commuting routine, explaining her bosses’ responses — they don’t mind, she says — and how she kills time in the airport by editing vlogs for her YouTube channel.

Celentano’s super-commute isn’t even a rare occurrence in her internship program, she adds: Some of her peers travel from Boston or Philadelphia, and one even flies in from Atlanta.

“Obviously, moving to a new city can be exciting, and it’s great to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, but that kind of change is not what I was craving in my life right now,” says Celentano. “I’m grateful to have found an employer that supports that. Ironically, having a longer commute has helped me have a healthier work-life balance.”

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Three New York City hotels made the list of best luxury hotels in the U.S., according to TripAdvisor. All three of the hotels — each of which have received 5-star ratings — are located in Manhattan, two of which are on the same street in Hudson Yards.

The Pendry Manhattan West scored the highest among the NYC hotels, ranking fifth on the list. The 33rd Street hotel features “some of the finest shopping, dining and culture in New York,” according to the site. The Pendry has four spots to grab a bite or a drink, along with a rooftop bar coming soon, while the rooms themselves bring “a calming sensibility to the city’s bustling environment with a neutral color palette, warm details and textures and the modern amenities synonymous with Pendry’s contemporary luxury sensibility,” Tripadvisor said.

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The Bowery Hotel, located near the corner of East 3rd Street and Bowery, was ranked 12th on the list. The posh East Village spot features rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and hardwood floors, while some one-bedroom suites include terraces.

Ranked just behind that was the Equinox Hotel New York, the other Hudson Yards hotel on 33rd Street to make Tripadvisor’s list. There is a restaurant on the 24th floor that includes a terrace providing sweeping views of midtown or the Hudson River. The travel site also said Equinox has a spa, 60,000 square-foot fitness center and more.

So what does it take to make the list? Winners of the Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best awards were decided based on “a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions” over a 12-month period. Fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor’s eight million listings receive Best of Best awards, according to the website.

The top spot on the list went to Hotel Emma at Pearl in San Antonio, Texas.

As we explored Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park, we spotted rare birds, spider monkeys — even a sloth and her infant — among the trees of the rainforest.

It was one of many experiences I had on an expedition cruise with 32 passengers aboard the Greg Mortimer, operated by the Australia-based Aurora Expeditions.

During the 13-day voyage, we crossed the Panama Canal and snorkeled amid hawksbill turtles in Panama’s UNESCO-protected Coiba National Park. We also met members of the indigenous Embera tribe deep in Panama’s thick jungle. 

Built for polar regions, this was the ship’s first foray into tropical waters, as companies like Aurora are responding to the growing demand for expedition cruises.

Instagram posts — which often showcase trips to Antarctica — may have given expedition cruising more publicity, but this form of cruising isn’t new. 

The evolution of expedition cruising

U.S.-based Lindblad Expeditions started taking travelers to Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands in the mid-1960s. 

The company specializes in expedition cruises, which differ from conventional cruises in that they focus on exploring isolated, less visited or inaccessible destinations. Smaller ships also allow itinerary flexibility, which means the captain can slow down for guests to observe polar bears or a whale shark.

Aurora Expeditions has been plying Antarctica’s frozen waters since the cruise line first leased rudimentary Russian icebreakers to reach the icy continent in the early 1990s. 

“Bathrooms were shared, and we’d string our clothes across the cabins to dry,” said Bronwyn Stephenson, a veteran Aurora expeditioner.

With its spacious cabins, plush library and lecture theater, the Greg Mortimer is a far cry from these original expedition cruise ships. 

Today, there is stiff competition among expedition cruise lines to launch more technologically advanced vessels and to secure onboard talent. Lindblad recently recruited underwater archaeologist Mensun Bound, who has discovered ancient shipwrecks, and former NASA chief scientist Robert Bindschadler, to educate passengers.

Demand since the pandemic

Aurora Expeditions’ chief marketing officer Hayley Peacock-Gower said there has been a strong shift to immersive, experiential travel since the pandemic. As travelers demonstrate burgeoning interest in nature, wildlife and cultural tourism, expedition cruise lines have answered the call with more and varied itineraries.

Noah Brodsky, chief commercial officer of Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, described expedition cruising as the “breakout travel trend of the decade.”

“There’s something truly special and transformative about experiencing remote destinations alongside a small group of like-minded people,” he told CNBC.

Bookings through the roof

Lindblad recorded its biggest-ever booking day on Jan. 3, racking up some $5.6 million in sales, according to a company representative.

In-demand destinations this year include Alaska, the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic and Antarctica, according to the representative, while interest to Costa Rica is up 54% from 2019.

The company also launched new routes to Greenland, French Polynesia and Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

James Cole, founder of the U.K.-based cruise agency Panache Cruises, said expedition cruising saw the most growth in the cruising sector in the past decade — expanding from about 67,000 passengers in 2012 to 367,557 in 2022.

“An increasing number of people no longer want run-of-the-mill holidays,” he said. “People crave adventure … there is a certain amount of romanticism here which harks back to the time of great explorers like Hillary, Cousteau and Shackleton.”

Who takes expedition cruises?

Most of the demand for expedition cruises comes from the over-55 age group, namely the semi-retired and retired who have the time and resources, Cole said. 

But he noted: “We are seeing more families entering the market.”

Gen Xers and millennials represent a smaller percentage of clients. “It is the ‘experience’ and ‘adventure’ which is driving their interest. The cruise aspect is really a secondary dimension,” Cole noted. 

Expedition cruising is also a good option for the growing number of solo travelers. 

I hadn’t visited Central and South America before, mostly because deciding which countries to visit and planning an independent trip seemed overwhelming and complicated. As a woman, I was concerned about safety too. The Aurora cruise was the ideal introduction, with shore excursions led by onboard experts and engaging local guides. 

Higher fares, longer cruises

Plusher ships, onboard experts and fewer passengers translate to higher fares than conventional cruises. Expedition cruises often start at around $1,000 per person per day. Trips typically last eight to 15 days — though some can take a full month.

While conventional cruises can host thousands of people at once, companies like the polar micro cruising company Secret Atlas can take as few as 12 cruisers at a time.

But a push for more comfort and luxury in the industry is causing some expedition cruises to get bigger, said company co-founder Andrew Marsh.

“Unfortunately, this has meant the new expedition cruise ships have become larger and the expedition experience itself has been sacrificed,” he told CNBC. 

Environmental and cultural impact

Though they’re smaller in scale, expedition cruises have faced criticism for polluting oceans, introducing microbes to sensitive environments, and colliding with large mammals like whales. 

To combat some of these issues, the luxury travel agency Abercrombie & Kent is chartering the luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot for a North Pole expedition next year.

“To reduce emissions to the lowest possible level, this Ponant ship uses LNG as a fuel,” said the company’s product development and operations vice president Stefanie Schmudde. “The vessel also uses hybrid operation, with batteries to handle load fluctuations.”  

In February, Aurora and Sylvia Earle led an Antarctic climate expedition on a ship named after the renowned oceanographer. The aim was to raise public and government awareness of the Antarctic’s environmental importance. 

Aurora Expeditions’ Peacock-Gower said the company worked with 117 climate ambassadors, aged 12 to 88, to formulate eight climate resolutions that are designed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2035. 

“Travel is always the best educator, and we offer the chance to enrich our passengers’ curiosity … on and off-ship,” she said.

On Friday, Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation Committee released a 773-page proposal to reauthorize FAA programs for the next five years.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., described the proposal as a compromise and said many issues could still be fought out when congressional committees begin considering changes in the legislation next week.

The FAA is under fire for a shortage of air traffic controllers, aging technology and close calls between planes. The agency has a new acting administrator with no aviation experience. It has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader for more than a year, since the last one resigned halfway through his term.

One provision of the House bill would let airlines advertise the “base airfare” — excluding taxes and fees — as long as they include a link to the all-in price or disclose it some other way. That would weaken an Obama administration rule that airlines have long fought to kill, and consumer advocates are unhappy about the House move.

“These protections were hard fought and took years to enact,” said William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Any consumer can tell you that online airline bookings are confusing enough. The last thing we need is to roll back an existing protection that provides effective transparency.”

The House committee leaders also propose to let people become airline pilots with less time in the cockpit. The bill would not change the requirement for 1,500 hours of training, but it would allow 250 hours — up from the current 100 hours — to occur in simulators rather than flying a plane.

Airlines, particularly the smaller ones that operate regional flights, have long fought against the 1,500-hour rule, which already has exemptions that let military pilots and graduates of some aviation schools qualify with fewer hours. The rule was put in after a 2009 crash that killed 50 people.

Garth Thompson, head of the Air Line Pilots Association unit at United Airlines, said it is “a horrible idea” to weaken the rule.

“That rule, like so many federal aviation regulations, is written in blood, literally,” Thompson said. “That regulation came about because of the Colgan Air crash and other crashes that involved experience issues.”

Asked about changes in airfare advertising and pilot training, Larsen said, “It’s something we can live with.” The change in pilot training rules, he said, is a priority of the Transportation Committee’s Republican chairman, Sam Graves of Missouri, and both sides had to compromise during drafting of the bill.

Elsewhere in the bill, Larsen said, Democrats were able to include provisions they wanted, such as those covering wheelchair accessibility.

The bill also includes provisions aimed at improving airport infrastructure and the supply of sustainable aviation fuel. It would require airline planes to be outfitted with better cockpit voice recorders and, for the first time, cockpit video recorders to improve accident investigations. Pilots have opposed the video recorders.

Some other contentious topics were left out, including raising the mandatory retirement age of 65 for pilots and easing restrictions on flights from Reagan Washington National Airport in northern Virginia.

The Delta Flight Products team debuted the design at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, this week, and it was met by enthusiasm from potential customers. 

The seat has a traditional mode that serves as a typical airplane seat and a conversion mode that allows wheelchair users to stay in their chair throughout a flight. Switching between the two takes around 90 seconds as the built-in seat folds up, allowing a wheelchair to dock in place.

Passengers have access to many of the same seat amenities in either mode, along with the same aesthetic design of the seat itself. The headrest, center console tray table and cocktail table are still available once the traditional seat is folded up.

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The design would be constructed into airlines’ pre-existing seats, meaning the plane’s structure would remain unchanged.

Along with in-flight comfort, the seat would make for an easier boarding and disembarking process for those with reduced mobility, particularly those who use electronic wheelchairs and would require less reliance on airline staff and airport-owned, manual chairs.

“This patented design offers new possibilities for customers with disabilities to enjoy a travel experience they truly deserve,” Delta Flight Products president Rick Salanitri said in a press release.

Delta Flight Products partnered with Air4All, a consortium based in the United Kingdom, for the design.

“An innovation like this in air travel provides those with reduced mobility a safe and comfortable way for them to travel and remain in their own power wheelchair,” said Chris Wood, founder of Flying Disabled, an advocacy group within Air4All. “It has taken truly a collaborative effort to develop this seat and we believe this product provides an optimal solution for all parties.”

Delta Flight Products hopes to get the design into commercial use within 18 months if it passes testing and is brought in by airlines. Delta Flight Products is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, so it could conceivably be adopted by other airlines first.

The bear was seen lounging in a tree above the 1300 block of Franklin Street, in the Brookland area and hung out for about three hours before climbing down and going on the lam.

“Oh my god, I have seen it all in D.C. This is it,” said Bernadette, who lives in the neighborhood.

The bear was a juvenile male, according to the Humane Rescue Society.

One of the first Brookland bear sightings came about 6 a.m., when a driver at 14^th and Monroe streets NW filmed the animal strutting across the road and into a lawn.

Then, it was spotted in a tall tree near a home.

D.C. police along with Animal Care and Control blocked off streets in the area. Smithsonian National Zoo workers, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials, also were on the scene.

Photos show the bear looking down on the kerfuffle below from a thick branch. It stood up to readjust a few times before lying down as reporters and neighbors chattered below.

Live News4 footage shows the bear begin climbing down from the tree around 9:30 a.m. Loud sirens from one of the nearby vehicles led the bear to pause briefly before it climbed back up to its perch and sat back down to observe the crowd.

The bear made another break for it around 9:45 a.m., and this time was undeterred by the sirens.

The bear scurried down the tree trunk, pausing briefly between two large branches to consider the slew of sirens and shouts from the crowd below. It then made its way back to the ground and ran off.

Just before 10 a.m., an MPD officer told the crowd that the bear was “loose,” and it was unclear what direction the bear ran. The same officer told the crowd to head home for safety.

Minutes later, the bear was spotted in another tree on the other side of the block.

Authorities finally caught the bear around 10:20 a.m., using a tranquilizer to put it to sleep.

The bear could be seen inside a Humane Rescue Alliance cage around 10:30 a.m. after it was tranquilized. A large crowd of reporters, camera crews and neighborhood residents could be seen trying to catch a glimpse of the morning’s celebrity.

The bear was released into a remote area in Maryland, according to the Humane Rescue Alliance.

Home security camera footage from one person living in the neighborhood also caught the bear casually ambling down the sidewalk by their front door.

The Elsie Whitlow Stokes Public Charter School warned families that a bear was just blocks away from the school.

“Please watch your surroundings,” the school said on social media.

Bear sightings around DC

Bears can be found throughout Maryland and Virginia, and the animals are regularly spotted in the suburbs.

A black bear was spotted this week in Hyattsville. Earlier this spring, one Chevy Chase homeowner nearly pet a bear that he mistook for a neighbor’s dog.

But it’s very rare to see a bear in the District. It’s not clear where the bear in Northeast D.C. came from or what route it may have taken into the city.

In June, bears of all ages are often on the move looking for new territory, food and mates, according to BearWise.

According to BearWise, black bears rarely become aggressive. They shared advice on what to do if you encounter a bear.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has tips on keeping bears at bay.

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

Correction (Friday, June 9): An earlier version of this story misidentified the quadrant of D.C. where the bear sighting happened.

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And the issue of getting your passport in time seems to be getting worse. According to a March 23 update from the State Department, passport applications now take 10-13 weeks to process, up from 8-11 weeks in early March.

Even if your passport hasn’t expired, some countries require at least six months of validity on passports for entry. Additionally, certain destinations, like South Africa, demand at least two consecutive blank pages in the passport.

To avoid travel delays, it’s essential to check visa and passport requirements for your international destination before packing.

Before traveling, it is recommended to check your international destination’s visa and passport requirements before you book your travel to avoid any unpleasant delays.

So, in order to avoid any travel hassles, here’s everything you need to know to get your passport renewed as quickly as possible:

How to get your passport?

First things first, for first-time applicants or new U.S. citizens, start by filling out the online application form (Form DS-11) Print the completed form single-sided on 8.5 x 11-inch letter-size paper.

The State Department does not accept double-sided forms and should only be printed out vertically. Only your signature and date may be handwritten.

If you are a first-time applicant, you are required to submit the application in person at a passport center, while renewals can usually be submitted by mail.

When renewing your passport, include a recent photo and your most recent passport with the application.

Ensure your old passport meets specific criteria before including it in your application:

• Submission with the new application
• No significant damage
• Not reported stolen
• Issued within the last 15 years
• Processed when you were 16 or older.

If you changed your name, you must also provide official documents such as marriage or divorce certificates as evidence of the name change.

How can I get my new passport faster?

Though wait times for an average passport application are currently in the 10 to 13-week mark, for an additional $60 on top of the $130, you can submit an expedited application, which would speed up the process to about 7-9 weeks. The processing times do not include mailing times.

What if you need your passport even faster than that?

If you go to a regional passport office, you might strike gold and get a last-minute appointment slot, which could result in getting your new passport back in less than 24 hours. However, you must prove you have an international trip in less than two days or need an international visa urgently.

To check if you live near one of the 26 U.S. regional passport offices, click here.

If the passport is needed within 72 hours due to a life-or-death travel emergency, you must call the Urgent Travel Service at the State Department.

To qualify for this expedited process, you must provide a qualifying life-or-death emergency. The cost of an urgent service appointment is $60, plus the standard $130 cost of your passport book.

How can I speed up the shipping of my new passport?

To expedite passport delivery, choose USPS Priority Mail Express for 2-day shipping. For the fastest return shipping, include an additional payment of $18.32 with your passport fee in the form of a check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State.

The effects of hundreds of wildfires burning across the western provinces to Quebec could be felt as far away as the greater New York City metropolitan area.

Due to the air quality, the Federal Aviation Administration paused and delayed flights at certain area airports because the smoke was limiting visibility.

“The FAA has taken steps to manage the flow of traffic into the New York City area due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke,” the FAA said in a statement.

On Thursday morning, the FAA announced in a tweet it had issued a ground stop for flights from the Northeast, Ohio and Mid-Atlantic bound for LaGuardia Airport. About two hours later, the agency announced that all flights bound for Newark International Airport were delayed, though it wasn’t clear how long the delays would be for.

It was the second such pause in 24 hours issued for flights to LaGuardia. A day earlier the FAA has also announced flights to Newark Liberty International Airport had been slowed.

The FAA said as smoke continues to reduce visibility, the agency “will likely will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, D.C., Philadelphia and Charlotte.”

If you are traveling, it is important to not only check weather updates, but also the status of your flight directly with the airline you are using.

Passengers are also asked to check fly.faa.gov for the latest developments.

Scroll down to see if your flight has been affected.

NEWARK LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

• Aer Lingus
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JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

• Aer Lingus
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• Ethiopian Airlines
• Etihad
• Eurowings
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• Icelandair
• Interjet
• Japan Airlines
• JetBlue
• Kenya Airways
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Korean Air
• Kuwait Airways
• LATAM
• LOT
• Lufthansa
• Neos
• Norwegian Air
• Philippine Airlines
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• Saudi Arabian Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• SWISS
• TAP Portugal
• Turkish Airlines
• Ukraine International Airlines
• Uzbekistan Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Viva Aerobus
• Volaris
• WestJet
• XiamenAir

LAGUARDIA AIRPORT

• Air Canada
• American Airlines
• American Shuttle
• Delta Air Lines
• Delta Shuttle Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
• Frontier Airlines
• JetBlue
• Southwest Airlines
• Spirit (Fort Lauderdale)
• Spirit
• United Airlines
• WestJet

Conde Nast Traveler released a list of 11 small towns near big cities that could give city dwellers an option to spend some time away from their fast-paced home.

For those in NYC looking to explore, the article sheds light on Amagansett, New York.

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You can arrive at this Long Island small town two hours after you start driving from Manhattan. It’s situated in the Hamptons, and Conde Nast says it features “a nice balance of beaches and seafood shacks, with rustic farm stands and a picturesque Main Street.”

They also say Amagansett has boutiques and restaurants to check out, with both Airbnb and hotel options if you’re in the mood for an overnight visit.

It’s also not a far ride from Coopers Beach, in Southampton, which was just named one of the top five beaches in the U.S. for 2023. Just another reason to escape the hustle and grind of the city and get away for a weekend (or maybe a week).

For those looking to stay out there for a few days, there is some good news: There are more rentals available this summer than before, which has led to price cuts. Granted, it’s still the Hamptons, so take that so-called price cut with a grain of salt, but still better than there not being enough supply to meet demand.

Amagansett also joins another Long Island town that was recently named as a travel destination. It’s often known as the town you pass on the way to the Hamptons or the North Fork, but now Riverhead is having its own moment after it was named to Forbes’ “Best Places to Travel” list back in February.

The magazine refers to the Suffolk County spot as a “historic town on the North Shore.” It mentions the Long Island Aquarium (which boasts one of the largest all-living coral reef displays in the world), the supposedly famous 20-foot-tall “Big Duck” and the Jamesport Farm Brewery.

Here are the other small towns that made the cut, along with the cities that they are near:

• Oja Valley, California (Los Angeles)
• Round Top, Texas (Houston)
• Calistoga, California (San Francisco)
• Rehobeth Beach, Delaware (Washington, DC)
• Saugatuck, Michigan (Chicago)
• Suches, Georgia (Atlanta)
• Estes Park, Colorado (Denver)
• Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (Boston)
• New Hope, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
• Walland, Tennessee (Nashville)

The company said in a tweet at 8:43 a.m. ET Thursday morning that the issue affected Spirit.com, the Spirit Airlines app and its airport kiosks and made them unavailable.

Spirit followed that with an update at 10:33 a.m. ET saying that its app was still not available.

The company announced at 12:07 p.m. ET that it had resolved the “network issue between third party services.”

“We apologize for any delays and inconvenience, and we’re now working our way back to normal operations,” Spirit said.

On top of delays, 4.7% of Spirit flights Thursday were canceled according to flight-tracking site Pulse by Anuvu.

Spirit recommended that travelers check their flight statuses and arrive at airports early to combat long lines.

Along with Spirit, Air Canada experienced its own technical issues for the second time in less than a week. The airline saw more than 30% of its flights delayed, citing “a temporary technical issue with its communicator system.”

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But it wasn’t until I moved to Paris from New York in 2011 that I noticed the driving force behind the way French people live. It’s called joie de vivre, and it means the “joy of living.” Parisians find joy in what they eat, where they go, conversations they have, and how they spend their time.

As a Nigerian raised in Austin, Texas, I always thought the best things in life were reserved for the ultra-wealthy. But anyone can access joie.

Here’s what French people do differently than Americans to cultivate joie de vivre:

1. They find pleasure in just being.

Without knowing it, my first visit to Paris — a single day of aimlessly wandering around on my own — allowed me to practice the fine French art of flânerie (“strolling”).

France’s work culture helps me find idle time. French workers get five weeks of paid vacation, in addition to 11 national holidays. In 2017, a law allowing employees to disconnect from off-hour work emails went into effect.

Make your own “right to disconnect” by turning off your devices when you’re not at work. Explore your city or sit in a park or a café and just be. Plan your break in advance so you have something to look forward to.

2. They build connections through food.

In France, where you buy your food matters as much as the food itself. I love asking the local cheesemonger for recommendations. He’ll help me choose from a variety of cheeses, letting me taste a few.

If we approach food shopping as a social activity, not only will we strengthen our sense of community and mental well-being, but we’ll also learn how to create healthy and delicious meals from the people we encounter.

Don’t let the need for efficiency deprive you of connection or the chance to learn about the food you eat. Visit a local farmers’ market and support your town’s specialty stores. Get to know your connoisseurs.

3. They bring people together.

The importance of gathering was instilled in me early on as a Nigerian. Still, I grew up eating in front of the TV more times than I care to remember.

But French people gather regularly and often spend dinner with family and friends around the table. Weekends meals are notoriously long. In 2010, UNESCO recognized the French meal as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” 

Invite the people you love into your home. Sit with them. Take in the sound of clinking glasses and plates. You’ll truly feel you are living the good life.

4. They celebrate and protect the arts.

France has an artist status known as intermittent du spectacle, which protects the likes of musicians, cinephiles, writers, painters, and others.

These professionals work a certain number of hours per year, and the government pays them a salary for the remainder of it, so they have time to create.

Seeking beauty is also encouraged by other designations — “Most Charming Village,” “Most Remarkable Garden” — celebrating everything from architecture to green spaces.

So, if you want to find joy like French people, engaging in the arts is a good place to start. Research says that engaging in cultural activities (visiting a museum, attending a music concert, going to the theater) has profound effects on your health and happiness.

5. They feel good in their own skin.

I moved to Paris with green contact lenses and a $700 weave. Up until that point, I had lusted after the long, lean body of Naomi Campbell.

Fast-forward to living among French people, and I have shaved my head, replaced my designer dress obsession with a passion for antique plates, and changed my mind about going under the knife to modify my nose.

I am happily a work in progress. I’ve gradually adopted a new self-care attitude inspired by French culture, in which style, beauty, and overall mental well-being are derived from pleasure, preservation, and feeling bien dans ma peau (“good in your own skin”).

6. They don’t use the phrase ‘guilty pleasure.’

Plaisir (“pleasure”) is a word I hear or use every day.

French people follow an unspoken pleasure principle that we can all benefit from learning: If something doesn’t please them, they aren’t going to do it.

And if something does bring them pleasure, they sure as heck aren’t going to feel guilty for doing it.

You don’t need to compartmentalize your pleasure to certain times or moments. To adopt this French mindset, don’t be so extreme or hard on yourself. Embrace joy wherever you find it.

Ajiri Aki is the author of “Joie: A Parisian’s Guide to Celebrating the Good Life” and co-author of New York Times bestseller “Where’s Karl?: A Fashion-Forward Parody.” She has worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of the City of New York. After moving to Paris, Ajiri started her lifestyle brand, Madame de la Maison. She lives in Paris with her husband and two children. Follow her on Instagram @ajiriaki.

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*This is an adapted excerpt from “Joie,” by Ajiri Aki, published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House. Copyright © 2023 by Ajiri Aki.

While many know of the most popular spots to cool off and have some summer fun, there are a few lesser known spots that may have a different kind of appeal: hidden beaches to escape crowds and noise, and enjoy a more serene seaside experience.

The travel website Family Destinations Guide surveyed 3,000 families in the U.S. to find the hidden beaches people most want to check out this summer, and a couple of tri-state places made the list.

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At No. 5 in the U.S. was Sedge Island, in New Jersey. The area just north of Barnegat Light, in Ocean County, offers a “unique and secluded coastal experience.” Unlike much of the Jersey Shore, there is no board or commercial development at all, instead offering a variety of wildlife and nature, including nesting birds and crabs.

Though there is one fairly large obstacle that may prevent people from being able to enjoy the soft sands and calm waters: It can only be accessed by boat.

For those hoping to find a slightly more accessible beach, No. 19 on the list was Amsterdam Beach State Park, on Long Island. Located just east of Montauk (pretty much as far east as you can go on Long Island), the beach is far from the more popular beaches of the south shore, as well as the highly regarded sands of the Hamptons.

To find the only other Long Island beach to make the list, head to the north shore, on the other side of the fork. Orient Beach State Park was ranked 40th on the list. Only one other beach in New York made the list: Chimney Bluffs, found up in Wayne County, on the south shore of Lake Ontario, was voted as No. 46 on the list.

Other New Jersey named to the hidden locales list include: Pearl Beach (49) in Cape May and Gunnison Beach (85) in the Gateway National recreation Area in Sandy Hook.

One Connecticut beach made the list as well, Dubois Beach in Stonington, which came in at No. 92.

What was the top overall spot? No surprise, it’s a small beach in Hawaii — the state that had three of the top five results. The No. 1 beach was the secluded Awahua Beach on the island of Molokai. Lanikai Beach, on the east coast of Oahu, and Kauapea Beach, on the north shore of Kauau were also in the top five, as well as Florida’s Shell Key Preserve.

As a travel journalist for over 20 years, I recently asked 175 travel enthusiasts, experts and agents about what they think is the most underrated city to visit. The most popular answer was surprising: Bologna, Italy.

“Bologna is very up-and-coming and poised to be the new hot Italian city to visit,” says Tom Marchant, founder of luxury traveling company Black Tomato. “And as the home of Bolognese pasta, it’s a foodie mecca.”

Bologna: The new ‘hot’ city to visit

Bologna’s many nicknames — La Rossa (the “Red,” for its red-tiled roofs), La Dotta (the “Learned,” for the ancient University of Bologna), and most famously, La Grassa (the “Fat,” for its rich cuisine) — explain the best parts of the city.

Here are the top three reasons to put Bologna on your travel list this year:

1. The food scene is unparalleled.

“[Bologna] quite possibly has the best food scene in all of Italy,” says Jeff Miller, a travel blogger at Our Passion for Travel.

Food lovers can explore the city’s open-air markets and hidden pastifici (pasta shops) and visit the restaurants that created favorites like pasta Bolognese and Tortellini.

You can also spend a day at FICO Eataly World (a.k.a. the “Disney World of food”), Bologna’s 20-acre theme park entirely dedicated to Italian cuisine.

Or, take a day trip to the Emilia-Romagna region, where Italian gastronomy was born.

“Bologna has great access to Modena and Parma, both with famous products [like Modena prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano] named after them,” says David Hawkraven, owner of Designed Travel.

Hawkraven often sends travelers to local farms, where they can taste Modena prosciutto — which is rarely found in the U.S. — or learn about the delicate process behind authentic balsamic vinegar.

2. Its architecture and history rival other Italian cities.

Bologna is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its 38.5 miles of porticoes, or arched walkways.

It’s also home to 24 medieval stone towers, including Bologna’s most iconic landmark, the Two Towers.

Travel writer Ann-Marie Cahill says climbing the Asinelli Tower, one of the Two Towers that’s open to the public, is exactly where history buffs should start.

She also suggests visiting the unfinished San Petronio Basilica and touring the Roman ruins that run under Bologna’s library (you can also look at them through the library’s glass floors).

3. It’s convenient and accessible.

Bologna is “entirely walkable,” according to Marchant, which will save you the cost of a car rental. If you want public transit options, there is a city bus with tickets starting at just 1.30€.

Marchant says locals are friendly, and the city is generally safe, making it a comfortable vacation spot. And the average hotel room costs under $200 per night for eight months out of the year, according to travel search engine KAYAK.

Located in Northern Italy, it is convenient to travel from Bologna to other Italian hot spots. It’s only about 70 miles from Florence, 95 miles from Venice and 135 miles from Milan.

Still, the city is a destination all on its own.

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The woman, who has not been identified, and a friend were in the water outside Blue Haven Resort in Turks and Caicos Wednesday afternoon when she was attacked, police say.

Blue Haven says the women weren’t staying at its property, but police say a resort employee saw the women after the attack and called for help. The employee indicated the woman’s leg had been completely bitten off, officials say.

She remained hospitalized Thursday. It didn’t appear the friend was seriously injured.

There was no indication of what kind of shark may have been involved.

The investigation is ongoing.

Some travelers say they will settle for fewer trips than they hoped to take, or they will drive instead of fly. Others are finding different money-saving sacrifices.

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Stephanie Hanrahan thought she’d save money by planning ahead for her daughter’s birthday trip to Disney World in Florida. Instead, it ended up costing the same as the Dallas-area family’s trip for four to California last summer, so now her husband and son are staying home.

“We just had to grit our teeth,” said Hanrahan, a writer and speaker who also runs a nonprofit, as she and daughter Campbell waited for their flight last week at Dallas Love Field.

The number of people going through U.S. airports hit pandemic-era highs last weekend, and those records are almost certain to be broken over the Memorial Day holiday.

AAA predicts that 37 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles (80 kilometers) from home this weekend, an increase of more than 2 million from Memorial Day last year but still below pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 10 million travelers between Friday and Monday, a 14% increase over the holiday in 2022 and slightly more than in 2019.

With more travel comes more expense. The average rate for a U.S. hotel room last week was $157 a night, up from $150 in the same week last year, according to hotel data provider STR. And the average daily rate for other short-term rentals such as Airbnb and Vrbo rose to $316 last month, up 1.4% from a year ago, according to AirDNA, which tracks the industry.

There is a bit of good news for drivers, however: The national average for a gallon of regular was $3.56 at midweek, down from $4.60 at this time last year, according to AAA. Renting a car is also cheaper than a year ago, when some popular destinations ran out of vehicles. Travel company Expedia said larger inventories let the companies rent more cars at lower prices.

For air travelers, airline industry officials say carriers have fixed problems that contributed to a surge in flight cancellations and delays last summer, when 52,000 flights were nixed from June through August. Airlines have hired about 30,000 workers since then, including thousands of pilots, and they are using bigger planes to reduce flights but not the number of seats.

“I don’t have the hubris to tell you exactly how the summer is going to go, but we have prepared and we have a robust plan for it,” said Andrew Watterson, chief operating officer at Southwest Airlines, which struggled at times over the summer of 2022 and suffered an epic meltdown around Christmas, canceling nearly 17,000 flights.

David Seymour, the chief operating officer of American Airlines, said his staff has fine-tuned a system it uses to predict the impact of storms on major airports and devise a plan for recovering from disruptions. He said it is reducing cancellations.

“It’s going to be a solid summer for us,” Seymour said.

In a report released last month, the Government Accountability Office blamed airlines for an increase in flight cancellations as travel recovered from the pandemic. It also said airlines are taking longer to recover from disruptions such as storms.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the government will hold airlines responsible to treat passengers fairly when the carriers cause cancellations or long delays. But just like the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration — the agency that manages the nation’s air traffic — has had its own staffing shortages and occasional breakdowns of aging technology.

The FAA is training about 3,000 more controllers, but they won’t be ready this summer. The agency resorted to nudging airlines to reduce flights in the New York City area this summer, and it opened 169 new flight paths over the East Coast to reduce bottlenecks.

“It’s going to be an ordeal — it’s always an ordeal to travel in the summer,” said travel analyst Henry Harteveldt, “but the airlines have done a lot to improve their ability to operate well this summer.”

Airlines hope that limiting the number of flights will improve reliability and reduce delays. So far, it seems to be working. About one in every 70 U.S. flights have been canceled this year — half the rate of a year ago and lower than in 2019.

Limiting the number of flights also keeps prices above pre-pandemic levels.

A provider of travel data, Hopper, predicts that average domestic airfares will peak next month at $328 for a round-trip ticket, which is down from last summer’s record of $400 but 4% higher than in 2019.

There are some last-minute deals on domestic flights, Hopper found, but international fares are their highest in more than five years, with prices to Europe up 50% from a year ago.

The same thing is happening within Europe, as airlines hold the line on capacity at a time of strong travel demand.

“There is no expectation of seeing cheaper fares in Europe in the next seven or eight months,” says John Grant, an analyst for OAG, a U.K.-based travel-data provider.

For the travel industry, the big question is how long consumers can keep paying for airline tickets and accommodations while they try to deal with stubbornly high inflation, news about layoffs and bank failures, and fear of a recession.

Industry executives say consumers are favoring the experience of travel over other types of spending, but some analysts see cracks in the strong demand for travel that began in early 2022.

Bank of America analysts say data from their credit and debit card customers showed a slowdown in spending in April, as card use fell below year-before levels for the first time since February 2021. They say spending on hotels, which rebounded relatively early from the pandemic, dipped this spring, while the late-recovering cruise industry is still steaming ahead — card spending on cruises rose 37% last month, although from very low levels a year ago.

“Travel remains a bright spot relative to other sectors, but we’re also seeing signs of moderation in the travel space,” said Anna Zhou, an economist for the bank.

While speaking to CBS News, Marivi Roman Torres, who was traveling with her husband, Luís, and her 2-year-old son Alejandro, said the incident took place on April 25 at the Los Angeles International Airport ticket counter.

Torres said initially the Spirit Airlines ticketing agent asked to see her and her husband’s passports because the flight was international.

“At first she told me this is an international flight,” Roman Torres told CBS News. “I told her, no, Puerto Rico is not another country. It is a U.S. territory.”

Torres and her husband showed their passports anyway, but the agent then asked to see the toddler’s passport, the family then told the agent the boy didn’t have one.

The family then asked the ticketing agent if they could talk to a supervisor to clarify, “Is there anyone else I can talk to? Can we call customer service together?” but she said the staff was “completely inflexible.”

The agent then offered them either a refund or to reschedule the flight for a later date once the family could obtain a passport for the child.

The family then managed to buy JetBlue tickets to Puerto Rico at a higher price, Torres told CBS News.

In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for Spirit Airlines said they “sincerely apologized” to the family for the inconvenience.

“In this specific case, an agent at LAX who is new to the position misunderstood the identification requirements,” the airline added. “We are providing the agent with additional coaching and reiterating proper procedure.” 

Puerto Ricans are American citizens and therefore are not required to present a passport to travel between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland.

The non-binary passport was unveiled Wednesday during a ceremony hosted by Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in honor of International Day Against Homophobia.

“Within the framework of #DiaContraLaLGTBIfobia, we fully endorse our support for sexual diversity,” Ebrard tweeted. “This represents a great leap forward for liberty and dignity for Mexicans,” he added.

Jesús Baena, one of three people to receive the passport, told The Associated Press the new travel document “furthermore guarantees the free development of personality and identity.”

Mexico decided to add the passport category after the country’s Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that transgender people could be recognized through administrative procedures in their binary gender identity.

But it was not until February of last year that LGBTQ rights activist Fausto Martínez became the first Mexican to successfully amend their birth certificate to include the acronym “NB” referring to non-binary in the gender section.

Mexico will now join a list of 16 nations that recognize a gender other than male and female in passports.

Mexicans living overseas will be able to obtain the non-binary passport at its consulates and embassies in July, the ministry said. 

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Stephen Leatherman, aka “Dr. Beach,” is a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University. Leatherman announced his top 10 list of U.S. public beaches just in time for Memorial Day, the traditional start of summer.

It marks the 33rd year he has rated the best of America’s 650 public beaches.

Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches including sand type, wave action, whether lifeguards are present, presence of wildlife, the level of development and crowding, and many other factors. Extra credit is given to beaches that forbid cigarette smoking, mainly because of the need to prevent discarded butts. None were seen during a recent visit to St. George Island, he said.

While St. George Island is frequently on the list, what made it his top pick this year is its natural beauty, lack of development, abundant activities including fishing, swimming, kayaking, cycling, camping and an unparalleled view of the night sky for stargazers, Leatherman said.

“There’s just so many things that capture my imagination there,” Leatherman said in an interview. “It’s an idyllic place.”

The park covers about 2,000 acres on the east end of the island, which is connected by a bridge to the mainland across Apalachicola Bay, famed for its oysters. The other sections of the island contain a small village, restaurants, rental homes and motels, but not a whole lot else.

And that’s the way Leatherman likes it.

“People can have the best of both worlds there, just miles and miles of unspoiled beaches,” he said.

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A second Florida Gulf coast beach, Caladesi Island State Park near Clearwater and Dunedin, ranks fourth on the list this year. It’s reachable mainly by ferry and private boat, or a person could walk a fairly good distance there from Clearwater Beach depending on the tides. Despite the name, Caladesi isn’t a true island any longer because an inlet closed off, Leatherman said.

“The white beach is composed of crystalline quartz sand, which is soft and cushy at the water’s edge, inviting one to take a dip in the sparkling clear waters,” he said.

Caladesi has boardwalk nature trails and kayaking through mangroves that are home to numerous species of fish, birds and other animals.

Hawaii placed three beaches on the list, more than any other state.

Here is Dr. Beach’s complete 2023 top 10:

1. St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle

2. Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York

4. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida

5. Lighthouse Beach, Buxton, Outer Banks of North Carolina

6. Coronado Beach, San Diego

7. Wailea Beach, Maui, Hawaii

8. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina

9. Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

10. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Are you planning a trip abroad? Do you wonder if your destination is safe?

The U.S. Department of State issues travel advisory levels for more than 200 countries — continually updating them.

Drug trafficking, crime, terrorist threats and civil uprisings are some of the factors behind the travel advisory levels given to the countries on the list.

With the recent deaths of a 9-year-old New York City boy who was shot and killed less than an hour after arriving in the Dominican Republic for a spring break family trip and the discovery of a missing man from Indiana who was found dead in a clandestine burial pit in Mexico after a traffic accident led to his alleged murder are just some of the recent headlines that has caused pause for some people to travel abroad.

However, the safest way to travel, is to be aware ahead of time of where one is going and the precautions one should take.

U.S. travel advisories are issued in four levels: exercise normal precautions, exercise increased caution, reconsider travel, and do not travel.

As of Tuesday, May 9, there are 18 countries that were issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory by the State Department. Level 4 is the highest level in the advisory system due to the likelihood that travelers may encounter life-threatening risks.

“This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time,” according to the State Department.    

The countries under the Level 4 advisory (and the dates when there listings were updated) are:

Meanwhile, 29 other countries are at Level 3: Reconsider Travel. This level, according to the State Department, encourages travelers to avoid certain places due to safety and security risks.

When it comes to this level, the State Department says: “Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.”

The countries under a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory (and the dates when their listings were updated) are: 

The rest of the countries on the list are at a Level 2 and Level 1.

According to the State Department, a country with a Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory warns travelers to aware of their surroundings and also to be cognizant that conditions could change at any time.

“Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time,” the description for Level 2 reads.

Meanwhile, places with a Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions advisory have the lowest advisory level when it comes to security risk.

“This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk. There is some risk in any international travel. Conditions in other countries may differ from those in the United States and may change at any time, the State Department’s website says when it comes to Level 1.

However, there are two countries on the list, as of Tuesday, that have a travel advisory that is out of the ordinary: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as well as Mexico. These two countries have an “Other” advisory level and were given that level within the past year in October and March.

In the instance of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, its travel advisory reads, that there are terrorist groups, lone-wolf terrorists and other extremists plotting possible attacks, with some areas having more risk than others.

The State Department warns travelers not to travel to “Gaza due to terrorism, civil unrest, and armed conflict.” It also warns travelers to “exercise increased caution when traveling to: Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest” as well as “West Bank due to terrorism and civil unrest.”

Mexico’s travel advisory warns of “violent crime — such as homicide kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery,” which according to the State Department is both widespread and common in the country.

Mexico’s warning is broken down specifically by region, as follows, as outlined by the U.S. State Department:

Do Not Travel To:

• Colima state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Guerrero state due to crime.
• Michoacan state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Sinaloa state due to crime and kidnapping
• Tamaulipas state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Zacatecas state due to crime and kidnapping.

Reconsider Travel To:

• Baja California state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Chihuahua state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Durango state due to crime.
• Guanajuato state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Jalisco state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Morelos state due to crime.
• Sonora state due to crime and kidnapping.

Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling To:

• Aguascalientes state due to crime.
• Baja California Sur state due to crime.
• Chiapas state due to crime.
• Coahuila state due to crime.
• Hidalgo state due to crime.
• Mexico City due to crime.
• Mexico State due to crime.
• Nayarit state due to crime.
• Nuevo Leon state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Oaxaca state due to crime.
• Puebla state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Queretaro state due to crime.
• Quintana Roo state due to crime and kidnapping.
• San Luis Potosi state due to crime and kidnapping.
• Tabasco state due to crime.
• Tlaxcala state due to crime.
• Veracruz state due to crime.

Exercise Normal Precautions When Traveling To:

• Campeche state
• Yucatan state

For additional information the countries listed, or those in Level 1 or 2, visit the U.S. Department of State’s website, or click here.

Police say the woman, who has not been identified, negotiated with police and turned herself into authorities. They say she has a criminal record that includes violent crimes, though didn’t detail specifics. It wasn’t clear if the woman in custody Tuesday was the woman seen on surveillance video firing a gun in the vicinity of the students on Saturday.

She covered her face and kept her head down as she walked by reporters in Puerto Rico on her way into the station. Her name hasn’t been released.

Franco Medina Angulo and Sergio Palomino Ruiz, both Stern School of Business students from Peru, had traveled to Puerto Rico with other classmates on a brief holiday, the university said in a statement. The friends were caught in the crossfire between two other groups of people whom they didn’t know outside a nightclub in San Juan.

NYU students say the entire campus community has been affected by the sudden loss — even though who didn’t know Angulo or Ruiz personally.

“They’re someone you had classes with … that happens like right there … that’s like, ‘Wow, it really kind of hits home,'” one student said.

“The NYU community is brokenhearted and shocked by the deaths of two MBA students in Puerto Rico, victims of senseless, tragic gunfire,” NYU Spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement.

NYU will have counseling services available to students who were in the same program and any friends of the victims. The school said there will be a candlelight vigil for Angulo and Ruiz on Thursday.

“The University has been in touch with the remaining group members to offer them support and aid; none of the others were injured. NYU has also reached out to the families of the slain students to provide whatever assistance we can and to express the sympathies of the University community,” Beckman added.

A dean for the Stern School of Business said that a scholarship would be established in each of Angulo and Ruiz’s names.

A GoFundMe set up to support the victims’ families had raised more than $45,000 by Tuesday morning.

Three other people suffered minor injuries in the shooting.

The compensation would be in addition to ticket refunds when the airline is at fault for a flight being canceled or significantly delayed. It would give consumers in the United States protections similar to those in the European Union.

“I know how frustrated many of you are with the service you get from your U.S. airlines,” especially after airlines received taxpayer relief to get through the pandemic, Biden said. “You deserve more than just getting the price of your ticket (refunded) — you deserve to be fully compensated. Your time matters, the impact on your life matters.”

Biden’s pledge comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season, when air travel could exceed pre-coronavirus pandemic records.

Officials at the Transportation Department, which will write the new rules, said they didn’t ahve a precise date for when they expect to finish, but indicated they are working to quickly publish a notice that is required to get the process started.

As outlined at the White House by Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the rules would focus on cancellations and long delays caused by things such as mechanical issues with the plane or lack of a crew.

Airlines for America, which represents the biggest carriers, said in a statement that airlines have no incentive to delay or cancel flights. The trade group said more than half of cancellations in 2022 and 2023 have been caused by “extreme weather” or air traffic control outages.

“Carriers have taken responsibility for challenges within their control and continue working diligently to improve operational reliability,” including hiring more workers and reducing their schedules, the group said.

After the pandemic hit, airlines received $54 billion in federal aid that included a prohibition on layoffs, but that didn’t prevent the airlines from paying tens of thousands of workers to quit or retire early.

Airlines have added about 118,000 workers since November 2020 and now have 5% more employees than before the pandemic, according to Transportation Department figures.

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The rate of canceled flights has declined to 1.6% so far this year, compared with 2.1% in the same period last year. However, delays are slightly more common and a few minutes longer on average, according to data from tracking service FlightAware.

Currently, when an airline cancels a flight for any reason, consumers can demand a refund of the unused part of their ticket and certain extras that they might have paid to the airline, such as fees for checking a bag or getting a seat assignment. Airlines often try to persuade consumers to accept a travel voucher instead of a refund.

After widespread flight disruptions last summer, the Transportation Department posted an online dashboard to let consumers compare airline policies on refunds and compensation.

The Transportation Department is expanding the site to indicate when airlines offer cash, travel vouchers or frequent-flyer miles as compensation for flight disruptions.

None of the major U.S. airlines offer cash for cancellations or long delays, only Alaska Airlines offers frequent-flyer miles, and only Alaska and JetBlue provide travel credits, according to the dashboard.

Biden and Buttigieg credited the dashboard with pushing the 10 largest U.S. airlines to promise to provide cash or vouchers for meals when a cancellation forces passengers to wait at least three hours for another flight. Nine of the 10 — all but Frontier Airlines — also promise to pay for accommodations for passengers stranded overnight.

Questions arose again around reimbursing consumers for out-of-pocket costs after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 17,000 flights during a December meltdown in service. The Transportation and Justice departments are investigating whether Southwest scheduled more flights than it realistically could handle.

A report last month from the congressional Government Accountability Office blamed airlines for a surge in cancellations as air travel began to recover in 2021 and early 2022. The Federal Aviation Administration has also created disruptions due to technology outages and staffing shortages. The FAA recently encouraged airlines to reduce flights to and from major New York airports this summer because it doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers at a key facility.

The Transportation Department said it will let Chinese airlines increase from eight to 12 U.S.-China round trips per week. That is still a fraction of the flights that were allowed between the two countries before the pandemic.

The Transportation Department said in a filing Wednesday that it was acting in response to China’s announcement in late December that it would lift certain restrictions on international passenger flights.

China’s move allowed American Airlines to add two weekly flights in March between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Shanghai, raising the combined total of round trips between the countries by U.S. carriers to 12 per week.

China announced in March that after a three-year hiatus it was reopening its borders to revive tourism and boost its economy. China also relaxed visa rules to allow more outbound group tours by Chinese citizens.

American, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines operate flights to China.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing the major U.S. carriers, declined to comment.

Commercial airlines are required to carry a basic set of medical tools, including aspirin, a stethoscope and devices used to help with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. The FAA, however, does not require EpiPens, or epinephrine auto-injectors, on commercial flights, a lapse that frustrates allergists.

The Aerospace Medical Association recently advised the FAA that airlines should routinely carry epinephrine auto-injectors and other allergy medicines in doses for both adults and children. The agency is also considering updating the kits to include automated blood pressure cuffs and Narcan, which reverses the effects of opioid overdoses.

“The FAA is reviewing the emergency medical kit requirements,” the agency said in a statement to NBC News.

Travelers, even those who have never had allergies before, can avoid risk during flights by wiping down seats, armrests and tray tables upon boarding, Jenna Riemenschneider, senior director of advocacy and policy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

Ryan Donner, a real estate broker in the Pacific coast resort city of Puerto Vallarta, said the fraud was infrequent but very sophisticated.

The Jalisco cartel is better known for producing millions of doses of deadly fentanyl and smuggling them into the United States disguised to look like Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. Such pills cause about 70,000 overdose deaths per year in the United States.

But cartel members and associates apparently decided to branch out into scamming millions of dollars from people looking to sell their timeshares in Mexico. The scam focused on Puerto Vallarta, in Jalisco state, an area dominated by the cartel, known by its initials as the CJNG. The gang inspires so much fear in Mexico it is often simply referred to as “the four letters.”

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The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, sanctioned Eduardo Pardo Espino — a fugitive from a U.S. drug trafficking charge — as well as six other people and 19 Mexican tourism or real estate companies. The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals or companies have in the United States and prohibits U.S. citizens or companies from having any transactions with them.

Brian E. Nelson, the U.S. under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said “CJNG’s deep involvement in timeshare fraud in the Puerto Vallarta area and elsewhere, which often targets elder U.S. citizens and can defraud victims of their life savings, is an important revenue stream supporting the group’s overall criminal enterprise.”

The scammers contacted people — often Americans — seeking to sell timeshares in Puerto Vallarta properties.

In a 2023 alert, the FBI said sellers were contacted via email by scammers who said they had a buyer lined up, but the seller needed to pay taxes or other fees before the deal could go through. Apparently, once the money was paid, the deals evaporated.

The FBI report said that in 2022, the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center “received over 600 complaints with losses of approximately $39.6 million from victims contacted by scammers regarding timeshares owned in Mexico.”

Donner, a broker at Ryan Donner & Associates, a real estate firm in Puerto Vallarta, said his firm had been asked for assistance by two people over the last two years who were apparently targeted by the scam.

“It’s infrequent, but yes, we have had it happen,” said Donner, who was able to steer both people away from the scam before they paid any money.

He said the scammers sent prospective sellers fake contracts and official-looking documents from the Mexican tax authority apparently saying taxes were due on the prospective sale.

“They have contracts, they have documents that appear to be official documents, it would be very easy to fall into the trap of paying them,” Donner said.

“If a company contacts someone to say that they have a buyer for a property and all they need is money, that is a huge red flag for it being some sort of scam,” Donner said. “That’s not how companies usually work.”

He said neither he nor the potential victims had realized a drug cartel might be involved.

The 28-year-old woman, who authorities did not identify, was arrested and charged shortly after arriving at Sydney Airport from Los Angeles on Sunday, the Australian Border Force said in a news release.

The border force said the woman had not declared the golden firearm, nor did she hold a permit to import or possess the weapon in Australia, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.

If convicted, she can face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, the border force said.

MSC Meraviglia, a 1,036-foot long (France’s Eiffel Tower is 1,083 feet high, and only if you include the tip), 213-foot-tall, 19-deck floater capable of holding more than 5,700 guests is a vacation in its own right, the cruise line says.

Fortunately, it will also take you from Brooklyn to a number of (warmer) locations. Not all options will be available immediately. Find the list of itineraries and start dates at the bottom of this page from MSC Cruises.

What’s So Special About Meraviglia?

Since you asked, MSC Meraviglia is one of the world’s biggest cruise ships. Known as “The Ship for All Seasons,” she has expansive indoor and outdoor public spaces, as well as a pool deck with a roof that can close for weather.

Among other amenities, it has:

• 20 bars and 12 restaurants, including the popular Butcher’s Cut steakhouse, Ocean Cay, HOLA! Tacos and Cantina, and Kaito Sushi and Teppanyaki
• Indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, together with one of the most intricate water parks at sea, featuring three twisting slides and a ropes course called the Himalayan Bridge
• 10 types of staterooms to choose from, including solo cabins, popular balcony cabins, and stylish suite accommodations in the MSC Yacht Club – the premium ‘ship within a ship’ featuring butler service, along with an exclusive restaurant, lounge, and pool area
• Galleria Meraviglia, a promenade lined with shops, restaurants and bars that stretches more than 315 feet and is lined with an impressive LED sky screen
• Seven different shows in the 985-seat Broadway Theatre and the famous Carousel Lounge
• MSC Aurea Spa, providing massage therapy, body treatments, facial treatments, and a thermal area
• 6,000 square-foot gym featuring state-of-the-art equipment from Technogym™ framed with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, overlooking the main pool deck
• Entertainment area, including the MSC Formula Racer, a full-sized bowling alley with two lanes, an interactive XD cinema, a flight simulator, and a video games arcade
• Sportsplex facilities for basketball, tennis, squash, volleyball, Pickle Ball, mini golf and five-a-side soccer
• MSC Kids’ Club for anyone aged 17 and younger, with dedicated areas for babies, toddlers, children and teenagers, plus the Lego® Experience

Where Can I Go?

The ship makes its debut departure sail from New York City to The Bahamas, Florida, Canada and New England, and Bermuda. Itineraries include the following:

• The Bahamas and Florida: Tropical 7- to 11-night sailings with select destinations including Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida; Nassau and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, The Bahamas; Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico.
• Bermuda: Starting in August, guests can enjoy 5- and 6-night sailings to Kings Wharf in Bermuda, with several days in port to explore the beauty of the island.
• Canada and New England: Just in time for the fall, MSC Meraviglia will offer 10- and 11-night itineraries at Newport, Boston and Portland in the U.S and Saint John, Halifax, Charlottetown, and Sydney in Canada.

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Officials in the Cortazar municipality in Guanajuato state said in a statement that an eighth person was seriously wounded in the midafternoon attack at the La Palma resort. The statement did not speculate on a possible motive.

After the shooting, the attackers destroyed the spa shop and took the security cameras before fleeing, officials said. Three women, three men and the child died.

A video posted on social media shows several people in swimsuits running about crying, screaming and hugging their children.

Mexican soldiers and police aided by a helicopter were searching for the attackers.

Guanajuato, an agricultural and industrial hub, has been Mexico’s most violent state for years. The Jalisco New Generation drug cartel has been fighting with local criminal groups, including the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, which is apparently backed by the Sinaloa cartel.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Travel is showing no signs of cooling off this summer, as both demand and prices are expected to stay high.

“There’s still a lot of pent of demand going back to the pandemic,” Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said on “Squawk on the Street” last week. “They got a lot of savings; they want to spend it.”

Fogel, whose company operates several travel fare aggregators including Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com, said the company saw a 26% increase in room nights in January compared to the same month in 2019. He also pointed to the TSA checkpoint travel numbers, which are now within a few percentage points compared to the number of travelers seen in 2019.

That demand has kept prices high, Fogel said, noting recent trips he’s taken.

“I was staying in a hotel in New York City on a Thursday and Friday night, and I said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,'” he said. “I was in Miami earlier in the week, and it’s expensive, but people are willing to spend it.”

The price of flying isn’t showing signs of decline either. Airline fares were up 17.7% year-over-year in March, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, even as some other consumer prices cooled.

“[Consumers] have gone three years without having the experiences they want, including last summer,” Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said on “Squawk Box” earlier this week. “If you think about last summer, we were still in a position where people were having to test to get back into the country and other places, and there was a lot of uncertainty around Covid – we’re through all that I think.”

Even as airline stocks took a hit on the higher costs they have been facing on fuel and labor, during Delta’s earnings call with analysts on April 13, company president Glen Hauenstein said the airline was seeing “record advance bookings for the summer,” with March advance cash bookings up nearly 20% compared to 2019 levels.

Bastian said that while domestic flights are doing well, “international is clearly the place where people are trying to get back their experiences that they lost over the last several years.”

People aren’t pulling back from travel spending

Expectations of continued consumer spending have been common among travel-industry companies in recent quarters, despite companies and executives in nearly every other sector waving warning signs that people may be cutting back.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last week on “Squawk Box” that consumers are being more “deal conscious” as they try to save money. “Consumers are spending, but they’re just much more careful about what they’re spending on and we see a lot of trading down in price point,” he said.

CNBC’s recent Financial Confidence Survey, conducted in partnership with Momentive, found most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Some 70% of Americans admit to being stressed about their personal finances these days and a majority — 52% — of U.S. adults said their financial stress has increased since before the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020, according to the survey.

Fogel noted that amid consumer concerns, recent issues like instability in the banking sector “can cause people to feel concerned about what they are going to spend or not.”

However, he said that “in the long run, travel is going to continue to expand better than GDP.”

Bastian said that from his perspective, consumers are “shifting out of certain markets or shifting out of of goods and moving into the service world.”

“We’re in a multi-year recovery from the pandemic that’s going to be well above anything anyone expects,” Bastian said.

The position in which you fly — and how fervently you feel about the topic — may depend on where you’re from.

Survey results released Monday show that the degree to which passengers found certain behaviors to be “unacceptable” on flights varies by region.

The survey of 18 markets by the research firm YouGov found Europeans were more likely to be bothered by certain behaviors on planes, while those from the United Arab Emirates were the most accepting of many of the same behaviors.  

What’s ‘unacceptable’ — and where?

Respondents from Europe deemed drunkenness, failure to use headphones and personal grooming as unacceptable flight behavior at higher rates than other regions, according to the survey.

Europeans were also the least tolerant of those who fully recline their seats, with nearly 60% saying the practice is either “somewhat” or “completely” unacceptable. Note: Europe is home to the tallest people in the world too.

Conversely, only 32% of respondents in the UAE considered seat-reclining unacceptable, lower than the global survey average of 53%.

Respondents in the UAE were also found to be the most tolerant of younger passengers. Only 19% deemed crying babies to be “unacceptable” and less than one-third were troubled by noisy kids over the age of four.

However, there was one issue that bothered UAE respondents more than European travelers. Nearly 40% indicated public displays of affection were unacceptable, more than the 21% of Europeans who said the same.  

A point of agreement

The survey showed one point of agreement — a near universal disdain for drunken antics in the air. Intoxication was deemed the most unacceptable type of behavior in every region, led by 77% of respondents in North America and 78% in Europe, according to the results.

Female respondents showed even less tolerance for inebriation than men. Globally, 81% of women said drunkenness is unacceptable to them, more than 70% of men.

Female respondents were less tolerant of every type of behavior in the survey, save one — crying babies. Only 21% labeled crying babies as unacceptable, less than the 25% of men in the survey.

What’s ‘unacceptable’ to American flyers

Americans are more likely than the global average to view acts like personal grooming and shoe removal on flights as unacceptable. They are also less accepting of crying babies compared with the global average, and even more annoyed by noisy children on airplanes, according to the survey.

YouGov shared the following chart with CNBC — it shows the proportion of American respondents, compared with the global average, who find various situations unacceptable:

The results show Americans are less fussed about the ongoing reclining seat issue (43% versus the global average of 53%). Fewer Americans are bothered by talkative seatmates too (37% versus 39% globally).

The results show a considerable variance between age groups, with intolerance levels rising with age.

Younger Americans, aged 18 to 24, were the most accepting of in-flight behaviors that tend to annoy other passengers. Those aged 55 and older were the least accepting, with nearly three in four older travelers deeming noisy children on airplanes to be “unacceptable.”

Expats who’ve moved abroad say Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore are the top three places where it’s relatively easy to settle in, according to a 2022 Internations survey of nearly 12,000 expats around the world.

Internations, the expat community group with 4.5 million members in 420 cities around the world, ranked locations based on what it calls the Expat Essentials Index, which considers newcomers’ assessments of their digital life (like access to administrative services online), housing (affordability and ease of finding housing for expats in particular), administrative topics (like the ease of opening a local bank account or getting a visa) and language (like being able to get around without needing to learn a new language, or the ease of learning the local language).

Bahrain ranked No. 1 out of 52 locations, according to Internations. Newcomers say it’s easy to get a visa, find housing, access government services online and get around without speaking the local language.

The top 10 places where expats say it’s easy to settle in include:

1. Bahrain
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Singapore
4. Estonia
5. Oman
6. Indonesia
7. Saudi Arabia
8. Qatar
9. Kenya
10. Canada

Overall, Internations says its top three destinations — Bahrain, the UAE and Singapore — all offer easy communication without big language barriers and also pose minimal bureaucratic issues.

A spokesperson for Internations tells CNBC Make It all three locations are well known as popular expat destinations, and because of this, they may have adapted to make things easier for new arrivals from abroad. They also note that English is widely spoken in these places, which can make it easier for foreigners to deal with bureaucratic and administrative to-dos when moving.

Many expats moving to Bahrain, the UAE and Singapore are coming from India, Internations says, and are moving for work-related reasons (to find a job on their own, for a foreign assignment, because they’re an international recruit, or they’re starting their own business). These expats are most likely to work in finance or banking, Internations says, and the countries aren’t big spots for retirees.

The top North American country, Canada, rounds out the top 10. New residents there say it’s easy to deal with local authorities, open a new bank account and access a robust digital infrastructure. Expats do say it’s relatively difficult to find affordable housing, though.

Meanwhile, the bottom three countries where expats struggle to get settled in include Germany, Japan and China due to difficult language barriers and a challenging digital infrastructure, Internations says.

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But some travelers aren’t thrilled about what it takes to pull off a trip to Walt Disney World these days.

Top restaurants can be booked solid months in advance. Timeslots for new attractions can go within seconds of coming online at 7 a.m.

And then there’s the lingo: To avoid lines, FastPasses are out, and Lightning Lanes are in. There’s also Disney Genie and Disney Genie+ (the latter costs extra), Individual Lightning Lanes (not to be confused with regular Lightning Lanes) and photography services like PhotoPass and Memory Makers.

To some Disney super fans, mastering the system is all part of the fun — not to mention a way to reduce waiting times in the parks.

But for casual parkgoers, strategizing for a stay can be overwhelming.

“It’s insane how much work has to go into planning a Disney vacation,” said Andrea, who asked that we not use her full name because she works in the travel industry. “I would need a vacation just from planning my vacation.”

She said she joined several Disney groups on Facebook to get planning tips: “Oh my goodness — what a rabbit hole.”

Other travelers turn to Disney-focused YouTube channels, blogs and message boards, where fans trade tips on saving money, hotel pools and navigating the new rule changes.

A post last week on one message board read: “We have been to WDW plenty of times but not the last couple of years and all the new changes are confusing me [to] no end.”

Those changes are, however, part of Disney’s continual quest for improvement, a company representative told CNBC.

“We are always listening to our guests and continue to make updates to improve their experience, which includes rolling out new ways to make planning easier and simpler, now and into the future,” Disney spokesperson Avery Maehrer told CNBC.

For now, planning a trip to Disney World is like “an Olympic sport,” Andrea said, adding that many of her friends turn to a Disney travel agent in the end.

“But even that is cumbersome and confusing,” she said.  

‘So incredibly complicated’

Jonathan Alder, CEO of the travel agency Jonathan’s Travels, organizes African safaris, wine tours through France and trips to remote parts of Patagonia. But he said Disney World vacations require the most complex planning of all.

“The problem is the system is so incredibly complicated that it requires its own doctorate to really understand,” he told CNBC. 

Alder lives in Winter Park, Florida — not far from Walt Disney World — and has visited the parks more than 100 times, he said. Travelers who miss the old days of wandering around without a schedule can still do that, he said — but at a cost.

“There are those that understand the system and those that just go,” he said. The first group approach planning like “it’s a science,” and the second “get very little out of their day.”  

The latter group can still have a great time, he said, but they will spend a lot of it waiting in lines. They may leave thinking food at Disney World is a “cheeseburger and a hot dog … which could not be farther from the truth,” he said.

Walt Disney World comprises four theme parks, two water parks and dozens of themed hotels, plus a shopping and entertainment area called Disney Springs. The entire complex is set on more than 40 square miles of land — roughly twice the size of Manhattan, Alder said.   

Alder said the pandemic ushered in many of the changes that are befuddling travelers these days.

Before Covid, restaurant bookings opened six months before a visit. Now it’s two months, which has made reservations harder to get, he said.

“People just weren’t very good at planning six months in advance,” he said. “Two months out is a different game. Almost everyone is like … I’ve got to be on this.”

Shortening that booking window was a response to customer feedback, according to Disney.

How to plan a Disney World trip

Alder recommends booking hotel accommodations first, namely Disney’s Boardwalk or Beach Club Resort, because of their proximity to the parks. They aren’t the most luxurious resorts, he said, but that doesn’t matter because logistics are more important. “At Disney World, your feet are your best transportation,” he said.

From there, visitors should tackle restaurant reservations because “amazing restaurants fill up super fast.”

His top restaurant recommendations in Disney hotels are Victoria & Albert’s in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (note: children under 10 aren’t allowed), California Grill in the Contemporary Resort and Topolino’s Terrace at the Riviera Resort.

He books those restaurants for dinners, along with Epcot’s Takumi-Tei and Monsieur Paul, but recommends booking lunches in the parks.

“I highly recommend sit down lunches. I think the quick-serve thing is a terrible idea,” he said. “That air-conditioned, sit-down break is what keeps your stamina up.”

For casual meals in the parks, he recommends the following — some for the food and others for the ambiance:

• Magic Kingdom: The Diamond Horseshoe, Liberty Tree Tavern or Tony’s Town Square
• Epcot: Garden Grill Restaurant, Connections Cafe
• Hollywood Studios: The Hollywood Brown Derby, 50’s Prime Time Cafe, Sci-Fi Dine-In
• Animal Kingdom: Tiffins, Yak & Yeti

Next, book park reservations based on where lunch reservations are secured, Alder said. That’s especially important because “Park Hopper” tickets no longer let travelers “hop” from park to park at will; ticket-holders can only change locations after 2 p.m.

Avoiding lines

Perhaps more than anywhere else, this is where “you need to have your game plan,” said Alder.

The free FastPass program, which reduced waiting times on select attractions, ended in 2021. In its place came Genie+ (pronounced “Genie Plus”), a service available through the My Disney Experience app that costs from $15 a day per person, according to Disney’s website.

It allows visitors to book “Lightning Lanes,” which assign a time window for guests to access shorter lines on attractions.

Genie+ has “made everyone’s life even harder,” said Alder. Unlike the now defunct FastPass program, visitors can only book attractions “on the same day, and now there’s a charge.”

It also doesn’t secure spots on the newest rides, such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (“the greatest ride probably ever made anywhere in the world”) and the highly anticipated Tron Lightcycle/Run attraction, set to open Monday.

Visitors can’t walk up and get in line for either ride, said Alder; rather, they must enter a “Virtual Queue” (which is free) or purchase an “Individual Lightning Lane,” according to Disney’s website.

Virtual Queues open at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., and bookings go fast, Alder said. “You have, I’d say, a good 15 to 20 seconds, if you’re lucky, before the ride is gone,” Alder said.

Doug Polzin, who has been visiting Disney World annually for around two decades, said at 1 p.m. “you look around the park and everybody is standing still” on their phones.

“Then you hear an audible ‘yay’ or groan from the crowds,” he, and his wife Lana, told CNBC.

Individual Lightning Lanes, which are one-time purchases that usually range from $9 to $15, also typically sell out in the morning, said Alder. These allow riders to book a ride time for attractions that aren’t available under the Genie+ service, and only two can be used per day, according to Disney’s website.

“Individual Lightning Lanes are much easier to get if you are staying at a Disney property as at 7 a.m., they open up for hotel guests only” he said. “From the minute that park opens, all guests are able to purchase it, and it’s usually gone, if it wasn’t already, in moments.”

If all that sounds like too much, Alder said, visitors can book a private VIP tour, using its privileges to go on the most popular rides in all four parks in one day.  

However, the service runs from $450 to $900 an hour, and has a seven-hour minimum. After acknowledging this goes beyond most budgets, he said “if you are financially able to do it … it is worth every single cent.”

Though Disney does not disclose park attendance numbers, Polzin said: “The parks feel busier now than they’ve ever been.”

He said on his last visit he spent about 80% of the day on the Disney app trying to secure shorter lines for his family on their favorite rides.

“The only time you’re not on your phone is when you’re on a ride or shopping,” he said.

Is it worth it? “Absolutely,” he said.

What’s happening at other parks?

Disney’s other theme parks — known as Disneylands — are smaller, with just one (Shanghai, Hong Kong) or two parks (Anaheim, Tokyo, Paris) in total.

Because of that, planning visits to those parks isn’t nearly as complicated, said Alder, adding that the exception is California’s Disneyland, which operates much like Disney World.  

Australian Phoebe Morris said she didn’t bother booking restaurants before her visit to Tokyo Disneyland last month.

“Restaurant slots open up one month in advance for certain restaurants, and by the time we realised it was too late,” she said. Despite this “we were able to eat in other locations that allowed us to walk in.”

Another parkgoer, Derek — who asked that we not use his full name — called his visit to Shanghai Disneyland last month “a very flexible experience.”

He said he needed a park reservation and used an app to navigate the visit, but “I didn’t make reservation at restaurants” nor did he buy any skip-the-line services “because [I] went on a weekday when Chinese children are all at school.”

Outside of the United States, Disneyland parks provide a “Premier Access” service, which allows visitors to buy access to a shorter line on one ride, or in some locations, a broader range of attractions, for one fee, according to the parks’ websites.

At Hong Kong Disneyland, purchasing this service for eight attractions costs 329 Hong Kong dollars ($42), though costs for the service at Disneyland Paris are considerably higher.

‘Don’t rush it’

“A great Disney trip, if it’s your first time, is seven to nine days,” Alder said. “Don’t rush it.”

Alder said travelers need at least four days to visit the parks, but staying beyond this allows visitors to see them at a more leisurely pace.

Plus, there is so much more to Disney World than the theme parks, he said. He called Disney World an “amazing spa destination” and said Disney Springs, formerly known as Downtown Disney, has shopping, live music and fantastic restaurants.

There’s also boating, golfing and biking, plus an array of activities called the “Enchanting Extras Collection” which include horse-drawn carriage rides, tequila tastings, helium balloon rides and backstage access tours.

Those are the types of activities he said he planned for his own four-day birthday party at Disney World, where he and 35 friends played mini golf, rented Surrey bikes, and booked Animal Kingdom’s “Wild Africa Trek,” which Alder called “one of the most fun experiences ever.”

The group also did a tequila tasting at Epcot, he said.

“That is a super tough reservation to get,” said Alder. “That’s the difference between people just showing up … and really getting into the detailed world of Disney planning.”

Disclosure: NBCUniversal owns CNBC and Universal Studios, which is a competitor of Disney World.

“Actually, Sandy’s the one that came up with the idea. She said, ‘Ellie why don’t we consider traveling around the world in 80 days when we’re 80?’” said Ellie Hamby.

Hamby said thanks to the pandemic, the trip didn’t actually happen until the friends of 23 years had turned 81. Having traveled together several other times, she said they spent years preparing. Still, some doubted their plan would ever take off.

Then in January, the friends departed for their first stop in Antarctica, proving them all wrong.

“We went to the North Pole in Lapland and saw the northern lights and took a sleigh ride. We were in Zanzibar. We went to Egypt, India, Nepal, Bali, Japan, Rome and of course, London, too,” said Hamby.

And thanks to the magic of social media, along the way, the friends found fame.

“People would ask us, ‘Do you have TikTok?’ Well, no. Maybe we should get this going,” she said.

Within days, thousands were stopping mid-scroll across multiple platforms to watch the octogenarians tango in Argentina, catch a ride on camelback through Egypt and explore the North Pole via a husky-drawn sleigh.

Fans commented, tagging friends they hope to do the same with one day. Some even recognized them from the interviews aired and published around the world.

“Even when we arrived in LAX, two people came up and said, ‘You’re the TikTok traveling grannies.’ Yes! That’s us,” said Hamby.

The octogenarians not only shared their adventures on TikTok but also on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Those who stopped them often told them they were an inspiration, a message they’ll hold onto as they readjust to life at home in Abilene and Eastland.

“The thing that has excited both of us is how we’ve brought people joy as they followed us on this adventure,” said Sandy Hazelip.

They said they also hope they’ve inspired future generations to realize you’re never too old to take in all the world has to offer.

To read more about the friends’ adventure, visit their website.  

As the post-pandemic travel rebound continues, the return of tourists — and their wallets — is good news for most destinations. At the start of this year, more than half of Americans had plans to travel in the next six months, according to the U.S. Travel Association, and a third of leisure travelers are planning to travel more this year than last.

But taking a page from Venice, Italy, which banned cruise ships in 2021, and Amsterdam, which is launching a campaign to discourage its rowdiest revelers, many U.S. cities are welcoming back visitors on new terms — in some cases with higher price tags.

This year, the Lake Tahoe, California, region had the misfortune to land on Fodor’s Travel’s list of places to reconsider visiting in 2023, after suffering traffic congestion, crowded hiking paths and trashed beaches. It was the downside of a pandemic-era boom in visitors that many outdoor destinations saw while other activities were suspended or came with greater health risks.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com

A recent study from LendingTree analyzed mortgage offers across the country’s 50 largest metros from Jan. 1 through Dec. 1, 2022, to highlight where millennials — defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 — are looking to buy.

The study found that across the United States, an average of 53.88% of mortgage offers went to millennials. In 37 of the country’s 50 largest metros, millennials make up the majority of buyers.

10 most popular U.S. cities for millennial homebuyers

1. San Jose, Calif.
2. Denver, Colo.
3. Boston, Mass.
4. Seattle, Wash.
5. Austin, Texas
6. San Francisco, Calif.
7. New York, N.Y.
8. San Diego, Calif.
9. Los Angeles, Calif.
10. Washington, D.C.

In San Jose, which topped the list, 63.57% of mortgages were offered to millennials. The average age was 33.01 years old.

Based on Realtor.com‘s housing index, homes for sale in San Jose have a median listing price of $1.2 million and spend an average of 36 days on the market.

The average down payment among millennials was $144,942, according to LendingTree.

San Jose is ideally placed for millennials since it’s close to San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Denver is the second most popular city for millennial homebuyers. The share of mortgages offered to millennials was 61.35%, and the average age of those buying in the city was 32.23.

In February 2023, Denver homes were selling for a median price of $560,000. On average, homes sell after 26 days on the market, compared with five days last year, according to RedFin.

The average down payment among millennials in Denver was $74,477.

Boston rounds out the top three. The share of mortgages offered to millennials last year was 60.59% and the average age was 32.38, according to the Lending Tree study.

Boston gives millennial homeowners proximity to several prestigious universities, including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which have continued to rank as some of the best colleges in the U.S.

The average Boston home value is $610,400, compared with the national average of $244,900, according to Niche.

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They said the shooting occurred in the low-key town of Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancun.

Prosecutors said the American was approached by several suspects near midnight Monday and they shot him in the leg. The motive remains under investigation.

The wounded man was taken to a hospital in Cancun for treatment, and his injury was judged to be not life-threatening.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert earlier this month warning travelers to “exercise increased caution,” especially after dark, at Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.

There have been a series of brazen acts of violence along the Caribbean coast, the crown jewel of Mexico’s tourism industry.

In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen, apparently because of debts between international drug and weapons trafficking gangs.

In 2021, farther south in the laid-back destination of Tulum, two tourists — one a California travel blogger born in India and the other German — were killed when they apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.

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As weed becomes legal in more states, how and if travelers can bring their stash on board remains up in the air.

Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use for adults 21 years and older, and 37 states and Washington, D.C., have medical marijuana programs. But marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

That leaves travelers hoping to fly with pot on domestic U.S. flights to face an ever-changing patchwork of conflicting state and federal laws.

Traveling between states where marijuana is legal in both the origin and destination may sound straight-forward, but with overlapping jurisdictions and hard-to-enforce guidelines, it gets complicated.

Can I fly with marijuana?

Technically, no. Under federal law, the possession and sale of marijuana is illegal.

Despite President Joe Biden’s recent pardons for anyone convicted of a federal crime for simple possession and his directive to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I substance.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Schedule I substances have no accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse. That also includes drugs like heroin and LSD.

And even though airports are locally owned and operated, air travel still falls under federal law.

“Most people are under the impression that it is acceptable to travel with cannabis since it is legal in California, however, they are not aware of the travel restrictions,” said Karla Rodriguez, police captain at Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Los Angeles International Airport. “Additionally, passengers need to be aware of the legality of cannabis in other states or countries.”

She said most arrests involve “passengers who take an amount which is more than what is considered personal use.”

What about medical marijuana?

Well, that changes things.

The Transportation Security Administration said that medical marijuana products that “contain no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis or that are approved by FDA,” are permitted in both carry-on bags and checked bags.

TSA agents wouldn’t likely ask to see a medical marijuana card unless the traveler was carrying a larger amount or was traveling through a jurisdiction where weed was entirely illegal, an agency spokesperson said.

OK sure, but will TSA search me?

TSA said it is not actively searching for marijuana but rather focuses screening procedures on “potential threats to aviation and passengers” like weapons and explosives.

“The TSA is looking for anything illegal, but they are not law enforcement,” said William Kroger, a defense attorney who’s represented clients arrested for marijuana at airports.

Kroger says if agents find marijuana in a passenger’s luggage, the TSA doesn’t have the power to arrest travelers. It can, however, call local police. Some local police officials told CNBC they would follow local laws in that situation.

The DEA could be alerted by local law enforcement if the quantity of marijuana exceeds personal use or officers have reason to be suspicious that the traveler intends to sell marijuana.

What if the TSA finds marijuana on me?

While the TSA isn’t actively searching for marijuana or other federally illicit drugs, if it does find an amount that exceeds local limits, which vary widely for both weed and THC-infused edibles, it will alert local officials.

Some airports offer amnesty boxes for travelers to discard their pot before traveling. There are 12 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and one at Midway International Airport, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Cannabis products are legal for personal use in Illinois as of Jan. 1, 2020, and residents can possess up to 30 grams, or about an ounce, of cannabis flower.

“When the amnesty boxes are cleared and there are items in the box, officers will create a report, inventory the cannabis or cannabis products and then they will be disposed of similar to how narcotics are disposed of,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department said in a statement.

In New York and New Jersey, airport police enforce those states’ laws, said a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the area’s largest airports. New York and New Jersey each legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2021.

Travelers at Denver International Airport can return their marijuana to their vehicle or pass it to someone not traveling if it’s no more than 2 ounces, according to the Denver Police Department. Colorado legalized recreational pot back in 2014.

They can also surrender it to police officers where it will be “sent to get destroyed and not returned to them,” said Jay Casillas at the Denver Police Department. “Any amounts greater than 2 ounces will warrant an investigation where they may be subject to arrest and may face charges.”

However, the severity of the penalty is largely up to the jurisdiction, said Kroger, the defense attorney. In states with harsher marijuana laws, “you could be facing serious time in jail or prison,” he said.

Can I fly high?

Airlines’ contracts of carriage, the document that lists policies for everything from overbooked flights to lost baggage, state that intoxicated travelers can’t fly.

In a practice that’s similar to how a passenger trying to board barefoot will be denied boarding, airlines can refuse to allow a customer to get on the plane if, according to Delta’s rules, for example, “the passenger’s conduct is disorderly, abusive or violent, or the passenger appears to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.”

What about traveling internationally?

Again, no. Marijuana rules vary across the world, but it is still banned outright in many countries, and while many of the high-profile prison sentences for carrying weed through foreign countries are for large quantities, even smaller amounts could carry hefty fines or more severe punishments.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday announced measures to try to avoid a repeat of disruptions at airports serving New York City and Washington, D.C., this summer as it grapples with a shortage of air traffic controllers at a key facility in the area.

The agency said it will reduce flight requirements for airlines’ takeoff and landing rights to avoid congestion. Airlines have until April 30 to file requests to give up takeoff and landing slots.

The waiver would last from May 15 through Sept. 15.

Airline executives have repeatedly complained about air traffic control shortfalls contributing to flight disruptions as air travel sprang back from pandemic lows in the past few years. Airlines last summer also reduced their schedules to avoid delays as they dealt with their own staffing issues and other strains.

The FAA said it expects increased delays in the New York City area this summer compared with last year, projecting a 45% rise in delays with operations growing 7%.

United Airlines said it would seek a waiver for certain use of take-off and landing allotments at the three biggest New York-area airports and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. In a letter to the FAA’s acting Administrator Billy Nolen on Wednesday, United said it would use aircraft with more seats to make up for reduced numbers of flights and offer alternative flights to affected customers.

Delta Air Lines applauded the FAA’s measure.

“Delta is reviewing our network to ensure the best customer experience throughout the summer travel season and we are committed to working with the FAA on measures to ensure the safety and efficiency of operations at the NY/NJ Airports,” the carrier said in a statement.

Later this month, the FAA will hold a summit with airlines about other ways it can ease disruptions in the area. It held a similar event last year at Florida as airline passengers faced delays stemming from bad weather, high demand and congestion from issues like space launches and military exercises.

ECA International’s latest Daily Rates research ranked countries based on costs for short trip expenses: four-star hotel rooms, meals, laundry, alcoholic and soft drinks, journeys by taxi and incidental costs. 

The research aims to help organizations anticipate the cost of business trips and short-term assignments, the data company said. 

A business trip now costs an average of $520 a day in Hong Kong, which is also ranked the 16th most expensive location for business travel in the world. 

MOST EXPENSIVE LOCATIONS FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL IN ASIA

That’s despite low demand from business travelers, as Hong Kong closely followed mainland China’s tough zero-Covid policy. It was only in late 2022 that it began to relax some of its restrictions. 

“Hotel costs continue to make up a majority of the overall cost of business travel, and in spite of lower occupancy levels in 2022, advertised room rates [in Hong Kong] did not fall significantly,” Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, told CNBC.

“This may have been due to demand from local residents, while hotel properties may also have needed to maintain their room rates to cover additional costs associated with maintaining services during the Covid-19 pandemic.“

The report is based on information collected in 2022, from 457 locations in over 190 countries, said ECA International.

Singapore beats Tokyo

Singapore moved up one spot in ECA International’s rankings, overtaking Tokyo to become the second-most expensive city in Asia to visit for business.

It’s also ranked 19th globally. 

A business trip to Singapore now costs an average of $515 per day — $34 more expensive than the year before, said ECA International. 

It attributed rising costs in Singapore to its “early removal of travel restrictions” compared with other locations in Asia, which sparked a rise in demand for travel to the city.

“The resulting increase in demand contributed to rises in hotel accommodation costs, while costs associated with other daily essentials … also increased at a faster rate than other locations in the region,” Quane said.

Tokyo, which dropped from second- to third-most expensive city in Asia, also experienced a 5% rise in daily costs for business travelers in local currency terms.

“[However,] they were offset by the yen’s depreciation against the US dollar, leading to the decline of several cities across Japan in this year’s rankings,” Quane said. 

“With average daily costs of $424 per day [in Tokyo], business travel to the city is now almost 20% cheaper than first-placed Hong Kong.” 

Inflation and currency depreciation

Inflation in many locations across Asia has contributed to significant increases in business travel costs in local currency terms, said ECA International. 

Sri Lanka, Laos and Pakistan saw the largest increase in expenses for travelers, the report found. 

For example, business travel expenses in Colombo, Sri Lanka were 75% higher in local currency terms than a year before, according to the report. 

“This primarily stemmed from high inflation and currency depreciation, since some costs associated with business travel … are typically incurred in US dollars by foreign business travelers here.” 

But not all Asian destinations experienced the same surge in travel costs.

Popular tourist destinations, for example, saw “relatively little change” in travel expenses last year, said ECA International. 

“Cities like Pattaya and Chiang Mai in Thailand, alongside Denpasar in Indonesia, all witnessed small rates of growth in local currency terms in 2022, ranging between 1% and 3%,” Quane said.

That’s because lower demand in those destinations — compared with pre-pandemic levels — have suppressed hotel rates.

“Even a tourist hub like Bangkok, which typically receives many business travelers, only saw a moderate 4% increase in business travel costs,” Quane added. 

Singapore, in contrast, saw a 10% rise in daily costs of business travel in local currency terms. 

World’s most expensive place

For yet another year, New York received the dubious honor of being the most expensive place in the world for business travelers.

The average daily cost of a business trip in New York is now $796, according to the report. 

MOST EXPENSIVE LOCATIONS FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL GLOBALLY

Travel costs have “rebounded strongly” in New York over the past year, thanks to a “post-pandemic surge” in demand for business travel and tourism, said Quane. 

Along with “inflation-driven price hikes on goods” commonly consumed by business travelers, travel costs grew by a stark 8%, he added. 

Other cities in the U.S. also dominated the global top 10 list, such as Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. 

Three European destinations made the list, with Switzerland remaining home to the region’s two most expensive cities for business travel.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro had scrapped the visa requirements in 2019 to bolster the country’s tourism industry, but the four countries continued to demand visas from Brazilians.

The decision to grant the visa exemptions had represented “a break with the pattern of Brazilian migration policy, historically based on the principles of reciprocity and equal treatment,” the foreign ministry said in a statement released quietly late Monday.

“Brazil does not grant unilateral exemption from visiting visas, without reciprocity, to other countries,” the ministry said, while noting that the government is ready to negotiate visa waiver agreements on a reciprocal basis.

Bolsonaro criticized the decision last week after the news outlet G1 first reported the upcoming change. “Another revocation by Lula. Less jobs and less stimulus of the hotel sector,” he said on Twitter.

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Unilateral decisions like the one made by Bolsonaro are rare in diplomacy, according to Leonardo Paz, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university and think tank. Its reversal is part of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s ambition to reaffirm its foreign policy, an area neglected under Bolsonaro, Paz said.

Still, representatives of the tourism industry were critical of the move.

The chief executive of one of Rio de Janeiro’s top tourist attractions, the cable cars on Sugar Loaf Mountain, criticized the decision. Sandro Fernandes told Folhapress before the official announcement that the decision would be a “setback.”

“Instead of closing the door to four nationalities, we should be discussing which are the next four to release visa exemptions. And then four more. This should be the government’s agenda,” Fernandes said.

Before the pandemic hit, Brazil received 6.4 million tourists in 2019, far below Mexico’s 45 million and less than Argentina’s 7.4 million, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Data from Brazil’s tourism ministry indicates that entries of Americans, Australians, Canadians and Japanese people fell between 2019 and 2021, but the pandemic caused the global tourism industry to grind almost to standstill and is largely responsible for the drop.

The couple already owned and operated The Joshua Tree House, a property comprised of individual guest homes in California. But they had fallen in love with the Arizona area during their 2014 trip.

Sara tells CNBC Make It that the couple made a mental note that it would be a great place for a new experience their guests could choose from. This space was only about a six-hour drive from Joshua Tree and offered a different, but still natural, setting.

“We were finding a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment through creating spaces for people to get out in nature. We’re also focused on giving people the space to reset,” Sara says.

Fast forward to May 2018: Rich was browsing properties online, which he calls a “form of meditation,” and came across a listing for what looked like 38 acres of empty canyon. He disregarded that property because they were planning to buy a place just down the road from it.

After that deal fell through, the couple looked up that empty canyon on Google Maps. The area looked to have one big building in the center and two casitas.

In fact, the property the Combs had come across had a main building that is 7,500 square feet, and two other houses. Altogether, the three structures came in at over 10,000 square feet.

“Our agent advised we go see it immediately but were hesitant, so we asked him to take videos for us,” Sara says. “We fell in love with what we saw in the videos and put down an offer before we saw it in person.”

The owner of the property accepted an offer of $615,000 and requested the Combs include a signed copy of their design and lifestyle book “At Home in Joshua Tree” as part of the deal.

After their offer was accepted, the Combs drove out to Tucson and discovered that what they’d seen only in pictures up until that point was actually an inn that had been abandoned for 10 years.

They closed on the property at the end of October 2018.

The property was in such a terrible state, the couple says, that their biggest challenge was finding someone to give them a hard-money loan. They couldn’t get a traditional mortgage: Banks generally would not give out a loan on an existing property that had been gutted and wasn’t functional.

After the couple found a bank willing to give them the loan they needed, they got to work with the goal of finishing the renovation and opening the property within the year.

After buying the abandoned inn, they learned that the previous owners, who bought it in 2006, had tried to renovate the property into a complex of luxury homes, Rich says. But those owners lost the funding during the 2008 recession. They demolished most of it before letting the remains go into disarray.

“I love this place. There are so many beautiful details that aren’t necessary to the structure, but are just really cool,” Sara says. “You can tell that the original builder loved was he was doing.”

Some of those beautiful but totally unnecessary details are the beams throughout the inn — the original builder, Mark Larsen, used scraps from a disassembled bridge in New Mexico to create them.

“As designers, we thought the bones were incredible, and it got us excited to bring it back to life,” Sara says.

The couple admitted that they didn’t have a budget for the renovation and depended on income from sponsored content, loans from friends and family, and maxing out their credit cards to get the inn opened in less than 12 months.

“By the end of the project, we were in a very poor financial situation, and that was very stressful,” Rich says.

The couple tells CNBC Make It they estimate they spent over $500,000 in renovations.

“It was really risky but we just had so much confidence that it was a place that people would enjoy as much as we did, and luckily, it all ended up working out,” Sara adds.

Sara and Rich turned the main building into five suites. One of the smaller houses serves as their own residence when they are in Tucson, and the other as the home where the property manager lives.

Designing the new inn

The couple reached out to locals in Tucson to create the space alongside them, from the furniture to the art, including a mural over the bar in the common space.

“It became a collaborative project, and it made it so much more fun to feel that support through the process by getting to know the community and being inspired by them, too,” Sara says.

The Joshua Tree: The Posada opened in September 2019. Rooms range from $210 to $427 a night. Guests have the ability to book the entire 7-bedroom inn for $2,200 a night.

The renovated property includes a chef’s kitchen, rock canyon pool, hot spring style hot tub, rooftop lounge, yoga room, dining patio, fire-pit lounge, BYOB Bar, living room with a projector, and on-site walking trails.

The couple said the best part of giving new life to the inn was the support from people who had been following the renovation process on social media.

“It felt like a very vulnerable thing to put it out there after all the work we put into it,” Sara says. “It meant a lot to see our followers feel like they were part of the experience and then come to see it in person as our first guests.”

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The country jumped from being tied for 32th place on last year’s ranking to the No. 1 spot, according to new index by the tax and immigration consultancy Nomad Capitalist.

The Emirati passport leapt up the list because it has visa-free travel privileges to the most places (181 in total), no income taxes and an ever-increasing presence on the world stage, all of which make it attractive to aspiring global citizens, the company said.

How the ranking works

Unlike other rankings that focus solely on visa-free travel privileges, the “Nomad Passport Index 2023” assesses five factors each given different weightings:

Other than visa-free travel, the categories are assessed by scores that vary from 10 to 50, said Jovana Vojinovic, Nomad Capitalist’s director of operations and sales.

For example, she said taxation is based on the long-arm reach of a country’s tax laws, as well as a country’s tax rates:

• Citizen-based tax: where passport holders pay no matter where they live — score of 10
• Resident-based tax: where residents are taxed on worldwide income — score of 20 (if rates exceed 50%) or 30 (if they don’t)
• Territorial tax: where income made within the country is taxed — score 40
• No income tax — score of 50

Countries that score a 10 for taxation include the U.S. and Eritrea, which employ worldwide “citizen-based” tax rules, said Vojinovic.

“You can theoretically live on the moon if you’re a U.S. citizen, and you’ll pay taxes to the U.S.,” she said.

South Africa is “flirting” with adopting the system but probably won’t be able to impose it because it lacks the sway that the U.S. has on the global banking system, which as a condition to work with U.S. citizens requires that they comply with federal IRS rules, Vojinovic said.

Another factor — dual citizenship — applies in two ways, she said — first, if a country allows its citizens to get a second citizenship, and second, whether it allows foreigners to naturalize there as well.

Perception is based on both subjective views and objective data, such as the World Happiness Report and the Human Development Index, said Vojinovic. But the bottom line for this category is: “Will someone bother you at the airport as being a citizen of that country?”

The full list

Here is the complete list, from 1 to 199:

The scores on this year’s ranking are generally lower than last year’s, because of a change in the way Nomad Capitalist scored visa-free travel.

This year, visas-on-arrival and e-visas aren’t included, causing many countries to lose ground on this factor, said Vojinovic. For example, last year’s No. 1 passport — Luxembourg — scored 189 in this category; this year it fell to 174.  

Why the UAE ranked No. 1

Vojinovic called the UAE passport the “winner of the decade.”

The United Arab Emirates “added 106 new visa-free countries in the last decade, which is an amazing number,” she said. “Also, they’re a zero tax country.”

Perception of it improved in the past year because of an influx of rich and famous people who moved there, she said. She said several years ago, clients would say “‘I’m not sure how safe it is’ or ‘we heard some things about their laws,’ referring that’s it’s a dominantly Muslim country.”

Others would mix the UAE with Saudi Arabia, “grouping it all together,” she said.

But slowly people started realizing it has “very liberal visa policies and is very welcome to foreigners, welcome to investments … [it’s] pretty much became a go-to destination for most people that have crypto based businesses.”

It also notched an additional 10 points in the “freedom” category because of a series of reforms, though this is still its lowest category overall.

In 2021, the government announced that Emirati citizenship is attainable for select foreigners, such as investors, doctors, scientists and intellectuals, who meet a rather high bar of requirements.

Still, the UAE passport is often regarded as being one of the most difficult passports to obtain.

“As the law is relatively new, we still have to see its practical implications as the number of requests increases,” said Vojinovic.

More people are on the move

Vojinovic said that “more and more people” are moving, and not just “exotic digital nomads” either.

She said more retirees are seeking to move to countries that have better health care and “freedom.”

“Freedom is … going to be highlighted in the next couple of years, especially in this industry, as we see massive, massive immigration waves from certain countries,” she said. “I think Canada is … leading this whole movement.”

Canada regularly tops passport rankings, but its ranking fell this year because of a loss of points in two categories: perception and personal freedoms, caused by incidents such as jailing protestors involved in the “Freedom Convoy” protests, Vojinovic said.

“Canadians are very big on Costa Rica,” she said, “Americans especially like Portugal.”

But Portugal was also popular with many others, said Vojinovic, including wealthy people who wanted a European Union residence permit and digital nomads, retirees and families.

Portugal’s lax entrance policies haven’t been as welcome with residents. An influx of outsiders caused a housing crisis in the country, with soaring rental and purchase prices. Among other measures, the government announced in February that it was ending its “Golden Visa” program to help stabilize real estate costs.  

“The same thing happened” in Costa Rica, she said. “Most people think it’s kind of dirt cheap, okay, we’re saving a bunch of money by going there. But … a lot of foreigners came in the country. Rent prices started jumping.”

Mexico is another location that has proven to be popular, especially during the pandemic, because it “didn’t have any Covid mandates,” while “crypto people” are attracted to El Salvador because Bitcoin is legal tender there, she said.  

Popular coffee and fast food chains like Starbucks and Chipotle have been tightening the deals on their reward programs, saying inflation is to blame.

This trend of raising spending requirements has carried over to large U.S. airlines, which have made it harder for frequent travelers to obtain perks like elite status and early boarding.

Here are some reward programs that have been impacted in recent months:

Dunkin’

In October, the coffee company replaced its old DD Perks system with Dunkin’ Rewards.

The new program offers food as rewards for the first time and faster point accumulation, with customers earning 10 points rather than five for every $1 spent. Members can also unlock a “Boosted Status” that awards 12 points for every dollar spent for three months after they visit 12 times in a single month.

The downside: the redemption values have increased. 

Customers must spend $10 more — $50 instead of $40 — before earning a free cup of coffee. Signature drinks like lattes can be redeemed after spending $90, more than double what customers had to pay before the change.

“When we set out to improve DD Perks, we asked our members what they wanted to see in a new program. They told us three things: flexibility, variety, and recognition,” Scott Murphy, the president of Dunkin’, said in an October press release. “And we did just that – we solved the three biggest constraints to bring a new and improved customer experience to Dunkin’ fans.”

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Here’s the breakdown of Dunkin’s point system:

• 150 points: An espresso shot added to a drink, three Munchkins or six hash browns
• 250 points: A classic donut
• 400 points: A small, medium, or large hot or iced tea
• 500 points: A small, medium, or large hot or iced coffee
• 600 points: A wake-up wrap with or without meat, or a bagel with spread
• 700 points: A small, medium or large hot or iced espresso, Cold Brew, Cold Brew with Cold Foam, or Dunkin’ Refresher
• 800 points: A breakfast sandwich with your choice of meat, egg, cheese and bread
• 900 points: Any size frozen drink or Signature Latte — hot or iced

The company also got rid of its free birthday beverage perk. Instead, members can earn triple points when they purchase something on their birthday or the day before or after their birthday.

Starbucks

Starbucks recently updated its rewards program, increasing the number of “stars” customers must earn before getting a free drink.

The Seattle-based coffee giant made the changes on Feb. 13 in response to inflation that has already raised the prices of their highly popular drinks.

Previously, customers could redeem a free hot coffee, tea or bakery item for 50 stars, or points. Under the changes, those items will now cost 100 stars.

“We occasionally need to make changes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Starbucks Reward program and to meet the changing needs of our members,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.

Here are the updated reward tiers, according to Starbucks:

• 100 stars (previously 50 stars): one brewed tea or coffee, steeped tea, bakery item or packaged snack
• 200 stars (previously 150 stars): one handcrafted beverage or hot breakfast item
• 300 stars (previously 200 stars): one salad, sandwich, protein box or packaged coffee item

Some trade-offs exist: iced coffee and tea are now worth 100 stars instead of 150, and packaged coffee has shifted from 400 to 300.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle has updated its rewards program not once, but twice in the past two years, increasing the point values for redeeming free menu items.

Since the most recent bump to 1,625 points last fall, loyalty members have to spend $162.50 to earn a free burrito. That’s $37.50 more than a year ago.

But raising the threshold hasn’t stopped customers from signing up for the program.

The company saw a 20% increase in reward memberships in 2022 compared to the previous year, Brian Niccol, the chief executive of Chipotle, said during an earnings call in early February.

In January, Chipotle launched a new perk, “Freepotle,” which rewards members with up to 10 free sides or toppings of guacamole throughout 2023.

“In an environment full of pricey subscription programs, we’re introducing a pass to our real food that is free to join and will provide more value to our community than ever before,” said Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer of Chipotle, in a news release.

American Airlines

Starting in March, American Airlines travelers will need more loyalty points to reach the lowest tier in its AAdvantage frequent flyer program. Customers will need 40,000 points to earn Gold status, an increase of 10,000 points from before, CNBC reports.

The airline will end MileSAAver and AAnytime awards, both of which allow travelers to trade in frequent flyer miles for tickets. Travelers flying in a basic economy now earn two points instead of five per dollar spent.

“We’re creating a more meaningful travel rewards program for our AAdvantage members,” Vasu Raja, American’s chief commercial officer, said in December. “Only our members will have access to everything American has to offer. Achieving status will unlock an even wider world of unique experiences with the airline and our partners. With these and other innovations to come, we are continuing to deliver on our commitment that travel is better when you’re an AAdvantage member.” 

To maintain loyalty, American Airlines is offering limited perks like earlier boarding and coupons for some preferred seats to those who have yet to earn status or are in between levels.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Airlines is making access to its airport lounges more exclusive by raising membership prices and adding requirements.

The reason? Some travelers provided feedback about stressful crowds and lines at some Sky Clubs as credit card partnerships and memberships allowed more people to enter.

Previously, anyone could purchase a lounge membership. Starting this year, only Delta’s SkyMiles frequent flyer program members who have status can buy memberships, according to CNBC.

Dwight James, Delta’s senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty, told CNBC that the crowding does not represent what passengers typically experience.

“We want to invest in our customers who invest in us,” James said. “We have to evolve.”

Last year, the airline enforced a time limit of three hours for lounge use and started a VIP line for members with high status.

Maui’s Grand Wailea, a Waldorf-Astoria resort, has just announced the phase one completion of its property-wide refresh, and it’s seeking a photographer to capture their shiny new look.

In a press release shared with TODAY.com, Grand Wailea says they are looking for “a talented and passionate Chief Creative Photographer to capture the essence of the resort through captivating imagery.”

“We created the Chief Creative Photographer residency as a way to truly capture what makes Grand Wailea such a special destination on Maui,” JP Oliver, managing director of Grand Wailea, said in the release.

“The Chief Creative Photographer will receive a complimentary three-month temporary residency at the stunning ocean-front property, during which they will be tasked with delivering high-quality photography of Grand Wailea’s refreshed venues, food and beverage offerings, general resort imagery, and more,” the release said.

But that’s not all.

“In addition to a hosted three-month stay at the luxury resort, the selected candidate will also receive $10,000 in compensation, a daily food and beverage stipend, and complimentary on-property programming to fully immerse them in the Grand Wailea experience,” the release said.

The 40-acre property’s renovation includes refreshing its 776 rooms and suites, lounges and two of the resort’s restaurants, ‘Ikena and Loulu.

“We look forward to opening our doors to someone with an artistic eye and an appreciation for the hard work that’s gone into the resort’s refresh,” Oliver stated. “We can’t wait to see Grand Wailea brought to life through the content our new CCP captures during their time on property.”

Maui, the second largest Hawaiian Island, is home to historic state park ʻĪao Valley, a lush 4,000-acre sanctuary where King Kamehameha I defeated Maui’s forces in 1790, as well as dormant volcano, Haleakalā, and a host of award-winning beaches.

The news, also shared to the resort’s Instagram page, was welcomed by eager potential applicants.

“Will definitely be reaching out,” one user wrote.

Another added, “This would be a dream come true! This is my favorite hotel and our favorite place to stay on Maui. I can never shoot enough when I’m there. I will definitely be submitting!”

The job listing doesn’t detail specific requirements or qualifications for the position, so even photographers without a lot of experience under their belt shouldn’t be deterred from applying.

If this sounds like your dream job, act soon. Resumes and portfolios are due to chiefcreativephotographer@grandwailea.com by Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

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Few places were untouched by the wild weather, including some at the opposite extreme: long-standing record highs were broken in cities in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

The wintry mix hit hard in the northern U.S., closing schools, and offices, even shutting down the Minnesota Legislature. Travel was difficult. Weather contributed to more than 1,600 U.S. flight cancellations, according to the tracking service FlightAware. More than 400 of those were due to arrive or depart from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Another 5,000-plus flights were delayed across the country.

At Denver International Airport, Taylor Dotson, her husband, Reggie, and their 4-year-old daughter, Raegan, faced a two-hour flight delay to Nashville on their way home to Belvidere, Tennessee.

Reggie Dotson was in Denver to interview for a job as an airline pilot.

“I think that’s kind of funny that we’ve experienced these types of delays when that’s what he’s looking into getting into now as a career,” Taylor Dotson said.

The roads were just as bad.

In Wyoming, rescuers tried to reach people stranded in vehicles but high winds and drifting snow created a “near-impossible situation” for them, said Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

“They know their locations, it’s just hard for them to get them,” he said.

Wyoming’s Transportation Department posted on social media that roads across much of the southern part of the state were impassable.

In the Pacific Northwest, high winds and heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains prevented search teams from reaching the bodies of three climbers killed in an avalanche on Washington’s Colchuck Peak over the weekend. Two experts from the Northwest Avalanche Center were hiking to the scene Wednesday to determine if conditions might permit a recovery attempt later this week.

Powerful winds were the biggest problem in California, toppling trees and power lines. By Wednesday evening, more than 65,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to NBC Bay Area.

A 2-year-old child was critically injured Tuesday evening when a redwood crashed onto a home in Boulder Creek, a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, NBC Bay Area reported.

For the first time since 1989, a blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, effective from 4 a.m. Thursday to 4 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

“Nearly the entire population of CA will be able to see snow from some vantage point later this week if they look in the right direction (i.e., toward the highest hills in vicinity),” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain tweeted.

A more than 200-mile stretch of Interstate 40 from central Arizona to the New Mexico line closed due to snow, rain and wind gusts of up to 80 mph. More than 8,000 customers were without power in Arizona.

In the northern U.S. — a region accustomed to heavy snow — the snowfall could be significant. More than 18 inches may pile up in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said Wednesday evening. According to the weather service, the biggest snow event on record in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 1991.

Temperatures could plunge as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday and to minus 25 F Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills may fall to minus 50 F, said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks.

Wind gusts may reach 50 mph in western and central Minnesota, resulting in “significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas,” the weather service said.

The weather even prompted about 90 churches in western Michigan to cancel Ash Wednesday services, WZZM-TV reported.

The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later this week. Places that don’t get snow may get dangerous amounts of ice. Forecasters expect up to a half-inch of ice in parts of southern Michigan, northern Illinois and some eastern states.

The potential ice storm has power company officials on edge. Nearly 1,500 line workers are ready to be deployed if the ice causes outages, said Matt Paul, executive vice president of distribution operations for Detroit-based DTE Electric. He said a half-inch of ice could cause hundreds of thousands of outages.

A half-inch of ice covering a wire “is the equivalent of having a baby grand piano on that single span of wire, so the weight is significant,” Paul said.

More than 192,000 customers in Michigan and nearly 89,000 in Illinois were without electricity Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

As the northern U.S. dealt with the winter blast, National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Bann said some mid-Atlantic and Southeastern cities set new high temperature marks by several degrees.

The high in Lexington, Kentucky, reached 76 F (24 C), shattering the Feb. 22 mark of 70 F (21 C) set 101 years ago. Nashville, Tennessee, reached 78 F (26 C), topping the 1897 record by 4 degrees. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Mobile, Alabama, were among many other places seeing record highs.

Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri. Sarah Brumfield in Wyoming, Eugene Johnson in Seattle, Corey Williams in Detroit, Thomas Peipert in Denver, Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City, Utah, David Koenig in Dallas, John Antczak and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Julie Walker in New York, Amy Forliti in Minneapolis, and Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed to this report.

United Airlines said Monday that new technology will open up more seats on its flights so children can sit with an adult in their party without paying a fee, a type of charge that’s drawn scrutiny from the Biden administration in recent months.

United will show parents or other adult travelers accompanying a child younger than 12 to access “preferred” seats as well as regular economy seats, if needed, at the time of booking so they can sit together.

The change applies to travelers with standard and basic economy tickets and will be fully in effect next month, although United has already increased some of the seat availability.

The airline also won’t charge customers a fare difference if they switch to a flight to the same destination that has adjacent seats.

Airlines in recent years have been charging travelers to book “preferred” location seats on flights. They don’t come with extra legroom or other perks but are often in front of the plane, though they can cover a significant number of seats of an aircraft.

President Joe Biden has called on lawmakers to “fast-track the ban on family seating fees,” the White House said earlier this month. In July, the Transportation Department told U.S. airlines to “do everything in their power” to ensure travelers under age 13 are seated next to an accompanying adult without additional charges.

“Baggage fees are bad enough,” Biden said during his State of the Union address earlier this month. “Airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage.”

Such seats usually vary in price. On a roundtrip between Newark, New Jersey, and Los Angeles in August, preferred seats on a United flight showed as $37 each way for one person.

Delta Air Lines said it blocks certain rows of seats so families can sit together.

“Delta does not charge family seating fees and regardless of the ticket class purchased, will always work with customers on a case-by-case basis to ensure their family seating needs are met,” a spokesman said in a statement on Monday.

American Airlines‘ booking platform will automatically search for available seats together at the time of booking for main cabin and basic economy passengers. Preferred seats and its extra legroom section, Main Cabin Extra, open up the day of departure if they’re needed, a spokesman told CNBC.

The woman flying out of Philadelphia’s airport last year remembered to pack snacks, prescription medicine and a cellphone in her handbag. But what was more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded .380-caliber handgun in a black holster.

The weapon was one of the 6,542 guns the Transportation Security Administration intercepted last year at airport checkpoints across the country. The number — roughly 18 per day — was an all-time high for guns intercepted at U.S. airports, and is sparking concern at a time when more Americans are armed.

“What we see in our checkpoints really reflects what we’re seeing in society, and in society there are more people carrying firearms nowadays,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said.

With the exception of pandemic-disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted at airport checkpoints has climbed every year since 2010. Experts don’t think this is an epidemic of would-be hijackers — nearly everyone caught claims to have forgotten they had a gun with them — but they emphasize the danger even one gun can pose in the wrong hands on a plane or at a checkpoint.

Guns have been intercepted literally from Burbank, California, to Bangor, Maine. But it tends to happen more at bigger airports in areas with laws more friendly to carrying a gun, Pekoske said. The top 10 list for gun interceptions in 2022 includes Dallas, Austin and Houston in Texas; three airports in Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; Phoenix; and Denver.

Pekoske isn’t sure the “I forgot” excuse is always true or whether it’s a natural reaction to getting caught. Regardless, he said, it’s a problem that must stop.

What Happens When TSA Finds a Gun?

When TSA staffers see what they believe to be a weapon on the X-ray machine, they usually stop the belt so the bag stays inside the machine and the passenger can’t get to it. Then they call in local police.

Repercussions vary depending on local and state laws. The person may be arrested and have the gun confiscated. But sometimes they’re allowed to give the gun to a companion not flying with them and continue on their way. Unloaded guns can also be placed in checked bags assuming they follow proper procedures. The woman in Philadelphia saw her gun confiscated and was slated to be fined.

Those federal fines are the TSA’s tool to punish those who bring a gun to a checkpoint. Last year TSA raised the maximum fine to $14,950 as a deterrent. Passengers also lose their PreCheck status — it allows them to bypass some types of screening — for five years. It used to be three years, but about a year ago the agency increased the time and changed the rules. Passengers may also miss their flight as well as lose their gun. If federal officials can prove the person intended to bring the gun past the checkpoint into what’s called the airport’s sterile area, it’s a federal offense.

Retired TSA official Keith Jeffries said gun interceptions can also slow other passengers in line.

“It’s disruptive no matter what,” Jeffries said. “It’s a dangerous, prohibited item and, let’s face it, you should know where your gun is at, for crying out loud.”

Experts and officials say the rise in gun interceptions simply reflects that more Americans are carrying guns.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group, tracks FBI data about background checks completed for a firearm sale. The numbers were a little over 7 million in 2000 and about 16.4 million last year. They went even higher during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the TSA officers searching for prohibited items, it can be jarring.

In Atlanta, Janecia Howard was monitoring the X-ray machine when she realized she was looking at a gun in a passenger’s laptop bag. She immediately flagged it as a “high-threat” item and police were notified.

Howard said it felt like her heart dropped, and she was worried the passenger might try to get the gun. It turns out the passenger was a very apologetic businessman who said he simply forgot. Howard says she understands travel can be stressful but that people have to take care when they’re getting ready for a flight.

“You have to be alert and pay attention,” she said. “It’s your property.”

Atlanta’s airport, one of the world’s busiest with roughly 85,000 people going through checkpoints on a busy day, had the most guns intercepted in 2022 — 448 — but that number was actually lower than the year before. Robert Spinden, the TSA’s top official in Atlanta, says the agency and the airport made a big effort in 2021 to try to address the large number of guns being intercepted at checkpoints.

An incident in November 2021 reinforced the need for their efforts. A TSA officer noticed a suspected gun in a passenger’s bag. When the officer opened the suitcase the man reached for the gun, and it went off. People ran for the exits, and the airport was shut down for 2 1/2 hours, the airport’s general manager Balram Bheodari said during a congressional hearing last year.

Officials put in new signage to catch the attention of gun owners. A hologram over a checkpoint shows the image of a revolving blue gun with a red circle over the gun with a line through it. Numerous 70-inch television screens flash rotating messages that guns are not allowed.

“There’s signage all over the airport. There is announcements, holograms, TVs. There’s quite a bit of information that is sort of flashing before your eyes to just try to remind you as a last ditch effort that if you do own a firearm, do you know where it’s at?” Spinden said.

Miami’s airport also worked to get gunowners’ attention. The airport’s director told Congress last year that after setting a gun interception record in 2021 they installed high-visibility signage and worked with airlines to warn passengers. He said the number of firearms intercepted declined sharply.

Pekoske said signage is only part of the solution. Travelers face a barrage of signs or announcements already and don’t always pay attention. He also supports gradually raising penalties to grab people’s attention.

But Aidan Johnston, from the gun advocacy group Gun Owners of America, said he’d like to see the fines lessened, saying they’re not a deterrent. While he’d like to see more education for new gun owners, he also doesn’t think of this as a “major heinous crime.”

“These are not bad people that are in dire need of punishment,” he said. “These are people who made a mistake.”

Officials believe they’re catching the vast majority, but with 730 million passengers screened last year even a miniscule percentage getting through is a concern.

Last month, musician Cliff Waddell was traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, to Raleigh, North Carolina, when he was stopped at the checkpoint. A TSA officer had seen a gun in his bag. Waddell was so shocked he initially said it couldn’t be his because he’d just flown the day before with the same bag. It turned out the gun had been in his bag but missed at the screening. TSA acknowledged the miss, and Pekoske says they’re investigating.

When trying to figure out how the gun he keeps locked in his glove compartment got in his bookbag, Waddell realized he’d taken it out when he took the vehicle in for repairs. Waddell said he recognizes it’s his responsibility to know where his firearm is but worries about how TSA could have missed something so significant.

“That was a shock to me,” he said.

“Limited operations” resumed Saturday at JFK Airport after crews were able to complete repairs and restore power to Terminal 1 overnight, Port Authority officials announced nearly 48 hours after mayhem struck.

For several days, airlines were left scrambling to adjust for the out-of-commission terminal. A handful of flights were able to pass through nearby airports, but many more were cancelled.

In one headline-catching instance, an inbound flight from Auckland, New Zealand, was forced to turnaround mid-flight Thursday after learning of the airport terminal’s outage. Passengers and crew were stuck on the plane for 16 hours and ended up back at their starting destination.

According to the Port Authority, “an electrical panel failure, which also caused a small isolated fire overnight that was immediately extinguished,” triggered the power problem.

The terminal’s air traffic reportedly represents only 5% of the airport’s passenger flights.

Of Saturday’s scheduled flights in and out of the terminal, the Port Authority said only 10 flights had to be canceled. Twenty-six of the 64 on the schedule would fly according to schedule, while another 18 would be handled out of other terminals and 10 sent through nearby airports.

The number of Saturday cancellations was down significantly from the previous day, when passengers from 39 dumped flights had to adjust their plans.

Passengers stranded at the terminal say they’re confused about where to turn next.

“Not really sure what’s going on — no one is aware of the situation, at least that’s what it seems like,” said frustrated passenger Anthony Russo, who was hoping to make it to London. “I had a lot planned, I was gonna see some friends, and now I don’t know what the hell is happening.”

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On Thursday evening, the airlines were writing out their flight cancellations by hand because the big electronic board was still out. They gave passengers flyers. One from Lufthansa began, “Unfortunately, your flight was canceled.”

Some travelers said their delayed flights wouldn’t be taking off for days, threatening their travel plans or forcing them to cancel altogether. It’s the latest chaos-wreaking issue to befall JFK, though two recent ones involved air traffic control.

JFK’s Terminal 1 serves Aeroflot, Aero Mexico, Air China, Air France, AirPlus Comet, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Cayman Airways, China Airlines, China Eastern, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Olympic, Royal Air Maroc, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish.

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A few hundred passengers reportedly suffered through some of the worst travel luck Thursday when their Auckland to New York flight turned around mid-flight, heading back to its point of origin after a “power disruption” at JFK Airport shuttered operations at its international terminal.

Bloomberg reports the Air New Zealand flight bound for the Big Apple, expected to land around 5:40 p.m. local time, was forced to abandon its flight plan when the chaos unfolded at their destination. Flight data shows the Boeing 787 turn around halfway into its roughly 9,000-mile trip.

The plane had already been in the air for eight hours when the decision was made to bring the jet back to New Zealand. By the time the passengers and flight crew touched back down in Auckland, where they started, the hundreds on board had completed roughly 16 hours in the air.

The Auckland to New York route is fairly new, having started last September and becoming the fourth-longest nonstop flight in operation.

The developing travel nightmare at JFK Airport stretched into a second day Friday, with all inbound and outbound flights at the New York City hub’s international terminal halted — at least through the rest of the day and possibly longer.

The fracas started around mid-morning Thursday, when JFK Airport first tweeted about a “power disruption” causing some terminal changes for departures and arrivals. Four hours later, it acknowledged the problem at Terminal 1, which serves more than a dozen international airlines and accounts for 8.5% of the airport’s total gates, was escalating.

The outage had been expected to be resolved by early to mid-morning Friday, but JFK Airport tweeted shortly before midnight that the terminal would stay closed for the rest of the day. There was no update on when it might reopen.

According to the Port Authority, “an electrical panel failure, which also caused a small isolated fire overnight that was immediately extinguished,” triggered the power problem. Travelers are advised to check with their flight carriers.

And as of Friday morning, the FAA’s website indicated the shutdown could linger into late Saturday afternoon.

Passengers stranded at the terminal say they’re confused about where to turn next.

“Not really sure what’s going on — no one is aware of the situation, at least that’s what it seems like,” said frustrated passenger Anthony Russo, who was hoping to make it to London. “I had a lot planned, I was gonna see some friends, and now I don’t know what the hell is happening.”

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JFK’s Terminal 1 serves Aeroflot, Aero Mexico, Air China, Air France, AirPlus Comet, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Cayman Airways, China Airlines, China Eastern, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Olympic, Royal Air Maroc, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish.

As of Thursday evening, the airlines were writing out their flight cancellations by hand because the big electronic board was still out. The gave passengers flyers. One from Lufthansa began, “Unfortunately, your flight was canceled.”

Some travelers said their delayed flights won’t be taking off for days, threatening their travel plans or forcing them to cancel altogether. It’s the latest chaos-wreaking issue to befall JFK, though two recent ones involved air traffic control.

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