Free Republic

(KRT) - The federal government is asking airlines to eliminate size restrictions for carry-on baggage at airport security checkpoints nationwide - a shift that some warn could lead to crowded overhead bins and testy passengers.The Transportation Security Administration sent a letter to airlines last month, asking them to remove sizing templates at checkpoints, to provide consistency and offer "one standard that will allow for a smooth transition for the traveling public.""It's an effort to make the process as efficient as possible without any compromise of security," TSA spokesman Paul Turk said.For passengers with a penchant for bringing oversize bags onboard,...

Phil Messina stood in the aisle of a makeshift airplane cabin set up in a hotel conference room and pulled items from a cardboard box. "I can kill you with a magazine, a soda can, a compact disk, a wine bottle, and a fork," he told an audience of airline pilots. Then Messina, a stocky former cop with a Fu Manchu mustache, began thrusting a 6-in. gold object into the air. "But this is the best!" he boasted. "I bought it yesterday at John F. Kennedy Airport." In his hand was a dagger-sized Statue of Liberty with a knife-sharp torch...

Editor's note: The following is an edited version of an interview with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta on March 15. The full version can be viewed here. The Daily Californian: How did your Berkeley education prepare you for a career in public service? Norman Mineta: Well, both in terms of classroom as well as other activities at Berkeley, it really did. First of all, I majored in business administration with a minor in transportation. I was active in all of the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior class councils. It was to me, all the way around, a great experience....