The Inactivation of the Body Scanners

Everything you always wanted to know about the TSA's body scanners — and why many of them have been warehoused.

TSA to Commission Independent Study of X-Ray Body Scanners

The Transportation Security Administration will have the National Academy of Sciences study the health effects of X-ray body scanners used in airports. But how much will the study reveal?

Iraq Blocks Syria's Request to Fetch Combat Helicopters from Russia

Mystery solved. Syria had requested to ferry attack helicopters from Russia over Iraq, but the flights hadn't happened. Now, the Iraqis say they denied permission.

To Retrieve Attack Helicopters from Russia, Syria Asks Iraq for Help, Documents Show

Documents show that Syria asked Iraqiauthorities to grant air access to fly in refurbished attack helicopters fromRussia, putting a spotlight on Iraq’s role in the nearly two-year conflict.

Flight Records Say Russia Sent Syria Tons of Cash

The records of overflight requests show more than 200 tons of "bank notes" from Moscow to Damascus.

TSA X-Ray Body Scanners Sit Idle in Warehouse

The Transportation Security Administration removed X-ray body scanners from major airports, planning to shift them to smaller airports. But many of the backscatters sit in a warehouse as the agency looks into whether the manufacturer, Rapiscan Systems, falsified software tests.

TSA Removes X-Ray Body Scanners From Major Airports

The Transportation Security Administration has been removing its X-ray body scanners from LAX, O'Hare and JFK, and putting them in less-busy airports. The X-ray machines have faced criticism over radiation and privacy.

TSA Reveals Passenger Complaints … Four Years Later

It took the Transportation Security Administration nearly four years to respond to our public records request for passenger complaints against the agency.

New Report Likely to Fuel Debate Over TSA Scanners

A new report from the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security is likely to fan rather than extinguish the debate over the safety of X-ray body scanners, known as backscatters, deployed at airports across the country.

How (and How Not) to Jumpstart an Economy

The author of a new book about the stimulus, <em>Money Well Spent?</em>, draws lessons for what the government can do now to create jobs.

Senators' Bill Calls for Independent Study of Airport Scanners

How the Stimulus Revived the Electric Car

The Obama administration helped build an American electric car and battery industry. The question is: Will it last? From ProPublica reporter Michael Grabell's new book on the stimulus, Money Well Spent?

Drive-by Scanning: Officials Expand Use and Dose of Radiation for Security Screening

From prisons to borders to the streets of New York, law enforcement officials are using X-ray scanners on people more often and with higher doses of radiation.

Bill Would Require Independent Study of X-Ray Body Scanners

Sen. Susan Collins is planning to introduce a bill that would require the TSA to conduct a new, independent health study of the X-ray body scanners used to screen airline passengers for explosives at airports.

Invasion of the Body Scanners: They're Spreading, But Are They Safe and Effective?

One type of scanner uses X-rays, and ProPublica and PBS NewsHour revealed questions about whether it might increase cancer cases. But a safer type of scanner has its own problems. ProPublica investigated the biggest change to airport security since the metal detector.

Just How Good Are the TSA's Body Scanners?

While the Transportation Security Administration says that airport body scanners are highly effective at detecting explosives hidden underneath clothing, some studies and a congressman briefed on classified research suggest the machines could miss carefully concealed plastic explosives.

Sweating Bullets: Body Scanners Can See Perspiration as a Potential Weapon

One type of airport body scanner deployed by the Transportation Security Administration has raised health concerns, but a safer type has registered such high false-alarm rates that Germany and France have nixed it.

Body Scanner Survey Methodology

Coffee, Tea or Cancer? Almost Half of Americans Oppose X-ray Body Scanners

A new Harris poll conducted for ProPublica shows that even if X-ray body scanners would prevent terrorists from smuggling explosives onto planes, 46 percent of Americans still oppose using them because they could cause a few people to eventually develop cancer.