Want to make Thanksgiving dinner after which take it with you in your flight to your grandmother's house?

“Before you agree to bring a family favorite meal to put on the Thanksgiving table, it is important to think about how you will transport it when you fly to spend the holiday with family or friends,” said the TSA. “Most food items can be transported through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, but there are some items that must be transported in checked baggage.”

A basic rule is: If it’s a solid object, it could possibly go through a checkpoint. But when you can spill, spread, spray, pump, or pour it — and it's larger than 3.4 ounces — then it should slot in a checked bag. Ice packs could be used to preserve items, but they have to be frozen.

Any food will likely need additional testing, so an easily accessible carrier ought to be used.

Here is a listing of Thanksgiving foods that could be transported through a TSA checkpoint:

• Baked goods. Homemade or store-bought cakes, cookies, brownies and other sweet treats.
• Meat. Turkey, chicken, ham, steak. Frozen, cooked or uncooked.
• Filling. Cooked, uncooked, in a box or in a bag.
• Casseroles. Traditional green beans and onion straws or something more exotic.
• Macaroni and cheese. Cooked in a pan or traveling with the ingredients to cook it at your destination.
• Fresh vegetables. Potatoes, yams, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, turnips, radishes, carrots, pumpkin, vegetables.
• Fresh fruit. Apples, pears, pineapples, lemons, limes, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, kiwi.
• Sweets.
• Spices.

Thanksgiving Foods to Pack Carefully in Your Checked Luggage:

• Cranberry sauce. Homemade or canned are spreadable, so check them out.
• Sauce. Homemade or in a jar/can.
• Wine, champagne, sparkling cider.
• Canned fruit or vegetables. There is liquid within the can, so check it.
• Jams, jams and jellies. They are spreadable so it's best to examine them.
• maple syrup.

For more information, download the free myTSA app, which incorporates the “What can I bring?” Feature that lets you enter the item to search out out if it could possibly fly. Or ask on Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Travelers can submit an issue by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872).

Originally published: November 26, 2024 at 10:25 am PST

By Sasha Richie, The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy on Monday, but your holiday travel plans shouldn't be affected.

According to court documents, the budget airline announced it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure greater than $1 billion in debt. Spirit says the Chapter 11 process is “expected to reduce Spirit's debt, provide greater financial flexibility, position Spirit for long-term success, and accelerate investments to provide better travel experiences and greater value to guests.”

The announcement comes after a series of quarterly losses and failed merger attempts with Frontier and JetBlue. The company's stock has slumped over the yr and is anticipated to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

With Thanksgiving just over per week away and Christmas following shortly after, how will this affect the Flyers? That shouldn't be the case, in response to Spirit, who, to be clear, isn't going out of business. Here's what it’s essential to know:

Can I still fly flights booked with Spirit?

Yes. Guests can expect to fly as normal throughout the Chapter 11 process, and this includes any flights already booked.

Can I book future flights with Spirit?

Although Spirit doesn't expect the method itself to affect its employees' wages or advantages, the corporate announced layoffs back in October and sold a few of its aircraft as a part of cost-cutting measures. It's unclear what impact this might need on delays for Spirit flights, which have an on-time rate of 74%, the third-worst this yr ahead of Frontier and JetBlue. in response to a Department of Transportation report.

also reported this earlier this month Spirit will cut some routesincluding to and from DFW, and all affected passengers are entitled to a full refund or rerouting.

Will my loyalty points be counted?

Existing loyalty points, credits or tickets will probably be applied and Spirit has not announced any changes to its loyalty program as a part of cost-cutting measures.

When does the insolvency proceedings end?

Spirit expects the corporate to emerge from the Chapter 11 process by the primary fiscal quarter of 2025, ending March 31.

Spirit's first hearing in bankruptcy court took place on Monday It submitted applications to proceed operations in the traditional course of business because it goes through the method. These requests are often honored, says Spirit.

How can Spirit overcome a lot debt?

Spirit says it has already received commitments from existing bondholders for a $350 million capital investment and can convert $795 million price of debt into stock within the restructured company through a debt reduction and equity capitalization process. Spirit also says it has secured a $300 million loan from bondholders, which it would use along with Spirit's own money reserves to proceed its debt restructuring process.

Several other airlines have filed for bankruptcy up to now, including industry giants like Delta and United, although Spirit is the primary major U.S. airline to file for bankruptcy in over a decade since American did it in 2011.

Originally published: November 20, 2024 at 11:33 am PST

FREMONT – The sighting of a single female Mediterranean fruit fly mating has prompted 71 square miles of southern Alameda County to be quarantined as authorities concentrate on eradicating the invasive pest, the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Division of Plant Health and Pest Control announced Friday.

Residents and all growers, wholesalers and retailers of susceptible fruit are subject to quarantine. The goal area is bordered by Highway 84 to the north, the Alameda-Santa Clara county line to the south, the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the west and Calaveras Creek to the east.

During the quarantine, the primary in Alameda County since 1981, home gardeners are encouraged to devour their very own produce on-site and never remove it from their property. Residents can devour, juice, cook, chute or otherwise process the produce on the property where it was harvested. When disposing of produce, it is suggested to double-bag the waste and put it within the regular garbage can as an alternative of the organic waste bin, officials said.

“These measures prevent the artificial spread of the infestation to neighboring regions where it could impact California’s food supply and gardens,” the CDFA said in a press release.

The Mediterranean fruit fly, or Medfly for brief, has been proven to attack over 250 sorts of fruit and vegetables and causes damage when the females lay eggs within the products, from which maggots then hatch, burrowing through the flesh of the products and rendering them “inedible for consumption”.

The CDFA, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Alameda County Agricultural Commissioner, plans to eradicate the invasive pest by releasing sterile male fruit flies in a 39-square-mile area surrounding the infestation site at a rate of 250,000 male fruit flies per square mile per week, the news release said.

The sterile males, which come from a USDA-CDFA sterile insect breeding facility in Los Alamitos, mate with female fruit flies but don’t produce offspring, leaving no latest fruit flies to exchange the wild ones after they reach the tip of their short lives, officials said.

The organic antiparasitic agent spinosad is used to treat properties inside a 200-meter radius of the detection site. Fruit is faraway from properties inside a 100-meter radius of the detection sites of mated females, larvae and a number of other adult animals.

“The eradication approach used in this project is the standard medfly control program used by CDFA and represents the safest, most effective and efficient response program available,” the CDFA stated.

Residents who’ve questions on the project or imagine their produce could also be infested with fruit fly larvae can call the CDFA Pest Hotline at 800-491-1899. Suspected cases may also be reported by email to reportapest@cdfa.ca.gov.

BARK Air, a brand new charter flight service that permits people to fly with their dog by their side, is expanding to San Jose Mineta International Airport this fall, bringing what the corporate calls a “unique, stress-free, dog-centric travel experience” to the South Bay.

The airline launched flights between New York and Los Angeles and New York and London last month and can offer flights from Paris, Chicago, Phoenix and Miami/Fort Lauderdale in the approaching months. Flights to San Jose airport shall be offered from Chicago and New York.

BARK Air, the primary company of its kind, is a public charter operator and never a direct air carrier. The company doesn’t own or operate the aircraft. It focuses on ensuring dogs feel comfortable, blissful and protected during their flight.

“We have a saying: 'The dog buys the ticket and he gets a human companion free,'” says Katharine Enos, chief of staff at New York-based airline BARK Air.

Flights between New York and Los Angeles cost $10,000 round-trip and $6,000 one-way on the identical route. A ticket from New York to London costs $8,000. Prices for flights to and from San Jose haven’t yet been released.

Pups on the Gulfstream G5s receive fluffy robes, calming blankets, noise-cancelling earmuffs, organic chicken bone broth on a silver platter and soothing dog treats. They're also invited to enjoy a white-gloved spa treatment, where they're slathered with paw and nose butter and wrapped in warm, lavender-scented face towels.

But the first-class service starts long before dogs and their owners board the plane. After booking, a BARK Air “concierge” conducts a “puppy intake” by gathering information in regards to the dog, the duo’s travel plans and any special treatment needed to make sure a smooth and protected flight.

“They really go into detail about what you and your dog need,” Enos said. “They ask questions like, 'Has your puppy traveled before? Does he have any allergies? And is he OK with other dogs walking right up to him?'”

On the day of travel, dogs and their companions arrive on the airport one hour before departure, where they undergo a fast check-in and personal security screening. There is space for 14 dogs and folks, but currently the airline limits the number to nine people and nine puppies.

“Bark Air will operate from one of our fixed-base carriers, so the four-legged passengers will not be processed through our terminals,” a San Jose International spokesperson said in a press release. “While the boarding and disembarkation process for the furry passengers will be slightly different than for airlines that only bring human passengers, we are excited to welcome BARK Air to SJC – we are all about making travel more convenient and fun for everyone.”

Before boarding, human passengers are given a “just in case” bag containing calming treats, leashes and poop bags for his or her dogs. Owners are asked to let their dogs “do their business” one last time before boarding, but puppy pads can be found in case of emergency in a big bathroom where the owner can accompany the dog.

On board, an FAA-certified pilot and a veterinary technician or BARK Air concierge greet the dogs with reggae music (Enos says it calms dogs) and a chilled pheromone spray.

All breeds of dogs are allowed to fly, but sometimes a wild or overly friendly dog ​​shall be locked in a separate area of ​​the cabin in order to not disturb or upset the opposite pups.

“There are always a few party animals on board the planes, but also some who are more reserved,” says Enos.

Sally Grottini, a dog behaviorist at JustAnswer who has been involved in dog training for greater than 30 years, said the airline appears to have solid safety measures in place.

“As long as dogs are kept at a distance during boarding and are kept apart from each other on the plane, it should be safe,” she said. “It's probably safer than the way they currently board in the baggage area on traditional airlines.”

Although Enos said there may be some howling and barking in the beginning of flights, the dogs appear to follow an analogous pattern after the plane takes off.

“The dogs almost sing a chorus together and then they relax,” she said. “It's very entertaining for everyone on board because you're reminded that you're here because of the dog.”

BARK employs 150 people and has a dog park in its East Coast offices. It can be the parent company of BARK Box, a subscription service for dog treats and toys. BARK was co-founded by Matt Meeker, who serves as the corporate's CEO.

Meeker was inspired to get into the dog-friendly air travel business by his late Great Dane, Hugo. Meeker wanted Hugo to accompany him on business flights, but was unwilling to place the dog in a crate within the airplane's overhead compartment. To prove his point, Meeker climbed right into a crate himself and boarded a charter flight from New York to Florida within the overhead compartment.

“The interest and enthusiasm for BARK Air so far has been overwhelming,” Meeker said in a press release. “We are excited to expand BARK Air's service to new cities and new routes, meet customer demand and bring our unique, stress-free, dog-centric travel experience to even more families.”

To fly, dogs will need to have up-to-date vaccination records and international destinations require documents confirming rabies vaccination records and microchipping compliance. The UK also requires proof of tapeworm treatment before dogs can fly.

BARK Air representatives said customers include each people who find themselves moving and wish to take their dog with them to their recent home, in addition to those that are “spending the summer in the Hamptons” and need to take their dog with them on vacation.

“It’s worth it when we see the big grin on the owners’ faces when we land,” said Enos.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy is the topic of two latest books that, in other ways, seek to counteract the image of her as a superficial, vain, cocaine-addicted “witch” who made the last months of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s life a living hell.

In fact, when it comes to egocentrism, it’d even have been the opposite way around: the one son of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis comes across as demanding, ruthless, narcissistic and never exactly brilliant in a minimum of certainly one of the books.

What is undisputed, nonetheless, is that “America’s Prince” mustn’t have been flying alone on the July night of 1999 when his small Piper-Saratoga plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and he, Bessette-Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette were killed.

The National Transportation Safety Board blamed pilot error for the crash off Martha's Vineyard, saying Kennedy Jr., 38, had no experience flying at night without an instructor and was not yet qualified to fly using instruments alone, versus visual cues from the window. The New York Times reported in 2000.

A protracted-held belief in regards to the night of the crash, refuted in each books, is that 33-year-old Bessette-Kennedy by some means caused the accident by leaving her husband and sister waiting on the airport while she had her toenails redone 3 times by a podiatrist.

All three arrived late on the airport in New Jersey because they were stuck in traffic, writes Elizabeth Beller in “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.” in accordance with PeopleThe plan was for Kennedy to drop Lauren Bessette off in Martha's Vineyard before flying along with his wife to a Kennedy family wedding in Hyannis Port.

By the night of the crash, Bessette-Kennedy regretted the trip and having her husband fly her to the marriage, in accordance with the book “Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed” by Maureen Callahan, a columnist for the Daily Mail.

“I don't trust him,” she told family and friends, in accordance with an excerpt from Callahan's book. within the Daily Mail.

Bessette-Kennedy didn’t consider her husband of three years “had the patience, diligence or attention span to be a good pilot,” Callahan wrote. He didn’t take his training seriously and didn’t have nearly enough flight hours to fly solo, “and yet he regularly broke the rules and smuggled in solo flights when he was supposed to have an instructor with him.”

No one admonished him or threatened to revoke his training certificate, Callahan continued. “No, John was simply a Kennedy, a villain like his beloved father,” Callahan said.

Kennedy was also recovering from a broken ankle and would wish months of physical therapy, Callahan wrote. His forged was removed the day before the flight.

Kennedy, nonetheless, swore that his doctor had cleared him to fly that night, Callahan said. A flight instructor had also offered to fly with him that night, but Kennedy said “he wanted to do it alone,” the NTSB said in its report on the crash.

Callahan's book suggests that Kennedy can have had “a death wish” on the time of the crash. He was at all times “reckless.”

In 1986, he nearly killed his first serious girlfriend, a lady named Christina, when he took her kayaking within the open ocean off Jamaica, without life jackets and with none experience navigating the open sea, Callahan wrote. During the ordeal, Kennedy and Christina were nearly crushed against a boulder by strong currents, crashed onto a beach and were submerged underwater in several places.

“We could have died,” Christina told Kennedy, in accordance with Callahan, once they finally reached land.

“Yes,” he said. “But what an exit.”

Before their fatal flight, Kennedy and his wife were having problems of their marriage, in accordance with Beller's book. They had began dating in 1994, before his mother's death, and married in a small, private ceremony in 1996.

Kennedy and Bessette-Kennedy, a former public relations agent for Calvin Klein, had begun marriage counseling as he struggled with the approaching death of his beloved cousin Anthony Radziwell and pressures at his political magazine George, Beller wrote, in accordance with People. Meanwhile, Besette-Kennedy was having trouble being within the highlight, with photographers consistently camped outside the door of her Tribeca apartment constructing.

“They were both very understanding of what the other was going through, but they were also getting a little impatient,” Beller told People. She said it was a matter of, 'When is George going to be OK? When do we’ve to stop going out every night to advertise the magazine or search for advertisers?' And (John) thought, 'When are you going to have the ability to handle the press, since it's not going to go away?'”

However, there were also reports that Bessette-Kennedy had an affair with Calvin Klein model Michael Bergin, which Bergin himself admitted in his 2005 book, The Other Man, according to People. Vanity Fair also reported in 2014 that Bessette-Kennedy's “insecurity fueled a necessity for control and manipulation; her frequent cocaine use made her paranoid.” She was also jealous of his older sister Caroline and his business partner George, Michael Berman.

Callahan wrote that Kennedy had indeed moved out of their Tribeca loft and may have gotten back together with his ex-girlfriend, Daryl Hannah. He also told friends that his wife was “crazy,” that she had therapy sessions five times a week, that she was a severe drug addict, and that she refused to have sex with him.

Beller believes that Kennedy and Besette-Kennedy were still trying to maintain their marriage and that is why she agreed to accompany him to the family wedding.

“I do know (Carolyn) didn't need to go to the marriage,” Baller told People.

But Bessette-Kennedy may also have felt pressured to go because Kennedy had told her the press would “attack her” if he went to the wedding alone, Beller said.

Callahan said Kennedy needed his wife as a companion. He was also under pressure because his magazine, which attempted to combine pop culture and politics, was “collapsing.” George went from being one of the most successful magazines in history to a spectacular failure, Callahan wrote.

The last thing Kennedy wanted was press speculation about his marriage. Kennedy's assistant strongly advised Bessette-Kennedy to accompany him on the flight because “otherwise the media would report that they were getting a divorce.”

Bessette-Kennedy knew she would be blamed if her marriage failed, Callahan wrote. She wanted out of the marriage but felt trapped. “I can't break up,” she said, according to Callahan. “I’d live in a trailer park and go crazy and say, 'I used to be once married to JFK Jr.'”

If you're planning a Fourth of July vacation, be prepared for crowds. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened a record variety of passengers in 2023, and people records are expected to be broken in 2024. In fact, travel volume in the primary two months of 2024 was about 6% higher than the identical period in 2023, in accordance with TSA.

Given the expected crowds, are some days higher for air travel than others?

In 2024, July 4th falls on a Thursday, making it difficult to predict travel volumes. Will people take the Friday after to benefit from the long weekend? Or will they resolve that their vacation time is best used for one more vacation?

Here's some advice on booking air travel for the Fourth of July weekend in 2024 on how you may – and possibly – avoid the crowds Save money on flights.

The Best and Worst Days to Fly, July 4th Weekend

Are airports busy on July 4th? NerdWallet analyzed TSA data showing the variety of passengers screened at its U.S. checkpoints over the past three years, taking a look at the seven days before and after July 4 to find out the busiest flying days.

Worst days to fly: To avoid crowds, don’t fly on the Friday before July 4th. In each of the last three years, the Friday before July 4th was the busiest travel day before the Fourth of July weekend.

For post-holiday travel, the next Sunday is taken into account the busiest flying day.

The best days to fly: Typically, July 4th is the busiest day for flying. On July 4th last yr, airport crowds averaged just 70% of what they were on the busiest travel day, the Friday before July 4th (June 30, 2023).

But in the event you'd reasonably have fun the Fourth of July — and never at an airport — turn to Tuesday. The Tuesdays before and after the vacation are among the many least busy flying days within the fourth week of July.

The rankings of Best and worst days to fly Year-round travel patterns apply for July 4th. Regardless of while you travel, Fridays are, on average, the busiest flying days and Tuesdays are, on average, the least busy flying days.

How this yr's Thursday holiday could affect long weekends

July 4th falls on a Thursday, so people planning to travel for the vacation will likely take the following day, Friday, off and make it a protracted weekend. But considering how few persons are willing to travel on Independence Day, it begs the query: When will people actually fly?

The last time July 4th fell on a Thursday was in 2019. Here's a have a look at travel volume per day in 2019, ranked from most to least crowded:

1. Sunday after, July seventh (busiest).
2. Monday after, July eighth.
3. Friday before, June twenty eighth.
4. Thursday before, June twenty seventh.
5. Sunday before, June thirtieth.
6. Thursday after, July eleventh.
7. Wednesday before, July third.
8. Wednesday after, July tenth.
9. Tuesday after, July ninth.
10. Monday before, July 1st.
11. Saturday before, June twenty ninth.
12. Tuesday before, July 2nd.
13. Saturday after, July sixth.
14. Friday after, July fifth.
15. Thursday, July 4th (least crowded).

But there’s at some point when persons are definitely crowded, and that’s the Sunday after the Fourth of July. Flying that day may also cost you. According to travel booking app Hopper's 2024 Travel Booking Hacks report, Sunday is the most costly day to fly within the US, with airfares averaging 15% higher than midweek departures.

The smarter, cheaper 4th of July itinerary in 2024

Following typical July 4th holiday travel patterns may end in costs in the shape of airfare and airport wait times. Deviate from this schedule to search out less crowds and maybe higher July 4th flight deals. Try these travel days as a substitute:

Fly on the 4th of July

If you don't mind traveling on holidays, have a look at the only flight day with the fewest flights throughout the analyzed period.

Make it even higher by flying early in your vacation. Hopper's Spring 2023 Flight Disruption Outlook found that flights departing between 5 a.m. and eight a.m. are half as likely delayed as flights with scheduled departure times after 9 a.m

Plus, a morning flight increases your possibilities of seeing the fireworks at your destination.

Enjoy Saturday travel

Instead of rushing from work to catch a flight on the Friday afternoon before the vacation, chill out at home that evening and leave the Saturday morning before as a substitute. Simply postponing your trip by at some point could likely end in you going from one in all the busiest to the least busy travel days of the July 4th travel period.

The same applies to returning home. While it will probably be tempting to increase your trip so long as possible before you’ve gotten to return to work on Monday, skip the flight on Sunday and fly home on Saturday as a substitute. Bonus: You have a day at home to rest and get well before the brand new work week. How responsible of you.

Fly on July fifth

Although Friday is normally probably the most expensive days to fly all yr round, that’s unlikely to be the case this week.

So another choice is to fly home on July fifth. This means you may still spend your vacation at your required destination. If you come on Friday, you continue to have the entire weekend at home to take a break out of your vacation before Monday.

The human brain comprises about 87 billion neurons. On average, each of those cells makes hundreds of various connections to facilitate communication within the brain. Neural communication is believed to underlie all brain functions – from experiencing and interpreting the world around you, to remembering those experiences, to controlling your body's response.

But who exactly is talking to whom on this vast network of neural communication and what are the results of those individual conversations?

Understanding the small print of neural communication and the way it is formed by experience is considered one of the various focuses of neuroscience. However, that is complicated by the indisputable fact that there are such a lot of microscopic connections to check within the human brain, a lot of which are sometimes in flux, and that available tools cannot provide sufficient resolution.

As a result, many Scientists like me have turned to simpler organisms reminiscent of the fruit fly.

Although fruit flies are annoying within the kitchen, they’re invaluable within the laboratory. Your brain is structured surprisingly just like that of humans. Importantly, scientists have developed tools that make studying fly brains much easier at resolutions not achieved in other organisms.

my colleague Gilead Barneaa neuroscientist at Brown University, and his team have spent over 20 years developing a tool that may visualize all of the microscopic connections between neurons within the brain.

Neurons communicate with one another by sending and receiving molecules called neurotransmitters between receptor proteins on their surface. Barneas Tool, tangotranslates the activation of specific receptor proteins into gene expression, which ultimately enables visualization.

My team and I used -Tango to visualise all of the neural connections of a learning and memory center called “Tango”. Mushroom bodieswithin the brain of the fruit fly.

Here, a gaggle of about 4 neurons labeled in green receive messages from the mushroom body, the L-shaped structure with the blue label at the middle of the fly's brain. You can Step through the brain and see all the opposite neurons they’re likely communicating with highlighted in red. The cell bodies of neurons are situated at the perimeters of the brain, and the sites where they receive messages from the mushroom body appear as green tangles that enter a small oval compartment. Where these mesh-like green extensions mix with red, neurons are thought to transmit their processed message to other neurons downstream.

As you progress further into the brain, you possibly can see how the downstream neurons navigate to a single layer of a fan-shaped structure within the brain. The fan-shaped body It is believed to modulate many functions including excitement, Storage, locomotion And Transform sensory experiences into actions.

Our images not only revealed previously unknown connections throughout the brain, but additionally provide the chance to check the results of those individual neural conversations. The flies' brain connections were remarkably consistent, but additionally varied barely from one fly to a different. These subtle differences in connectivity are likely influenced by the fly's individual experiencessimilar to they’re with humans.

The great thing about tango lies in its flexibility. In addition to visualizing connections, scientists can use genes to control neural activity and higher understand how neural communication affects behavior. Because fly brains are structured similarly to human brains, researchers can use them to check how brain connections work and the way they may be disrupted in disease. Ultimately, this may improve our understanding of our own brains and the human condition.