Washington, D.C.
The government plans to do background checks on all airline passengers and assign everyone a threat level. A computer screening system will be tested at three undisclosed airports next month. It will scan terrorism watch lists, and search credit reports and bank records for anything suspicious. Those cleared will be rated green. Anyone labeled yellow will get extra screening. Red won’t fly. Civil liberties groups complained that the new checks, approved by Congress after Sept. 11, would be a violation of privacy and could “create a permanent blacklisted underclass of Americans who cannot travel freely.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Bridget Riley: Learning to See – an ‘invigorating and magical ensemble’The Week Recommends The English artist’s striking paintings turn ‘concentration into reverie’
-
‘Stakeknife’: MI5’s man inside the IRAThe Explainer Freddie Scappaticci, implicated in 14 murders and 15 abductions during the Troubles, ‘probably cost more lives than he saved’, investigation claims
-
The UK’s best Christmas pantosThe Week Recommends Dive into the festive cheer, even into the new year, with some traditional favourites and modern twists
