logo
TSA Ban Costco Cards As Travel ID

TSA Ban Costco Cards As Travel ID

Newsweek5 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken to social media to clear up confusion over what counts as REAL ID, following the implementation of the act last month. The TSA took to Facebook to make clear that Costco cards do not count.
In a post to Facebook, TSA wrote "We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not."
A woman displays her Costco card in order to enter after waiting in a line that snaked around a Costco store in Novato, California on March 14, 2020.
A woman displays her Costco card in order to enter after waiting in a line that snaked around a Costco store in Novato, California on March 14, 2020.
JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images
Twenty years after it was first proposed, REAL ID has been implemented, meaning that Americans and permanent residents will only be able to pass through airport security or enter some federal government buildings if they have a REAL ID, or another valid form of identification, such as a passport or Enhanced Driver's Licenses and identification cards (EDL/EID) issued in the following states: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington.
Costco cards never counted as a REAL ID, and you were never able to travel on one.
This story will be updated.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

An Airbnb for backyard pools? With this app, you can rent them by the hour.
An Airbnb for backyard pools? With this app, you can rent them by the hour.

USA Today

time44 minutes ago

  • USA Today

An Airbnb for backyard pools? With this app, you can rent them by the hour.

An Airbnb for backyard pools? With this app, you can rent them by the hour. Show Caption Hide Caption Summer rentals: Where to rent pools, boats, tennis courts Spice up your summer by renting out amazing pools and boats with these websites. Years ago, startups called Uber and Airbnb changed the way Americans thought about taxicabs and hotels. An app named Swimply is attempting another paradigm shift. This time, the subject is swimming pools. Swimply allows users to rent backyard pools by the hour. Launched in 2019, the company now hosts 15,000 private pools in more than 150 cities, according to Bunim Laskin, its 28-year-old CEO. He says business has doubled in the past year. Renting a neighbor's swimming pool is 'a brand-new behavior that's objectively healthy for people in every conceivable way,' Laskin said. 'It's the one app that lets you put your phone away and spend time with the people you love.' Renting a backyard pool: How does that work? And if you own a backyard pool, you might be wondering how, exactly, an app like Swimply would work. How might it feel to have a carload of strangers show up and jump into your pool? What would the neighbors think? Who supplies the towels? Just like Uber and Airbnb before it, Swimply has inspired bureaucratic puzzlement in some local governments. Remember the days when Uber threatened the nation's taxicab fleet, and when cities mobilized to ban Airbnb rentals? Similar skirmishes have erupted over Swimply. In Rockland County, New York, officials are investigating whether private pool rentals violate public health codes. Regulators in Minnesota and North Carolina are treating Swimply rentals as 'public pools,' with all that the term implies about licensing and regulation. Affluent D.C. suburbs have struggled with Swimply. Laskin said the regulatory challenges have affected 'less than 0.2%' of pool hosts. 'Pools are very dangerous things' Questions swirl, too, about potential liability. Swimming pools are, after all, filled with water. People can drown in water. Many homeowners go to great lengths to keep strangers out of their backyard pools, rather than lure them in. 'Pools are very dangerous things,' said Matthew Alegi, a real estate lawyer outside Washington, D.C. 'There's no lifeguard sitting at these Swimply pools.' Of course, the idea of renting a backyard pool is nothing new. Many vacation rentals come with pools. Home-sharing and vacation rental sites Airbnb and Vrbo offer liability insurance. Some insurers offer short-term rental coverage. With Swimply, however, you're only renting the pool. In the home insurance world, that's a less familiar scenario. 'The issue is that these homeowners are not doing the research to make sure their policy is going to cover it if something goes wrong,' said Khalil Farah, a personal injury attorney in Jacksonville, Florida. Laskin, Swimply's CEO, said the app offers every pool-rental host $1 million in liability coverage, a provision patterned on Airbnb. All pool guests sign waivers. Farah worries, though, that Swimply's insurance policy has 'a ton of exclusions.' If pool renters drink alcohol or violate the rental agreement, he said, Swimply will deny coverage. Farah said pool hosts would be wise to contact their home insurer, explain the situation and ask for a policy addendum that covers the liabilities inherent in renting out a backyard pool. 'You need to make sure the insurance agent knows what you're using it for,' he said. More: Rising cost of homeowners insurance is scaring away millions of Americans As for families thinking of renting someone else's pool, Alegi said they, too, should know the potential risks, especially if they rent outside their own community. 'You don't know the people,' he said. 'You don't know the location. You don't know how many ring cameras there are.' Pool hosts must set ground rules with neighbors Swimply has taken a cautious approach to pool rentals, Laskin said, fully aware that not everyone on the block will welcome random strangers in swimsuits. Pool hosts are required to reach out to neighbors to establish ground rules about parking cars, pool hours and other items of etiquette. 'And we give neighbors a way to report when it doesn't work out,' Laskin said. All new pool listings "go through a 24-hour verification process by our trust and safety team" to ensure they are safe and secure, Laskin said, followed by an ongoing "review and reporting system." Any pool rental with a one-star review is removed from the app. Laskin said he dreamed up Swimply in 2018. He was the oldest of 12 children in a Lakewood, New Jersey, household. A neighbor had installed a swimming pool. Eying the pool, Laskin offered to help the neighbor with her expenses if she allowed the Laskin kids to use it. The neighbor reluctantly agreed. Within two weeks, she had five families renting her pool, each paying some of the costs. Inspired, Laskin set about building a business. 'I went on Google Earth, found 80 swimming pools, knocked on everyone's doors, got four people to agree, and just plastered my phone number around town,' he said. From four pools to 15,000 Laskin started out with four Lakewood pools for rent. By summer's end, 20 more pool owners had signed on. By the summer of 2019, the list of hosts had grown to 40. Laskin dropped out of school, raised $1 million and launched Swimply. The app grew from five cities in 2019 to 35 in 2020. Business boomed in the pandemic, as families searched for uncrowded pools. Swimply is based in Venice, California, not far from its competition: the ocean. Between 2024 and 2025, Laskin said, the number of Swimply hosts doubled from 7,000 to 15,000. He thinks inflation helped. 'People are looking for additional sources of revenue more than ever, and people are looking to stay local,' he said. Swimply is inordinately popular with stay-at-home moms, a population always looking for healthy outdoor activities. Roughly 70% of Swimply guests are families, Laskin said. Others are lone adults looking to swim laps. A few are larger groups seeking pool parties. Nearly all guests rent pools in their own communities. Pool hosts are allowed to exclude large groups, children or pets. You can also invite pets. The pet-friendly pool has surged in popularity, Laskin said. Hourly fees can top $300, for palatial pools with ocean views. Nine out of 10 rentals happen in summer, but some owners turn a big business in winter with indoor pools, hot tubs and other warm options. Some hosts toss in extra services. Laskin and his wife have rented pool packages that came with chef-prepared dinners, magic shows and pickleball lessons. 'The goal was for your backyard pool to make you a couple hundred bucks, maybe a thousand bucks in summer,' Laskin said. 'And now we have folks earning $100,000 a year. The goal was to have it pay for your pool. Now it's paying for people's mortgages.'

/R E P E A T -- Media Invitation - Security Screening Checkpoint Walkthrough/
/R E P E A T -- Media Invitation - Security Screening Checkpoint Walkthrough/

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

/R E P E A T -- Media Invitation - Security Screening Checkpoint Walkthrough/

OTTAWA, ON, June 4, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) invites members of the media to a walkthrough of a security screening checkpoint. This event will showcase the screening process and provide helpful tips prior to the busy summer travel season. Media will have the opportunity to take photos and videos at the checkpoint, and learn more about the screening process, including how procedures differ when being screened at a line with CT X-ray technology. A CATSA spokesperson will be on-site to answer questions related to security screening. Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Time: 9:00 a.m. EST Location: Domestic/International security checkpoint at the Ottawa International Airport (YOW) Participants: Dominique Huras, CATSA Spokesperson Krista Kealey, Vice-President Communications and Public Consultation, YOW Note: Registration is required to participate. Please provide the following information via email to CATSA Media Relations, media@ by June 9, 2025: First and last name Media organization Cell phone number Email address To attend the event, media representatives will be required to go through security screening and present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license. Members of the media are asked to park in the Parkade – vouchers will be provided. Stay connected Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, flickr SOURCE Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) View original content to download multimedia: 登入存取你的投資組合

Border traffic freefall jeopardizes duty free shop
Border traffic freefall jeopardizes duty free shop

Hamilton Spectator

time2 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Border traffic freefall jeopardizes duty free shop

Mayor, MP joins national call to help border stores survive John Slipp says 'traveller anxiety' is not how the Woodstock business owner wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Duty Free Shop Inc. Canadian reaction to President Donald Trump's annexation threats, chaotic tariff announcements, and increased border scrutiny add up to a dearth of visitors driving by his Woodstock Duty Free Shop en route to the Houlton, Maine border crossing and an uncertain future for his store. 'We have no plans for our anniversary. Given the conditions we are in, there's not much to celebrate at the moment. It's kind of bittersweet. It was a very special time 40 years go when Dad opened the business…. It's sad to see it all come to an end,' Slipp said. No traffic means no business for The Woodstock Duty Free Shop, a dilemma repeated at 32 land border duty free stores across Canada. The Frontier Duty Free Association, a national association of land border duty free shops, conducted a March survey of owners on how long they could remain open under the current climate. Slipp and one-third of the other store owners said three to six months. 'I have been talking to other colleagues at other crossings with stores that are similar in size and have similar concerns… Canadians are not looking to travel to the United States… We are also finding that Americans are experiencing border anxiety as well because of the immigration enforcement in the United States. A lot of Americans don't want to be anywhere near a border,' Slipp said. 'This is not just this border crossing, it's nationwide.' Woodstock Mayor Trina Jones said the Woodstock Duty Free Shop 'offers a critical role' for local tourism, offering visitors a tax-free way to buy Canadian and locally made goods and products that promote Woodstock, New Brunswick, and Canada. 'It's especially important since there is no longer a (provincial) tourist bureau operating at our border location. John Slipp and his staff offer that one last chance for those visiting our area, or passing through, to purchase goods that promote us and boost our economy,' Mayor Jones said in an emailed statement. When the Liberal government announced counter-tariffs on U.S. imports to combat the American tariffs placed on Canadian exports, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Canadian tariff revenue would help businesses affected by the trade war. Richard Bragdon, Tobique-Mactaquac Conservative MP, said counter-tariffs should support duty free shops. 'Our duty free shops like the one in Woodstock, have taken a big hit over the last several years. They just started to recover coming out of the challenges they faced during COVID, to then be affected by the tariff situation with the United States,' Bragdon said in an emailed statement. 'Funds received through counter-tariffs should be used to support affected industries which includes duty free shops.' Four decades at the border Slipp's father, George, opened the store on June 1, 1985, after the Canadian government announced licensing land border locations for duty free stores to sell goods tax and duty free to travellers leaving the country. John Slipp started working at the family business 31 years ago. 'It's been a good business most of the time. But between COVID and the tariffs, it's a different world here.' Slipp once employed 15 people at the store, which was open seven days a week, selling alcohol and tobacco products, local arts and crafts, local maple syrup, clothing, perfume and other products. The store also offers currency exchange for visitors. Now, the business owner mans the store himself, which is closed on Mondays. Slipp isn't alone. CBC reports that duty-free shops across the country have experienced massive drops in business in recent months. United States Customs and Border Protection data shows travellers entering the United States from Canada dropped almost 850,000 visitors in April. 'These businesses are not in this position because of bad management or poor decisions—this is a crisis not of their making,' said Barbara Barrett, Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA) executive director, a national organization representing the land border shops. 'From the pandemic border closure to the current impacts of U.S. tariffs and travel disruptions, duty free stores have been disproportionately impacted at every turn. The government has committed to supporting businesses hurt by these challenges, and we are simply asking for targeted, reasonable support to prevent the permanent loss of these local employers. Our ask is modest, but the need is urgent.' Recent FDFA data shows 60 to 80 percent revenue losses at many stores. On June 3, the association joined with mayors from border communities to release an open letter to Prime Minister Carney and Minister François-Philippe Champagne asking the federal government to act now to prevent the permanent closure of Canada's land border duty free stores. 'These are not multinational chains—these are our independently-owned, family-run stores, and in many small border communities, we are the main employer,' said Tania Lee, FDFA president and owner/operator of Bluewater Bridge Duty Free. 'Our stores are an integral part of Canada's tourism fabric and border community economies, sustaining jobs and supporting the towns we call home. Today, many of us are just weeks away from closing our doors for good.' Both federal and provincial politicians have told Slipp they want to help, but he's worried about how long it will take to develop an assistance plan. 'Newly-elected cabinet minsters and members are just trying to find their way… It takes a while to get things approved. We're happy that the talking points are positive.' Slipp said the federal government introduced a lease deferral program when the duty-free stores were weathering the COVID travel ban. Slipp owns the store building, but the land is leased from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). Allowing duty free store owners to delay lease payments would be helpful. He suggested allowing duty free shops to close temporarily without any penalties and assisting with employees' wages and benefits to keep the business afloat. Slipp is worried the trained employees he had to lay off won't be available to return to work if the slowdown continues. He said using counter-tariff revenues to pay for the assistance makes sense. 'We have reminded the government that was one of their pledges and we would like to participate. The politicians speak positively and provide hope, but it is just taking too long.' 'Local tourism boost' Slipp said that when the federal government created the duty free program, licenses were awarded to local, independent, and private Canadian businesspeople. The shops had to be local stores, not large national corporations or franchises. 'The stores would capture some of the money Canadians would be spending in the United States but also capture American money from Americans returning home buying gifts or souvenirs,' he said. 'The duty-free shops are designed to promote local tourism and capture the money that would otherwise be spent in the United States to support our local economy.' Federal rules require that anything sold at a duty-free shop immediately leaves the country of origin. 'We are an exporter, because everything we sell is exported. We are not allowed to compete with local domestic retailers… Local Woodstock residents cannot come here to purchase goods and return to Canada without paying tax. That wouldn't be fair,' Slipp said. 'Americans visiting our shop have a $200 (U.S.) daily tax exemption. We encourage them to shop here and the local area.' Jones is a member of the Mayor's Border Alliance for Canada. She said border mayors are advocating with the Frontier Duty Free Association for proper federal and provincial support. 'Duty free shops have a unique challenge in that federal regulations prohibit them from selling their products here locally… I would encourage anyone in Woodstock, and all Canadians, who are still choosing to travel to the U.S. to consider stopping at the Woodstock Duty Free Shop on their way to the states to purchase goods to help them get through this tough period,' Jones said. 'We encourage the federal and provincial governments to provide financial assistance to the duty-free shops, similar to the supports provided during the pandemic, to help keep them going during this time.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store