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Photo: Gavin de Becker & Associates
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The ultimate fast track for VIPs at LAX -- The photo of a celebrity, head down and sunglasses on, walking through a scrum of paparazzi and fans at Los Angeles International Airport is a staple of entertainment blogs and magazines. LAX may make that shot much rarer. Plagued by paparazzi disrupting terminals and security checkpoints, LAX is set to approve plans to convert a cargo office into a small new terminal that will allow passengers to drive into a secluded entrance, get screened by the Transportation Security Administration privately and be driven across the airfield straight to the stairs to board their flights. Scott McCartney/Wall Street Journal WSJ Video: First-Class Treatment From the Terminal to Your Seats Dan Weikel/Los Angeles Times BOAC Meeting Agenda
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Best restaurants in the 10 busiest U.S. airports -- Yelp polled their Community Managers from around the country to determine the best eats at the 10 busiest airports across the U.S. From tortas created by celebrity chefs to an energizing acai berry smoothie, these are Yelpers' favorite bites and sips. Los Angeles International Airport: Whether you seek giant macarons or a healthy alternative like fresh kale salad with blackened ahi tuna, Lemonade covers the all tastebuds. Yelper favorites: Blood Orange Lemonade, Chicken Chili. Photo: "Excited to check Lemonade out based on raving reviews from fellow yelpers" - C L. Yelp USA Today
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450 illegal tamales from Mexico seized at LAX and 'incinerated' (not steamed) -- Apparently there are illegal tamales. A passenger at Los Angeles International Airport learned that the hard way earlier this month when he tried to bring pork tamales into the U.S. from Mexico. The passenger arrived from Mexico on Nov. 2 and was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists, who found 450 pork tamales wrapped in plastic bags in the passenger's luggage. Veronica Rocha/Los Angeles Times
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Some U.S. airport workers to strike Wednesday night: union -- Airport workers at seven of the busiest U.S. hubs planned to strike beginning Wednesday night over what they say are bad wages and threats against unionizing. Some 2,000 plane cleaners, baggage handlers and other workers will strike at New York's Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Newark Liberty, Chicago O'Hare, Boston, Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) told Reuters. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters
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Detroit airport disputes $200,000 FAA fine for snow, ice removal -- The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $200,000 fine Wednesday for Detroit Metropolitan Airport for failing to keep the grounds safe during a November 2014 snowstorm. But the Wayne County Airport Authority that runs the airport said in a statement it has an excellent history of providing a safe and secure airfield, and that safety remains its No. 1 priority. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Lawmakers: Let TSA accept concealed carry permits as ID at airports -- Two Republican House members have proposed legislation that would let government airport screeners accept concealed carry permits as a form of identification for people trying to board planes. According to the legislation introduced by Reps. Diane Black, R-Tenn., and Bill Flores, R-Texas, "a concealed handgun license shall be treated as a verifying identity document" for the purposes of aircraft passenger security screening. Kelly Cohen/Washington Examiner
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Tokyo Airport to test megaphone that translates multiple languages -- Looking to translate a word or a sentence from one language to another? If you're at your computer or on your phone, you can do that with no issue and in an instant. In real life? That might not necessarily be as efficient, but thanks to Panasonic, they have developed the Megaphoneyaku which is basically a megaphone that translates for you. The device will be tested out at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. How it works is the person holding the megaphone will speak into it (presumably Japanese). Tyler Lee/Ubergizmo
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Islamic State says 'Schweppes bomb' used to bring down Russian plane -- Islamic State's official magazine carried a photo on Wednesday of a Schweppes drink it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board. The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background, three simple components that if genuine are likely to cause concern for airline safety officials worldwide. Ahmed Aboulenein & Lin Noueihed/Reuters
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Aviation experts: Small explosives cause big damage in planes -- Aviation-security experts say a relatively small explosive could bring down an airliner, as the Islamic State claims to have destroyed a Russian plane with a bomb the size of a soda can. Russian investigators said a bomb destroyed the Metrojet charter on Oct. 31, killing all 224 people aboard. The Islamic State released a picture Wednesday showing a can of Schweppes Pineapple Gold with two small devices that it said represented the explosive that brought down the Airbus A321 aircraft. Bart Jansen/USA Today
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Airlines are waiving change fees for travelers scheduled to fly to Paris this week -- Following the recent attacks in Paris, some airlines are offering flexibility for travelers who are concerned about safety and would like to push back their trips. Although most airlines are still flying to Paris as scheduled, they are generally willing to waive change fees for travelers who had previously booked flights to or from Paris. But many of the policies only offer leeway for people who had originally planned to travel by Nov. 22. Jonnelle Marte/Washington Post
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Secrets of airline super-elite status -- As airlines up their offerings to their best customers, loyalty programs' most elite members earn a different travel experience from the rest. I was able to change your departure from JFK to LaGuardia; is there anything else I can do for you?" Delta's Diamond Medallion agent had just saved me an hour needed for a client meeting. The ability to make same-day changes between local airports is one of the great unpublished perks for road warriors holding Delta's highest elite status. Stefan Krasowski/Fortune
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9 ways to make the most of your frequent flier miles -- Your frequent flier miles are no longer as valuable as they were two or three years ago (sorry). But there are ways to get the most from them-if you know when, where, and how to look. Frequent flier miles can be contentious beasts-the kind of thing that divides marriages, or prompts travelers to keep Scrooge-like hoards that then vanish (along with the airline). People have opinions, and loyalties-though not all programs are created equal. Brian Sumers/Conde Nast Traveler
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Have you seen United's old logo, the tulip? The airline wants to know. -- Have you seen the tulip? If you're a long-time United Airlines flier, you know the logo. Designed by Saul Bass in 1973 - if Wikipedia can be believed - it was used by United, in one form or another, until the airline merged with Continental Airlines in late 2010. The combined airline uses the United name, but it took the old Continental logo. The airline is asking employees to take a photographs of any dubious branding so it can be reported and possibly removed. BrianSumers.com
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HondaJet nears final FAA certification -- Honda Aircraft Co., developer of a $4.5 million lightweight jet in Greensboro, expects to receive certification from the Federal Aviation Administration that would allow it to begin delivering the plane to customers "very soon," according to the company's CEO, Michimasa Fujino. Honda, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., plans to begin the first deliveries of the jet after the FAA "type" certification is achieved. Katie Arcieri/Triad Business Journal
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Los Angeles bid officials to meet with Olympic leaders in Switzerland -- As they continue the difficult, costly work of preparing a bid for the 2024 Summer Games, officials from Los Angeles will attend an Olympic workshop in Switzerland this week. Los Angeles will be the last of five candidate cities -- which include Paris; Rome; Hamburg, Germany; and Budapest, Hungary -- scheduled to visit International Olympic Committee headquarters. LA 2024 officials will spend part of Thursday in meetings focused on the Paralympics and ethics. David Wharton/Los Angeles Times Related: Los Angeles, LA2024 close to agreement over city�€™s Summer Olympic duties
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Plan for 2024 Olympic village in Los Angeles on shaky ground -- Los Angeles' proposed Olympic village might need a new address. Less than three months after the city was selected as the U.S. candidate for the 2024 Olympic Games, plans to build a sprawling community for 17,000 athletes near downtown appeared to be in doubt and a search is underway for possible alternatives. The committee steering the city's bid had proposed a $1 billion development on a rail yard where thousands of athletes would eat, sleep and stroll on tree-lined walks and clipped lawns. Michael R. Blood/AP
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L.A. Mayor Garcetti rules out, for now, declaring homelessness an emergency -- Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday ruled out declaring an immediate state of emergency to address Los Angeles' homelessness crisis, cutting off for now an avenue designed to bring swift relief to thousands of people as El Ni�o storms are expected to bear down on Southern California beginning in January. An emergency declaration had been viewed as a novel - though far from assured - strategy for seeking more federal and state emergency funds and for gaining flexibility to deal with the city's growing homelessness. Such declarations are generally reserved for natural disasters, but backers argued that with the threat of historic rainstorms, the idea merited consideration. Gale Holland, Allice Walton & Peter Jamison/Los Angeles Times
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'City of shanties' in L.A. as homeless cluster in urban areas -- Homelessness is on the rise in many of America's biggest cities as wealth concentrates in urban centers, elevating rents and squeezing supplies of affordable housing in places like Los Angeles and New York, new federal data show. Nowhere has the problem grown more acute than in the Los Angeles region, where the homeless population rose 20 percent, to more than 41,000 people. Los Angeles has the largest unsheltered population in the U.S., according to the department. "We're now a city of shanties," said City Councilman Mike Bonin. James Nash & Esm� E Deprez/Bloomberg
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Activists seek ballot measure for moratorium on L.A. 'mega projects' -- A group of activists said Wednesday that it wants voters to place new limits on real estate "mega developments" by imposing restrictions on projects that need major changes to city planning rules to get built. The Coalition to Preserve L.A. announced plans for a ballot measure, titled the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, that would put a moratorium of up to 24 months on development projects that cannot be built without votes from elected officials to increase density. David Zahniser/Los Angeles Times
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