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TSA Stops 6,678 Firearms at Airport Checkpoints in 2024: Key Facts and Figures

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TSA Stops 6,678 Firearms at Airport Checkpoints in 2024: Key Facts and Figures

FARGO, N.D. (TC Tribune) – During 2024, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intercepted a total of 6,678 firearms at airport security checkpoints, preventing them from getting into the secure areas of the airport and onboard aircraft.

The TSA shared statistics of firearms caught in North Dakota airports from 2020 to 2024.

2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
Bismarck Municipal Airport (BIS) 6 3 3 4 6
Hector International Airport (FAR) 8 3 5 4 0
Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) 1 1 2 1 1
Minot International Airport (MOT) 1 5 4 2 2
Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) 3 0 3 2 0

According to the TSA, approximately 94% of these firearms were loaded. This is a minor decrease from the 6,737 firearms stopped in 2023. Throughout 2024, TSA managed its “Prepare, Pack, Declare” public awareness campaign to explain the steps for safely traveling with a firearm.

“One firearm at a checkpoint is too many,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Firearms present a safety risk for our employees and everyone else at the checkpoint. It’s also costly and slows down operations. If individuals who carry a firearm intend to travel, we remind them that the firearm must be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, declared to the airline at the check-in counter and transported in checked baggage.”

In 2024, TSA screened more than 904 million people, meaning the agency intercepted 7.4 firearms per million people, a decrease from 7.8 firearms per million people in 2023.

When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, a TSO contacts local law enforcement, who will remove the individual and the firearm from the checkpoint area. Depending on local laws, the law enforcement officer may arrest or cite the individual.

TSA does not confiscate firearms. In addition to any action taken by law enforcement, individuals who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint face a maximum civil penalty of $14,950, will have their TSA PreCheck® eligibility revoked for at least five years and will undergo enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present, which takes up additional time.

For more information on how to properly travel with a firearm, visit the transporting firearms and ammunition page on TSA.gov.

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Weekend Weather Forecast: Scattered Showers and a Cold Front Incoming

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Weekend Weather Forecast: Scattered Showers and a Cold Front Incoming

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (TC Tribune) – Scattered showers return to the region to kick off the weekend. Behind this weather system, another shot of cold air awaits.

Tonight Through Saturday Night

Enjoy the calm weather for Friday evening because big changes to the forecast are ahead. We are mainly dry tonight. A stray shower is possible late Friday, but most of us are dry as clouds increase. Lows dip into the mid-and-upper-40s.

Rain chances spike to kick off the weekend. Some good news, we are not tracking a washout and we are not anticipating severe weather. However, showers are looking likely at times and some could be heavy. Highs top out in the mid-and-upper-60s under a mostly cloudy sky.

Scattered showers linger for Saturday night. Lows dip into the mid-50s under a cloudy sky. Some areas of patchy fog are looking possible.

Tracking Our Next Cool Down

Spotty showers are possible Sunday morning, especially in our southeastern counties. However, the forecast is turning drier and cooler for the second half of the weekend. Temperatures hover in the upper-50s under a partly sunny sky. Lows tumble into the upper-20s.

Monday is looking dry but cold. Highs only top out in the lower-40s under a partly sunny sky. Overnight lows dip into the upper-20s and lower-30s.

Extended Forecast

Looking ahead, the forecast looks… interesting.

All eyes are on an area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

TIMING: In terms of timing, we are talking about Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.

The track of the low pressure will greatly influence the type of precipitation that we see in the Big Bend and South Georgia.

If the low pressure system tracks over South Florida, this will likely pull most of the moisture to our south, and we would stay mostly dry and cold.

If the low pressure system tracks over North Florida, the temperature profile across our region would mainly stay above freezing, so we would see a cold rain.

If the low pressure system tracks over Central Florida, this would increase our chances to see wintry precipitation (snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain).

At this point, we are too far away for specifics on where this low pressure system goes, so be sure to keep up with the forecast through this weekend and early next week.

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Georgia Suspends All Poultry Sales and Exhibitions Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

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Georgia Suspends All Poultry Sales and Exhibitions Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. (TC Tribune) — All poultry sales, exhibitions, shows, swaps, and meets have been suspended after the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed a commercial poultry operation had a case of bird flu .

This marks the first confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a commercial poultry operation and the fifth confirmed detection in the state of Georgia.

“For the first time since the ongoing, nationwide outbreak began in 2022, HPAI has been confirmed in a commercial poultry operation in the state of Georgia,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. “This is a serious threat to Georgia’s #1 industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in our state’s poultry industry. We are working around the clock to mitigate any further spread of the disease and ensure that normal poultry activities in Georgia can resume as quickly as possible.”

On Jan. 15, a producer noticed clinical signs of Avian Influenza in their flock, the Georgia Department of Agriculture said.

Officials add that the samples were collected on Thursday morning and taken to the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network for testing where it was later confirmed.

According to Georgia Department of Agriculture officials, “all commercial poultry operations within a 6.2 mile radius have been placed under quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for a period of at least two weeks.”

Georgia Department of Agriculture officials say notifications will be issued when commercial poultry operations may resume in the state.

Officials with the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Management and State Agricultural Response Teams (SART) responded to conduct depopulation, cleaning and disinfecting, and disposal operations.

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Kristi Noem Backs Trump: Promises Full Partnership as DHS Chief

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Kristi Noem Backs Trump: Promises Full Partnership as DHS Chief

(TC Tribune) — Kristi Noem , President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security , has every intention of working in tandem with the new administration in the mission to secure the U.S. southern border and to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

The South Dakota governor participated in confirmation hearings Friday in which she said, if confirmed, she was in favor of Trump’s plan to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy.

Noem, who became the first woman to be elected governor in South Dakota, has placed a focus on the southern border while in office. She sent National Guard troops to Texas and assisted state officials there with monitoring the border.

If confirmed, Noem would replace outgoing Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was vilified by Republicans angry at the number of migrants crossing the southern border that they impeached him in early 2024.

Noem said Friday that she would “100% partner” with Trump to make sure that policies designed to eliminate the flow of immigrants into the United States illegally will remain in place.

“The president has promised that he will secure the border, that we will uphold our nation’s laws, and that he … will be putting America first again,” Noem said during Friday’s hearing.

Noem, who previously served in the U.S. House before becoming governor in 2019, pledged a complete turn from Mayorkas’ policies, saying she was determined to carry out Trump’s plans to choke off illegal immigration and deport millions of migrants.

Noem committed to ending CBP One, a phone app the Biden administration has used to process asylum-seekers’ entry into the country. She also pledged to scale back the use of humanitarian parole, curtail the use of temporary immigration relief for migrants from countries experiencing unrest and reinstate a Trump-era policy of requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

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