Security changes are coming fast and furious after Friday's attempted terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound Delta flight. While the passengers and crew were able to successfully subdue the would-be troublemaker, the fact that someone was able to ignite such a device has caused a wealth of backlash -- from security officials and passengers alike.

Immediate changes restricted passengers' access to overhead bins and carry-on items during the last hour of inbound, international flight. No electronics or lap items were to be allowed, including reading material. As Twitter user @antderosa suggested, "New TSA regulation requires passengers must hold breath for the final hour of flight while humming 'kumbaya'"

Our inside source in the industry now tells us that books and reading material may be allowed (with the exception of e-readers) but that inflight entertainment cannot be used. That's the seatback and projected video that pumps out movies, games and most relevantly, the location of the aircraft. Apparently that location is what the TSA wants to protect.

With the most recent security update, passengers may furthermore not keep anything on their laps, including jackets -- but it's okay to wear them.

What these new initiatives prove is that we're still in a fragile, fluid situation following Friday's events. While many of these changes seem reactionary and perhaps absurd, there's little that we can do about it right now. Just make sure to get to the airport early if you're flying overseas in the near future.

We travel for many reasons. Maybe it's to relax, learn something new or see friends and family. And then there are the so-called "adventure travelers" – sorry guys, you just don't know the meaning of the expression. Keep your kayaks and your climbing gear in the garage, and trade them for a pencil so you can take some notes. Robert Park is redefining "adventure."

Park, 28 years old, announced that he was leaving South Korea with other human rights activists (who asked Reuters not to reveal their names) to bring "God's love" to the citizens on the northern side of the border. North Korea has the unfortunate habit of arresting foreigners who do not enter the country legally, which can be difficult to do because of visa constraints and limitations on how travelers from some countries are permitted to cross into the most reclusive nation in the world.

Park, who is an American citizen, and his crew were reported to have crossed from China into North Korea on Saturday. The entry point was Hoeryong, in the northeast part of the country. The border up there isn't heavily patrolled.

The water at the EPIC Hotel in Miami has been cleared by the health department, allowing the Miami hotel to reopen and rebook guests.

The EPIC was forced to close and relocate guests two weeks ago after three cases of Legionnaires' disease -- including one death -- were discovered from guests who stayed at the hotel.

According to the Miami Herald, the Miami-Dade County Health Department officials said they couldn't be certain that EPIC was the cause of the death or illnesses, and they will continue to investigate the situation. The department of health conducted a series of tests on the hotel's water filtration system and it was found clean and safe for drinking on Saturday. The health investigation did discover, however, that the hotel's filtration system may have been stripping chlorine out of its water, which would have made the system susceptible to waterborne diseases.

During the course of the investigation, the EPIC underwent a major cleaning effort including removing and sanitizing all shower fixtures and installing a new copper-silver ionization filtration system, which is said to disinfect the water and prevent the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease.

[via Miami Herald]

Could 2010 be the year for American Airlines?

Well, it's hard not to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a decade of unusual airline severity. The market was shaken several times by terror attempts – including the attacks of 9/11 – economic pressures from the dotcom meltdown and the recent financial sector only made matters worse. Energy prices hit some peaks along the way, which, according to Joseph Lazzaro of our sister site, BloggingStocks, determines the fate of the U.S. airline sector.

But, AA in particular? The guys with the flight attendant who through a nutter over orange juice?

The stock is up 90% since June. To most travelers, this is not just irrelevant, but boring ... until you think about how these matters can impact your experience on an airline. When a company is profitable, it has an easier time serving its customers. And, employees tend to relax a little bit, as profits and stock prices tend to be good signs that jobs won't be disappearing (at least not in large amounts).

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Sunday December 27th 2009. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal is for a universal FM transmitter. This device plugs into your MP3 player (or any other device with a headphone jack), and sends the signal to an FM radio on one of four frequencies. It is being offered for $0 + $4.99 for shipping. Click here for this deal.

Next up is a great accessories kit if you just got yourself an iPhone for Christmas. In the kit, you'll find three screen protectors, and a stylus. On sale for just $10. Click here for this deal.

The Amazon Kindle was one of the hottest selling items on Amazon this Christmas season - so if you were the lucky recipient of a Kindle, check out the iGo charging kit. This kit comes with a retractable cable, wall/AC adapter, car charger and a power tip for the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX. On sale for just $12.95. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup is the Archos 605 30GB media player. This Wi-Fi enabled device plays a variety of video, photo and music files, and can be expanded with a web browser or DVR station. On sale for just $129.99 with free shipping and a free pair of premium headphones. Click here for this deal.

There have been discussions about breastfeeding and travel on Gadling before. Breastfeeding on an airplane, in particular, has come up as a subject with many opinions. Here's my take. I was reminded of my breast feeding days when I saw a woman with a two-month old at the movie Sherlock Holmes. When it comes to travel, breastfeeding is the way to go. And don't worry about what anyone thinks about it.

If you've ever been to West Africa where a breast is for nursing children and not used as an object desire, you'll see where I'm coming from. My Peace Corps male friends who were in The Gambia when I was would moan every time they saw a woman pounding grain without a shirt on or whipping a breast out in the middle of a conversation to nurse an infant, "This is ruining it for me," they would say. What would they have to fixate on-to fantasize over?

When my son was born in India on New Year's Day, I was fortunate to be living in India, a country where breast feeding is seen as natural as breathing. It gave me the notion that babies and travel do indeed go together.

Because I breast fed only, for six months my husband and I traveled bottle free. There was no worry about our son getting sick. No paraphernalia to pack. I'd pack onesies, a few cute outfits, and a pair of baby shoes, one of those plastic diaper changer travel kits, disposable diapers, burp cloths and a cloth baby blanket. (It rolls up to slip into a daypack and has a pocket for carrying two or three diapers and baby wipes.)

Breastfeeding made our lives easier. What I also discovered is that if one is quiet and discrete, you can breast-feed about anywhere as long as you look comfortable. I breast fed in movie theaters, museums, and restaurants. If you're not worried about what people think about you nursing, you'll feel comfortable. If you're comfortable, chances are they won't notice, and if they do, it won't seem like a big deal. Think of it this way. You're breastfeeding is helping add to the peace and quiet of everyone else. Your baby who is breast-feeding is not crying. On an airplane, that's a real gift to give to passengers-particularly during take offs and landing.

To help make breastfeeding easier, take a light weight shawl with you and wear shirts that provide room for your baby to nurse comfortably, but also will cover your breast.

Even when I traveled in the summer in the U.S. and breast fed there, I never had any problems.

For more tips on traveling with a nursing infant, whether breast or bottle fed, check out "Travel Recommendations for The Nursing Mother" at the Center of Disease Control and Prevention's website.

What does Ivana Trump dislike about airplanes more than peanut packets or lines outside the lavatory?

Children running around, making noise in the aisles.

That's what threw her over the edge on her Delta flight departing Palm Beach Airport yesterday.

Originally what made he upset was something about her first-class seat in the LaGuardia-bound plane. Flight attendants tried to calm her by offering her another seat and headphones. Then, it was the children running up and down the aisles that really made her angry.

The way that sources tell it, she turned belligerent and swore up a storm at everybody around her -- the kids, the adult passengers, and even the sheriff's deputies who asked her to voluntarily get off the plane.

She put up a fuss, then finally gave in and deplaned -- only after the airline offered to let her fly on a later flight.

All told, the plane had to return to the gate and the scene caused a two-hour delay.

Around 3pm yesterday afternoon, Washington's Reagan National airport suffered some substantial damage from a burst water main pipe. Passengers arriving at the airport were greeted by several inches of water in the baggage claim area, and by 6pm, most of the airport had been shut down. As you can see in the video above, the amount of water was so great, that it was pouring out of the side of the building.

At the moment, only US Airways flights are being affected, and passengers flying US Airways out of DCA/Regan National are advised to contact the airline for more information. Only terminal C was flooded - terminals A and B were not impacted, and flights out of those terminals should be departing on time today.

More photos of the flooded terminal have been posted over at "We Love DC" and for more on the status of the C terminal, check the site of the airport operator.

After hours of driving through untouched landscape, a speck of civilization appears on the horizon. It's a sizable town; modest in structure, but full of activity and commotion -even at a distance.

A patchwork of low-grade wooden structures stem from a single main road. Electrical wires criss cross each other in all directions, connecting small shanty homes with restaurants and makeshift offices with pre-fabricated Zain mobile phone shops.

The Chinese government opened a new high-speed railway yesterday that is the fastest in the world. The Wuguang Passenger Railway links Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, with the port of Guangzhou. The train runs an average of 350 kilometers per hour (217mph) and makes the journey in less than three hours. The old train took ten.

In test runs the train has made 394 kph (245mph).

As you can see in this video, the train looks like other high-speed trains but improved engineering gives it a superior speed.

The government plans to expand the existing network with 40 more lines and 13,000km (8078 miles) more track. The capital Beijing will get many of the links as it strives to improve connections with regional production centers.

More evidence that this will be China's century? Yep. Perhaps instead of learning Globish we should all be taking Mandarin.