TSA tip: thermos bomb threat

By Luke Rosiak

(This post has been updated)

Shortly before Christmas, federal officials received a tip that terrorists might be concealing bombs in thermos liners carried aboard planes, Transportation Safety Administration head John S. Pistole said Thursday.

Pistole said the tip on thermoses came from a source he did not identify on Dec. 23.

"Anyone who has traveled with a thermos since then has been getting more screening," he said.

Pistole, addressing an American Bar Association committee in Washington, also said he expected modification to controversial airport scanner equipment this year to address privacy concerns.

He said he was shown on Wednesday new screener technology that is not as revealing as new machines put into service last year.

"Some have a stick figure, some just have a blob," Pistole said. "If there is an anomaly it will just show as a box."

Pistole said both the passenger and security personnel would see the image, rather than the current system where images are viewed by an officer in a private room. Pistole said he also is reviewing pat-down procedures that have raised objections.

--Ashley Halsey III