The Transportation Security Administration now has a toll-free help line to get travelers through security checkpoints. For more information, call the TSA Cares toll free number at 1-855-787-2227 between 9 am and 9 pm New York time Mondays through Fridays.

Before going to the airport, travelers with physical disabilities or serious medical condition and family members going with them can now call TSA Cares to talk with representatives. TSA advises that calls be made at least three days before flights, so that if help at the airport is needed, it can be scheduled.

Questions about check-in screening and special facilities in the airport and aboard flights will be answered. Also available on the TSA Cares phone line are qualified medical expects to answer questions relating to specific disabilities.

As if we aren’t fed up enough with the increasingly annoying ads flashing on TV and computer screens. Next time you fly you may find yourself surrounded by equally bothersome poster ads tacked onto every inappropriate inch of your airplane.

Spirit Airlines, Ryan Air and others are raking in millions of dollars from sponsors by displaying ads. Passengers will not only see the big ads, but also little ones on tray tables, barf bags, flight attendant aprons and every other space they can think of.

On some airlines, those new smokeless electronic cigarettes are permitted. Smokers can get their nicotine hit by puffing and breathing in a small cloud of chemicals. Allegedly they don’t bother people sitting next to them, although the jury is still out on that question.

Now, the Department of Transportation is considering a total ban on the Ecigarettes on all flights originating in the U.S. The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association is objecting to the plan, claiming that the devices only emit water vapor and create nothing like second-hand smoke.

If the total ban goes into effect, Ecigarette users will just have to join regular smokers in those little rooms provided for them in airports. Then, whether their flights are for one or a dozen hours, they’ll have to refrain from their habit in the air, get a patch or chew some nicotine gum.

Sorry, smokers, but you may be in a losing battle. Amtrak now forbids Ecigarettes on trains, and the U.S. Navy won’t permit them on submerged submarines.

Cities hitting 100 or more degrees this week, including Washington DC, New York NY, Chicago IL, Amarillo TX, Philadelphia PA and Detroit MI.

With only a mild 108 this week, move over Phoenix AZ.  Council Bluffs IA hit 123.

Advice for senior travelers: If you’re considering venturing away from air conditioning or a cool beachfront: Don’t do it!