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TSA

Laptops may stay in ‘friendly’ bags

There’s a new option for people annoyed at having to take their laptops out of their bags at airport security. The Transportation Security Administration will now allow travelers to leave their computers inside “checkpoint friendly” cases.

The new rules, announced Tuesday and set to take effect Aug. 16, are intended to help streamline the X-ray inspection lines.

TSA said it reached out to bag manufacturers this year to design laptop cases that would provide a clear, unobstructed image of the computer as it passed through an X-ray machine. The agency said the new bags will be available for purchase this month.

To qualify as “checkpoint friendly,” a bag must have a designated laptop-only section that unfolds to lie flat on the X-ray machine belt and contains no metal snaps, zippers or buckles and no pockets.

Among the manufacturers selling TSA-approved laptop bags are Mobile Edge, Skooba Design and Targus Inc.

CAMPAIGN

Candidates spend on Olympic ads

NEW YORK | Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain’s campaign has purchased $6 million in TV advertising time during the Olympic Games from NBC Universal, a source familiar with the deal said Tuesday, topping an earlier purchase by Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama.

Mr. McCain’s last-minute commercial buy covers advertising on both the NBC network and cable channels such as USA, MSNBC and CNBC, all of which will carry parts of the Summer Games. Coverage of the Olympics begins Friday with the Opening Ceremony.

Last month, Mr. Obama bought $5 million worth of commercial time from NBC Universal, a source said, believed at the time to be an unprecedented political media buy for the Olympics.

NBC Universal, which reportedly has sold 30-second spots to various corporate advertisers for about $750,000 a piece, has nearly reached its target of just over $1 billion in commercial sales. It is not clear how much Mr. McCain’s campaign paid for its spots.

A division of General Electric Co., NBC Universal is planning to carry a record 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage across its broadcast, cable TV and online outlets. Live Web streaming of events will account for about 2,200 hours of the coverage.

Both NBC and Mr. McCain’s campaign declined to comment.

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