Airline passengers will be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes beginning next month under a policy change announced Tuesday by the head of the Transportation Security Administration.

The new policy conforms U.S. security standards to international standards, and allows TSA to concentrate its energies on more serious safety threats, the agency said in a statement.

The announcement, made by TSA administrator John Pistole at an airline industry gathering in New York

PASSENGERS ON U.S. FLIGHTS CAN SOON CARRY ON SMALL KNIVES, BATS

Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents over 10,000 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines, called the new policy "dangerous" and "shortsighted," saying it was designed to make "the lives of TSA staff easier, but not make flights safer.“

In September 2011, the TSA no longer required children 12 years old and under to remove their shoes at airport checkpoints. The agency recently issued new guidelines for travellers 75 years old and older so they can avoid removing shoes and light jackets when they go through airport security checkpoints.

Reaction to the changes was mostly positive among travellers interviewed Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport.

The presence on flights of gun-carrying pilots traveling as passengers, federal air marshals and airline crew members trained in self-defense provide additional layers of security to protect against misuse of the items,

However, not all flights have federal air marshals or armed pilots onboard.

The TSA says the new rules will allow it to focus its energy on more important security issues. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2340869934/

Eating a poor quality diet is the leading risk factor for diseases and injuries that cause Canadians to die prematurely and become disabled, according to a new report.

International researchers analyzed the country's rates of sickness and death from 1990 to 2010 and compared it with 15 Western European countries, Australia and the U.S.

Overall, Canada was ranked 5th out of 19 countries for life expectancy at 69.6 years. Spain was at the top with a healthy life expectancy of 70.9. The U.S. came in 17th at 67.9 years.

DIET TOPS DISEASE RISKS FOR CANADIANS

The leading risk factor accounting for the disease burden in Canada was dietary, followed by tobacco smoking and high body mass index, the report's lead author, said. Dr. Christopher Murray of the University of Washington in Seattle

Of the most important causes of premature death and disability, road injury showed the largest decrease in Canada, falling 31 per cent in the past 20 years.

worldwide "non-communicable diseases" such as diabetes and cancer are on the rise http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2340422840/?page=2

Chris Hadfield may be living in space, far away from his fellow earthlings, but the Ontario-born astronaut has not forgotten to write home.

Hadfield, soon to be the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station, has attracted a robust online following with his steady flow of well-crafted and strikingly beautiful posts on social media sites like Twitter.

CHRIS HADFIELD TO BECOME FIRST CANADIAN TO COMMAND INTERNATIONAL SPOACE STATION

A panel from a comic strip inspired by the words of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. http://zenpencils.com/comic/106-chris-hadfield-an-astronauts-advice/

Chris Hadfield, was the first Canadian to walk in space.

Hadfield was selected to become one of four new Canadian astronauts from a field of 5,330 applicants in June 1992.

Cmdr. Hadfield was named "perhaps the most social media savvy astronaut ever to leave Earth" by Forbes after building a considerable audience on social media, including over 400,000 Twitter followers

Chris Hadfield making one of the first spacewalks by a Canadian during the STS-100 mission in 2001. NASA astronauthttp://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/03/quotable-hadfield-

inspires.html