By Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times

Styling your up-do while you’re traveling has become easier with the introduction of cordless curling irons and hair straighteners, but it has also gotten more complicated to fly with these hair care tools.

Lithium-ion batteries used to power cordless hairstyling tools allow these devices to have faster charging and longer usage times, and are thus more reliable, according to the Growth Market Reports, a market research and business consulting firm.

But replacing the cord with a battery for power is what’s keeping the devices out of the cargo section of the plane.

The Transportation Security Administration recently sought to iron out the details in a post on X.

Plug-in hair straighteners and curling irons don’t have any flight restrictions so you’re free to pack them in your carry-on or check-in luggage.

But the TSA said their counterpart has restrictions: cordless hairstyling tools that are powered by lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries or gas or butane fuel are allowed only in carry-on bags. That’s so that passengers or flight attendants can react if they start to overheat in the cabin. If they overheat or combust in your checked bag in the cargo area of a plane, it may take a while for anyone to notice.

As an extra protective measure, the hair care tool must have a safety cover securely fitted over the heating element.

What are the flight restrictions for cordless hairstyling tools?

Cordless hairstyling tools, with the specific battery, gas or butane fuel, are allowed only in carry-on bags due to their combustible nature, according to a TSA spokesperson.

Lithium-ion batteries, for example, can overheat, resulting in heavy smoke and in some cases fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Items that are commonly powered by such batteries include battery packs, e-cigarettes, cellphones and laptops. These items are allowed to travel with you only in your carry-on bag.

If the items, “catch fire in the cargo area where checked bags are transported, there’s no one there to put it out,” Daniel Velez, spokesperson for Florida’s TSA, told the Florida Times-Union.

On a flight from Lihue, Hawaii, to Los Angeles International Airport in July, a passenger’s e-cigarette overheated inside their backpack, according to an FAA report of the incident.

The flight attendant secured the e-cigarette in a thermal containment bag without injury, damage to the plane or flight interruptions.

There have been a total of 644 verified incidents of lithium batteries creating smoke, fire or extreme heat between 2006 and 2025, according to the FAA.

Of the total number of incidents, 482 occurred in the passenger area of the plane and 136 occurred in the cargo area.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A day after President Donald Trump dramatically stepped up his administration’s military role in the Caribbean with what he called a deadly strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting the president of Mexico, who has voiced fears of the U.S. encroaching on Mexican sovereignty.

Rubio will sit down with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday to stress the importance the U.S. places on cooperating with Washington on Western Hemisphere security, trade and migration. Rubio will visit Ecuador on Thursday on his third trip to Latin America since taking office.

Trump has alienated many in the region with persistent demands and threats of sweeping tariffs and massive sanctions for refusing to follow his lead, particularly on migration and the fight against drug cartels. Likely to heighten their concerns is the expanded military footprint. The U.S. has deployed warships to the Caribbean and elsewhere off Latin America, culminating in what the administration said Tuesday was a lethal strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua gang vessel that U.S. officials say was carrying narcotics.

“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” Trump said of the strike, which he said had killed 11 gang members.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente, right, welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Felipe Angeles International Airport in Zumpango, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Rubio, defending the strike, made clear that such operations would continue if needed. Though it was a military strike, America’s top diplomat tweeted about it around when Trump announced it in the White House and then spoke to reporters about the operation.

“The president has been very clear that he’s going to use the full power of America and the full might of the United States to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they’re operating from and no matter how long they’ve been able to act with impunity,” Rubio said Tuesday. “Those days are over.”

Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants, has spoken out against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and other Latin American leftist governments, notably in Cuba and Nicaragua, for years and supported opposition leaders and movements there. Just before leaving for Mexico, he attended an award ceremony in Florida for a Cuban dissident who he said was an inspiration for freedom-loving people everywhere.

In Mexico, Trump has demanded, and so far won, some concessions from Sheinbaum’s government, which is eager to defuse his tariff threats, although she has fiercely defended Mexico’s sovereignty.

Sheinbaum again rejected Trump’s suggestion that she is afraid of confronting Mexico’s cartels, because they have so much power. “We respect a lot the Mexico-United States relationship, President Trump, and no, it’s not true this affirmation that he makes,” she said.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, she said that what her administration planned to agree to with the United States is a “cooperation program about border security and the application of the law within the framework of our (respective) sovereignties.”

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Earlier this week, in a State of the Nation address marking her first year in office, she said: “Under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the country.”

Sheinbaum has gone after Mexican drug cartels and their fentanyl production more aggressively than her predecessor. The government has sent the National Guard to the northern border and delivered 55 cartel figures long wanted by U.S. authorities to the Trump administration.

Sheinbaum had spoken for some time about how Mexico was finalizing a comprehensive security agreement with the State Department that, among other things, was supposed to include plans for a “joint investigation group” to combat the flow of fentanyl and the drug’s precursors into the U.S. and weapons from north to south.

Last week, however, a senior State Department official downplayed suggestions that a formal agreement — at least one that includes protections for Mexican sovereignty — was in the works.

Sheinbaum lowered her expectations Tuesday, saying it would not be a formal agreement but rather a kind of memorandum of understanding to share information and intelligence on drug trafficking or money laundering obtained “by them in their territory, by us in our territory unless commonly agreed upon.”

On the trip, Rubio would focus on stemming illegal migration, combating organized crime and drug cartels, and countering what the U.S. believes is malign Chinese behavior in its backyard, the State Department said.

Associated Press writer María Verza contributed reporting.

By PHILIP MARCELO, Associated Press

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge on Wednesday allowed DNA evidence obtained through advanced techniques into the forthcoming murder trial of the man accused of being Long Island’s Gilgo Beach serial killer.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei made the decision Wednesday but didn’t explain the ruling at a brief hearing in Riverhead court in the case against Rex Heuermann.

He set another court date of Sept. 23, noting the defense has notified the court that it intends to file another motion in the case, before adjourning.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said simply “we won.” He was expected to address reporters later.

The 61-year-old Manhattan architect has been charged in the deaths of seven women in a series of killings that prosecutors say stretched back at least to 1993.

Most of the women were sex workers whose remains were discovered along an isolated parkway not far from Gilgo Beach and Heuermann’s home in Massapequa.

Experts say the decision marks the first time such techniques are allowed as evidence in a New York court — and one of just a handful of such instances nationwide.

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Mazzei’s decision pertained to DNA analysis generated by Astrea Forensics, a California lab known for using new techniques to analyze old, highly degraded DNA samples.

Prosecutors say Astrea’s whole genome sequencing analysis, combined with other evidence, overwhelmingly implicates Heuermann as the killer in the brutal deaths that have haunted the New York City suburb for years.

But Heuermann’s lawyers argued the lab’s calculations exaggerate the likelihood that the hairs recovered from the burial sites match their client’s DNA.

They complained the statistical analysis Astrea conducted was improperly based on the 1,000 Genomes Project, an open-source database containing the full DNA sequence of some 2,500 people worldwide.

Prosecutors dismissed the critique as “misguided” and a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the lab’s methods.

They also noted that a separate DNA analysis, completed by another crime lab using traditional methods long accepted in New York courts, also convincingly link hairs found on some victims to either Heuermann or members of his family.

Heuermann was arrested more than two years ago but has yet to be given a trial date as he remains in custody in Riverhead.

Whole genome sequencing allows scientists to map out the entire genetic sequence, or genome, of a person using the slimmest of DNA material.

While it is relatively rare in criminal forensics, the technique has been used in a wide range of scientific and medical breakthroughs for years, including the mapping of the Neanderthal genome that earned a Nobel Prize in 2022.

Prosecutors and experts say whole genome sequencing has the potential to allow researchers to generate a DNA profile of a suspect in instances where long accepted DNA techniques fall short, such as when a sample is very old or highly degraded, as is the case with the hair fragments found on the Gilgo Beach victims.

You know, pretty much anybody can start the fantasy football season by starting their highest-ranking players at every position.

But you CAN be somebody who thinks outside the box. Takes a chance. Uses their giant brain to start a D-lister capable of being an A-list star for Week 1.

Someone like Joe Flacco.

Cleveland’s 40-year-old quarterback could really be forty-something on Sunday. He was great leading the Browns to a surprise playoff berth two years ago, and he could look great, at least for one week, against Cincinnati’s notoriously bad defense.

Here are some other unheralded players who could get off to great starts:

Jerome Ford (Browns RB) — Thanks to weak competition and Quinshon Judkins’ legal troubles, Ford is atop the Cleveland depth chart and liable to have a great game against the Bengals. And he’ll be No. 1 at least until Judkins’ lawyers negotiate his availability.

Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (34) runs after a catch during a pre-season NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)

Javonte Williams (Cowboys RB) — The depth chart leader in Dallas is likely to get their goal-line opportunities Thursday night in Philadelphia, assuming there are some. This former Bronco will get more chances than rookie Jaydon Blue, though the latter is better long term.

Denver Broncos’ Javonte Williams runs during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers WR) — Chris Godwin’s injury gives this former Buckeye an opportunity to feast when future hall of famer Mike Evans is double-covered. Atlanta’s defense will not be an impediment to Egbuka having a strong debut.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (9) signals during a pre-season NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)

Jerry Jeudy (Browns WR) — Speaking of Flacco, Jeudy is No. 1 among Cleveland receivers who genuflected when the Browns chose their only legitimate QB option to start. Jeudy will post fine numbers until an overmatched rookie takes Old Joe’s place.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) carries in the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Matthew Golden (Packers WR) — Someone is going to be No. 1 option for Green Bay in their NFC North shootout against the Lions at Lambeau. We think this former Texas standout will quickly become a favorite of QB Jordan Love.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (22) catches the ball in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28) during a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Sitting stars

New Orleans will struggle all season. So will RB Alvin Kamara, starting Week 1 against Arizona. … Chargers RB Omarion Hampton will have a strong rookie campaign, but he won’t do much against the Chiefs in Brazil on Friday night. … Another rookie to forget for this week: Jacksonville WR Travis Hunter. … Washington QB Jayden Daniels will have difficulty against the Giants’ strong defensive front. … And speaking of quarterbacks: Don’t make yours Aaron Rodgers, trying to impress his old team in the Steelers-Jets yawner.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the New York Giants Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Matchup game

The Vikings’ Jordan Mason, our pick to be their No.1 RB by season’s end, will get off to a strong start in Chicago. … Same goes for New England rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson. … Receivers we expect to shine in Week 1 include Arizona’s Marvin Harrison Jr. against New Orleans, the ‘Niners’ Ricky Pearsall against Seattle and the Colts’ Michael Pittman and Josh Downs vs. the weak Miami secondary.

Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason (27) runs the ball while being tackled by Houston Texans cornerback Jaylin Smith during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Injury watch

Justin Jefferson’s hammy will make its 2025 debut Monday night, and Vikings fans should not be expecting an all-world opener. … Miami RB De’Von Achane is expected to start, but he could be ceding a lot of playing time to rookie Ollie Gordon. … Notables ruled out include Houston RB Joe Mixon, Tampa WR Chris Godwin and San Fran wideout Brandon Aiyuk. … Those of questionable status include Chargers RB Najee Harris, Seattle RB Kenneth Walker III, Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely and a slew of receivers: the Giants’ Malik Nabers, the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill, the Niners’ Jauan Jennings, Buffalo’s Khalil Shakir and Carolina rookie Tetairoa McMillan.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) before a preseason NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Aug. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

Deepest sleeper

His friends call him Bill, but Washington rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt is set to take the field for his first NFL team after playing for three teams in college (Alabama State, New Mexico, Arizona). Because of the late-August trade of Brian Robinson Jr., there’s a fighting chance JCM (as he may soon be known) will be the goal-line running option for the Commanders.

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (32) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, in Landover. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

The Thursday/Friday picks

Cowboys at Eagles (-6½)
Pick: Eagles by 11

Chiefs at Chargers (+2½)
Pick: Chiefs by 3

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) jumps over the line for a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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