Reader tip: "Clean up your cookies--it could save you money! I used a well-known travel site to price tickets for a trip. I kept checking, to see if prices would drop. That flight stopped being listed after a week, and the next best flight kept getting more expensive. A few weeks later, I checked prices from a different computer. Whaddya know? The original flight was available, for $50 less than that next-best flight. That evening I checked again from my PC, but the flight I wanted was not available. I deleted the cookies for the site and tried again. Voila! The flight I wanted, at the price I wanted." --Kelly Malasics, Bridgeport, Conn.

The Feds are tightening up airport security. Today, the Transportation Security Administration took over the job of checking passenger I.D.s at airport security lines at New York City's JFK airport. It was the start of a national rollout of about 2,000 federal screeners, who will appear at airports nationwide within the next 18 months. [Source: Aviation Week]

Want to have your own travel TV show? Then follow the example of Robin Esrock, a Canadian who dropped out the rat race on his 30th birthday for a round-the-world trip that was only supposed to last a year...and that has never stopped. Esrock filmed clips of his travels and posted them on YouTube, and he also wrote freelance articles in a style modeled after Hunter S. Thompson. He built a website called Modern Gonzo, and he's been rewarded for his self-promotional efforts and multi-media storytelling talents with his own upcoming TV show on the Canadian cable channel OLN.

Travel photo contest. Trafalgar is once again holding a photo contest inviting people who have taken one of its previous tours to submit a short journal or story along with a photo. After a first round of judging, the winner will be selected by public vote.