BOULDER, Colo. — Only smiles surround Helen Davis, a Boulder artist who could double as a comedian.

Davis has lived in Colorado since 1948 and in Boulder since 1960. As she's watched the city change over the decades, she's also gathered several groups of friends, drawn to her magnetic personality.

“Helen is a force to be reckoned with. She speaks her mind," said Carol Watkins, who met Davis in the early 90s. “It's her energy. Her energy is just exuberant. I mean, at 99 years old."

Davis' 99th birthday was on May 31.

Before that, she was out to lunch with Watkins and other friends when she mentioned she would like to fly in a glider plane.

Watkins and other friends chipped in to buy Davis a flight at Mile High Gliding as a present.

“I don't know what I expected, but I loved every minute of it," Davis said after the flight. “Next year, I'll be back if I'm still around.”

Her friends say Davis stays young because of her busy social schedule and her constant creation of art.

“I love her," Watkins said. "I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without her.”

After the flight, Davis' friends were waiting for sweets and songs for her birthday. Davis shows no signs of slowing down, saying she would like to go parasailing next.

Collette Bordelon at KMGH first reported this story.

As COVID-19 cases surge in China, infectious disease experts say the threat of a new variant is possible. The sooner the CDC knows about new variants, the faster it can respond. That is why the Biden Administration is ramping up a CDC Traveler Genomic Surveillance program that asks travelers from international flights to voluntarily do a nasal swab.

Dr. Cindy Friedman, with CDC Travelers' Health Branch, says the program currently targets approximately 500 flights per week from more than 30 countries.

"The program started back in September of 2021 with three airports at JFK, Newark and San Francisco," Dr. Friedman said. "Then, omicron came in November of 2021 and we added Atlanta. And then, the end of China's zero-COVID policy led to the expansion recently to a Seattle and LAX Los Angeles Airport."

Dr. Friedman says there are two parts to the program that are complementary to each other. One is getting nasal swabs from travelers who volunteer. The other is anonymously testing wastewater. When they get a positive result for COVID, the biological sample is sent to a lab to analyze what variant it is.

We've known for a while that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be found in wastewater. It serves as an early detection system to know what's circulating in a specific region or in other places across the globe.

Dr. Friedman says it's helpful when a new variant is detected because action can be taken immediately.

"It could be anything from, you know, we recommend wearing a mask because there is a new variant," Dr. Friedman said. "Or our lab will check the efficacy of the vaccine against a new variant, or the treatments, the antiviral drugs. I mean, it's really important to know that the medicines that you're recommending work against the newest version of the virus."

Dr. Friedman says the program successfully discovered the BA.2 and BA.3 subvariants during the early days of omicron. She says airports will likely be the first to know if a new variant comes along.

Ginkgo Bioworks is a partner of the program that does genomic sequencing along with XpresCheck.

"The idea of having airports as places to monitor for dangerous pathogens, this is like the dream of biosecurity infrastructure," Ginkgo Bioworks General Manager Matthew McKnight said. "And I think the realization that a lot of people have come to is that it isn't science fiction, it is entirely doable."

McKnight says he expects this technology to become a permanent part of national security.

"Certainly the vision like radar is that you should be looking for more and more different things, including in the future unexpected pathogens or as we move into a new and scary world, you know, thinking about being able to monitor for genetic engineering or any sort of biothreats that might be emerging in the national security space," McKnight said.

Dr. Friedman would like to thank international travelers who take a few minutes of their time to provide a nasal swab and she wants to reassure everyone the program is anonymous.

 

The CEOs of two of the nation's major airlines say they don't think wearing masks on planes does much to help limit exposure to COVID-19.

The comments from American Airlines CEO Doug Parker — the nation's largest carrier — and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly came during a hearing about the financial support that airlines received from the federal government in 2020 and 2021. But the topic of masks arose via a question from Sen. Roger Wicker, the ranking Republican on the Senate committee holding the hearing.

"I think the case is very strong that masks don't add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment. It is very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting," said Kelly.

Both Kelly and Parker, who each have announced plans to retire as CEOs in the coming months, mentioned that high-grade HEPA air filters on planes capture virtually all airborne contamination and air quality is helped by how frequently cabin air is exchanged with fresh air from outside the cabin.

"I concur. An aircraft is the safest place you can be," said Parker. "It's true of all of our aircraft — they all have the same HEPA filters and air flow."

After the hearing, American Airlines tried to walk back Parker's remarks. It issued a statement claiming that his concurrence with Kelly was on the point about the quality of the air in the aircraft cabin, not mask requirements.

Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants, testified at the hearing that not all aircrafts are equipped with the same quality of air filters. For example, some older planes do not have HEPA filters, she said.

The mask requirement is still a source of controversy. Much of the steep rise in incidents involving unruly passengers over the last two years have revolved around passengers being ordered to wear masks.

"I think that is probably for the medical community to decide rather than me," Nelson added. "What I will add is that the studies that have been done [on masks]....were done with mannequins that were sitting straight forward with masks on, not removing them, not eating."

"It is important to recognize that the safe, controlled environment on planes...includes the HEPA filters that are not on all aircraft," she concluded.

Masks on planes are required by the federal government, following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control. The DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the testimony.

The remarks by Kelly and Parker were criticized by one committee member, Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.

"I'm shocked that some of the CEOs here today have suggested we no longer need masks mandates on planes," he said. "In the face of Omicron, children under five who still cannot be vaccinated....and that we still allow unvaccinated people on planes." He said it was "immoral" to take the position that people on planes could be forced to sit next to unvaccinated people who are not wearing masks.

Nelson, who Markey was questioning, agreed that while she hopes that one day masks will not be required, she does not support lifting the mask mandate at this time.

"I believe that the government has taken a very responsible approach to this," she said. "We believe it should continue to stay in place. It's a workplace safety issue. We do need a consistent message though. It troubles me to hear different messages. I would hope we are going to stay on the same messages and follow the medical experts and do what's necessary to keep everybody safe."

Nelson said that the confidence in the safety of air travel is the reason people are willing to buy airline tickets in near pre-pandemic levels today. She said that the mask mandate is one of the factors leading to that confidence by airline passengers.

A Southwest Airlines employee was taken to a Dallas hospital on Saturday after being assaulted by a passenger at Love Field Airport, according to the airline.

A female operations agent was "verbally and physically" assaulted by a female passenger as a flight from Dallas to La Guardia Airport in New York City was boarding, Southwest told CNN in an email. The employee was transported to a local hospital and released on Saturday evening, according to the email. She is at home resting, the airline said.

"Southwest Airlines maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding any type of harassment or assault and fully support our employee as we cooperate with local authorities regarding this unacceptable incident," the email said.

Southwest said the passenger was taken into custody by local law enforcement. CNN has reached out to the Dallas Police Department for more information but has not heard back.

The incident is one among many verbal and physical attacks on flight staff that have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Flight crews have reported 5,114 unruly passenger incidents since the start of 2021, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA data shows more than 70% of incidents were over masks.

The incidents have ranged from shouting to spitting and physical altercations with airline staff.

In May this year a Southwest Airlines passenger who allegedly punched a flight attendant was fined more than $26,000, the FAA said.

The agency announced earlier this month it had fined 10 violent airline passengers a total of nearly $250,000.

CHICAGO — We’ve all seen them--cellphone videos of people misbehaving on flights and being removed.

This week, Delta Airlines proposed carriers share their no-fly lists of unruly passengers. It’s an effort to protect airline employees across the industry. It comes as flight crews are left to enforce pandemic-era restrictions and bear the brunt of travelers unwilling to comply.

In January, due to the disturbing increase in violent behavior on flights, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) enacted a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who “assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members.”

“Post-pandemic travel is not the same,” said Ron Phifer, supervisory air marshal in charge of the Chicago field office for the Federal Air Marshal Service.

Phifer says FAA mandates like wearing a mask must be enforced on flights by federal law.

“We treat mask requirements very similar to those other safety requirements on board the aircraft, and that's what aircrews are trained to do,” said Phifer.

After a pandemic pause, the TSA resumed self-defense training for crew members this past summer. Taught by federal air marshals, it’s designed to teach them effective defensive measures for use onboard an aircraft or even in public spaces.

“They learn to defend themselves with hand strikes with using their feet, their legs. So, protecting their vital parts of their body,” said Phifer.

Lisa Hodo has been a flight attendant for more than 30 years and finally decided to take the class.

“Flight attendants have been the subject of attacks,” she said. “I mainly, I came so that I could protect myself as well as my passengers on the plane.”

Hodo says enforcing federal mask mandates has been a real challenge.

“Even though they have signed the agreement, that they're going to keep wearing the masks, they don't necessarily want to do it,” said Hodo.

So far this year, the FAA has documented nearly 4,500 reports of unruly passengers and close to 3,300 mask-related incidents.

Flight attendant and instructor Barbara Aievoly, another first-time self-defense trainee, says it’s important now more than ever to be prepared for a confrontation.

“No matter what's going on, everyone knows it's going to be filmed. And I don't want to be famous for, you know, having to handle an unruly passenger,” said Aievoly. “I'd like to de-escalate at first. But I also want to know the proper way to get out of a situation that I might not be able to handle.”

Penalties for unruly behavior have been upped with a fine of up to $37,000 or criminal charges. The FAA’s already initiated 169 enforcement cases this year and collected more than $1 million in fines.

Hodo says she hopes those deterrents will work.

“You just don't want to escalate it. That's the main thing," Hodo said. "You don't really want to have to move to the things that we're being taught in here.”

Travel insurance is becoming more and more important as people look to book future trips during this uncertain time. Whether you’d like to know more about what type of policy to get or are just new to the concept of travel insurance, we’ll walk you through the basic coverage options, including trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel medical insurance and cancel-for-any-reason coverage.

What is travel insurance?

Trip (or travel) insurance provides coverage for unexpected events that can go wrong before or during your trip, such as inclement weather that prevents you from departing or breaking your leg on a ski trip and needing to fly home early.

According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, in 2018, roughly 65.8 million people had trip insurance protections, reflecting a 49% increase from 2016. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers are likely to continue to grow.

In addition to being offered on certain premium travel credit cards, many companies offer travel insurance plans, and the policies can vary from state to state, so choosing a plan can be confusing.

As part of NerdWallet’s Best-Of Awards for 2021, we evaluated various travel insurance providers across several states, considering single and annual trips. Based on our analysis, the World Nomads Explorer Plan was the winner with its robust all-around coverage for pre- and post-departure trip benefits.

What does travel insurance cost?

Based on data from the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, the price of a travel insurance policy usually ranges from 4%-8% of the trip cost. The cost of the policy is usually based on the following factors:

• Duration and cost of your vacation: The more expensive and longer the trip, the higher the price of the policy.
• Cost of local medical care: High medical care costs in your destination can increase the cost of travel insurance.
• Breadth of coverage: Policies that include higher limits and more covered events will be pricier.
• Your age: Generally, the older you are, the more expensive the policy.

Trip cancellation and trip interruption

Trip cancellation insurance is a pre-departure benefit that covers prepaid, nonrefundable reservations, such as flights, hotels and other bookings as long as the trip is canceled because of an unforeseeable event. The covered amount is usually 100% of the total trip cost. To qualify for coverage, the cancellation must be due to a covered reason (e.g., jury duty, job termination, extreme weather).

Imagine you booked a nonrefundable two-week vacation to Costa Rica for $3,000 ($800 flight, $1,700 hotel and $500 in excursions), and three days before departure, you are injured in a car accident. You spend two days in the hospital and your doctor advises you not to travel. If you’ve purchased a policy that includes trip cancellation coverage, you’ll receive a refund for the entire prepaid amount since accidental injuries that result in medically imposed restrictions certified by a doctor qualify as a covered reason.

Trip interruption coverage, however, is a post-departure benefit that covers prepaid, nonrefundable reservations if a portion of a trip is missed or a traveler has to return home due to an extraordinary circumstance. Similar to trip cancellation, to be covered, the reason must be unforeseen.

Using the same vacation example as above, imagine that you fly to Costa Rica and on the fourth day of your trip, you fall while running, hurt your foot and, as a result, can barely walk. A trip to the hospital for X-rays reveals that you have a fracture and the doctor advises you to stay off your feet. As the pain becomes worse, you decide to fly home. If your travel insurance policy includes trip interruption coverage, you will be reimbursed for the unused portion of your hotel stay, your unused return flight and the new return flight. Depending on the plan, trip interruption coverage may range from 100%-200% of the trip cost, which can be extremely helpful as the cost of a last-minute flight home can be quite pricey.

The important thing to remember about both benefits is that you will only get your money back if you cancel your trip for a covered reason. If you want more flexibility, you’ll want to get familiarized with cancel-for-any-reason coverage, or CFAR.

Cancel for any reason

CFAR coverage allows you to cancel your trip for any reason whatsoever and get a partial refund of your nonrefundable deposit as long as the cancellation occurs at least two days in advance of the trip date. This benefit is an optional add-on that is available when you purchase travel insurance; not all plans offer it.

Say, for example, you’re booking a trip and are worried that when the date gets closer, you may be scared to travel due to COVID-19. In this case, the cancellation will not be considered a covered reason under most standard trip cancellation insurance policies. If you’d like that layer of protection and want the freedom to cancel your trip and get some of your money back, you’ll want to get a policy that offers the CFAR add-on. CFAR reimbursement usually ranges from 50%-75% of the total trip cost, which can be meaningful for an expensive trip.

Travel medical insurance

Standalone travel medical insurance specifically protects you in the event of unexpected injuries or illnesses while you’re abroad. Covered benefits will usually include emergency medical evacuation/repatriation, accidental death and dismemberment and 24-hour assistance. Other trip insurance protections will be limited, and the policy will be cheaper than a comprehensive travel insurance plan because of reduced coverage for other events.

If you already have trip cancellation and interruption coverage through a premium travel credit card, or you’re not worried about insuring your flight or hotel because reservations are refundable, purchasing a standalone travel medical policy could be your best bet.

The bottom line

Knowing you have travel insurance can offer peace of mind in case something goes wrong on an upcoming trip. Travel insurance includes many important benefits and getting acquainted with them can empower you to make the right choice about which coverage type to consider for your next vacation.

More From NerdWallet

Elina Geller writes for NerdWallet. Email: egeller@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @elina_geller.

HAMPTON, Va. — A test airplane that could change the way people fly is nearing completion in California, with Virginia scientists and engineers playing a big role in making it happen.

NASA's X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is designed to break the sound barrier without the loud and disruptive sonic boom that typically accompanies Mach 1 speeds, leading to the banning of supersonic travel over land.

The NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, took an early lead in the project, known as Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, when it began a few years ago.

"People would rather have faster air travel if they could so our goal with this project is to have those rules changed," said Craig Nickol, the project manager for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator.

Nickol, who's based at Langley, says research centers across the country are working on the project, including around 20-30 scientists and engineers in the Hampton area.

Langley played a key role in early design and testing. Specific major contributions include the creation of a real-time camera and screen system pilots will use to see out of the aircraft, which lacks a cockpit window due to design constraints.

"They've actually finished it. They've done ground tests on that system, they've even done flight tests on the system and it's been delivered out to the West Coast already from Langley," Nickol said.

With Lockheed Martin set to finish construction on the X-59 this year, ground testing can begin as early as this fall, Nickol says, with the first test flight set for Summer 2022.

According to NASA, test flights over Armstrong Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base will follow in 2023 to ensure the aircraft works as designed. From there, the agency will test over select communities across the country to see how people react.

The hope is to turn flight data over to federal and international aviation regulators in 2027, who could change the rules allowing for supersonic travel over land.

"I've always been an airplane nut and this is kind of like the best thing you could think of to do as an aerospace engineer is to be able to have a chance to design, build and test a whole new airplane, a research airplane that could potentially change the way we travel," Nickol said.

With travel times cut roughly in half, a whole new world of travel could be opened, with much of the early work done in Hampton Roads.

This story was originally published by Anthony Sabella at WTKR.

February is all about celebrating black history, and throughout the month we'll be honoring influential African Americans whose stories you might not yet know. Some are pioneers in their field, some helped spark the civil rights movement, and all have contributed incredible things to not only black history, but to the history of the United States as a whole.Discover the story of how Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to earn her pilot license by watching the video above.

United Airlines is trying to bring back supersonic travel. They announced a deal this week with a Denver-area start-up called Boom Supersonic.

It announced it's buying 15 new jets from a Denver startup.

The jets would carry between 65 to 88 people at a speed of Mach 1.7 and it would cut flight times almost in half.

A flight from New York to London would be 3.5 hours compared to the normal 6.5 hours.

The planes have not been built yet. United plans to have passengers on-board by 2029. It's been nearly 20 years since the Concorde supersonic plane was retired.

Robin Dich and Alex Livingston contributed to this report.

CHICAGO — Travel should see a massive rebound this Memorial Day weekend. By some estimates, an increase of 60% from last year’s record low. With increases in vaccinations, relaxed mask mandates, and many people ready for "revenge travel," Americans are expected to take to the air and roads with a vengeance.

“We're going to spend more money, maybe take more trips or stay longer,” said Jeanette McGee with AAA.

Updated CDC guidelines say fully vaccinated people taking proper precautions can travel domestically at low risk.

“It's not completely back to normal yet, and I think for a lot of people, they will want to stay a little closer to home or travel to areas that they have a lot of comfort with for a while,” said Melanie Lieberman, senior travel editor with the travel and lifestyle media platform The Points Guy.

According to AAA, 34 million Americans are planning Memorial Day road trips, with another 2.5 million expected to travel by air.

“There are a lot of people traveling, so, you know, those COVID roads, where there were open roads and not so much traffic, that's not so much the case anymore,” McGee said.

The top five road trip destinations this holiday weekend:

1. Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Orlando, Florida
3. Myrtle Beach, Florida
4. Denver, Colorado
5. Nashville, Tennessee

Pent-up demand also means vacationing will be expensive. Flight prices have been climbing since April.

“This is a popular time for people to travel anyway,” said Lieberman. "Families are reconnecting. There are a lot of factors converging, and all of this is compounded by the fact that there’s still reduced inventory.”

Low inventory and high demand for rental cars could leave some scrambling for a ride. Rental car pricing in places like Arizona, Hawaii, and Florida has spiked by 300%.

“As much as $134 a day, if not more,” said McGee. “So, definitely best to plan ahead when you're looking at rentals.”

Experts say there will be a pain at the pump as well.

“Gas prices are the most expensive we've seen since 2014, and they're not going to get cheaper anytime soon,” said McGee.

For those hoping to avoid crowds, travel experts suggest reconsidering travel to some of the most popular vacation destinations.

“It's important to use a travel agent, someone you can ask questions to understand what's open, what restrictions are in place just again, so you can enjoy that vacation, especially if you're planning an international trip,” said McGee.

It’s important to remember the pandemic is not over yet and case increases could change things at your final destination.

“It's also a really good time to think about getting a travel insurance policy, even if that's something you didn't do before the pandemic. It's a great way to protect your travel investment,” said Lieberman.

Experts say successful summer travel will be found where planning ahead meets flexibility.

Inside a hangar that sits just outside the runways at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Russ Peterson is one of the many people responsible for making sure United Airlines planes run smoothly – both in the air and on the ground.

“The guys today are going to remove all the external tape, flags, covers,” he explained.

A specific airplane had been in storage for just over a month.

“We have to do a lot of checks on the airplane,” said Peterson, a shift manager for United Airlines Aircraft Maintenance in Cleveland, Ohio.

It’s a process that takes about three and a half days.

“We go over the whole entire fuselage, wings, everything to make sure there's nothing out of place.”

But for planes that have been in storage long-term, the process takes longer.

“Long-term storage takes probably five to six days,” he said.

Multiply that by dozens of planes at that one location.

As the pandemic hit last year, the CDC ranked flying a moderately high risk for COVID-19 and every airline grounded aircraft, leaving these companies scrambling for storage space.

“When they first came about and this all hit the fan we decided to take on as many as we could,” Peterson said. “We took on 53 which was the second largest city of stored aircraft initially.”

Peterson and his team were now in charge of dozens of empty aircraft. After working there for almost four decades, he said he had never seen anything like it.

“The work that we've done on the 53 aircraft far surpasses what we normally do because we’ve had to work so much harder to keep them and maintain them. Airplanes are made to fly, not sit on the ground. We had to jack airplanes and rotate tires so they don't get flat spots, so there's always something to do on every airplane.”

It led to images of planes stacked next to each other on the tarmac – one of the jarring images during the height of the pandemic that showed the toll on the travel industry.

“At the worst scenario we only had 200 airplanes flying when normally we had over 700 flying,” he said. “And all the airlines basically had to do the same thing.”

On May 20, 2020, United Airlines had the most aircraft in storage with 515 planes.

Now, things are looking up. With vaccines available nationwide and loosened restrictions, more people are filing seats, which translates into more planes filling the skies.

United Airlines said they’ve seen summer bookings for June through August go up 214% from July 2020.

It’s led to the greatest demand for trips that Heather Travis has ever seen.

“About March I got super busy,” Travis said. “March was my busiest month ever and I was booking trips for the summer, I was booking trips for 2022.”

As a travel agent, she said she sees the pent-up demand to travel, and some of the issues customers face with booking flights as everything goes back to mostly normal.

“It just feels a little different, there's maybe not so many options. I haven’t seen a whole lot of there's just no availability, not that problem, just flight prices. People are calling me like I can’t believe it’s going to cost me $1,700 to get me to the East Coast,” she explained.

Of the 53 United airplanes stored at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, just one remains in long-term storage. One last reminder of the way the pandemic rippled through the travel industry.

“It’s wrapped up, engines are closed off, air conditioning systems closed off, flight controls are disabled,” Peterson said, explaining the last plane in long-term storage. But even this one will be out by September.

“It really does show the horizon for us, so we can get everything back flying,” he said.

Workers like Peterson can focus less on the unknown every day and more on the regular maintenance and safety of the planes.

“That’s it. That’s what I like to do, keep them flying, keep them safe.”

In June, United Airlines will fly its largest schedule since before the pandemic, with 561 aircraft in the active fleet. By July, they expect to be operating 80 percent of its domestic network compared to July 2019.