What was once one of the world's most famous ships is now rusting away in an Italian shipyard. The U.S.S. Williamsburg, a naval ship that became President Harry Truman's personal yacht in 1945 and was once considered an American treasure, could be scrapped within a few years if a last-minute attempt to save the ship fails, NBC Nightly News reports.

Each week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) details some of the items they uncovered during airport searches on their blog. This week the administration found not only a record 50 firearms (45 which were loaded), but also a curious cane that concealed a 2.5-inch knife (pictured).

According to the blog, even the woman carrying the cane was surprised to find the blade inside when she tried to pass through a security checkpoint at Washington Dulles International Airport.

"It's important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure no prohibited items are inside," said the TSA. "If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag, you could be cited and quite possibly arrested by local law enforcement."

At airports this week, officials also found 10 stun guns, two inert grenades and a can of tear gas.

[via Business Insider]

After four months of testing, the Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" will once again take to the skies in North America today. United Airlines is the first to kick off service, sending the Dreamliner skyward on a flight from Houston to Chicago scheduled for 11 a.m. this morning.

Earlier this year, the federal government grounded all 787 flights due to overheating concerns on the aircraft's lithium-ion batteries. The grounding hit both Boeing and the airlines hard, causing snags in proposed routes and forcing some airlines to lease planes. According to Associated Press, the grounding hurt United's first-quarter earnings by as much as $11 million - which is why we questioned whether or not the 787 is ready for flight, or whether the billions of dollars that have already been invested in the planes have caused things to be pushed along a little too quickly.

But according to several sources, passengers don't seem too worried. United spokeswoman Christen David told Associated Press the company "saw strong demand for the flight from the first weekend it opened for sale." United is starting slowly with domestic flights, and will then move into international flights in June with a new Denver-to-Tokyo service.

Seven months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged New York City-area beaches, construction will begin on replacement pavilions for those that were destroyed in the storm. Here's a peek at what destinations like Rockaway Beach and Coney Island will look like, courtesy of Garrison Architects, the firm that was asked to create these modular pavilions.

Structures include bathrooms for the public, stands for lifeguards and offices for beach staff, all of which sit on concrete stilts in order to meet standards put in place by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to architecture blog Architizer, the materials used to produce the pavilions, like galvanized steel frames, will ensure the structures resist severe weather in the future. The pavilions also have double-ventilated roofs with solar panels on top to save on energy consumption.

According to the architects, the pavilions will be built in Pennsylvania and then transferred via flatbed trucks to New York, where cranes will set them on pile foundations. Ramps and stairs will connect the structures to each other and provide access to the beaches and boardwalks. The new facilities should be put in place just in time for summer.

Check out even more images after the jump.

In what would otherwise make for a great comedy sketch, an Air India captain took a bathroom break during a flight Tuesday night and returned to find a jammed cockpit door. But according to a report by USA Today, this was no laughing matter: after all efforts failed to open the door - even from the inside - the co-pilot landed the plane at the nearest airport, where ground maintenance staff fixed the problem. The plane then resumed its flight, which was making its way from New Delhi to Bangalore.

This is the second strange cockpit incident that's happened with Air India recently; earlier this month, pilots allowed flight attendants to sit in their chairs while they napped, and one of the attendants accidently disengaged the plane's autopilot function. In both instances, no passengers were injured.

A Brazilian pop star who calls himself Latino has put TAM Airlines in the hot seat after he was allegedly invited to sit in the captain's chair during a cross-country flight from Recife to Rio de Janeiro. Pictures of the singer in the cockpit of an Airbus A320-200 were circulated on Instagram and posted to the musician's website the day after the incident, but were later removed.

According to an incident report on The Aviation Herald, autopilot was on and the first officer was in his seat when Latino climbed into the captain's chair. After a few pictures were snapped, the captain took back his seat and the aircraft continued for a safe landing in Rio.

The news outlet reports the airline initially claimed the photos were taken while the plane was on the ground, but later admitted the aircraft was in-flight, evidenced by engine instruments and navigation displays in the background of the photos. Both pilots have been fired as a result of the occurrence, and Brazil's Agência Nacional de Aviação Civi - the country's equivalent to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States - has opened an investigation.

If you think security is tight now, imagine what it was like for Soviet tourists who came to the United States during the Cold War. Although a select few private Soviet citizens were granted permission to visit the Land of the Free in the 1950s, the U.S. government was very specific about the places these tourists could and could not visit. A map that surfaced on Slate's new history blog, The Vault, details those forbidden places, which are shaded in green above.

The U.S. barred the admission of all Communists in 1952. According to Slate, tourists had to produce a detailed itinerary and get it approved before obtaining a visa to visit the U.S. Most ports and coastlines were off-limits to these travelers, as well as anywhere near weapons facilities or industrial centers. It seems these restrictions mirrored Soviet constraints on American travel to the USSR after World War II, with the only exceptions being journalists and government officials. These travel restrictions stayed in place until the Kennedy administration lifted them in 1962 as a symbol of the openness of American society.

[via BoingBoing]

Barbie's Eurotrip hit a roadblock at its first stop in Germany, where an activist group caused quite a production at the opening of a touring Barbie "Dreamhouse." CNN is reporting a group of left-wing feminists, Femen, protested the opening of a 27,000-square-foot pink mansion earlier today in Berlin, arguing the attraction puts the sexism and shallow materialism they believe Barbie symbolizes on display.

Above is a picture of one of the bare-breasted protesters in front of the Dreamhouse. An inscription across her torso reads "Life in Plastic is Not Fantastic," and - in case you can't tell - she's holding up a burning cross with a charred Barbie doll attached to it. Protesters were arrested, but the movement led to an "Occupy Barbie Dreamhouse" page on Facebook, which already has thousands of "likes."

Located off the shopping district of Alexanderplatz, the life-sized mansion is full of Barbie-related fashions, furniture and accessories. It will be open to the public until August 25, at which point it's slotted to move on to other cities throughout Europe. A Dreamhouse also opened inside a Florida shopping mall last week.

Coaster enthusiasts, get ready to roll. Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio is introducing a new coaster with a first-of-its-kind looping zero-gravity barrel roll on a hybrid coaster. The new coaster, dubbed the Iron Rattler, will also feature the world's tallest and steepest drop, an 81-degree fall from a height of 180-feet. The coaster is fast, too; it tops out at 70 miles per hour as it snakes through four over banked turns and eventually flips riders upside down.

Here's a summary of the record-breaking stats, according to Six Flags Fiesta Texas:

• A 180-foot lift hill makes it the tallest hybrid coaster in the world.
• An 81-degree drop makes it the steepest hybrid coaster in the world.
• A top speed of 70 mph makes it the fastest hybrid coaster in the world.
• A zero-gravity barrel roll makes it the first hybrid coaster in the world to flip completely upside down.

Season pass holders will get a sneak peek at the Iron Rattler on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, and then the coaster will be available for public rides on Saturday, May 25.