U.S. imposes electronics ban on flights

Airlines flying directly from eight countries in the Middle East and Africa to the U.S. must prevent passengers from carrying almost all electronic devices in the cabin. Passengers will have to check in any devices bigger than a smartphone -- including iPads, Kindles and laptops -- before clearing security or boarding due to terrorism concerns. The ban will affect various flights and airports, including major global hubs like Dubai and Istanbul. The airlines affected by the ban were notified of the procedures by the Transportation Security Administration at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday and must comply within 96 hours. Top international carriers -- like Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines -- are among those that will have to implement the ban. The U.S. officials said intelligence, "indicates terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation by smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items." The officials said the move is partly based on intelligence that they believe indicates Al Qaeda is close to being able to hide explosives with little or no metal content in electronic devices in order to target commercial aircraft. In February 2016, a bomb hidden inside a laptop detonated aboard a Daallo Airlines flight out of Mogadishu, Somalia. The bomber was killed and a hole was blown in the side of the fuselage. The aircraft landed safely. The officials said U.S. carriers are not affected because none of them fly from the airports in question to the U.S.

In Other News The Forbes 2017 Billionaires List was published Monday. Bill Gates is the world's richest man for the fourth straight year. The Microsoft founder's net worth is $86 billion, up from $75 billion last year. Warren Buffett is in the No. 2 spot on the list for with a net worth of $75.6 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos rose to No. 3 on the list with a net worth of $72.8 billion. President Trump is tied with 19 others as the 544th richest person in the world. The magazine put his net worth at $3.5 billion. The 2017 list is longer than it's ever been before -- Forbes estimates there are now 2,043 billionaires worldwide, up from 1,810 in 2016.