TSA wants your phone turned on

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Flying back to the U.S. from overseas in the coming weeks? The TSA wants you to prove your phone is real, recommending that security officers at foreign airports double check passengers' electronic devices by having fliers turn them on and off before departure. That means any devices without a charged battery might get left behind in the name of security—and the passengers carrying such "dead" devices could get additional screening. (The TSA has not said what would happen to any confiscated devices.)

"This past week, I directed that we step up our aviation security at last point, at some last point of departure airports coming into the United States," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Meet the Press Sunday. But, he added, "This is not something to overreact to or over-speculate about."

While the agency doesn't officially have jurisdiction abroad, the Associated Press, in its reporting about the new recommendations, says the TSA "has the ability to set screening criteria and processes for flights flying to the U.S. from abroad, according to a Department of Homeland Security official, who was not allowed to discuss the changes publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity."

For now, the changes are only in effect at international airports with direct flights to the U.S. Aside from any security considerations, though, the news is a good reminder to all international fliers: Woe unto the traveler that attempts to board a transatlantic flight without a fully charged iPad.