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This week on “Sunday Morning” (May 31)

2026-05-29 11:51:57 EDT / CBS News

By David Morgan

The Emmy Award-winning “CBS News Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. “Sunday Morning” also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.)

Hosted by Jane Pauley.

A 1954 portrait of actress Marilyn Monroe. Getty Images

COVER STORY: Marilyn Monroe at 100She was, and remains, one of cinema’s most brilliant stars. Norma Jeane Baker, known to the world as Marilyn Monroe, died in 1962 at age 36, but she left a legacy of classic films, fashion, and a carefully-crafted celebrity image. To mark the centenary of her birth, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is launching an exhibition, “Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon.” Correspondent Tracy Smith talks with those studying the sex symbol’s life and career, and those who are preserving her film persona.

READ AN EXCERPT: “Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, The Last Interview”

For more info:

• “Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon,” at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles (May 31, 2026-Feb. 28, 2027)
• “Marilyn: The Lost Photographs, the Last Interview” by Richard Meryman and photographer Allan Grant (Weldon Owen), in Hardcover and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• marilynslostphotos.com
• Official Instagram page of Marilyn Monroe (Authentic Brands)
• The Marilyn Monroe Collection

ALMANAC: May 31“Sunday Morning” looks back at historical events on this date.

U.S.: Unveiling the history beneath the Lincoln MemorialFor more than a century, one of Washington’s best-kept secrets lay beneath the Lincoln Memorial: the Undercroft, a soaring 50,000-square-foot foundation built to keep the landmark from sinking into D.C.’s swampy ground. Beginning in June, the public will be able to visit the space, now with a museum tracing the memorial’s history, from its construction to its role as a powerful stage for the civil rights movement. Correspondent Faith Salie goes underground.

For more info:

• Lincoln Undercroft tour info (Recreation.gov)
• Lincoln Memorial (National Park Service)
• Philanthropist David Rubenstein
• Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum
• Howard University professor emerita Greene Medford

Anna Leigh Waters hits a forehand drive shot during the Ares Pickleball Slam 4 at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, April 15, 2026 in Hollywood, Florida. Bruce Yeung/Getty Images

SPORTS: Pickleball superstar Anna Leigh WatersProfessional pickleball is America’s fastest-growing sport, and its biggest star is Anna Leigh Waters. Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti talks with the 19-year-old, whom many call the greatest pickleball player of all time.

For more info:

• Anna Leigh Waters (Major League Pickleball)
• Anna Leigh Waters on Instagram
• Pickleball Tour (Professional Pickleball Association)

PASSAGE: In memoriam“Sunday Morning” remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week.

U.S.: ICE detentionsJim Axelrod reports.

HARTMAN: TBD

Jill Biden says she thought her husband Joe Biden was having a stroke during 2024 debate 02:16

SUNDAY PROFILE: Jill Biden on life in, and after, the White HouseThe former first lady sits down with correspondent Rita Braver.

PREVIEW:
Jill Biden says Joe Biden wasn’t in cognitive decline as he ran for reelection

PREVIEW:
Jill Biden says she thought Joe Biden was having a stroke during his 2024 debate

PREVIEW: Jill Biden says Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis was “just shocking”

For more info:

• “View from the East Wing: A Memoir” by Jill Biden (Gallery Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available June 2 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

THESE UNITED STATES: The Harlem RenaissanceWith the Great Migration, when millions of African Americans fled violence and discrimination in the Jim Crow South for a new life up North, New York City’s Harlem neighborhood became a haven for writers, artists, musicians and political leaders. The resulting “Harlem Renaissance” in the 1920s challenged racist stereotypes, and changed the way America, and the world, saw African American culture. Nancy Giles reports.

Christian Sarner, Noura Bitar and Viva Olsen, three of the human “books” that help comprise the Human Library. CBS News

WORLD: Checking out The Human LibraryAt a very special library in Copenhagen, Denmark, the “books” being checked out are actual human beings. The Human Library, founded 26 years ago, offers 30-minute conversations with living books on a wealth of subjects, and is now available in 80 countries (including the United States) and online. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook talked with the library’s co-founder Ronni Abergel, and checked out three unique books on the topics of schizophrenia, refugees, and Greenland.

For more info:

• The Human Library

NATURE: Cactus blooms in Arizona

WEB EXCLUSIVES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a332ommT8pw

“CBS Sunday Morning” stories about cars by CBS Sunday Morning on YouTube

MARATHON: “CBS Sunday Morning” stories about cars (YouTube Video)From stick-shifts to self-driving cars, “CBS Sunday Morning” goes down the road of all things automotive.

• Celebrating the automotive world
• Selling cars for a song
• The road toward more driverless cars
• Restoring classic cars in the classroom
• Cars and art at the MoMA
• Cars to make you swoon
• Nature transforms junkyard cars into art
• From 1956, a future vision of driverless cars

瑞典研究：成年体重增加 患癌风险增四倍

2026年5月29日 21:12 / 联合早报

瑞典研究：成年体重增加 患癌风险增四倍

研究发现，即使体重增加较少的人，患癌风险仍然更高，显示控制多余体重是必要的。 （档案照片）

（伦敦讯）瑞典一项涉及超过60万名病患的研究发现，成年后体重增加会使患癌风险提高四倍。

肥胖可能导致13种不同的癌症，并被认为与另外八种癌症有关，但关于体重增加的幅度以及在人生哪个阶段增加对癌症风险有何影响，目前所知不多。

《卫报》报道，瑞典隆德大学的研究员在受试者17岁至60岁期间，平均进行四次体重测量，对象包括超过25万名男性和近38万名女性。研究还追踪了他们直至2023年的癌症确诊情况。

研究员在伊斯坦布尔举行的欧洲肥胖大会上发表的报告显示，癌症风险的增加，无论是总体风险还是多种特定癌症的风险，都与成年早期较高的初始体重以及成年期间体重的增加有关。

在30岁之前肥胖的男性患肝癌的风险是体重正常者的五倍，患胰腺癌和肾癌的风险是其两倍，患结肠癌的风险则增加58%。

在30岁之前肥胖的女性患子宫内膜癌的风险是体重正常者的四倍半，患胰腺癌的风险增加67%，患肾癌的风险是其两倍，患脑膜瘤的风险则增加76%。

体重增加最多，即平均增加32公斤的人，患癌风险比体重增加最少，即平均增加8公斤的人群高出7%。

与体重增加最少的人相比，体重增加最多的男性患肝癌的风险高出近三倍，患食管癌的风险则高出两倍多。

体重增加最多的女性患子宫内膜癌的风险则是体重增加最少者的近四倍，患其他癌症如肾细胞癌的风险也显著更高。

研究发现，即使体重增加较少的人患癌风险仍然更高，显示控制多余体重的必要性。

瑞典研究：成年体重增加 患癌风险增四倍

2026年5月29日 21:12 / 联合早报

瑞典研究：成年体重增加 患癌风险增四倍

研究发现，即使体重增加较少的人，患癌风险仍然更高，显示控制多余体重是必要的。 （档案照片）

（伦敦讯）瑞典一项涉及超过60万名病患的研究发现，成年后体重增加会使患癌风险提高四倍。

肥胖可能导致13种不同的癌症，并被认为与另外八种癌症有关，但关于体重增加的幅度以及在人生哪个阶段增加对癌症风险有何影响，目前所知不多。

《卫报》报道，瑞典隆德大学的研究员在受试者17岁至60岁期间，平均进行四次体重测量，对象包括超过25万名男性和近38万名女性。研究还追踪了他们直至2023年的癌症确诊情况。

研究员在伊斯坦布尔举行的欧洲肥胖大会上发表的报告显示，癌症风险的增加，无论是总体风险还是多种特定癌症的风险，都与成年早期较高的初始体重以及成年期间体重的增加有关。

在30岁之前肥胖的男性患肝癌的风险是体重正常者的五倍，患胰腺癌和肾癌的风险是其两倍，患结肠癌的风险则增加58%。

在30岁之前肥胖的女性患子宫内膜癌的风险是体重正常者的四倍半，患胰腺癌的风险增加67%，患肾癌的风险是其两倍，患脑膜瘤的风险则增加76%。

体重增加最多，即平均增加32公斤的人，患癌风险比体重增加最少，即平均增加8公斤的人群高出7%。

与体重增加最少的人相比，体重增加最多的男性患肝癌的风险高出近三倍，患食管癌的风险则高出两倍多。

体重增加最多的女性患子宫内膜癌的风险则是体重增加最少者的近四倍，患其他癌症如肾细胞癌的风险也显著更高。

研究发现，即使体重增加较少的人患癌风险仍然更高，显示控制多余体重的必要性。

Bus plows into 6 vehicles near work zone on Virginia highway, killing 5 people and injuring dozens

2026-05-29 09:36 EDT / CBS News

By Mark Osborne

Updated on: May 29, 2026 / 11:25 AM EDT / CBS News

At least five people were killed and dozens injured in a crash in Virginia overnight when a bus plowed into several vehicles near a work zone on Interstate 95, according to the Virginia State Police.

The accident took place at about 2:35 a.m. in Stafford County when the bus “failed to slow for traffic” and crashed into six vehicles, state police said. All five deaths came in vehicles struck by the bus.

In addition to the deaths, 34 people were taken to the hospital, including three people in critical condition, police said.

Nineteen patients were taken to Mary Washington Hospital in nearby Fredericksburg, five of whom have been discharged and two who remain in critical condition, according to Mary Washington Healthcare. Twelve patients were taken to Stafford Hospital, all of whom have since been discharged.

Five people were killed when a bus plowed into several vehicles on Interstate 95 in Virginia on Friday, May 29, 2026. Virginia State Police

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, police said, but they did say charges were pending. It was unclear who was to be charged.

An initial investigation showed traffic was slowing in the southbound lane as cars approached a work zone when the bus failed to slow for traffic, Virginia State Police said. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team to conduct an investigation into the crash as well.

Since then, a Virginia State Police spokesperson confirmed two additional crashes in the vicinity of the original crash location, CBS affiliate WUSA-TV reported.

日本通过修正案 大幅提高居留申请与签证等费用

2026年5月29日 21:49 / 联合早报

日本通过修正案 大幅提高居留申请与签证等费用

5月20日，旅客们抵达东京羽田机场的入境大厅。 （法新社）

日本国会通过入国管理法修正案，上调外国人申请居留的手续费上限，一些费用高达目前水平的30倍。此举旨在外国人口日益增长之际，使政府能够利用新增收入来支付行政成本以及日文学习等计划的开支。

法案已于今年4月在众议院获得通过，并在参议院星期五（5月29日）全体会议投票时获得多数票通过。

修正案得到执政的自由民主党和日本维新会，以及在野党公明党和国民民主党的支持。立宪民主党反对法案，认为大幅提高费用可能会给寻求庇护者和其他弱势外国居民带来过重的负担。

此前，变更居留身份或延长居留期限的法定费用上限为1万日元（80.26新元），永久居留申请的费用上限也为1万日元。根据修订方案，上述费用上限将分别提高至10万日元和30万日元。

《日本时报》引述移民律师兼谷岛律师事务所首席执行官谷岛良治说，修正案将带来两个主要后果：一是雇用大量外籍员工的公司将支付更高的费用；二是希望为自己及家人获得永久居留权的个人可能会推迟申请，甚至放弃申请计划。

日本政府计划将新增财政收入用于处理日益增长的外国居民人口问题。截至2025年底，外国居民人数已达到创纪录的413万人。

政府也计划把新增收入用于扩大日语课程和加强打击非法滞留者的措施。今年1月，已知的非法滞留者约有6万8500人。

修正案也纳入一项计划，即在2029年3月前推出名为日本电子渡航认证制度（JESTA）的电子旅行授权系统，这个系统是日本版的美国ESTA系统。

日本政府指出，系统旨在阻止“不受欢迎的外国人”（例如恐怖分子和曾驱逐出境的人）入境。来自免签国家的旅客（这些国家／地区无需日本短期签证）将接受预先审查，如果被当局认为存在问题，则可能禁止入境。

入境游客也将支付更多费用。政府计划在本财年将单次入境签证费从3000日元提高到1万5000日元，与西方国家接轨。

在其他国家，短期停留签证的费用在美国为185美元（近237新元），在英国为127英镑（217.80新元）。新增收入将用于应对过度旅游问题。

日本通过修正案 大幅提高居留申请与签证等费用

2026年5月29日 21:49 / 联合早报

日本通过修正案 大幅提高居留申请与签证等费用

5月20日，旅客们抵达东京羽田机场的入境大厅。 （法新社）

日本国会通过入国管理法修正案，上调外国人申请居留的手续费上限，一些费用高达目前水平的30倍。此举旨在外国人口日益增长之际，使政府能够利用新增收入来支付行政成本以及日文学习等计划的开支。

法案已于今年4月在众议院获得通过，并在参议院星期五（5月29日）全体会议投票时获得多数票通过。

修正案得到执政的自由民主党和日本维新会，以及在野党公明党和国民民主党的支持。立宪民主党反对法案，认为大幅提高费用可能会给寻求庇护者和其他弱势外国居民带来过重的负担。

此前，变更居留身份或延长居留期限的法定费用上限为1万日元（80.26新元），永久居留申请的费用上限也为1万日元。根据修订方案，上述费用上限将分别提高至10万日元和30万日元。

《日本时报》引述移民律师兼谷岛律师事务所首席执行官谷岛良治说，修正案将带来两个主要后果：一是雇用大量外籍员工的公司将支付更高的费用；二是希望为自己及家人获得永久居留权的个人可能会推迟申请，甚至放弃申请计划。

日本政府计划将新增财政收入用于处理日益增长的外国居民人口问题。截至2025年底，外国居民人数已达到创纪录的413万人。

政府也计划把新增收入用于扩大日语课程和加强打击非法滞留者的措施。今年1月，已知的非法滞留者约有6万8500人。

修正案也纳入一项计划，即在2029年3月前推出名为日本电子渡航认证制度（JESTA）的电子旅行授权系统，这个系统是日本版的美国ESTA系统。

日本政府指出，系统旨在阻止“不受欢迎的外国人”（例如恐怖分子和曾驱逐出境的人）入境。来自免签国家的旅客（这些国家／地区无需日本短期签证）将接受预先审查，如果被当局认为存在问题，则可能禁止入境。

入境游客也将支付更多费用。政府计划在本财年将单次入境签证费从3000日元提高到1万5000日元，与西方国家接轨。

在其他国家，短期停留签证的费用在美国为185美元（近237新元），在英国为127英镑（217.80新元）。新增收入将用于应对过度旅游问题。

美军三架“全球鹰”无人侦察机今夏移驻东京都

2026年5月29日 22:11 / 联合早报

日本媒体报道，美军将从今年夏天起，陆续将三架RQ-4“全球鹰”（Global Hawk）无人侦察机从关岛安德森空军基地，转移至位于东京都的驻日美军横田基地。

新华社引述日本放送协会星期五（5月29日）报道说，自2014年以来，美军以关岛为据点，曾在青森县三泽基地和横田基地部署RQ-4“全球鹰”无人侦察机。

美方称，此次转移目的在于强化情报收集和警戒监视态势。美方预计将安排约150名相关人员进驻，使用基地现有设备，不会新建设施。

日本防卫省称，此次转移属于“不得已”。虽然这款机型噪音较小，但将继续要求美方尽量减少对周边居民的影响。

据报道，长期以来，驻日美军基地安全事故、噪音和犯罪等问题频发，严重影响基地周边居民日常生活，并引发多起诉讼。

美军三架“全球鹰”无人侦察机今夏移驻东京都

2026年5月29日 22:11 / 联合早报

日本媒体报道，美军将从今年夏天起，陆续将三架RQ-4“全球鹰”无人侦察机从关岛安德森空军基地，转移至位于东京都的驻日美军横田基地。

新华社引述日本放送协会星期五（5月29日）报道说，自2014年以来，美军以关岛为据点，曾在青森县三泽基地和横田基地部署RQ-4“全球鹰”无人侦察机。

美方称，此次转移目的在于强化情报收集和警戒监视态势。美方预计将安排约150名相关人员进驻，使用基地现有设备，不会新建设施。

日本防卫省称，此次转移属于“不得已”。虽然这款机型噪音较小，但将继续要求美方尽量减少对周边居民的影响。

据报道，长期以来，驻日美军基地安全事故、噪音和犯罪等问题频发，严重影响基地周边居民日常生活，并引发多起诉讼。

How Republicans are winning the war over US congressional redistricting, state by state

2026-05-29T15:22:15.349Z / Reuters

May 29 (Reuters) – Several Republican-led states across the South are rushing to redraw their congressional maps ahead of November’s midterm elections in a bid to help save their party’s narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the latest round in a year-long national fight over redistricting.

The political war began last summer, when U.S. President Donald Trump pushed Texas Republicans to install a new map targeting five Democratic-held seats. California Democrats responded with their own map taking aim at five Republican incumbents, and other states soon followed suit.

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As ​of this spring, the two parties had fought roughly to a draw. But a pair of court decisions – a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eviscerated protections for majority-Black districts, and a Virginia Supreme Court decision overturning a Democratic-backed map in that state – have ‌given Republicans a decided advantage.

Republicans now appear poised to end the cycle having increased their edge in as many as 10 House seats nationwide. Democrats need to flip only three Republican-held seats from 2024 to win a majority, so every district could prove pivotal. Here is how the conflict is unfolding across the country:

REPUBLICAN GAINS

TENNESSEE – ONE SEAT

Tennessee Republican lawmakers on May 7 approved a new congressional map dismantling a majority-Black district centered in Memphis, becoming the first state to take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that hollowed out the Voting Rights Act.

The district’s current representative, Democrat Steve Cohen, announced he would not seek reelection following the redistricting, all but guaranteeing Republicans will win a clean sweep of all nine ​seats in November.

SOUTH CAROLINA – EFFORT FAILED

The state Senate on May 26 rejected a new map that would have taken apart the district represented by longtime Democratic U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn. Despite pressure from the White House, several Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats in foiling the ​proposal, which had easily passed the state House of Representatives.

Republicans currently control the state’s other six U.S. House districts.

ALABAMA – POSSIBLY ONE SEAT

A panel of three U.S. judges on May 26 blocked Alabama from advancing a new ⁠map that would eliminate one of two U.S. House districts that are majority or near-majority Black, ruling that lawmakers intentionally harmed Black voters in drawing the lines.

Alabama Republicans have appealed that order to the U.S. Supreme Court, which had previously lifted an earlier block from the same panel and ordered ​the judges to re-examine the map in light of the high court’s decision in April that weakened the Voting Rights Act.

Democrats hold the two districts with significant Black populations, while Republicans control the other five seats.

TEXAS – UP TO FIVE SEATS

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way in early December for a ​new Republican-backed map that targets five Democratic-held seats. The court’s decision overturned a lower court ruling that had concluded the map likely discriminated against minority voters.

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the map into law in August. Weeks earlier, more than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled the state, temporarily preventing a vote, but ultimately returned. Republicans already control 25 of Texas’ 38 seats under a Republican-drawn map from 2021.

FLORIDA – UP TO FOUR SEATS

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis drew a new map aimed at flipping four Democratic-held seats and called a special legislative session in late April, where the Republican majority passed it into law. Democrats have vowed to challenge the map in court, citing a state constitutional ​provision that expressly bars the legislature from drawing districts purely for partisan gain.

Republicans already control 20 of the state’s 28 seats, after DeSantis and the legislature passed a new map in 2022 that flipped four Democratic seats.

MISSOURI – ONE SEAT

Republican Governor Mike Kehoe signed a new map into law in ​September that dismantled a Democratic-held seat based in Kansas City, giving his party the advantage in seven of the state’s eight congressional seats.

OHIO – UP TO TWO SEATS

A quirk in state law required a new map for 2026 because the previous one was approved with no Democratic votes. The state’s redistricting commission, which includes five Republicans and ‌two Democrats, unanimously approved ⁠a compromise map in October that boosted Republican chances of flipping two Democratic-held seats but did not go as far as Democrats had feared. Republicans hold 10 of the state’s 15 seats.

NORTH CAROLINA – ONE SEAT

The state legislature’s Republican majority approved a new map in October designed to flip a Democratic seat, which would give Republicans control of 11 of the state’s 14 U.S. House seats despite its status as a divided swing state. Under state law, Democratic Governor Josh Stein had no say in the process.

LOUISIANA – POSSIBLY ONE SEAT

Republican Governor Jeff Landry suspended the state’s May 16 primary election for the U.S. House immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court found Louisiana’s map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

The Republican-majority state House of Representatives passed a new map on May 28 that eliminates one of two districts with significant Black populations, both held by Democrats. The state Senate is expected to approve the plan, which would likely ​allow Republicans to flip the seat in November. Republicans already hold four ​of the state’s six districts.

INDIANA – EFFORT FAILED

Indiana’s Republican-controlled Senate rejected a new ⁠map aimed at flipping the state’s only two Democratic House seats, a rare rebuke to Trump from members of his own party. Republicans control seven of the state’s nine U.S. House seats.

KANSAS – EFFORT FAILED

Kansas Republicans abandoned a Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map after the state House speaker, Republican Dan Hawkins, said in January there was not enough support in his chamber to overcome a veto threat from Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. Republicans ​already hold three of the state’s four U.S. House seats.

DEMOCRATIC GAINS

CALIFORNIA – UP TO FIVE SEATS

Voters overwhelmingly approved a new map backed by Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers designed to flip as many as five Republican-held ​seats in direct response to Texas. Democrats currently ⁠hold 43 of the state’s 52 districts.

VIRGINIA – EFFORT BLOCKED BY COURT

Virginia voters on April 21 approved a new Democratic-drawn congressional map in a special election that could have flipped four Republican U.S. House seats. But the state Supreme Court on May 8 threw out the results, ruling that Democratic lawmakers did not follow proper procedures when they passed the proposed referendum and put it on the ballot.

UTAH – ONE SEAT

A state judge threw out a Republican-drawn map as illegally partisan and implemented an alternative that is likely to flip one of the state’s four Republican-held seats to Democrats.

MARYLAND – EFFORT STALLED

Democrats in the state House advanced a new map in February ⁠that targeted the ​state’s only Republican member of Congress, a move championed by Democratic Governor Wes Moore and national Democratic leaders. Democrats hold the state’s other seven House districts.

But the state Senate president, ​Democrat Bill Ferguson, opposed the bill, though he has suggested he might be willing to revisit the issue ahead of 2028.

NEW YORK – EFFORT BLOCKED BY COURT

A New York judge in January ordered the state’s independent redistricting commission to redraw a Republican-held congressional district centered on New York City’s borough of Staten Island, potentially giving Democrats a chance to flip the seat ​in November. However, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority put that decision on hold on March 2, granting a request from the incumbent Republican, Nicole Malliotakis.

Democrats hold 19 of the state’s 26 seats.

Reporting by Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan: Editing by Paul Thomasch, Lisa Shumaker, Rosalba O’Brien and Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Southwest rolls back its overweight passenger policy. Here’s what’s changing.

2026-05-29T11:25:00-0400 / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Updated on: May 29, 2026 / 11:26 AM EDT / CBS News

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Southwest Airlines has rolled back part of its divisive policy requiring overweight passengers to buy two tickets on flights when they require a second seat because of their size.

Under the budget carrier’s revised rules, Southwest gate agents will arrange a free second seat for passengers who need the extra room on flights where two adjoining seats are available.

After an earlier rule change in January, Southwest required people needing a second seat to book and pay for it in advance. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, an advocacy group, criticized the policy as “more restrictive.”

The new update aims to promote “a more consistent and seamless experience for customers who require an additional seat,” Southwest said in a statement to CBS News.

When two adjacent seats aren’t available on a flight, larger passengers will be rebooked on a later flight, the airline said.

To avoid inconveniences at the airport, Southwest continues to encourage passengers who need more space to book an additional seat in advance.

Once travel is completed, eligible passengers can request a refund for the extra seat by submitting a request to Southwest within 90 days of travel. To qualify, the flight must have departed with at least one open seat, and both seats must have been booked in the same fare class.

Who needs a second seat?

Southwest explains in its “customers of size” policy that passengers “who encroach upon the neighboring seat(s)” are required to purchase “the number of seats needed.”

A seat’s armrest marks the dividing line between seats, the carrier stipulates. Southwest reserves the right to determine that a passenger requires a second seat “for safety purposes.”

That policy went into effect in January, frustrating some customers who had previously been able to reserve two seats for the price of one.

One TikTok user cheered Southwest’s latest seating policy, saying, “You will no longer have to pre-purchase the seat as the only option to fly as a customer of size with extra space.”

“This is the best news ever,” she added. “If you know a fat person, spread the word.”

Plus-size passenger policies vary across the airline industry.

For example, Delta Airlines asks passengers who require additional space to purchase an additional seat before a flight. That requirement applies to anyone who can’t fit in a single seat without encroaching on a neighboring passenger, or who prevents armrests from staying down while seated, according to the airline’s policy.

United Airlines and American Airlines have similar policies.

Edited by Alain Sherter