Argo the dog, a TSA calendar star, protects air travelers by sniffing out explosives

LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) — When Argo walks through the doors of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, he knows it’s time to work.

The 9-year-old black Labrador retriever spends most of his waking hours patrolling the airport, with his sensitive nose finely tuned to detect potential explosives.

He sidles up behind passengers and gives them a good sniff. If he gets a whiff of anything suspicious, he immediately alerts his handler, transportation security specialist Jonathan Lilly. The two are gearing up for a busy holiday travel season.

“It never ceases to amaze me what he can do,” Lilly said during a recent demonstration of Argo’s skills. “He’s just so good at it.”

Argo is one of 12 dogs featured in a 2025 TSA canine calendar. For his portrait, he is pictured against an American flag backdrop, his expression eager, almost as if someone were holding his beloved ball just outside the frame.

When he is not posing, Argo has the serious job protecting U.S. air travelers. During the demonstration, he was presented with a “decoy” involving a person wearing a backpack containing something that smelled like potential explosives.

As the man joined other passengers and walked casually toward the security line, Argo immediately reacted to the scent by dropping his nose to the ground, wagging his tail faster and pulling his handler toward the target. He was quickly rewarded with his favorite toy, a tennis ball on a string.

Argo celebrated his accomplishment as usual by flinging the toy around and Lilly rewarded him further with a quick game of tug-of-war. His tail almost never stops wagging. He saunters happily through the throngs of people and luggage, being a good boy.

The pair have been working together for seven years. They are based out of BWI, but have traveled to recent Super Bowls and other locations to provide support. Lilly said he plans to adopt Argo when he retires, but that is likely years away.

“Even at 9 years old, he’s still like a puppy. He still wants to work,” Lilly said.

He said they were a good team from day one, but their bond has only gotten stronger over the years.

TSA dogs are highly trained to detect air currents trailing behind people, like the wake created by a boat, officials said. Their sense of smell is so good they can smell individual components. While humans might register the aroma of pizza, dogs might smell the cheese, sauce and crust separately.

The agency’s explosive detection dogs are trained at the National TSA Canine Training Center in San Antonio, where Argo was assigned to Lilly. The team completed a 16-week program before starting their assignment at BWI. They still undergo frequent training and testing to keep Argo on top of his game.

“That way we can make sure he’s staying proficient in what he’s doing. But also to try to advance because it’s a perishable skill,” Lilly said.

He said having explosives detection dogs patrolling airports serves to both detect and deter potential threats.

When he isn’t working, Argo spends most of his free time napping.

Lilly said the black Lab is incredibly laid-back at home. As a government employee, Argo eats a strict diet for his health. Like many of his human friends, he looks forward to a good meal after a hard day’s work.

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, working with handler Jonathan Lilly, is rewarded after screening passengers in the ticketing area at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, working with handler Jonathan Lilly, reacts as a decoy with explosive odors walks through the ticketing area at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, working with handler Jonathan Lilly, enjoys a break while at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, working with handler Jonathan Lilly, reacts as a decoy with explosive odors walks through the ticketing area at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine enjoys a break while working at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, working with handler Jonathan Lilly, screens passengers walking through the ticketing area at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Argo, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, who works with handler Jonathan Lilly, walks through the ticketing area at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition leader offered Sunday to work with the government to ease the political tumult as officials sought to reassure allies and markets, a day after the opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol over a short-lived attempt to impose martial law.

Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, whose party holds a majority in the National Assembly, urged the Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on Yoon's impeachment and proposed a special council for cooperation between the government and parliament.

Yoon's powers have been suspended until the court decides whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.

Lee, who has led a fierce political offensive against Yoon's embattled government, is seen as the frontrunner to replace him.

He told a televised news conference that a swift court ruling would be the only way to “minimize national confusion and the suffering of people.”

The court will meet to begin considering the case Monday, and has up to 180 days to rule. But observers say that a court ruling could come faster. In the case of parliamentary impeachments of past presidents — Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016, the court spent 63 days and 91 days respectively before determining to reinstate Roh and dismiss Park.

Lee also proposed a national council where the government and the National Assembly would work together to stabilize state affairs, and said his party won't seek to impeach the prime minister, a Yoon appointee who's now serving as acting president.

“The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with all parties to stabilize state affairs and restore international trust,” Lee said. “The National Assembly and government will work together to quickly resolve the crisis that has swept across the Republic of Korea.”

It wasn’t immediately clear how the governing People Power Party would react to Lee’s proposal. Kim Woong, a former PPP lawmaker, accused Lee of attempting to exert power over state affairs.

The Democratic Party has used its parliamentary majority to impeach the justice minister and the chief of the national police over the martial law decree, and previously said it was also considering impeaching Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

There was no immediate response from Han, a seasoned bureaucrat.

Upon assuming his role as acting leader, Han ordered the military to bolster its security posture to prevent North Korea from launching provocations. He also asked the foreign minister to inform other countries that South Korea’s major external policies will remain unchanged, and the finance minister to work to minimize potential negative impacts on the economy by the political turmoil.

On Sunday, Han had a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden, discussing the political situation in South Korea and regional security challenges including North Korea’s nuclear program. Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy in South Korea and reaffirmed “the ironclad commitment” of the United States, according to both governments.

Yoon’s Dec. 3 imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades, lasted only six hours, but has caused massive political tumult, halted diplomatic activities and rattled financial markets. Yoon was forced to lift his decree after parliament unanimously voted to overturn it.

Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament in an effort to stop the vote, but they withdrew after the parliament rejected Yoon’s decree. No major violence occurred.

Opposition parties have accused Yoon of rebellion, saying a president in South Korea is allowed to declare martial law only during wartime or similar emergencies and would have no right to suspend parliament’s operations even in those cases.

Yoon has rejected the charges and vowed to “fight to the end." He said the deployment of troops to parliament was aimed to issue a warning to the Democratic Party, which he called an “anti-state force” that abused its control of parliament by holding up the government’s budget bill for next year and repeatedly pushing to impeach top officials.

Law enforcement institutions are investigating possible rebellion and other allegations. They've arrested Yoon's defense minister and police chief and two other high-level figures.

Yoon has immunity from most criminal prosecution as president, but that doesn’t extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. He's been banned from leaving South Korea, but observers doubt that authorities will detain him because of the potential for clashes with his presidential security service.

Lee called for authorities to speed up their probes and said that an independent investigation by a special prosecutor should be launched as soon as possible. Last week, the National Assembly passed a law calling for an investigation led by a special prosecutor.

“Individuals and institutions involved in this act of rebellion should fully cooperate with the investigations,” Lee said.

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference on removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, at the party office at the National Assembly building in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference on removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, at the party office at the National Assembly building in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference on removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, at the party office at the National Assembly building in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference on removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, at the party office at the National Assembly building in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference on removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, at the party office at the National Assembly building in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People attend at a rally to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. The letters read "Impeachment." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In this photo released by South Korean President Office via Yonhap, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol bows while delivering a speech at the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach Yoon Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (South Korean Presidential Office/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, front left, and its floor leader Park Chan-dae, front right, leave a room at the National Assembly in Seoul after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, and his party members bow at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)