But in a CBS 2 investigation, some female travelers say there was nothing random about it.

They claim agents hand-selected them with something else in mind, reports CBS 2’s Kristine Johnson.

“I feel like I was totally exposed for some guys in a back room watching on a video camera,” Ellen Terrell said.

Terrell said she was singled out at the airport.

“They wanted a nice, good look,” she said.

Terrell said they weren’t looking for weapons or explosives. She said security agents in another room were sneaking a look at her body and they enlisted the help of a female agent to do it.

“She says to me, ‘do you play tennis?’ And I said ‘why?’ She said ‘you just have such a cute figure,’” Terrell said.

Here’s how an airport body scanner works: as a passenger walks through the body image is viewed by agents out of sight in another room. In Terrell’s case she said she had to walk through the scanner not once, not twice, but three times, forced, she said, by the female agent.

“She is talking into her microphone and she said, ‘come on guys.’ She’s like alright, one more time,” Terrell said.

According to Terrell even the female agent was getting frustrated with her co-workers’ requests.

“She’s talking into her microphone and she says ‘it is not blurry, letting her go’ and she says ‘come on out,’” Terrell said.

“I was watching the whole thing happen,” added Terrell’s husband, Charlie.

Charlie Terrell said he is angry.

“I think they were getting a good look and then seeing it two more times,” he said.

CBS 2 has found that Terrell’s experience isn’t that uncommon. After combing through hundreds of documents we found similar complaints made to the Transportation Security Administration — women saying:

* “I feel I was targeted to go through the see you naked machine because I am a semi-attractive female.”

* “…only women were told to go through.”

* The screener appeared to enjoy the process of picking someone.”

* “A woman behind me was also ‘randomly selected.’”

* “I know he went to that room to see my naked body.”

* “Passengers are unwilling victims of a peep show by TSA employees.”

And the scanners, called backscatters, can be found at 39 airports across the country, in just about every major city, including New York — at JFK and LaGuardia.

“It just makes me wonder are they doing this all over the country,” Charlie Terrell said.

In a statement the TSA defended its actions, saying:

“TSA does not profile passengers. All of our millimeter wave technology units including those in Dallas have been upgraded with additional privacy enhancements that no longer display passenger-specific images. Even prior to this upgrade, officers reviewing the images were located in a separate room and would have never seen the passenger being screened. To further ensure passenger privacy and anonymity, a privacy filter was applied to blur all images.  The technology remains optional to all passengers.”

Many passengers CBS 2 spoke to at LaGuardia Airport said they had no idea they could say no to the scanner and be patted down instead.

“No, not until now,” one person said.

“No, I had no idea,” another said.

“No, I didn’t know, but I’d rather go through the scanner than have somebody touching me,” another person said.

It’s an option a humiliated Ellen Terrell said she wishes she knew about.

“I feel my privacy was violated,” she said.

In recent months there have also been complaints about overly aggressive pat-downs — even strip searches.

Now, Sen. Charles Schumer wants a passenger advocate posted at area airports.

Has this ever happened to you? Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below. …

The reason? According to New York City’s records, he is a woman.

“I’ve been male my whole life,” Hassan told CBS 2′s Sean Hennessey on Wednesday night.

But his birth certificate, with a faded gender box, apparently has never indicated that.  It is something Hassan didn’t realize until he lost his wallet while on leave from duty in Iraq.

When Hassan applied for a replacement birth certificate to help with a new license, the city told him the birth certificate said he was female. So, Hassan applied for a corrected birth certificate.

“But they said they couldn’t correct the gender on my birth certificate without a letter from the hospital where I was born saying it was the hospital’s fault,” he said.

That hospital, Lenox Hill, issued a letter saying only that the certificate “.. has gender listed as female and this is incorrect.” However, Hassan said they won’t issue a letter saying it was their fault.

Twenty nine years later, it’s tough to know whose fault it is.

“The hospital either put the wrong gender on that piece of paper, or the city put the wrong gender on the birth certificate,” Hassan said.

Caught in a legal limbo, and unable to get a license, car title or passport, the former Arabic translator is returning fire with a lawsuit filed by his lawyer.

“Nobody wants to step up and say ‘oops we made a mistake,’ whether it’s the city or the hospital,” attorney Peter Madison said.

The mistake raises an obvious question: how did Hassan get his first driver’s license or even into the military with a faulty birth certificate?

“I don’t think anyone looked that closely at the gender,” Hassan said. “I don’t care whose fault it is. I want a new birth certificate that has the right gender.”

Lenox Hill Hospital said it’s working to help fix the problem while the city said it’s confident this situation will be resolved.

A court date has been set for the end of the month if a resolution isn’t reached by then.

Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below. …

Dolan came to the South Bronx to bless a library, but he had no blessings — just harsh words — for President Barack Obama, who wants Catholic institutions to pay for birth control, the morning after pill and other services for people who work for them.

“The federal government should do what it’s traditionally done since July 4, 1776, namely back out of intruding into the internal life of a church,” Dolan told CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer.

The leader of the New York Archdiocese picked up support from Speaker John Boehner, who said either Obama reverses the policy or the House will.

“The federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries. This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand,” Boehner said.

The attacks left the White House foundering. It wants to find some way to calm Catholic opposition, but will not back down on the policy, itself.

“I want to be clear today that the commitment to insuring the women have access to these important health care services remains very strong,” Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

And there are many others who are falling into line behind the president, including New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, reports CBS 2′s Hazel Sanchez.

“The power to decide whether or not to use contraception lies with a woman, not her boss,” Sen. Gillibrand said.

“It’s time to tell those Republicans mind you’re own business,” Sen. Lautenberg said.

It has been suggested that one avenue of compromise could include granting leeway for a church-related organization not to cover birth control, but refer employees to another insurer that will provide the coverage.

Dolan would not comment on that proposal but said, “I would welcome the fact that officials of the government are saying we need to rethink that.”

The Catholic Church is still developing its strategy on how to deal with the issue. Dolan met Wednesday with members of the Catholic League and other organizations. Sources told Kramer a massive march on Washington is one of the possibilities.

The issue has also exploded on the campaign trail and in Washington. Carney made the unusual move of calling Mitt Romney by name, charging it is “ironic” for him to be against the policy, since as Massachusetts governor he presided over a similar one.

Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below …

The infamous 2009 murder of a Florida millionaire Ben Novack at a Westchester County hotel resulted in his wife, Narcy Novak, being charged with his murder.

Prosecutors said Novack had her husband killed to secure his $10 million estate for herself.

Seen in video being grilled by police, Narcy Novack sounded dazed, but authorities said it was all deceit.

“I walked in and I tripped on something. I realized he was on the floor,” Novack is heard telling investigators.

The questioning came in the summer of 2009 and 12 hours after she reported finding the bound and bludgeoned body of her husband in room 453 of the Rye Town Hilton, where the Novacks were organizing a convention.

“My husband is not around to protect me,” Novack could be heard saying on the tape. “I don’t know who to trust.”

Novack is also later heard saying “I just wanted to kill myself.”

Police suspected right away that Novack was a diabolical mastermind, who hired hitmen to kill her husband. But she acted for all the world like the loving wife of a troubled man.

“He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He didn’t have friends to play because he was raised in a hotel, he was born in a hotel,” Novack said.

That hotel is Miami’s famous Fontainebleau, a playground for the rich built by Ben Novack Sr. His slain son built his own fortune in the convention planning business.

It was enough money to indulge his obsession with Batman — enough to buy the Batmobile and acquire the biggest collection of Batman memorabilia in the world.

But Narcy Novack told police the “Dark Knight” fan had a dark side.

“He used handcuffs, he likes rough stuff,” Narcy Novack said.

Cops immediately keyed in on the Novacks’ penchant for bondage.

Investigator: “He dies in a position that he finds sexually arousing.”

Novack: “This is my husband you’re talking about! And I don’t want you to look at him as a pervert.”

Narcy Novack told police her husband carried a lot of cash and someone must have killed him while she was downstairs having breakfast.

“I have nothing to do with my husband’s death,” she said.

Novack acted shocked when cops suggested she hired hitmen so she could inherit her husband’s fortune.

Novack: “You’re telling me that I saw the people that went into the room?”

Investigator: “I’m saying you opened the door for them.”

Novack: “I don’t need for you or anybody else to yell at me or to put pressure on me. I cannot take it. Everything falls on me, just give me an electrical chair and put me out of my misery because I cannot take this anymore.”

About a year after the investigation, Novack was charged with conspiring with her brother to use hitmen to kill her husband. She has pleaded not guilty and goes on trial in April.

Share your thoughts on the case in the comments section below…

Consider Giants running back Brandon Jacobs not a fan of the supermodel’s inner football analyst.

“She just needs to continue to stay cute and shut up,” he told reporters during Tuesday’s championship rally at MetLife Stadium.

Gisele was caught on camera defending her husband, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, after key fourth-quarter drops by Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez all but sealed New England’s fate.

“You (have) to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball,” Gisele snapped. “My husband cannot (bleeping) throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times.”

“I mean she’s supposed to stay out of things like that,” Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora said, according to the New York Post. “But at the end of the day that’s their relationship and she has the right to say whatever she wants to.”

Umenyiora said “whatever her name is” doesn’t need to apologize.

“We just won the Super Bowl,” said Umenyiora. “We’re not saying nothing about whatever her name is.”

Jacobs didn’t just take aim at Bundchen on Tuesday. He also took Bill Belichick’s Patriots dynasty to task after the Giants’ second Super Bowl win against the hoodie-wearing coach.

“We decapitated them,” Jacobs said. “They can’t wear that crown no more.”

What do you make of Gisele Bundchen’s comments after the Super Bowl? Was she standing by her man? Breaking code? Tell us what you really think and tune in later to see if we use your comment on CBS2.

Pretty miserable, right? Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady’s supermodel wife, knows a little something about that.

The mood in the Patriots’ locker room after the game was as expected. Wes Welker held back tears as he fielded questions about his game-changing drop. Brady wasn’t his usual media-friendly self, sulking alone at his locker. Bill Belichick even blew off a postgame interview with NBC.

Rob Gronkowski and Matt Light? They were getting ready to party.

In photographs posted by Deadspin.com, Gronkowski and Light appear shirtless, dancing on stage during a postgame performance by LMFAO.

More from CBS Boston

“Legit party rocking with @lmfao right now,” tweeted Kansas State-bound Glenn Gronkowski, Rob Gronkowski’s younger brother. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”

Their father, Gordie Gronkowski, tweeted: “Unbelievable night on stage w @LMFAO. Anytime all the bros are together its a great time! @Chrisgronkowski @DGronko @ggronko @RobGronkowski.”

Toucher & Rich of The Sports Hub in Boston uploaded two videos to YouTube Tuesday morning. One reportedly shows Light dancing shirtless:

The other is reportedly of Gronkowski, putting his high ankle sprain to the test:

What do you make of the not-so-sorrowful display? Sound off in the comments below…

As CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer reports, it could affect the presidential elections.

Catholic leaders are furious and determined to harness the voting power of the nation’s 70 million Catholic voters to stop a provision of President Barack Obama’s new heath car reform bill that will force Catholic schools, hospitals and charities to buy birth control pills, abortion-producing drugs and sterilization coverage for their employees.

“Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church,” said Catholic League head Bill Donohue.

Already Archbishop Timothy Dolan has spoken out against the law and priests around the country have mobilized, reading letters  from the pulpit. Donohue said Catholic officials will stop at nothing to put a stop to it.

“This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets,” Donohue said.

But pro-choice groups said they will fight the church and fight for the right of employees of Catholic institutions to have birth control and other services paid for.

“The Catholic hierarchy seems to be playing a cynical game of chicken and they don’t seem to care that the health and well being of millions of American woman are what’s at stake here,” National Abortion Rights Action League President Andrea Miller said.

Catholic leaders hope they will have more sway with the White House than usual because it is a presidential election year, hoping that if even a small percentage of Catholics back Obama’s opponent it could cost him the election.

When asked if this issue would affect who he would vote for in November, Wilton, Conn., resident Peter Taylor said, “Potentially, yes. I think it is a very serious issue, very meaningful.”

But not everyone views the situation as dire.

“I would certainly vote for Obama anyway. The church has to get up to date,” Manhattan resident Sue Thomas said.

Sources told Kramer that American bishops are contemplating a massive march on Washington, using people and school kids bused in from all over to protest the law.

Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below …

CBS2′s Carolyn Gusoff was in East Meadow with the exclusive story.

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy presented 89-year-old Rosenfeld of Hewlett with seven medals, including three bronze service stars for active battles.

Like so many others Rosenfeld returned from World War II anxious to get on with what he had missed.

“Get a job, get married, and get on with my life,” he said.

“The medal didn’t mean anything to them at that point,” added Rep. McCarthy.

Rosenfeld had survived three serious Pacific battles. In one, his troop ship was being fired on by kamikaze pilots and he was ordered to man a two-man gun alone.

Esther Bogei, Rosenfeld’s partner, described the incident.

“He asked ‘what do I do?’ Aim and fire, aim and fire, and he did,” Bogei said.

Rosenfeldlost much of his hearing in battle, but returned with more than many others — his life.

Years later it took a magnifying glass to old yellowed discharge papers to discover that he was entitled to a host of medals, but by then his records had been destroyed in an Army fire.

Members of Congress have been vouching for veterans like Rosenfeld.

“These people did serve in the military. They are deserving of the medals,” Rep. McCarthy said.

Now, in their twilight years, World War II veterans like Rosenfeld realize that their war medals, which have no monetary worth, may just be their most valued possession.

“I’m very proud of my father. He’s been a terrific father, and a great role model,” said his daughter, Lynda Rosenfeld.

Congresswoman McCarthy said that we are quickly losing our World War II veterans.

Have a similar story about a veteran being recognized for their actions in battle? Let us know in our comments section below…