Airlines, hotels and campgrounds are expecting to see more customers in 2013 than in the previous few summers.
NEW YORK — The forecast for summer travel, 2013: partly sunny.
Airlines, hotels and campgrounds are commanding higher rates and seeing more customers than a few summers ago, and luxury hotels are selling out. Local business people and state officials are optimistic.
But for a travel industry still stinging from the Great Recession, the best it can likely hope for is another summer of steady, but slow, recovery. The blockbuster crowds seen in 2007 have become a distant memory.
Republicans, especially, see our moral compass pointing south.
A Gallup poll released this week indicates that most Americans are very pessimistic about the future of the country’s moral values.
In the poll of 1,535 randomly selected adults, 72 percent said moral values in the country as a whole are getting worse. Twenty percent said values are getting better, and 6 percent said they are staying the same.
Each May, Gallup conducts a Values and Beliefs poll. This year’s poll marks few changes from 2012’s, indicating that Americans remain down on the future state of moral values. However, more respondents have a somewhat sunnier view than did a few years ago, when more than 80 percent thought values were in decline in the years 2006 through 2008.
Weighing mandatory safety regulations against expense.
The city of Moore, Okla., had no ordinances or building codes that required safe-room shelters when a tornado tore the town apart on Monday.
The cost to human life was significant, though thankfully lower than initial estimates, and only those who took shelter in underground bunkers built to FEMA standards could be reasonably assured of their safety.
The sale, to an anonymous bidder, will benefit charity.
By The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — A first-edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" that contains author J.K. Rowling's notes and original illustrations has sold for 150,000 pounds ($228,000) at a London auction.
Sotheby's said the work, offered as part of a charity book sale jointly organized with the writer's association English PEN, was sold to an anonymous bidder by telephone late Tuesday.
Plan to help yourself and your loved ones.
Being prepared is the first and most crucial line of defense against any type of disaster. By establishing safety plans and making provisions, you’ll gain not only preparedness but peace of mind.
Below you will find steps to readiness in four categories: Be Informed, Have a Plan, Be Ready at Home and Be Ready to Go. Follow the links under Helpful Information for critical details.
• BE INFORMED •
Know the real dangers. Risks vary by region. Focus on your area’s chief vulnerabilities rather than every category of threat.
Learn first aid. Most injuries suffered during disasters are minor, and many can be treated by laypeople. Consider a course in CPR.
Clinton Shepherd rode for more than 48 hours at Navy Pier over the weekend.
CHICAGO (AP) — A manager of Chicago's Navy Pier rode the tourist spot's Ferris wheel for more than two days, bringing the world record for the longest ride to the birthplace of the amusement-park favorite.
Clinton Shepherd, park operations manager at Navy Pier, spent 48 hours, 8 minutes, 25 seconds on the ride over the weekend. He calls it "a very overwhelming experience," made easier by the support of friends, family and the city of Chicago.
Police memo says breast exposure is not considered public lewdness, indecent exposure or disorderly conduct.
Women of New York, it’s OK to let the girls loose.
In February, New York City’s 34,000 police officers received a rather unusual memo: For “simply exposing their breasts in public,” women are guilty of no crime, reports The New York Times.
Pedal power is part of the mortuary's natural burial service.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A funeral home in Eugene offers natural burials in which the ride to the person's final resting place is on the back of a three-wheeled bicycle.
Sunset Hills Cemetery and Funeral Home director Wade Lind says he got the idea from bikers and designed the pedal-powered hearse himself. It has an electric motor to give him a little help hauling the casket.
KVAL-TV reports that Lind has bicycled five bodies so far and that there's a waiting list for the service. The ride and a bamboo casket that looks like a basket cost about $3,500.
