Travel
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When mighty Danube floods, Europe is shaken
2013-06-06 17:59:21 UTC
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The mighty Danube is not the only river in Europe bursting its banks this week, but it packs the biggest punch.
Winding 2,850 kilometers (1,777 miles) across 10 nations, the Danube is the second-longest river on the continent, making its way from Germany's Black ...
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TSA drops plan to allow small knives on planes
2013-06-06 06:56:06 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Security Administration is abandoning a plan to allow passengers to carry small knives, souvenir bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes in the face of fierce congressional and industry opposition, the head of the agency said Wednesday.
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Gunmen in Iraq ambush, shoot dead 14 travelers
2013-06-05 16:29:51 UTC
BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen ambushed a group of travelers at a fake checkpoint at a remote desert site in western Iraq on Wednesday and killed at least 14 of them, according to Iraqi officials, in what appeared to be the latest blow in sectarian violence gripping the country.
The gunmen, appar...
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Philippines probes Cebu Pacific for rough landing
2013-06-04 05:59:36 UTC
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine aviation authorities said Tuesday they were investigating Cebu Pacific pilots and crew who left passengers waiting some 15 minutes before deploying emergency slides on a plane that overshot the runway and landed on its nose.
None of the 165 passengers w...
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Boy, 10, finds $10,000 in Kansas City hotel room
2013-06-03 05:01:16 UTC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 10-year-old boy who found $10,000 in a drawer at a Kansas City hotel where he was staying with his dad turned the money over to police.
Tyler Schaefer found the neatly stacked bills Saturday in the room where he and his father, Cody Schaefer, were staying at a hotel n...
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Pyrenees slopes open for rare June ski weekend
2013-06-02 04:57:59 UTC
PORTE-PUYMORENS, France (AP) — The still-white slopes in the Pyrenees of southern France opened for business Saturday, turning a cold wet spring into a rare June ski weekend.
The Porte-Puymorens ski station opened Saturday morning at 8 a.m. for four hours in fog and light rain — but plenty ...
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Twisters, floods sweep across Midwest, Plains
2013-06-01 17:06:22 UTC
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Emergency officials set out Saturday to assess damage from a series of violent storms and tornadoes that killed nine people as it swept through Oklahoma City and its suburbs with tornadoes, large hail and heavy rain. More than six dozen people were injured.
Muddy flo...
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Study: Doctors often on board to help sick fliers
2013-06-01 16:50:47 UTC
Is there a doctor on board? Surprisingly often, there is — in half of in-flight medical emergencies — and sick airline passengers almost always survive, a new study finds.
The research is the largest look yet at what happens to people who develop a medical problem on a commercial flight — ab...
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5 dead in tornado in Oklahoma City area, 50 hurt
2013-06-01 05:24:54 UTC
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tornadoes rolled in from the prairie and slammed Oklahoma City and its suburbs, trapping people in their vehicles as a storm swept down an interstate highway while commuters tried to beat it home.
Five people were killed, including a mother and baby killed near Union...
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EU seeks to abolish data roaming charges in Europe
2013-05-30 17:00:39 UTC
BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official says mobile phone network operators should be forced to end charging customers for data roaming when traveling across the 27-nation bloc.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes told the European Parliament on Thursday the roaming fees sh...
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Recent wrecks belie improving rail safety record
2013-05-30 05:22:37 UTC
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The nation's railroads are safer than ever, despite recent high-profile accidents like this week's fiery derailment in Maryland.
Derailments and crossing accidents have steadily declined nationwide even as businesses have come to increasingly rely on trains to move the...
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Derailment, blast near Baltimore rattles homes
2013-05-29 05:50:24 UTC
ROSEDALE, Md. (AP) — A CSX freight train crashed into a trash truck, derailed and caught fire Tuesday in a Baltimore suburb, setting off an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and sent a plume of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
In the third serious der...
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Fire breaks out aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship
2013-05-28 05:12:40 UTC
BALTIMORE (AP) — A fire that broke out aboard a Royal Caribbean ship Monday did enough damage that the rest of the cruise was canceled and the company said the more than 2,200 passengers will be flown from the Bahamas back to Baltimore where the trip began.
The fire that began at 2:50 ...
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Bridge collapse a major break in trade corridor
2013-05-27 18:21:50 UTC
SEATTLE (AP) — For farmers, business owners and government officials up and down the West Coast, Washington's bridge collapse on Interstate 5 represents much more than a close brush with tragedy. As much as $20 billion in freight travels to and from Canada and along the busy north-south cor...
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FBI: Man tried to open exit door on Oregon flight
2013-05-27 18:08:59 UTC
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A passenger on a commercial flight from Alaska to Oregon was arrested Monday after witnesses say he tried to open an emergency exit during the plane's descent and other passengers had to help restrain him using shoelaces and seat-belt extensions.
Passengers and crew abo...
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Club Med focus of buyout by top shareholders
2013-05-27 17:45:07 UTC
PARIS (AP) — Shares in Club Mediterranee rose sharply Monday on word that the iconic French vacation resort operator's two largest shareholders are launching a buyout.
The offer by Axa Private Equity of France and Fosun, a Shanghai, China-based investment company, values Club Med stock at 55...
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Temporary bridges planned for fallen I-5 in Wash.
2013-05-27 04:20:52 UTC
SEATTLE (AP) — Federal investigators used 3D laser scans Sunday to study what remained of a collapsed Washington state bridge as Gov. Jay Inslee announced temporary spans will be installed across the Skagit River within weeks — if plans go well.
Sunday's announcement comes a day after ...
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WHO: Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus
2013-05-27 04:15:49 UTC
GENEVA (AP) — International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
Dr. Margaret Chan,...
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Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past
2013-05-26 16:28:16 UTC
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.
This Memorial Day weekend, the hulking metal come-ons are once again glinting and shimmering at night.
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Police: 'Thong Cape Scooter Man' not breaking law
2013-05-26 05:48:44 UTC
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man who wears thong underwear and a cape while riding his scooter through Wisconsin's capital city may be a strange sight. But police say he isn't breaking any laws.
Earlier this month, staff at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Madison called authorities after the ...
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LA stoplights synchronized but road war endures
2013-05-25 18:02:42 UTC
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It seems that the impossible has occurred: The nation's most congested city has become a model for traffic control.
Yes, gridlock still prevails and drivers' blood pressure still spikes as LA's traffic arteries seize up during every morning and afternoon rush hour.
Ye...
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Thousands of bridges at risk of freak collapse
2013-05-25 17:35:45 UTC
SEATTLE (AP) — Thousands of bridges around the U.S. may be one freak accident or mistake away from collapse, even if the spans are deemed structurally sound.
The crossings are kept standing by engineering design, not supported with brute strength or redundant protections like their more ...
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Trucker bumps I-5 bridge, sees horror behind him
2013-05-25 06:00:35 UTC
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — The trucker was hauling drilling equipment when his load bumped against the steel framework over an Interstate 5 bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and watched in horror as the span collapsed into the water behind him. Two vehicles fell into the icy Skagit...
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Delta ups the ante in battle for NY travel market
2013-05-25 05:25:27 UTC
NEW YORK (AP) — Delta's formula for winning over New York travelers is simple: floor-to-ceiling windows, abundant power outlets and a burger joint with a cult-like following.
The airline opened a sprawling $1.4 billion terminal at Kennedy Airport Friday, a facility more suitable to the h...
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Jersey shore eyes record-setting summer post Sandy
2013-05-25 05:10:20 UTC
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey used a record-breaking gesture Friday to celebrate its recovery from a record-setting storm, proclaiming to the nation that the Jersey shore is back in business following Superstorm Sandy.
Gov. Chris Christie and a host of volunteers carried out ...