The US State Department to begin issuing Passport Cards that it said will make travel easier for Americans who travel frequently to the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico. The new card embedded with a computer chip could be available as soon as April at less than half the cost of a passport. It will only be used for land and sea travel so travelers by air will require the traditional passports. The cards could be read wirelessly from up to 20 feet away, which could reduce the waiting time at border checkpoints. As people are approaching a port of inspection, they can show the card to the reader and by the time they get to the inspector, all the information will have been verified and they can be waved on through.

Currently, under the Western Hemispheric Travel Initiative or the US passport rule as it's called, anyone traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean region has been required to present a passport or other valid travel document to enter or re-enter the United States since January 2007. Critics have said the card which transmits information over longer distances than the traditional passport which cannot be read from further than four feet away, raises privacy and security issues, including identity theft.

New Battery Rules For Air Travel Effective January 1 The government has issued new rules for air travel with spare lithium batteries. These rules are effective January 1, 2008: a) Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries. b) You may not pack a spare lithium battery in your checked baggage c) You may bring spare lithium batteries with you in carry-on baggage

The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of �equivalent lithium content.� 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours: a) Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold. b) You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below. c) For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery. d) Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!

Yet another travel advisory has been issued for Kenya since at least 20 people died in the riots following the December 27 poll which resulted in the re-election of president Mwai Kibaki. There have been outbreaks of violence in the Nairobi suburbs of Kibera and Mathare and the areas of Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Migori, Mombasa, Nyanza, Kericho, Embakasi and Dagoretti. Travelers were warned that the violence had spread to the airport road in Nairobi, as well as some inter-city roads across the country. Supporters of defeated opposition leader Raila Odinga have gone on a rampage in a number of major cities, prompted by suspicions of vote-rigging after Mr Odinga led Mr Kibaki in pre-election opinion polls as well as in early media polls.

South African Airways has begun a "Buy-One-Get-One-Free" program for its flights from New York or Washington, D.C., to Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban, South Africa, for travel from Jan. 15 through March 1, 2008. The fare, available for purchase now through Jan. 22, 2008, is $1,350 -- not including taxes and fuel surcharges -- for the first passenger and free for the second passenger.

The three Cunard Queen ships, the Queen Mary II, the venerable Queen Elizabeth II and the new Queen Victoria - will meet in the waters off Lower Manhattan on the evening of Jan. 13. The Statue of Liberty as a photo-op backdrop while fireworks celebrate the one time event. The Queen Victoria embarks Jan. 6 on a three-month around-the-world cruise, including a trans-Atlantic crossing with the QE2. After Victoria and the QE2 arrive in New York, they will rendezvous with the QM2, which homeports in Brooklyn. The public will be able to view the spectacle from open spaces ringing Lower Manhattan. To watch the even from a closer vantage point vendors have two solutions. A four-hour cruise scheduled for Jan. 13 departs South Street Seaport's Pier 16 at 4 p.m., aboard the Circle Line's Zephyr. Tickets are $125, including cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. The Ritz-Carlton New York in Battery Park is offering an "Anchors Aweigh" package starting at $585 a couple. The price includes breakfast in bed and a seafood tasting for two; all rooms have telescopes and harbor views.

In a year of record airport delays, President Bush stepped forward Thursday November 15, to try to speed American air travelers to their Thanksgiving gatherings and back home on time. In the most innovative move, the Pentagon will allow commercial airliners to use two air corridors off the eastern seaboard that are normally restricted to military flights. Supplementing the dozen air routes regularly used from Florida to New England, they will create "a Thanksgiving express lane" for commercial airliners from 4 p.m. EST Wednesday through Sunday - the busiest days of Thanksgiving travel.

"No sex for you" says Singapore Airlines, referring to the private cabins on their new Airbus A380. The first airline to fly the behemoth super jumbo said it will ask sexual thrill seeking passengers to refrain from encounters in their first class suites. While private, the double cabins are neither sound proofed nor completely sealed. Singapore Airlines, the world's second-largest airline by market value, started commercial flights of the double-decker A380 last week with a Singapore-Sydney service.

Cell phones may replace boarding passes with passengers registering cell phone numbers with airlines to receive a text message with a boarding pass bar code. Then by holding up the screen of the cell phone under the airport security scanner, rather than show a paper record. Air Canada, Air Berlin, ANA, and Spanair already offer the service in their countries, and U.S. airlines are pressing for government approval to offer the same service here. It might save them some money.

The federal government will begin testing a body-scanning machine that could eventually be used instead of the metal detectors passengers walk through at airports. Tests were scheduled to begin October 11, 2007 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with passengers pulled out of the security line for secondary screening. Passengers may request the full-body scan which blurs faces so the person being screened cannot be recognized - instead of the traditional pat-down used across the country. The new machine uses radio waves to detect foreign objects.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi warned that Islamic extremists from Somalia may be planning to kidnap Westerners, especially U.S. citizens, on beaches in the popular Kiwayu Island tourist area and other beach sites on the northeast coast near Somalia.

Smoking is now banned in Beijing's taxis as officials try to clean up the city ahead of next year's Olympics. The ban affects both drivers and passengers. A non-smoking Olympics has been on their agenda since 2004, and they plan to prohibit smoking and cigarette sales at Olympic venues.

Afrotrek favorite event, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta turned into a crash course as there were 5 balloon crashes in the first four days. There were a total of one death (see below) and 15 injuries. Balloon Fiesta officials said that they don't think the incidents will have a big impact on the event which nets millions for the city and is the most photographed event in the world.

A woman participating in Albuquerque's annual balloon festival fell from the tipped basket of a hot air balloon October 8th and plunged 60 to 70 feet to her death. Before the basket tipped, a propane tank on the balloon ruptured and shot out the side of the basket, leaving a hole, Tingwall said. Investigators were trying to determine what caused the tank to rupture and whether that contributed to the tipping of the gondola.

The balloon became stuck on a fiberoptic line about 9 a.m. Dallas time, and the pilot, Tom Reyes, 57, of Sandia Park threw a tether to a pickup truck on the ground to reel the balloon down and free it. However, when the tether broke, the balloon flew back up, the gondola tipped and the woman fell out. The balloon, meanwhile, flew across a road near Interstate 25 and crash landed. The woman was one of five people aboard the balloon's gondola.

There's a new site that lists budget airlines. you want a cheap flight from Manchester, England, to Greece but you don't know which budget airlines or charters fly there. Turn to Which Budget which offers a directory of such carriers around the world. The UK-based site lists 116 airlines in 124 countries, including out-of-the-way nations like Vanuata, Belarus, Gambia and Moldova.

Carnival Cruise Corporation has no plans to return to the Mexican cruise port at Majahual -- known as Puerto Costa Maya -- until at least the spring of 2009 due to extensive damage from Hurricane Dean in August, the company said. Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator, is modifying itineraries through its reservation period, which is open until spring 2009, company spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it is adjusting its itineraries to avoid Costa Maya through April. Both companies said they hoped to return to Costa Maya, but it would be up to port authorities there to determine when ships can return. Carnival Corporation's portfolio of cruise brands includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises.

Disney is extending its "Year of a Million Dreams" program through 2008, after granting wishes large and small to a million park visitors since the giveaways began in the fall of 2006. In the past year, "dreams" have included free dining and an overnight stay at Cinderella Castle, all of which will continue to be offered in 2008.

The temporary ruling allowing travel without a passport between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, is expire as scheduled at midnight on September 30. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had decreed in June that flights were permissible as long as passengers produced proof of a pending passport application. The DHS move was in response to an accumulation of passport applications, however the temporary measure is to expire in the next few weeks.

A Chilean citizen, who bought Red Army medals and old rubles in a small town south of Moscow, has been detained and is awaiting trial because the items were deemed cultural treasures by officials and thus fell under a law prohibiting their export. The law covers art and religious objects more than 50 years old, antique medals and awards, among other things. The maximum sentence is seven years in prison.

Fifteen muggings in 14 days in Cape Town's Table Mountain (South African) prompted the city's top tourism official to ask the army to patrol the famous peak so visitors can explore it safely. Fifty-two rangers and 200 volunteers patrol the peak daily.

Six days of wildfires burned wide swaths of Greece's forests, primarily in the Peloponnese region, with firefighters from some 20 countries finally getting the blazes under control Aug. 29. Continuing dry, hot weather, however, could rekindle the flames.

A ban on alcohol on Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory will affect travelers visiting such iconic sites as Uluru (Ayers Rock) when it goes into effect Sept. 14. The ban being imposed by the federal government is an effort to reduce alcohol-related child abuse in Aboriginal communities.

Southwest Airlines kicked a gal off her flight because a prudish flight attendant decided her outfit was too revealing. She was allowed to remain on the flight after she agreed to cover up with a blanket. Ironically, on the return flight, she not only wore the same outfit and encountered no trouble whatsoever from the Tucson-to-San Diego crew! In fact one attendant complimented her on the outfit.

A plane belonging to Taiwan's China Airlines Ltd. burns in Okinawa August 20, 2007. The plane exploded and caught fire soon after landing on Japan's southern island of Okinawa on Monday, but officials said all 165 people on board had escaped safely. The Boeing aircraft had landed at the airport after a flight from Tapei, Taiwan, and passengers were leaving the plane, when its left engine exploded and ripped the fuselage apart.

Heathrow protest reaches its climax as peaceful protest turns to clashes with riot police. Hundreds of protesters from all over the country, took part in the climax of the Climate Camp, 24 hours of direct action at Heathrow. After a week of occupying a barren stretch of scrubland bordering the northern edge of Britain's busiest airport, a motley collection of environmentalists, veteran campaigners, local residents and part-time activists had gathered to make their point more forcefully than ever before.

Originally, the protesters got along with the police escorts, But after a different group of protesters arrived, they fought pitched battles with riot and mounted police in waist-high brushland as they tried to make their way towards their target. Communicating by text message and radio, the protesters tried to find a way through the police lines. Many were forced back by police batons and at least one woman could be seen nursing a bleeding head wound.

U.S. business travelers are rooting for United Airlines, the largest carrier at Los Angeles International Airport, in its bid to start non-stop service to Shanghai in 2009. The UAL Corp. subsidiary would be the first U.S. carrier to offer a direct flight to any city in China from the airport.

But Chicago-based United faces stiff competition from other major domestic carriers that have proposed different city routes as they battle for a limited number of rights to fly from the U.S. to China. Los Angeles is being pitted against cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta in what has become one of the more heated lobbying efforts in Washington.

At stake is an estimated $200 million in annual revenue that a U.S.-China route can bring to an American carrier. Also, the number of U.S. passengers flying to China has been growing 10 percent annually for the last several years, twice the growth rate of any other trans-Pacific traffic, according to the International Air Transport Association. U.S. airlines operate only seven non-stop flights to China, the world's most populous country. In addition, Northwest Airlines Corp. has three connecting flights via Tokyo, and dozens of other connecting flights to China are offered by Asian carriers such as Korean Air or Asiana Airlines.

The Fairmont New Orleans, a 114-year-old downtown hotel best known for its extravagant Christmas displays and its Sazerac restaurant, will likely be sold in the coming weeks and will reopen for the first time since Hurricane Katrina under a new name.

The Fairmont has remained closed ever since Katrina flooded its basement with 10 feet of water, destroying all of its mechanical equipment, Fairmont general manager Ray Tackaberry said. The storm's wind-driven rain also inundated nearly every guest room. After the storm, workers attempted to dry out the building and begin repairs. The hotel was tentatively scheduled to reopen at the end of this year. Last September, the reopening date was pushed to 2008 because work crews discovered that the property had sustained more damage than originally thought. But in March, construction on the building stopped and Roosevelt Ventures announced that it would "explore strategic alternatives" to restoring the site, including a possible sale of the property. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, the company that ran the hotel, laid off some employees who had been working at the Baronne Street hotel and reassigned others to different jobs in the Fairmont organization.

The hotel has been a Fairmont property since 1968; before that it was known simply as the Roosevelt Hotel. The hotel once housed the Blue Room, a nightclub that hosted big-name stars in its heyday.

R&B GREAT ETTEA JAMES IS OFF THE B. B. KING Blues Festival for now as she recovers from complications stemming from abdominal surgery. The legendary singer was scheduled to join B.B. King and Al Green on the festival tour, which kicked off earlier this week in Hollywood, FL. James hopes to hook up with the outing in late August. In the meantime, R&B singer Chaka Kahn will take James' spot on the trek.

A FATAL EXPLOSION AT THE NATIONS FIRST FAA APPROVED SPACEPORT has shaken a small community that prides itself as the home town of the first private space launch.has shaken a small community that prides itself as the home town of the first private space launch. The blast Thursday at a remote test facility belonging to Scaled Composites killed three workers and critically injured three others.

The company, headed by maverick aerospace designer Burt Rutan, made history in 2004 when its SpaceShipOne became the first private manned rocket to reach space. Since that milestone, Rutan has partnered with British billionaire Richard Branson to build a fleet of commercial vehicles dubbed SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic.

Rutan has been developing SpaceShipTwo in a hangar closed to the public. He has not released a schedule for completion of the design or testing, or for the first launch. Rutan said the accident would not change that. Branson has invested at least $200 million for a fleet of Rutan's spaceships to send tourists 62 miles above Earth for $200,000 to experience the view from space and five minutes of weightlessness.

IT'S DUFF TIME IN SPRINGFIELD VT., which on July 10 was proclaimed the official hometown of TV's favorite dysfunctional family, the Simpsons.

The southeastern Vermont community beat out 13 other Springfields for the honor, which includes hosting the premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" on July 26th. 20th Century Fox ran an online poll on the USA Today Web site inviting people to vote for their favorite among 14 videos submitted by the competing Springfields.

The town of 9,300 was the smallest in population among the communities entered. It put together a video showing a local TV personality playing Homer Simpson and chasing a giant, pink doughnut through the town.

Gov. Jim Douglas issued a statement congratulating the town.  "This is an exciting, exhilarating moment for Vermonters," he said. "Perhaps more importantly, it proves there's really nothing a giant doughnut can't do. To all the other Springfields, I say "Don't have a cow, man."

The thirteen other Springfields that participated in the contest will be given small screenings of their own the night before the movie opens nationwide July 27.

THE NASHVILLE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU HAS LAUNCHED, the "Music City Songwriting Competition" and will partner with Phil Vassar, XM Satellite Radio, Jack Daniel's, GAC, Southwest Airlines, Universal Records South, The Music Group International, f.y.e., American Songwriter magazine and Renaissance Nashville Hotel to make it all happen.

The winning songwriter will be flown to Music City and have the opportunity to perform their song on "Music City Connection: Heroes Behind the Hits," a monthly radio show recorded and produced by the Nashville CVB and broadcast exclusively on XM Satellite Radio. That show will be hosted by Universal Records South recording artist Phil Vassar. The winning songwriter will also have their song published by The Music Group International and have a recording of their song produced by renowned Nashville producer and Universal Records South President, Mark Wright. American Songwriter magazine will also include a mention of the winner in the November-December issue. Transportation, hotel accommodations at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel and complimentary admission to over 30 Nashville attractions are also included.

The competition will accept entries from July 1 - August 31, 2007 and is open to amateur songwriters. Songs may be submitted on cassette tape, CD or on line as an MP3 file. The fee for the first entry is $30 and additional entries are $25.

In Everett WA Boeing Co. raised the curtain on its first fully assembled 787 on Sunday to an audience of thousands who packed an assembly plant for the plane�s extravagantly orchestrated premiere.

Visitors crowd around the first production model of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplane

Inside the new Boeing Dreamliner

With flight attendants onstage from each airline that has ordered the jet, the factory doors opened wide as the plane slowly moved into view to the strains of a theme song composed specially for the 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.

Boeing has more than 600 orders for the Dreamliner, the world's first large commercial jetliner with an airframe made mostly of carbon-fiber composite, which is stronger and lighter than aluminum and makes the airplane more fuel-efficient and cheaper to maintain.

"It's more comfortable for passengers and less risky for airlines," said Zhou Chi, chairman of Shanghai Airlines, one of the Chinese airlines that has ordered the 787. The 787 will be at least 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the existing 767, which it will replace. It will also save airlines about 30 percent on maintenance because the composite material will not fatigue or corrode like metal.

Measures moving through the U.S. Congress, including a requirement for travelers in some countries to register travel plans online 48 hours before departure, have raised fears in Europe of disruptions in the trans-Atlantic flow of business and leisure travel.

The requirement, proposed by the Homeland Security Department, would apply to people in 27 mostly West European countries who are now able to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without visas. It would also apply to new entrants to the same so-called Visa Waiver Program, a status sought by 12 countries, many of them East and Central European states new to the European Union that have placed enormous stock on getting in - for business, tourism and family links and plain national prestige.

The existing European members of the waiver program are not thrilled by the 48-hour rule - a potential hardship for business people, who often change travel plans at the last minute - nor by some other tightening of standards for their airports and passport handling.

The countries now in the waiver program are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain.

After years of endangerment, our national bird is now easily spotted along the upper Mississippi River (from Minnesota to Illinois); in the Minnesota Valley refuge; Oregon's Bear Valley and Cape Meares refuges; Virginia's Mason Neck, James River, and Blackwater refuges; and the Chesapeake Bay's Rappahannock River refuges, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If you can't avoid using Heathrow airport this summer, be sure to allow two hours if you have to change planes in its overcrowded terminals. Passengers at the airport tend to jam together, elbows out, instead of lining up in an orderly manner. The airport's luggage check-in process is also hopelessly outdated--making it slow and unsafe. Lock up your luggage. The locals have nicknamed the airport "Thief row" given the absurdly high number of thefts there.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO VENEZUELA for the Copa America soccer tournament under way through July 19 travelers are being asked to present proof of immunization against yellow fever and German measles on arrival. Health kiosks have been set up in the international airport arrivals area to vaccinate travelers who do not have proof of immunization, but the health ministry said the notice is a recommendation, not mandatory.

An intense heat wave in Greece has put pressure on the power grid nationwide and knocked out power in 13 areas of Athens June 27. Fire warnings were issued for much of the country after 95 fires broke out.

In New Guinea national elections are being held June 30 to July 10 with final results to be announced in early August. According to the U.S. State Department, the period around the elections may be volatile, with election-related violence between opposing clans and political groups possible in the Southern Highlands, Enga, Western Highlands, Chimbu and Eastern Highlands. Cities where violence is most likely are Port Moresby and Lae.

THE GALAPAGOS IN DANGER: The first site to be placed on the World Heritage List is now on another UNESCO list -- and this one's not good. The Galapagos Islands have been added to the World Heritage Sites in Danger list. (Also added to that list: Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal.) The 19 islands, some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, are famous for their easy-to-approach wildlife that has evolved in different ways because of their isolation from the mainland and other islands in the chain. "They are threatened by invasive species, growing tourism and immigration," the committee said in a statement.

BRAZIL'S PANAMERICAN GAMES ARE IN PERIL Less than three weeks before the start of the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, military police and alleged criminals clashed in a shootout at the international airport, causing one runway to be shut down for 35 minutes and delaying flights from Sao Paulo to Rio.

UNESCO is revising its name for the Auschwitz death camp in Poland to emphasize Nazi Germany's role. The camp was made a World Heritage Site in 1979. Auschwitz will now be known as "Auschwitz-Birkenau. German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)." It has been listed as just "Auschwitz Concentration Camp."

More passport woes if you are travelling outside the US. Some airlines refused to let US tourists board planes because they don't have birth certificates with them. Mexico requires proof of U.S. citizenship with a passport, a birth certificate or naturalization papers. Last week, the U.S. eased passport rules for those with pending applications traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda; the U.S. now will let you in or out if you obtain proof of application. But that doesn't affect the laws of the country to which you are traveling. So if you have only one copy of your birth certificate, and that copy is tied up in your passport application, you have a problem, if you are trying to go to someplace like Mexico that still requires it. But if you're mixed up in the current passport jam, Jamaica will be glad to have you.

There's a new Web site where professionally filmed video clips show what a hotel's rooms and surroundings look like. Right now, Tvtrip.com offers 80 hotels in five European cities. That's supposed to grow to 1,500 hotels in 25 European destinations by the end of the year.

The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe encouraged all U.S citizens to carry their passports with valid visas (or copies) at all times to present to local officials if questioned. All foreigners must register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if staying in the country for more than three days.

Frustrated travelers who paid an extra $60 to get their U.S. passports expedited -- and still had to wait for them -- can now get a refund from the government. The delays were largely due to a new rule that requires U.S. citizens to have passports when flying to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. On June 8, the government announced it was suspending that rule until September, as long as travelers to those countries carried a printout receipt showing they had applied for a passport. The passport delays were so bad that many of those who paid for faster service, at a cost of $60 plus the regular processing fees of $97 for a new passport, did not receive their passports within the expected 14 days.

The State Department says passport applicants who paid for, but did not get, expedited service should send a written refund request to the agency's refund office in Washington. They should provide their passport number, if available, their name, date and place of birth, the approximate date they applied for the passport, as well as a mailing address and phone number. Send to: Department of State, Passport Services/PPS/Refunds, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-3202.

The South Bank of the Thames in London welcomed a new version of an old favorite last Monday with the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall. A two-year, $220 million refurbishing of the hall not only enhanced acoustics, legroom and audience access but brought several new bars, two new restaurants and a new education center with music and dance studios.

Under a directive from the European Union, air carriers must begin collecting "Advance Passenger Information" from all passengers from non-Schengen Treaty countries, and Spain is the first country to apply this requirement. This means that all U.S. citizens flying to Spain must now provide information such as name, nationality, date of birth and passport number before departure, either online or at the airport.

New federal regulations requiring travelers to have a passport when heading to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean have caused headaches for travel agents and heartaches for tourists. June 8, the feds made accommodations until September for people flying to those regions to account for the backup in the processing of passports. The U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security altered the rules to be more flexible for those flying to those areas that had not required passports before this year. Until Sept. 30, those traveling by air can leave and enter with a government issued photo identification and a Department of State proof of application for a passport. Children under 16 traveling with a parent or legal guardian can travel with just a proof of application for a passport.

Beginning Wednesday, May 23, 2007 the City of Visalia, in cooperation with the National Park Service, will launch the long awaited shuttle system designed to provide convenient and affordable transportation services to, from, and within Sequoia National Park. Operations are scheduled to begin in time for the Memorial Day weekend, and will continue through Tuesday, September 4, 2007 following the Labor Day weekend. The Visalia/Sequoia Park Route departs Visalia, travels along Highway 198, stops in Three Rivers, passes the Foothills Visitor Center, until it reaches Sequoia National Park's Giant Forest Museum. The shuttle will depart Visalia several times daily between 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and leave the Giant Forest Museum on the return trip back to the valley between 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The round trip price for the Visalia/Sequoia Park Route will be $10, which includes the park entrance fee.

23-Year-Old African American En Route Home From Historic Flight When Barrington Irving returns to Miami in the last week of May, the 23-year-old pilot will set two world records: he will become the first African American and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe. He recently passed the halfway mark when he landed his single-engine aircraft in Calcutta, India, seven weeks after taking off from Miami on March 23rd where 3000 schoolchildren, well-wishers, local officials, and press gathered for the takeoff. In his Lancair Columbia 400, the veritable Ferrari of small aircraft, Irving is traversing four continents, clocking more than 130 hours of flight time on a "World Flight Adventure" that includes stops in the Azores, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Dubai, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan before returning him to the U.S. via Alaska.

Elton John played the Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago without incident thus possibly opeing the doorway for future gay events on the thoroughly straight island. Despite warnings from the conservative right - specifically the island nations Archdeacan - that Johns' mere presence on the island may convert the entire island to homosexual behavior...nothing happened. There was no mass transformation including this reporter. Joining John were Diana Ross, Mary J Blige, and others.

Joint efforts between the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) in Albuquerque and the neighboring Pueblos of Acoma and Zuni recently launched an unprecedented joint venture of Pueblo-owned and operated guided bus tours to provide a comprehensive Native American cultural experience for visitors. "Into the Sunset Western Pueblo Tours" will feature day tours to the Pueblos of Acoma and Zuni each week. The tours start in Albuquerque at the IPCC, which is operated by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. The tours will offer transportation, Pueblo step-on guides, traditional Pueblo meals, guided walking tours through each site's museum, cultural centers, missions and village tours led by a member of the respective pueblo. The tours can accommodate 10-55 people.

A double-decker train with a 25,000-horsepower engine and unusually large wheels roared through the eastern French countryside on Tuesday, April 3, at 357.2 mph, setting a world rail record. Dubbed V150, the train used for the hyped demonstration is an enhanced version of TGV bullet trains. Service on the new TGV East Line, launching on June 10, will be at the more leisurely pace of 199 mph.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO ALACATRAZ LATELY? The popular San Francisco landmark has undergone its first major renovation since opening to the public in 1973. Improvements include digital audio tours (using the device pictured), access to parts of the prison that were previously off-limits, and exhibits of never-before-seen photos

After a recent episode left American Airlines passengers stuck on a plane in Austin, Tex., for nine hours with clogged toilets and minimal food, a grassroots campaign to pass a Passengers' Bill of Rights is under way

If you want to go to Mexico, but don't have a passport there are still options -- at least for one more year. Using just your driver's license or birth certificate, Americans can cross the border and spend a day buying trinkets and even a bottle of tequila in one of Mexico's dozens of border towns.

If you have a long weekend and want to explore farther south, you can take a bus or drive to old mining towns that seem untouched by time. Since Jan. 23, all US citizens must have a passport for airline travel to Mexico and the Caribbean. But those traveling by land or boat need only a driver's license or birth certificate -- at least for now. The US government may require passports for land travel as early as Jan. 1, but it's still debating an extension.

First Class travellers on a British Airways transatlantic flight were horrified when they were forced to sit next to a dead body for three hours. The elderly passenger had died of a heart attack just minutes earlier and was carried into their cabin to continue the journey to America.

It followed a mid air drama in which a doctor and crew lost a 35 minute battle to resuscitate the man after he suffered a cardiac arrest in business class where he was travelling with his wife. Four stewards and a fellow passenger then struggled to carry the deceased American in his seventies into their exclusive area, where tickets cost up to $8,500. They propped him up in a semi-reclined position in one of just 14 of the seats - which can recline totally into a lie-flat bed - and which are set into individual pod-bays which also contain a TVs and a 'buddy stool' for chatting to fellow passengers.

The Airbus A 380 made its first visit to the United States directly from the Frankfurt Air Show Monday, March 19, 2007 It was a chance to show off the superjumbo to potential U.S. buyers and to the airports they hope will be flight bases for the double-decker jet.

The Airbus A380 sits at the Frankfurt airport.

For Airbus, which has been beset by management and financial crises - including a two-year delay to the A380 that wiped more than euro5 billion (US$6.61 billion) off profit forecasts - the flight was a chance to prove that the plane will be ready when the first deliveries are made in October to Singapore airlines.

Sir Elton John's Caribbean show may be cancelled over concerns he could tempt locals to become gay. The singer is due to headline the Plymouth Jazz Festival next month, but the Archdeacon of Trinidad and Tobago insists Elton should be banned because his sexuality does not conform to biblical teaching.

Archdeacon Philip Isaac said: "The artiste is one of God's children and while his lifestyle is questionable he needs to be ministered to. His visit to the island can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing his lifestyle." Openly gay people can be barred from entering Tobago under the island's immigration law, and homosexuality is illegal in other parts of the Caribbean.

However, promoters of the festival insist Elton will close the event on April 29. Festival organizer Anthony Maharaj said: "Elton John is coming as what he is, one of the world greatest performers. He has performed in every country around the world. In Christian countries there has never been an objection.

He is not coming here to preach about what lifestyle people should have. This country should be honored to have Sir Elton John perform in Tobago." Diana Ross, Mary J. Blige and Gladys Knight are also due to perform at the three-day event. Last year, Elton said religion should be banned because it "promotes the hatred and spite against gays" and turns people into "hateful lemmings".

B.B. King, Al Green and Etta James will tour together for the first time on a 16-city trek that begins July 24 in Miami. Dubbed the B.B. King Blues Festival, the jaunt will visit cities including Atlanta (Chastain Park Ampitheater), Detroit(DTE Energy Music Theatre), Chicago(Ravinia), Baltimore(Cavalier Telephone Pavillion), San Francisco(Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord), Los Angeles(Hollywood Bowl), Dallas(Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie) and Denver(Red Rocks Ampitheatre). It will wrap September 9 at the Kautz Ironstone Vineyards Theater in Murphys, Calif.

Supporting on select dates are Joan Osborne, Robert Randolph and James Hunter. Since January, 81-year-old King has been performing gigs on his 60th Anniversary Tour. Last April, the Grammy-winning bluesman celebrated his 10,000th concert at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City's Times Square. King also recently announced that he will fully fund the $10 million B.B. King Museum in Mississippi, which is expected to open in 2008.

Spring break students are opting for domestic destinations rather than deal with the hassles involved with applying for a passport. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which went into effect Jan. 23, requires U.S. citizens flying from Mexico, Canada and most of the Caribbean -- not including the U.S. Virgin Islands -- to carry a passport. Previously, only a birth certificate or driver's license was necessary.

Spring break travel is the first major test of the impact. So far, fear of not getting a passport in time or avoiding a passport altogether has made Florida and Texas destinations such as Miami and South Padre Island more popular for student travelers.

There is a new travel magazine for people of color." Reservations...The Ultimate African American Travel Guide" is available by subscription from RSV Incorporated based in Maryland. With a bi-monthly release schedule look for celebrity features beginning with Viveca Fox gracing the cover of the premier issue. Other topics include: Financial Fitness Forum offering tips to save for that dream vacation without impacting your monthly living expenses; Historically Speaking which spotlights an African American historical landmark throughout the country; and Bookmark which focuses on great vacation books.

The European Union wants to reduce the number of personal details that people must provide to the US authorities when traveling to airports in the United States. The EU began negotiations on a new passenger data transfer agreement with the United States, also wants to end the practice under which US authorities can freely access information in airline computers.

Currently 34 pieces of data, including credit card and passport details, email addresses and travel itinerary, can be withdrawn by the US Department of Homeland Security and shared with certain other law enforcement agencies.

The world's biggest airliner on took to the skies March 7, 2007 with its first complement of reporters aboard, and left them impressed with its silence, light and roominess. The Airbus 380 has had more than its share of troubles, with repeated delays in delivery dates, but these were largely forgotten as 200 reporters from around the world took an inaugural trip, the first time the press had flown in the giant aircraft.

Inside the Airbus super-jumbo

GREYHOUND LINES announced it would enhance the customer travel experience throughout the Midwest starting March 1, 2007. The �Elevate Everything� program improves every customer touch point to create a more enjoyable travel experience on Greyhound. The initiative began as a test in June 2005, in the Chicago-Milwaukee-Minneapolis corridor and expanded to cities in Texas in May 2006, and the Northeast, California and select locations in the Southwest in November 2006. Greyhound customers will experience newly refurbished and clean buses inside and out. The buses feature a new livery with the running dog logo outside and more comfortable seats inside, with movable armrests, automatic footrests and magazine straps. With nearly the entire fleet already refurbished and on the road, current and potential customers are being exposed to the new look and feel of Greyhound every day across the United States. Drivers and terminal employees received new uniforms, and terminals have been upgraded. Many feature new signage, plasma televisions, renovated bathrooms, new food service concepts and much more. The company is also introducing a new greeter position to answer questions and assist customers with their travel needs. The youngest Greyhound customers will receive an activity book to entertain them as part of the new Traveling Kids Club.

The Illinois Bureau of Tourism plans to market tours of sites linked to the railroad - an informal network of routes, safe houses and allies that helped guide and shelter blacks during their escapes from Southern states where slavery was legal. Other states have capitalized on Underground Railroad history, part of the heritage and cultural segment that's among the fastest growing areas of tourism. The state has worked on railroad research for the last five years, and up until last year funded an initiative to document and fix up sites across 17 counties. One particularly interesting site would be the Old Slave House at the Hickory Hill Plantation. The originaly owner was a conductor of the reverse Underground Railroad that ran north to south. He captured escaped slaves by posing as a free house and turned them in for the reward.

Hundreds spend Valentines day stuck on Jet Blue planes At JFK Airport, at least four JetBlue planes were stuck on the runway fully loaded with passengers and children for hours. JetBlue Flight 751 on its way to Cancun, Jet Blue Flight 1060 from Austin, JetBlue Flight 850 from Ft. Meyers and JetBlue flight Flight 351 scheduled to depart JFK all sat on the runway for up to 10 hours. The planes ran out of food and water and the passengers ran out of patience. The spokesperson adds that a total of six aircraft were waiting for departure at JFK today and were eventually cancelled. They say the problem was that there were no free gates to bring the planes back to, that's why they had to rely on buses. Airport officials say if JetBlue had told them that they had people needing rescuing on planes out on the tarmac, they would have sent buses. They said JetBlue didn't call the airport to tell them that until after 3 p.m.

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