The National Park system is the best vacation value in the country

The National Park Service provides tremendous value for US travelers.?If you?re planning a family summer vacation,?keep our national parks and national forests in mind.

By Trent Hamm,?Guest blogger / July 14, 2013

Stone formations are seen in the Mammoth Dome area of Mammoth Cave during a tour in Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky. Hamm recommends the National Park Service for finding affordable, enriching experiences during US travel.

Ed Reinke/AP/File

Enlarge

Over the past two weeks, Sarah and I combined a tenth anniversary getaway for the two of us along with a family vacation for ourselves, our children, and Sarah?s parents and youngest sister. This meant almost two full weeks of traveling.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Along the way, I kept taking notes on the inexpensive and free stuff I discovered along the way, but when I came home and actually evaluated the list, one giant theme kept coming through.

The National Park Service (and, similarly, the U.S. Forest Service) provide tremendous value for the traveler within the United States.

My list of ?frugal tips? from our travels of the past two weeks was simply loaded with references to these two services, particularly the National Park Service. If you?re going anywhere, look into what these two services have to offer in the area to which you?re traveling.

Here are some specific highlights from our recent travels.

In Boston,?the Freedom Trail was an amazing day-long highlight. Most of?historic Boston?is maintained by the Park Service, the highlight of which is the Freedom Trail, which is a clearly marked route about three miles in length through Boston and Charlestown, which takes you by dozens of different landmarks relevant to the start of the American Revolution.

Not only did they provide us with free maps along the way, they also provided a?free Android/iOS app?that provided a step-by-step guide to the trail. In addition, there were guided tours of the trail led by NPS employees and several regular talks at various points along the trail. We toured the?USS Constitution (?Old Ironsides?)?for free with a tour guide as part of this day-long excursion, as well as the wonderful Bunker Hill Monument which provided a great view of the city.

In Salem,?the Park Service provided a free guided tour of the harbor along with the Customs House.?This was a roughly hour-long tour that highlighted the history of maritime trade in New England as well as highlighting the Customs House where Nathaniel Hawthore worked while writing?The Scarlet Letter. If you miss the tour guide, the Park Service offers a?free downloadable audio tour of the area.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/PUBOuoOOVi0/The-National-Park-system-is-the-best-vacation-value-in-the-country

strawberry festival strikeforce tate vs rousey ciaa the monkees strikeforce davy jones love actually

No motive yet in SF jewelry store fatal shootings

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Police have yet to release a motive behind the fatal shootings of two women and the serious wounding of a man at a shopping center in a trendy San Francisco neighborhood.

A bloodied gunman suspected of the shooting was arrested after opening fire on officers Friday afternoon.

Officers encountered the suspect outside the San Francisco GiftCenter and JewelryMart who began shooting at officers while running toward a restaurant. He surrendered after apparently running out of ammunition.

Inside, officers found the women inside the Victoga jewelry shop dead and the man wounded. Witnesses say the women were employees and the man is the owner.

Police Chief Greg Suhr said police didn't know the relationship between the suspect and the victims even though he had previously been seen in the building.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-motive-yet-sf-jewelry-store-fatal-shootings-203336587.html

lotto Illinois Lottery texas lottery Dell Levis Fireman Ed Allegiant Air

San Diego mayor comes under swift, heavy scrutiny

SAN DIEGO?The week began with news that Mayor Bob Filner's fiancee ended their engagement and, by Friday, San Diego's first Democratic leader in 20 years was desperately trying to stay in office amid sexual harassment allegations made public by some of his closest supporters. He apologized, promised to change and begged voters to let him keep his job.

The rapid-fire developments put heavy scrutiny on the personal foibles of Filner, a feisty liberal who was elected in November after 10 terms in Congress marked perhaps most famously by a 2007 run-in with a United Airlines baggage handler at Dulles International Airport that resulted in him pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of trespassing.

Filner has long had a reputation for berating employees and been dogged by rumors of making sexual advances on women, but nothing stuck like a former city councilwoman's comments this week that she had firsthand accounts from more than one woman who was sexually harassed by the mayor.

Donna Frye, who worked briefly for the mayor as his director of open government, didn't provide any specifics at an emotional news conference Thursday, like the nature of the alleged abuse, when it occurred and how often. But she demanded Filner resign, saying, "There is no doubt in my mind that these allegations are true."

Filner, 70, didn't address specifics of his behavior either in an extraordinary video he released hours later that made clear he knew his career was gravely threatened, saying, "I need help."

"If my behavior doesn't change, I cannot succeed in leading our city," he said.

Filner, who is divorced, said he will personally apologize to current and former employees, both men and women.

"It is a good thing that behavior that would have been tolerated in the past is being called out in this generation for what it is: inappropriate and wrong," he said.

In a follow-up statement late Friday, Filner said an email had been sent to all city employees promising a "full, complete and independent investigation in response to any formal complaint against me."

He added, however, that he expects to be exonerated.

"I am confident that a fair and independent investigation will support my innocence with respect to any charges of sexual harassment," Filner said.

Frye, who said she wouldn't seek Filner's job, reaffirmed her demand Friday that Filner resign, according to a tweet by Marco Gonzalez, an environmental attorney who spoke alongside the former councilwoman in urging him to step down.

"Additional information to be provided next week," Gonzalez wrote.

Frye is highly influential with Filner's base, and the mayor needs all the friends he can get after alienating many key players during his brief tenure.

"Bob takes on way too many battles at the same time and doesn't know how fight a one-front war," said Steve Erie, a political science professor at University of California, San Diego. "He's fighting a multi-front war?the City Council, the city attorney, developers, hoteliers."

Filner struck a five-year labor agreement with city unions and opened a city of San Diego office in Tijuana to strengthen ties with the Mexican border city, but his behavior now overshadows those and other accomplishments.

In February, he crashed City Attorney Jan Goldsmith's news conference about tourism marketing revenue, commandeered the podium, and accused the elected official of "unethical and unprofessional conduct" for scrutinizing the mayor's position through the news media. Last month, he ordered a Goldsmith deputy to leave a closed-door City Council meeting, saying the attorney spoke without being recognized and refused to sit down when told.

His deputy chief of staff recently resigned at a staff meeting over what Filner called disagreements about how he was running the office. When Filner asked if anyone else in the room wanted out, his communications director came forward.

In a rare moment last month, Filner questioned his behavior, saying, "Anybody who's intelligent would have to undergo some self-examination." Yet he said during the same regular monthly news conference that the staff defections were normal occurrences under a demanding boss and faulted the news media for its coverage.

"It's a high-pressure, high-tension situation, and some people can adapt, some people can't," he said.

When he was 18, the Pittsburgh native spent two months in a Mississippi jail in 1961 after joining the Freedom Riders in their civil rights campaign against segregation in the South. The history professor went on to serve on the San Diego school board and City Council.

In Congress, he became chair the House Veterans Affairs Committee, launching a profanity-laced tirade against an official in 2007 over a failure to protect veterans' personal data from computer theft. He was never a major player in Washington and, unlike his current job, labored largely outside the media spotlight.

"In order to become a part of the (House) leadership, you've got to get along with people and he's a hard person to get along with" said Chris Crotty, a Democratic political consultant.

Crotty, who has known Filner more than 20 years, said Filner repeatedly wins elections because he delivers services that matter to constituents, like retirement benefits for a large population of Filipino veterans of World War II in his district.

Whether Filner can survive as mayor is a guessing game that may hinge on whether specifics emerge on the harassment allegations. He canceled a weekend appearance at the city's gay pride parade, saying he didn't want to be a distraction.

Crotty thinks Filner's supporters will accept his apology, barring new disclosures. Carl Luna, a political science professor at San Diego's Mesa College, believes there is an 80 percent chance Filner will be forced out.

"Everybody knew he had a tendency to be ... somewhat jerkish and that he was no stranger to female companionship," Luna said. "It just finally caught up with him."

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_23647209/san-diego-mayor-vows-change-amid-harassment-claims?source=rss

gizmodo iPhone 5 9-11 Chris Brown Tattoo Innocence of Muslims Clara Schumann Jael Strauss

Chinese Mother Stabs 8-Month-Old Boy 90 Times While Breastfeeding

An eight-month-old baby miraculously survived an attack by his mother who stabbed him 90 times for biting her while she was breastfeeding.

The mother stabbed him mostly in the face with a pair of scissors. The incident happened in Xuzhou city, which is the fourth largest prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China.

The toddler, identified as Xiao Bao, reportedly required over 100 stitches on his face and other body parts after the attack. Bao, his mother and two uncles live in Xuzhou city and make their living by recycling rubbish.

The baby was found lying in a pool of blood by one of his uncles who immediately rushed him to a nearby hospital. The infant is now recovering from the multiple stab wounds.

Bao's mother confessed she had stabbed her own baby for biting her. But till now she has not been arrested. After the incident neighbours requested the local government to take the baby away from his mother, but they refused to do so.

The local authorities have said that the two uncles are the baby's guardians and there has been no confirmation whether the mother was suffering from mental illness.

This is one of the many such instances to have happened this year of mothers harming their children.?In May, a woman secretly gave birth and flushed the newborn down a toilet. Firefighters and doctors saved the baby by sawing through a section of the sewage pipe in the apartment building. ? ??

Earlier this year, a seven-year-old girl in New Jersey was stabbed by her mother more than 30 times before killing herself. The girl survived the brutal?attack, but her mother died.

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:

To contact the editor, e-mail:

Source: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/489401/20130712/mother-stabbed-baby-90-times-breastfeeding-biting.htm

joe avezzano kanye west theraflu joey votto the masters live mega millions winner holy thursday chris stewart

Decision in Montana boosts GOP chances in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republicans received a boost in their attempt to win back the majority in the Senate next year when a former Democratic governor bowed out of Montana's open Senate race, a development that could further hamper President Barack Obama's agenda during his final two years in office.

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Saturday he would not run for the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Max Baucus in 2014, dealing a blow to Democrats who considered the popular ex-governor their best chance of keeping the office. Republicans have not settled on a candidate in GOP-leaning Montana.

Republicans need to pick up six seats to recapture the Senate majority and are trying to take advantage of geography and history in their quest. Democrats must defend 21 seats, including seven in largely rural states that Obama lost in 2012, and the party that controls the White House typically loses seats during the midterm elections of a second-term president.

"For the first time in a couple of years, you can see the Democratic majority has never been on shakier ground," said Rob Jesmer, a Republican strategist and former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Democratic retirements in Republican-leaning states like West Virginia and South Dakota have given Republicans an advantage. The GOP has recruited popular Republicans for those seats, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds.

In Montana, Republicans hope to persuade Rep. Steve Daines or perhaps former Gov. Marc Racicot to mount a campaign, which could give them an edge in three of the six states they would need to win the majority.

The fate of the Senate could then be decided in four states that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney won in 2012 and are held by Democratic incumbents: Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.

Republicans view Rep. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana as a strong challenger to Landrieu, a perennial GOP target, and hope Rep. Tom Cotton, a Harvard-educated lawyer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will challenge Pryor in Arkansas.

Alaska and North Carolina could offer unpredictable primaries. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee, said she may run for the Senate in the Republican primary against Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller, a tea party favorite. In North Carolina, state House Speaker Thom Tillis and Greg Brannon, a physician with tea party support, want to challenge Hagan, but they could be joined by others, including Rep. Renee Ellmers.

Prominent Republicans have passed up opportunities to run in states like Iowa and Michigan, where Democratic incumbents have announced their retirements. Reps. Bruce Braley of Iowa and Gary Peters of Michigan are seeking the open seats, giving Democrats an edge in keeping them.

Schweitzer's decision surprised many Democrats, who viewed him as their best chance in Montana despite recent reports about the ex-governor's ties to nonprofit groups that Republicans intended to raise in the Senate campaign. It jumbles the primary with a potential field of largely untested candidates that could include state auditor Monica Lindeen, state school Superintendent Denise Juneau, Brian Morris, a Montana Supreme Court justice, and Stephanie Schriock, the president of EMILY's List, the powerful fundraising group for Democratic women.

Democrats said they remained confident they could hold onto Montana's seat and maintained that Republicans would need to pull off major election victories to win back control.

"Only three Democratic incumbents have lost re-election in the last decade," noted Guy Cecil, the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a reference to the defeats of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota in 2004 and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin in 2010.

Obama's party, however, has fewer ways of going on offense. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky remains one of their top priorities for 2014, but Obama is unpopular in Kentucky and McConnell is building a large financial advantage against his likely Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's secretary of state.

Democrats also view potential success in Georgia, where Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn, may enter the race. Georgia remains a Republican stronghold and several Republicans are vying for an open seat created by the retirement of Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Fifteen months before the 2014 midterms, Democrats say history could repeat itself. They say Republicans could face more polarizing primaries like the ones that created problems in 2012, when some tea party Republicans won bruising primaries over more mainstream Republican candidates and then faltered against Democrats.

"The map was always going to be a challenge but the Democratic incumbents are seasoned political veterans who have run difficult campaigns before and are not taking anything for granted," said Penny Lee, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "As 2012 proved, those who predict outcomes a year out do so at their own peril."

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-07-13-US-Senate-2014/id-c9903f281c36453e8b0b5008ae59280b

watergate pregnant man outside lands 2012 lineup beloved ufc results water for elephants old school

India-China Border Issue: Troops in Face-to-Face Situation During PLA Incursion, Say Officials

(Photo: PIB)
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh meeting the Premier of the State Council of the People?s Republic of China, Mr. Li Keqiang, in New Delhi on May 20, 2013.

The incursion of Chinese troops in the Chumar sector in Ladakh last month created an alarming "face-to-face situation" between the troops of the two countries, said official sources on Thursday.

The Chinese patrol transgressed into Indian territory on 17 June and was in a face-to-face situation with the Indian patrol before they returned to their bases.

The China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops entered Chumar sector on 17 June and vandalized and cut wires of high resolution cameras installed in the areas by the Indian army to check movement of the Chinese troops. The damaged cameras were returned to the Indian Army on 3 July at a flag meeting in Chusul area after negotiations between the two sides.

The Chinese troops also reportedly threatened the locals in Chumar and asked them to vacate the region claiming that it belongs to China.

The incident happened two months after Chinese troops allegedly intruded into Depsang, Ladakh, which caused tension in the border area. The drama ensued for a few weeks till China withdrew its troops from LAC. India accused Chinese troops of crossing LAC but the latter denied.

• FOLLOW IBTIMES
• 

China on Wednesday defended the deeds of its troops in Chumar, claiming that they were patrolling on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and maintained that both countries should not change the status quo along the LAC till the final settlement on the disputed region is made.

"I have seen the relevant reports but I am not aware of the specific situation. Chinese Defence forces have been patrolling along the Chinese side of the LAC of the China-India border," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the reports of the intrusion in June.

"The general situation in the border areas is stable. We have the consensus that pending the final settlement of the boundary question none of us (India and China) should change the status quo along the LAC," she added.

The second incursion happened just 10 days before the 16th round of India-China Special Representatives talks involving India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi was held in Beijing. The two-day talk held on 28-29 June was to solve the impending border issue between the countries.

The Special Representatives talk was followed by the visit of Indian Defence Minister AK Antony to China on 4 July (four-day-visit) to discuss varied agendas, including border issues.

India's Defence Minister had said after his visit to Beijing that he was pleased with the talks on the management of the disputed border. He said that a consensus was reached with the military leadership that both countries would maintain peace and tranquility till they find a solution the border dispute and that the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) would help solve the problem.

This article is copyrighted by IBTimes.co.in, the business news leader

Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/489582/20130712/india-china-border-issue-troops-alarming-situation.htm

shawn johnson Tony Sly Lauren Perdue tagged Heptathlon London 2012 shot put London 2012 Track And Field

GlaxoSmithKline chiefs 'confess to bribing Chinese doctors'

Executives at the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline have been accused of bribing doctors in China, in a long-running campaign to persuade them to prescribe drugs to patients.

Officials from China's Public Security Ministry in an announcement alleged that the employees paid "large bribes," laundered through travel agencies, to doctors, hospitals and others to ""open new sales channels and increase drug revenues". Giving no specific time frame,? the announcement said the scheme had lasted a "long time".

Identifying the GSK employees as "high officials," the ministry said they are also suspected of tax offences involving collusion with travel agencies to issue false invoices, the ministry said. No details were given of the size of payments or who received them.

"After questioning, the suspects confessed to the crime," the statement said.

GSK said it would co-operate with the authorities but said today's announcement was the first official communication it has received about the investigation.

"Corruption has no place in our business," said a company statement. "If evidence of such activity is provided we would of course act swiftly on it."

A police ministry press office spokeswoman said she could not release the GSK employees' names or other details because they have not been charged with a crime.

Police in the central city of Changsha announced two weeks ago that GSK employees had been detained for questioning about unspecified "economic crimes." Today's statement said the investigation also took place in Shanghai and the central city of Zhengzhou.

GlaxoSmithKline?said in June that it had investigated an accusation that its salespeople in China bribed doctors and found no evidence of wrongdoing. The company has said the police investigation might be based on information from the same anonymous source.

GlaxoSmithKline?PLC is headquartered in Britain but has a presence in the United States, which could make it liable to penalties under US anti-bribery laws.

Last week, state media reported the government was investigating production costs for 60 foreign and domestic drug companies in a possible first step toward changing state-set maximum prices. The announcement gave no indication any companies were suspected of wrongdoing.

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3507/s/2e850003/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cnews0Cworld0Casia0Cglaxosmithkline0Echiefs0Econfess0Eto0Ebribing0Echinese0Edoctors0E870A3390A0Bhtml/story01.htm

mlb draft The Internship d day French Open 2013 dunkin donuts NBA 2K14 Roland Garros