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America's wackiest festivals (May 12)

A month-by-month guide to the contests and parades that bring out America's best and quirkiest. Some people will dream up any excuse for a party!

Get on the plane ? pronto (May 12)

Opinion: You?d assume airlines would just want to get us on the plane as quickly as possible. Generally speaking, though, airline boarding procedures are as short on logic as they are long.

Passenger sues airline over flight spent on toilet (May 12)
A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California.


The happiest places on earth (May 12)

"Taking all things together on a scale of one to 10, how happy would you say you are?" With that question and global surveys, the folks at the World Database of Happiness have ranked 95 nations on a happiness scale.

Southwest passenger cited for cell phone chatter (May 12)
Southwest Airlines says a passenger who refused to get off his cell phone during a flight found Dallas police waiting for him.


Germs on a plane ? not so scary after all (May 12)
A study on the spread of bacteria in passenger cabin during scheduled Boeing 767 flights found the 767s' filtration and ventilation systems so effective that people were more at risk of catching bacterial diseases before the aircraft took off and after they landed than in mid-flight. Unfiltered airport air contained far more germs than air in the aircraft cabin at cruise altitude.


California hotel packages, from $152 (May 12)
It wouldn't be summer without a little fun in the sun. These hotel packages factor in time for biking, volunteering, and chilling out at the beach.


Packages to the world's top hiking destinations (May 12)

For outdoorsy types and adventurers out there, we?ve scoured the world for the top hiking destinations that are bound to get your adrenaline going. What we found is a trio of excellent packages to get you to legendary trekking spots ? the Inca Trail in Peru; Patagonia at the southern tip of South America; and Nepal?s section of the Himalayas.

Mid-Atlantic resorts brace for fewer vacationers (May 12)
Mid-Atlantic resorts are hoping gas prices spiraling toward $4 a gallon and a cooling economy won't keep vacationers at home this summer ? but they're bracing for shorter stays and less spending on restaurants and entertainment while people holiday.


First class travel under the southwestern sun (May 12)

What the desert lacks in natural greenery can sometimes be found via manmade luxury. Once considered a wasteland that couldn?t possibly be developed into anything resembling a deluxe destination, areas of California?s moody Mojave Desert have in recent years seen a growing number of noteworthy luxury accommodations and resorts.