Michael Jackson’s ‘Captain EO’ returns to Disneyland for indefinite run

Michael Jackson’s ‘Captain EO’ returns to Disney

ANAHEIM, Calif. – “Captain EO” and Michael Jackson are returning to Disneyland.
The park says it will show the 1986 Jackson musical film beginning Tuesday and running indefinitely.
On the Disney Parks blog, Disney executive Heather Hust Rivera says the park will show a 70mm print of the 17-minute movie in …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

German’s Lufthansa asks court to halt pilots’ strike; 800 flights canceled, travel upended

Lufthansa pilots begin four-day strike
FRANKFURT – Thousands of travelers scrambled Monday to find flights, trains, hotel rooms or rental cars after Lufthansa pilots began a four-day walkout over job security that grounded at least 800 flights and upended travel across the continent.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG quickly rushed to get a court injunction to halt the strike …. Original article  : German’s Lufthansa asks court to halt pilots’ strike; 800 flights canceled, travel upended.

Spanish tourism office offers free holiday to winner of Facebook competition

Spain: Free vacations for snappy Facebook answers

MADRID – Spain is offering free vacations to the person who best answers questions on Facebook about the country and its customs.
The state tourism office Turespana says the contest will last through the end of February.
Turespana said in a statement that the winner will get a week’s holiday per … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Spanish tourism office offers free holiday to winner of Facebook competition.

Millay Society opening poet’s Steepletop retreat to public tours

Millay Society opening Steepletop to tours

AUSTERLITZ, N.Y. – The Millay Society plans to open Steepletop, the home of the late poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, to the public for tours starting May 28.
Millay was a native of Maine but she lived and worked at the farmhouse on the Taconic Ridge for her last 25 years. …. Source article  : Millay Society opening poet’s Steepletop retreat to public tours.

AP source: New full-body scanners going to airports in next 2 weeks for passenger screening

AP source: New full-body scanners for 2 airports
WASHINGTON – U.S. government officials say the first of 150 new full-body scanners will be installed in airports in Boston and Chicago over the next two weeks.
A Homeland Security Department official said Tuesday all of the 150 new machines will be installed by the end of …. Original source  : AP source: New full-body scanners going to airports in next 2 weeks for passenger screening.

Sex and art and Gustav Klimt: Swingers in Vienna art hall highlight provocative painting

Sex at the museum: Swingers in Vienna art hall

VIENNA – In the name of art, an Austrian landmark is encouraging visitors to confront their sexual inhibitions by having them walk through a swingers club to reach one of Gustav Klimt’s masterpieces.
The Secession – a world-renowned venue for contemporary art in downtown Vienna – has temporarily … Read more »»».

Brazil defends response to shipwreck that left international students adrift for 2 nights

Brazil defends its search efforts in shipwreck

SAO PAULO – The Brazilian navy on Sunday defended its response to a shipwreck that left dozens of teenage students from around the world adrift on the ocean for two nights.
The navy deployed a search aircraft about 19 hours after it received a distress signal from the SV Concordia … Read : Brazil defends response to shipwreck that left international students adrift for 2 nights.

Several airlines waive fees to rebook flights due to bad weather in Northeast, Southeast

Several airlines waive change fees due to weather

ATLANTA – Several airlines are again offering to waive fees customers would ordinarily pay to rebook their flights on alternate itineraries due to bad weather in some parts of the country.
AirTran Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, and US Airways were among the carriers offering change-fee … Read more »».

Panama City Beach hopes to trade hard-partying image for family friendly theme

Panhandle’s spring break beach wants new image

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – The few beach walkers, surfers and sidewalk shoppers who ventured out on a recent chilly afternoon created a very different scene from the craziness that will soon crank up here as temperatures climb and students descend on this spring break paradise.
March and April on … Read : Panama City Beach hopes to trade hard-partying image for family friendly theme.

Ski designers add bling, flash to make helmets more fashionable

Ski helmets add bling for fashionable twist

DENVER – Dareece Saca, a statuesque former computer programmer with a long blond ponytail, grew up skiing without ever wearing a helmet. She joked to a friend, “I’ll never wear a helmet unless it’s crystallized like a Judith Leiber bag.”
When she started skiing in the Lake Tahoe area with … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Ski designers add bling, flash to make helmets more fashionable.

Discredited Dutch collector owned many fakes, but 1 genuine Van Gogh now authenticated

Van Gogh experts authenticate unusual VG painting

AMSTERDAM – Dirk Hannema was known as a brilliant art curator but a bit of a fool. He claimed he had seven Vermeers in his collection, several Van Goghs and a few Rembrandts, but no one believed him.
Now 25 years after his death it turned out he was right …. Original article  : Discredited Dutch collector owned many fakes, but 1 genuine Van Gogh now authenticated.

Newly authenticated Van Gogh unveiled, once owned by oft-hoodwinked and discredited collector

Van Gogh experts authenticate unusual painting

AMSTERDAM – A newly authenticated Van Gogh has gone on display 35 years after a discredited art collector bought it in Paris, convinced it was painted by the famed Dutch master but never able to prove it.
Louis van Tilborgh, curator of research at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, said …. Source  : Newly authenticated Van Gogh unveiled, once owned by oft-hoodwinked and discredited collector.

SeaWorld trainers will keep working with whale that killed trainer; procedures being reviewed

Whale that killed its trainer won’t be isolated

ORLANDO, Fla. – Trainers will continue working with a killer whale that grabbed one of their colleagues and dragged her underwater, killing her, but SeaWorld said Thursday it is reviewing its procedures after the attack.
People lined up to get into the park a day after the whale named …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Boom amid bust: Many museums see increase in visitors during tough times while funding drops

Boom amid bust: Many museums see attendance spike

WASHINGTON – Many museums across the country saw a spike in visitors during the economic slump last year, even as they experienced increasing financial stress, according to results of a study released Thursday.
More visitors were opting for affordable “staycations,” rather than expensive trips last year, museum officials reported …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Boom amid bust: Many museums see increase in visitors during tough times while funding drops.

SeaWorld will continue to interact with whale that killed trainer, but procedures will change

Procedures to change for whale in trainer death

ORLANDO, Fla. – Trainers will continue to interact with a killer whale that grabbed one of their colleagues and dragged her underwater, killing her, but procedures for working with him will change, SeaWorld said Thursday.
People lined up to get into the Orlando park a day after the whale … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : SeaWorld will continue to interact with whale that killed trainer, but procedures will change.

In wake of security breach, Newark airport cameras to sound alarms when they malfunction

Newark airport cameras to be fitted with alarms

NEWARK, N.J. – Cameras at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey are being fitted with alarms to alert security personnel when there is a malfunction.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it is installing the alarms in the wake of a security breach last …. Original article  : In wake of security breach, Newark airport cameras to sound alarms when they malfunction.

Boom amid bust: Museums seek more visitors in tough times while funding declines

Boom amid bust: Museums see attendance spike

WASHINGTON – Museums across the country saw a spike in visitors during the economic slump last year, even as they experienced increasing financial stress.
A survey of nearly 500 institutions by the American Association of Museums shows more than 57 percent saw increased attendance in 2009.
The study released Thursday reports …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Boom amid bust: Museums seek more visitors in tough times while funding declines.

French air traffic controllers strike for 3rd day, job action to end Saturday

French air traffic controllers strike for 3rd day

PARIS – A strike by French air traffic controllers disrupted flights Thursday on the third day of a walkout that looks set to extend into the weekend.
At Orly airport south of Paris, 50 percent of flights were canceled, while 15 percent were scrapped at Charles de Gaulle airport …. Read the original article  : French air traffic controllers strike for 3rd day, job action to end Saturday.

Killer whale attacks, kills trainer at Orlando SeaWorld as horrified spectators watch

Whale drags trainer off platform in fatal attack

ORLANDO, Fla. – SeaWorld will be open Thursday but killer whale shows are suspended for the time being at its Orlando and San Diego parks following the death of a trainer, according to the company’s Web site.
The veteran SeaWorld trainer was rubbing a killer whale from a poolside …. Original article  : Killer whale attacks, kills trainer at Orlando SeaWorld as horrified spectators watch.

SeaWorld: Killer whale shows to resume after fatal attack, but trainers won’t enter water

SeaWorld: Whale show to resume after trainer death

ORLANDO, Fla. – SeaWorld will restart its killer whale shows this weekend after Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, dragged a trainer to her death in the water at the Orlando park.
SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment President Jim Atchison said Friday trainers won’t get in the water with the …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

US tourist wounded by machete-wielding robbers inside Bahamas bed-and-breakfast

US tourist wounded in Bahamas machete attack

NASSAU, Bahamas – Bahamas police say machete-wielding robbers wounded an American tourist during a break-in at the bed-and-breakfast where he was staying.
The victim is identified as Eddie Bryant of Stamford, Connecticut. He has been airlifted to Florida for treatment of a deep gash on his right arm.
A police statement …. Original source  : US tourist wounded by machete-wielding robbers inside Bahamas bed-and-breakfast.

Atlanta-bound flight out of Rochester, NY, canceled after argument between flight attendants

Flight canceled after flight attendant argument

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – An argument between two female flight attendants forced the cancellation of an Atlanta-bound flight at an airport in upstate New York.
A Pinnacle Airlines spokesman in Memphis, Joe Williams, says the spat erupted just as Delta Connection Flight 887 returned to the gate Thursday morning after a passenger … Read more »».

Reunion of ancient scroll fragments illuminates missing link in Bible’s evolution

Pieces of rare biblical manuscript reunited

JERUSALEM – Two parts of an ancient biblical manuscript separated across centuries and continents were reunited for the first time in a joint display Friday, thanks to an accidental discovery that is helping illuminate a dark period in the history of the Hebrew Bible.
The 1,300-year-old fragments, which are among only … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Reunion of ancient scroll fragments illuminates missing link in Bible’s evolution.