Rising gas prices have caused people around the world to alter their daily lives in any way possible to save a bit of money. For many Americans, this means replacing their car with a more economical model. Demand for smaller cars and crossover models has skyrocketed in the past few years while the demand for previously popular cars, such as SUVs and trucks, has sharply declined.… 3 Comments

With advances in laboratory bioscience moving forward, animal rights group, PETA, has proposed that they be used to stop the inhumane treatment of animals in the factory farming industry. The group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, will give $1 million to any scientist or researcher that is able to grow meat in a lab that is both commercially viable and realistically tasting.… 1 Comment

Tiger Woods, Michael Bolton, Cindy Crawford, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Nicole Kidman and Greg Maddux. These A-listers have something in common aside from their fortune and fame. Each of these celebrities has undergone some form of laser eye surgery, a procedure that is becoming more and more popular throughout the United States.… 4 Comments

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Vacationers will have fewer places to pitch their tents this summer in Colorado and Wyoming, and they can place the blame on bugs. The U.S. Forest Service has closed some popular campgrounds in the two states because of concern that trees killed by the bark beetles that are ravaging forests across the West could topple onto unsuspecting visitors.… Post the First Comment

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP)- Amtrak is hoping live entertainment, exhibits and a national TV personality will lure people who don't normally take the train into its stations, and then inspire them to return to ride the rails another day. Dubbed "National Train Day," the May 10 effort includes a performance by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles in Washington's Union Station.… Post the First Comment

Costco and Sam's Club, the two largest warehouse retail chains in the United States, are limiting the quantity of rice available for purchase by American consumers. Sam's Club is restricting customers to a maximum of four 20-pound bags of basmati, jasmine, and long grain white rice.… Post the First Comment

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - An explosion tore through a paper mill Saturday after a boiler was inspected, killing a contract worker and injuring 17 others, the company said. The explosion occurred as a boiler at the International Paper mill was being started after an annual maintenance shutdown in Redwood, about 30 miles west of Jackson, company spokeswoman Amy J.… Post the First Comment

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -A powerful cyclone killed more than 350 people and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday. Some dissident groups worried that the military junta running Myanmar would be reluctant to ask for international help. Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit at a delicate time for the junta, less than a week ahead of a crucial referendum on a new constitution.… Post the First Comment

SUKHUMI, Georgia (AP) - Forces from Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia shot down two unmanned Georgian spy planes over the territory on Sunday, an Abkhazian official said. Georgia denied the claim and traded accusations with Russia, which is struggling with the West for influence in the country strategically located on the Caspian Sea.… 1 Comment

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's first lady escaped unharmed Sunday from a bomb attack in downtown Baghdad that struck her motorcade, injuring four body guards. President Jalal Talabani's wife, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, was headed to the city's central National Theater to attend a cultural festival when her motorcade was hit in the Karrada district, according to the president's office.… Post the First Comment

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - For more than eight months, Youssef Samir Megahed has been in jail, a wild detour from the seemingly innocuous road trip to see Atlantic Coast beaches that he says he and a friend were enjoying. The U.S. government views the trip differently, accusing Megahed and Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed of transporting explosives materials in the trunk of their car as they traveled through South Carolina.… Post the First Comment

MILTON, Ontario (AP) - The glowing amber dot on a light switch in the entryway of George Tsapoitis' house offers a clue about the future of electricity. A few times this summer, when millions of air conditioners strain the Toronto region's power grid, that pencil-tip-sized amber dot will blink.… Post the First Comment