Many veteran Southern California desert vacationers prefer some of the newer cities within a short drive of Palm Springs.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Even as Washington emphasizes walking softly to pry Iran away from its nuclear ambitions, the Pentagon is speeding the manufacture of its own big stick.

SEATTLE - As bus tours go, Ray Piesciuk chose a most peculiar conveyance on which to take in the sights and sounds of Seattle.

Strapped into a harness and lying only a couple of inches from the soft, dew-wet grass airstrip at Lookout Mountain Flight Park in Georgia, I close my eyes, swallow hard, and then say a little prayer. Okay. Scratch that. A big prayer.