National News

Recent news regarding a bus breakdown in Thousand Palms, California, has left many travelers re-thinking whether or not to travel via charter bus. This past Sunday June 15th, a bus owned and run by El Paso Bus Ridebroke down unexpectedly, leaving passengers stranded on the side of the road for nine hours in the blazing California heat. It appears that the breakdown was a result of a transmission problem and was not necessarily something that El Paso Bus Ride could have prevented, but the event now has many people wondering if bus lines should be regulated in order to secure passengers' safety. El Paso neglected to comment when approached by a local news station but Greyhound Lines took advantage of the situation, and Greyhound VP Myron Watkins stated that the company has regulations in ...

Circle Camps, an American non-profit foundation located in both Maine and West Virginia, is offering a unique take on the traditional summer camping experience for children. The foundation, which offers a cost-free, therapeutic camping experience, specializes in helping girls, ages nine to 18, get through the grieving process that comes along with losing a parent. The group, now in its 12th year of service, offers professional help from psychologists and licensed social workers, as well as a dedicated group of camp counselors. Many of the counselors are young women who, after relying on the unique services offered by Circle Camps in their youth, now offer their experience to young women in need. Camping Has Long Been Used to Promote Health Every year, according to data from the Outdoor...

For many businesses, same-day deliveries can seem like a logistical nightmare: your business or company needs to get an important package or document to your client as soon as possible, but the client might be hundreds, even thousands, of miles away. On June 12, the process of same-day deliveries became expedited for many businesses looking to ship between American Airlines Cargo's hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and both Hong Kong (HKG) and Shanghai (PVG), according to a HandyShippingGuide.com article. AA Cargo's same-day service to and from Hong Kong is the first of its kind among U.S.-based airlines, the article reports. Shanghai's airport is the world's third-largest, and AA Cargo's service route to and from the Chinese city marks the third gateway for American a...

Could exercise be actually standing in the way of weight loss and better toning? According to Julia Buckley, a 37-year-old fitness fanatic, it can be. She explains that running, while great for fitness, is not always the ideal activity if someone is looking to primarily lose weight. Her experience has taught her that slow-endurance exercise, rather than toning down the body, teaches it to become endurance-focused. And endurance means storing fat so that you have a continual source of energy during your run. Buckley herself was once training for marathons and wondering why she couldn't stubborn pounds, even as she was running more and more. Trying to solve by running extra ended up making her ill, and she realized that she was approaching her exercise routine the wrong way. "I certain...

The New York Botanical Garden will recreate the world-famous garden of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The exhibit, entitled "Frida Kahlo's Garden," "will include not only rarely seen paintings by Kahlo but also a recreation of her studio and garden at Casa Azul in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City, where she lived for many years and where she died in 1954," The New York Times reports. The exhibit is highly anticipated, thanks to Kahlo's penchant for vivid, colorful flowers. "I paint flowers so they will not die," the painter famously said. True to her word, many of her paintings feature brightly-colored roots, tendrils, flowers, cactus fruit, and even watermelon. Over the years, Kahlo's garden and paintings have inspired people all over the world. Bright flowers honor Kahlo's legac...

Over the past century, electricity has rapidly progressed our technology and our economy. But for some Chicago residents, it's causing serious frustration when they receive their energy bills. The City of Chicago and the Citizens Utility Board, a Chicago watchdog activist group, are currently defending several customer complaints against Spark Energy and petitioning the state's electricity regulator to launch an investigation. Spark Energy's consumer complaints stem from the company's variable electricity rates and misleading marketing tactics. In addition to Spark Energy, the City of Chicago said that it has issued subpoenas against six companies that the city suspects of price gouging. Maria Guerra Lapacek, commissioner of business affairs and consumer protection for Chicago, ...

This week, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. introduced a new line-up of light emitting diode (LED) modules for use in flat LED lighting applications, which will become available later this month. The new product line, called the M-series, is made for troffers and linear luminaires -- the ceiling fixtures that typically house fluorescent lighting and are often found in businesses and other commercial establishments. Samsung showcased their M-series at the LIGHTFAIR International trade show, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 3rd through June 5th. The Samsung M-series, according to Bangwon Oh, senior vice president of the strategic marketing team for Samsung's LED Business division, "offers tremendous convenience to LED lighting fixture makers with one of the most reliable and...

Zillow can now see the future of your home -- or at least, it's trying to with its new proprietary algorithm, which it says can predict the dollar value of your home one year in the future. Its new software is going by the name of "Zestimate forecast," and the company says that the estimator, which will predict either growth or loss, is available for about half of the homes in their database, which consists of about 100 million properties. "It was important for us to give [consumers] another bit of information that might help them in understanding the real estate market and help them make the buy-or-sell decision," said Svenji Gudell, Zillow's director of economic development. In order to come up with the "Zestimate," Zillow's formula considers various factors, including the number o...

New research shows Hispanic consumers are much more receptive to mobile technology, including mobile advertising. The study surveyed the opinions of 1,000 American consumers: 500 non-Hispanic and 500 Hispanic. "While the mobile habits between the two demographics match up across a variety of different activities, the report indicates that the Hispanic community is more likely to access coupons and banking services through mobile devices, giving marketers some additional insights into how to best target these smartphone-wielding consumers," Adweek reports. Hispanic consumers are more likely to take part in online banking, downloading digital coupons, and respond to location-based or geo-targeted advertisements. "Hispanic consumers are also gobbling up mobile video, using location-based a...

Last Thursday, May 15, General Motors (GM) announced another recall, bringing up the company's domestic recall total to 11 million vehicles in 2014. GM recalled 2.7 million cars owing to safety problems that could affect brake light performance. GM hasn't been the only car manufacturer to do so, however. The industry as a whole has recalled around 20 million vehicles in 2014 so far. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it's possible that this year will see a new recall record that breaks the one set set 10 years ago, when a total of 22 million vehicles were recalled in a single year. The past year has seen a major shift within the auto industry as manufacturers learn that auto safety issues are becoming a national priority. This past Friday, the ...