'Pretty Woman' Hotel a Leader in Social Media

USA Today: In January, the famously glamorous Beverly Wilshire became the first hotel in the Four Seasons chain to hire a full-time social media coordinator.

Today, the Beverly Wilshire's 3,663 followers on Twitter might find a link to some historic photos of the hotel for #FriFotos or learn about a new Mexican restaurant that's opening in the hotel's super swanky neighborhood.

"It just made sense," GM Radha Arora told me the other day over lunch at The BLVD, while Hollywood VIPs such as talent agency mogul Ari Emanuel dined nearby.

Arora runs the Beverly Wilshire - the iconic hotel where Julia Roberts and Richard Gere shot "Pretty Woman" (1990) - and also oversees several other Four Seasons hotels.

Arora's early decision, at least for the Four Seasons system, is an interesting one since most hotels juggle the demands of Twitter, Facebook and other social networks without a full-time expert. But Arora now expects more hotels will follow.

"We didn't think of (the full-time position) as ROI (return on investment). We didn't say, 'Oh no, it's going to cost us' because you can't put value to its success yet," Arora told me. "Its success will come later. Right now, you're building a foundation and you have a voice that tells people that the Beverly Wilshire is a place that is always creative and very youthful."

The hotel hired a Lauren Breuning, who used to work as a concierge so she knows the area well. She's now a member of the hotel's PR department. Her tweets from @BeverlyWilshire range from food promotions at The BLVD restaurant or Wolfgang Puck's critically acclaimed steakhouse CUT, to friendly chatter to would-be customers... 

·         Celebrate at pool today from 2-7pm. Only decision is to go for the grilled basics or the exotics like steak skewers with chimichuri sauce

·         Sometimes it's the International guests that have the most fun with #4thofJuly :)

·         We& @WolfgangBuzz want you back too. RT @ingrid_werner: Walking by @BeverlyWilshire reminds me of CUT. I wanna go back

·         #braggingrights :) RT @barbdelollis: This is @BeverlyWilshire's $25,000 nt prez suite where Entourage filmed last wk. http://t.co/tawTY7a

One of the Four Seasons hotels that's about to follow the Beverly Wilshire is the Four Seasons Hotel located just a few minutes’ drive away; on the other side of the Beverly Hills-Los Angeles border. Austin Watkins, the hotel's marketing director is in the process of interviewing candidates.

"I was able to prove there's value in it," he told me last week.

Beach Traffic Good Indicator of Economic Health

Daytona Beach News-Journal: When people think of Daytona Beach tourism, they often think of "the world's most famous beach." As one of the area's big draws, how closely the shoreline resembles a can of sardines during the peak summer months is one indicator of the tourism economy's health.

Although beach tolls have been down slightly the past few months, Volusia County Beach Patrol officials and area businesses say the beach seems as busy, if not more, than in the past few years. The July 4th crowd backed them up.

"We seem to be at 100 percent in a lot of areas," Beach Patrol Capt. Tammy Marris said Monday. Because the beach was full, access was closed for at least an hour at International Speedway Boulevard and at Ponce Inlet, Marris said. "And New Smyrna Beach had to close for about an hour," she said.

Beach toll numbers have ebbed and flowed like the tides this year. After being up triple-digit dollar numbers in February and March over the previous year, beach tolls for Volusia County in April and May showed decreases of $23,033 and $29,373, respectively.

Beach Patrol spokeswoman Capt. Tammy Marris said the beach tolls do show a decrease in car traffic on the beach in April and May, but there are other factors, including people who choose not to drive on the beach. Off-beach parking lots have been busy in recent months, she said.

"The last few months, I think we've been probably close to the same as last year," Marris said. "It just depends on the weather." Marris said the parking lots at Tom Rennick Park in Ormond Beach, Sun Splash Park in Daytona Beach and 27th Avenue in New Smyrna Beach had all been crowded in recent weeks.

"A lot of people say it's because of the economy," she said. "People are saying it might be a cheaper way to go, just drive over to the beach, get on the beach."

Texas resident Amy Lyons was out on the beach by the Ocean Walk on Friday afternoon with her kids, taking advantage of the first sunny day all week. She'd been to Daytona Beach four years ago in the summer, she said, and didn't remember it being quite this crowded.

The beach is her favorite thing about coming to Daytona, she said. "My least favorite would probably be the amount of people here," she said. "It's pretty busy." She said her family tries to come mid-July, but this year it wasn't possible. "I'm sure this weekend is going to be nuts," she said.

Lyons' prediction seems to have panned out, some, but not everywhere. Across from the county-maintained free Rockefeller parking lot in Ormond Beach, two-year resident Bobbie Donaldson who lives in an apartment on A1A said she thought the beach looked quite crowded from her balcony during the Monday holiday. But Diane Tartaglia of Longwood, who had set up a tent at the beach access across from the parking lot didn't think it was all that crowded.

"We own two condos here, and it was less crowded than I thought it would be," Tartaglia said. "We come Memorial and Labor Day, and it seemed more crowded."

At Ocean Walk Shoppes, Director of Marketing Kim Ellis said there's been a 6.3 percent increase in traffic from June of last year, and a 16.1 percent increase from May to June this year. She attributed the busier month to summertime initiatives like free movies at 10 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday with family-friendly titles and the live concerts and fireworks at the Bandshell on Saturday nights.

Dino Paspalakis, whose family owns a number of businesses on the Boardwalk, including Joyland Amusement Center, Mardi Gras Fun Center and Pizza King, said he's seen an increase in customers, too. "We're definitely busier, but I'm not sure whether I'd attribute it to tourism or to the fact that the Ferris wheel has been a major draw to this area, to the Boardwalk in specific."

Paspalakis also said he thinks the fireworks off of the pier on Saturday nights have been a draw, with a countywide fireworks ban affecting other parts of Volusia County in recent weeks.

However, Rich Larkin, general manager for the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, said his hotel isn't feeling the beach increases. Occupancy at his hotel has been flat for the past few months compared to last year. However, he said, he has seen large increases in leisure tourists and decreases in convention customers, and that the leisure customers generally spend more time at the beach.

"I can't gauge it so much because I don't have the driving on the beach (at the Hilton)," Larkin said. "When I go to the beach, though, it looks the same to me. There's no indication that it's up or down."

Woman Escorted Off US Airways Flight for Taking Photo

Pixiq: A Miami photographer was escorted off a US Airways plane and deemed a “security risk” after she snapped a photo of an employee’s nametag at Philadelphia International Airport Friday.

Sandy DeWitt said the employee, whose name was Tonialla G., was being rude to several passengers in the boarding area of the flight to Miami.

So DeWitt snapped a photo of her nametag with her iPhone because she planned to complain about her in a letter to US Airways. But the photo didn’t come out because it was too dark.

However, once DeWitt was settled in her seat, preparing for take-off, Tonialla G. entered the plane and confronted her.

“She told me to delete the photo,” DeWitt said in an interview with Photography is Not a Crime Saturday morning. DeWitt, who already had her phone turned off in preparation for take-off, turned the phone back on to show her that it didn’t come out, but deleted the photo anyway.

“I complied with her wishes but it’s not something I would normally do,” she said. “It just wasn’t usable.”

But Tonialla G. wouldn’t let the issue go. She then walked into the cockpit to inform the pilot that DeWitt was a “security risk.” Next thing DeWitt knew, she was being escorted off the plane by two flight attendants. Her husband followed.

“I announced to the other passengers that I was being removed because I took a photo,” she said. “ I announced that photography is not a crime.” By this time, she had Tonialla G.'s named memorized, so she didn't even need the photo anymore.

Off the plane, she spoke to a Michael Lofton, a US Airways manager at Philadelphia International Airport, who told her she would not be allowed back on the plane because she was a security risk. But even though she was supposedly a security risk, Lofton directed her to American Airlines where they supposedly had a flight back to Miami leaving soon.

However, that flight had already departed and it was already after 7 p.m., so there were no other flights back to Miami until the following morning. “We were expecting to spend the night at the airport,” she said.

They eventually boarded a Southwest Airlines flight to Fort Lauderdale at 11 p.m. They landed at 1:15 a.m. and had to wake up a friend to drive them to Miami International Airport, about a 45 minute drive, where their car was parked.

“Southwest really stepped up to the plate for us,” she said. “I can’t say enough about them.”

DeWitt is a commercial photographer who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Photography.

UPDATE: Sandy DeWitt is not the only traveler who has had issues with US Airways. Check out Tracy Reed's story.

Riders Stuck on Roller Coaster for 7 Hours

Herald Scotland: Roller-coaster fans at Scotland’s largest theme park were given a longer ride than expected when a faulty lift-chain left them trapped onboard for nearly seven hours. Police and fire crews were called to North Lanarkshire’s M&D’s fairground yesterday afternoon after the roller-coaster screeched to a halt, leaving nine adults and children stranded.

Safety systems on the Tsumani ride kicked into action just after 4pm when a lift chain on the ride broke, leaving passengers held in their seats by safety bars that would not open. Police began bringing people down from the ride just after 9pm, with the rescue taking more than two hours to complete. Bystanders said those stranded, including two primary children on a school trip, took the breakdown in good humor.

No passengers were injured and theme-park staff climbed to the top of the roller coaster and handed out bottled water.

A spokesman for M&Ds said passengers were never in any danger as the ride is designed to come safely to a halt if there is a mechanical malfunction. He added: “This is a rare occurrence but we did everything possible to try and keep the passengers comfortable while our staff and the emergency services worked to resolve the issue.”

Billed by the theme park as Scotland’s scariest roller-coaster, the Tsumani is an inverted roller-coaster 650 metres long, travelling of speeds up to 65kph. The ride performs corkscrew twists and loops upside down but fortunately those stuck 20 metres in the air at the top of the Tsumani were sitting upright.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue confirmed a crew attended the scene but was not required.

Six people were stranded on a rollercoaster at M&Ds in 2009 for about an hour after high winds activated safety systems. The five women and a man, who were on a works funday, were stranded 40ft above the ground at the bottom of a dip on the Tornado ride.

Six Flags Magic Mountain Sets World Record

The Independent: The Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in California has broken a global record for the most roller coasters in one park, with the debut of a new coaster themed around the DC Comics hero Green Lantern.

The new ride, which opened June 30, is the first coaster in the US which follows a vertical track, with riders moving up 107 feet (33 meters) into the air and then dropping down the structure along a 825-foot (250-meter) track.

To compensate for the lack of sideways movements, Green Lantern: First Flight spins passengers round independently of the track, up to three 360-degree spins for each ride.

Before boarding the eight-person pods of the ride, guests pass through two "pre-show" rooms which give instructions on how to overcome anxiety and become as fearless as the story's legend, Hal Jordan, the first Earthman to ever join the Green Lantern Corps.

The addition of the Green Lantern ride makes Six Flags' Magic Mountain the world's most roller-coaster filled theme park, boasting 18 different rides featuring everything from comic themes such as Superman and Batman to Samurai-themed attractions and Looney Tunes characters.

Until June 30, it shared the title with Cedar Point theme park in Ohio, which despite welcoming more visitors than Magic Mountain, features only 17 roller coasters (and three water rides).

The Green Lantern movie opened in the US, UK, Canada and several other countries in June, but isn't set to debut globally until the end of August.

Travel Can Trigger Rare Neurological Condition

News-Leader: Travel-related illnesses are nothing new, especially during the summer months.

But what if your week-long cruise, or a flight, triggered a constant perception of rocking, bobbing, swaying, tilting and tumbling -- as if you were still in motion --that lasted months or even years?

That's what happened to Patty Boyd of Spokane, Wash., Donna Hall of Springfield and several hundred others diagnosedwith the silent, invisible neurological syndrome, mal de debarquement.

Medical mystery

Despite references to MdDS that date back as far as 1796, little is known about the rare, though non-life-threatening condition.

Through efforts of the not-for-profit MdDS Balance Disorder Foundation, www.mddsfoundation. org, more with MdDS are being properly diagnosed, learning what's known and finding fellow sufferers through online support groups.

The foundation's goal is to raise awareness about MdDS among doctors and patients, and raise funds for research to help determine its cause and find treatment. Two new research studies are being conducted in the United States, giving hope to sufferers like Boyd who have experienced several reoccurances.

For years, travel was part of Boyd's job as a U.S. Air Force medic, so her diagnosis of mal de debarquement -- from French to English, literally meaning "bad debarkment" -- seemed ironic after cruises in 2003 and 2005 left her rocking.

"I did all kinds of traveling while I was in the Air Force, with no problems whatsoever," Boyd says.

The rocking and bobbing lasted more than a year after the second cruise. Her third and current episode was triggered in spring 2010 by a flight to Hawaii. Although traveling by cruise ship seems to be a primary culprit, according to surveys, some get MdDS from flights, boats or other motion triggers -- including a waterbed for one. A few -- like a Kansas City woman -- develop MdDS spontaneously.

Disrupted life

In addition to motion, patients report episodes of feeling heavy heads --often described as "excess gravity" --and sensitivity to light and noise. In the throes of her initial episode, before learning what she had, "I thought I was going crazy," Boyd says. Her only relief from symptoms came while driving -- common among those with MdDS because they are in real motion.

For some, like Hall, 62, whose MdDS developed in 1999 after a cruise and flight home, symptoms have never gone away or may be more severe --meaning sufferers must curtail or quit work and favorite activities.

Hall no longer works -- not to mention snorkels or scuba-dives. Boyd retired from her military career, switching to part-time work at a fitness center, and reluctantly quit a lively Bible study.

Difficult diagnosis

One thing patients have in common: It usually takes visits to several physicians -- typically specialists --before getting an accurate diagnosis. When symptoms returned after her 2005 cruise, Boyd saw an ear, nose and throat specialist and was given an MRI.

"I thought 'it's gotta be a tumor,' " says Boyd, whose MRI -- like other sufferers -- was normal. Finally, Boyd's ENT diagnosed MdDS. To be safe, neurologists and other specialists may order tests to rule out more serious conditions.

"It's a difficult thing to diagnose. It's rare, so it's not the first thing you think of," says Springfield neurologist Rodney Quinn, whose practice has less than half a dozen MdDS patients. Treatment options are limited though lifestyle changes can help, he says, including staying active. Sufferers with more severe symptoms may take medication for depression or anxiety.

Now 50 and in her third MdDS episode --with no end in sight --Boyd makes "gratitude lists" and finds comfort in the fact that MdDS is "not going to kill me."

Hall says she takes one day at a time and focuses on positives, like her four grandchildren.

"One can still find ways to embrace what life has to offer," she says, "just at a different pace."

Joey Chestnut Wins #5

ESPN Page2: It was close for a few minutes and then "Jaws" pulled away.

Joey Chestnut ate 62 hot dogs Monday to capture his fifth title in a row in Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

"Winning tastes pretty good. I feel great," Chestnut said. "It was hot out here but that didn't really affect me."

After an event in Washington, D.C., in a day or so, the 27-year-old Chestnut will head back to his normal life as a construction engineer in San Jose, Calif.

"My girl friend didn't even make the trip out here to Coney Island," Chestnut said. "She just told me to come back in one piece."

It's really not much of a contest anymore as Chestnut has dominated the past five years. Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti finished second with 53, while Tim Janus finished with 45.

With no Takeru Kobayashi -- dealing with a contract dispute -- and no real formidable foes, Chestnut will continue to win any time he enters the contest, which celebrated its 96th year on Monday. His total of 62 compares to previous years -- 2010 (54), 2009 (world record 68), 2008 (59) and 2007 (66) -- but he doesn't have anyone pushing him to a new mark.

"Listen, I'm getting paid to eat," said Chestnut, who won $10,000 for winning Monday. "It's not too bad of a life."

And, barring injury or illness, Chestnut will be back next year. Before then, he might try some contests on his bucket list.

"I've never done oysters or hard-boiled eggs," Chestnut said. "I remember as a kid watching that movie -- 'Cool Hand Luke' -- with my grandfather. You remember that famous scene? That's what I want to try."

That's movie had the famous scene when Paul Newman ate 50 eggs on a bet. Piece of cake for Chestnut.

Also Monday, in the first-ever women's battle, Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas beat 2009 Rookie of the Year Juliet Lee and Stephanie Torres (both with 29) by eating 40 hot dogs, one short of her record. Lee grabbed a six hot dog lead at the midpoint until Thomas stormed back.

"I can't measure how I'm feeling right now. I'm so happy," said Thomas, who won $10,000 on Monday. "I'm so full for hot dogs but I definitely can eat something later tonight."

Animal Kingdom Lodge Earns Devoted Following

Orlando Sentinel: Ten years ago, amid a national recession, Walt Disney World opened what may have been the toughest-to-sell hotel it had ever built: a high-end resort themed as a simple African village, erected on Disney World's western fringe and away from its busiest theme parks, and whose central attraction was real-life zebras rather than animated mice.

Today, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge isn't Disney's biggest hotel, or its most popular. But it has carved out a loyal niche from among the millions of people who visit Disney World every year, making it one of the most resilient of the giant resort's nearly two-dozen hotels.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary by earning a coveted Four Diamond rating from the AAA travel club, demonstrated its strength during the most recent recession. Disney says the lodge churned out higher-than-average occupancy rates during the downturn, even as resort-wide occupancy sank from a peak of 93 percent to low of 81 percent.

Disney executives say the Animal Kingdom Lodge does particularly well with two key pools of travelers: animal lovers and repeat visitors.

The strength with animal lovers is easy to explain. The hotel's biggest, draw, after all, is a 40-acre wildlife preserve filled with more than 200 animals. Thirty species are spread over four Disney-created "savannahs," from long-necked giraffes to tiny Thompson's gazelles.

Approximately 70 percent of the lodge's 1,681 rooms — which includes 360 time-share units built in recent years — have balconies overlooking the savannahs. And the animals spend 22 hours a day grazing in view of guests.

But Disney says it is the many subtler touches to have earned the lodge a devoted following.

The lodge, for instance, is home to the largest publicly displayed collection of African art outside of the continent. More than 800 artifacts are on display between Jambo House and Kidani Village — the two buildings that constitute the lodge — from royal drinking horns out of Cameroon to a 16-foot-high Ijele mask that is the first of its kind ever to leave Nigeria.

Similarly, the lodge boasts the largest collection of South African wines outside South Africa, with 167 varietals served across three table-service restaurants and one counter-service eatery.

Disney also recruits roughly 90 "cultural representatives" from African countries every year, to staff the lodge with local experts who are encouraged to tell guests stories about their homes.

Toy Gun Used in 5 Hour Hotel Standoff

Shippenburg Township Best Western

ABC27: Police were called to a Shippensburg (Pennsylvania) Hotel after receiving reports of a man inside with a machine gun. It turns out, the weapon was much less threatening than it appeared.

"Everyone stay in your rooms, stay on the floor to be safe," said Matthew Ware from Virginia.

Some guests at a Best Western Hotel in Shippensburg Township were told to stay put, others right outside were told to run. 

"They were like run, run, run! So were running across the parking lot," said Mike Debruille from Ocean City, NJ. "Ran for our lives I guess. We ran and they told us come downtown or come here," said Emily Dubruille from Ocean City, NJ.

Those travelers were taken to a staging area before seeking shelter in a nearby medical center. "We basically treated it as a subject who was armed based on the information we had," said Thomas Pinkerton with the State Police.

Authorities from all over the mid-state rushed to the hotel Saturday morning after a guest said there was a man with a machine gun. Police say the man was wanted by Maryland Police for assault charges, and had a confrontation with the clerk at the hotel's main desk.

The say the man was also a guest staying on the hotel's second floor.

"Any amount of resources that we expended here was worth it because it could have turned out bad and in this case it didn't," said Pinkerton.

What appeared to be a standoff with 46-year-old Maryland resident John Jacobi lasted for nearly five hours, until he was contacted by police and surrendered on his own. Police found the supposed machine gun that caused it all. It was actually a toy gun.

"This toy gun was described to me as being extremely realistic," said Pinkerton.

With the incident under wraps, guests were told they could finally go about their weekend plans Saturday afternoon. "Being that the 4th of July is coming up I am going to celebrate my independence from this event here too," said Ware.

Disney Planning Another Ride-Inspired Film

Disney's Matterhorn

The Province: As its fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film races to the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office, Disney is developing an adventure movie based on another theme-park attraction.

This time it's the Matterhorn rollercoaster ride, also known as the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which has been part of Disneyland's Fantasyland section since 1959.

The studio has hired Jason Dean Hall to write a script for the project, which has a working title of The Hill. The idea is to do a thrilling, fast-paced movie centring on five young adventure seekers who, for mysterious reasons, are called to the top of the mountain and encounter Yetis on the journey down.

The Matterhorn ride was inspired by Walt Disney's desire for a tobogganthemed roller-coaster, as well as a trip to Switzerland, the location of the famed Matterhorn mountain. The ride, a centrepiece of the park, was refurbished in 1978, with one of the upgrades being the addition of three automatronic Abominable Snowmen, or yetis, who growl at riders.

Adapting rides into films is clearly a priority for Disney. Pirates of the Caribbean is the most successful of the ridesturned-movies, generating $3.7 billion worldwide over four films.

A movie was made out of the Haunted Mansion and another is being developed. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a Disney film, then a theme park ride, and is now being rebooted as a David Fincher film. But the ultimate theme park movie might be Disney's Magic Kingdom, which is set entirely in the park. That project is being developed by writer Michael Chabon and director Jon Favreau.

Dreamliner Arrives in Japan for Week of Tests

All Nippon Airways Dreamliner

San Francisco Chronicle: Boeing Co.'s 787 landed in Japan early (Sunday) to start a weeklong dress rehearsal with All Nippon Airways Co., signaling the end is near on a delay of more than three years for the world's first composite-plastic jet.

The Dreamliner, which landed at Tokyo's Haneda airport, will make test flights on ANA's normal domestic routes, with pilots and mechanics from both companies working alongside each other. The exercise will ensure the plane can fit into airport parking slots and use boarding bridges and fuel hoses, said Megumi Tezuka, an airline spokeswoman.

"It's been a long wait," said Hidetaka Sakai, an ANA spokesman who watched today's landing. "We want to compete with global air companies with this plane."

The trip is one of the final validations ahead of the 787's entry into service as soon as next month. Boeing missed the original May 2008 delivery target, stalling its ability to book profit from a model with an average list price of $202 million and forcing customers to reshuffle their plans.

"People are going to be happy to see the plane arrive in Japan," said Ryota Himeno, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. in Tokyo. "The key will be when demand for air travel rebounds."

ANA, Asia's largest listed airline by sales, suffered a 20 percent drop in domestic travel in April, the month after a record earthquake and tsunami disrupted air service in the country and led to the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Adding Flights

The Tokyo-based carrier is counting on the twin-engine Dreamliner to help add flights to China, Europe and the U.S. while paring fuel costs. Japan Airlines Co., which has 35 of the 787s on order, has said it will start service to Boston from Tokyo with the jet next year, the first direct link between the city and Asia.

Crews from Chicago-based Boeing began tests for extended operations and function and reliability this week as they work toward flight certification by U.S. and Japanese authorities.

Boeing and ANA plan joint tests starting July 5, with flights between Tokyo's Haneda and Osaka's Itami airports, as well as Okayama, Hiroshima and Osaka's Kansai. The companies scripted the trials to the half hour in meetings that ran seven hours a day for five days, according to Boeing's website.

The service-ready testing "is more about the system working than the airplane," said Lori Gunter, a Boeing spokeswoman in Everett, Washington, where the Dreamliners are assembled. "It's about ANA being ready to operate and Boeing being ready to support."

Boeing Relief

For Boeing, getting the Dreamliner into service this quarter would end a series of seven postponements that led to late penalties and analysts dubbing the company's fastest- selling plane the "7-Late-7." Boeing's 27 percent slide from the initial, October 2007 delay through June 30 was almost twice the drop for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

The 787 is the first airliner with a fuselage and wings made of composite-plastic materials instead of aluminum. The new materials and manufacturing system, along with parts shortages and other problems, hampered development. Suppliers around the world build whole sections and fly them to Everett.

The Dreamliner also is the first with all-electric operating systems that, along with the lighter-weight plastic, promise to shave fuel usage by 20 percent compared with similar- sized planes and let it fly farther than a 747 jumbo jet. Boeing marketed the 210- to 250-seat Dreamliner for long-haul routes not busy enough to fill a larger aircraft.

Domestic Routes

ANA plans to use its 55 Dreamliners on order to replace the similar-sized Boeing 767 in the airline's fleet, beginning with domestic routes. The carrier's initial order for 50 jets in 2004 was valued at $6 billion at list prices.

"We're very excited," said Tezuka, the ANA spokeswoman. "We're confident we will get the delivery of our first plane soon."

ANA is already preparing its staff to receive the plane, which Boeing has promised will happen in the third quarter. Two of the carrier's pilots tested the plane on a U.S. flight in May 2010, and 10 more who will be the first crews to operate it in Japan completed their training last month.

Boeing has done some tests with employees serving in the role of passengers, Gunter said. The first Dreamliner began flying in December 2009, and seven jets have made more than 1,500 flights around the world since, looking for severe weather and other conditions to test the plane to its limits.

A 787 made an appearance at the Farnborough Air Show in England last year, and last week Boeing let aviation executives, analysts and reporters onto a jet at the Paris Air Show to show off its new interior features such as dimming windows and LED lighting.

The rehearsal is "big news in Japan," said Ken Herbert, an analyst with Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. "You get the ground staff and everyone all excited about it, and it'll get a big buzz."

Fishing Tour Boat Capsizes in the Sea of Cortez



San Felipe

ABCNews: One person drowned and six others are missing after a chartered fishing boat capsized off Mexico's Baja California peninsula during a storm, authorities said Monday.

The roughly 100-foot-long boat, a catamaran called the Erik operated by the tourism company Baja Fishing, was carrying 44 tourists on board, mostly Americans, when it was struck by an electrical storm and then capsized early yesterday, port and Navy officials said.

The boat was found 87 miles south of San Filipe, Mexico, in the Sea of Cortez, an area usually known for its scuba diving and sport fishing.

"When the vessel sank it was close enough to shore that some people were able to swim to shore," said U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Pam Boehland. "Other people were picked up by good Samaritan vessels that were in the area. Others were rescued by the Mexican Navy."

While authorities say all Americans have been accounted for, the Mexican Navy, which is leading the rescue effort, will only say that "at least 27" Americans have survived. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a helicopter from San Diego, Calif. to help search for the missing.

"We are still looking for the rest of the people. The weather is really bad right now, with strong wind," said local port official Felipe Vallecillo told Reuters.

Vallecillo said weather conditions were normal when the boat set sail on Saturday.

According to an Internet advertisement, the Erik has been operating in the Sea of Cortez since 1989 and can sleep up to 42 guests.

Strauss-Kahn Maid Worked as a Prostitute

New York Post: She was turning tricks on the taxpayers' dime!

The Sofitel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of a sex attack in his suite wasn't just a hotel hooker -- she continued to work as a prostitute in a Brooklyn hotel where she was stashed by prosecutors, The Post has learned.

The so-called victim, whose web of lies has crippled the Manhattan DA's case against the former International Monetary Fund boss, played host to a parade of paying male visitors in the weeks after Strauss-Kahn's arrest, a prosecution source said.

"While she was under our supervision, there were multiple 'dates' and encounters at the hotel on the DA's dime," the source said of her paid hotel room. "That's a great deal for her. She doesn't have to cover her expenses." The woman has a regular fleet of gentlemen callers who range from wealthy clients she met at the Sofitel to counterfeit-merchandise hawkers and livery-cab drivers, said sources close to the defense investigation.

Some of her clients also gave her pricey jewelry, the source said. Nothing happened in the first two weeks of her stay at the hotel, when she was under around-the-clock supervision provided by the DA's Office, said a law-enforcement source. Prosecutors were apparently worried about the woman's emotional state and that reporters knew where she lived.

There was an additional concern that DSK representatives might try to bribe her or that she might get cold feet. And because she couldn't go home, they decided that having her stay in a hotel under their watch was the best way to keep her safe and secure her cooperation.

But starting about June 1, the arrangement changed -- she was dropped off and picked up when prosecutors needed her but was otherwise free to do as she pleased, the source said. It's unclear how many encounters took place, the source said.

The woman is still being housed by the DA's Office but it's unclear if it's the same location or how much money has been spent to house her, the source said. "I can't say with 100 percent certainty that it's not true," a senior prosecutor said about whether the woman was turning tricks while at the hotel.

Also, The DA suspects that the $100,000 she deposited into her accounts over the last few years included proceeds from sex-for-money exploits, said another prosecution source.

Report: Strauss-Kahn Refused to Pay for Sex

New York Post: She had dollar signs in her eyes.

Before she ever walked into Dominique Strauss-Kahn's dazzling suite at the Sofitel, his accuser was well aware of his VIP status -- and planning to get her hands in his deep pockets, sources told The Post.

"She figured he's a rich dude, and she would get paid," said a source close to the defense investigation. "She was told by the crew she ran with that this was a gold mine."

The maid, who routinely traded sex for money with male guests, parked her cleaning cart outside Suite 2806 on the morning of May 14 and keyed her way into the room -- knowing what he looked like from a photo hanging in a maid closet that identified him as an important guest.

Multiple versions have emerged of what happened next, but nobody disputes that the 32-year-old maid performed oral sex on the Frenchman known as "the Great Seducer." Sources now tell The Post that when the two were finished, the woman demanded cash from Strauss-Kahn -- but he refused to pay.

“There was an expectation of money after the fact, but he was dismissive," the source said. And not gently, the source said -- DSK brushed off the maid's request as he turned his back and got dressed.

She pressed her case.

"She remained in the room with him while he got dressed for at least nine minutes," the source said. The humiliating exchange sparked the maid's anger, prosecutors suspect.

The woman's lawyer has charged that DSK angrily grabbed her breast and vagina, leaving her with bruises to the groin area. The fight also apparently prompted DSK to bolt the Sofitel in such a hurry that he left behind a cellphone.

Unraveling the explosive events became more complicated with the accuser's varying versions of what happened both in the hotel suite and afterward, prosecutors say. In the hours following the incident, she told cops Strauss-Kahn chased her, grabbed her, locked the suite's door and then dragged her into a bedroom to force her to perform oral sex.

She claimed she broke free only to be dragged into a bathroom to complete the sexual encounter -- and that at one point Strauss-Kahn tried to pull off her pantyhose and rape her. She also claimed she didn't know who her alleged attacker was.

"She didn't know who Dominique Strauss-Kahn was at the time of the incident. I was the one who explained to her," a relative told AFP. Yet within a day, the maid was recorded speaking on the phone with a jailed drug dealer, reportedly crowing about a potential windfall if she pursued charges.

Her lies then caught up with her.

"In the weeks following the incident charged in the indictment, the complainant told detectives and assistant district attorneys on numerous occasions that, after being sexually assaulted . . . she fled to an area of the main hallway of the hotel's 28th floor and waited there until she observed the defendant . . . entering an elevator," reads a letter from prosecutors.

She said she then alerted her supervisor and waited for him. She repeated this version to cops and a grand jury -- but finally admitted she later cleaned a nearby room and DSK's suite before reporting the incident to her supervisor.

The DA's case has fallen into turmoil, and DSK was freed of his strict bail conditions. "The investigation is continuing. It may lead to dismissal. It may not," a senior prosecutor involved in the case said yesterday, adding the DA's Office has not decided whether to go forward with the case.

DSK enjoyed his newfound freedom yesterday by leaving his swanky TriBeCa town house at 3 p.m. in one of a small fleet of limos. After a brief stop at the TimeWarner Center in Columbus Circle, he and wife Anne Sinclair went to the Museum of Modern Art, dining in the fifth-floor café that overlooks a lush garden, workers said. They were back home at around 5:30 p.m.

"He looked extremely happy -- he's free," said one museum worker.

At the Sofitel, one worker was mystified by the sullied maid's web of sex and lies, and doubted others would ever follow suit. "Why would they risk that?" he said.

Singapore's Supertrees

Daily Mail: In the Singapore heat, the idea of enjoying the shade of a tree is quite appealing, particularly if that tree is colossal enough to shelter a small army. Which is why the stylish city, which has a name for doing things on a grand scale, is creating the ultimate green space, but with a difference.

Man-made trees, stretching 50 metres (164 feet) high and made from concrete and wire rods are currently under construction in the Marina South district, but don't worry, some natural flora will be joining them soon.

The towering creations, which already weigh hundreds of tonnes and are due to weigh even more when canopies are added to their 'branches', are set to mark a new attraction.

A vast green space is to be created in the area, which currently looks more like a building site, as part of an ambitious project to make Singapore the 'botanical capital of the world'.

Once completed, the installation will house a cluster of green conservatories and inside the Supertrees plants from around the world will be displayed. The park will also become home to the Singapore Garden Festival. Hanging gardens and rainwater catches will be added to the trees and a 22-metre high walkway will be made between two of the canopies allowing guests to take in a view of the scenery.

The Gardens at Marina South is one of three waterfront garden projects under the massive Gardens by the Bay initiative, with the other two in Marina East and Marina Center. The aim is to compliment the already-popular city destination with a chance to enjoy the outdoors too.

Leaders want to create a continuous ring of greenery, with the three gardens wrapping around the Marina Bay area, which is already home to the iconic Marina Bay Sand hotel, with its suspended rooftop swimming pool.

Each Supertree will have added to it a canopy weighing around 20 to 85 tonnes which will be hoisted into place over three to four hours by a hydraulic-jack system. Steel frames are then added onto the sides to represent the dark bark of natural woodland.

Environmental experts have even been drafted in to add solar panels to seven of the trees. The energy will then be used to light the areas below.