U.S. raises airline threat level after terror plot foiled

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States on Thursday raised its terror threat level after British police said they had arrested more than 20 suspects in a major terrorist plot to blow up passenger jets flying between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Frommer's launches new guidebook series

NEW YORK (AP) -- A new series of Frommer's guidebooks is coming out -- but these will carry the name of Pauline Frommer rather than her famous father, Arthur.

Five spa trends, from wellness to good food

NEW YORK (AP) -- America's top spas gathered in New York recently for the annual meeting of the International Spa Association.

Look who's moving to the Big Apple

(Budget Travel Online) -- Choosing a hotel in New York City has long meant deciding between two less-than-winning options: splurging beyond your financial comfort zone, or resigning yourself to what could be a fleabag. Not anymore -- and the middle ground is far more stylish than you might expect.

Government changes grading of airport screeners

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For airport screeners, failure is not an option.

Escape the hubbub of airport hubs in clubs

(CNN) -- Crying children, cranky passengers and crowded concourses make hanging out at an airport chaotic. Seats by gates fill up quickly, and lines for food wind every which way.

LAX equipment malfunctions raise safety questions

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A computerized system that guides arriving planes onto a runway at Los Angeles International Airport failed, marking the second serious problem to disable the world's fifth-busiest airport in the past three weeks, officials said.

Fare hike targets business travelers

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. airlines have raised fares by up to $10 one-way for tickets geared at business travelers, taking advantage of robust demand at the tail end of the peak summer travel season.

Equipment failure disrupts flights at LAX

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Landings were almost back to normal Monday at Los Angeles International Airport an hour after the instrument landing system failed, air traffic control officials said.

Canyon Ranch spa a desert Eden

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- You don't realize just how much you're pampered at Canyon Ranch Spa until you return to the real world, and a rude waitress forgets your side of spinach, or you feel your muscles tightening.

Mini-Grand Canyon a natural haven

CASTILE, New York (AP) -- Turkey vultures with 6-foot wingspans glide on eddies off Inspiration Point, a favorite lookout in Letchworth State Park. Far below in the Genesee River Valley, rainbow-haunted waterfalls tumble through a narrow gorge lined with 400-foot cliffs.

Drug violence, political unrest mar Mexico tourism

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- A human head washes up on an Acapulco beach. Protesters hassle visitors at makeshift checkpoints in the colonial city of Oaxaca. And in Mexico City, leftist demonstrators turn the tourist draws of Reforma Avenue and the Zocalo plaza into sprawling, ragtag protest camps.

Striking castles dot Thousand Islands

ALEXANDRIA BAY, New York (AP) -- Even the name of the Thousand Islands region in the St. Lawrence River between New York and Canada is an understatement.

Yo! Brooklyn is the place to be

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ten years ago, tourists visiting Brooklyn saw it as nothing more than a side trip from Manhattan. Maybe they walked across the Brooklyn Bridge or took the subway out to Coney Island, but few had dinner here or stayed the night.

It's a mad, mad, Technomad world race

(CNN) -- A group of MIT engineering students will probably have a pretty good answer to the question, "What did you do on your summer vacation?"

How to stay sharp when you travel

(CNN) -- You've been in hotels more than you've been at home. You've been commuting between San Francisco and New York lately. And you're wiped out. But there's that big meeting or gig to prepare for.

New smoking airline as hotels stub out

(CNN) -- As more and more hotels go completely smoke-free, a German entrepreneur is bucking the trend by launching an airline for those determined not to kick the habit.

S. African hotel pampers worms

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) -- Thousands of earthworms guzzle tonnes of scrap food left over from the tables of the rich and famous at South Africa's plush Mount Nelson hotel, quietly doing their bit to save the planet.

Like living inside 'The Andy Griffith Show'

CLEAR LAKE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Marsha Scheuermann met her husband Dave in an Internet chat room where they shared their passion for the 1960s TV sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show." Eventually they fell in love and married.

Hotel rooms for those on the move

(CNN) -- A hotel company has come up with a new style of room that will suit those who love the outdoors but hate compromising on luxury.