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President class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Barack Obama will make a pitch for U.S. tourism at a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday as part of his efforts to provide a boost for U.S. economic growth. After meeting with the executives of tourism-related companies in Washington, the president was scheduled to travel to the institution in Cooperstown, New York, which celebrates baseball greats like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle and men with nicknames such as "Old Hoss," "Dizzy," and "Country." The museum, which drew just over 250,000 visitors in 2013, was picked for the event because it draws tourists from around the world, officials said.   true       The president is aiming to draw attention to efforts to boost growth by making it easier for foreign visitors to spend money in the United States. But he may have a hard time diverting attention from a flaring controversy over alleged neglect of veterans' healthcare

The San Diego airport has agreed to run an animal rights group's advertisement asking visitors to avoid SeaWorld, a major tourist attraction in the city that has faced criticism over its killer whale shows, the ACLU said on Thursday. _0"> The airport agreed to run the advertisement as part of a legal settlement after the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a federal lawsuit in March accusing the airport and the company that handles its class="mandelbrot_refrag"> advertising of infringing on PETA's free speech rights by initially balking at the ad. "There appears to have been viewpoint discrimination and we are glad that issue was resolved," said Sean Riordan, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties which helped represent PETA in the lawsuit.   true       Officials at San Diego International Airport, without admitting wrongdoing in a legal settlement filed in court t

Lawyers for O.J. Simpson submitted a bulky document requesting a new trial for the former NFL star in an attempt to have his 2008 armed-robbery conviction overturned, court officials said on Thursday. _0"> The attorneys for Simpson, who is not eligible for parole until 2017, filed the opening brief in his December 2013 appeal before a midnight-Wednesday deadline, said Nevada Supreme Court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer. The document came in at 19,993 words, well over the 14,000 word limit, along with a request to exceed the word count because of the complexity of the case.   true       Before the brief can be made public, the court will have to accept Simpson's request to go over the limit, Sommermeyer said. In 2008, Simpson, 66, was convicted on charges of burglary, robbery, kidnapping and assault while in possession of a deadly weapon related to a 2007 robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel. Simpson testified at the time that he was trying to

Manaus is best known as a stopover for travelers on the way to and from eco tours in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, but in many ways it is more like a bustling frontier outpost of the modern, industrial world on a distant, jungle planet. Visitors may find the sci-fi feel of the place enhanced by the fact that the only reliable ways to get there are by plane or river boat. The next closest urban center, Belém, is 777 miles (1,250 km) away, and Manaus is a four-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. (Map: goo.gl/maps/wQcdt ) Manaus is surrounded on three sides by mostly impassible jungle and on the other by rivers: the enormous Rio Negro and the almost unimaginably more powerful Amazon River.   true       When you step off the plane, even the air can seem other-worldly, a hot, humid blast that feels like steam - so much so that physical effort can be utterly exhausting. But this city of 2 million is more than just jungle. It is a free-trade zone with an oil refinery and doz

A federal judge on Thursday reinstated a lawsuit by "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee against an Alabama museum she accuses of illegally profiting from her Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Attorneys for Lee and the Monroe County Heritage Museum announced in February that the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement. But the agreement has fallen through, according to legal filings from Lee's attorneys. An Alabama judge on Thursday reset a trial date for November 2014.   true       Norman Stockman, an attorney for Lee, said in the filing that the museum has not complied with the terms and is attempting to add new requests. The museum's lawyer, Sam David Knight, declined to comment. Details of the agreement have not been made public. The reclusive author sued the museum in October, saying it never paid her a licensing fee for using the novel's title and a mockingbird image on merchandise it sold in its gift shop. Lee's suit contended the museum ear

San Diego International Airport has agreed to run an animal rights group's advertisement asking visitors to avoid SeaWorld, a major city tourist attraction that has faced criticism over shows featuring killer whales, a civil rights group said on Thursday. The airport, which had balked at displaying the ad, agreed to do so as part of a legal settlement after an animal rights group sued in March accusing the airport and the company that handles its class="mandelbrot_refrag"> advertising of infringing on its free speech rights. "There appears to have been viewpoint discrimination, and we are glad that issue was resolved," said Sean Riordan, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties, which helped represent People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the lawsuit.   true       Officials at San Diego International Airport, without admitting wrongdoing in a legal settlement filed this month, agreed to al

Former managers and staff at Liu Han’s Australian operations were dumbfounded when the Chinese tycoon went on trial last month for leading a murderous, mafia-style gang. In 2009 when Liu, 48, launched a bid to take control of Moly Mines, executives then running the Perth-based company ordered background checks. Their findings could not have been more different: Liu was best known in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China as a philanthropist in his native Sichuan province. One story stood out. Amid the devastation near the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, a school Liu had helped build remained standing and all of its students had escaped unharmed. In contrast, many other shoddily built classrooms, so-called “tofu schools”, had collapsed, killing thousands of children. Liu also donated generously to reconstruction and relief efforts.   true       For Moly Mines, Liu's philanthropy enhanced his credibility as an investor in class="mandelbrot_refrag"&g