A Delta Airlines plane taxis past a gate at Logan Airport in Boston. Police at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport have opened a criminal investigation into how needles got into turkey sandwiches served to passengers on Delta Air Lines flights from Amsterdam to the United States, a spokesman said. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) MINNEAPOLIS -- Jim Tonjes was high above North America when he bit into a hot turkey sandwich aboard a Delta Air Lines flight and felt a sudden jab in...

WASHINGTON — If diplomatic achievements were measured by the number of countries visited, Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the most accomplished secretary of state in history. While historians will debate and eventually rate her tenure as America's top diplomat, Clinton is already assured of a place in the State Department record book. When her plane touched down at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington early Tuesday morning, the former first lady completed an epic 13-day journey of 27,000 miles —...

Savor the five-star views at trendy rooftop restaurants from Brooklyn to Bangkok. (Courtesy of Sirocco) You step out of the elevator on the 27th floor, and it hits you: a dazzling view of Chicago’s Loop, Lake Michigan, and Millennium Park. You’ve arrived at the Roof at the Wit just in time to snag a table with a built-in fire pit and watch the sun dip slowly behind the city’s architectural landmarks. It’s going to be one memorable dinner. Better than...

Cordillera Blanca, Peru, is home to the highest tropical mountain range on earth, with 50 major summits of more than 18,000 feet. (Getty Images) Every Thursday I write about place I'd love to visit, if I had the time and the money. I just got an email from Adventure Life that has me drooling over a new 14-day northern Peru backcountry trekking tour. Here is the email: This tour journeys to the highest tropical mountain range on earth, with 50+...

Hot Creek Ranch in Mammoth Lakes has a 2-mile stretch ripe for fly fishing. (Chicago Tribune) This isn't one of those cushy Fish-Carltons like those uber-expensive Montana trout resorts. Hot Creek Ranch in Mammoth Lakes has nine no-frills cabins whose biggest amenity is one of the sweetest spring-fed creeks you'll ever see, right out your front door. You and other guests will have a two-mile stretch of it all to yourselves. Isn't that the ultimate VIP perk, anyway? Plus, it's...

Azriel Blackman is framed by a mural of him in Hanger 10 while speaking to reporters at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) NEW YORK — American Airlines is celebrating the seven-decade service of a New York mechanic who turns 87 next month and has no plans to retire. Azriel "Al" Blackman was 16 when he started as an apprentice mechanic in July of 1942, long before bag fees, airport security or even the introduction...

Young Shetland colt walking towards viewer. He very close; behind him hills, islands and deep blue sea are visible in Shetland. (Getty Images) Richard Webber takes his family to Shetland and savours the simple pleasures of the open sea, wonderful wildlife and majestic landscapes. We sat motionless in the grass atop Hermaness Hill, surrounded by frenetic activity more reminiscent of Heathrow airport than Britain’s northernmost headland. As the grey blanket of mist, which had lain heavily all day, gave way...

Torrens Lake and the Adelaide skyline at dusk. (Getty Images) In my mind, Adelaide is forever hot and sunny. That’s the way it looks on television when the cricket’s on, with the velvet voice of Richie Benaud welcoming viewers to a day’s play. As a teenager I’d watch rapt while the great man intoned, “Yesss, it’s a very good morning and welcome to the Adelaide Oval, the most picturesque cricket ground in the world.” But of course the city is...

Na Pali Coast is a great place to view from a helicopter in Hawaii. (Getty Images) Every Monday we ask a few questions of a St. Louis travel professional. Today, Cynthia Friedenberg of Brentwood Travel talks about Hawaii. If someone is visiting Hawaii for the first time, what are the don't-miss sites you recommend? For first-time visitors to Hawaii, Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center are musts on Oahu; on Maui, go to Haleakala National Park and a pineapple...

With the New York City skyline as a backdrop, a United plane prepares to land at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) WASHINGTON — A safety program that encourages air traffic controllers to voluntarily disclose their mistakes in exchange for amnesty from punishment needs significant improvement before it can work effectively, according to a report released Monday. The program has been FAA's primary answer to the problem of controller errors that bring planes dangerously close together....

Casinos, hotels and fountains at night, Macau, China. Macau is the largest gambling center in the world, by revenue. (Getty Images) Fionnuala McHugh visits China's Macao region, a buzzing casino island, across from Hong Kong, with hidden pockets of tranquility and a unique colonial heritage. It takes about an hour to travel by ferry from Hong Kong to Macao. On polluted winter days, it’s often a hazy crossing but in summer, the bright-green humps of Hong Kong’s 235 islands jostle...

Air travelers should get a break next month, when airfares are expected to drop 10 percent to 20 percent. (Getty Images) Air travelers, rejoice: Relief from soaring airfares may be just around the corner, at least temporarily. For travelers, it can't happen soon enough. In the first three months of the year, the average domestic airfare in the U.S. climbed to $373, up 4.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the U.S. Transportation Department. That was on...