Hospitality_Recreation

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Former Los Angeles Angel Dan Haren saw Washington as a good fit because of the Nationals' potential to compete for championships. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** A sign points to the McDonald's restaurant near the historic Pantheon in Rome on June 28, 2011. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sand and rubble sit Nov. 29, 2012, where the boardwalk used to be in Seaside Heights N.J. Seaside Heights, like many other coastal towns, is racing to rebuild its boardwalk from Superstorm Sandy's damage in time for next summer's tourism season. (Associated Press)

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Johan Huibers poses with a stuffed tiger in front of the full scale replica of Noah’s Ark after being asked by a photographer to go outside with the animal in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on Dec. 10, 2012. The Ark has opened its doors in the Netherlands after receiving permission to receive up to 3,000 visitors per day. (Associated Press)

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People dressed as Zwarte Piet or Black Pete ride in a parade after St. Nicholas arrives by boat in Amsterdam. Foreigners visiting the Netherlands in winter are often surprised to see that the Dutch version of St. Nicholas’ helpers resemble a racist caricature of a black man. The Dutch, known for tolerance, are also starting to question the tradition. (Associated Press)

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A U.S. Marine plays "Taps" at the end of the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. This marks the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Harry Patch, who served in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy during World War II, is interviewed at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 before a National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony. Vipul Tripathi with Reingold communications accompanied Mr. Patch, who was one of several veterans who came for the ceremony. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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**FILE** Emergency personnel investigate the scene of a bus crash on Interstate 95 in the Bronx borough of New York on March 12, 2011. The bus driver, Ophadell Williams, who was charged in the crash that killed 15 passengers, said a tractor-trailer cut him off and he lost control. The bus carrying gamblers coming from a Connecticut casino was sheared open like a sardine can when it struck a pole. (Associated Press)

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A Thai mahout's wife jokingly poses with a plastic basket containing coffee beans freshly cleaned from elephant dung below the tail of an elephant in the Chiang Rai province of northern Thailand on Dec. 4, 2012. A Canadian entrepreneur has teamed up with a herd of 20 elephants, gourmet roasters and one of the country's top hotels to produce Black Ivory Coffee, a new blend from the hills of northern Thailand and the excrement of elephants which ranks among the world's most expensive cups of coffee. (Associated Press)