Hospitality_Recreation

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Visitors make their way up a makeshift grass path across the Ellipse to the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday. The entire area, also called President's Park South, is set to be revamped after the National Capital Planning Commission invited five architectural-design firms from around the country to present plans for a new design. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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This video image shows Afghan police vehicles near the Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul on June 28, 2011, following a blast at the hotel. At least one suicide bomber blew himself up late Tuesday night inside the Western-style hotel, police said. (Associated Press/APTN)

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Truck loads of dirt for levees on the swollen Souris River arrive at a central location off Broadway Ave. Monday, June 27, 2011 in Minot, N.D. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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The Pioneers of American Industrial Design postage stamps honor 12 of the nation's most influential industrial designers. There will be a dedication ceremony at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. (Associated Press)

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Robert Polidori via Associated Press Jay Swayze's design for Girard Henderson's Las Vegas bomb shelter featured a backyard with fake greenery, a barbecue camouflaged in a fake boulder, swimming pool and patio area. Murals were painted on the interior of the home's protective concrete shell. Lighting could be adjusted to create day or night.

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Monika Wenger, the owner of the Gruener Baum (Green Tree) hotel, shows a drawing by Chinese architects of her hotel in Hallstatt, Austria. After taking photos and collecting other data on the village while mingling with tourists, Chinese architects plan to rebuild Hallstatt in Guandong province.

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Its beauty has landed Hallstatt, Austria, on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites and inspired a Chinese firm to build a lookalike version of the popular tourist destination in China.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS "Three Cups of Tea" co-author Greg Mortenson (left) shows the locations of future village schools to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the opening of Pushghar Village Girls School, 60 miles north of Kabul in the Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan, in July, 2009.

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Ronald Moten is co-founder of Peaceoholics, a home for troubled youth where Sanquan Carter was to stay. (The Washington Times)

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Views from Trocadero square include the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire. Mr. Allen has composed a sweet and zany Valentine to the French capital.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Chicken lasagna casserole can be be spooned into a sub roll or served over a bed of noodles or rice.

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This May 23, 2011 photo shows chicken lasagna casserole in Concord, N.H. This dish can be served over a bed of noodles or rice. It also could be spooned into a sub roll. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

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Associated Press Protein-rich but plain, nuts have always been the utility players of the snack world. Until now, that is. Clockwise from top are sweet butter-roasted almonds, smoky crusted walnuts and citrus-herb pistachios.

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Associated Press Protein-rich but plain, nuts have always been the utility players of the snack world. Until now, that is. Clockwise from top are sweet butter-roasted almonds, smoky crusted walnuts and citrus-herb pistachios.

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Syrians living in makeshift tents inside Syria near the Turkish border village of Guvecci are seen shortly before Turkey's Red Cresdent distribute free food alongside Turkey-Syria border near the Turkish village of Guvecci in Hatay province, Turkey, on June 22, 2011. (Associated Press)