Nostalgic Poles rebuild medieval castles

TYKOCIN, Poland (AP) -- Fanciful turrets flank the thick fortress walls. A cannon sits in the courtyard.

Inside the castle in the eastern Polish town of Tykocin, there are brand-new electric ovens, modern radiators and sleek bathroom fixtures.

A handful of Polish developers are completely rebuilding medieval castles to house museums, hotels or conference centers that they hope will recapture the enchantment of a time when Poland was a great European power,before centuries of occupation, warfare and foreign rule.

"Why should the Germans have their castles on the Rhine, the French their castles on the Loire, why should the Czechs have so many castles open to the visitors and why should the Poles have only ruins?" said Dariusz Lasecki, a businessman and one of two brothers rebuilding a medieval castle in Bobolice, a town near Czestochowa.

US default could be disastrous choice for economy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States has never defaulted on its debt and Democrats and Republicans say they don't want it to happen now. But with partisan acrimony running at fever pitch, and Democrats and Republicans so far apart on how to tame the deficit, the unthinkable is suddenly being pondered.

The government now borrows about 42 cents of every dollar it spends. Imagine that one day soon, the borrowing slams up against the current debt limit ceiling of $14.3 trillion and Congress fails to raise it. The damage would ripple across the entire economy, eventually affecting nearly every American, and rocking global markets in the process.

Report: Transocean contributed to Gulf disaster

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Flaws in Transocean Ltd.'s emergency training and equipment and a poor safety culture contributed to the deadly Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion that led to the Gulf oil spill, according to a Coast Guard report released Friday.

The report centered on Transocean's role in the disaster because it owned the rig and was primarily responsible for ensuring its safety, the Coast Guard said. BP PLC owned the well that blew out.

The Coast Guard report also concluded that decisions made by workers aboard the rig "may have affected the explosions or their impact," such as failing to follow procedures for notifying other crew members about the emergency after the blast.

France blocks train from Italy with migrants

ROME (AP) -- A train carrying Tunisian immigrants from Italy was halted at the French border Sunday in an escalation of an international dispute over the fate of North African migrants fleeing political unrest for refuge in Europe.

But France blamed what it said were hundreds of activists on the train planning a demonstration in France, and posing a problem to public order. Traffic was re-established by evening - but not before Italy lodged a formal protest.

"At no time was there a ... closing of the border between France and Italy," French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet said. It was an "isolated problem," he said by telephone, "an undeclared demonstration."

Health Insurance Plans Advantages

Health insurance plans could appear like an added fixed cost that you can not really want. However, health insurance may be helpful for a list of argues. You can search through health insurance plans to get the greatest one for you, whether it is something that only covers the some and far-between doctor's visits you might want throughout the year, or disability coverage that takes into account any serious health issues that you must have. Health insurance, if it is the good plan, can assist as a hugely good separate of maintaining you healthy.

Lakers' road to repeat may go through Chicago

Kobe Bryant has all that championship experience, and perhaps the NBA's best supporting cast. The Miami Heat have the promise of what LeBron James and Dwyane Wade can deliver in their first postseason together, and the Boston Celtics think their playoff-tested group can do it again.

"You don't ever know if you're going to win a championship until you get there, but you know you have the pieces that can compete for one," Wade said. "That's where we're at right now."

But to win an NBA title, those teams may have to go past Michael Jordan.

A Consumer's Guidebook to Health Care Modernize

The six-month capable age 26 on your health plan if he or she can not get coverage done a job. Recently policies can't deny coverage for children up to age 19 based on pre-existing medical circumstances. "Grandfathered" plans can, even so, they as well can determine annual dollar limits on coverage and require patients to help pay for some preventive services.

Most people in the individual market are expected to move to new plans by 2014. Analysts say most plans in the group market will probably have lost their "grandfathered" condition because of alterations fixed to it.