Last month United Airlines befuddled customers when it announced its intent to discontinue all hot meals on transatlantic flights, then almost immediately reversed its decision.

Though the airline initially cited “negative customer feedback” as the reason for the change, some are speculating that this “official” explanation is only part of the story. And really, this amounts to only a small victory for customers who are sick of being squeezed by airline fees.

The saga started on August 19, when United said it would discontinue hot meal service on certain flights to and from Europe starting in October. Hot food would be replaced with cold sandwiches and snack boxes that would be free to business and first-class passengers, but would cost coach travelers up to $9, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Caribbean hurricane season, which generally runs from June 1 to November 30, with its peak from August to October, has thus far largely spared the U.S. from major damage, with the exception of Fay-related flooding in Florida.

That may change. There’s a triple threat of tropical trouble headed our way, in the form of tropical storms (and probably soon-to-be hurricanes) Hanna, Ike and Josephine.

Find out the latest on how these storms are expected to affect travel and transportation over the next few days.

We’ll constantly add links, maps, photos, and other media to this page, so check back often, or jump right in and join our discussion …

Last week was that terrible plane crash in Madrid—the Spanair MD-82 flight where more than 150 people were killed. Miraculously, some people survived, and hopefully we might be able to hear their side of the story eventually.

They have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, and I’ll be talking about that in the days to come as the investigation continues.

And speaking of airplane crashes, I’ve been working now for over three years on a special project that will air on September 19 on NBC.

We’re going to tell you for the first time in over eight years what really happened when the Concorde crashed just outside of Paris back in July 2000.

Whether you’re jetting to Beijing to see the Olympics first-hand, or just preparing to watch them on NBC, we’ve got all the information you could need to truly understand Beijing and China.

You’ll get help breaking the language barrier, tips on getting around in a fast-moving city, insight into Chinese culture, a guide to eating, and much, much more.

So go for the gold in knowledge of China and impress your friends as you settle in for the opening ceremonies…

In January, France enacted an American-style ban on indoor smoking, so we asked Paris native Célestine Albert-Steward for a report …

Six months ago, when I was actually supposed to write an article about the smoking ban, I was pretty impulsive and angry about it.

Here is how I had started the piece: “Since last January, the pissed-off smoker that I am, and all the ones I represent, have found our habits and cozy ‘pauses cafés’ brought to ashes.

We cannot smoke in bars, cafés, restaurants, nightclubs or concert venues anymore, and it just makes everyone miserable. And, by ‘everyone,’ I mean the 15 million smokers out of the 60 million population.

Thanks to a recent decision by the California Supreme Court, the Golden State may soon be seeing a flood of same-sex couples flocking to the state to get married, beginning June 17.

Gay marriage may have some Christians and conservatives seeing red, but the state’s travel and wedding-related businesses are focused on the green.

Tim Zahner, the Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Sonoma County Tourism Board, is practically giddy, whether he’s talking up the Russian River region as a “gay playground” or bragging about how perfect a wedding under the redwoods would be.

The excitement of tourism professionals aside, how much could gay marriage realistically bring in?