Train

Spend five days exploring Montreal and Quebec City on a trip that would work in summer or in fall. By day, tour highlights of the two cities; by night, unwind at historic Fairmont hotels on the Gems of French Canada Luxury Tour from TruExperiences Tours.  The Eastern Canada trip begins in Montreal where a half-day bus tour visits the old French Quarter, McGill University and the city's high point at Mt. Royal Park. Participants then hop a train to Quebec City and later tour the Latin Quarter, City Hall and the historic fortress the Citadel.

U.S. hurdler Lolo Jones says she's been tempted. She says she's had plenty of opportunities. She's even had guys tell her that having sex with them will make her a faster runner. A win-win situation, right? But every time, Jones has said no. The 29-year-old Olympic athlete recently revealed on Twitter that she has never had sex. She discussed maintaining her virginity with Mary Carillo on the May 22 episode of HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel."

"Last Train Home" Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes Playing: At Nuart, West Los Angeles and Regal Westpark 8, Irvine

Forget Angry Birds. Your smartphone can be a powerful tool for improving your overall fitness if you give it half a chance. Whether you're a couch potato looking to start an exercise routine or a veteran runner looking to cross-train, there's an app for that. Our picks of some of the best downloads to get you moving, measure your progress and keep you motivated: Yoga With Janet Stone ($4.99 iPhone and iPad) There are a lot of yoga apps out there, but few are as sophisticated as this new release.

Beverly Beyer and Ed Rabey's article on Staunton, Va. ("Staunton Antique Shops Are a Sign of the Times" Jan. 14) was interesting. However, in detailing "getting here" it missed the boat or, rather, the train. It is a source of continuing amazement to me that those who make so bold as to write articles about interesting destinations constantly neglect to mention trains, the most civilized mode of travel to that destination. Amtrak's Cardinal travels three times a week from Chicago, stopping at Staunton on its way to Washington, D.C. There are many ways to reach Chicago by air but there are also four completely different routes by rail.

'The Girl on the Train' MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Town Center 5, Encino

'How to Train Your Dragon' MPAA rating: PG for sequences of action and some scary images and brief mild language Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes Playing: In general release

The bullet trains that would someday streak through California at 220 mph are, in the vision of their most ardent supporters, more than just a transportation system. They are also a means to alter the state's social, residential and economic fabric. But those broader ambitions are triggering an increasingly strident ideological backlash to the massive project. The fast trains connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco would create new communities of high-density apartments and small homes around stations, reducing the suburbanization of California, rail advocates say. That new lifestyle would mean fewer cars and less gasoline consumption, lowering California's contribution to global warming.

If you thought California's budget had problems already, just wait. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, along with rulings to come on more than a dozen lawsuits filed after the Legislature's highly creative budget-balancing act last summer, threaten to divert billions of dollars from vital state services. Wednesday's decision concerned a case that began even before the current budget crisis hit. In 2007, the Legislature raided $1.2 billion in state gasoline tax funds that were supposed to be dedicated to mass transit, and used the money instead to repay transportation loans and pay for other items normally covered by the general fund.

If you’ve been longing for your iPhone to help you ride the rails across Europe , your app may have arrived. Rail Europe’s new free app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad helps travelers choose a route, select seats and book tickets on 35 European railways in 32 countries,  including Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.  The app asks whether you are already in Europe because if you are in North America, you’ll be...

Re "Rail requires high-speed spending," May 14 Your article on the feasibility of mounting a construction effort that could put $3.5 million of work in place each day was unduly negative. I worked on the Alameda Corridor and on the Utah I-15 programs, which showed the feasibility of delivering large civil works projects on an aggressive schedule. While they did not reach the peak volume planned for California's rail project, we have seen this volume in L.A. during the peak years of rail construction in the early 1990s.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Africa's rapid economic growth has helped change the stereotype of a hopeless continent of starving people waiting to be rescued, but it has also created an intense need for strong managers, according to a report released Tuesday. Poor management is hurting the effectiveness of global multinational corporations, major local companies, governments and charitable foundations in many African countries, says the report by the African Management Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on training managers to help business development on the continent.

The chief of the state bullet train authority said Tuesday that he hopes to obtain some type of relief from environmental laws that would eliminate a risk that the 130-mile initial construction project could be stopped by an injunction, a potentially growing prospect as agriculture interests in the Central Valley gear up for a legal fight. At a state Senate hearing, Chairman Dan Richard also said the agency plans to spend the entire $6 billion of initial construction money within a 2017 deadline set by the federal government.

Eight years ago, Japanese writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda explored childhood and family in the acclaimed drama "Nobody Knows," about a 12-year-old boy who must take care of his siblings when their mother runs off with a new boyfriend. Kore-eda returns to a similar theme but in a lighter, whimsical vein in "I Wish," which opened Friday. The leisurely paced comedy stars real-life brothers Koki and Ohshiro Maeda as siblings who live hundreds of miles apart from each other on the island of Kyushu after their parents break up. The elder brother, Koichi (13-year-old Koki)

If California starts building a 130-mile segment of high-speed rail late this year as planned, it will enter into a risky race against a deadline set up under federal law. The bullet train track through the Central Valley would cost $6 billion and have to be completed by September 2017, or else potentially lose some of its federal funding. It would mean spending as much as $3.5 million every calendar day, holidays and weekends included -- the fastest rate of transportation construction known in U.S. history, according to industry and academic experts.

EUROPE Presentation Susan Hickman, Distant Lands' rail agent, will help you plan your itinerary, from purchasing a ticket and boarding your train to exiting at your destination. When, where : 7:30 p.m. Monday at Distant Lands, 20 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Admission, info: Free. RSVP to (626) 449-3220. ROCK CLIMBING Workshop Rock-climbing instructors will teach assisted-rescue skills no climber should be without. When, where: 6 p.m. Tuesday at the REI store in Manhattan Beach, 1800 Rosecrans Ave., Suite E. Admission, info: $60; (310)

In response to growing concern about problems with its F-22 Raptor fighter jet, the Air Force revealed it has slapped on new safety restrictions to protect its pilots. The announcement came as Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) Friday requested additional information from the secretary of the Air Force to further determine the scope of safety concerns raised by several pilots of the world's most expensive fighter jet, designed and built byLockheed Martin Corp.

The Obama administration threatened California on Thursday with rescinding $3.3 billion in federal grants to start construction of a bullet train if the Legislature does not act by June to appropriate the state's share of funding. In a series of meetings with key lawmakers in Sacramento, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that the recent proposal by state Senate leaders to delay a $2.7-billion decision on the high-speed rail project until August is not acceptable. "We need the Legislature to make the strongest commitment possible," LaHood said in an interview.