Grand Canyon Hiker Found Dead

Company is a big donor, and it sells Dasani water

(NEWSER) - Visitors to the Grand Canyon can still bring plastic water bottles into the national park, and they might thank Coca-Cola for the privilege. The New York Times explains: The park came thisclose to instituting a ban this year to cut down on trash. But the top US parks official killed the plan at the last minute after getting an earful from Coke officials. The company is a big donor to the National Parks Foundation—and it also happens to sell bottled water under the Dasani brand. More»

Grandchildren whipped, deprived of water in Grand Canyon ordeals

(NEWSER) - A 45-year-old Indiana grandfather has been charged with child abuse after trying to toughen up his three grandsons with brutal hikes in the Grand Canyon, according to park rangers. He was busted after rangers and tourists observed him abusing the boys, ages 12, 9, and 8, MSNBC reports. The boys told police they had been hit, choked, whipped, forced to run up trails under the blazing sun at temperatures as high as 108 degrees, and denied food and water during the hikes. Carlson had told them to "look happy" if they passed other people on the trail. More»

Dramatic rescue follows French teen's slip

(NEWSER) - A young French tourist is lucky his last word wasn't "merde." The traveler, 18, is being treated for wrist, ankle, and neck injuries after surviving a 75-foot fall from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, AP reports. Park ranger paramedics rappelled down to the man and strapped him to a gurney that was lifted out by helicopter. Rangers believe he slipped while taking photos from very near the rim, something they strongly recommend visitors avoid doing. More»

Park officials find car, driver 600 feet below edge

(NEWSER) - A man is dead after driving his car over the edge of the Grand Canyon today, the Arizona Daily Sun reports. Witnesses informed park officials that a car had just gone into the Canyon around 6am. Shortly after, investigators found the car and the man’s body 600 feet below the South Rim. The National Park Service has begun an investigation into the event. More»

(AP) - The National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announcing today that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments—including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite—will be waived on three weekends this summer: June 20-21, July 18-19, and Aug. 15-16. “During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families," Salazar said. More»