Rick Steves diagnosis
Travel writer and television personality Rick Steves announced his prostate cancer diagnosis Aug. 21, emphasizing that he expects to be fine and the cancer shows no signs of spreading. “My doctor assures me that, if you’re going to get cancer, this is a good kind to get, and careful scans show no sign of it having spread,” the 69-year-old said in a post on X. Despite the diagnosis, Steves said he plans to continue traveling for his programs, including filming two new shows in France. He will have surgery in late September in Seattle, he said. “God willing — (I’ll) be cancer-free and back at it by the end of October,” he wrote.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SAS joins SkyTeam
SkyTeam is getting a new Nordic member: Scandinavian Airlines, or SAS, officially joins the airline consortium that includes Delta on Sept. 1, after ditching the rival Star Alliance. What does this mean for flyers out of Minneapolis-St. Paul? No SAS jets are landing here yet, but it does expand our options for booking connecting flights to Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. For example, we just found $500 flights from MSP to Oslo this fall on Delta and SAS, via London Heathrow. Competitive itineraries were also available from Star Alliance partners United and Lufthansa, not to mention indie Icelandair.
Simon Peter Groebner

Wildlife filter
The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 or 100 yards away from wildlife. Now a new Instagram filter created by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board removes the guesswork and helps ensure a safe encounter. The filter is called Selfie Control, available free on Instagram. The tool features five animals — bison, bear, elk, moose and two types of bears (black and grizzly). Click on the name of the animal, and an icon appears in the frame, plus the recommended distance: 25 yards for moose, elk and bison and 100 yards for bears. Once you set up your shot, the image of the real animal should be the same size as the symbol. If it’s too big, you’re too close.
The Washington Post
Norway safest to drive
There’s a new ranking of the safest European countries in which to drive a car. Based on data from the Europe Transport Safety Council, Norway is the safest country for road users. In 2023, the country was the leader with just 20 road deaths per million inhabitants. Close behind was Sweden, with 22 deaths per million. The United Kingdom, Denmark, Switzerland, Malta, Finland, Germany and Ireland were all tied for third. The two countries with the highest mortality rates are Bulgaria and Romania. Meanwhile, Spain, Slovakia and the Netherlands earned the less-than-ideal distinction of having a road mortality rate in 2023 that was higher than in 2013.
TravelPulse