If you think New York State’s deficit is bad, take a look at New Jersey, where a $11 billion budget gap is pushing officials to think creatively. One plan? Sell the naming rights for 12 rest stops on the NJ Turnpike and eight on the Garden State Expressway. "The 'Nike Stop' . . . maybe that would be worth $10 million," suggested DOT Commissioner James Simpson, according to the AP. One highly trafficked hub is named for Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, while others bear the names of Revolutionary war heroes, poets like Walt Whitman and political figures like Alexander Hamilton. In the future, they could go strictly corporate, however a naming rights expert says $1 million is a more realistic pricetag. more ›

Truck driver Alan Nelson of Colorado is used to making long hauls, but not without his best friend riding shotgun, a 23-pound reddish-colored Shiba inu named Sato. Nelson and Sato were reunited last Friday afternoon, after their separation became a news story and galvanized volunteers to search for the dog who ran off from a lower Hudson Valley rest stop. more ›