Las Vegas has long been talking about building an arena to host sporting events and big-name concerts, and now that idea seems one step closer to reality. On Tuesday, MGM Resorts International and entertainment company AEG announced the two entities will join forces to build a 20,000-set indoor venue just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The $350 million arena will be the centerpiece to a new pedestrian mall being developed on a piece of MGM-owned land between the New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts. Ground will be broken next summer, and the arena is expected to be completed by spring 2016. Design firm Populous, the powerhouse behind London's O2 arena and Kansas City's Sprint Center, will draw up plans for the arena.

Although there is no sports franchise lined up for the stadium, Associated Press reports former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman had previously tried to attract a developer to build a stadium fit for a pro hockey or basketball franchise. Developers are just hoping the event capital of the world will be able to attract high-profile acts and sporting matches to fill the stadium to capacity.

[via Skift]

Just in time to officially celebrate the summer solstice comes the Gadling Exclusive Summer Playlist. You might have had the new Daft Punk album on repeat for the last few weeks now, but it's time for something new, so the Gadling crew got together and compiled all of our favorite warm weather songs the perfect summer playlist. We do of course kick off with Daft Punk's insta-jam "Get Lucky," because for summer 2013 there's just no other choice, and then we work our way through 67 more songs, all intended to keep your summer days chill and your summer evenings rocking.

Just like summer, or a good ice cream stand, there's a little bit of everything in this playlist. A little funk, a little country, a little Euro, a little reggae, a little indie pop... you get the idea.

Perfect for: road trips, afternoon lemonade drinking, taking the metro in a new city.


Listen to the full playlist on Spotify.

We've heard of flights running out of sugar, snacks and even fuel - but never have we ever known a flight to run out of toilet paper. That's what happened on board a recent flight from London to San Francisco, when United Airlines allegedly forgot to re-stock the plane's supply of toilet paper.

According to an account posted to FlyerTalk.com, it seems some creative flight attendants put together a pocket to hold some cocktail napkins, so passengers who had to use the loo weren't left completely stranded in the bathroom.

Although we've heard some crazy schemes for reducing the weight of aircraft to save on fuel - like how Spirit Airlines recently started serving wine in cans - we hope airlines overstock toilet paper on long-haul flights so more passengers don't have to rely on cocktail napkins in the future. It would be crazy to not be able to count on toilet paper being provided with the cost of an airline ticket, but in the age of add-on fees, who knows what can happen?

Most people who think monkeys are cute have more than likely never met a real monkey.

Although they might be cute on television, as anyone who has actually met a monkey will tell you, their cuteness is simply a disguise for their evil.

Yes, I'll say it again: monkeys are evil.

They have stolen my lunch while hiking in Costa Rica, and broken into my backpack in the streets of Kathmandu. They have danced on my roof all night in Bolivia, and an orangutan managed to steal this man's shirt off his back. In Peru, one even crawled into my sleeping bag, even though I was already sleeping in it.

Nevertheless, even once you realize they're mischievous little thieves, it's hard to not be drawn to them. There's just something about their pudgy face and long, dexterous tail that makes them too hard to pass by.

Which is why I found myself – despite all past encounters with the cheeky little devils – kayaking the waters of a Thai island with the specific intent of sharing a beach with monkeys.

You don't have to leave the Midwest to catch a glimpse of the Roman Coliseum, the White House, the Kalahari Desert and the fabled windmills of Mykonos. Nope, all you have to do is take a road trip to the Wisconsin Dells, one of America's delightfully tacky resort towns, where you can travel the world without venturing very far off the Wisconsin Dells Parkway.

I've lived in Chicago for years but have somehow managed to avoid visiting the Dells, the region's quintessential summer weekend getaway place for families, until I finally experienced the place in all its tawdry glory while on a camping trip at nearby Mirror Lake State Park. Sophisticated city types mock places like the Dells, which is chock-a-block with mini-golf, wax museums, water parks and every conceivable type of tourist trap imaginable. But I have a soft spot for tourist traps. You could even call it a morbid fascination.

A few weeks back a team of researchers shared interesting new evidence that they believe reveals the location of Amelia Earhart's missing plane. The team, who are all members of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), showed sonar readings that indicate a man-made object had been found off the coast of a remote island in the South Pacific that is believed to be a possible final resting place for the famous aviator and her co-pilot. Since then, the sonar readings have been examined in greater detail and the results are even more compelling than previously thought.

While the early sonar readings seemed promising the data was incomplete due to what are known as "ping drops." Ping drops occur when the sonar receiver fails to pick up all of the returned signals due to environmental issues or equipment error. This results in missing data that can be lacking in detail. To get a more complete look at the object they had found, the TIGHAR team turned over their data to Honolulu-based Oceanic Imaging Consultants. OIC took that information and processed it on their own specialized systems, filling in the missing "pings" where they could. When the data was further analyzed they discovered that the object in question looks surprisingly like the fuselage of a Lockheed Electra aircraft, the very plane that Earhart was piloting when she went missing.

Come on in, the water's - well, it's freezing. (Seriously, the girl in this photo is nuts.) But that isn't keeping me away from my first trip to the breathtaking shores of Lake Michigan, also known as the country's Third Coast. Though I've lived in Indiana most of my life, I have always passed over Lake Michigan for the spun-sugar shores of Florida's Gulf Coast and Mexico's Caribbean for my beach fix. I'm just not a lake person; I'm a beach snob. But the first time I laid eyes on Lake Michigan's stunning panorama this week, I changed my tune. The sand is fine and soft, the beaches long and unbroken, the water deep blue and stretched to the horizon. There's even a crashing surf, like the ocean. Charming beach towns and state parks galore run up and down this unsung, uncommercialized coastline, and the sunsets are spectacular. Follow along on Gadling's Instagram account, @GadlingTravel and #ontheroad, as I discover the best of Lake Michigan's beach culture this week. By the time you can plan a trip for later this summer, the water will be warm. Well, warmer, at least.

During the day, Marrakesh's famous Djemaa El Fna square is filled with monkey trainers, snake charmers and stands selling the most delicious orange juice you've ever tried. At night, it hosts the best Berber storytellers in Morocco, magicians and countless steaming food stalls.

Flickr user Sylvia Wrigley took this emblematic photo of the historic market place. It captures restaurateurs selling "delicacies from a sheep's head" and "cake" to locals and "couscous and skewered lamb" to tourists. You can practically smell the grilling through your screen.

Do you have a great travel photo you want to share? Submit it to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We choose the best to feature as our Photo of the Day.

Coming up in less than a month, America celebrates its Independence Day as fireworks light up the sky at events around the country. This year, the Fourth of July falls on a Thursday. That might mean an extra day off work for some, returning on Friday to end the week. Others might be in for an extra long, four-day weekend with plenty of time for travel.

Regardless of how your holiday schedule works out, one day might not be enough celebration. Plan a visit to Florida's Walt Disney World Resort to the east or Disneyland Resort to the west. Both will be celebrating the Fourth of July for an entire week, starting July 1, 2013, during what Disney calls Limited Time Magic.

Said to "surprise and delight Guests in fanciful and unexpected ways," Limited Time Magic events happen "only at certain times of the year," says the Disney Parks blog. Between now and June 23, Disney wishes "ears to you" as graduates are invited to buy a mortar board Ear Hat at the Magic Kingdom park, then choose from five different tassels representing their school colors.