is an online personalized finance service that helps "consumers make better decisions about their personal finances, travel plans, or higher education." The company recentlythat named the best places for women in the workforce, and Washington, D.C., was No. 1 on the big city list.

The lists, divided into large, medium, and small cities, were based on an analysis of 366 metro areas and included data from the U.S. Census. Three criteria were examined: median salary for full-time female employees, women's pay as a percentage of men's for full-time employees, and the population growth of each city.

The Study

According to a February 2013 , "Women have made notable changes in their labor force activities." The number of full-time working women has increased considerably since 1970. According to the report, "In 1979, women working full-time earned 62 percent of what men did; in 2011, women's earnings were 82 percent of men's."

NerdWallet examined cities "with characteristics that support working women, including a growing economy, a small gender pay gap, and robust salaries" and divided their rankings based on metro area size.

In an interview with TIME,"We parsed the results because some people aren't looking for jobs in big cities. While many working women want to move to places like New York City, others want to live in smaller cities where they can raise families and send their children to quality public schools. We wanted to make sure we had results that catered to all women, not exclusively young, mobile women who are drawn to big cities."

Why Washington, D.C.?

NerdWallet says that women in D.C. "benefit from a high median salary and high population growth."

While the area offers several employment opportunities for the politically inclined, many women also work in research in area universities. With the-- Washington, D.C., had approximately 16.1 million domestic visitors in 2011 -- more prospects of work have also been added.

With such avenues, the median earnings for full-time, year-round female employees in D.C. is $55,688, and women's earnings in D.C. are 81.9 percent of men's earnings.

After Washington, D.C., NerdWallet listed San Francisco, San Jose, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Denver, Raleigh, New York City, and Sacramento on the list of the top 10 big cities for working women.

Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, took first in the list of the best medium-sized cities for women in the workforce, thanks to job opportunities at the metro area's universities. Women's pay is 93.5 percent of men's in Durham-Chapel Hill, and the median pay for full-time, year-round women is $41,736.

The small cities list is led by Napa, California, where NerdWallet reports women's earnings are 91.6 percent of men's and median women's pay is $46,949.

(Reuters) - British Open champion Ernie Els said players would be gearing up for a birdie fest at this week's U.S. Open after heavy rains drenched the classic but relatively short Merion Golf Club.

Three and a half inches of rain poured down on Merion in the Philadelphia suburbs on Friday and another inch fell on Monday, shutting the course for practice in the morning and making the 11th hole off limits for practice due to a flooded bunker.

"Yesterday it was beautiful. It was just starting to dry out," Els told reporters on Monday. "The greens were getting a little bit firmer. The surfaces are just unbelievable.

"After the rain this morning, it's going to be very sloppy now. You're not going to see a firm U.S. Open this year, I'm sorry. I don't care if they get helicopters flying over the fairways, it's not going to dry up."

Merion, playing under 7,000 yards, relies on tilting fairways and fast-running, sloping greens as a primary defense, two elements neutralized by all the rain.

"We're going to have a soft golf course this week, all week. It means that if you're on your game you're going to have a lot of birdie putts," the big South African said of the championship, which begins on Thursday.

Heavy rough will still be a headache for golfers who stray from the fairways, but with greens receptive to approach shots, players can take shorter clubs off the tee to find the fairway and not worry if they need a longer club into the greens.

"There's quite a few par4s where you've just got to put it in the fairway," two-time U.S. Open winner Els said. "You can put it in the fairway with an iron."

Els said the organizers would probably resort to the most difficult pin placements as a defense, but players were still likely to enjoy target practice at Merion.

"You're going to see a lot more birdies than ever at U.S. Open venues," Els said.

He stopped short of predicting that the major championships round record of 63 would be threatened.

"62? Anything can happen. But I'm not going to say anybody is going to shoot a 62 at a U.S. Open," Els said. "As I say, you've got more birdie opportunities than ever.

"You can make some threes. That's not a number that's really familiar with the U.S. Open (a three)."

Els said players had been hoping for a firm test on the classic layout where Bobby Jones completed his Grand Slam in 1930.

Now, Els said he believed the softened conditions would lead to a rare U.S. Open shootout.

"I see a very close race with a lot of players in contention this year, unlike other U.S. Opens," he said. "It's going to be bunched. It's going to be under par, you'll be seeing quite a few numbers in the red. It's going to be an exciting U.S. Open."

(Writing by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Gene Cherry)

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped to a one-month low on Friday as a slump in gold miners, which followed a tumbling bullion price, offset strength in several other sectors after a robust U.S. jobs report.

The market's decline, its sixth straight daily drop, sharply contrasted with strong gains seen south of the border.

U.S. employers stepped up hiring in May in a show of economic resilience that analysts said suggests the Federal Reserve could begin to scale back its monetary stimulus later this year.

But fears that the Fed could turn off the monetary tap hit gold prices and diminished the precious metal's appeal as a safe-haven asset.

"The jobs numbers show evidence of a grinding recovery in the United States, which is measurably positive, but not robustly so," said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist, North America, at Russell Investments.

"The data suggests that there is no reason to think that the Fed's going to deviate significantly from their current policy position."

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite indexclosed down 36.03 points, or 0.29 percent, at 12,373.30, after earlier slipping to its lowest since May 2. Seven of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.

The index lost 2.2 percent on the week.

The Canadian market has been pulled down by the natural resources sectors, which have been hit by volatile commodity prices.

"Within equities, we have a pretty large tilt toward U.S. stocks and a pretty large tilt away from Canadian stocks," said Geoff Stein, a portfolio manager with Fidelity Investments who helps manage about $55 billion in assets.

Stein is cautious about Canadian equities due in part to the weakness in the resource groups and the slowdown in the housing industry.

The benchmark Canadian index is in the red for the year, while the U.S. S&P 500has gained 15.2 percent.

Gold stocks gave back 5 percent and dragged the materials group down 3.4 percent.

Goldcorp Incslid 5.1 percent and Barrick Gold Corpdeclined 4.9 percent.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, gained 0.3 percent. Manulife Financial Corpclimbed 2.1 percent and had the biggest positive influence on the market.

(Editing by G Crosse)

But the seller of Polo and other brands saw its stock fall Thursday because its revenue fell below Wall Street expectations amid poor weather, economic challenges in the U.S. and abroad and the move to eliminate some businesses to focus on the most profitable ones.

The results, announced Thursday, show how the New York based luxury company is seeing increasing profits since the first half of its fiscal year, when cotton costs soared and the company was bearing the brunt of the costs of eliminating certain businesses such as its Rugby brand. But it's still navigating the rough patches of a choppy global economy.

"Our better-than-expected profitability in the fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2013 periods is a direct result of the strong operational management of our global teams," Roger Farah, president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "Enhanced profit flow-through was achieved despite sustained macroeconomic challenges and strategic decisions that mitigated revenue growth during the year."

The New York-based company reported net income of $127.2 million, or $1.37 per share, for the three months that ended March 30. That compares with $94.4 million, or 99 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose a slim 1.2 percent to $1.64 billion. Excluding the impact of strategies to eliminate some businesses as well as the effects from unfavorable foreign currency translation, revenue increased 5 percent.

Analysts had expected earnings of $1.31 per share on revenue of $1.7 billion.

Ralph Lauren said that its wholesale segment's sales slipped 4 percent to $796 million compared with the year-ago period. That was primarily due to the discontinuation of the American Living brand, sold at J.C. Penney stores, and a planned reduction in shipments to certain European customers.

Sales at its own Ralph Lauren stores rose 7 percent to $804 million from $752 million a year earlier.

The company expects sales to improve. The company projects revenue to rise by a low single-digit percentage for the current quarter and anywhere from 4 percent to 7 percent for the full year.

The company ended the quarter with 388 directly operated stores 116 Ralph Lauren stores, 50 Club Monaco stores and 213 Polo factory stores. The company also operated 494 concession shop locations worldwide at the end of the quarter. In addition to company-operated locations, international licensing partners operated 62 Ralph Lauren stores and 32 dedicated shops as well as 64 Club Monaco stores and shops at the end of the fourth quarter.

Shares fell 2.3 percent, or $4.37 per share, to close at $183.69 Thursday.

By Tim Kenneally

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A "Voice" coach's penchant for calling it as he sees it has once again generated controversy.

A mere week after Adam Levine grabbed headlines by blurting out "I hate this country" on the NBC singing competition, Blake Shelton has found himself in a no-doubt unwanted spotlight, after going off on a music critic via Twitter.

Shelton hurled industrial-size portions of vitriol at Houston Chronicle music critic Joey Guerra on Tuesday night, after Guerra wrote about contestant Holly Tucker's departure in less-than-kind words.

In a series of venomous tweets, Shelton called Guerra a spineless coward.

Just kidding; Shelton was much harsher, characterizing Guerra as a "chicken shit" who lacks the "balls" to criticize Tucker - a member of Shelton's team - to Shelton's face.

"OH. Holly Tucker is gone. It took much too long," Guerra wrote in his recap of Tuesday night's episode. "But finally. Back to Baylor University in Waco for you, madam."

That was enough to make Shelton engage in a flurry of what would no doubt be called "fightin' words" in Shelton's neck of the woods.

"It's people like you @joeyguerra that make me sick... Holly is not only a talented singer but a great person that's simply chasing a dream," Shelton wrote.

And then he got nasty.

"How about you @joeyguerra grow some balls and come tell me to my face how terrible some of these kids are face to face..?" Shelton asked of the critic. "You won't. Ever."

And, "You @joeyguerra are a chicken shit. I can't stand a person that makes a point to write hurtful things about kids just trying their best."

And lest Guerra forget just what variety of farmhouse excrement that Shelton believes him to be, the country singer reiterated, "How much do y'all wanna bet he'd NEVER criticize my team OR me like that face to face.... Chicken shit."

Shelton later apologized to his three-million Twitter followers - but notably, not to Guerra - in a tweet explaining that he's "passionate" about nurturing young talent.

"I'm sorry for going off y'all...," Shelton wrote. "But I am passionate about encouraging young people to follow their dreams.. We GOOD people don't need hate."

Except, apparently, when it comes to hating poison-penned music critics.

"Chesapeake Bay retrievers are like plants, they need to be watered every now and then," Haverstick said of the 9-year-old he's been taking to the beach in San Diego weekly for eight years. "We have some great dog beaches. Dogs and people both drool over them."

Dog beaches account for a tiny fraction of the thousands of miles of U.S. shoreline, but they are treasured by pet owners and their pooches.

"Off-leash dog beaches are a canine's dream come true," said Lisa Porter, owner of Pet Hotels of America, a travel website that lists thousands of beaches and parks where dogs are allowed on leash or can run free.

Every beach has its own draw. San Diego offers three off-leash options: Fiesta Island in Mission Bay is great for swimming; Ocean Beach Dog Beach is good for dogs to play together; and Coronado's Dog Beach is described as magical.

Beaches where unleashed dogs are allowed complete freedom are typically fenced, offer drinking water and showers for dogs, bags to pick up dog feces and trash cans.

Dog lovers say the biggest problem is that there aren't enough beaches for their pets and parking is often scarce.

Efforts to create more pooch-friendly beaches, such as one that died in Santa Monica two years ago, have run into resistance from California State Parks.

Critics say letting beaches go to the dogs threatens species such as shore birds, jeopardizes the safety of visitors, ruins the experience for beachgoers and can pollute water and sand with poop and urine.

Fans who frequent the beaches say they provide a great playground for their hounds and can even be therapeutic.

When Carol Kearney first adopted Buddy, an abused 70-pound, 2-year-old Staffordshire terrier mix, he was afraid of noises and terrified of water.

"When he heard traffic, it was like he was trying to get out of his skin," Kearney said.

Letting him run on the beach less than a mile from her 14th floor home in a Coronado high-rise was the only way to calm him down.

Now he digs in the sand, chases his dog pals or swims through the waves to retrieve float toys.

Other top West Coast off-leash dog beaches recommended by Porter include Huntington Dog Beach in Huntington Beach, one of the best known dog surfing beaches in the world; Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach; Cannon Beach in Oregon; and Double Bluff Beach on Whidbey Island in Washington.

East Coast recommendations are Duck Beach in Outer Banks, N.C.; Bonita Beach Dog Park in Bonita Springs, Fla.; and Paw Park in South Brohard Beach, Fla.

Some beaches, such as Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area in Manasquan, N.J., require a leash. That law wasn't enforced until after Superstorm Sandy did a lot of damage and the county decided to start ticketing offenders, said Monmouth County Parks Manager Drew d'Apolito.

Similarly, Live Oak Beach in Santa Cruz County was known as a "don't ask, don't tell" beach until recently, said Ingrid Wander, who let Asia, her chocolate Labrador retriever, run free.

Wander got a $160 ticket in January.

She still takes Asia there at low tide. Wander walks, collects shells, takes photos of sea life and watches out for the law as Asia fetches balls in the water.

___

http://www.pethotelsofamerica.com

Ultraviolet rays that spur wrinkles and other signs of aging can quietly build up damage pretty much anytime you're in the sun a lunchtime stroll, school recess, walking the dog and they even penetrate car windows.

Researchers in sunny Australia used a unique study to measure whether sunscreens really help amid that onslaught. Participants had casts made of the top of their hands to measure fine lines and wrinkles that signal sun-caused aging.

The research found that even if you're already middle-aged, it's not too late to start rubbing some sunscreen on and not just at the beach or pool. The study of 900 people under 55 compared those randomly assigned to use sunscreen daily to those who used it when they deemed it necessary.

Daily sunscreen use was tough participants did cheat a little. But after 4 years, those who used sunscreen regularly had younger-looking hands, with 24 percent less skin aging than those who used sunscreen only some of the time.

Both young adults and the middle-aged experienced skin-saving effects, concluded the study, financed by Australia's government and published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

"These are meaningful cosmetic benefits," lead scientist Dr. Adele Green of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research said in an email interview. More importantly, she added, less sun-caused aging decreases the risk of skin cancer in the long term.

Dermatologists have long urged year-round sunscreen use especially for constantly exposed skin on the face, hands and women's neck and upper chest but say too few people heed that advice. Women may have better luck, as increasingly the cosmetics industry has added sunscreen to makeup and moisturizers. Skin experts hope the new study draws attention to the issue.

"Regular use of sunscreen had an unquestionable protective effect," said Dr. Richard Glogau, a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, who has long studied sun's skin effects. He wasn't involved with the Australian research.

The consumer message: "They can get a two-for-one with sunscreen. They can do something that will keep them healthier and also keep them better-looking," Glogau said.

In his clinic near Philadelphia, Dr. Eric Bernstein lectures patients who insist they're not in the sunshine enough for it to be causing their wrinkles, brown spots and dilated blood vessels. Even 15 minutes every day adds up over many years, he tells them and if they're using one bottle of sunscreen a year, they're probably not using enough.

"No one thinks they're in the sun, and they're in the sun all the time," said Bernstein, also a clinical professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "I say, 'How did you get here did you tunnel here?'"

The news comes just as tougher Food and Drug Administration rules for U.S. sunscreens are taking effect. For the first time, they ensure that sunscreens labeled "broad-spectrum" protect against both the ultraviolet-B rays that cause sunburn and those deeper-penetrating ultraviolet-A rays that are linked to premature wrinkles and skin cancers.

Sunburns, especially in childhood, have been linked to a greater risk for melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer. But overall UV exposure plays a role both in melanoma and in other skin cancers that usually are curable but can be disfiguring if not caught early.

Australia has one of the world's highest rates of skin cancer, and Monday's aging research actually stems from a larger cancer-prevention study done in the 1990s. Researchers tracked participants for a decade before concluding that regular sunscreen use indeed lowered their cancer risk.

Green's team dug back through old study files to examine what's called photoaging using those casts that had been made of some participants' hands.

Skin stretches and recoils thanks to elastic fibers supporting it. UV rays damage that elasticity, something scientists previously have measured using biopsies of the tissue just under the skin's top layer. With enough damage, the skin on top starts to sag and wrinkle. Young people have very fine, barely visible lines on their skin. Sun-damaged fibers correlate with increasingly visible lines, in a sort of cross-hatch pattern. Hand casts allowed the Australian researchers to grade that amount of damage.

The researchers figured out who really used sunscreen by periodically weighing the bottles donated by a sunscreen maker. Green's team calculated that three-quarters of the people assigned to daily sunscreen use actually applied it at least three to four days a week. Only a third of the comparison group said they used sunscreen that often.

The study also tested whether a dietary supplement, beta carotene, might slow photoaging, and found no evidence that it helped.

Sunscreens aren't perfect, so don't forget dermatologists' other advice: Limit exposure during the peak UV hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and wear a hat, sunglasses and protective clothing when possible.

UCSF's Glogau noted that today's sunscreens are superior to those used two decades ago when the study started meaning people who regularly use it now might see more benefit.

"I'm fond of telling people that if they start using sunscreen on a regular basis and don't do anything else, over a period of time they'll see an improvement in the appearance of their skin," Glogau said. "It's never too late."

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Henry Morgentaler, a Holocaust survivor who became one of Canada's leading abortion campaigners and spent time in jail for terminating pregnancies, died on Wednesday at the age of 90, activists said.

Morgentaler set up Canada's first independent abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969 at a time when the procedure could only be performed in hospitals and was limited to cases when doctors deemed that continuation of a pregnancy could harm a woman.

His campaign for women's rights eventually made its way to the Canadian Supreme Court, which backed him in a January 1988 judgment that said existing abortion laws were unconstitutional.

The then Progressive Conservative government tried in 1990 to recriminalize abortion in cases where women's health was not at risk. That effort ended in failure, leaving Canada with effectively no restrictions on abortion.

"Canadian women owe Dr. Morgentaler a tremendous debt of gratitude for standing up for their lives and health at great personal sacrifice and risk. He survived numerous threats on his life, a clinic bombing, and aggressive protests," said National Abortion Federation president Vicki Saporta.

Morgentaler died at a time when some legislators in Canada's right-leaning ruling Conservative Party are openly expressing their opposition to abortion.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, wary of stirring up passions on a contentious social issue, says as long as he is in power the government will not move to restrict abortions.

"Unfortunately, even today, access to abortion remains unequal and we must remain vigilant against repeated attempts to roll back this right," said Niki Ashton, a legislator for the center-left official opposition New Democrats.

Morgentaler was born in the Polish city of Lodz in 1923 and survived several months in the Dachau concentration camp before emigrating to Canada in 1950 and becoming a family doctor.

He was tried three times in the province of Quebec in the early 1970s for breaking abortion laws and was acquitted each time. An appeal court overthrew one of the acquittals and he spent 10 months in jail in 1975 and early 1976.

Undaunted, he continued his campaign and opened up clinics in other provinces, where he faced more prosecutions. After Ontario's appeal court overturned an acquittal he took his case to the Supreme Court and won a decisive victory in 1988.

Morgentaler received countless death threats and in 1992 a fire-bomb destroyed one of his clinics in Toronto. Another clinic had been slightly damaged in a similar attack in 1983.

"If I have to die tomorrow by an assassin's bullet, well at least I've achieved something in my life," he told an interviewer in 2008.

The same year he was awarded the Order of Canada, the second highest civilian honor, for helping improve women's health.

More than 92,000 abortions were performed in Canada in 2011, the last year for which data is available.

(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Chris Reese)

* New Zealand's all-seamer attack a "gamble" - McCullum (Adds details, quotes)

By Justin Palmer

LEEDS, England, May 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand will go with a four-seamer attack and will not risk spinner Daniel Vettori for the second and final test against England starting at Headingley on Friday, captain Brendon McCullum said.

Doug Bracewell, who missed the first two drawn tests of the series against England in New Zealand this year after cutting his foot on glass, and was not selected for the third test, will come into the side.

New Zealand lost the first test at Lord's by 170 runs on Sunday after being skittled out for 68 in their second innings.

Former captain Vettori joined the test squad in England this week after being called up as replacement for spinner Bruce Martin who has been ruled out of the rest of the tour with a calf injury.

The 34-year-old Vettori has not played a test for 10 months, however, and has been recovering from a long-term Achilles injury.

"Dan is out of tomorrow's game unfortunately. We obviously gave it our best shot but he didn't scrub up that well today and just the confidence to go into a five-day game, with the workload he's had, is just a bridge too far," McCullum told a news conference on Thursday.

"He did not want to let the team down. It's disappointing but it does give Dougie the opportunity to make his way back after sitting on the sidelines. He's been outstanding in warm-up games on this tour as well."

CHAMPIONS TROPHY

Vettori, New Zealand's second highest wicket taker with 360 victims, will concentrate on being ready next month's Champions Trophy in England.

"He's got a big month and bit coming up. That's one of the things we looked at for this game... Would we sacrifice the coming few weeks as well?

"It wasn't the right thing for Dan and it wasn't the right thing for us," added McCullum, who will keep wicket for the touring side as he did at Lord's after BJ Watling suffered the knee injury which has also ruled him out of the Headingley game.

It was the first time McCullum had kept wicket in a test for nearly three years.

With Martin out of the tour, McCullum can also call on part-time off-spinner Kane Williamson who captured two wickets at Lord's, including Jonathan Trott.

McCullum said it was a "gamble" to select an all-seamer attack but one the Blackcaps had to take.

"While it slightly adjusts our balance, we're hoping that the overhead conditions over the coming few days... that the four seamers is actually a positive option for us," he said.

"From the games I have played here seamers have prospered but the wicket looks a touch dry underneath the grass covering. It's a gamble either way to be honest but it's one, when you are one-nil down you have to take."

McCullum and his troops have spent the time since Lord's analysing what went wrong on the fourth day when they capitulated against Stuart Broad.

The first three days had been evenly contested on a low-scoring and slow wicket before Broad demolished the tourists with a seven-wicket haul.

"It's been a delicate balance between not sweeping it under the carpet and acknowledging what went on," McCullum said.

"Everyone looked at their own mode of dismissal. Some guys know that their footwork was lacking...some guys know that their hands were probably a bit far from their bodies at times.

"Was it the pressure of the situation or a technical deficiency? I don't think it was a technical deficiency. I do feel we are making some significant gains as a batting group and the other day was a blemish for us, no doubt about that." (Editing by Ed Osmond)

"We landed safely and then he (the pilot) announced that they had had some kind of threat from someone and that's why he landed the plane," the passenger, identified only as Munsif, told BBC television.

He said he was sitting in the front of the plane but that the incident had happened at the back.

(Writing by Maria Golovnina; editing by Stephen Addison)