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This summer, more people than ever before are booking rooms on Airbnb and using carpooling websites and smartphone apps to get around on vacation. The new "share economy" can be a money saver in areas hard hit by the economic crisis, like southern Europe.

But in sunny Spain, authorities are cracking down.

In Barcelona — one of the top destinations for European tourists this summer — police are pulling over and ticketing drivers suspected of using the private taxi app, Uber.

The regional Catalan government is also trying to thwart Airbnb, fining the U.S. company some $40,000 and threatening to block its website. This is the first such punishment for the popular room-booking website, and other municipalities could follow suit.

Spain is emerging as a battleground for such apps and a test case for how governments handle innovations beloved by many citizens but hated by the hotel lobby and powerful labor unions.

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With Dollar Tree's agreement to purchase Family Dollar on Monday, two of the United States' biggest discount stores are coming together in a deal estimated at $8.5 billion in cash and stock.

The New York Times reports:

"The deal comes amid pressure on Family Dollar by the activist investor Carl C. Icahn, who urged the company last month toexplore a sale of itself. But Family Dollar said in a statement that it had been exploring strategic options since the winter.

"Under the terms of Monday's deal, Dollar Tree will pay $74.50 for each share of Family Dollar. The bid is made up of $59.60 a share in cash and Dollar Tree stock worth about $14.90. Including debt, the deal values the target company at about $9.2 billion.

"The bid represents a premium of nearly 23 percent to Family Dollar's closing price on Friday."

Politics

'Citizens United' Critics Fight Money With Money

Vincenzo Nibali has officially won this year's Tour de France, becoming the first Italian cyclist to do so since 1998 with a ride past fans lining Paris' Champs-Elysees.

As we reported on Saturday, Nibali, riding for Astana Pro Team, had worn the yellow jersey through most of the three-week competition that had been marked by bad weather and the relatively quick elimination of some of the favorites.

On an overcast Sunday in the French capital, Nibali rode past the Arc de Triomphe on his way to the winner's podium.

The New York Times sums up his victory, acknowledging that "To some extent, Nibali benefited from the misfortune of others.

"Chris Froome, the defending champion from Britain, quit early in the three-week race after three crashes in the miserable rain and cold that made the Tour sometimes seem as if was being run in the early spring. Then Alberto Contador, who has won the Tour three times although his 2010 title was stripped for doping, hit a sinkhole and broke his leg, again on a damp and chilly day.

"But Nibali, 29, ... did not cruise to a win by default. He won four stages of the Tour. Three of them came in each of the mountain ranges the ranges the Tour traversed this year: the Vosges, the Alps and the Pyrenees. All of the wins were decisive.

"Adding to the list, Nibali, wore the yellow race leader's jersey 19 of the 21 stages."