Poll: Americans select new face for Mount Rushmore

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of America's National Park System, Expedia.com commissioned a study of American attitudes toward which American president they would choose to add to Mount Rushmore, if given the chance.

The study was conducted from Feb. 26-29, and included responses from 1,039 American adults.

Americans were presented with a range of modern American presidents and asked to select the one they would choose to add to Mount Rushmore, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the runaway winner, chosen by 29 percent of Americans.

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt - 29%
2. John F. Kennedy - 21%
3. Ronald Reagan - 19%
4. Barack Obama - 9%
5. Dwight Eisenhower – 8%
6. Harry S. Truman - 5%
7. William Clinton – 4%
8. George H.W. Bush – 3%
9. George W. Bush - 2%

Americans also were given the option of writing in the name of a famous person - not a president - who they would like to see added to the monument. The most common recommendation was Martin Luther King, Jr., who was named by 11 percent of Americans. The top five non-presidential Mount Rushmore nominees include:

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. - 11%
2. Benjamin Franklin- 7%
3. Albert Einstein - 3%
4. Jesus Christ - 2%
5. Donald Trump - 2%

Mickey Mouse ranked sixth, and Beyoncé came in eighth.

When asked which national park they consider to be their favorite, Yellowstone won the honor, cited by 27 percent of Americans. The Grand Canyon came in second, cited by 20 percent of Americans. The top five favorite American national parks are:

1. Yellowstone - 27%
2. Grand Canyon - 20%
3. Great Smoky Mountains - 18%
4. Rocky Mountain – 16%
5. Yosemite - 10%

When asked to name the "most beautiful" national park, the same five parks were cited, only in a different order.

1. Grand Canyon - 25%
2. Yellowstone - 21%
3. Yosemite – 20%
4. Great Smoky Mountains - 12%
5. Rocky Mountain – 9%

When asked which national parks landscape, monument, or feature Americans would "most like to take a selfie in front of," the top five selections were:

1. Mount Rushmore - 30%
2. Grand Canyon – 25%
3. Old Faithful - 18%
4. Lincoln Memorial – 13%
5. Great Smoky Mountains – 7%

US aerospace and defense exports expected to increase by 3.2 percent in 2016

Gross exports in the U.S. aerospace and defense sector increased by $5 billion in 2015, a 58.9 percent increase in the last five years, according to Deloitte's "U.S.Aerospace & Defense Export Competitiveness Study."

Looking forward, the U.S. aerospace and defense sector's gross exports are expected to increase by 3.2 percent in 2016. This is largely due to an increased pipeline of defense platform products announced and expected for foreign military sales by U.S. defense contractors

"The U.S. aerospace and defense sector was the largest contributor to America's net exports during the 2010 to 2015 period," said Tom Captain, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP. “The sector is also a top employer, taxpayer and contributor to the nation's gross domestic product, making it key to U.S. manufacturing competitiveness."

During the 2010 to 2015 period analyzed in the survey, the U.S. aerospace and defense sector was responsible for the following:

• Sector accounted for 9.5 percent of total U.S. exports in 2015, with the sector's contribution increasing from 7.1 percent of total exports in 2010.
• U.S. accounted for 33 percent of global defense exports in 2015.
• Total aerospace and defense gross exports in 2015 were $143.3 billion, a significant increase of 58.9 percent over the last five years.
• China was the largest aerospace and defense export market for the U.S. in 2015, followed by the U.K. and France.

The top five exporting states - Washington, California, Connecticut, Texas and Georgia - accounted for about 61 percent of the total aerospace and defense sector exports in 2015. Washington state also showed a strong 109.4 percent increase in exports in 2015 compared to 2010 as the state that continues to have the largest presence in the commercial aircraft manufacturing subsector.