Who's invited? Don't ask White House, which is mum on details of Obama's first state dinner. It's the hottest ticket in town. Just don't ask the White House who got them.

Power boats, Nixon and Jimmy Buffett: Miami Marine Stadium an unlikely cultural touchstone. What does the Miami Marine Stadium have in common with such famous landmarks as Machu Picchu and the Old City of Jerusalem?

In tough times, many travelers still feel the lure of the open road. After years of business travel, Don Bednarek said he gave up flying for good when the airlines cut back on customer service.

COMMENTARY Yaz is 70. It just doesn't compute. He was still getting around on Ron Guidry's fastball a couple of years ago, wasn't he? Guess not. Seventy years ago today, baby Carl Yastrzemski was born in Southampton on Long Island. ``Hard to believe,'' the greatest living Red Sox player said yesterday afternoon after a morning round of golf. ``I plan on not even acknowledging it. I first thought about it this spring. I have a friend from back home who I grew up with and when I was in Florida he came to visit me. The first thing he said was, `Can you believe we're going to be 70?' '' Just over a year ago Yaz had a face-to-face encounter with mortality. He was rushed to Mass. General where he underwent a six-hour, triple-bypass surgery. ``Just before they put me under, I was saying, `Do I have to have this? You got any pill for me?' Then I kind of gave up and gave in and I almost didn't care.'' He came out of it beautifully and was hitting golf balls three months later. It took much long

Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone set to produce a documentary series for Showtime. Showtime says filmmaker Oliver Stone is producing a 10-part documentary series on what he calls the secret history of America.

CAPITAL CULTURE: Summer fun for Obama girls: Harry Potter in London, gelato in Italy and more. If Malia and Sasha Obama write "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays as they head back to school this week, oh, the stories they can tell.

How the Obama girls spent their summer vacation: Harry Potter in London, gelato in Italy. If Malia and Sasha Obama write "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays as they head back to school this week, oh, the stories they can tell.

CAPITAL CULTURE: Summer fun for Obama girls: Harry Potter in London, gelato in Italy and more. If Malia and Sasha Obama write "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays as they head back to school this week, oh, the stories they can tell.

NEW YORK - When 23-year-old New York designer Alexander Berardi escaped to Martha's Vineyard for the Fourth of July this summer, he wasn't looking for sartorial inspiration, but that's exactly what he found. ``When I got back to New York, all I could think was `I wish I was back on the island.' That's really where the whole collection started,'' Berardi said before his New York Fashion Week show Sunday night. ``I was out on a boat with friends, and I started to think about a modern Marlene Dietrich out on a yacht for vacation in Martha's Vineyard.'' His eco-friendly collection is not filled with overt New England vacation references such as madras, seersucker, or crisp white shirts. Instead he opts for sequined halter tops and nods to island life in the form of cute summer dresses and dropped waistlines. He even created a lining for one of the jackets from a fabric made of seaweed. They put the fun in Fashion Week, Page 34 ``We tried it, and it even moisturizes your skin on muggy days,

NEW YORK - When 23-year-old New York designer Alexander Berardi escaped to Martha's Vineyard for the Fourth of July this summer, he wasn't looking for sartorial inspiration, but that's exactly what he found. ``When I got back to New York, all I could think was `I wish I was back on the island.' That's really where the whole collection started,'' Berardi said before his New York Fashion Week show Sunday night. ``I was out on a boat with friends, and I started to think about a modern Marlene Dietrich out on a yacht for vacation in Martha's Vineyard.'' His eco-friendly collection is not filled with overt New England vacation references such as madras, seersucker, or crisp white shirts. Instead he opts for sequined halter tops and nods to island life in the form of cute summer dresses and dropped waistlines. He even created a lining for one of the jackets from a fabric made of seaweed. They put the fun in Fashion Week, Page 34 ``We tried it, and it even moisturizes your skin on muggy days,

IndyCar Series 2010 schedule to include Watkins Glen for the sixth straight year. The IndyCar Series is returning to Watkins Glen International.

The days of raises, bonuses, and workplace festivities are but a memory at many businesses. You're more likely to find pink slips and than party invites lying around the office these days. But for businesses that can't offer monetary perks or elaborate summer celebrations right now, there are other cost-effective ways to keep employees happy and improve productivity during the summer months. Flexible schedules and leaving early on Fridays are the most coveted summer benefits, according to a recent survey of workers by OfficeTeam, a staffing service company. And cheap perks like company picnics and a more relaxed dress code are also among the benefits preferred by workers. Flexible schedules are an inexpensive way to help keep employees motivated, said Sean Dowling, branch manager of OfficeTeam. He suggests using the summer to pilot these programs and evaluate the impact of workflow and productivity. ``Flexible schedules allow employees to get their work done when it's most convenient f

Clinton advises ignoring North Korean nuclear signals, saying 'maybe it's the mother in me'. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the U.S. stance of essentially playing down North Korea's nuclear tests is intentional.

When he was mayor of Lynn, Patrick J. McManus once visited 67 block parties over a Fourth of July weekend. This year, McManus visited 45 parties as he made a comeback bid for mayor, eight years after he left City Hall. ``He was a neighborhood mayor,'' said Salvatore Migliaccio, a former City Council president during McManus's tenure. ``He clearly knew you had to be in the neighborhood to know what is going on.'' But McManus, who died July 10, just one month after formally announcing his candidacy for mayor, wasn't only concerned with trash pickup, traffic, and crime. During his 10 years as mayor, from 1992 to 2002, he raised the profile of Lynn, the largest city on the North Shore with about 90,000 residents. McManus traveled to Washington to help lobby for Friendship, the replica of a 19th-century merchant ship now docked at Derby Wharf in Salem. He stood beside President Bill Clinton on the south lawn of the White House, watching proudly as Lynn police officers hired with federal com

City under fire over bumbling with donations for Michael Jackson event. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was not in the country on the day of Michael Jackson's memorial service, but his grinning face popped up on his Twitter site with a message urging fans to help the financially desperate city pay the tab for police and services.

City under fire over bumbling with donations for Michael Jackson event. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was not in the country on the day of Michael Jackson's memorial service, but his grinning face popped up on his Twitter site with a message urging fans to help the financially desperate city pay the tab for police and services.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraqi Americans Wasan Alqaisi and Sumer Majid made a Fourth of July family picnic of kebab -- served on hamburger buns with slices of American cheese.

NFL stars, high school hopefuls among thousands mourning slain ex-QB Steve McNair in Miss.. Titans quarterback Vince Young didn't expect to speak Saturday during his mentor's funeral. He wound up summing up the emotional day with just a few words.

Thousands expected at former NFL quarterback Steve McNair's funeral in southern Miss.. A capacity crowd of 8,000 was expected Saturday at the funeral for former NFL quarterback Steve McNair on the University of Southern Mississippi campus.

Rain and cool weather wash away millions of tourism dollars in Northeast. Relentless rain and cool weather since early June have sent visitors scrambling home and washed away millions of tourism dollars across the Northeast. But the first 80-degree readings this month gave a glimmer of hope Friday that summer can be salvaged.