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Migrant workers came from around the world to build Panama's transportation systems. They brought, among other things, music with them. Dozens of bands that came to be known collectively as Combos Nacionales married musical styles as distinct and distant as New York boogaloo, Cuban descarga and Trinidadian Calypso. Panama: Latin, Calypso and Funk at the Isthmus charts this uniquely Panamanian hybrid.

U.N. diplomats had hoped several thousand French troops would join the new peacekeeping force in Lebanon. To their disappointment, President Jacques Chirac announces that France will add only 200 troops to its 200 peacekeepers who are already part of the U.N. force in Lebanon. Diplomats fear that France's decision will have a chilling effect on the effort to put a robust force in place.

Adults make a tough audience. But that's nothing compared to performing for children. Award-winning actor John Lithgow talks about the challenges of keeping the younger set entertained. His latest CD for kids is The Sunny Side of the Street.

A preponderance of porch ceilings are painted blue, but why? Is it just popular? Is it to ward off spirits, or even pesky bugs? The assistant manager of a paint store, a tour guide in Charleston, S.C., and an expert on insects look at theories on why so many porch ceilings are painted this color.

Fans of the Mansion Diner, near New York city's Gracie Mansion, will have to do without its affordable spinach pies and cheeseburgers for a spell. The diner, which has been in the Phillips family since 1945, is closing for renovations in a few weeks. Owner Phil Phillips shares nuggets from the diner's homespun history.

The newest art museum in Paris is dedicated to non-European pieces, mostly from Africa and Asia. But what might have been a monument to multiculturalism faces criticism for segregating such works into a museum of "the other."

The oil giant shut down a crucial field in Alaska Monday. But that's not its only problem. BP is defending itself against charges that it manipulated propane prices. Last year, one of its Texas refineries blew up, killing 15 and injuring almost 200. And other plants have been plagued by safety issues.

A family of the big hawks is nesting in the Chesapeake Bay yard of commentator Terrence Smith. He is amused by their antics -- and pleased to see that they've come roaring back after suffering ill effects from DDT in the 1960s.

Conrad Johnson made his Kashmere High School Stage Band a national phenomenon — not just at band competitions, but in the world of commercial popular music. The recordings he made of the band continue to influence musicians to this day, and are being re-released.

William Christenberry grew up in Hale County, Ala. For more than 40 years, he has returned there each summer, revisiting the same locations to document the passage of time.