Alvin Preston McGraw, whose journalistic career included 42 years with United Press International bureaus across the United States, has died at the age of 84. McGraw died May 26 at a retirement facility in Denton, Texas, his daughter said. McGraw joined United Press in 1938 in New Orleans and signed his application A.P.

By Emily Van Cleve For the Journal If modern music seems like a cacophony of sound that makes no sense to the ears, John Kennedy's new lecture series is the perfect antidote.

BERLIN _ Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered a call Thursday to strengthen international alliances for a new era of global challenges before an enormous, receptive audience gathered in a city once divided by the Cold War and sustained in crisis by the Atlantic Alliance.

By Emily Van Cleve For the Journal According to Santa Fe New Music director and conductor John Kennedy, instrumental music written during the past several decades reflects the diversity of styles employed by contemporary composers.

By Donnie Johnston, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va. Jun.