'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America

In 1868, Union Army Major General John A. Logan declared May 30 "Decoration Day," a day to honor fallen Civil War soldiers with speeches, prayers, and flowers and other decorations on their graves at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1971, Congress made the observance a national holiday to remember all those who have died serving our country, and since then, Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday of May.

There are few better ways to honor the memory of the nation's fallen heroes than by acknowledging the special sacrifices and answering the special needs of the nation's military community. Few have done more to help veterans and first responders than Gary Sinise, who traces his long commitment back to his breakthrough role as broken Vietnam veteran Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump."

Hip-hop artists including rappers Nas and Somalia-born K’naan will take center stage in an unexpected place next year, highlighting their generation and art form alongside opera, ballet and theater at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Hip-hop artists including rappers Nas and Somalia-born K'naan will take center stage in an unexpected place next year, highlighting their generation and art form alongside opera, ballet and theater at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Hillary Rodham Clinton got an early valentine from President Obama, leaving Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to celebrate Groundhog Day alone. Perhaps the veep sees a shadow already (you can't blame him for looking over his shoulder), and he'll burrow underground.

Never mind the "fiscal cliff," here's what's at the top of the mountainous schedule of music and arts events in store for Washingtonians and visitors this spring.

Georg Friedrich Handel's "Messiah" was first performed in Dublin on April 13, 1741, and premiered in London in 1743. Its first performance in the United States was not until 75 years later, on Christmas Day 1818, in Boston, but America has since more than made up for that lag.

On Friday evening, Tudor Place will host a haunted historical affair, complete with tours of the gardens every half-hour, ghostly tales about the previous residents, and cocktails in the buildings scattered across the grounds.

As a boy taking piano lessons in Buenos Aires, Maximo Flugelman was happier improvising his own tunes than practicing the Haydn sonata assigned by his teacher.

Despite torrid heat, high humidity and lingering power outages and storm damage, the Washington area rang in the nation's 237th year as planned Wednesday.

Actor Matthew Broderick, country singer Josh Turner, composer John Williams and a dozen U.S. Olympic athletes will be among the headliners for this year's July Fourth celebration on the Mall.

Country star Trace Adkins and "American Idol" runner-up Jessica Sanchez are among the performers slated to appear at the National Memorial Day Concert on Sunday night on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Grammy award-winning singer John Legend surprised a high school choir Tuesday at the Kennedy Center to help start a program encouraging young artists to confront social issues with their art, in honor of the late Marvin Gaye.
How does the Detroit Symphony Orchestra get to Carnegie Hall? Like everyone else _ practice, practice, practice. But the Motor City musicians also added a little imagination.
Billionaire Russian investor Vladimir Potanin announced a $5 million gift Thursday to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to mark its 40th anniversary and support its programs.