George Takei has plenty of practice exploring strange new worlds on TV and film, but delving into a painful time in his family's life onstage is something even he never imagined. Takei and his family were among thousands of Japanese-Americans put in internment camps during World War II. The 75-year-old "Star Trek" actor's memories inspired composer/lyricist Jay Kuo to write "Allegiance — A New American Musical," which has high hopes of making it to Broadway.

Paper clips turn into a kitchen tool when roasting traditional barbecue pork.

Nelson and Janet Hallahan were known around working-class Peoria, Ill., for their wealth, and flashed it. That, residents said, may have helped make their get-rich-quick scheme all the more believable.

From the sandhill crane to the red-faced warbler, rock stars of the birding world have spawned a tourism industry in Arizona that draws bird-watchers from around the world. "It's one of the two or three best places in the United States to look for birds," said David Pashley of the American Bird Conservancy.

A 911 caller witnessing the mass shooting outside a grocery store in Tucson describes a frantic scene and says, "I do believe Gabby Giffords was hit." In a tape of the call released Sunday by the Pima County Sheriff's Office, a person putting up a display for a pill bottling company was among the first to report the crime.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Rep.

Adorable Yuky, a hefty figure in pink and black spandex, soaks in the cheers and ear-splitting screams from the crowd. Tonight, the wrestler has a trick — or rather a treat — up his sleeve.

ELGIN, ARIZ. — Grapes aren't supposed to grow in the desert. But here in this southern Arizona town, surrounded by endless rolling green and amber hills, the Callaghan family is de-stemming gigantic bins of grapes that will eventually produce a nice petit verdot. As Kent Callaghan, the patriarch and proprietor, tinkers with his forklift in the 80-something-degree weather, one of his workers, Megan Haller, sifts through bunches of grapes.

PHOENIX — In Phoenix, there's nothing a trip to the golf course can't fix. It's a warm winter escape for those who can afford a second home, and it basks in the spa-facial glow of being a place where people will pay a lot for five-star fun. But for those with shallow pockets, the Valley of the Sun has budget-friendly options mixing an urban identity with access to nature.

Think you can handle a shot of the hard stuff? Better sidle up to the bar with your toothbrush. The bake-shop boom that has fueled the love affair with cupcakes has spawned a new - albeit micro - trend that has Saturday-night hipsters doing a new style of shot that won't burn your gullet like 150 proof.

It's a reunion 12 years in the making. Since hosting the 1996 Super Bowl, Phoenix and its suburbs have been preening and preparing for the return of the NFL's biggest game. The last crucial piece finally fell into place in 2006 when the state-of-the-art University of Phoenix Stadium opened in Glendale, west of Phoenix.