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DALLAS - The wildflower showing across much of Texas isn't expected to be spectacular in the early spring, but there could be a rebound before summer.

WASHINGTON - For the next month, the Kennedy Center will glow each night with blue light and shimmers of green, depicting the northern lights and signalling what has taken over its theatres and galleries inside.

DALLAS - The Nasher Sculpture Center is marking its 10th anniversary this year by commissioning 10 sculptures to be placed throughout Dallas.

SALEM, Ore. - Legislative sessions can be dull and boring, but Oregon lawmakers have moved to commemorate the humdrum — even if no one is quite sure how.

JUNEAU, Alaska - A bill that would change how Alaska regulates cruise ship wastewater is on its way to the governor's desk.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - From the day it opened last April, Revel insisted it was a different kind of casino.

AVON, N.J. - Many Jersey shore towns pummeled by Superstorm Sandy have been racing to rebuild their beachfronts and boardwalks, hurriedly preparing for the upcoming summer season. But things have not gone so smoothly in Avon.

BRUCKLESS, Ireland - Many visitors to Ireland make the trip in search of heritage, tracking down ancestors in obscure villages and wandering through ancient churches, pursuing the dream of a verdant, pastoral homeland.

THINGVELLIR, Iceland - The air above the Silfra rift was freezing and the water in it was only a couple degrees higher, just warm enough to be liquid. Going under was a small shock to the skin — but stunning to the eyes.

WASHINGTON - Traffic fatalities rose 5 per cent last year, according to an analysis of preliminary state data, reversing a seven-year decline in which the number of annual traffic deaths reached their lowest level in more than six decades.