Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.40 percent. That's down from last week's rate of 3.49 percent, which was the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, fell to 2.73 percent, down from the record low of 2.77 percent last week.

The Fed is spending $40 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities. The goal is to lower mortgage rates and help the housing recovery. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the program will continue until there is substantial improvement in the job market.

Some economists expect mortgage rates to fall even further because of the Fed's bond purchases.

The housing market already is benefiting from the lowest mortgage rates on record.Sales of both previously occupied and newly built homes in the U.S. are up from last year. Home prices are rising more consistently. And builders are more confident in the market and are starting to build more homes.

The broader economy is also likely to benefit from a revival in the housing market. When home prices rise, Americans typically feel wealthier and spend more.

Still, the housing market has a long way back. Sales and construction rates remain below healthy levels.

And some economists question whether lower rates will make much of a difference. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has been below 4 percent since early December. So most people who can qualify have likely already taken advantage of the lower rates.

Many people who would like to refinance or buy a home can't because they fail to meet stricter lending requirements or don't have enough money to make a down payment.

To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.

The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.6 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also held steady at 0.6 point.

The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages dipped to 2.60 percent from 2.61 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans was unchanged at 0.4 point.

The average rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 2.71 percent from 2.76 percent. The fee remained at 0.6 point.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Thanks to commercials for erectile dysfunction drugs, men know to seek medical attention for "erections lasting more than four hours," but a new study suggests a blood disorder is the cause of many prolonged erections.

While the condition - formally known as priapism - is rare, researchers report in The Journal of Urology that between 14 percent and 30 percent of cases that show up in U.S. emergency rooms are men with sickle-cell disease.

"I would say what the paper is telling us is that sickle-cell disease is still responsible for the bulk of the visits for priapism," said Dr. Gregory Broderick, professor of urology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, who was not involved in the study.

Sickle-cell disease is an inherited disorder that leads to red blood cells containing an abnormal type of hemoglobin. The defective cells frequently take on a sickle- or crescent-shape and can block small blood vessels, which can lead to tissue damage or even stroke.

Especially dangerous for people with the sickle-cell trait is becoming dehydrated, which thickens the blood and can provoke a potentially fatal "sickle-cell crisis."

Other complications of the condition are anemia, jaundice, gallstones, severe leg and arm pain, and spleen, liver and kidney damage.

Previous studies have linked priapism to sickle-cell disease, as well as to illegal drug abuse and use of erectile dysfunction treatments.

To get a better idea of who is most likely to experience priapism, and why, researchers led by the University of Montreal Health Center's Dr. Florian Roghmann analyzed a database of U.S. ER visits between 2006 and 2009.

They found that 32,462 men came to ERs with priapism during that period, which works out to be less than one emergency visit per 100,000 U.S. men. Of those patients, about 13 percent ended up being admitted to the hospital.

The figures were not significantly different from the past, according to the researchers, which suggests the problem is not becoming more common as the population ages.

About half the men were treated at urban teaching hospitals. And about 14 percent of were reported to have sickle-cell disease, but that number was even higher - about 31 percent - among patients younger than 18 years old. About 4 percent of the patients said they had abused drugs.

The study did not assess how many of the men had used erectile dysfunction drugs. Nor could the researchers tell from the data how many of the ER visits were by the same patients.

But the high proportion of patients identified as having sickle-cell disease, according to Broderick, suggests sickle-cell is the main driver of priapism.

"You're really talking about a demographic slice," said Broderick, who has researched priapism but wasn't involved with the new study.

Sickle-cell disease is most common among people of African, especially West African, descent.

The condition is not thought to cause priapism directly by clogging blood vessels with damaged cells. Rather, it's believed that when the defective red blood cells break, their contents in the bloodstream interfere with signaling from the brain that regulates blood flow and tissue responses, according to Broderick.

The study team also found that priapism is more common during the summer months and in warmer climates. Broderick said that may be due to dehydration among people with sickle-cell disease.

But he cautioned that the new study cannot say for certain what caused priapism in these patients. So the researchers can't rule out other explanations.

Regardless of the cause, Broderick told Reuters Health that the condition can lead to serious long-term complications if it's not treated quickly.

"It's a time-dependant emergency. The more time they've had the ischemic or erect penis, the more likely they're going to have erectile dysfunction," he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/ZQU1Kp The Journal of Urology, online April 10, 2013.

Girardi ripped a shot from above the left circle, off a feed from Derick Brassard, to give the Rangers the lead again with a power-play goal 59 seconds into the third. The advantage was created by Jason Chimera's interference penalty at the end of the second.

Stepan made it 4-2 at 6:02, scoring into a wide-open net at the end of a give-and-go play in front with Carl Hagelin, who had a goal and two assists.

Game 5 will be back in Washington on Friday before the series returns to Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The home team has won all four games in the first-round Eastern Conference matchup.

Brad Richards and Hagelin staked the Rangers to a 2-0 lead, but goals by Mathieu Perreault and Troy Brouwer tied it for Washington in the second period. The Capitals closed within 4-3 on defenseman Karl Alzner's goal at 7:31 of the third.

Henrik Lundqvist, selected a Vezina Trophy finalist earlier Wednesday, made 27 saves. Braden Holtby stopped 30 shots for Washington.

Despite having a 26-15 shots advantage through two periods, the Rangers found themselves locked in a tie heading into the third. Washington was outshot 13-9 in the second but scored twice in the final 6:52 to get even after Hagelin made it 2-0.

The Capitals began spending more time in the New York zone and making it increasingly difficult for the Rangers to get the puck out. The momentum was shifting, and the nervousness began to grow within the crowd as Washington's puck possession became more dangerous.

Joel Ward got the Capitals going when he led a strong rush up ice after the Rangers gave away the puck. Ward charged in, with Perreault, and made a hard move on defenseman Michael Del Zotto. Ward got Del Zotto down to the ice near the left post and feathered a pass through the crease to Perreault, who tied up Richards and slid in his first career playoff goal.

The Rangers appeared set to get out of the second with the one-goal lead they brought into it, but Brouwer's first of the playoffs tied it.

Defenseman Anton Stralman lost the puck in his end along the right-wing boards, and Mike Green barely kept the puck in at the point. He sent a pass into the high slot to Brouwer, who backhanded in a shot with 17.1 seconds left in the period.

Hagelin's second goal of the series doubled the Rangers' lead midway through the second. Brassard, who had a goal and two assists in the Rangers' 4-3 win in Game 3, made a hard pass from the right point to the left circle that Hagelin fired into the top right corner of the net.

The Rangers had taken a 1-0 lead in the first off a gaffe by Holtby. The goalie drifted to his left to track down a Rangers dump-in several feet in front and wide of the net. His clearing attempt was knocked down by New York forward Taylor Pyatt, who moved the puck to Hagelin.

With Holtby well out of position, Hagelin's hard shot at a net guarded only by defenseman John Erskine was saved by Erskine. The rebound bounced in front to Richards, who scored his first goal of the series and 28th in 87 career postseason games.

The otherwise calm period picked up in intensity in the final three-plus minutes.

The Rangers were killing a tripping penalty against Del Zotto and got a short-handed chance. Stepan and Washington's Martin Erat raced after a puck that was sliding into the Washington end. They collided as Alex Ovechkin barreled into both players and knocked them down.

Stepan slid hard into the end boards behind Holtby, and Erat had his arm pinned as he fell into the net. Ovechkin and Erat were penalized for charging and hooking, respectively, giving the Rangers a 5-on-3 power that began after Del Zotto left the penalty box 23 seconds later.

New York couldn't do anything with the two-man edge in the final 1:11 of the period, or the final 26 seconds that carried over into the second.

NOTES: The Rangers were without D Marc Staal, who returned in Game 3 from a serious eye injury that forced him to miss 29 games. New York got back LW Ryane Clowe after he sat out four games because of a suspected concussion sustained in the final week of the regular season. He earned an assist on Hagelin's goal. ... Erat was unable to serve his penalty because of injury. ... Brouwer has seven career playoff goals. ... The Rangers were 1 for 4 on the power play and are 2 for 17 in the series.

[More from BGR: ]

The photos published on Thursday showed Motorolas upcoming X Phone wrapped in a protective case intended to keep the handsets design a secret, but gadget blog Tinthe.tnapparently managed to get its hands on photosthat are now believed to have shown the X Phone without any type of cover.

[More from BGR: ]

As seen in the photos above, the X Phone is shaping up to be a very sleek handset with a large display that nearly reaches the edges of the device.

A subsequent report from 9to5Google claims to reveal specs of the phone, which include an HD display measuring about 4.7 inches diagonally, 32GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM and a nearly stock version of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone will reportedly ship with protective skins available in as many as 25 different colors.

Reports regarding when the X Phone might be unveiled continue to conflict, but its debut may come later this month at .

Updated to clarify that Tinhte.tns photos of the X Phone were first published in March.

This article was

Many other private moments from the singer's life will be exposed as the case progresses over the next several months, with witnesses expected to testify about secret medical treatments, lavish spending and tender moments spent with his mother and children.

In the nearly four years since his death, nearly every aspect of Jackson's life has been explored in court proceedings, documentaries, books and news stories.

Still, the negligence case filed by his mother against AEG promises to deliver the most detailed account of the singer's addiction struggles, including testimony from his ex-wife Debbie Rowe about treatments involving the anesthetic propofol dating back to the 1990s.

Jackson died from a propofol overdose in 2009 while preparing for a series of comeback concerts at AEG's O2 Arena in London.

Katherine Jackson contends AEG didn't properly investigate the doctor who later administered the fatal dose. The company denies wrongdoing.

During opening statements, attorneys framed Jackson's prescription drug addiction through the prism of his superstar status.

Attorney Brian Panish, who represents Katherine Jackson, said the drug problems worsened when the pop star was under the stress of live performances.

AEG attorney Marvin S. Putnam countered that Jackson's stardom provided a cover to receive multiple, secret medical treatments, many involving propofol.

At one point in the proceedings, the harsh portrayal of Jackson's struggle with addiction led one juror to lean forward and stare at the floor for several moments.

Katherine Jackson and two of the superstar's children, Prince and Paris, are potential witnesses whose testimony would likely focus heavily on their grieving and losses.

Panish played a song Jackson wrote for his children as a montage of photos played during opening statements. He also read a handwritten note from Jackson that his mother framed and has hanging on her wall.

"The only way you can assess damages, is to know what they had," Panish told jurors Monday before reading the letter and playing "You Are My Life."

Katherine Jackson dabbed her eyes with a tissue. On Tuesday, she left the courtroom while the paramedic described her son's condition on the day he died.

It may be several days before jurors get another look at Jackson's softer side.

The trial will also feature testimony about Jackson's troubled finances, with debts that reached nearly $400 million by the time he died.

AEG contends the debts made him desperate to have a successful concert series.

"The private Michael Jackson was like a lot of Americans in the 2000s, spending a lot more than he was making," Putnam told the jury after describing the singer's lavish Neverland Ranch, his art collection and other spending.

A Los Angeles police detective who investigated Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, told jurors Tuesday the physician was more than $500,000 in debt and may have been motivated by a large payday for working with Jackson.

Detective Orlando Martinez testified that he looked into Murray's finances searching for a financial motive for his role in Jackson's death and relied mostly on public records. He turned up that Murray's Las Vegas home was in foreclosure proceedings, and Murray faced several liens for unpaid child support and other unpaid debts.

The searches led Martinez to conclude that Murray's financial condition was "severely distressed."

Martinez said that led him to believe Murray's actions were motivated by the $150,000 a month he expected to be paid by AEG.

"He may break the rules, bend the rules, do whatever he needed to do to get paid," Martinez said. "It might solve his money problems."

Murray's finances were not a factor in the criminal case that ended with his 2011 conviction for administering a fatal dose of propofol to Jackson.

Martinez also showed jurors photographs the various medications officers uncovered in Jackson's bedroom, including several vials of propofol.

With the start of testimony Tuesday, the panel was transported by paramedic Richard Senneff into the singer's bedroom, a place he kept locked and where his propofol treatments were administered out of sight of everyone but Murray.

Senneff, a paramedic and firefighter for nearly 28 years, told the panel about responding to Jackson's bedroom on June 25, 2009, and finding an unusual scene.

He described Murray's frazzled efforts to revive Jackson.

"He was pale, he was sweaty," the paramedic said of Murray. "He was very busy."

He said Jackson appeared to be terminally ill.

"To me, he looked like someone who was at the end stage of a long disease process," Senneff said, adding that Murray told him that he was treating Jackson for dehydration.

Senneff told the panel he found an IV pole, oxygen tanks and a nightstand with several medicine bottles.

Just as he previously testified in Murray's criminal trial, the paramedic told the panel that Murray never mentioned propofol.

Jackson's blue hands, feet and lips, and the singer's dry eyes all signaled to Senneff that the singer was dead and hadn't been breathing for a long time.

Onlookers and paparazzi were already gathering at Jackson's gate and someone pressed a camera to the ambulance window to get pictures of the stricken star.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas public schools pummeled by historic budget cuts in 2011 would recover nearly 70 percent of that funding under a Senate plan approved late Tuesday and made possible by Republicans softening on a longstanding reluctance to tap the state's Rainy Day Fund for education.

A major part of the bipartisan deal, which emerged during daylong negotiations, is pulling $800 million from the state's emergency piggybank for schools. That component may be at odds with Gov. Rick Perry, who said this month he supports using the Rainy Day Fund for water and road projects but not classrooms.

Under the proposal unanimously passed by the Senate, schools would also get another $1.4 billion thanks to what lawmakers say are freshly revised local property tax estimates from the state comptroller.

Combined with extra education funding the Senate has previously approved, and Texas schools now appear in line under the Senate plan to win back $3.7 billion of the $5.4 billion lost two years ago.

"We are within spitting distance," Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis said.

Voters would ultimately decide in November through a proposed constitutional amendment whether to allow the state to raid the Rainy Day Fund for public schools. The plan sets aside $300 million of the spending for merit raises for teachers in low-income school districts.

"This is going to allow us to put a substantial amount of new money into public education," said Republican state Sen. Tommy Williams, the Senate's chief budget-writer.

Classroom spending is the smallest portion of the Senate's proposed $5.7 billion draw down the Rainy Day Fund, which is projected to reach a nearly $12 billion balance by 2015 if left unspent.

The other withdrawals are $2 billion for water projects and $2.9 billion to improve the state's crumbling and congested roads. Both are less than what Senate budget-writers originally proposed earlier this month, and like the education spending, taking the rainy day money for roads and water would also require voter approval in November.

Perry and fiscally conservative Republicans have fiercely safeguarded the Rainy Day Fund in recent years, even as the balance soared and state budgets were slashed. They have argued that the fund was created for one-time expenses and natural disasters, and not recurring costs such as school funding.

Earlier this month, Perry did not waver when asked whether lawmakers should tap the Rainy Day Fund for schools.

"The dollars for education are there in our regular general revenue," Perry said following an appearance at an Austin transportation summit on April 12.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was not in the Senate for one of the biggest votes passed by the chamber this session. He issued a statement calling the deal a chance that "will allow voters to decide if they want to utilize the resources of our state's savings account to prepare for our future in a meaningful and transparent way."

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Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

PARIS (AP) -- On the last day of Paris ready-to-wear shows, if Miuccia Prada was about fun and Elie Saab the familiar, then Louis Vuitton was about Kate Moss.

Marc Jacobs, Vuitton's creative director, delivered a no-expenses-spared production to cap fall-winter fashion season in five-star style.

The showman recreated an entire hotel floor inside the Louvre, replete with sprawling carpet, nostalgic lounge piano and do-not-disturb signs what he called "decadent glamor."

The glamor-factor was certainly there in the roll call of top actresses lining the front row, including Jessica Chastain, January Jones and Naomi Watts.

But somehow in just a two-minute cameo Moss possibly the world's most famous model managed to upstage not only an A-list front row but also an entire hotel.

The super-waif 39-year-old provoked instant applause as she appeared in a provocatively revealing organza slip dress from behind one of the closed hotel doors, and was mobbed by journalists backstage.

Trends this season included black and white with flashes of color, leather and fur, eighties and fifties silhouettes, and more ladylike styles with a combative edge.

LOUIS VUITTON

Louis Vuitton moved in a more feminine, sensual direction for fall-winter.

"It was about intimacy, the mystery of what's going on behind the door," Jacobs said. "It's Hollywood mixed with rive gauche."

Accordingly, models in '50s wigs slinked out of a dozen hotel doors wearing satin dresses resembling slips. A bathrobe made from a man's coat followed a crepe dress made with motifs of an undergarment.

The numerous long fur coats some of the most luxurious seen this season provided the glam-factor. Mink coats dyed in two tones and murky-colored astrakhan were stand outs as well as crocodile bags lined with sheared mink, lashings of marabou feathers and hand-curled goose feathers.

"All sorts of creatures were lying around in embroidered form," joked Jacobs, who may indeed be responsible for emptying a local zoo.

Menswear touches like a button-less tailored jacket or the pajama print reined in the more overtly feminine lingerie looks, ensuring a nice overall balance.

But the show was also about Kate Moss.

Jacobs, who conducted interviews backstage in red pajamas, said the show grew from his close friendship with Moss, and years of dressing her up in hotel rooms.

MIU MIU

Last season's boxy and printed looks were gone for Miu Miu's fall-winter 2013-14 show.

In their place was a more inventive collection that featured outerwear as dresses, large-sized buttons and giant handbags.

Flashes of color in '50s polka dot neckties, stripy tights and Belle Epoque boots in gold and silver gave the collection for Miuccia Prada's baby sister offshoot a great lift.

Dresses made with quilted coat fabric, sometimes with large buttons and long zippers, saw Prada putting her own quirky stamp on an outerwear-to-innerware trend that's on high rotation on the catwalk of late.

The piece de resistance was a one-meter (three-foot) handbag that had spectators gawking.

ELIE SAAB

As models appeared through autumnal mist, Elie Saab's daywear picked up a hint of androgyny this fall-winter.

It was a relatively experimental start that saw the Lebanese designer deliver some sexy looks that could almost have been worn to the office.

Menswear tailoring on a gray and blue dress carried on in several pared-down looks with a slimmer silhouette than last season, created with a more restrained color wheel.

The whiff of masculinity soon faded, however, in a series of the Lebanese designer's popular bread-and-butter gowns with sequins, transparencies and broderie anglaise in primrose yellow, burgundy and dark green.

It was a collection of no great surprises, that's likely to please his core clientele base.

VIONNET

The late, great Madeline Vionnet was one of the 20th century's most influential fashion designers. Known as the "queen of the bias cut," she was famed for her draped Grecian column dresses.

Seven decades later, her house has been revamped and showed its ready-to-wear collection on Paris' official calendar Wednesday.

The problem with revamping old, storied houses is that the new designers can often feel strangled by the codes.

Wednesday's show saw creative director Goga Ashkenazi going in almost the opposite direction.

Though she fleetingly touched on some draped looks with Grecian columns for a set, Ashkenazi channeled the vivid colors of pop art's Roy Lichtenstein. It was a show with a distinct '80s vibe in severely folded coats and dresses.

"The history is tremendous. But we wanted to move it a step forward and see the modern interpretation," Ashkenazi said.

There were some neat looks, like a thick ribbed high-necked sweater in blue. However, some of the vaguely bias-cut shaped furs that were assembled together made the collection feel like it needed further developing.

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

JUBA (Reuters) - An estimated 3,000 South Sudanese rebels have surrendered and accepted an amnesty, a government official said on Friday, ending a long-standing insurgency in the oil-producing north of the country.

South Sudan's government has been struggling to contain several insurgencies it claims are supported by its old civil war foe Khartoum since it gained independence from Sudan in July 2011. Sudan denies the claims.

Relations between the Sudans have thawed in recent months, paving the way in April for the resumption of the South's oil being piped through Sudan after a 15-month shutdown.

On Friday, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir issued an amnesty for six rebel commanders including Bapiny Monytuil, the leader of the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), and their troops.

"The (SSLA) militia that have been in the north have surrendered. All of them have come," Unity State government spokesman Joseph Arop Malual told Reuters. Unity contains several oilfields.

Led by a senior commander, Matthew Puljang, a large group of SSLA crossed the border with around 100 trucks from Sudan, where they are believed to have a training base, Malual said.

The SSLA, formed in the late 1990s, is one of largest rebel groups in the region. It switched sides several times during the civil war between north and south Sudan that killed some 2 million people in fighting over oil, religion, ideology and identity. The war, which began in 1983, ended with a 2005 peace deal that paved the way for the southern secession.

"(The surrender) is positive because they are our brothers. We no longer have to fear attacks from the north," Malual said.

There was no immediate comment from Sudan or the SSLA, which has accused the South Sudan government of corruption in the past.

Security analysts say hundreds of people were killed in clashes between the predominantly ethnic Nuer SSLA and government forces in November 2011 and March 2012 in Unity State, although the group has not been active recently.

Earlier this month Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir made his first visit to South Sudan since its secession in a bid to help normalize relations and restart cross-border trade.

"(This) is a significant development toward improved relations between Sudan and South Sudan. It shows that concrete deals were signed during Bashir's recent visit to Juba," said Jonah Leff, a regional analyst for the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, referring to the surrender.

(Editing by Hugh Lawson)

A California assemblyman has an ambitious plan to found a fourth system of higher education in California. The New University of California is proposed in addition to the existing University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems. This New Universitybut instead, would award degrees based on one's abilities in a skill or subject.

Details of the Bill

Bill AB 1306 was proposed by Republican Assemblyman Scott Wilk from Santa Clarita, who wants to make college more accessible to Californians. The goal of the proposed university would be to allow students to gain the required knowledge via online courses or any other source before taking a university-administered exam. Upon passing, the student would receive credit for the course, and with enough credit, the appropriate degree could be conferred. "This bill would allow students to use whatever approach works best for them to obtain the knowledge needed to receive a college education, whether that is online courses, paid courses, or self-directed study," said a statement from Wilk's office.

Possible Effect on Education Costs

The cost of education under this proposed plan would be greatly lowered, as students would only be required to pay an examination fee, as well as a few minimal administration fees in order to receive credit and a degree. Thehave risen in California, with UC in-state tuition topping $13,000 per year, CSU tuition at $7,000, and even California Community College tuition above $1,000 per year for the first time in history. The New University of California system could significantly lower the cost of obtaining a college degree.

The New University of California would be organized in a manner similar to the University of California, with a board of 11 trustees and a chancellor. Exam development would likely be contracted to other organizations and would hopefully follow other pre-established exam criteria. The bill was introduced in February and will go before the Committee on High Education for hearings on April 23.

Ignoring Bigger Problems in Education?

Although no definitive statements have been made by lawmakers or prominent educators, several students at the University of Californiaover the creation of such a university system. ASUC Senator and CalSERVE external affairs vice presidential candidate Nolan Pack told The Daily Californian, "I think the problem is that, while there may be arguments saying that it is cheaper, it circumvents the problem that we are not currently funding our higher education system to where it should be."

While it would provide cheap education, the New University potentially circumvents the problems the current California education system is having. Underfunding andare just some of the many issues plaguing the various higher education systems in the state.

Tallchief died Thursday in Chicago, her daughter, Elise Paschen, said Friday.

Tallchief danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1942 to 1947, but her career was most associated with the New York City Ballet, where she worked from 1948 to 1965. Balanchine, the Russian-born dance genius, was not only the company's director; in 1946, he became Tallchief's husband for some years.

She told Women's Wear Daily in 2003 that when she first worked with Balanchine she thought, "'I am seeing music. This is it!' I was a musician myself, and I thought, 'I am in my place now.' I knew that that's the way I wanted to dance."

Tallchief was one of five Oklahoma natives of American Indian descent who rose to prominence in the ballet world from the 1940s through the 1960s. She retired in 1965, when she started teaching the next generation of dancers.

"My mother was a ballet legend, who was proud of her Osage heritage," Paschen said in a statement. "Her dynamic presence lit up the room. I will miss her passion, commitment to her art and devotion to her family. She raised the bar high and strove for excellence in everything she did."

Tallchief created roles in many of Balanchine's ballets, including "Orpheus," in 1948, and "Scotch Symphony," in 1952. She was the Sugar Plum Fairy in his original production of "The Nutcracker" in 1954.

Jacques d'Amboise, a former New York City Ballet dancer who partnered with Tallchief in many performances, said she was the Mount Everest of dance.

"She was the perfect representative of the American ballerina," said d'Amboise, who with the National Dance Institute in New York. "There is one word for her: Grand. She was absolutely grand."

In the 1970s, Tallchief served as artistic director of the Lyric Opera Ballet in Chicago. She later founded and was artistic director of the Chicago City Ballet.

Kenneth von Heidecke, founder of the Chicago Festival Ballet, studied under Tallchief during the 1970s in Chicago. Tallchief was an honorary artistic adviser with the ballet. He said he owed Tallchief his career because of her meticulous training.

"She would teach classical ballet not just technically ... but she would go beyond that and tell you how the laws of physics help you achieve great elevation or great velocity," von Heidecke said.

In 1996, Tallchief became one of five artists to receive the Kennedy Center Honors for their lifelong contributions to American culture.

Tallchief was born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief in 1925, on a reservation in Fairfax, Okla., a small town about 60 miles northwest of Tulsa. Visiting teachers gave her lessons, and her mother later moved the family to Los Angeles so that she and her sister could receive additional training.

Tallchief's sister, Marjorie Tallchief, became the first American ballerina to join the permanent star roster of the Paris Opera Ballet.

In her 2005 memoir, "Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina," Tallchief wrote that her first ballet lesson was in the basement of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo., when she was 3-years-old.

"What I remember most is that the ballet teacher told me to stand straight and turn each of my feet out to the side, the first position," Tallchief wrote. "I couldn't believe it. But I did what I was told."

Ashley Wheater, artistic director with Chicago's Joffrey Ballet, said Tallchief served as a role model to future dancers.

"She's an inspiration for young kids today that come from all different ethnic backgrounds to know that they too can have that opportunity," Wheater said.

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AP writer Jocelyn Noveck contributed to this report from New York.

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Follow AP writer Caryn Rousseau on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/carynrousseau