Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for the 30-year loan increased to 3.59 percent this week. That's up from 3.51 percent last week. And it is above the rate of 3.31 percent reached in November, the lowest on records dating to 1971.

The average on the 15-year loan jumped to 2.77 percent. That's up from 2.69 percent last week. The record low of 2.56 percent was hit on May 2.

Cheaper mortgages are a key reason home sales have increased this year.

In April, sales of previously occupied homes rose at the fastest pace in three and a half years, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.And sales of newly built homes jumped to the second-highest rate since July 2008.

More demand, along with a tight supply of homes for sale, has helped boost home prices. It has also encouraged builders to break ground on more homes.

Mortgage rates rose sharply this week because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

The yield rose above 2 percent Wednesday for the first time since March 14 and was at 2.02 percent Thursday. Investors began selling government bonds Wednesday after minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed several policymakers favored slowing the Fed's bond purchases, perhaps as early as this summer.

The Fed is buying $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds, which has pushed down long-term interest rates. Once it slows the bond purchases, interest rates are likely to tick up. That would decrease the value of bonds with lower yields.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week. The average doesn't 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 mortgages was unchanged at 0.7 point last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was steady at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage held at 2.55 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable-rate loans was unchanged at 0.4 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage edged up to 2.63 percent from 2.62 percent. The fee was steady at 0.5.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, frustrated by a dysfunctional and unpopular Congress that has been unable to perform basic tasks such as agreeing on a federal budget, may soon seek an unprecedented rules change in the Senate.

The Nevada Democrat's aim would be to strip Republicans of their ability to stop President Barack Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees with procedural roadblocks known as filibusters, which also have been used to halt much of the president's legislative agenda.

Republicans charge that such a move would effectively turn the 100-member Senate into the House of Representatives where the rules already allow the chamber's majority to virtually ignore the minority.

"I'm worried, very worried," said veteran Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. "There has been wrong on both sides, but this could destroy the Senate."

Filibusters were designed to permit the minority to demand unlimited debate and force the majority to compromise. They initially required senators to stand and speak, ending when the speaking stopped.

But the rules were changed years ago to simply permit these procedural roadblocks to continue until the opposing side could muster a super-majority of votes, now 60.

"This place can't continue to operate and function with the filibuster being used the way it is now," said Democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Republicans deny being obstructionist, citing scores of Obama nominees who have been confirmed. They accuse Reid of trying to pick a fight to fire up his party's liberal base.

Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that Democrats apparently wanted to change the rules because they weren't getting everything they wanted when they wanted it.

"Let's get real here. That's not how a democracy functions," McConnell declared in a speech in the Senate.

Sixty-seven votes are needed to change Senate rules, including those for the filibuster. But Democrats, who control the chamber, 54-46, could do it with 51 by using for the first time a procedural power play dubbed the "nuclear option."

Here's how:

In open session, the Senate parliamentarian would formally advise the chamber's presiding chair, Vice President Joe Biden or his designated stand-in, that 67 votes are needed for a rule change.

The presiding chair would echo the parliamentarian's finding, prompting Reid to move to overrule the chair and propose that all rules changes could be done with just 51 votes. Senate procedure permits most matters, including overruling the chair, to be decided by a simple majority.

Democrats would then change the rules again, this time to reduce to 51 from 60 the number of votes needed to end filibusters against judicial and executive branch nominees.

Democratic aides say Reid is considering only changing the rule on filibusters for nominations, not legislation. But once a precedent is set, both sides note, it could be extended.

'VERY FRUSTRATED'

Reid is expected to decide whether to ask Democrats to pull the trigger in the coming weeks, but first wants to see if Republicans block a number of embattled nominees, aides say.

The nominations include: Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Thomas Perez to become the secretary of the Labor Department and Richard Cordray to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

There are also at least three spots on the National Labor Relations Board that require Senate approval.

None of these nominees have been filibustered this year, but Republicans say they might be.

Senate Republicans have vowed to block any director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau until there are structural changes in the agency created to combat fiscal fraud.

Republicans also have opposed nominees at the NLRB, hobbling the federal agency that investigates charges of unfair labor practices.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island declined to predict what Reid will do.

"But I can tell you that Harry (Reid) is very frustrated and rightfully so about the failure of the Senate to confirm a number of executive appointees, not because they are not qualified, but because Republicans don't like their agencies," Reed said.

An earlier threat to invoke "the nuclear option" was averted in January when a deal was reached that was supposed to make the Senate confirmation process more efficient and less hostile.

But Democrats now accuse Republicans of violating the deal. Republicans deny it and argue that Reid made an unconditional promise not to use the "nuclear option," a charge denied by Democrats.

The move has been repeatedly threatened over the years by both parties but has never been invoked, primarily because the party in the majority knows that it eventually will be back in the minority and likely want the filibuster in its arsenal.

Republicans warn that if Democrats invoke "the nuclear option," they will retaliate when they return to the majority, likely with Obama's 2010 healthcare restructuring law.

While Reid expects at least a couple of fellow Senate Democrats to oppose "the nuclear option," he doesn't expect much, if any, backlash from the public, which gives Congress a record low approval rating of close to single digits, aides say.

"The public doesn't like Congress. Reid wants to change how it works. Republicans will be defending the status quo. We expect to win that argument," a Democratic aide said.

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Paul Simao)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to fitness, experts say men generally want to be bulkier and women want to be trimmer and everyone wants to do what they are good at.

That's why as more women tackle brawny boot camps and men seek flexible peace on the yoga mat, crossing traditional gender lines, intelligently, can be a good idea.

"Women want to lose body fat, men want hypertrophy (bulk)," said Geralyn Coopersmith, national director of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute.

There are also hormonal, structural and body composition differences between the sexes, said Coopersmith, who trains the personal trainers for the chain's fitness centers.

"So if they're both training for a marathon they'll train in very similar ways but we'll look out for different things."

Women's wider hips leave them more prone to knee injuries, while men, pound for pound, will always have more lean body tissue.

"Technically the man is more fit in that regard," she said.

It's harder for women to tackle extreme workouts, such as Crossfit or P90X, Coopersmith said, but they can do it.

"They're not going to beat the men but will probably get pretty good at it and get very fit," she said, adding that too many young, healthy women don't challenge themselves enough.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Dr. Michele Olson, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine said while everyone needs aerobic, strength and flexibility, the activities needed to achieve it can be very different, depending gender and age.

"In the early years women need to focus on bones and men on aerobics," said Olson, a professor at the Auburn University Montgomery Human Performance Lab, in Alabama.

She added that research shows it's important for younger women to take on activities with sufficient impact, such as jogging, jumping rope or step aerobics, at least 20 minutes twice a week, to develop good bone density.

"Bone density can fail women in their 40's," said Olson, "while men tend to have robust bones until very late in life."

She added that heart health is especially important for men, who are plagued with heart disease at a younger age. They need to focus on the correct exercises for the heart, including low-impact cardio exercises like bicycling or swimming.

Women at any age should lift weights, she said, adding interval-style training is more efficient in burning the mid-belly fat women tend to store after menopause.

"It doesn't have to be a boot camp. You can do it on a treadmill by adjusting speed or incline at one-minute intervals," she explained.

As men age, their lack of flexibility catches up with them, but estrogen has made the tendons of women more elastic.

"Women and men both play to their strengths," she said. "Even as children, athletes naturally select what they feel they're good at."

Connecticut-based fitness instructor Ellen Barrett believes the genders require different fitness formulas.

Even a simple bicep curl might not work for a woman, whose range of motion is generally greater, said Barrett.

Super-intense, military-style workouts and long-distance running are among the activities Barrett feels are made for men, while Pilates and yoga are so much more woman-friendly.

Barrett said when she attends a yoga class with her husband "it's like a tale of two cities."

"I feel like I've had a massage," she explained. "My husband has to recover."

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Eric Walsh)

The free agent forward from Gatineau, Que., has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

"For me, the Montreal Canadiens' fans are probably the most passionate fans in the NHL," Briere said on a conference call Thursday night. "It's an honor to be playing for them, in front of them, and all I'm hoping is that we will all be cheering in the same direction when the season starts."

The Philadelphia Flyers last week used a compliance buyout on the final two seasons of the eight-year, $52 million deal Briere signed in 2007. Because he turned down an offer from the Canadiens to sign with the Flyers that year, Briere was booed whenever Philadelphia visited Montreal.

Now the 35-year-old returns to his native Quebec with a deal reportedly worth $4 million per season.

"Daniel Briere brings a great deal of skills, experience and leadership to our team and he is a significant addition to our group of forwards," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement. "Daniel showed a great desire to pursue his career in Montreal and we are very happy that he committed to playing in Montreal for the next two seasons."

Briere had only six goals and 10 assists in the lockout shortened 2013 season.

"Last season with the short season, starting behind everybody because of injuries, I am definitely looking forward to bouncing back. I've done that my whole life, my whole career," Briere said. "It's always been about finding the motivation to bounce back. Coming to Montreal makes it really easy, first of all.

"Having the chance to play for the Canadiens, I think there's no better motivation than that."

He has 282 goals and 373 assists in 847 career NHL games, but was mostly coveted for his postseason play.

In the Flyers' run to the Stanley Cup final in 2009, Briere had 12 goals and 18 assists in 23 games. In 108 career playoff games, he has 50 goals and 59 assists.

The rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, is accused of kicking the woman and destroying $7,100 worth of property in her condominium on June 23 in the Toluca Lake community of Los Angeles.

The 37-year-old rapper, who has sold about 20 million albums worldwide, has been charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic violence and four counts of vandalism, Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

The "Candy Shop" rapper allegedly kicked open a door in the condo and destroyed a piece of furniture, a chandelier and television.

"The altercation apparently started from an allegation of infidelity on her part," Mateljan said, adding that the Grammy-winning rapper left the condo before police arrived.

The city attorney's office described the victim, who is unnamed because it is a domestic violence case, as a former girlfriend of the rapper, who is affectionately called "Fiddy."

The rapper's publicist and attorney were not immediately available to comment.

Queens, New York-born 50 Cent shot to fame with his 2003 debut studio album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," which has sold about 15 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling rap albums of all time.

He also starred in the 2005 semi-autobiographical film of the same name. He has had roles in the 2006 war drama "Home of the Brave" and the upcoming crime-thriller "The Frozen Ground," which stars Nicolas Cage and John Cusack.

The rapper will be arraigned on July 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court and faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail and $46,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey)

The bubble-headed Asimo machine had problems telling the difference between people raising their hands to ask questions and those aiming their smartphones to take photos at the Miraikan science museum.

It froze mid-action and repeated a programmed remark, "Who wants to ask Asimo a question?"

The robot guide, shown to reporters on Wednesday, is connected by wireless to six sensors in the ceiling to discern where a crowd is gathering.

It has no voice recognition and responds to written questions selected from a touch-panel device, meaning that interacting with Asimo was even less natural, or entertaining, than the typical dead-end conversation with a smartphone.

Honda's robotics technology, although among the most advanced for mobility, has come under fire as lacking practical applications and being little more than an expensive toy.

Asimo was too sensitive to go into radiated areas after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, and Honda had to do new work to develop robotic arms that could be used in reactors.

Satoshi Shigemi, who oversees Honda's robotics technology, acknowledged that more work was needed. He said the goal is to have Asimo recognize who is talking to it, such as an adult versus a child, and respond accordingly.

It has a long way to go.

"Right now, it can recognize a child waving to it, but it's not able to comprehend the meaning of the waving," he told reporters.

A possible future use for Asimo would be to help people buy tickets from vending machines at train stations, Shigemi said, speeding up the process for any humans unfamiliar with the process.

"The tasks that any child can perform, such as language interpretation, are among the most challenging for a computerized agent, whether robotic or not," said Ingrid Zukerman, professor of information technology at Australia's Monash University.

The effort is complex, including making out speech and then connecting it with knowledge to make out meanings, and so the state-of-the-art language interpretation is still limited to specific requests such as bus schedules and airline bookings, Zukerman said.

In Wednesday's demonstration, the robot walked around and gesticulated while it answered a question about its own features while projecting diagrams on a big screen.

Honda said it was programmed to reply to about 100 questions. Four were chosen randomly and popped up on the touch panels for the audience to choose.

Honda's humanoid prototype was first shown in 1996, and it has grown smaller and nimbler over the years.

In previous demonstrations, Asimo has shown it can run, hop on one foot and kick a soccer ball. It has fingers with joints and can open a thermos lid and pour a drink. It has image sensors and can make its way through objects in a room.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at www.twitter.com/yurikageyama

At a school honors event for our daughter for which most of the attendees dressed for the occasion, he arrived in dirty shorts and a T-shirt. I sat next to him to be polite, until I realized he also smelled awful. When I tried to excuse myself saying I needed a "better seat for my camera," he got up, too! It was an unpleasant two hours. I felt bad for the others in our vicinity.

I have tried to suggest that he may suffer from depression in the past, but he denies it. Is there anything I can say that won't be resented (with him possibly showing up even more disheveled the next time just out of spite)? -- UNPLEASANT SITUATION, GETTYSBURG, PA.

DEAR UNPLEASANT SITUATION: While you may have ended your marriage 15 years ago, it doesn't appear you have truly divorced yourself from your ex. Rather than having pussy-footed around the reason you wanted to change your seat, you should have told him it was because he smelled like a goat and showed he lacked enough respect for those around him and his daughter to shower and put on clean clothes.

He may -- or may not -- suffer from depression. Because he denies it, there is no way you can force him into treatment. You are no longer responsible for his attire or his welfare.

Because you're concerned that he may show up looking more disheveled "out of spite," you have my permission to distance yourself if it happens. And if your daughter is embarrassed by his attire, she has every right to talk to her father about it.

DEAR ABBY: I'm a small-business owner. I have an educational supply and toy store. Business has been pretty good, even through the hard times.

My problem is my customers' children are about to put me out of business. They are out of control. They climb on shelving, open products, tear things apart and throw screaming tantrums.

Their parents let them run through the store like it's a playground. I have signs posted at the entrance and around the store reminding parents to attend to their children.

We have lost a lot of inventory due to these brats, and my time is consumed trying to keep them in line instead of working with my customers. I don't go to their homes and wreck them. I wish they'd show the same respect for my business. Thanks for any advice you can offer. -- HAD IT WITH OVERINDULGED KIDS

DEAR HAD IT: If possible, designate a small area of your store where kids can go to play while their parents are shopping. Also, post a sign at the cash register that reads: "Customers Will Be Charged for Broken or Damaged Items."

The problem you are experiencing is one that is shared by many other retailers. If any of them are reading this column, I'd love to know how they resolved this problem.

DEAR ABBY: Since my mother passed away, I feel awkward when my parents' anniversary comes up. I don't want to ignore this important date for my father (we are very close), but I don't feel saying "Happy Anniversary" is appropriate either. What do you suggest? -- REMEMBERING IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF.

DEAR REMEMBERING: Your father already knows what the date means. Pick up the phone, say, "Dad, I'm thinking about you and I love you," and if he lives close by, invite him to dinner if he doesn't have plans.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

Dean, a physician by training, sat in front of a webcam chatting between bites one day during his 2004 bid for the White House while then-Vice President Dick Cheney attended an event in South Carolina. Both were trying to raise campaign cash.

In that instance, Dean raised more.

It was a sea change in American politics that continues to resonate as the former Vermont governor, his campaign staff and supporters gather this weekend for the 10th anniversary of his campaign kickoff. That came June 23, 2003, when Dean drew a crowd of more than 5,000 to Burlington's Church Street Marketplace.

It all flamed out seven months later, when, after a disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Dean gave a concession speech that ended with a war whoop described as the "Dean scream" and replayed countless times in the days following.

But while it lasted, Dean scored several firsts, said Daniel Kreiss, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of North Carolina who has written extensively on the role of the Internet in politics.

Among them were the systematic uses of email to raise funds and blogging and social networking to organize supporters, Kreiss wrote in an email.

Dean also attracted young, tech-savvy bloggers through his campaign's willingness to use open-source software, Kreiss has written.

"On a cultural level, using open-source technologies reflected what these volunteers saw as the openness of the campaign," he wrote. Dean's volunteers "believed that the campaigns of Dean's rivals did not have the same open culture and therefore would be unable to take full advantage of this organizing tool."

The result, said Nicco Mele, who served as Dean's webmaster and now teaches at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, was a campaign that used online video in the days before YouTube and social networking before Facebook existed.

"It was the first political campaign to really aggressively utilize the Internet to raise money and organize people," Mele said. "We tried literally hundreds" of emerging Internet-based tools.

But all the new media would be for naught without Dean's positions on issues, said campaign manager Joe Trippi. As governor in 2000, Dean signed Vermont's first-in-the-nation civil unions law providing legal recognition to same-sex couples. Dean also scored points with young people with his opposition to the war in Iraq, which he called "the wrong war at the wrong time."

Trippi said in an interview that what he's most proud of about the campaign is the number of staffers who've gone on to senior roles in other campaigns, the tech world or the media. Former staffer Joe Rospars is founder and CEO of Blue State Digital and was principal digital strategist for both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. Garrett Graff, whom Trippi credits with coming up with the ham sandwich idea, is editor of The Washingtonian magazine. Trippi himself has been media strategist for several foreign campaigns and for that of California Gov. Jerry Brown in 2010.

"I don't remember a losing presidential campaign to launch that many successes across the country in different parts of government and politics," said Trippi. "It certainly has left its mark in a lot of ways."

Dean said he's looking forward to a gathering set for Sunday at Burlington's Oakledge Park for staffers and volunteers to reflect and reminisce. Dean insisted that he was not the key to his campaign's lasting impact.

"It isn't me; it's the movement that gathered under the banner of the campaign," he said. "It was the coming of age of the millennial generation politically. Even though I bear no resemblance to Gene McCarthy," who rallied young, anti-war activists to his 1968 presidential campaign, "it's sort of the same phenomenon for this generation."

131 Matt Every (U.S.) 69 62

132 Daniel Summerhays (U.S.) 65 67

Bill Lunde (U.S.) 66 66

Steven Bowditch (Australia) 65 67

Russell Henley (U.S.) 67 65

Johnson Wagner (U.S.) 62 70

133 Ben Curtis (U.S.) 67 66

Greg Owen (Britain) 67 66

Tommy Gainey (U.S.) 62 71

Jonas Blixt (Sweden) 66 67

134 Jimmy Walker (U.S.) 69 65

Tag Ridings (U.S.) 65 69

Brendon De Jonge (Zimbabwe) 66 68

James Driscoll (U.S.) 66 68

Jordan Spieth (U.S.) 67 67

Lee Dong-Hwan (South Korea) 66 68

135 Kenny Perry (U.S.) 68 67

D.A. Points (U.S.) 70 65

Ted Potter Jr. (U.S.) 69 66

Brian Davis (Britain) 67 68

Kevin Chappell (U.S.) 67 68

Chad Campbell (U.S.) 69 66

Matt Jones (Australia) 69 66

Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 70 65

Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 67 68

Bill Haas (U.S.) 68 67

136 Neal Lancaster (U.S.) 65 71

Brendan Steele (U.S.) 66 70

Morgan Hoffmann (U.S.) 69 67

Martin Flores (U.S.) 71 65

Jeff Overton (U.S.) 68 68

Pat Perez (U.S.) 71 65

Erik Compton (U.S.) 69 67

Ben Crane (U.S.) 66 70

137 Jason Kokrak (U.S.) 66 71

David Lingmerth (Sweden) 71 66

Brian Stuard (U.S.) 71 66

Davis Love III (U.S.) 67 70

Scott Stallings (U.S.) 70 67

Bubba Watson (U.S.) 68 69

George McNeill (U.S.) 66 71

Tom Watson (U.S.) 68 69

Alistair Presnell (Australia) 68 69

Peter Hanson (Sweden) 66 71

Webb Simpson (U.S.) 64 73

Tim Petrovic (U.S.) 69 68

Park Jin (South Korea) 64 73

138 Richard Lee (U.S.) 68 70

John Senden (Australia) 70 68

Charlie Wi (South Korea) 73 65

Dicky Pride (U.S.) 72 66

Brian Harman (U.S.) 68 70

Luke List (U.S.) 71 67

K.J. Choi (South Korea) 71 67

Scott Brown (U.S.) 66 72

Justin Leonard (U.S.) 68 70

Tom Gillis (U.S.) 67 71

Bryce Molder (U.S.) 71 67

Gary Christian (Britain) 71 67

139 Robert Streb (U.S.) 69 70

Andres Romero (Argentina) 68 71

D.J. Trahan (U.S.) 70 69

Shawn Stefani (U.S.) 70 69

Carl Pettersson (Sweden) 69 70

Billy Horschel (U.S.) 69 70

Ryan Palmer (U.S.) 68 71

Cameron Percy (Australia) 71 68

Andres Gonzales (U.S.) 71 68

Jim Herman (U.S.) 72 67

Michael Kim (U.S.) 70 69

Brad Fritsch (Canada) 68 71

James Hahn (U.S.) 72 67

Chez Reavie (U.S.) 70 69

Fabian Gomez (Argentina) 70 69

Gary Woodland (U.S.) 69 70

Nick Watney (U.S.) 72 67

Cameron Tringale (U.S.) 73 66

Graham DeLaet (Canada) 69 70

William McGirt (U.S.) 69 70

Troy Matteson (U.S.) 69 70

Brad Adamonis (U.S.) 68 71

140 DNQ Chris DiMarco (U.S.) 71 69

Woody Austin (U.S.) 68 72

Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 70 70

Michael Bradley (U.S.) 70 70

Sean O'Hair (U.S.) 70 70

Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) 73 67

David Mathis (U.S.) 66 74

J.J. Henry (U.S.) 68 72

Roberto Castro (U.S.) 70 70

Justin Bolli (U.S.) 74 66

Ryan Blaum (U.S.) 71 69

Bobby Gates (U.S.) 70 70

141 DNQ Scott Piercy (U.S.) 72 69

Jeff Maggert (U.S.) 71 70

Will Claxton (U.S.) 72 69

Colt Knost (U.S.) 76 65

Luke Guthrie (U.S.) 73 68

Henrik Norlander (Sweden) 68 73

Andrew Svoboda (U.S.) 71 70

Stuart Appleby (Australia) 70 71

Charles Howell III (U.S.) 69 72

Brian Gay (U.S.) 69 72

Casey Wittenberg (U.S.) 68 73

Josh Teater (U.S.) 72 69

Bob Estes (U.S.) 67 74

Michael Letzig (U.S.) 67 74

Ben Kohles (U.S.) 70 71

Donald Constable (U.S.) 72 69

142 DNQ Rod Pampling (Australia) 72 70

Lucas Glover (U.S.) 72 70

Phil Mickelson (U.S.) 74 68

Mark Silvers (U.S.) 71 71

Jason Bohn (U.S.) 70 72

Ricky Barnes (U.S.) 70 72

Jason Gore (U.S.) 73 69

Mike Weir (Canada) 72 70

Patrick Reed (U.S.) 70 72

Aaron Watkins (U.S.) 72 70

Scott Gardiner (Australia) 72 70

143 DNQ Vijay Singh (Fiji) 73 70

Nicholas Thompson (U.S.) 72 71

Noh Seung-Yul (South Korea) 72 71

Kim Si-Woo (South Korea) 71 72

Ken Duke (U.S.) 69 74

Charlie Beljan (U.S.) 72 71

Greg Chalmers (Australia) 73 70

Vaughn Taylor (U.S.) 71 72

Billy Mayfair (U.S.) 71 72

144 DNQ Dan Obremski (U.S.) 71 73

Robert Allenby (Australia) 74 70

Trevor Immelman (South Africa) 72 72

145 DNQ Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 77 68

Boo Weekley (U.S.) 74 71

Kyle Stanley (U.S.) 77 68

Joey Snyder III (U.S.) 71 74

Scott Langley (U.S.) 73 72

Doug LaBelle II (U.S.) 74 71

Lee Janzen (U.S.) 70 75

Jonathan Byrd (U.S.) 75 70

146 DNQ Wes Short Jr. (U.S.) 75 71

David Hearn (Canada) 76 70

Eric Meierdierks (U.S.) 75 71

Kevin Shields (U.S.) 73 73

Stephen Ames (Canada) 74 72

Bud Cauley (U.S.) 74 72

Lee Williams (U.S.) 72 74

147 DNQ Darron Stiles (U.S.) 77 70

Scott Verplank (U.S.) 77 70

Paul Haley II (U.S.) 74 73

148 DNQ Pat Carter (U.S.) 75 73

149 DNQ Jeff Gove (U.S.) 72 77

150 DNQ Ryan Zylstra (U.S.) 74 76

152 DNQ Jesper Parnevik (Sweden) 74 78

155 DNQ Steve LeBrun (U.S.) 76 79

75 WDW John Daly (U.S.) 75

But they also speak of a struggle to preserve that history and of discrimination that continued long after the war ended even where Lincoln himself reminded Americans of our defining ideal: that all men are created equal.

"Our story here in this town, and in this state, and in this country has not been told," said Mary Alice Nutter, 68, who has been working to fulfill her mother's dying wish for an African-American history museum in the town where Union soldiers turned the tide of the Civil War, helping to end slavery in the United States.

A century and a half after the Battle of Gettysburg, the nascent museum project is aimed not only at chronicling the deeds of the black soldiers who fought there and those who buried the dead, but also the experiences of their descendants who can recall a civil rights struggle that persists in living memory.

Nutter and other members of the community have been collecting photographs, historical records, and oral histories for the museum project currently housed in a small temporary space.

One picture shows William Francis Penn, a Gettysburg battlefield guide, posing with a group of well-dressed African-Americans in front of a 1920s auto. Another is of Cecilia Eliza Jane Biggs who shook Lincoln's hand in a Victorian dress. There's the story of local veterinarian Basil Biggs, who was one of the men who received four cents per body to bury the dead after the battle, and the white Wert family, who aided the Underground Railroad.

Nutter, whose great-great grandfather, Lloyd F. A. Watts, served in the Union Army toward the end of the war and went on to become a respected teacher and preacher, said the project aims to correct a historical oversight: when she grew up local schools didn't mention that African-Americans fought during the Civil War or that segregation was being openly practiced in Gettysburg until the 1960s.

The path hasn't always been easy, but about two years ago she found Ron Bailey, a partner with new skills and energy. After retiring from a career with IBM, Bailey has used his organizational and people skills to tirelessly campaign for the museum.

"What we do have is one of the most amazing stories of black people in the U.S.," Bailey said. "We're looking for an angel donor."

Dick Peterson, a former Gettysburg borough council president who is white, said many local people are "coming to realize" that the stories of African-Americans haven't been properly told.

"We've given short-shrift to the black community in terms of their contribution to the war," said Peterson, 82, who called efforts to create the museum "exceedingly important."

James Paradis, a historian and author of the book "African-Americans and the Gettysburg Campaign," said many black families visited the battlefield to pay their respects in the decades after the Civil War, but numbers declined as more emphasis was placed on military strategy and Confederate forces. For example, reconciliation was a key theme at the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1913, and so Confederate veterans were invited.

"But the irony is just so bitter the black veterans were not invited to the 50th anniversary," Paradis said. "That's symbolic of what's happened. If you had been there at the time of the battle you would have seen thousands of blacks on both sides," serving as aides, cooks and other staff.

Nutter said the lofty ideals of the Gettysburg Address given to dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery was a mandatory topic in school, but the reality for African-Americans was, and is, different.

"What President Lincoln said is beautiful. Love it. Deep down love it. But this country, to this day, nationally, we're not living it," Nutter said.

Indeed, only a few years after the war a separate cemetery for black veterans was created in Gettysburg because they were "denied burial in the National Cemetery because of segregation policies," according to a historical marker placed in 2003.

The Rev. John Spangler of the Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary agreed that the stories of local African-Americans "have been far too invisible," even at the seminary, which was founded in 1826. "We haven't had the pride to tell it often and proudly enough," he said, though that's changing with new exhibits.

Nutter said she wouldn't change her childhood in Gettysburg "for anything" and spoke of support from friends in the white community. But she also remembered a time when blacks weren't allowed to sit downstairs in the local theatre, and that her mother used to tell stories about the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses in the yards of local families.

Jessie Smith, 64, recalled one local tavern that wouldn't allow African-Americans to enter by the front door. Once inside, they had to sit on buckets, not chairs.

"My growing up, there was a lot of prejudice and racism," she said.

Gettysburg wasn't alone, according to Pennsylvania's official Black History program, which notes that such discrimination continued through the 1950s and 1960s in many areas, including large cities.

"While there were no 'White Only' and 'Colored Only' signs to indicate a segregated facility in Pennsylvania, public places of business and recreation continued their distinctive Jim Crow approach that was informally in place," the program notes.

Other Gettysburg African-Americans said there have been improvements in recent decades.

"I didn't have many issues getting a job," said Stephanie Moses, 47, who credits older African-Americans for breaking down racial barriers.

Nutter said the museum aims to communicate untold stories in order to "bring some semblance of peace and understanding" to Gettysburg's complex racial legacy. Ultimately, it's a message for people of all races, she said.

"All of us, we're mixed with white, anyway," Nutter said. "And today, at our reunions... there are mixed marriages like you wouldn't believe. Who cares what color, or whatever, any more."

"I hope this enlightens all people," Nutter said of the museum. "I'm looking for love and peace and kindness among all people, regardless of race."

But she added that "you've got to try and see things from other people's viewpoint" in order to get that peace.

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