Golf's oldest championship returns to Muirfield after a wet spring that was ideal for growing thick grass, followed by a dry summer that has yielded three "F'' words that are ideal for a links course.

Firm. Fast. Fiery.

The yellow hue of the fairways and wisps of knee-high native grass framing them make that obvious. The trick is to figure out how far the ball is going not in the air, but once it starts bouncing on the ground.

Angel Cabrera set out Sunday to learn on the sixth hole, 461 yards and bending to the left with a bunker on the left side.

The two-time major champion from Argentina hit 4-iron with a right-to-left wind and it stopped a yard short of the bunker. Then he hit a bullet of a driver that he thought was ideal until he reached the crest of a slight hill and didn't see a ball in the fairway. The ball was running so fast that it went through the fairway and into the rough.

"The great thing about links golf is it gives variety and options how to play," two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington said. "You can have three players taking on a shot from the same place, and you might see three very different shots. You see a little bit of everything."

He played his first ball just short of a bunker to the right of the green and stared at it for the longest time, taking an unconventional route that makes links golf so different. Instead of pitching over the sand, he bumped a 9-iron on the ground, along the edge of the bunker, and watched it roll up the slope and down toward the pin.

"Bien, Seve," said his swing coach, Charlie Epps, as high a compliment as can be paid.

Seve Ballesteros was a three-time Open champion who spent a career inventing shots that took circuitous routes to their destinations. That's what it can take at an Open, especially when the grass is yellow and crusty.

It's something Tiger Woods tends to do well.

Woods was among dozens of players who used a sunny, warm Sunday to get their first look at Muirfield, which is hosting its 16th Open dating to 1892. He played with Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn in tow. The left elbow strain that has kept Woods out of competition since the U.S. Open is not expected to be an issue. Woods said he was "full go," which is the reason he took three weeks off to let his elbow heal.

Woods is the betting favorite to end his five-year drought in the majors, and for good reason. He already has won four times this year on the PGA Tour. He's a three-time Open champion. He loves to create shots. And the conditions are favorable.

As players made their way around Muirfield, more than one of them mentioned Hoylake. That was considered the last true "yellow" Open, with a dry, hot spell on the northwest coast of England. That's the last British Open that Woods won with supreme control. That one was famous for Woods hitting only one driver in 72 holes on the 16th hole, and the shot wound up in the 17th fairway.

"Did he hit it there on purpose?" said Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

"No, that was his normal shot," Cabrera replied with a laugh.

The 441-yard eighth hole proved to be a great example of playing the ball in the air and on land. Cabrera looked at the pot bunkers that dotted the landscape on the right side of the fairway and chose a 6-iron off the tee to keep left of the trouble, and to keep his ball from running through into high grass. His only other option was to hit driver over the trouble.

Teeing up another ball, he launched his driver high and long far different from the low, penetrating flight on the sixth hole and the ball stopped rolling when it went into a cross bunker about 40 yards short of the green.

"There's no way to know how far the ball is going," he said to Fernandez-Castano, who opted for a 5-iron off the tee.

The forecast is for dry conditions the entire week, which could make the British Open tougher than usual. Then again, players were quick to remember the last time at Muirfield in 2002. It wasn't nearly this dry that was a "green" Open though the weather was reasonable until a freak storm arrived without warning on Saturday.

The wind chill plunged into the low 40s, the wind approach 40 mph and the rain was relentless. Woods was just enough off his game that he shot 81 that day, ending his hopes of a calendar Grand Slam.

"It's amazing golf," Harrington said. "Someone genuinely can hit a drive 400 yards, and then turn around and be able to carry it 240 yards. It suits the guy who can manipulate his golf ball, which is what links golf is all about."

The world's second-largest economy expanded 7.5 percent over a year earlier in the three months ending in June, down from the previous quarter's 7.7 percent, data showed Monday. Growth in factory production, investment and other indicators weakened.

The fifth straight quarter of growth below 8 percent is "a clear sign of distress," said IHS Global Insight analyst Xianfang Ren in a report. With investment weak, she said growth might be "at risk of stalling."

Analysts said growth could fall further in the current quarter, adding to pressure on communist leaders who took power last year and are trying to shift China from reliance on exports and investment to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption.

Chinese leaders are likely to respond by launching new stimulus to make sure growth hits their target for this year of 7.5 percent, said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk. He said that might include weakening the Chinese currency to spur exports or pumping money into the economy through higher public works spending.

"We will see some targeted measures to stimulate growth," said Kowalczyk. "They have to do something. Otherwise they will miss their target. And they cannot afford that, because this is their first year in power."

A decline in Chinese economic activity could have global repercussions, denting revenues for suppliers of commodities and industrial components such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Lower Chinese demand already has depressed prices for iron ore and other raw materials.

Despite the slowdown, communist leaders have expressed determination to stick to plans aimed at nurturing slower and more sustainable growth.

"Major indicators are within our targeted range but we face a complex situation," said a spokesman for the statistics bureau, Sheng Laiyuan, at a news conference.

Sheng said the government's goal is to "promote restructuring" and make more of the "driving force" of the market.

Growth in factory output slowed to 9.3 percent for the first half of the year, down 0.2 percentage point from the first quarter's rate, the statistics bureau reported. Growth in investment in factories and other fixed assets in the first half declined by 0.8 percentage points to 20.1 percent. Retail sales in the first half rose 12.7 percent but that was down 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.

"Further deceleration is possible if reforms and stimulus measures are delayed," said Alaistair Chan of Moody's Analytics in a report.

Chinese leaders have promised to launch reforms aimed at making the economy more productive and helping entrepreneurs but no major changes are expected until after a Communist Party meeting in the autumn.

Growth also has been dented by a crackdown on overly fast growth in bank lending. Government efforts to tighten lending controls caused a temporary shortage of credit in Chinese financial markets last month.

Further efforts to rein in lending, especially unregulated private lending, could hurt entrepreneurs who generate most of the country's new jobs and wealth.

The ruling party's 7.5 percent growth target for the year is stronger than forecasts for the United States, Europe and Japan, but China's weakest performance since 1991. Finance Minister Lou Jiwei appeared to try to lower expectations last week when he told reporters in Washington that growth as low as 6.5 percent would be tolerable.

The International Monetary Fund cut its year growth forecast for China last week to 7.8 percent compared with 8.1 percent in April. The IMF's forecast for 2014 was cut to 7.7 percent from 8.3 percent. The Fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said China was the country at the greatest risk of a "large decrease in growth."

Earlier this month, Beijing promised changes in its government-run banking industry, including possible creation of privately owned lenders, to increase the supply of credit to entrepreneurs and more productive companies. It gave no timetable.

"The payoff from such financial consolidation efforts will most likely show up in the medium and long-term, even if implemented successfully," said Ren of IHS Global Insight. "In the near term, the downside risk for growth has become much more elevated now than a few months ago."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A central part of President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law - a requirement that large employers offer health insurance to employees or pay a fine to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service - is being delayed for a year until 2015.

The move, which raised questions about the future of other provisions of the law, followed widespread complaints from businesses and their lobbyists about reporting requirements for employers with 50 or more full-time workers.

With less than six months left before much of the law takes effect, the IRS still has several related tax rules to finalize. Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said last month that the agency was "on path to hit the rest of our key milestones."

Here are some details.

EMPLOYER MANDATE

The Treasury Department said on July 2 that the "employer mandate" will not take effect until 2015, postponed from 2014.

The provision says any business with 50 or more full-time employees must offer affordable healthcare coverage to employees, or pay the IRS $2,000 for each full-time employee not offered coverage. A business's first 30 employees are excluded from the fee.

Businesses face the same tax if the coverage they offer is unaffordable or does not provide "minimum essential" coverage.

The IRS issued proposed rules on this January 2 and held a hearing on April 23. It is unclear when the rules - expected to specify minimum essential coverage and other requirements - will be finished.

DOCUMENTING WORKERS

As part of the employer mandate delay, Treasury said new reporting requirements for businesses on coverage of employees and dependents will be voluntary in 2014. Businesses with 50 or more full-time employees are affected.

Proposed requirements will be published in mid-2013, Treasury said. It is unclear how specific the information will be and what additional forms, if any, employees will fill out.

INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

Starting in 2014, most Americans must have health insurance or pay a fee to the IRS. Proposed rules for this were released in January. A public hearing was held on May 29. It is unclear when the rules will be finished.

The fee will be $95 per year, or 1 percent of taxable household income, in 2014; rising in phases by 2016 to $695 per person, with a cap of 2.5 percent of household income.

PREMIUM TAX CREDIT

Also starting in 2014, a tax credit will be available to low- and middle-income individuals for health insurance premiums paid, based on a percentage of income. The credit is meant to help them pay for obtaining coverage in insurance marketplaces being set up by the states and federal government.

The IRS finished the rules for this in May 2012.

HOSPITAL INSURANCE 0.9 PERCENT TAX

Starting this year, high-income earners began paying an additional 0.9 percent payroll tax on incomes over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. That came on top of the current payroll tax, which goes toward funding Medicare federal health insurance for the elderly and disabled.

The IRS in December issued proposed rules that explain how to calculate the tax and report a tax liability. It is unclear when the rules will be finalized.

UNEARNED INCOME 3.8 PERCENT TAX

This is a new tax on investment income, such as capital gains and dividends, of 3.8 percent, on top of the current 20 percent tax, also for higher-income groups. The IRS issued proposed rules for the tax in December 2012 and had a hearing in April. It is unclear when the rules will be finished.

(Additional reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Doina Chiacu)

Albert DeSalvo's remains will be dug up because DNA from the scene of Mary Sullivan's rape and murder produced a "familial match" with him, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said Thursday.

Police secretly followed DeSalvo's nephew to collect DNA from a discarded water bottle to help make the connection, officials said. Conley said the match excludes 99.9 percent of suspects, and he expects investigators to find an exact match when the evidence is compared directly with DeSalvo's DNA.

The district attorney stressed that the evidence only applied to Sullivan's slaying and not the other 10 homicides.

"Even among experts and law enforcement officials, there is disagreement to this day about whether they were in fact committed by the same person," Conley said.

Sullivan, 19, had moved from her Cape Cod home to Boston just days before her death. She was found strangled in her Boston apartment in January 1964 and has long been considered the strangler's last victim.

Eleven Boston-area women between the ages of 19 and 85 were sexually assaulted and killed between 1962 and 1964, crimes that terrorized the region and grabbed national headlines.

Thursday's announcement represented the first forensic evidence tying DeSalvo to the case.

DeSalvo, a blue-collar worker and Army veteran who was married with children, confessed to the 11 Boston Strangler slayings, as well as two others. But he was never convicted of the Boston Strangler killings.

He had been sentenced to life in prison for a series of armed robberies and sexual assaults and was stabbed to death in the state's maximum security prison in Walpole in 1973 but not before he recanted his confession.

An attorney for DeSalvo's family said Thursday they believe there's still reasonable doubt he killed Sullivan, even if additional DNA tests show a 100 percent match.

The lawyer, Elaine Sharp, said previous private forensic testing of Sullivan's remains showed other DNA from what appeared to be semen was present that didn't match DeSalvo.

"Somebody else was there, we say," Sharp said of the killing. "I don't think the evidence is a hundred percent solid, as is being represented here today."

But Donald Hayes, a forensic scientist who heads the Boston Police Department's crime lab, said investigators' samples were properly preserved, while the evidence used in private testing came from Sullivan's exhumed body and was "very questionable."

Sharp also said Thursday that the family was outraged that police followed a DeSalvo relative to get the DNA they needed for comparison.

Casey Sherman, a nephew of Sullivan's who wrote a book on the case pointing to other possible suspects, acknowledged the new findings point to the man he had defended. Sherman said the DNA evidence against DeSalvo appeared to be overwhelming.

"I only go where the evidence leads," he said, thanking police and praising them "for their incredible persistence."

Sherman also expressed sympathy for the DeSalvo family, with whom he had aligned in the past in a shared belief that DeSalvo didn't kill his aunt. That belief was based on DeSalvo's confession, which Sherman previously said was inconsistent with other evidence.

The families of DeSalvo and Sullivan had jointly sued the state for release of evidence while pursuing their own investigation. Sullivan's body was exhumed in 1999 for private DNA testing as part of the effort.

F. Lee Bailey, the attorney who helped to obtain the confession from DeSalvo, said Thursday's announcement will probably help put to rest speculation over the Boston Strangler's identity.

Bailey had been representing another inmate who informed the attorney that DeSalvo knew details of the crimes. Bailey went to police with the information, and he said DeSalvo, who was already in prison for other crimes, demonstrated he knew details only the killer would know.

Bailey would later represent DeSalvo.

"It was a very challenging case," said Bailey, who lives in Yarmouth, Maine. "My thought was if we can get through the legal thicket and get this guy examined by a team of the best specialists in the country, we might learn something about serial killers so we could spot them before others get killed."

Authorities said they're continuing to comb through evidence files and still are hoping to find samples to do DNA testing in connection with the other Strangler-linked killings.

They plan to exhume DeSalvo's body from a grave in Peabody, Mass., sometime this week and said it could be just a matter of days before they get results of DNA testing they're planning.

____

Associated Press writers David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Mark Pratt in Boston contributed to this report.

"Management's mistreatment of its workforce provided the incentive needed for DFA workers to find their voices nearly 18 months ago," Roger Robinson, UFCW 876 president, said. "And nearly a year later, the company continues to engage in stall tactics, the spread of misinformation and other strategies that have diluted workers' efforts to protect themselves from management intimidation."

DFA workers voted to refuse the company's last, best and final offer on June 29, 2013; as it was clearly interpreted by workers as a retaliatory reaction to their year-long pursuit to organize. The offer fell well below existing wage levels and working conditions and would result in further financial loss to workers. The June 29 vote included a strike authorization, which is scheduled for July 15, 2013. Workers cited wanting respect, equality and accountability as reasons to vote for union representation.

"UFCW 876 is committed to the workers at DFA in Adrian, as they are representative of every worker in Michigan fighting for a decent living, fair wages and the means to provide for their families," Robinson said. "These workers are the victims of corporate greed, fueled by the unjust, anti-worker legislation consistently being churned out in both Lansing and Washington. This fight is everyone's fight; making DFA workers the responsibility of every Adrian citizen, labor organization and advocate to protect and safe guard this community by providing meaningful jobs and wages through responsible corporate management."

SOURCE United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A dark figure stands alone in the centre of a bleak, shadowy landscape in one painting, while an ethereal tree-like form claims attention in another.

The haunting black-and-white paintings are the work of Gao Xingjian, the first Chinese-born Nobel literature laureate, who traded pen for brush to explore a realm of mood and meditation in a rare exhibit in Taiwan's capital of Taipei.

The 20 works on display in "The Edge of Reality" exhibition, the 73-year-old Gao's first in Asia for three years, present stark landscapes of form, shade and shape that stand in sharp contrast to his detail-rich novels such as "Soul Mountain", for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2000.

"Painting and literature are two completely different languages," Gao, who lives in France, said at the show's recent opening. "Where literature reaches its limits of expressive power, that's where painting begins."

Gao's literary oeuvre, which also includes "One Man's Bible" and numerous stage plays, has won him global acclaim. In his native China, however, his works were banned in 1989 after a play, "Escape", explicitly addressed the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

He said his two artistic endeavors have been part of his life since he was a child, although as an adult he keeps a distance between them.

"For my tenth birthday my uncle gave me a notebook that was just white pages, no grid and no lines," Gao said. "At that time I used it for both writing and drawing.

"I strictly separate the two disciplines. When I'm painting, not only do I not write, I won't even read."

Gao's art began to garner public attention in the 1980s with a number of exhibits across Europe. Since then, his works have been showcased in group and solo exhibitions around the world, although only rarely in mainland China.

"His art used to be more imagistic, more concrete," said Thomas Lee, president of the Asia Art Center that hosted the exhibition. "These pieces are more abstract; he's opened up a more imaginative space for the viewer."

Attendees at the opening described a sense of emotion, particularly loneliness, from the barren scenes and dreamlike vistas on display.

"You really see inside his mind," said collector Henry Chow. "Even though we're standing outside the work, it draws you in completely."

Though Gao intends to keep on with his art, readers may be disappointed to find that he plans no more novels.

"It's too tiring," he said. "That kind of work is too intense."

"The Edge of Reality" continues until July 28.

(Reporting by Michael Gold; Editing by Elaine Lies)

The 35-year-old Froch, who lost to Kessler in Denmark three years ago, put on a typically gutsy performance to win with a scorecard that read 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110 in favour of the Nottingham fighter to the delight of the 20,000 crowd.

Froch's record is now 31-2, with his only other defeat coming at the hands of American Andre Ward in Atlantic City in 2011, compared to Kessler's 46-3 after an action-packed fight that saw the Dane hanging on near the end of the final round.

"It feels really, really good, only thing that feels bad is I have had to beat a real gentleman and a nice man, Mikkel Kessler," Froch told Sky Sports. "It's 1-1 now, who knows do you fancy a third one? Best of three maybe?

"I deserved to win, but he won't lie down for any man and massive respect to him," added Froch before turning his thoughts to a possible rematch with unbeaten WBA title holder Ward who was watching at ringside.

"The winner of this fight should be moving on to avenge their other loss and now I move on to the second best boxer in the world," said Froch. "Let's get Andre Ward over to the UK and fight him here."

The 34-year-old Kessler, whose only other defeats were against unbeaten Welshman Joe Calzaghe in 2007 and Ward in 2009, said: "I gave it my all but didn't have the energy and couldn't cope with Carl. It is nice to fight such a warrior."(Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Over a hundred years ago, this court explained that our nation was and is a union of states, equal in power, dignity and authority. Indeed, the constitutional equality of the states is essential to the harmonious operation of the scheme upon which the Republic was organized.The fundamental principle of equal sovereignty remains highly pertinent in assessing subsequent disparate treatment of states The Voting Rights Act sharply departs from these basic principles.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., writing for the Supreme Court majority last month as the court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in the case of Shelby County v. Holder.

The court pins its result, in large measure, to the fundamental principle of equal sovereignty.However, the court [previously] held, in no uncertain terms, that the principle applies only to the terms upon which states are admitted to the Union, and not to the remedies for local evils which have subsequently appeared.Todays unprecedented extension of the equal sovereignty principle outside its proper domain the admission of new states is capable of much mischief. Federal statutes that treat states disparately are hardly novelties.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the dissenters in the Shelby County case.

When James Madison was working on drafts of the proposed Constitution, he suggested that there be a provision for bringing in new states, beyond the original 13. His draft suggested that any new state shall be admitted on the same terms with the original states. That idea got some support during the Philadelphia Convention, but the final version part of Article IV said only that new states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union.

When the third new state, Tennessee, joined the Union in 1796, Congress explicitly declared for the first time that Tennessees entry would be on an equal footing. Other new states have been given the same promise. The most enthusiastic Supreme Court embrace of that idea came in a 1911 Supreme Court decision, Coyle v. Smith. But, that, too, was in the context of the rights that states would have at the point of becoming part of the United States.

In recent times, the Court had only hinted that is, until last month that it would rely upon that principle to protect the equality of the states from differing treatment by Congress. The broadest hint (though few observers paid much attention to it at the time) came in 2009, in the case of Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holden.

In that case, Chief Justice Roberts wrote a strongly worded opinion suggesting that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 might at some point be declared unconstitutional because it differentiates between the states, despite our historic tradition that all the states enjoy equal sovereignty.

There was, though, a very good reason that the comment caused little stir then: the Court in that ruling shied away from striking down the law; it found another reason to decide the case. As a result, the Chief Justices mention of equal sovereignty would be regarded as what lawyers call dictum a statement not essential to the ruling, so not binding.

But, as often happens in Supreme Court decisions, dictum or a passing comment in an earlier opinion can suddenly gain more stature later, when it is turned into a binding declaration of law, including constitutional law.

That, in fact, is exactly what happened on June 25, when the court majority did, indeed, strike down a key part of the 1965 voting law. Invalidated was the formula that Congress had first written in the original Voting Rights Act to single out some states (mostly in the South) for new limitations on their power to pass election laws, because of their history of racial discrimination in voting.

With Chief Justice Roberts again writing for the majority, in the case of Shelby County v. Holder, the court relied upon the doctrine of state equality as a critical part of its ruling. The opinion relied explicitly on the broad language used in that 1911 decision in Coyle v. Smith.

If the dissenting Justices reading of history is correct, that marked the first time that the states had been given an explicit constitutional promise of equality at any point after they had joined the Union.

As it happens, the courts reliance on the equal states concept emerged in the midst of what might be called a new federalism revolution that is, a time of new emphasis on states rights, stirred in considerable part by the Tea Party movements resistance to the growing powers of the national government.

It would be no surprise, then, if state attorneys general now begin to explore new ways to challenge federal laws that they might regard as treating their state differently, without justification. If Justice Ginsburg was correct in saying that a federal law that singles out some states for different treatment is hardly novel, then some state officials may start a campaign of resistance to some of those laws. Ginsburgs opinion asked: Do such provisions remain safe given the Courts expansion of equal sovereigntys sway?

She did not answer, but perhaps an answer may not be long in coming.

Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Centers adviser on constitutional literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for 55 years, currently covering it for SCOTUSblog, an online clearinghouse of information about the Supreme Courts work.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

An exhibition at London's Jewish Museum aims to reveal an intimate side to a troubled star who was also, in the words of her older brother Alex, "simply a little Jewish kid from North London with a big talent."

"Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait" brings together items from the late singer's London childhood, her stage-school years and her short but stratospheric career in music from her first guitar to a posthumous Grammy Award.

By the time she died in 2011 at the age of 27, Winehouse was a larger-than-life figure whose battles with drugs and alcohol, splashed across front pages around the world, sometimes seemed to overshadow her talent. The exhibition shows that she was also a young woman who loved music, loved London and loved her family.

"It's a story that people don't know about Amy, her family story," museum chief executive Abigail Morris said Tuesday. "You can forget there's a person behind the hype."

Morris said the show was a natural for the Jewish Museum. Winehouse came from a close-knit Jewish family, and the museum is in Camden, the neighborhood where the singer lived for most of her adult life where she saw gigs and played them, browsed in second-hand record stores and drank in pubs. It's also the neighborhood where she died of accidental alcohol poisoning at her home in July 2011.

Assembled with help from Alex Winehouse and his wife Riva, the exhibition grew from the Winehouse family's offer to donate one of Amy's dresses. It expanded into a celebration of her Jewish roots, her family and her home city.

"The more we talked the more we realized the exhibition wasn't going to be about her dresses and her clothes," said curator Elizabeth Selby though there are several outfits on display, from the shimmery blue dress Winehouse wore at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival to the tracksuits she preferred at home. "It's about her roots and her family life."

The exhibition, which opens Wednesday and runs to Sept. 15, traces the singer's family tree back to great-great-grandfather Harris Winehouse, who came to England from Belarus in 1890. Like many other 19th-century migrants, he hoped to reach New York, but landed up in London's East End.

There are photographs and mementoes from great-grandfather Ben Winehouse, an East End barber, and grandmother Cynthia, a glamorous figure who once dated jazz musician Ronnie Scott and taught Amy to read Tarot cards. Among the singer's many tattoos was an image of her beloved grandmother.

The Winehouse clan eventually left the East End for a leafier London suburb, where Amy was born in 1983 to jazz-loving taxi driver Mitch and pharmacist Janis.

Alex Winehouse has said of the family's Jewish heritage, "We weren't religious, but we were traditional."

"Whereas other families would go down to the seaside on a sunny day, we'd always go down to the East End."

Displayed throughout the exhibition are captions written by Alex Winehouse about his demanding but loving sister, whom he recalled in a recent Observer newspaper interview as "annoying, frustrating, a pain in the bum. But she was also incredibly generous, very caring."

The captions run alongside childhood photos, Amy's school uniform, her Dr. Seuss books and comics featuring the Peanuts character Snoopy, whom young Amy adored.

Visitors will learn that as a young adult Winehouse read Charles Bukowski and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, liked Sudoku puzzles and obsessively kept wristbands, backstage passes and ticket stubs from the shows she played and attended.

There are also quotes poignant now from Amy's application essay to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, which she attended as a youngster. "I want to be remembered for being an actress, a singer," she wrote adding that she also wanted "to sing in lessons without being told to shut up."

Winehouse gained critical praise with her jazz-influenced 2003 debut album "Frank" and became a global smash three years later with "Back to Black," a fusion of soul, jazz and 1960s pop with a 21st-century sensibility.

The exhibition includes albums from Winehouse's collection that reveal an eclectic musical taste influenced by her family from Frank Sinatra, whose songs her father crooned, to Thelonious Monk and other artists she heard through her jazz-loving brother.

Among the most revealing items is a list of favorite songs, written by the young Amy in looping schoolgirl handwriting, that ranges from Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and the Platters to Pearl Jam and the Ben Folds Five.

Her brother's note says the tracks remained favorites to the end of her life. One song, Carole King's "So Far Away," was played at her funeral.

Selby said she hoped visitors to the exhibition would "come away with a sense of her as someone with a depth to her much more than she was presented in the press."

"I'm delighted that International Pow Wow, the top international travel industry event in the United States, has selected the District as its home for 2017. This is an unmatched opportunity to showcase our nation's capital, and it will help generate more than $13.3 million in revenue for the District," said DC Mayor Vincent Gray. "Given the economic impact experienced by other host cities and the fact that this will be the first time hosting IPW in the District, it is an important opportunity for us to highlight our international visitor market."

More than $3.5 billion in future travel to the U.S. is generated each year as a result of IPW, according to data supplied by the U.S. Travel Association, which owns and operates the annual event.

"We are honored to be selected as the host city for IPW 2017 and to have the extraordinary opportunity to engage with more than 1,200 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries," said Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC. "In addition to generating 15,000 total hotel room nights during those four days, Washington, DC is estimated to benefit from more than $350 million in future bookings."

IPW is the largest generator of travel to the U.S. During one-on-one appointments, travel supplier organizations from every U.S. region conduct business negotiations with buyers from around the world.

"The U.S. Travel Association is proud to bring IPW to the nation's capital in 2017 for the first time in its 40-plus year history," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel. "Washington, DC is a remarkable destination with a strong identity worldwide. Serving as host site to IPW will only further DC's efforts to attract more visitors from abroad and showcase the developments that have truly transformed the capital city in recent years."

At IPW, buyers and sellers are able to conduct business through more than 80,000 appointments - that would otherwise be generated only through an exhaustive number of around-the-world trips. All of these pre-scheduled appointments, and IPW's Media Marketplace which allows destinations to meet with more than 500 domestic and international journalists, will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2017.

"Events DC is pleased to welcome IPW 2017's thousands of travel and tourism professionals from around the globe to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center," said Gregory A. O'Dell, president and CEO of Events DC, the official convention and sports authority of the District of Columbia. "Hospitality is the lifeblood of our city, and we look forward to working with Destination DC and our industry partners to provide a truly world-class experience against the backdrop of our nation's historic capital city."

In addition to its unparalleled convention facility, Washington, DC will showcase more than $8.5 billion in new development projects currently underway. Delegates will experience new hotel facilities such as the 1,175-room Washington Marriott Marquis Hotel, mixed-use development CityCenterDC, electric streetcars along the trendy H Street NE corridor, the new Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and an expanded Metrorail line connecting DC visitors to Washington Dulles International Airport.

"IPW delegates will be astounded at the significant development and revitalization taking place in Washington, DC's neighborhoods and on its National Mall," said Anthony Williams, former DC Mayor and Chief Executive of the Federal City Council. "We look forward to showcasing the very best of our city in 2017 and engaging strategic partners to ensure IPW in Washington, DC is a success."

The economic impact of IPW will be felt throughout the city by all sectors of the hospitality industry from hotels and attractions to transportation services and restaurants.

"Hosting IPW in 2017 makes economic sense for our city, especially in terms of exposing new visitors to all of the attractions and amenities we have to offer," said Paul Cohn, Destination DC board chairman. "Over the last few years, Washington, DC has become the number one-ranked museum destination in the world, as well as a leading culinary city attracting an impressive roster of celebrity chefs and restaurateurs."

In fiscal year 2013, Destination DC received an additional $3 million allocation from the city council to market the city around the world and increase DC's presence as a leisure and convention destination.

"The DC City Council appropriated funds for a marketing effort, so Destination DC can compete with other cities to attract both domestic and international travelers. The Council understands the nature of our competition and returns to the city in terms of tax revenue and jobs," said Gregory McCarthy, vice president of the Washington Nationals and former Destination DC board chairman. "IPW will be a wonderful platform to capitalize on the benefits of this funding and elevate the District into the top tier of destinations for foreign visitors."

For more information about Washington, DC, please visit . For more information about International Pow Wow, please visit .

About Destination DC: Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation's capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of more than 850 businesses committed to marketing the District as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. Visitfor more information.

SOURCE Destination DC