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If you're trying to lose or maintain your weight, must you give up your favorite alcoholic drink? At first glance, it might seem so. The average American gets 400 calories a day from beverages, according to obesity researcher Barry Popkin, and some findings suggest our bodies may not get the "I'm full" signal from liquids as we do from the same number of calories in solid form. So you'd think that alcohol, with 7 calories per gram (more than carbs and protein, less than fat), would place high on the list of things to cast aside in pursuit of a leaner body.

SAN ANTONIO--Only about 2 percent of high school athletes are offered even a small sports scholarship from a Division I or Division II college. As a result, many high school athletes who are realistic about their chances sometimes hope their speed and strength might win them a "leadership" or similarly euphemistic scholarship from one of the 444 Division III colleges (mostly expensive private schools) that aren't supposed to lure game-winners with money.

The Great Economic Recovery Hunt has been underway for about half a year, and the quarry bag is still pretty empty. A few optimists have tried to wring hope from fuzzy statistics showing that retail sales or housing starts or some other indicator aren't as bad as they could be. But with the unemployement rate at 9.5 percent and going higher, that's been unconvincing.

Five months after the Obama administration unveiled a sweeping initiative designed to reach 9 million struggling homeowners, home foreclosures continue to rise at an alarming rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on more than 1.5 million properties in the first six months of the year, a 15 percent increase over the same period of last year, according to RealtyTrac. All told, 1 in 84 American homes--or 1.19 percent--received a foreclosure filing during the period. ...

While the national housing bust has devastated property values, it has also created some outstanding bargain opportunities for would-be home buyers--if you know where to look. During the first half of the decade, easy credit and speculative fervor sent home prices in certain states--Florida, California, Nevada--scorching to phenomenal heights. But nearly three years into a real estate crash that's dragged home prices down 32 percent from their 2006 peaks, some of these once wildly overpriced markets present today's real estate shoppers with perhaps their best shot at long-term value. ...

Anyone looking for work knows the job market is tough and likely to stay that way for a long time. To help retirement-age job seekers, RetirementJobs.com has put together what it says is a carefully developed list of attractive positions outside the home and for those seeking at-home jobs. ...

Bayer will change the packaging and health claims for its vitamins targeted at men, on the heels of research that casts serious doubt on one ingredient's ability to prevent prostate cancer. In an E-mail, Bayer HealthCare spokeswoman Tricia McKernan said the company is "in the process of revising the packaging and promotional materials for its One-a-Day Men's and One-a-Day Men's 50+ to exclude reference to the qualified health claim regarding the relationship between selenium intake to the reduced risk of certain cancers."

Sooner or later, the economy's going to turn a corner. Some think it won't be until 2010 or even 2011, since unemployment seems certain to rise for the foreseeable future and fall only slowly after it finally peaks. Others are more optimistic, pointing to evidence of an imminent turnaround. Merrill Lynch, for instance, declared in a recent research note that "the recession is over."

While murmured calls for a new stimulus package have not quite transformed into a movement, the din is loud enough that the White House has issued multiple responses that basically amount to "no, not yet." But Americans are stumbling through a job market that is overwhelmed with supply, stripped of security, and skimmed of hours and benefits, and the unemployment rate has already climbed much higher than officials had forecast. ...

It was a private interlude in Barack Obama's prime-time presidency. But the dinner he recently hosted at the White House for nine of America's most distinguished historians and scholars provided rare insight into Obama's intellectual curiosity, how he views his job, and, most important, his belief that he has a remarkable opportunity to bring transformational change to America. [See photos of Obama behind the scenes.]