LONDON (AP) I was taught as an impressionable schoolboy that monarchs, all of them, were bad. George Washington, our national hero, turned up his nose at any suggestion that he become king of America.

Eight decades have passed since Black Tuesday. But that day - more benignly known as Oct. 29, 1929 - continues to live on as one of the darkest chapters in America's economic history.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) As a broadly built African-American who's more than 6 feet tall, Michael Hurt stands out wherever he goes in Seoul, where he lives and works. He gets even more attention when he opens his mouth, thanks to his fluency in Korean.