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Actor Patrick Swayze died yesterday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57. Swayze played some real characters, from a surfer-dude bank robber to a road-tripping drag queen — and, of course, a dirty dancer. He said he always knew he was going to be a performer.

Traveling westward along California's Route 66, the Santa Monica Pier rises just as the highway ends and the Pacific coast begins, its marquee Ferris wheel hovering majestically over the ocean. In celebration of the pier's centennial, Renee Montagne walks the wooden planks and speaks to some of the locals.

Firefighters are reporting some progress as they battle wildfires around Los Angeles. Higher humidity and a slight break in the heat have allowed firefighters to build lines around a quarter of the blaze.

Retail analyst Howard Davidowitz says the economy has forced many retailers to again offer layaway. Most retailers had stopped because it was not economical for them. Davidowitz tells Ari Shapiro that layaway has some advantages for consumers — but they better make sure they will be able to make the final payment, or they will lose the money they already have paid into the item.

Food writer Nigella Lawson doesn't much care for shopping in the summer. "[It] is really so much worse than cooking," she says. Her solution? Feta cheese. The aged, salty, grainy cheese keeps well and goes nicely with a variety of summer vegetables.

Lower earnings this year are forcing five-star restaurants across the country to look for ways to cut costs without compromising quality. In Portland, Maine, chef Sam Hayward is sustaining his clientele with homegrown comfort foods that are less expensive to prepare — like fish cakes and beans.

The Taliban in Pakistan appear to be on the defensive. The challenge for Pakistan's government and military is how to consolidate some recent gains. The U.S. is urging Pakistan to press ahead, but the Pakistanis say that's not as easy as it sounds.

President Obama and the first family will travel to Martha's Vineyard for a weeklong vacation. With "Barack-o-Tacos," "Ale to the Chief" brew and Obama-themed resort wear, business owners on the island are primed and ready — and hoping for a boost in sales.

Some 600 prisoners are held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. They are mostly Afghans suspected of taking part in the insurgency. An American Marine general now says most of those being held pose no threat to U.S. or Afghan forces, and they can be released.

A native of Beijing, author Diane Liang sometimes simplifies some of the Chinese names and details in her books for the benefit of her foreign audience. Nevertheless, her fiction is still steeped in the sights and sounds of her homeland.