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In Pictures: Cooling off
Father's Day gifts: Top 5 unusual gifts for under $25

Father's Day gifts may generate a little more boost to the economy this year. Americans will spend an average $106.49, slightly according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. That would be the largest amount in at least eight years. Sure, you can always buy a power tool. In these tough times, however, dads might appreciate something that's equal parts flair and frugal. Here are five unusual Father’s Day gifts for less than $25, which could make June 19 especially memorable.
In Pictures: Missouri floods
Joplin tornado: Will it be one of the Top 5 costliest?

Joplin tornado, as Sunday's twister has come to be called, is blamed for more than 100 fatalities in the southwest Missouri community. It's the latest in a string of tornadoes this spring. Though hurricanes and earthquakes tend to do more financial damage per event, tornadoes and related events have been responsible for an average 57 percent of all insured catastrophe losses in the United States since 1953, according to a 2009 study by insurance credit-rating service A.M. Best. Not counting the Joplin tornado, where damage assessments have only begun, here’s a look at the five most financially devastating tornadoes in the US, according to the A.M. Best study and federal estimates (reported in 2011 dollars):
In Pictures: Who was Geronimo?

All Content

Gay marriage issue: Who does it hurt most, Obama or Romney?

Gay marriage is not a campaign subject either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney really needed, and it could present difficulties for both candidates as the election nears.
Romney eager to shift conversation from gay rights to economy

On Friday, Romney is set to discuss jobs and the economy in North Carolina, the state that just approved a constitutional ban on same-sex unions that helped turn attention to gay rights.
Parents support limits on junk food in school vending machines

As the number of children classified as obese continues to grow, the US government is planning possible new limits on junk food sold in school vending machines, a move most parents support according to a new poll.
Tornado watch: Early warnings may have saved Iowa town

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., issued a stern warning about oncoming storms more than 24 hours in advance. Residents credited early warnings with saving lives.
Midwest tornadoes pose severe threat across hundreds of miles

Tornadoes raking communities across the Midwest and Plains left five people dead and at least 29 injured in Oklahoma as a vast severe weather front plunged eastward Sunday across the nation's midsection.
Dow just misses 13000. Again.

The Dow lost 1 point to close at 12981 – 19 points shy of the 13000 mark. The index hit 13000 several times last week but so far hasn't been able to hold onto it.
Warren Buffett ends rocky week by announcing heir apparent

As Warren Buffett's public profile took some rare hits, the 'Oracle of Omaha' moved Saturday to shore up Berkshire Hathaway's future by locating a successor.
The Daily Reckoning
U.S. stocks vs. gold prices: Which is the better investment?

US stocks are a better place to put your money than gold, according to Warren Buffett. But gold prices are only going up, and gold is a far less risky investment than US stocks.
Global News Blog
Warren Buffett sings in the Chinese New Year (+ video)

State-run TV marked Chinese New Year with a video of US billionaire Warren Buffett singing and playing a ukulele. 
Unlocking the mystery of Romney's 15 percent tax rate. Yes, it's legal.

Mitt Romney can pay a tax rate of 15 percent because his income, from investment firm Bain Capital, is structured as capital gains in the form of 'carried interest.' Here's how it works.
Newt Gingrich is down in Iowa, but with voters so unsettled he's not out

Newt Gingrich has dropped like a rock in Iowa polls, but with GOP voters there so unsettled it's premature to count him out. Forty-one percent of likely caucusgoers still might change their minds, a recent poll finds.
The New Economy
Buffett buys a newspaper. Time to invest in news?

Warren Buffett's $200 million deal to acquire the Omaha World-Herald is no investor's home run. But it does signal that well-run local newspapers have a profitable future.
Newt Gingrich trails in organizing in early-voting Iowa

Gingrich, former House speaker, is striving for a remarkable comeback with the smallest staff and the fewest precinct-level campaign backers of the seven candidates competing in the Jan. 3 presidential caucuses that kick off voting in the fight for the GOP nomination.
Herman Cain sings 'Imagine there's no pizza' (video)

Herman Cain sang as president of Godfather's Pizza, and he's still singing on the campaign trail. Check out these videos of Herman Cain singing.
Tax the rich: Should millionaires really pay more?

The fight over raising levies on the wealthy, a theme of the 'Occupy Wall Street' protests, is about more than money. It's a clash over fundamental American values.
Keystone XL pipeline pits jobs against the environment

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would bring Canadian oil to the Gulf of Mexico. Supporters say it would mean 20,000 jobs. Opponents worry about the impact on the vast Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water to eight states.
Stock buybacks: a first for Buffett

Stock buybacks would occur when Berkshire Hathaway stock is within 110 percent of book value. If stock buybacks happen, they would be the first in Warren Buffett's 46 years heading Berkshire.
The Vote
Why Obama and Warren Buffett are suddenly best pals

First, President Obama seized upon populist comments by multibillionaire investor Warren Buffett to make his tax-the-rich proposal more palatable. Now, Buffett says he will attend an Obama fundraiser. He's becoming the poster boy for Obama's plans.
The Vote
Obama pushes 'Buffett Rule' to tax the wealthy. GOP cries 'class warfare!'

To reduce the deficit and create jobs, President Obama wants a "Buffett Rule" to make the super wealthy pay taxes at a rate more like average Americans. Republicans call that "class warfare."
How the lessons of Columbine may have stopped a Tampa massacre

Authorities say they foiled a Columbine-style school attack in Tampa, Fla., thanks to an anonymous tip. The school had encouraged students to speak up about anything suspicious.
Letters to the Editor – Weekly Issue of July 18, 2011

Readers write in response to Timothy Rieger's June 20 commentary, "Senate's lopsided power of big states, small states."
In Pictures: Cooling off
Decoder Wire
Obama's father spoke of adoption. Which presidents actually were?

Barack Obama Sr. apparently discussed adoption before little Barack was born, according to news reports. It didn't happen, but two US presidents were, or considered themselves to be, adopted.
Warren Buffett gives $1.5B in stock to Gates Foundation

Warren Buffett donated 19.34 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock. Warren Buffett plans to transfer the majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and this gift represents the fifth installment.
Missouri River soaks Nebraska nuclear plant, but it's no Fukushima

Much of the grounds at Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska are under two feet of water from the rising Missouri River. But the plant's critical systems sit six feet above the flood's expected crest.