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President Obama gives his first inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2009.

Speechwriters: After Bland First Inaugural, Second Is Tougher For Obama

Writers for past presidents say President Obama must be visionary and inclusive but also realistic in his second inaugural address. And many of the usual speechwriting crutches are off-limits: no jokes, no statistics and no funny quotes.

An excavator perched on a barge removes rocks from the Mississippi River in Thebes Ill.

Army Corps' Options Dwindle Along With Mississippi River

The Army Corps of Engineers is working hard to deepen the Mississippi River's shipping channel. With water levels forecast to remain high enough only through January to float loaded barges, some say the only way to keep the river open next month will be to release water from the Missouri River.

Latino Voters Help Push Immigration Changes Forward

President Obama told a friendly audience in Las Vegas Tuesday that the prospects are bright for an overhaul of immigration laws, now that bipartisan congressional leaders are on board. The new sense of urgency comes after Latinos turned out in large numbers last fall to help re-elect the president.

A man enters a UBS bank in Hong Kong last month. The Swiss banking giant agreed in 2009 to identify the names of its U.S. account holders, part of a push by banking regulators to make it harder to hide income.

Havens Are Turning Hellish For Tax Avoiders

The U.S. and other countries are cracking down on banks that are known to help clients hide their assets, and the international push is beginning to have a major effect.

The Cathedral of Alcala de Henares is one of many buildings owned by the Catholic Church in Alcala de Henares, Spain. The town, which is outside Madrid, is broke and is pursuing a plan to have the church pay additional taxes.

Spain's Strapped Towns Look To Churches For Cash

Alcalá de Henares is re-evaluating the status of hundreds of church holdings that have been exempt from paying property tax for hundreds of years.

James Clapper, director of national intelligence, leaves a closed-door joint meeting with the Senate and House Intelligence committees on June 7. Clapper ordered an inquiry into security leaks to be concluded next week.

Does Leaking Secrets Damage National Security?

Last week's assignment of two federal prosecutors to investigate disclosures of national security information might have been the first shot in a new war on leaks. Advocates of open government say they fear an overreaction.

Tim McGraw (left) and Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Label Group, at a press conference in Nashville last month announcing McGraw's signing to the label.

Clear Channel Will Be The First To Pay Royalties For Music On Its Air

The network will pay for the recordings — not just songs — it airs, and less for those it streams.

Rajiv Shah (left), the head of USAID, speaks with children during a visit at the Oncupinar Syrian refugee camp in Turkey, near the Syrian border, on Nov. 27.

U.S. Steps Up Aid (But No Arms) To Syrian Exiles

The U.S. is emphasizing the assistance it provides to Syrian refugees, but the Obama administration is still not showing any signs that it's prepared to arm the rebels.

A worker inspects a huge target chamber at the National Ignition Facility in California, in 2001, where beams from 192 lasers are aimed at a pellet of fusion fuel in the hopes of creating nuclear fusion.

A Short Fuse For Fusion As Ignition Misses Deadline

The $5 billion National Ignition Facility has been called a modern-day moonshot, a project of "revolutionary science." But the massive experiment that aims to generate nuclear fusion has failed to do so by a key deadline.

After Romney's Loss, Mormons Lament What Might Have Been

Mitt Romney's White House run raised the profile of his Mormon faith, and made many fellow Mormons hope that misunderstandings of their faith could be dispelled. And, of course, there was pride in seeing one of their own come so close to the White House. Those hopes were dashed with his loss Tuesday.

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