North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) visits the "February 20 factory of the Korean People's Army" in this photo released by North Korea's Central News Agency on May 17, 2013.  REUTERS/KCNA

North Korea fires three short-range missiles

SEOUL - North Korea fired three short-range missiles from its east coast, South Korea's Defense Ministry said. This action, after recent warnings from the communist state of impending nuclear war, raised concerns about the region's security and prompted Western powers to urge Pyongyang to exercise restraint.  Full Article 

Bernanke upbeat on innovation outlook in commencement address 11:14am EDT

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke painted an upbeat picture on Saturday for the potential of innovation to lift living standards, delivering a sweeping look at the last 100 years that included memories of his 1963 South Carolina home.

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, off Louisiana, in this April 21, 2010, file handout image. REUTERS/U.S. Coast Guard/Files/Handout

Payout official set for surge in BP spill claims

NEW ORLEANS - The deadline for claims against BP in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the man responsible for paying the claims said he is already bracing for a late surge in filings.  Full Article 

A scuba diver jumps in the water at the port of the northern city of Haifa, April 23, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Seaport battle looms in Israel

TEL AVIV - Israel is betting its economic future on high-tech exports but faces a low-tech bottleneck in state-owned seaports subject to work stoppages and slowdowns because of the enormous strength of their unions.  Full Article 

Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and also the former chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President committee, waves at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado in this August 26, 2008, file photo. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/Files

Virginia governor's race to test Tea Party allure

RICHMOND, Virginia - The most nail-biting governor's race this year is centering on whether a Tea Party Republican can win Virginia, the southern state that has twice backed President Barack Obama.  Full Article 

A U.S. Border Patrol agent from the Rio Grande Valley Sector searches the brush and trees at night for a group illegal immigrants who had crossed over the Rio Grande River in Mission, Texas, March 28, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

Along the deadly Southern border

In south Texas, the Rio Grande River separates the U.S. from Mexico, forming a dangerous border between the two countries, where myriad hazards face anyone who tries to cross it.  Full Article 

Police, protesters clash in Turkey border town

May 18 - Demonstrators in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli clash with riot police during an anti-government protest over recent deadly bomb attacks. Sunita Rappai reports.

Nicholas Wapshott

Austerity is a moral issue

Europe’s economic turmoil is dragging the world economy down. Despite this destructive display of unnecessary masochism, many Americans still demand that the U.S. sequester be allowed to continue slashing at public spending.  Commentary 

Zachary Karabell

Massive, open, online disruption

Massive, open, online classes are transforming higher education and saving students money. So why are so many administrators and professors scared? Because tech is about to disrupt their industry like it's changed so many others.   Commentary 

Anatole Kaletsky

The radical force of 'Abenomics'

The financial arithmetic of Abenomics means that tolerable stagnation is no longer an option for Japan. Will the radical steps taken by the government be enough to fix the country's economy?  Commentary 

David Rohde

Washington-gate

An increasingly polarized Washington is devouring its own. Ceaseless, take-no-prisoners political warfare, not nefarious White House plots, ravages government.  Commentary 

Jack Shafer

Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated Obama

It wasn't the substance of the AP story that exasperated the government, but that the AP found a source or sources that spilled information about an ongoing intelligence operation and that even grander leaks might surge into the press corps’ rain barrels.  Commentary 

Yousaf Butt

‘Reset’ on Iran now

Evidence that sanctions are not achieving their purpose should give President Obama political breathing room to have negotiators put serious sanctions relief on the table – which could prove to be in America’s national security interest.  Commentary