Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

An artist traces a century of heartbreaking family history by pursuing the path of a group of tiny, beloved objets d’art.

A Christian Science perspective.

Tropical storm Hermine moved ashore in northern Mexico, just south of Brownsville, Texas on Monday night.

At a September 2 Monitor breakfast, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka discussed the economic outlook, his union members' feelings about President Obama, and his relations with the Sarah Palin.

Chief economist at Moody's Analytics and cofounder of Economy.com Mark Zandi, at a August 25 Monitor breakfast, discussed the housing market, the odds of the economy slipping back into recession, and what the Obama administration could do to help the economy in the near term.

Getting started in investing can seem a little overwhelming, but there are guidelines to help you find your way.

Foreign workers fuel the continued rise of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, while working for low wages and in miserable conditions.

As global wheat prices rise, Africans are feeling the pinch when buying something as simple as bread. Mozambique bread riots could be a warning sign for African nations who have leased fertile agricultural land to foreign countries.

Two Greenpeace activists, dubbed the 'Tokyo Two' by the group, were given suspended sentences by a Japanese court after they conducted a private investigation into what they said was the illegal sale of whale meat.

Finding your groove is great. Getting it back is just as satisfying.

Spain's Basque separatist ETA offered a ceasefire, but the Spanish government dismissed the offer, demanding the group lay down its arms as a precondition for peace talks.

How did we get from "Show Boat" to "Shrek the Musical"? A well-researched look at the history of American musical theater.

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

Readers write in about the US economy, the Iraq war, and print journalism.

For the market to move higher, some stocks have to become leaders, convincing investors they're convincing buys.

One of the first challenges of budgeting is figuring out what expenses are necessary.

When corporations run into trouble, candor is the way to win back public trust.

Probably not. Two of the GOP's most senior elected officials – Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham – said Sunday their party needs an agenda attractive to voters critical of both parties.

As the November midterm election approaches, it seems to be dire straits for Democrats. Obama and other party leaders will have to energize their base in order to turn it around.

How anti-Muslim sentiment is different in European countries than in America.

The US job market is in rough shape, but there are some signs of progress as well. Here's a Labor Day quiz that sheds some light on where opportunities lie within a mostly tepid job market.

A Dagestan suicide bombing that struck a Russian military base Sunday underscored the difficulties Moscow faces in stamping out violence in the restive republic.

While some tout Iceland's depreciation as a miracle solution to recession, its economic plunge is speeding up.

A young white woman kicks up a storm when she decides to interview the black maids in her Mississippi town.

Central bankers have faced today's crisis before. But their new weapon, quantitative easing, could make the mess worse.

The US and other troubled economies need to pay down their debts. Stimulus and easy money only make recessions last longer.

There's no evidence that spending or investment decisions by the rich hurt US output.

Craigslist closed the adult services section of its website, replacing it with a black bar that says 'censored.' Critics – including 17 state attorneys general – likened the services to virtual pimping

As public opposition to the proposed mosque near ground zero grows and Sept. 11 approaches, Muslims are preparing for anti-Islamic acts, encouraging adherents to participate in 9/11 remembrance ceremonies, and changing how they celebrate the end of Ramadan.

The new report on the state of tax reform begins with the premise that tax revenue is already adequate - and it's not.

After touching the outer banks of North Carolina, the storm bypassed much of America's East Coast, dumping rain in Massachusetts before making landfall in Nova Scotia Saturday morning.

Following a disastrous candidates’ debate in which Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer blanked out for what must have seemed an eternity, the Republican front-runner has been scrambling to repair the damage – starting with her overstating the nature of carnage along the border.

Obama mulls new tax relief and help for 'under water' mortgages to lift economy. Republicans and business groups say if jobs are the goal, tax relief should include highest-earning Americans.

The media keeps citing an old statistic claiming that 97 percent of small business owners don't fall into either of the top two tax rates. Is that number based on faulty logic?

'Machete,' which opened in theaters this weekend, is full of R-rated violence and goof-ball characters. But immigration – a hot political topic – is a subtheme to this end-of-summer flick.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf wants to build an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero as part of his effort to preach Muslim tolerance. But on the eve of 9/11, opposition and skepticism abounds.

Twitter mobile use has grown 62 percent since April, a Twitter exec wrote today.

Apple Ping gets off to a rocky start.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer stumbled badly at the beginning of a gubernatorial debate Wednesday. But Brewer is a Republican in a conservative state, so the damage may be limited.

AP - A wind-whipped wildfire sent flames roaring through a rugged canyon in the Colorado foothills, forcing hundreds of people to flee and destroying dozens of homes — some that belonged to the firefighters themselves, authorities said early Tuesday.

AP - Tropical Storm Hermine rolled into south Texas early Tuesday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds to an area battered by Hurricane Alex earlier this summer.

AP - An Indonesian volcano shot a towering cloud of black ash high into the air Tuesday, dusting villages 15 miles (25 kilometers) away in its most powerful eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy.