WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

People across the country woke up Monday morning to a harrowing video posted on YouTube and shown on cable news shows.The person who posted it online says he filmed it in a convenience store, where people were taking shelter as a devastating tornado descended on the town of Joplin, Mo.

There have been nearly 1,200 tornadoes in the U.S. so far this year. That's nearly twice the usual number of twisters, and it comes as something of a surprise to the scientists who study them.

America is aging — a fact that advocates are pushing Congress to consider as it takes up a new transportation bill.

A few more women are forgoing the hospital to give birth at home.Researchers have found a 20 percent increase in American births at home from 2004 to 2008.

Georgia is putting in place a new law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants, and many across the state are nervous.

Rebels in Libya say they need more outside help to finish their 3-month-old rebellion against the government of Moammar Gadhafi.

President Obama told a boisterous crowd in Ireland on Monday that both their country and the United States will recover from tough economic times, just as they have in the past.Ireland was the first stop for Obama on a six-day European tour.