National News

Amid downed power lines, hissing gas pipes and immense devastation, rescuers searched "board by board" Tuesday for survivors and victims of a massive tornado that pulverized a vast swath of the Oklahoma City suburbs.

The aftermath: Parents screamed for their missing children. Kids cried for their parents. Joy even amid devastation.

The man who headed the Internal Revenue Service when it targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status offers his first public explanation of what happened Tuesday in an appearance before the Senate Finance Committee.

A tornado is a funnel-shaped cloud that forms under thunderclouds and contains rapidly rotating air.

A massive tornado struck a suburb of Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon. Details of the destruction are coming in thick and fast from CNN crews, our affiliates and witnesses.

Kids screamed for their parents and parents hollered their children's names, walking and searching in panic in the parking lot of Briarwood Elementary in Moore, Oklahoma, Monday. The tornado that wrecked their town had just left. The sky behind them was still dark. Rain fell in a light mist.

Whether Jodi Arias lives or dies is now in the hands of a jury. She will address its members directly Tuesday morning. Arias said earlier this month that she would rather die than endure a lifetime behind bars.

This was no ordinary plane ride.

The system that spawned Monday's massive, deadly tornado in Oklahoma, in addition to several twisters Sunday, isn't over yet. Fifty-three million Americans could face severe weather Tuesday.

A series of deadly storms that pummeled Arkansas, Missouri and other states this week reminds us that tornado season is upon us once again.

Tornadoes destroyed homes and tossed trees around like toothpicks as powerful storms ripped through Oklahoma and the Midwest on Sunday and Monday.

Five passengers were killed when a church van crashed Monday in Vandalia, Illinois, according to Deputy Shawn Carter with the Fayette County sheriff's office.

Tornadoes rip across the U.S. Midwest, sectarian violence strikes Iraq, Yahoo buys Tumblr, and some people see red over a shift to Florida's traffic lights.

Sunday's graduation ceremony at Hofstra University was a bittersweet affair marked by a moment of silence for a 21-year-old student killed by a police officer two days ago.

Bruce Schneier says our government has lots of unneeded and ineffective security measures.

Storm chasers capture dramatic tornadoes in Kansas. At least 4 tornadoes were reported in Kansas.

A firefighter was trapped early Monday in a six-alarm blaze at a Dallas condominium complex, the city's fire department said.

In the wake of its civil rights struggle, Birmingham canceled high school prom for many black teenagers. This weekend, the dance went on for the Class of 1963.

The million-dollar questions have been answered. What are the Powerball numbers, and have any winning tickets been sold?