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Reports over the weekend said the U.S. and Iran had agreed to face-to-face negotiations, but both countries deny that's the case. Still, symptoms of economic and social instability may be pushing Iran toward the negotiating table.

This week's explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. plant in Texas reminds us of the "cursed" side of the nitrogen that powers most of agriculture around the world. Through habit or necessity, we've come to depend on it. But there are costs.

An obscure tax provision crafted for drug dealers is giving state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries a headache. Federal income tax rates for dispensaries in Colorado can soar to 70 percent because businesses can't claim certain deductions. It's a policy the industry is trying to change.

A U.S. Senate committee held a confirmation hearing for Ernest Moniz on Tuesday, who has been nominated to be the U.S. Energy Secretary. Moniz says he will retire from MIT, where he's a professor of physics and energy systems. He would advocate for the Obama administration's "all of the above" energy strategy, which calls for continued fossil fuels development and supports nuclear energy, wind and solar.

When is hard apple cider not considered hard apple cider? When it's taxed like wine or champagne. America is in the midst of a cider revival, but antiquated tax laws make it a risky business for entrepreneurs, critics say. Not to worry: Sen. Schumer is on the case.

The new batch of Pulitzer Prize winners has just been announced, with poet Sharon Olds winning for Stag's Leap. novelist Adam Johnson winning the fiction prize for The Orphan Master's Son. In the journalism field, The New York Timestook the most honors, winning in four categories, including investigative reporting.

There's some evidence that carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere has slowed the development of coral reefs. So researchers are adding antacid to the water in a tiny part of the Great Barrier Reef, to see whether the corals will grow faster if their water supply is less acidic.

President Obama was in Chicago on Friday to address the scourge of gun violence that's plaguing that city and so many other parts of the country. It was one of several trips the president made this week to promote his second-term agenda.

Students of color have long been punished in far higher numbers than white students in Seattle. The Education Department is looking at whether black students are disciplined more frequently and more harshly than white students for the same behavior.

The Weather Channel has granted itself naming rights for winter storms, calling the current nor'easter Nemo. While many meteorologists gripe that it's just a marketing gimmick, others think it might help people focus on severe weather and plan accordingly.