Joseph Lazzaro

A college degree is seen by the public as a credential women need more than men to make it big, despite a soaring price tag, a new Pew Research Center survey indicates.

Many U.S. public transportation systems are struggling to cover costs, with more than a third projecting shortfalls for their upcoming budget years, the American Public Transit Association said Wednesday.

The United States has already tied its full-year record for storm damage -- with more than $35 billion in damage from tornadoes, floods and heat waves -- the National Weather Service said, and there are still 4 1/2 months left in 2011, including hurricane season.

Latino activists held a protest outside President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign headquarters on Tuesday to ask him to end a criminal deportation program they say is snaring large number of illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes.

The details are sketchy about President Barack Obama's September jobs speech, but one thing is certain: as economic manager, Obama must increase job growth substantially in the next nine months to help the millions of Americans who are unemployed find jobs, to strengthen the economy, and to save his presidency.

Robert Gibbs, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama, on Wednesday sought to clarify the role in public policy the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party is playing: counter-productive, to put it diplomatically.

Four big cigarette makers are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeking to void as unconstitutional new graphic labels and advertising that warn consumers about the risks of smoking and induce them to quit.

A giant South American capybara rodent weighing at least 100 pounds has been spotted at a California waste-water treatment facility, but has since disappeared in the brush, a wildlife official said on Tuesday, adding that it is apparently an escaped pet.

A black-market baby-selling operation that preyed on wealthy women has been broken up by the FBI, assisted by key evidence provided by socialite Taylor Stein, who had been deceived by the ring when she bought her son.

The White House denounced Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on Tuesday for his threatening remarks about U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that represented some of the most inflammatory rhetoric of the 2012 election campaign.

Airports in Virginia, including the mammoth Washington Dulles International, generated $28.8 billion in economic activity in 2010, the states' governor, Bob McDonnell, said.

The 2010 U.S. Health Care Act could hinge on the votes of two justices, Chief Justice John Roberts (front center), and Justice Anthony Kennedy (front, second from right). Roberts on occasion refuses to join the court's conservative bloc; Kennedy has been one of the justices most protective of state power vs. the federal government.

What do the best U.S. small towns to live in have in common? They all have low crime rates, good schools, and plenty of cultural activities, according to the latest small town survey by Money Magazine, which boasts that it has uncovered some hidden gems.

The recent federal budget fight between the Democrats and Republicans over the debt ceiling, true to form, yielded "more heat than light," once again, regarding the true sources of the budget deficit. Therefore, without further adieu, sans the rhetoric, here are five things you didn't know about the budget deficit.

Debt concerns in Europe and a tepid U.S. economy have made for a bumpy stock market of late, to day the least. However, because one-day events can deceive, let's pull the lens back and do a condensed, cross-methodological analysis of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to see if it reveals any long-term clues.

Starbucks' (SBUX) Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz has a solution for the nation's partisan political divide that's prevented (so far) a substantive, long-term plan to cut the budget deficit: boycott donating to political campaigns.

Some would have you believe the U.S. Congress can't do much to create jobs: not true. If Congress says "build us an aircraft carrier," a short time later, an aircraft carrier will appear. Likewise for roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and the electric grid -- all of which in the U.S. need work and would create jobs.

Institutional investors, turned off by a slow-growth economy that?s led to low-return stocks, piled in to oil, driving up its price, worsening the economic conditions that led them to invest in oil in the first place.

Critics have chided President Barack Obama for his economic reforms, which they view as too big, or too liberal. The reality is however, that if Obama's reforms don't stand, and the economic/social problems are not addressed, an even more-liberal public official will likely emerge to propose and enact bigger changes.

A summary of all-things Washington for Monday, August 15, 2011.

Did last week?s wild stock market swings make you concerned that your 401K will soon turn into a ?201K? ? Then it sounds like it?s a good time to get an assessment of the U.S. economy from two respected economists, Paul Krugman and Irwin Kellner.

Economist Nouriel "Dr. Doom" Roubini, the NYU professor who four years ago accurately predicted the global financial crisis, says tough medicine is needed to end it: another round of massive fiscal stimulus or a universal debt restructuring. If neither occurs, a systemic flaw will, at minimum, continue to hinder economic recovery.

After a week of wild gyrations that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise or fall 400 points on four consecutive days, there?s word that a major bank in France with a funny-sounding name may be in trouble. Further, if you think a possible problem at France's Societe Generale won?t affect the value of the U.S. stocks you own, think again.

The 2010 U.S. Health Care Reform Act will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012, in a case that pits individual liberties concerns versus the U.S. Government?s authority to limit public health care costs via universal insurance. If the court hears the case by the spring 2012, it could issue a ruling in June 2012.

Which party creates more jobs per year, on average -- Democratic presidents or Republican presidents? The answer may surprise you.

The U.S. will donate an additional $17 million to nations in the Horn of Africa coping with severe drought, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced.

A split U.S. Appeals Court in Atlanta ruled Friday that a key provision of the 2010 U.S. health care reform act is unconstitutional, siding with a group of 26 states that challenged the law.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rounded out the super committee by announcing her three House Democratic members for the special bipartisan board. Now the tough work begins: reducing the deficit by at least another $1.5 trillion over 10 years, and as far as the financial markets are concerned, the sooner the reduction is announced, the better.

After a week of gyrations that's seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise or fall 400 points for four straight days, it's understandable if U.S. investors are bewildered. Given the tumult, what stance should investors adopt now?