Iowa

American farmers may have suffered an historic drought last year, but the price of their land is skyrocketing.

Emerging from the worst drought in 50 years, US farmers are bracing for long-term challenges from climate change including blasting heat and more capricious rainfall.

Lawmakers in Colorado on Tuesday approved a bill to allow same-sex civil unions, the latest US state to back legalized gay marriages or partnerships.

Three months after Newtown, the prospects for President Barack Obama's ambitious gun control measures have dimmed, as hopes for expanded background checks clash with stubborn political realities.

Time Warner announced Wednesday it would spin off its publishing arm Time Inc. by the end of the year, allowing the US conglomerate to focus on its television and film operations.

The state of Ohio executed a man who killed a security guard while robbing a bookstore amid a drug-fueled crime spree, officials said Wednesday.

An unlikely coalition grouping the Obama administration, major corporations, Republican lawmakers and Clint Eastwood has found common cause in urging the US Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage.

US President Barack Obama's administration threw its weight behind gay marriage on Thursday, urging the Supreme Court to strike down California's ban on same-sex unions.

US President Barack Obama's administration threw its weight behind gay marriage, urging the Supreme Court to strike down California's ban on same-sex unions.

New picks to lead the Pentagon and the US Treasury face key hurdles Tuesday in the Senate, as President Barack Obama fleshes out his second-term cabinet amid trying times for defense and finance.

The US Senate Finance Committee said it will vote Tuesday on the appointment of Jack Lew -- who played an active role in talks that led to massive looming spending cuts -- as Treasury secretary.

New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg, the oldest member of the US Senate, announced Thursday he will not seek re-election in 2014, leaving the door open for other state political heavyweights.

Media giant Time Warner is in talks on the sale of some of its magazines to a large US publisher, the conglomerate's Fortune magazine reported Wednesday.

US Republicans are rebranding themselves in the wake of last year's defeat, but the makeover is looking less like a genuine bid to woo women and minorities and more like a civil war within the party.

Venezuelan racer E.J. Viso has signed to drive for Andretti Autosport in the upcoming IndyCar season, giving the team four cars in the series in 2013, owner Michael Andretti said Thursday.

Fifth-term Democratic US Senator Tom Harkin said Saturday he will not seek re-election next year, setting the stage for a key mid-term election that could help Republicans retake the Senate.

US Vice President Joe Biden says he has not made up his mind yet on whether he will run for the top job in 2016 -- a prospect that could entail a clash with Hillary Clinton.

Forty years after the legalization of abortion in the United States, just four doctors offer controversial late-term procedures, and are the subject of a documentary at the Sundance film festival.

Pauline Phillips, who consoled millions around the world as the creator of the iconic Dear Abby advice column, has died at the age of 94, her syndication service said Thursday.

For the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) 2012 proved to be a rocky year. For the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) 2012 proved to be a rocky year. While the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage was successful in getting a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples approved in North Carolina, little else went the group's way. In an end-of-the-year blog post at EqualityMatters.org, Carlos Maza highlighted some of NOM's biggest missteps in 2012. An important story which went largely unnoticed was NOM's shrinking support from donors. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) revealed that ?just two donors were responsible for funding 75 percent of the anti-gay group.? Federal tax documents from 2011 also showed that NOM's budget had declined from the previous year ? from $9.1 million to $6.2 million. (Related: Funding for anti-gay marriage group NOM plummets 30 percent.) In New York and New Hampshire, NOM has been unable to follow through on its pl