The eurozone really has only days to avoid collapse  —  In virtually all the debates about the eurozone I have been engaged in, someone usually makes the point that it is only when things get bad enough, the politicians finally act - eurobond, debt monetisation, quantitative easing, whatever.

Teen tweeter won't apologize to Sam Brownback  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas teenager who wrote a disparaging tweet about Gov. Sam Brownback said Sunday that she is rejecting her high school principal's demand for a written apology.  —  Emma Sullivan, 18, of the Kansas City suburb of Fairway …

Obama's toughest critic: Obama  —  President Barack Obama has plenty of critics — Republicans, liberals, the media — but the person hardest on the president, his administration and the Democratic Party is, at times, Barack Obama.  —  Obama has admitted that he's “screwed up,” is “frustrated” …

Christian worker loses her job after being ‘targeted’ by Islamic extremists  —  A Christian worker has launched a landmark legal action after she lost her job when she blew the whistle on what she says was a campaign of “race hate” by fundmentalist Muslims.  —  Nohad Halaoui is claiming …

Kimberly Webb Joyner, 1970 to 2011  —  My wife, Kimberly Webb Joyner, died this morning in her sleep from unknown causes.  She was 41.  —  She leaves behind two little girls she loved more than anything, Katie, who turns 3 on New Year's Eve, and Ellie, who was born June 21.

Romney calls on Obama to block $600B in defense cuts  —  Mitt Romney on Sunday called for President Obama to halt the $600 billion in automatic cuts aimed at the Defense department as a consequence of the failed debt supercommittee.  —  “I'm calling on the president to say no way for those cuts …

Help Wanted: In Unexpected Twist, Some Skilled Jobs Go Begging  —  DENVER—Ferrie Bailey's job should be easy: hiring workers amid the worst stretch of unemployment since the Depression.  —  A recruiter for Union Pacific Corp., she has openings to fill, the kind that sometimes seem to have all but vanished …

Secret Fed Loans Gave U.S. Banks Undisclosed $13B  —  The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret.  Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing.  —  The Fed didn't tell anyone which banks …

Nato braces for reprisals after deadly air strike on Pakistan border post  —  Concerns the ISI intelligence agency could use its suspected influence over insurgent groups to launch reprisal attacks  —  Nato forces in Afghanistan are bracing for possible reprisals from Pakistani-backed insurgents following …

But Nobody Pays That: Estée Lauder Heir's Tax Strategies Typify Advantages for Wealthy  —  As he stood in the opulent marble foyer of a Fifth Avenue mansion late last month, greeting the coterie of prominent guests arriving at his private art gallery, Ronald S. Lauder was doing more than just being a gracious host.

Powell: Tea Party presidential candidate can't win in 2012  —  Former Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday dismissed chances for a Tea Party candidate to win the presidential election, criticizing the hard-line stance taken by the majority of the grassroots movement …