JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - Having the president of the United States speak at commencement would normally be the most memorable day in the life of a high school senior. But not in Joplin, Missouri, where President Barack Obama's commencement address on Monday will come one year after the deadliest tornado in the United States in six decades killed 161 people. "I'm pretty sure we will remember the tornado more than Obama's speech," said graduating senior Ethan Ritschel. ...

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - Having the president of the United States speak at commencement would normally be the most memorable day in the life of a high school senior. But not in Joplin, Missouri, where President Barack Obama's commencement address on Monday will come one year after the deadliest tornado in the United States in six decades killed 161 people. "I'm pretty sure we will remember the tornado more than Obama's speech," said graduating senior Ethan Ritschel. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders sought on Sunday to dispel fears of a rush for the exits in Afghanistan even as the Western alliance met to chart a path out of an unpopular war that has dragged on for more than a decade. President Barack Obama, who once called the Afghan conflict a "war of necessity" but is now looking for an orderly way out, hosted the NATO summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after major industrialized nations tackled a European debt crisis that threatens the global economy. ...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire whipped up by winds and dry conditions threatened to trigger more evacuations on Sunday, just as firefighters were nearly done battling the biggest of four blazes in the state. Fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have forced the evacuation of several small towns and torched more than 65 square miles (168 square km) of forest, brush and grass in the U.S. Southwest. ...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire whipped up by winds and dry conditions threatened to trigger more evacuations on Sunday, just as firefighters were nearly done battling the biggest of four blazes in the state. Fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have forced the evacuation of several small towns and torched more than 65 square miles (168 square km) of forest, brush and grass in the U.S. Southwest. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters, some dressed as clowns and others bearing anti-war signs, gathered on Sunday in a lakefront park in the biggest test yet for Chicago police trying to keep the peace as world leaders began meeting for a two-day NATO summit. Previous protests in the run-up to the summit Sunday and Monday have been lively but peaceful, resulting in fewer than two dozen arrests over the past six days, according to the Chicago Police Department. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters, some dressed as clowns and others bearing anti-war signs, gathered on Sunday in a lakefront park in the biggest test yet for Chicago police trying to keep the peace as world leaders began meeting for a two-day NATO summit. Previous protests in the run-up to the summit Sunday and Monday have been lively but peaceful, resulting in fewer than two dozen arrests over the past six days, according to the Chicago Police Department. ...

(Reuters) - Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when "Chihuly Garden and Glass" opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever. Spanning one and a half acres in the shadow of the Space Needle, the show includes an exhibition hall, a garden and a "Glass House" structure by Chihuly, inspired by his two favorite buildings, Paris' Sainte-Chapelle and London's Crystal Palace. ...

(Reuters) - Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when "Chihuly Garden and Glass" opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever. Spanning one and a half acres in the shadow of the Space Needle, the show includes an exhibition hall, a garden and a "Glass House" structure by Chihuly, inspired by his two favorite buildings, Paris' Sainte-Chapelle and London's Crystal Palace. ...

CAMP ROUND MEADOW, Maryland (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron urged countries on Saturday to put in place strong contingency plans to deal with fallout from the euro zone debt crisis as fears grow that Greece could be forced out of the European single currency. Cameron, speaking at a summit of the Group of Eight major economies, also appeared to hint that the European Central Bank should follow the example of the Bank of England by embarking on an asset purchase program to try to boost the economy. ...

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed proactive policies to make growth a bigger priority, as the world's second largest economy showed signs of weakness, state press said on Sunday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Normally a big decline would set up Wall Street for a technical rebound. But that may not be the case this week, even after the market posted its worst weekly loss for the year and the S&P fell for six straight sessions. With the corporate earnings season drawing to an end and recent U.S. economic data raising doubts about the pace of growth, the S&P 500, which is down 7.3 percent so far in May, could decline further this week as concerns about the financial health of Europe persist. ...

Spain's "indignant" protest movement against economic inequality and spending cuts continues to enjoy widespread support a year after it was launched, a poll published on Sunday showed.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realize we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...

Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.

Newly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin has set hugely ambitious targets to catapult the Russian economy into the modern era but their realism remains in doubt despite a benign short-term outlook.

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis. A summit of the G8 leading industrialized nations came down solidly in favor of a push to balance European austerity - an approach long driven by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - with a new dose of U.S.-style stimulus seen as vital to healing ailing euro-zone economies. But it was clear that divisions remained. ...

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis. A summit of the G8 leading industrialized nations came down solidly in favor of a push to balance European austerity - an approach long driven by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - with a new dose of U.S.-style stimulus seen as vital to healing ailing euro-zone economies. But it was clear that divisions remained. ...

Around 500 demonstrators gathered outside the home of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Saturday to protest the recent closure of mental health clinics as part of a series of rallies and marches timed to coincide with a NATO summit here. But the protest was much smaller than one attended by an estimated 2,500 people at a downtown plaza on Friday. The biggest rally is expected to be on Sunday near the convention center where world leaders will gather. ...