Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said he hopes Hillary Clinton will become the first female president of the United States in 2016. "I don't see how you could have anybody better qualified," Buffett told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Wednesday about the current Secretary of State and 2008 White House hopeful.

POL-Barbour-GOP-Exam

While Republicans continue to soul search after their party's loss in the presidential election, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour injected a new term Wednesday to describe the GOP's introspection.

POL-Romney-Obama-Gifts

Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana fiercely shot back at Mitt Romney's claim Wednesday that President Barack Obama outmatched the 2012 Republican presidential nominee by offering "gifts" to African-Americans, Hispanics and young voters.

MONEY

MONEY-corzine-mf-global

A Congressional subcommittee investigating the collapse of brokerage MF Global said Wednesday that former CEO Jon Corzine's reckless tactics doomed the firm and ultimately led to a shortfall of $1.6 billion in customer funds.

MONEY-stocks-markets

U.S. stocks fell more than 1% Wednesday as fears of turmoil in the Middle East added to ongoing concerns about a fiscal showdown in the United States.

MONEY-starbucks-teavana

Teavana stock burned up Wednesday afternoon, rising more than 50%, after Starbucks announced it would buy the Atlanta, GA.-based tea company.

MONEY-texas-instruments-layoffs

Chipmaker Texas Instruments said Wednesday that it will lay off 1,700 workers in an effort to shift focus away from its struggling mobile business. The job cuts represent about 5% of TI's staff, and they are part of a previously announced restructuring initiative aimed at cutting costs and increasing its presence in the burgeoning embedded device market. Shares of Texas Instruments rose about 1% in afterhours trading.

MONEY-hostess-liquidation-Thursday

Hostess Brands said Wednesday that it will go into liquidation unless bakers striking in protest against a new contract imposed in bankruptcy court return to work by the end of the day Thursday.

MONEY-poverty-americans

There were nearly 50 million Americans living in poverty in 2011, under an alternative measure released by the Census Bureau Wednesday. That's 16.1% of the nation, higher than the official poverty rate of 15%. The official rate, released in September, showed 46.6 million people living in poverty.

MONEY-health-insurance-premiums

The cost of providing health care benefits to employees rose by just 4.1% this year, the smallest increase in 15 years, according to a survey by human resources consultant Mercer. And employers are expecting to see another modest increase of 5% next year, the survey of 2,800 companies found. That's a far cry from the beginning of the decade, when employers reported increases of 10% to nearly 15% a year. Last year, benefit costs rose by 6.1%.

FEATURES, ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

ENT-Elizabeth-Banks-Welcomes-Second-Child

It's another boy for actress Elizabeth Banks and husband Max Handelman, who recently welcomed their second child via gestational surrogate.

ENT-One-Direction-Rolling-Stones-Mick-Jagger

The music is different, but the intense fandom for One Direction isn't far off from the screaming fans who would mob the Rolling Stones, says the band's legendary frontman, Mick Jagger. The rocker has picked up on the recent fervor for 1D, as the five-member group is called, and Jagger told CNN at Tuesday's premiere of the film "Crossfire Hurricane" that the group reminds him of his band's younger years.

TECH-netiquette-holiday-manners

5 digital tips for saner holiday travel

TECH-petraeus-email-privacy

Here's a thought that might make even the most conscientious e-mail user nervous: "When the CIA director cannot hide his activities online, what hope is there for the rest of us?" The American Civil Liberties Union posed this question in a recent blog post. The group, of course, was referring to the scandal involving David Petraeus, who resigned as head of the spy agency after the FBI uncovered e-mails indicating he was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

TECH-Sierra-Leone-16-Year-Old-Tech-Guru

When Kelvin Doe, a then-13-year-old from Sierra Leone, saw that off-the-shelf batteries were too expensive for the inventions he was working on, he made his own at home. Kelvin did not have the privilege to do his project in a school environment. Rather, he was compelled to act by necessity and for the joy of solving practical problems. Kelvin combined acid, soda, and metal, dumped those ingredients in a tin cup, waited for the mixture to dry and wrapped tape around the cup to make his first battery. He failed several times before completing a final, working prototype. He hasn't purchased a battery since. Next up: A generator.

Human-Diet-Evolution

Humans are picky eaters, and not just because we're the only species that reviews restaurants. A new study suggests that our ancestors' diets may have been different from our close primate relatives much earlier than we thought.

COMMENTARY-ghitis-petraeus-5-things

5 things we've learned from Petraeus scandal

COMMENTARY-bergen-petraeus-replacement

Tough choice for Obama on Petraeus' successor

COMMENTARY-honore-sandy-recovery

The Sandy recovery is stumbling, writes Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led the Task Force Katrina in the aftermath of the hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.