Tropical Storm Cristobal formed off the Southeast coast Saturday ? the first to threaten the U.S. this hurricane season.

Tropical storm Kalmaegi churned along the Chinese coast Saturday, after leaving 13 dead in heavily populated Taiwan.

President Bush offered federal help and encouragement Thursday to some of the 25,000 firefighters working under a blazing sun to contain wildfires.

As common as lightning is, it still sparks considerable confusion among scientists.  Many of the basics are understood, but researchers admit they don't really understand how  lightning gets from there to here. And they're totally baffled by lightning's link to X-rays, a discovery made back in 2001.

The monsoon has gained official start and end dates in the United States ? June 15 and Sept. 30 ? a real season that meteorologists hope will put some oomph behind their warnings.