World Sitting on 'Powder Keg' of Social Unrest: Amnesty

LONDON - The world is sitting on a "powder keg" of social unrest, which risks exploding as human rights are eroded by the global economic slowdown, Amnesty International warned.

But its annual report -- detailing abuses from China to Guantanamo Bay and from Sri Lanka to the ex-Soviet Union -- said the global meltdown also offers a chance to rebuild an economic framework putting human rights at its heart.

Banks in Recovery as Home Foreclosures Hit Record

BOSTON - Just months after getting a massive handout from Uncle Sam to prevent the collapse of Wall Street, big banks say they are back on solid ground and ready to repay the money.

The banks are selling stock and debt, and racking up excellent returns on mortgages, loans, high credit card rates and refinancings.

Three big banks, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, say they are so healthy now that they can begin to pay back the billions they were given by the U.S. Treasury in December when they said they were on the brink of failure.

High Health Costs Hit Women Hardest

CHICAGO - Most working-age women in the United States have too little health coverage, and often forgo needed care because of cost, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They found that seven out of 10 women have no insurance, not enough insurance or are in debt because of medical bills.

"More families are making difficult choices between needed health care, making payments on mortgages or credit card debt and purchasing basic necessities," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a private health policy group that conducted the research.

NCLB No Panacea: US Educational Skills Improve; Learning Gap Stagnates

The basic math and reading skills of USA students have slowly, surely improved over the past 30 to 40 years, new findings show, with sharp increases among many of the nation's lowest-performing students - especially in the past four years.

That's the good news.