American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

Underfunded pension systems resulted from unprecedented losses of asset values caused by reckless behavior on Wall Street

Total spending by candidates, political parties and special interests has topped $3.2 billion. and is likely to hit $4 billion.

Unlimited donations from corporations and wealthy individuals have helped committees working to elect Republican governors and state legislators break fundraising records and surge past Democrats.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday overcame Republican opposition and cleared the way for a $26 billion measure to help states ease their severe budget problems and save the jobs of tens of thousands of teachers and other public employees.

Every precaution should be taken to reduce exposure to populations and to workers.

Don't turn pensions for public employees into 401(k)-type plans.

As Census workers fan out this month to complete the nation's once-a-decade headcount, leaders of both political parties are amassing war chests for the high-stakes political battle that it will trigger.

Wade Phillips is sticking around as coach of the Dallas Cowboys for two more years. Dallas won the NFC East for the second time in Phillips' three seasons. The team also won its first playoff game since 1996 and the first in Phillips' head coaching career. The Cowboys are 34-17 over his three seasons in charge. Only three NFL teams have won more games in that span.