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As foreclosures continue to rise, regulators and others are questioning the role of credit agencies, which gave top ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities. Critics say the system, in which firms are paid by the companies they rate, is inherently flawed.

This week, U.S. intelligence agencies produced a new assessment of the violence in Iraq and the chances for political reconciliation there. The last National Intelligence Estimate in February said the security situation in Iraq was dire and getting worse. The latest report says it could "continue to improve modestly."

The number of Americans without health insurance grew to an all time high of 47 million last year, an increase of more than 2 million from a year before. The number of children without health insurance coverage also rose. The Census Bureau figures are likely to raise the stakes in the political debate about health care.

Now that Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has announced his resignation, the focus is on possible successors. Lt. Gov. Jim Risch is widely regarded as the likely front runner. But many Idahoans angrily claim that Republicans in Washington forced Craig to quit solely to protect the party.

Searchers say they have found no sign of Steve Fossett after his single-engine plane disappeared in the rugged mountains and sagebrush-filled desert of western Nevada.

President Bush meets with China's President Hu Jintao in advance of the APEC summit in Sydney, Australia, this week. President Bush raises concerns about the safety of Chinese exports following extensive product recalls, as well as discusses nuclear threats posed by North Korea and Iran.

Condemnation from the United States and other nations may be just what the Iranian president needs to shore up a shaky political position at home.

The Bush administration says it is imposing economic sanctions against 14 senior officials of Myanmar's government. Robert Siegel talks with David Cortright, author of Sanctions Decade and scholar at the University of Notre Dame, about the impact of sanctions on the regime in Myanmar.

A petition before the Food and Drug Administration could change the way parents care for children with colds. Many pediatricians cite a lack of evidence that cough medicines are safe or effective for young people.

Al Oerter, the discus thrower who won consecutive gold medals in four straight Olympic Games from 1956 to 1968, has died of heart failure. After track, he began a career as an abstract painter. He was 71.