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It's been a year of frustration on Capitol Hill with constant battles over money, the partisanship in Congress and legislative gridlock. It certainly doesn't look like the system of government the Founding Fathers envisioned in the Constitution. But should the politicians be blamed, or the system they were handed?

By all appearances, China has been one of the countries least affected by the global downturn in recent years. But the Chinese government stepped up spending to keep its economy going, and many local governments now face serious debt problems.

Debtors' prisons are illegal in every state, but more and more Americans are finding themselves behind bars as a result of unpaid debt, some for just a few hundred dollars. The state of Illinois is investigating creditors who might be abusing their power and sending debtors to jail.

Growing evidence suggests that kids who are allowed to drink in the home are at greater risk of developing alcohol-related problems. That's unwelcome news in France, a nation known for its love of wine that's now grappling with a binge-drinking problem among teens.

President Asif Ali Zardari went to Dubai unexpectedly for medical treatment, and his political opponents say he has been weakened at a time when he faces multiple challenges.

Occupy protesters in cities along the West Coast are attempting to paralyze some of the nation's busiest ports Monday. Organizers say they expect thousands of demonstrators to turn out for what they're calling "Wall Street on the Water Front." Occupy protesters in Oakland successfully shut down the port there last month, and they're looking to do it again.

President Obama appeared on the CBS show 60 Minutes Sunday night to answer questions about his prospects for re-election. Meanwhile, Republican presidential contenders took part in another debate over the weekend, where the presumed frontrunner, Newt Gingrich, defended himself against verbal attacks from the other candidates.

An NPR/Kaiser poll gives insight into the experience of those without enough work for a year or more. A strong majority of those polled say they don't have much confidence they'll get full-time work. "If I put my hopes in finding another job, I'd just break my heart," one woman says.

A Brookville, Pa., man missed work because he said his mother had died. Her obit was in the local paper. Relatives began calling the paper saying Scott Bennett's mother was very much alive.

"If the excuse [of Iran] was that the presence of U.S. troops on Iraqi soil posed a threat to [Iranian] national security, then this danger is over," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tells The Wall Street Journal. He meets with President Obama today.