What the Postal Service needs right now are changes in the law allowing it to reduce delivery to five days-a-week and to resolve an annual requirement for it to pay $5.5 billion into a fund for future retiree medical costs, Donahoe said in a telephone interview.

Although men have lost more jobs than women over a longer timeframe, they have gained slightly more jobs than women, who are still struggling, according to new research from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Running out of time, President Barack Obama called Democratic and Republican leaders back to the White House on Wednesday for separate, bottom-line negotiations on how to prevent a disastrous government default — and perhaps cut staggering federal deficits as well.

Remember the days after Lehman fell? That same shock wave could ripple again.