The Economy Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has spent his 25-year career in public office warning of the inherent inequity and instability of the American economy, blames financial deregulation, initiated during the Clinton era, that's been carried too far by an "extremist right-wing" administration. "When you deregulate," Sanders said, "you allow these financial wheeler-dealers, these 'masters of the universe,' to play around with trillions of dollars." But to James Gatti, a business professor at the University of Vermont, the crisis was caused by too much government meddling in the markets. For his part, Sanders has promised new rules to "re-regulate" Wall Street and break up large financial institutions to limit the scope of future banking failures. He said a President Obama has "got to be pressured by progressives to do what needs to be done," reported Seven Days.

Public Service Sen. Bernie Sanders fielded questions from dozens of high schoolers at the Lyndon Institute in Lyndon center hoping to generate more interest in the political process. "The problems the country is facing are absolutely enormous," Sanders said. Lyndon senior Elizabeth Hamel said, "Now that I talked to Mr. Sanders I feel more connected to government now." Sanders also said, while he didn't know Gov. Sarah Palin, he though Sens. Obama, McCain and Biden were all good people, that Obama was very smart, Biden a bit talkative, and McCain a better person than the campaign he's leading, according to WPTZ TV, New England Cable Network, and WGMT radio.

Mental Health Parity Tucked into the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package passed by the U.S. Congress this month was an unlikely ornament: A major mental health parity bill that was more than a decade in the making. Vermont already has its own decade-old mental health parity law that goes beyond what the new federal requirements call for. Vermont's congressional delegation made sure that the federal bill would not preempt stronger state laws. The only change that the federal parity bill will bring to Vermont is that businesses that self-insure and offer some form of mental health coverage to their employees will, for the first time, be required to have parity between the mental health and physical health coverage, reported the Vermont Press Bureau.

Sen. Bernie Sanders went to the Northeast Kingdom towns of Lyndon and St. Johnsbury Tuesday. He spoke to high school students at the Lyndon Institute and announced essential funding for rural transportation at the new Welcome Center in St. Johnsbury. The senator was able to help secure $328,300 in federal funds to promote bus facilities in the under-served rural communities of the Kingdom. With the price of gas still very high, rural Vermont workers need affordable options to get to and from work every day. Sanders said, "As Vermonters' budgets are squeezed by high gas prices and a struggling economy, these funds will provide more choices to people who need to get to work or simply get around town every day. Public transportation like this is essential as we work to break our national addiction on oil and confront a looming climate change crisis." Earlier in the day, Sanders spoke to some Vermont high school students, encouraging them to stay informed about the world they will inherit. After brief remarks, Sanders took questions from students and faculty of the Lyndon Institute.

World Stocks Soar Stock markets in Europe and Asia rose strongly for a second straight day Tuesday after Wall Street rallied from its worst week ever on mounting evidence that government attempts to shore up the world's battered financial system are beginning to thaw frozen credit markets, reported The Associated Press.

Syrian-Lebanese Agreement Syria recognized Lebanon's sovereignty for the first time on Tuesday, with President Bashar Assad issuing a decree establishing diplomatic relations and plans for an embassy in Beirut. The U.S. and Lebanese anti-Syrian politicians have long demanded Syria establish official relations with Lebanon. The two countries have not had formal diplomatic ties since they gained independence from France in the 1940s. Lebanon and Syria agreed in August to establish ties and demarcate their contentious border, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. to Invest in Banks President Bush, speaking from the Rose Garden Tuesday before the markets opened in New York, called the government plan to invest up to $250 billion in banks essential to help assure stability in the nation's financial system. Under the proposal that is similar to those initiated by European governments on Monday, President Bush said the Treasury Department would invest up to $250 billion in banks, receiving an equity stake in return, reported The New York Times.

European Stocks Vault Higher After losing more than 20 percent last week, European stocks vaulted higher Monday as investors warmed to a more coordinated fight from leading governments to tackle the credit crunch, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Gas Price Drops The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States recorded its largest drop ever as consumer demand continued to wane and oil prices slid, a prominent industry analyst said on Sunday. The national average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas fell 35.03 cents to $3.3079 a gallon on October 10 from $3.6582 two weeks earlier, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey, Reuters reported.

Homeless Shelters Full Some of Vermont's homeless shelters are filling up and having to turn people away. Rita Markley, executive director of the Committee on Temporary Shelter, says from June to August COTS turned away 42 families and 75 single adults. Demand for shelter space usually rises when the weather turns cold. But Markley said on Friday, COTS already had 30 families on a waiting list, according to AP.

European Stocks Vault Higher After losing more than 20 percent last week, European stocks vaulted higher Monday as investors warmed to a more coordinated fight from leading governments to tackle the credit crunch, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Gas Price Drops The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States recorded its largest drop ever as consumer demand continued to wane and oil prices slid, a prominent industry analyst said on Sunday. The national average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas fell 35.03 cents to $3.3079 a gallon on October 10 from $3.6582 two weeks earlier, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey, Reuters reported.

Homeless Shelters Full Some of Vermont's homeless shelters are filling up and having to turn people away. Rita Markley, executive director of the Committee on Temporary Shelter, says from June to August COTS turned away 42 families and 75 single adults. Demand for shelter space usually rises when the weather turns cold. But Markley said on Friday, COTS already had 30 families on a waiting list, according to AP.

World's Financial Leaders Vow to Unite President Bush and the world's financial leaders staged repeated displays of unity Saturday to combat an unfolding credit crisis, hoping to calm investors whose panic has spread despite bold and accelerating government action. While there were no concrete offers of new moves made on Saturday, Mr. Bush pledged anew that his administration was doing everything possible to halt the biggest market disruptions since the Great Depression and the finance ministers spoke in unusually somber terms about the need for action, The Wall Street Journal reported.

North Korea Off Terror List The Bush administration announced Saturday that it had removed North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism in a bid to salvage a fragile nuclear deal that seemed on the verge of collapse. Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said that the United States made the decision after North Korea agreed to resume disabling a plutonium plant and to allow some inspections to verify that it had halted its nuclear program as promised months earlier, according to The New York Times.

Tax Rebate Possible in Aid Plan After consulting with Barack Obama, Democratic leaders are likely to call Congress back to work after the election in hopes of passing legislation that would include extended jobless benefits, money for food stamps and possibly a tax rebate, officials said Saturday. The bill's total cost could reach $150 billion, The officials stressed that no final decisions have been made. House Democrats have announced plans for an economic forum on Monday "to help Congress develop an economic recovery plan that focuses on creating jobs and strengthening our economy," The Associated Press reported.

World's Financial Leaders Vow to Unite President Bush and the world's financial leaders staged repeated displays of unity Saturday to combat an unfolding credit crisis, hoping to calm investors whose panic has spread despite bold and accelerating government action. While there were no concrete offers of new moves made on Saturday, Mr. Bush pledged anew that his administration was doing everything possible to halt the biggest market disruptions since the Great Depression and the finance ministers spoke in unusually somber terms about the need for action, The Wall Street Journal reported.

North Korea Off Terror List The Bush administration announced Saturday that it had removed North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism in a bid to salvage a fragile nuclear deal that seemed on the verge of collapse. Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said that the United States made the decision after North Korea agreed to resume disabling a plutonium plant and to allow some inspections to verify that it had halted its nuclear program as promised months earlier, according to The New York Times.

Tax Rebate Possible in Aid Plan After consulting with Barack Obama, Democratic leaders are likely to call Congress back to work after the election in hopes of passing legislation that would include extended jobless benefits, money for food stamps and possibly a tax rebate, officials said Saturday. The bill's total cost could reach $150 billion, The officials stressed that no final decisions have been made. House Democrats have announced plans for an economic forum on Monday "to help Congress develop an economic recovery plan that focuses on creating jobs and strengthening our economy," The Associated Press reported.

Rebuild America "We are in the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. People are frightened." Sanders said Friday on Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann Program. He said he is working with others in Congress on a bold initiative to help the economy. He called it Rebuild America. He said it would be an aggressive effort to fix crumbing roads, bridges, highways, schools, water and sewer systems, develop alternative energy sources, extend unemployment benefits, and expand health care services. "What I am trying to do now is work with others members of Congress to come up with a major Rebuild America program," Sanders said.

G-7 The United States and six other nations that are among the world's richest agreed on Friday to a coordinated plan to rescue the financial industry, but fell short of offering concrete steps to backstop bank lending on a day when fear tightened its grip on investors from Wall Street to Hong Kong. The Group of 7 countries broadly endorsed the idea of taking ownership positions in banks a strategy first adopted by Britain and now emerging as a major part of the rescue effort in the United States, The New York Times reported.

Worst Week on Wall Street The Dow Jones Industrial Average capped the worst week in its 112-year history with its most volatile day ever, as hopes for a major international bank-rescue plan were overwhelmed at day's end by another wave of selling. Some investors who normally would be jumping to buy beaten-down stocks after a 22% drop over eight trading days said the relentless declines have left them shell-shocked and unwilling to take new risks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Rebuild America "We are in the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. People are frightened." Sanders said Friday on Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann Program. He said he is working with others in Congress on a bold initiative to help the economy. He called it Rebuild America. He said it would be an aggressive effort to fix crumbing roads, bridges, highways, schools, water and sewer systems, develop alternative energy sources, extend unemployment benefits, and expand health care services. "What I am trying to do now is work with others members of Congress to come up with a major Rebuild America program," Sanders said.

G-7 The United States and six other nations that are among the world's richest agreed on Friday to a coordinated plan to rescue the financial industry, but fell short of offering concrete steps to backstop bank lending on a day when fear tightened its grip on investors from Wall Street to Hong Kong. The Group of 7 countries broadly endorsed the idea of taking ownership positions in banks a strategy first adopted by Britain and now emerging as a major part of the rescue effort in the United States, The New York Times reported.

Worst Week on Wall Street The Dow Jones Industrial Average capped the worst week in its 112-year history with its most volatile day ever, as hopes for a major international bank-rescue plan were overwhelmed at day's end by another wave of selling. Some investors who normally would be jumping to buy beaten-down stocks after a 22% drop over eight trading days said the relentless declines have left them shell-shocked and unwilling to take new risks, The Wall Street Journal reported.