From the Community: Famine relief, Bank of America and No Child Left Behind

We're taking a look at some of the most popular stories from the Current community, and we've rounded up some highlights to share. Check them out and add your two cents:

Famine relief progress slow in race to save millions
Submitted by JanforGore

As many as 29,000 Somali chidren have died in the last three months from famine in southern Somalia. The United Nations claims without any immediate help, tens of thousands of children will starve to death.

"Aid agencies say they are still woefully underfunded to help the now 13 million people living in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djbouti in need of emergency assistance.

The United States, which has pledged more than $430 million dollars to drought and famine relief efforts, has dispatched Jill Biden, the Vice President's wife and former Senator Dr. Bill Frist to Kenya as part of a fact-finding delegation.

The team will visit the sprawling and over-crowded Dadaab refugee camp, considered a flashpoint of the crisis. Already home to nearly 400,000 Somali refugees, it continues to receive an average of 1300 Somalis per day, mostly women and children, many of whom have walked for days to escape hunger in their war-torn country."

AIG to Sue Bank of America Over Mortgages
Submitted by Vic_Romano

American International Group Inc. has announced its intention to sue Bank of America Corporation, claiming "massive fraud." AIG's lawsuit plans to take back more than $10 billion it lost on mortgage investments.

The suit says Bank of America and its subsidiaries inflated home appraisals, allowed borrowers to misstate their income, ignored internal warnings about shoddy underwriting and selected the riskiest mortgages for securitization. The lender knowingly misrepresented the underwriting process in its descriptions of the mortgage-backed securities purchased by AIG, the suit alleges.

Current community user JustZ offers his advice regarding the lawsuit:

"Please...TAKE YOUR MONEY OUT OF BOA. This is the only thing you can do now."

Obama administration to offer No Child Left Behind waivers

Submitted by kennymotown

According to the Department of Education, the Obama administration will provide qualifying states a waiver from No Child Left Behind.

"American's future competitiveness is being decided today, in classrooms across the nation," said Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council." With no clear path to a bipartisan bill in Congress, the President has directed us to move forward with an administrative process to provide flexibility within the law for states and districts that are willing to embrace reform."

Our community has very good points regarding the move.

COMMONSENSEFORCOMMONGOOD_COM: "I wish I could believe it is what it seems. I trust nothing out of Washington just now. I suspect a trap door under everything that is to come out of Washington for the foreseeable future. "Buyer beware"?"

TimothyChristian: "Excellent first step (and very much in the GOP's nip-nip-nip strategic style) towards undoing the damage the free marketers have done to public education."

Join the discussion -- or head over to the Community page for more popular stories from the community.