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WASHINGTON The leaders of the world's most powerful economies are deeply split over how to fight a downturn that is intensifying around the globe, with no nation in a position of strength as finance ministers gather to talk about the crisis.

The United States is pushing for more worldwide stimulus measures, but Europe wants world leaders to focus instead on stricter oversight, arguing that lax American regulation is to blame for the economic decline in the first place.

Complicating the international tension, the premier of China, which holds more than $727 billion in U.S. Treasury securities and is by far the biggest U.S. creditor, expressed concern Friday about the safety of his government's investments.

Arkansas’ U.S. senators, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, have had their names mentioned in the news more in the past few weeks than perhaps in the rest of their tenures combined.

They’d probably rather not have all the attention.

The two Democrats find themselves square in the middle of a heated battle over proposed union legislation. The Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for labor to organize by allowing workers to unionize by merely signing a card, instead of going through a secret-ballot election process. The bill would allow for the elections, too, but the “card check” aspect is the sticking point.