U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015

The U.S. debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015, according to a Treasury Department report to Congress.  The report that was sent to lawmakers Friday night with no fanfare said the ratio of debt to the gross domestic product would rise to 102 percent by 2015 from 93 percent this year.

Bankruptcy filings are nearing record 2 million...

Bankruptcy filings are nearing the record 2 million of 2005, when a new law took effect that was aimed at curbing abuse of the system. Filings could reach 1.7 million this year, says law professor Robert Lawless, but few experts believe that debtors are now gaming the system.

Risks to global economy have 'risen significantly', top IMF official warns

“After nearly two years of global economic and financial upheaval, shockwaves are still being felt, as we have seen with recent developments in Europe and the resulting financial market volatility,” Naoyuki Shinohara, the IMF's deputy managing director, said in Singapore on Wednesday. “The global outlook remains unusually uncertain and downside risks have risen significantly.”  Countries across Europe are under pressure to tackle their deficits that were deepened by the financial crisis and governments own response to it. Some economists fear that moves by countries ranging from Britain to Spain to rein in public spending at the same time will set back a global recovery.

Don't sleep longer – sleep smarter

Worried that you don't get the fabled eight hours? That's your first mistake, says Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, who thinks it's quality, rather than quantity, that counts. She shares her tips for a better night's rest with Rob Sharp.

Video: Lending merry-go-round

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Video: Lending merry-go-round

U.N. rebukes of Israel permitted in U.S. policy shift

Under President Barack Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation.

Russia, Iran in joint venture for nuclear plant

Russia and Iran will establish a joint venture to operate Tehran's first nuclear plant set to come online this summer, Sergei Kiriyenko, chief of Russia's nuclear state corporation, said on Tuesday.  Russia has been helping Iran build its first nuclear plant in the southern city of Bushehr since the mid-90s but its launch has been marred by a series of delays and the issue is hugely delicate amid a standoff over Iran's nuclear programme.

Quake swarm strikes off Los Angeles - list

Obama goes street: looking for 'ass to kick' over oil spill - VIDEO

"I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."

Ahmadinejad Stresses Need for New World Order

"The conditions we are experiencing today need planning for new orders in the world and (our) cooperation and co-thinking for organizing the conditions," Ahmadinejad told reporters before departing for Istanbul, Turkey to take part in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).  Reminding that major world and Asian players will take part in the Istanbul conference, the Iranian president underlined that "Iran, too, will have active participation in drafting the final statement, taking stances as well as mutual consultations" with participants in the conference.  Ahmadinejad said that his visit will take place at the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, and pointed out that he is slated to meet other foreign officials during the visit.  Ahmadinejad further confirmed his subsequent trip to Tajikistan, saying the visit will come in response to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's visit to Tehran in March 2010.  The Iranian president mentioned that he will take part in the 'Water for Life' international conference in Tajikistan.  The CICA Conference is underway in Istanbul on June 4-10.  Turkey will take over the rotating term presidency of the CICA from Kazakhstan during the conference.  Last year, Gul accepted Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's offer to take the presidency of the body.  CICA is an inter-governmental security forum in Asia which was initiated by Kazakhstan's then president in 1992 and currently has 18 member states, including Iran, Russia, China, South Korea and Turkey.

U.S.’s $13 Trillion Debt Poised to Overtake GDP: Chart of Day

The CHART OF THE DAY tracks U.S. gross domestic product and the government’s total debt, which rose past $13 trillion for the first time this month. The amount owed will surpass GDP in 2012, based on forecasts by the International Monetary Fund. The lower panel shows U.S. annual GDP growth as tracked by the IMF, which projects the world’s largest economy to expand at a slower pace than the 3.2 percent average during the past five decades.

NASA: 'Sun is waking up from a deep slumber'; Warns solar storms may wreak havoc on power grids, GPS, air travel, radio communications...

Earth and space are about to come into contact in a way that's new to human history.

"The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms....

The National Academy of Sciences framed the problem two years ago in a landmark report entitled "Severe Space Weather Events—Societal and Economic Impacts." It noted how people of the 21st-century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. A century-class solar storm, the Academy warned, could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.