Joseph Lazzaro

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday there is no agreement in private on a debt deal and that negotiators are not close to an agreement. That left official Washington wondering, on a sweltering 100-degree day, if the talks have reached another impasse, of if Boehner is merely deploying that old beltway tactic of 'rhetoric for dollars'?

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney still leads the 2012 Republican nominee race, in the latest poll on the race, but the person who polled second is a bit of a surprise: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Simply, Director George Lucas' tribute to his teen years in the car culture of 1960s Modesto, California is a masterpiece, and is easily worth its DVD price.

President Barack Obama, D-Ill. and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio moved closer toward a landmark debt deal late Thursday -- one that would avoid a U.S. default and implement major tax code changes, if approved. However, aides to both were lowering expectations, given the importance of the talks, so as to not jeopardize delicate negotiations within each caucus.

An irony: the U.S., which won the moon race to symbolize the superiority of democracy/free markets vs. communism/centrally-planned economy, will now relinquish delivery of humans into space to Russia.

With momentum building for the 'Gang of Six' debt plan, all eyes will be on a little-known but pivotal Washington institution -- the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan agency that provides program and fiscal forecasts to the U.S. Congress.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has his hands full regarding the 'Gang of Six' debt plan. Most Tea Party members of his caucus are likely to oppose it, but if Boehner can recruit enough moderate Democrats to offset Tea Party opposers, the plan should pass the U.S. House -- its likely final hurdler before the bill heads to President Obama.

Video from 2009 has captured something mysterious is swimming in Alaska's waters. But is it Alaska's version of the reputed Loch Ness Monster? Or is merely a type of whale or other known animal life?

The Gang of Six' debt plan, and President Obama's approval of its outline, has created momentum in Washington for a landmark deficit reduction package that would also avert a U.S. Government default, but two words could sap that momentum in a hurry: Tea Party.

President Obama Tuesday indicated his support for a new deficit-reduction plan that is gaining momentum in the U.S. Senate, calling it a very significant step and one that is broadly consistent with the significant reduction he seeks in the nation's budget deficit. If approved by Congress, the deal would avert a U.S. Government default.

Despite no evidence that a debt deal was imminent, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, reiterated that he would not allow a default by the U.S. Government on his watch.

It's been said that Congress never fails to underachieve and exasperate, and that's been the case with the debt talks, so far. The House GOP is currently wasting time with a balanced-budget bill that has almost no chance of becoming law, and the best Senate Democrats can offer is a minimal deficit reduction package.

Texas A&M oceanographers say that the dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico off coastal Louisiana will likely grow in 2011, and may even triple in size.

A U.S. Government default must be avoided by Washington lawmakers at all costs, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers underscored, as it would trigger a financial panic worse than that precipitated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in late 2008.

About 50 percent of the Earth's internal heat stems from a radioactive decay process, a new study has found, and it's strong enough to literally move the ground under your feet.

Frank Sinatra sang 'this fine old world, it keeps spinning around.' And generating heat: about one-half of the Earth's internal heat comes from radioactive decay in its interior, a new study in Nature Geoscience has demonstrated.

As the saying goes, ‘you’re in the Army now,’ so you’ll be issued boots, guns, ammunition…and one day perhaps an iPhone. The U.S. Army is testing the feasibility of using smartphones in field operations.

Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium and potassium is responsible for about 50% of the heat coming from the Earth's internal area, a study published in Nature Geoscience has found.

Sunday's Day 8 of the debt deal talks saw both sides express confidence that a grand bargain deficit reduction package would be reached, even as a parallel camp of lawmakers worked on a last-chance option containing a more-modest reduction; however, there was little new evidence Sunday that a deal was at hand.

Forests do a much better job absorbing carbon dioxide than scientists thought, a study in the journal Science shows. The world's forests absorb 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually -- about one-third of the carbon dioxide released through burning fossil fuels each year.

Debt deal talks, Day 6: Unless the Tea Party compromises, a U.S. Government default is likely. For many voters, the Tea Party stance appears extreme, irresponsible, even irrational. But for Tea Party supporters, it’s a logical and necessary stance, when any compromise with a Democratic president is viewed as a defeat.

Americans in the 2010 election returned the Republican Party to power in the U.S. House to create jobs: the U.S. is short at least 14.1 million jobs. So what has the Republican Party spent a great deal of time on? Light bulbs.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, and a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party's presidential nomination, has officially quit her home church in Minnesota that has been accused of holding anti-Catholic views.

Score Day 6 of the debt talks a wash: House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said President Barack Obama, D-Ill., hasn't presented a real deficit reduction plan, but Obama countered that he not only has, but that the American people support his plan, which includes both revenue increases as well as spending cuts.

'Carmageddon,' -- the weekend closure of a part of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles for construction and expansion, starts Friday at 7 p.m. PDT and ends Monday at 6 a.m. PDT. Advice from public officials is succinct: don't drive if you don't have to; also: shop and entertain close to home.

Credit ratings agency S&P Friday, like Moody's Thursday, warned that the U.S.'s credit rating could be downgraded, if an agreement on raising the debt ceiling is not reached soon. Meanwhile, the Reid/McConnell 'last chance' debt deal plan appeared to gain momentum Thursday, raising hope that a debt deal agreement will be reached soon.

China Thursday called on the United States to adopt responsible policies and measures to guarantee the interests of investors -- a communique that highlights the rising concern about a possible U.S. Government default. Meanwhile, modest debt talk progress was noted on Day 5, with bipartisan agreement on at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.

American voters believe former President George W. Bush is primarily responsible, not President Barack Obama, for the U.S. economy's poor condition, a poll released Thursday indicated. What's more, 48 percent of those polled said they would blame the Republicans if the debt ceiling is not raised, while 34 percent would blame the Democrats.

Former Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, redeployed her controversial gunplay rhetoric Wednesday, saying conservatives should not compromise and agree to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. Palin also said she isn't convinced that a U.S. Government default would be a calamity.