Free Republic

The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, marking a historic milestone in a borrowing buildup that has accumulated over generations, through wars, recessions, tax changes and the expansion of major federal benefit programs under presidents of both parties.The Treasury Department reported that total public debt outstanding reached about $40.047 trillion Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The number is striking, but the more significant measure for economists is debt held by the public — money the federal government owes to investors and other entities outside the federal government. That...

Four men have been charged with murder in connection with the slaying of a man at a marijuana grow-house near Hayward in February, authorities said Friday. The men, two of whom are still being sought, were charged before the body of the victim, Francisco "Frankie" Lopez, 27, of East Palo Alto, was apparently found in heavy brush Thursday in Niles Canyon near Fremont. (snip) Alameda County prosecutors have charged Tiburcio Sanchez, 24, Miguel Michel, 41, Mohammed Zarin Khan and Manuel Trujillo with murder, attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of false imprisonment. Khan's and Trujillo's ages are...