At a hastily convened news conference Friday evening, President Obama offered his explanation of why debt negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner fizzled, and he once again raised the specter of entitlement checks not going out if the debt ceiling isn’t raised soon.

“Well, when it comes to all the checks, not just Social Security -- veterans, people with disabilities -- about 70 million checks are sent out each month -- if we default then we’re going to have to make adjustments. And I’m already consulting with (Treasury) Secretary (Tim) Geithner in terms of what the consequences would be,” Obama said.

It was a striking thing today to see the President of the United States say that he cannot guarantee the 27 million Social Security checks that are due to be mailed on August 3rd.

VIDEO: Obama "cannot guarantee" Social Security checks

August 3rd is the day after the U.S. government will default on its debts if Democrats and Republicans do not agree to increase the nation's borrowing limit. Both sides say they won't raise the limit without a deal to massively cut the federal deficit. A U.S. default could shake the world economy. The stakes couldn't be higher. Time is growing short.

The Social Security Administration made $6.5 billion in overpayments to people not entitled to receive them in 2009, including $4 billion under a supplemental income program for the very poor, a government investigator said Tuesday.

In all, about 10 percent of the payments made under the agency's Supplemental Security Income program were improper, said Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr., the Social Security inspector general.

Error rates were much smaller for retirement, survivor and disability benefits, which make up the overwhelming majority of Social Security payments, O'Carroll told a congressional panel.

Listen up. The verbose and hyperactive Anthony Weiner is not going to say this again.

I did not have sext with that woman.

Of course, whether Weiner had virtual flirtations, or didn't, with any sentient female human depends on what your definition of "is" is.

We are witnessing a brand-new and bewildering flavor of scandal, New Yorkers. A wacky tempest-in-an-Internet-zipper known as Weinergate.

Rep. Weiner, who reps Brooklyn and Queens, has, evidently, been caught with his knickers askew in the seemingly safe and cloistered realm of cyberspace. And for the last few days, he's clumsily parsed the language of this uncharted terrain for scandal with the recklessness of a skinny guy wielding a chainsaw.

A key senator has asked the Social Security Administration to investigate how people who live their lives role-playing as “adult babies” are able to get taxpayer-funded disability payments - after one of them was featured on a recent reality TV episode wearing diapers, feeding from a bottle and using an adult-sized crib he built.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican and the Senate’s top waste-watcher, asked the agency’s inspector general to look into 30-year-old Stanley Thornton Jr. and his roommate, Sandra Dias, who acts as his “mother,” saying it’s not clear why they are collecting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits instead of working.

“Given that Mr. Thornton is able to determine what is appropriate attire and actions in public, drive himself to complete errands, design and custom-make baby furniture to support a 350-pound adult and run an Internet support group, it is possible that he has been improperly collecting disability benefits for a period of time

On September 26th 2007 Rush Limbaugh had a conversation with a caller about “phony” soldiers. This call was referencing an earlier discussion about a specific “phony” soldier who was found to have forged his military records. This soldier claimed

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Plime is a pliable tree of interesting links, cultivated and pruned by everyone.

With the release of their API's, sites like Digg, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube are taking the web by storm. Here's a look at their plans for web domination.

Days after unveiling a major crackdown on businesses that hire illegal immigrants, the Bush administration is now quietly admitting that its most heavily touted weapon in pursuing employers will be virtually useless.

Duels is a new online role playing game that I’ve wasted most of the evening on. It’s both a social network and role playing game - create a World of Warcraft type character, buy him or her armor, weapons, etc., and then challenge other players to due

It will only take a moment. If Congress passes the current immigration bill being debated in the Senate, President Bush will sign the legislation, and in so doing, offer immediate amnesty to over 12 million illegal immigrants who currently reside in our c