A contentious bill raising pension and health benefits costs for more than a half-million New Jersey government workers goes back to the state Senate one more time on Monday for a formality vote.

Americans seem not to have awakened to the fast-looming debt crisis that could summon a new recession, imperil their stock market investments and shatter faith in the world's most powerful economy. Those are among the implications, both sudden and long-lasting, expected to unfold if the U.S. defaults on debt payments...

Medicare has been a hot topic since April 15, the day that the U.S. House of Representatives voted 235-193 to approve a resolution that would privatize the Medicare system for younger people. While there is little chance the resolution will become law, it has greatly increased general interest in knowing...