Geological evidence suggests there have been earthquakes in the past that were even stronger than a magnitude 9.2 quake - the second-biggest ever recorded - which caused a 42-foot-high (12-meter-high) tsunami in the Gulf of Alaska in 1964, they said.

"Our data indicate that two major earthquakes have struck Alaska in the last 1,500 years and our findings show that a bigger earthquake and a more destructive tsunami than the 1964 event are possible in the future," Ian Shennan, a professor of geography at Britain's Durham University, who led the study, said in a statement. "The region has been hit by large, single-event earthquakes and tsunamis before, and our evidence indicates that multiple and more extensive ruptures can happen."

Tsunami warning systems have been installed along the US west coast and around Hawaii and experts are working to improve them since a quake off Indonesia in 2004 caused a monster tsunami that killed 230,000 people and devastated coastlines from Thailand to Sri Lanka.

While many lawmakers and consumer advocates have long complained that the agency lacks the staff and equipment to accomplish its mission, the GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE (GAO) says the agency doesn't even have "the data to develop a complete and reliable estimate of the resources it needs." The GAO places some of the blame on the FDA's lopsided budget — which dedicates significant resources to approving new products, but far less to tracking their safety once they've reached the market.

FDA officials acknowledged the problems uncovered by the GAO, saying they are working to get a better picture of the agency's spending and how much additional funding it needs. "We have to be able to talk about the funds we need, and how we're using the money, with more detail than FDA has in the past," said Dr Joshua Sharfstein, the agency's deputy commissioner.

The GAO report, due out Monday, is the latest in a series to document the problems facing the agency. The FDA has spent the last few years careening from one public health crisis to the next. They have included the recall of the painkiller Vioxx — which was linked to heart attacks, contaminated blood thinners imported from China, and an investigation into a salmonella outbreak that dragged on for weeks before peppers were identified as the culprit.

If the feds end up spending that amount, it could be more than the federal government has spent on any single effort in American history. For the government to be on the hook for the total amount, worst-case scenarios would have to come to pass in a variety of federal programs, which is unlikely, says Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the government's financial bailout programs, in testimony prepared for delivery to the House oversight committee Tuesday.

The Treasury Department says less than $2 trillion has been spent so far. Still, THE ENORMITY OF THE IG'S PROJECTION UNDERSCORES THE SIZE OF THE ECONOMIC DISASTER THAT HIT THE NATION over the past year and the unprecedented sums mobilized by the federal government under Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama to confront it.

In fact, $23 trillion is more than the total cost of all the wars the United States has ever fought, put together. World War II, for example, cost $4.1 trillion in 2008 dollars, according to the Congressional Research Service. Even the Moon landings and the New Deal didn't come close to $23 trillion: the Moon shot in 1969 cost an estimated $237 billion in current dollars, and the entire Depression-era Roosevelt relief program came in at $500 billion, according to Jim Bianco of Bianco Research.

Still, the eye-popping price tag provoked an immediate reaction on Capitol Hill. "The potential financial commitment the American taxpayers could be responsible for is of a size and scope that isn't even imaginable," said Representative Darrell Issa (Republican - California), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. "IF YOU SPENT A MILLION DOLLARS A DAY GOING BACK TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, THAT WOULDN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO JUST ONE TRILLION DOLLARS – $23.7 TRILLION IS A STAGGERING FIGURE."

The IMG, originally associated with THE PROMINENT STUDENT REVOLUTIONARY TARIQ ALI, was a Trotskyist group active in the 1970s and 1980s, whose members at one stage adopted the slogan "Victory to the IRA". Why does this matter?

It is my belief that many prominent Labour MPs were directly or indirectly connected with this or similar revolutionary groups in the 1960s and 1970s, and this is a significant current in New Labour. Those involved tend to prefer to keep quiet about it. In my view this is because it still matters, AND STILL GIVES AN IMPORTANT CLUE ABOUT THE GENERAL OPINIONS THEY HOLD, despite the bland image of 'new Labour' as a 'right-wing' tendency, because it no longer wishes to nationalise the railways.

The full extent of this will probably never be known. These groups were very secretive, and relevant MI5 files have almost certainly been destroyed, it is very hard to establish the facts without first-hand information. It has been claimed by prominent left-wingers that THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, ALISTAIR DARLING, once belonged to the IMG, though sources in the Treasury have denied this to me. Two senior ministers in the original Blair Cabinet were widely believed to have been revolutionaries. JOHN REID was without doubt an adult member of the Communist Party. PETER MANDELSON was a Young Communist.

Khatami also said Iranians have lost their faith in the ruling political system following the June 12 election. The opposition charges that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election through mass fraud.

It is too early to say whether Khatami's call for a referendum would be adopted by authorities, but it constitutes the latest challenge to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader who has the last word on state matters. Khamenei has declared the results of the elections valid.

The number of people 65 and older hit about 506 million as of midyear 2008, according to the US Census Bureau. This will double to 1.3 billion by 2040, accounting for 14 percent of the total global population. "People aged 65 and over will soon outnumber children under age 5 for the first time in history," said the report put together by Kevin Kinsella and Wan He of the US Census Bureau.

"Aging is affecting every country in every part of the world," said Richard Suzman of the National Institute of Aging, which commissioned the report. "While there are important differences between developed and developing countries, global aging is changing the social and economic nature of the planet and presenting difficult challenges."

The report found that people aged 80 and older are the fastest growing portion of the total population in many countries. Globally, this "oldest old" population is projected to increase by 233 percent between 2008 and 2040.

While Israeli leaders proclaim Jerusalem to be the unified capital of Israel, Israeli Muslim leaders teach their children that Jerusalem is rightfully Arab and Muslim. On Saturday, the Islamic Movement bussed thousands of Israeli Arab Muslim children to the Al Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount, where they heard speeches referring to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem as areas "occupied" by Israel.

"WE MUST REMOVE THE OCCUPYING FORCES FROM THE MOSQUE, AND FROM ALL OF JERUSALEM," said Sheikh Khamel Khatib, a senior Islamic Movement leader. The children brought money which they had gathered throughout the year on behalf of the Islamic Movement. Donations came to roughly 3 MILLION SHEKELS, which Islamic Movement leaders said would be used for the Al Aksa Mosque and Islamic Movement institutions.

A key Senate Democrat, Max Baucus of Montana, complains that Obama's opposition to paying for it with a tax on health benefits "is not helping us." Another Democrat, Representative Dan Boren of Oklahoma, tells his local newspaper that Obama is too liberal and is "very unpopular" in his district. From his first days in office, Obama's popularity helped him pass the landmark $787 billion stimulus package and fuelled his ambitious plans to overhaul the nation's health care system and tackle global warming.

Democratic strategist Steve Glorioso said hardcore base voters were as enthusiastic as ever for Obama but that there was a sense of disappointment about him among less committed Democrats and independents. "PEOPLE ARE SCARED," GLORIOSO SAID. "THIS IS THE WORST ECONOMIC TIME ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 80 HAS EVER EXPERIENCED, AND YOU CAN'T DISCOUNT PEOPLE BEING AFRAID. Now that we are in July, the fear is turning to disappointment that the president hasn't fixed everything yet. I don't know why they thought he could change everything by now, but some did."

A second seemingly unrelated fire broke out on Sunday some 10km (6 miles) away and has already consumed 100 hectares. The cause of the fires are not known. A 2003 fire in the same area destroyed more than 240 homes. No injuries or deaths have been reported in the latest fires.

More than 150 firefighters are battling the blazes, with support from helicopters and water bomber planes. One resident told local media that big, hot embers were falling all around his home. Fire-fighters said they were facing difficult conditions, with more hot and dry weather to come.

Lord Jones of Birmingham, an original member of the Prime Minister's "government of all the talents" who resigned last year, delivered a damning indictment of the workings of Whitehall. The former trade minister, who as Digby Jones was head of the CBI between 2000 and 2006, called for "amateur" politicians to be relegated to junior roles in government, allowing experienced professionals like himself to run departments.

Last week, THE FORMER HOME SECRETARY admitted that she had found the post challenging AS SHE LACKED ANY TRAINING IN RUNNING A LARGE ORGANISATION. In an article about his 15 months in government, Lord Jones wrote: "By her own admission, Ms Smith had never run a major organisation. Actually, as a former teacher from Redditch she'd never run anything at all. WITH NO TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE, SHE HAD TAKEN UP THE REINS OF THE THIRD GREAT OFFICE OF STATE."

"Expecting her to deliver in the post of home secretary without a scintilla of experience or training was not only unfair on her but damaging to all of us. Health, education, business, transport, defence and security are TOO IMPORTANT TO BE LEFT ANY LONGER TO ENTHUSIASTIC AMATEURS."

Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law professor who has been appointed to a shadowy post that will grant him powers that are merely mind-boggling, explicitly supports using the courts TO IMPOSE A "CHILLING EFFECT" ON SPEECH THAT MIGHT HURT SOMEONE'S FEELINGS. He thinks that the bloggers have been rampaging out of control and that new laws need to be written to corral them.

Sunstein is President Obama's choice to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. It's the bland titles that should scare you the most. "Although obscure," reported the Wall Street Journal, "THE POST WIELDS OUTSIZE POWER. It oversees regulations throughout the government, from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration."

"Obama aides have said the job will be crucial as the new administration overhauls financial-services regulations, attempts to pass universal health care and tries to forge a new approach to controlling emissions of greenhouse gases." Sunstein was appointed, no doubt, off the success of "Nudge," his previous book, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT GOVERNMENT OUGHT TO GENTLY FORCE PEOPLE TO BE BETTER HUMAN BEINGS.

Sunstein dreams of an impossibly virtuous America: "We could also imagine a future in which those who spread false rumors are categorized as such, discounted and marginalized... People would approach rumors skeptically even they provide comfort and fit their own biases." But if his chilling wind doesn't work, Sunstein may try to make good on the implicit threat that runs through his book: that he would redefine libel as the spread of false information and hold everyone up the ladder responsible.

If this happened, the blogosphere would turn into Pluto overnight. Comments sections would slam shut. Every writer would work on a leash shorter than a shoelace. Sunstein is an enemy to every news organization and blogger. We should return the favor and declare war on him.

Picture this hypothetical dreamed up by a national security expert obsessed with economic catastrophe:

'Angry that US policies aimed at boosting the economy have devalued their $2 trillion of currency reserves, the Chinese decide to stop buying Treasurys just as America tries to finance its massive spending plans. In response, the US imposes trade sanctions against China, which in turn pushes for a global currency. From there, the US accuses China of manipulating its own currency and things escalate further.'

Without a shot being fired, those actions represent a type of unfriendly economic competition that some are very worried about. An economic war between the US and another adversary would hardly be the world's first. Countries have resorted to such measures in the forms of trade embargoes, blockades and protectionism for centuries.

To take one recent example, the US has considered economic sanctions to punish Iran for its nuclear programs. In response, Iran has said it could hold the world's oil supply hostage by blocking the Persian Gulf's export routes, a move that would likely damage the global economy. "In a globalized world, the ability of one country to impact the economy of another, and hence affect it strategically, has grown exponentially from what it was before," said Goure.

Eight years after Middle East militants carried out the September 11 attacks, Muslim Americans are raising their profile, encouraged by the election of Barack Obama, A US PRESIDENT PROUD OF HIS KENYAN FATHER'S MUSLIM HERITAGE. The president, who is a Christian, used his middle name, Hussein, at his inauguration. He called for new dialogue with Islamic nations and named a special envoy for the Middle East on his second full day in office.

"We are more optimistic about the future for us here," said Alqaisi, an accountant. "They changed the way they communicate with the Muslim countries. We feel like we have more value here now. We hope that will continue in the future." The greater scrutiny prompted Muslims to engage more with one another and politically, said US Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim member of Congress.

"The Muslim community has learned the lesson that if you want things to change for you in America, you have to be involved in the process," he said. "Political engagement of the Muslim community is higher than I have ever seen it." In the last two years, TWO MUSLIMS HAVE BEEN ELECTED TO CONGRESS, FIVE HAVE WON SEATS IN STATE LEGISLATURES AND MANY MORE HAVE BEEN ELECTED ON MORE LOCAL LEVELS, Ellison said.

"We will be closed this Friday, as the last and the oncoming Friday, due to the ordering of three furlough days each month by the governor," an official from the Hollywood Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office, which issues driver's licenses, told AFP.

The DMV is one of many state offices to close on Friday, one of three unpaid leave days a month ordered for state workers to help the government reduce its expenses. The furloughs declared earlier this month are expected to save more than one billion dollars over the next year in California.

On Wednesday, authorities shut down most of the operations of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the largest court system in the country with approximately 100,000 people passing through its 600 courtrooms every day. Presiding Judge Charles McCoy said he was forced to take the step in anticipation of a 138-million-dollar funding shortfall for the fiscal year that began this month. "That is very significant," McCoy told the Los Angeles Times. "BUT I AM MOST WORRIED ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO NEXT, BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOING TO GET BETTER."

California, which is home to 37 million inhabitants, would be the world's seventh-largest economy if compared to other countries.

Home to the nation's struggling auto makers, Michigan has been clobbered by lost factory jobs. Its jobless rate of 15.2 percent in June was the highest in the country, but the record-high for the state was 16.9 percent in November 1982. Still, the government says it's the first time in 25 years that any state has suffered an unemployment rate of at least 15 percent. In 1984, it was West Virginia.

The national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, a 26-year high, and is expected to hit 10 percent by year-end.