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The U.S. national debt now stands at $40 trillion

The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit to make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The U.S. national debt now stands at $40 trillion

We haven't written up this one. PBS NewsHour has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.

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