The United States and other countries are fighting over who can claim the Arctic Circle, including oil and fishing rights. Billions may be at stake.

Researchers at Durham University in the UK developed a map last year that shows the major claims and disputes.

You can see a simplified version in Sunday's Sun-Sentinel, as well as a map of potential oil fields.

The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will meet August 10, 2009 to decide who owns the those chilly northern reaches, including the North Pole.

And Santa Clause may need a Russian passport.

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The economy is down and foreclosures are up. They are so far up in Broward County that the county looks sunburned. The highest zip code had 566 foreclosures in 2008, up from 98 in 2007. Palm Beach County is looking pretty sun-kissed too. Their highest was 293, up from 168. It's only getting worse and it appears that Obama's mortgage plan won't help South Florida very much. If you take a look at the overall difference between 2005 or 2006 and 2008, it is shocking. I'm not sure what it will take to turn this around, but it needs to happen soon.

Check out the interactive we've put together and explore how your zip code compares to other zip codes, and previous years.

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Adding to our stress over the economy is the upcoming holiday season. It is quickly closing in on us. It's time to start thinking about how much we are willing to shell out this year on presents, decorations, etc. It seems that every year people spend more and more on Christmas presents, but according to recent surveys that could change this year. Check out the charts below.

Also, if you haven't started thinking about your holiday budget because you aren't really sure how much extra cash you have, take the quiz below the charts and see how financially stable you are. That might be a good starting point.

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Our country is teetering on the edge of a financial crisis, and what do I find? A graphic from the MCT wires showing 10 of the major banks that are involved in this mess and how much money they've shelled out to both political parties and presidential candidates since 2001.

The amount is staggering: A whopping $64 million!

And the Democratic party made out like bandits, receiving $34.1 million to the Republican's $29.8 million. Check out what each presidential candidate received, and you'll see it's the same thing.

At this point, all I can say is hindsight is ...

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Belinda Long-Ivey created this piece for the Sun Sentinel's Tuesday's print edition, reacting to the bailout controversy.

The Sun Sentinel provides a minute-by-minute update of the DJIA.

Bloomberg.com shows changes in 30 blue-chip stocks in real time and a chart showing movement in the last year.

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