The Federal Reserve announced its plan on Wednesday to keep short-term interest rates near zero through late 2014. The move signals that the Fed does not expect the economy to fully recover over the next three years. With unemployment still running high, the Fed expects the economy to expand between 2.2 and 2.7 percent over this year, instead of at 2.9 percent as originally projected.

The remaining Republican presidential candidates — Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum — will debate in Florida on Thursday evening. A new CNN poll shows the two frontrunners, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, are in a dead heat, with Romney leading Gingrich 36 percent to 34 percent. The primary is less than a week away, and the stakes are high.  The winner-takes-all state has 50 delegates — more than Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina combined.  

Most college students don’t find much time in between classes, studying, and planning their own futures to solve major problems in their local communities. But when Harrisburg, Pennsylvania found itself on the brink of bankruptcy, a college student saved the day. The 23-year-old John Campbell is also the city’s treasurer. He was elected to the post on January 3 and has a step-by-step plan to save the state capital from financial collapse.

With Texas Governor Rick Perry dropping out of the race and Rick Santorum declaring a belated victory in the Iowa caucuses, Thursday marked a day of big game changers in the GOP presidential contest. With one day left until the South Carolina primary, frontrunner Mitt Romney is slipping in the polls as Gingrich picks up more support, including an endorsement from Perry. As the Republican race gets tighter and attacks become even more brutal, how is President Barack Obama preparing for his campaign for 2012? 

Acclaimed director Wim Wenders, of past successes like "The Buena Vista Social Club," and "Wings of Desire," talks about the process of creating "Pina," his new film about the legendary choreographer Pina Bausch. Wenders was first inspired by Bausch 25 years ago when he watched her perform an emotional double-bill that made him cry. As a result, Wenders collaborated with Bausch for twenty years to develop the concept for the movie, but unfortunately the choreographer died before he ever began filming.

This past Saturday, Tunisians returned to the streets to celebrate the first anniversary of the ouster of President Ben Ali. Tunisia's current, democratically-elected leader, President Marzouki, declared January 14 a national holiday and granted pardons to 9,000 prisoners and commuted 122 death sentences. The series of protests that ended Ben Ali's 23-year reign, largely motivated by widespread unemployment and large gaps between the rich and poor, also inaugurated the Arab Revolution.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, people across the country will honor the civil rights leader's memory and legacy in myriad ways. However, this is the first year when crowds seeking to give tribute can gather around the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in the National Mall. The 30-foot tall statue has been controversial because of the labor used to construct it and for its use of a paraphrased quote from Dr. King.

To citizens around the world, what goes on above the 38th parallel is largely a mystery. Though there are no questions about the numerous human rights abuses that go on in North Korea — extreme food rationing and hunger, arbitrary violence by the state, the impossibility of traveling past the country's borders — the daily reality of living through them have gone undocumented. Through years of research, Adam Johnson attempts to convey the very real and existential crises North Koreans face with his new novel.

According to a June Gallup poll, 18 percent of Republicans say that they would not vote for a Mormon. But for their part, Mormon GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are often quiet about their faith. Both know they need the GOP evangelical base, many of whom are fearful of the Mormon Church and don't believe Mormons are true Christians. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recently launched a $4.6 million ad campaign to combat that sentiment, showing members who come from all walks of life.

In the wake of revelations about its nuclear program, many Western powers have discussed sanctioning Iran's petroleum exports. On Tuesday, Iran stepped up its saber-rattling, warning that if an American aircraft carrier returned to its base via the Strait of Hormuz, it would face the "full force" of the Iranian navy. Roughly one fifth of the world's oil travels through the strait, and it is also where Iran recently tested two long-range missiles during a naval exercise. However, a spokesman for the Department of Defense stated, "the deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades."

Former journalist and human rights activist Sherry Rehman has been named as Pakistan's new ambassador to the United States. Rehman will replace Husain Haqqani, who resigned amid accusations he was involved in an effort to engage the U.S. to curb the Army's powers in Pakistan. Haqqani allegedly sent an anonymous memo sent to Admiral Mike Mullen after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistani in May. The memo requested Washington’s help in diminishing the power of the Pakistani army. In recent days, a Pakistani-American businessman has said he was instructed to write the memo by Haqqani. 

It's the day before Thanksgiving and many of us will be spending the day preparing for our holiday feast. But for millions of Americans the tables may be more bare this year. With the economy still weak, and federal and state budgets for charity services cut, many local food banks and food pantries are seeing an increase in demand. But they don't have enough food on their shelves to keep up.

Since August 31, the anniversary of Germany's invasion into Poland, Alwyn Collinson has been tweeting the events of World War II as if they were in real time, 72 years later. Under the handle @RealTimeWWII, Collinson sends up to 40 tweets a day chronicling the war, using eyewitness accounts, photographs and video. His Twitter page now has more than 118,000 followers and his tweets are translated into Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Collinson talks about how he embarked on the six-year project.

President Obama begun a tour of the Pacific Rim with a stop in his home state of Hawaii over the weekend, where he met with leaders from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. There are 21 countries in APEC, and the president is using this opportunity to stress the importance of America's relationship with countries in Eastern Asian — most importantly, China. But while President Obama is shaking hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao, GOP candidates here at home having been calling China the bad guy.

In Libya today there are conflicting reports over the capture of Moammar Gaddafi's son, Mutassim Gaddafi. Figures from the National Transitional Council told reporters they had captured Mutassim, in the family's hometown of Sirte, but a military commander denied their claims. If the news is true, it would be a major breakthrough for the National Transitional Council. Meanwhile, an Amnesty International report expresses concerns over the Transitional National Council's treatment of suspected Gaddafi loyalists whom the group has captured and attempted to torture into making confessions.

Blogger Seth Godin wanted to help his friend and colleague Amit Gupta, who has leukemia, so he offered up a challenge to his readers: the first bone marrow donor match to Gupta who would donate stem cells would receive $10,000. But under the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, better known as NOTA, it’s a federal crime to give or receive "valuable consideration" for any transplantable organ or tissue, specifically including bone marrow. And beyond the legal aspects, some people may find Godin's gesture ethically questionable.

Mexico's War on Drugs, which President Felipe Calderón declared in January of 2007, has already resulted in the deaths of some 40,000 Mexicans, according to the Congressional Research Service. The epicenter of the violence is Ciudad Juárez, a city in northern Mexico less than five miles from El Paso, Texas. Last year, over 4,500 federal police began patrolling there, replacing army units that had been stationed there previously. Today, those police will leave the city.

The United States is faring well in the U.S. Open so far, with Christina McHale hailing a victory against France yesterday. But there was bad news for the U.S. team yesterday, as well. Venus Williams announced that she has pulled out of the tournament, due to health problems related to Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and fatigue.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' controversial Fast and Furious program took another hit yesterday as Kenneth E. Melson, the acting director of the program’s Phoenix office, stepped down along with the U.S. Attorney in Arizona, Dennis K. Burke. The two were implicated in an ongoing investigation into the undercover operation that allegedly allowed for thousands of guns to get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

Our partner, The New York Times, reported yesterday that Nevada's attorney general is asking a federal judge to throw out a settlement made between the state and Bank of America, claiming the bank violated the broad loan modification agreement it made with Nevada in 2008. If the judge throws the settlement out, Nevada would likely sue Bank of America.