A few hours before President Obama presented his new job-creation plan to Congress last week, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, made a less ballyhooed appearance, before the Economic Club of Minnesota. Bernanke reminded his audience that it has been exactly three years since the financial crisis that attended the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Then he pointed out that the recession that Obama had inherited from his Republican predecessor was even more calamitous than had previously been thought. Recent revisions to government statistics show that, between the end of 2007 and the second quarter of 2009, the Gross Domestic Product declined by more than five per cent—the deepest drop since the Second World War.

Obama didn’t refer to Bernanke’s update, but knowing the true magnitude of the collapse is critical to understanding the economic and political context in which the President spoke..

Aisha Gdour, a school psychologist, smuggled bullets in her brown leather handbag. Fatima Bredan, a hairdresser, tended wounded rebels. Hweida Shibadi, a family lawyer, helped NATO find airstrike targets. And Amal Bashir, an art teacher, used a secret code to collect orders for munitions: Small-caliber rounds were called “pins,” larger rounds were “nails.” A “bottle of milk” meant a Kalashnikov...

With my iPod headphones plugged in, the abbot of Shaolin keeps his expression perfectly neutral as his eardrums are assailed by the thumping beats of the Wu-Tang Clan.

"I don't get it," says Shi Yongxin in his heavily accented Mandarin, after politely listening to the pioneering 1990s rappers from the New York borough of Staten Island who, in homage to kung fu movies of the 1970s, described themselves as coming "straight from the slums of Shaolin."...

When Marian Robinson moved to Washington more than two and a half years ago, she wasn’t exactly measuring the drapes of her spacious third-floor quarters and looking to stay. She planned to get the first family settled and most likely return to her quiet Chicago life, far from the spotlight of the White House, which she likened to sleeping in a museum.

But the “first grandmother” appears to have gotten over her reluctance, embracing her famous address while maintaining a low-visibility lifestyle, those who know the first family say...

The Nielsen Company, which has long provided such information about the traditional media, is seeking to become a go-to source of data for new media, too...

Credible terror threats put New York and Washington on highest alert the day before 9/11's tenth anniversary. Exclusive interviews show how the FBI bungled its final opportunity to prevent tragedy the first time...

“No memorial, no ceremony, no words will ever fill the void left in your hearts by their loss,” Mr. Biden said...

Just as Sept. 11 was unthinkable, Sunday was inevitable: the 10th anniversary of a day that stands alone. In history. In memory...

A senior Egyptian official says at least three people died and more than 1,000 were hurt during street clashes with police and army troops after an angry mob attacked the embassy building...