Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed is ready to implement "balance sheet actions if necessary."

That means if the Federal Open Market Committee feels that the economic recovery is in danger, it is ready to implement a third round of quantitative easing, or bond purchases intended to bring down long-term interest rates and spur borrowing and spending.

"If appropriate... we remain entirely prepared to take additional action," the chairman said. "We will not hesitate to use them."

As I write this, it's about 1 a.m. in Nepal and, according to National Geographic magazine's iPad app, a group of climbers is camped on the side of Mount Everest, possibly sleeping (though we can't be totally sure), at nearly 21,000 feet. They expect to make a final summit push in early May.

Whether performing as an acoustic duo or a full fledged honky-tonk five piece, The Honeycutters have got to be considered one of the best new Americana bands today, thanks to the songwriting and singing of Amanda Anne Platt and the tasteful guitar and production work of Peter James.   Their 2009 release "Irene" made WNCW's Top 100, and this week marks the release of their 2nd collection.

Formed in 2007 in Brooklyn, NY but now based out of Asheville, The Broadcast brings their funky, soulful, Motown-inspired sound to Studio B.  Singer Caitlin Krisko’s voice is a force to be reckoned with.  They play Greenville Friday night.  

President Obama's urbane coolness, viewed by many as an attractive feature of his personality, was part of the joke Tuesday night when he appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, including in the "slow jammin' the news" segment.

Peter Karp & Sue Foley are two contemporary blues/roots musicians who united together in 2010 to write songs of, as Foley says, "positivity, renewal, absolution."  They're back with their 2nd collaboration, and we'll hear live songs from it on their way to an evening Charlotte show.  

At airports, train stations and other public places across the nation, the Department of Homeland Security's "See Something, Say Something" campaign has encouraged people to report suspicious activity in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks. But a recent government survey found citizens are not jumping in to report others.

A group of women's rights activists are descending on Facebook's New York offices, today, to deliver what it says is an online petition from 53,000 people that demands Facebook add a woman to its board of directors before the company goes public.

In its petition, UltraViolet says that 58 percent of Facebook users are women, yet "despite the fact that women are responsible for most of Facebook's revenue and activity there currently is not a single woman on their board."

The early analyses of this morning's Supreme Court hearing on parts of Arizona's controversial immigration law are in, and the consensus is that the majority of justices will likely uphold the state's effort to reduce the number of people within its borders who may be there illegally.

Mad cow disease has been detected in a cow in California, the first time since 2006 that the deadly disease has surfaced in the U.S.