The Federal Reserve signals intent to continue low interest rates

The Federal Reserve reassured financial markets Wednesday that a key interest rate will stay near zero for “a considerable time” after its bond purchases end next month, deferring for now a clear signal on how it will begin to shift away from low-rate policies it’s had in place since the 2008 financial crisis. In a statement following a two-day meeting, the Fed said it will continue to wind down monthly bond purchases that have held down long-term interest rates and end the program next month, assuming the labor market continues to improve. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will further explain the Fed’s thinking at a press conference scheduled for 2:

Number of websites explodes past a billion (and counting)

The number of websites has burst above one billion and is growing apace, according to figures updated in real time by online tracker Internet Live Stats. Tim Berners-Lee, considered the father of the World Wide Web, touted the milestone on Twitter — one of the most prominent websites in the mushrooming but sometimes murky Internet world. It comes as the agency responsible for managing addresses on the Internet expands choices far beyond “.

Scientists Find ‘Direct Link’ Between Earthquakes And Fracking

A team of scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey have found evidence “directly linking” the uptick in Colorado and New Mexico earthquakes since 2001 to wastewater injection, a process widely used in the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and conventional drilling.

Trust In Mainstream Media Is At An All-Time Low

After registering slightly higher trust last year, Americans’ confidence in the media’s ability to report “the news fully, accurately, and fairly” has returned to its previous all-time low of 40%. Americans’ trust in mass media has generally been edging downward from higher levels in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Prior to 2004, Americans placed more trust in mass media than they do now, with slim majorities saying they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust.

The Number Of Volcano Eruptions Is Rising And That Could Lead To A Bitterly Cold Winter

The number of volcanoes that are erupting continues to rise, and scientists cannot seem to explain why this is happening. In 2013, we witnessed the most volcanic eruptions worldwide that we have ever seen in a single year, and this increased activity has carried over into 2014. In recent months, we have seen major volcanoes roar to life in Russia, Peru, Hawaii, Reunion Island, Indonesia, and all over Alaska.

Angry McCain Admits Meeting With ISIS, Scolds Rand Paul For Not Knowing Terrorists

In a weak effort to smear Rand Paul, war hawk Senator John McCain attempted to argue that the Kentucky Senator doesn’t have the authority to disagree with US policies regarding ISIS because he hasn’t met up with members of the terror group, unlike McCain himself. In an appearance on Fox News Monday, McCain was asked to respond to Paul’s comments earlier in the day, when the libertarian leaning Senator told CBS’ This Morning that arming Syrian rebels would only empower ISIS in the long run. And that’s when things got weird.

1 in 9 goes hungry worldwide

One out of every nine people in the world does not have enough food to eat. An annual report from the United Nations released Tuesday estimates that 805 million people suffer from “chronic undernourishment.” The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned that “food-insecurity” remains “unacceptably high” in certain developing economies.

Is Ebola Pox The Ultimate Doomsday Virus Being Readied For Release?

With recent headlines about Ebola in west Africa, the Congo, and it’s terrifying outbreak with fears of it’s spreading across the world, along with the now drowned out news of “forgotten” smallpox vials, as well as more than 300 other vials containing biological materials such as dengue, influzena, Q fever, ricksettsia and many more deadly viruses and diseases, a “rare virus spreading in the US that only attacks children and strange changes to the CDC website, it is critical for people to be reminded of a Russian scientist by the name of Ken Alibek aka Dr. Kanatjan Alibekov, who defected to the United States in 1992. Mr.

Solar Storm 2014: A New Carrington Event Could Fry Electronics Like An EMP From A Nuclear Bomb

Scientists are rightfully worried that our current solar cycle might trigger an electronics collapse of anything not electromagnetically shielded. The weakest link is the electric power grid — which we all depend on nowadays — and some of the aging satellite systems that do not have military grade hardware protection. Can you imagine all electronics either fizzling out or bursting into flame?

U.N. to dump flood of Muslim refugees in the United States

Displaced Syrians will likely make up the next big wave of Muslim refugees coming to America. Since the early 1990s, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees has selected 200,000 to 250,000 refugees from Islamic countries to be resettled in the United States. Most of them have come from Somalia and Iraq.

Far-Eastern Russian Volcano Spews Ash Over 40 Kilometers

The Karymsky volcano on the far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula has emitted an ash plume reaching 3,000 meters high, and the cloud has drifted over 40 kilometers from the volcano, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said Tuesday. The volcano has been assigned a “yellow” aviation code for “signs of elevated unrest,” the ministry said in a statement. (Read the rest of the story here…)

In Private Meeting, Obama Revealed What He Would Have Done if He Was ‘Adviser to ISIS’

Speaking to a “group of visitors” during a private meeting, President Barack Obama reportedly imagined a far-fetched hypothetical scenario in which he was an “advisor to ISIS” prior to the beheading of two American journalists. The New York Times, citing “several people who were in the meeting,” reports that the president claimed Islamic State terrorists made a serious strategic mistake by murdering the hostages. He then reportedly revealed what he would’ve suggested if he had been “an adviser to ISIS.