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The Federal Reserve lowered a key interest rate on Tuesday by three-quarters of a percentage point, a hefty cut that nonetheless was smaller than many analysts had expected. The federal funds rate now stands at 2.25 percent, the lowest since February 2005. It makes it easier for consumers and businesses to borrow money.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Kentucky's use of lethal injections for executions, clearing the way for a number of states to proceed with scheduled executions.

President Bush's emergency stimulus package proposes to put cash in the hands of consumers. Most observers expect that relief to take the form of tax rebate checks. But it's not yet clear how much the checks will be for, or who will qualify for them.

Actor Charlton Heston died over the weekend in Beverly Hills, Calif., at the age of 84. He did more than star in epic films like Midway and Ben-Hur. Some of his characters glimpsed our future — and our collective nightmares.

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced that he will step down on June 27, putting a firm date on the long goodbye that will end a decade on Downing Street. In an emotional speech, Blair said that 10 years was long enough for him — and for the country.

Jury selection begins in the trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case. Libby is charged with repeatedly lying under oath.

An emissary from Earth has landed on Mars. NASA's Phoenix probe touched down near the Martian North Pole on Sunday shortly before 8 p.m. ET.

On a deadly day in Iraq, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says most British military personnel will leave the country by the end of June.

The American Medical Association, which last week backed the House Democrats' version of a bill to overhaul health care, endorsed the measure not for what it is now, but for what it may yet become, Dr. James Rohack says. He says the status quo is unacceptable.

Credit card companies' practice of charging excessive interest rates hurts consumers — and it should be illegal, says financial historian Charles Geisst. The author of a new book about consumer debt, Geisst says one small change helped to shift attitudes about debt: what we call it.