Good morning.

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve finish up two days of meetings this afternoon and many eyes will be on the statement they make afterward. It's widely expected they will leave short-term interest rates alone, but investors will parse the Fed's words for clues to how its policymakers think the economy's doing.

Today's Financial Times, by the way, has a piece by University of Chicago economics professor Randall Kroszner about how difficult it is for the Fed and other central banks to figure out the right time to lift its foot off the accelerator.

And The Washington Post looks at the signs that we're having an economic recovery "only a statistician can love."

Over at the White House, President Barack Obama this morning will host a reception for the newest Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor. In the afternoon, he will hand out 16 Medals of Freedom. The honorees include Bishop Desmond Tutu, Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy and tennis legend Billie Jean King.

As for stories making headlines, they include:

— Morning Edition — Marines Move Into Taliban-Held Town In Southern Afganistan. From Helmand province, where she is embedded with U.S. Marines, NPR's Soroya Sarhaddi Nelson tells host Steve Inskeep that the U.S. forces she's with were met with a lot of resistance that lasted for several hours today, but that all is now quiet in the village:

The U.S. operation is part of an effort to push the Taliban out of towns and villages in Helmand prior to Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election. NPR's Renee Montagne, who's also in Afghanistan, reported on Morning Edition about a much different effort to boost voter participation — a "rock the vote" style concert featuring one of the country's most popular singers:

And, Renee filed the second part of her interview with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who talked about American efforts to go after the country's drug lords:

One more Afghanistan-related story to pass along. Morning Edition's Inskeep talked with defense analyst Anthony Cordesman, who makes the case that even more troops are needed to fight corruption and build that country:

— The Wall Street Journal — Democrats Say E-Mails Show Improprieties By Rove In Firing Of U.S. Attorneys: "House Democrats turned over to federal prosecutors thousands of investigative documents Tuesday, alleging they are evidence of impropriety by Karl Rove and other Bush White House officials in the controversial 2006 firing of nine U.S. attorneys. It remains far from certain whether the 5,400 pages of emails and other documents released Tuesday contain information that would help prosecutors bring criminal charges against Mr. Rove, who served as former President George W. Bush's political adviser, or against any other former Bush officials."

— The New York Times — "Shiites In Iraq Show Restraint As Sunnis Keep Attacking": "Shiite clerics and politicians have been successfully urging their followers not to retaliate against a fierce campaign of sectarian bombings, in which Shiites have accounted for most of the 566 Iraqis killed since American troops pulled out of Iraq's cities on June 30."

— Morning Edition — Debunking The "Kill Grandma Scare Tactic". NPR's Julie Rovner adds to the reporting that shows "no, the health care overhaul bill now working its way through Congress would not require seniors to learn how to die prematurely":

— The Associated Press — More Found Alive In Taiwan Towns Hit By Mudslides: "Rescuers have found nearly 1,000 people alive in the area around three remote villages devastated by Typhoon Morakot, which pummeled the island over the weekend, Taiwan's military said Wednesday."

Related report by NPR News' Giles Snyder — Many Still Missing: