Amanda Moore

The midterm elections are fast-approaching and many of the races are shaping up to be neck-and-neck. The Republicans have to gain 39 seats in the House and ten in the Senate in order to win majorities in both. But with public turnout for midterms usually very low, how much can these elections (or the campaigns leading up to them) help us predict the country's political future?

With Wall Street indexes down for a third straight day yesterday and poor economic reports in recent weeks, the outlook for global economies does not look bright.

Florida may be giving Arizona a run for its money when it comes to cracking down on illegal immigration. According to a 2008 Pew Hispanic Center report, the Sunshine State ranks third in unauthorized immgrants, behind California and Texas. Now some state lawmakers are trying to pass legislation to change those numbers in a big way.

In an effort to help fight childhood obesity, doctors at several Massachusetts health centers have begun distributing prescriptions for farmers' market produce to their patients.

General Motors has announced its second quarter earnings of $1.3 billion. There had been much anticipation surrounding this report, as many were speculating that GM, which came out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. This means that they earned more than $2 billion dollars in the first six months of this year. This is a major turnaround for the company, even though they have a long way to go to make up for the losses that forced them into bankruptcy.

BP has pledged to give $20 billion in compensation to victims of the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil gusher. So far, $300 million has been distributed, but many are concerned that some portion of this money has gone to people scamming the system.

The NFL's 2010 season officially begins in 27 days and we want to get up to speed on how exactly the NFL works and what to look for as the season gears up.

The 9.5 percent unemployment rate does not count a huge number of Americans: People who are out of a job and have given up looking. With millions of people out of work and competing with each other for the small percentage of open jobs, it makes sense that a significant portion will call it quits – at least for the time being – and cease searching for employment all together.

If you're unemployed but not looking for work, tell us: At what point did you stop looking for a job?

What would our world look like without paperback books? One publishing company has taken one step closer to the reality of eliminating paperback books entirely. Dorchester Publishing has decided to change its printing schedule, focusing first on e-books, followed by a print-on-demand run of paperbacks. The question is: will this be the trend for paperback book publishers to follow?

Pakistan's worst flooding in 80 years has killed hundreds and displaced what's estimated to be more than a million people. The United States has pledged $10 million in relief, in addition to providing helicopters and other critical supplies to Pakistan. But is this enough relief to matter?

Attempts to permanently seal the ruptured BP oil rig are now well underway, but major concerns about the gusher's cleanup continue to swirl around the Gulf Coast. 

This year marks 50 years of independence for 17 sub-Saharan African countries and, partly to honor this milestone, President Obama is hosting a three-day forum in Washington, D.C. with approximately 120 "young African leaders."  The event kicks off today and ends Thursday.

The proposal for a new Islamic center to be built just two blocks from Ground Zero could move forward, today. New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission will most likely vote against granting protected status to the 152-year-old building, which would allow the proposed center to replace it.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mexico is one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press. More than 30 journalists have been killed or disappeared in the country since President Felipe Calderón was elected in 2006. 

Four Mexican journalists are still missing after being kidnapped Monday by alleged members of a drug cartel. Three of the missing journalists are television cameramen, while one is a newspaper reporter. They were were all kidnapped after reportedly photographing a protest at Gómez Palacio prison, in the state of Durango. The protests came on the heels of the arrest of Margarita Rojas, the head of the prison, who is accused of allowing armed prisoners to leave the prison and carry out a mass killing a week earlier.

Yesterday, we reported on the last-minute ruling by an Arizona federal judge, which put a hold on many of the controversial provisions in the state's new immigration law, such as requiring immigrants to carry their papers with them at all times and officers to check the immigration status of people detained for other reasons. 

President Obama is scheduled to speak today on education reform, just days after a team of civil rights groups joined forces to release a policy framework criticizing his education policies. Obama's speech is part of the program for the National Urban League's Centennial Conference this week.

A new AP-Univision poll says more than eight out of ten Latinos in America believe the most important goal for high school graduates is to continue their educations.  94 percent of the more than 1,500 Latinos polled said they expect their children to go to college.

The Great Lakes' ecosystem could soon be facing a major threat by the Asian carp, an invasive fish. But the carp have a determined opponent: 11-year-old Ellie Moskowitz.

The number of foreclosures on houses in the United States is growing at a rapid rate. The signs of a broken housing market have permeated nearly the entire country. With the federal government now in control of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is it fair to blame the feds for the crisis?

BP has been under fire since April for its responsibility in the Gulf of Mexico's disastrous oil gusher. Ironically, the same week the oil is finally contained, BP faces more trouble — this time involving the release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi.