Mark Memmott

The Federal Reserve and five of the world's other major central banks just announced "coordinated actions ... to ease strains in financial markets" and make more credit available to consumers and businesses by pumping money into the global financial system.

In a statement released at 8 a.m. ET, the Fed says:

"A huge spectrum" of government workers in the United Kingdom are striking today to show their anger over austerity plans.

As NPR's Philip Reeves told Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep earlier, "teachers, lecturers, immigration staff, tax officials, ambulance crews, midwifes, road sweepers, weather forecasters, librarians and many more" are planning to take part in what's being called Britain's biggest general strike in a generation.

The Occupy L.A. campsite near Los Angeles' city hall is "in shambles" this morning after police moved in to clear out protesters who had been ordered to leave, the Los Angeles Times writes. Tents have been "uprooted and strewn all over," the newspaper says.

The doctor found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of pop star Michael Jackson was just sentenced to four years in prison.

(New material based on NPR reporting added to the top of this post at 12:30 p.m. ET.)

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is reassessing his campaign but still plans to move ahead at this time, his Iowa campaign director tells The Associated Press and NPR.

Though "overall readings remain historically weak," consumer confidence went up sharply this month, the private research group known as The Conference Board just reported.

Home prices across the U.S. are still only "back to their first quarter of 2003 levels" and "drifted lower in September and the third quarter," according to the widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which were just released.

As The Associated Press says, the news is "the latest evidence that the troubled housing market won't recover any time soon."

Anders Behring Breivik had been delusional for a long time and was insane on July 22 when he killed 77 people during two horrific attacks in Norway, two psychiatrists reported today. He should be put in a psychiatric ward, not a prison, they conclude.

Good morning.

Things have already been a bit busy, with some breaking news. Here are our early headlines:

-- American Airlines Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.