(Continued from page 34)

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be ready for the question. And lawmakers will be eager for an answer:
• What's going on with the economy?
• It's a question that's raising fears and dividing economists inside and outside the Fed. How much guidance Bernanke will provide when he visits Capitol Hill on Thursday is unclear.
• In its most recent economic forecasts in late April, the Fed upgraded its outlook for 2012. It predicted more growth and lower unemployment than it had three months earlier. Since then, job growth has slumped. Stock prices have dropped. Europe's debt crisis has deepened.
• Now, members of the Joint Economic Committee will want to know whether Bernanke and the Fed have turned gloomier -- and, if so, whether they're likely to act further to aid the economy.
• ___

• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An "America's Got Talent" singer whose Afghanistan War injury claims have been called into question wouldn't face vetting by producers unless he made it into the final rounds, according to a person familiar with the production.
• Timothy Michael Poe was among about 4,000 people who vied for a spot on the NBC series, which doesn't scrutinize contestants until they reach the ranks of the top 48, said the person, who wasn't authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
• NBC relies on the show's producers, FremantleMedia North America and Syco Television, to conduct background checks on contestants when the field is narrowed, the person said, which is typical among TV reality series. NBC and the show's producers have declined all comment on the Poe matter.
• It's unknown whether Poe, a guitar-strumming country singer, is among the top 48 picked in a Las Vegas audition round in April or if he's out of the competition. The person would not reveal Poe's fate on the show, nor would NBC or the show's pro

(Continued on page 36)