Mark Memmott

"Now is not my time," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just said at a news conference in Trenton — ruling out a run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

"New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me," Christie added.

Update at 1:10 p.m. ET. More From Christie:

The governor said he did consider making a bid. He had been asked to run by many people, Christie said, and "felt an obligation to earnestly consider their advice."

The trial of the Nigerian man who authorities say tried to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear as a jetliner prepared to land in Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 began with some drama today in Detroit.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab declared as jury selection got underway that "Anwar is alive" — a reference to American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed on Friday by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

Federal Reserve policymakers expect "a somewhat slower pace of economic growth over coming quarters" than they had been forecasting just four months ago, Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress this hour.

There has been, he added in a statement prepared for the Joint Economic Committee, a "deterioration in the economic outlook over the summer."

Apply all the usual caveats: Poll numbers go up, poll numbers go down and we're still months away from Republicans actually casting meaningful votes for their presidential contenders.

Good morning.

Our headlines so far today:

-- Scores Killed By Truck Bomb In Somalia

-- Inspector General: Fannie Mae Was Told About Foreclosure Abuse In 2003.

One of the hottest stories this morning is word that, as The Associated Press puts it, "mortgage giant Fannie Mae knew about allegations of improper foreclosure practices by law firms in 2003 but did not act to stop them, a government watchdog says."

There's been a deadly bombing today in the capital of Somalia.

"Islamist militants detonated a truck bomb Tuesday in front of the Ministry of Education in Mogadishu, killing at least 70 people, wounding dozens and shattering a relative calm that had prevailed ... for weeks," The Associated Press reports.

According to the BBC:

"Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers have come to terms on a new four-year contract that trades annual pay raises for profit sharing and a signing bonus and promises thousands of new jobs building cars and trucks," The Associated Press writes.

Details aren't out yet, but the union has confirmed on its Twitter page that a "tentative agreement" has been reached.

Her murder conviction overturned by an Italian appeals court, American Amanda Knox has left Italy and is making her way home to Seattle, The Associated Press reports.

Now, the BCC writes:

Three U.S.-born scientists whose work indicates that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate have been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

American Saul Perlmutter will share the $1.5 million award with U.S.-Australian Brian Schmidt and U.S. scientist Adam Riess, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this morning.

In its statement announcing the honors, the academy writes that