A security breach at Target infuriated customers and threatened to drive off holiday shoppers during the company's busiest time of year. The nation's second-largest discounter acknowledged Thursday that data connected to about 40 million credit- and debit-card accounts was stolen as part of a breach that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. The theft is the second-largest credit-card breach in U.S. history. The Federal Reserve sent its strongest signal of confidence in the U.S. economy since the Great Recession, deciding Wednesday that the nation's economic prospects are finally bright enough to withstand a slight pullback in stimulus spending. The Fed says it will trim its $85 billion a month in bond purchases by $10 billion starting in January. But it also strengthened its commitment to record-low short-term interest rates, saying that it plans to hold its key short-term rate near zero "well past" the time when unemployment falls below 6.5 percent. Investors seemed elated by the news, sending the Dow Jones industrial average soaring. In a ruling with potentially far-reaching consequences, a federal judge declared Monday that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records likely violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on unreasonable search. The ruling, filled with blistering criticism of the Obama administration's arguments, is the first of its kind. Still, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon put his decision to grant an injunction against the NSA on hold, pending a near-certain government appeal, which may well end up at the Supreme Court. Congress sent President Obama legislation on Wednesday scaling back across-the-board cuts on programs ranging from the Pentagon to the national park system, adding a late dusting of bipartisanship to a year more likely to be remembered for a partial government shutdown and near-perpetual gridlock. The legislation passed the Democratic-controlled Senate on a vote of 64-36, six days after clearing the Republican-run House by a similarly bipartisan margin of 332-94. After more than 40 years of study, the government said Monday that it has found no evidence that common anti-bacterial soaps prevent the spread of germs. Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration are revisiting the safety of triclosan and other sanitizing agents found in soap in countless kitchens and bathrooms after recent studies suggest they can interfere with hormone levels in lab animals and spur the growth of drug-resistant bacteria. After spending 10 years in Russian jails for what many in the West believe were trumped-up offenses, former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky left prison a free man Friday and immediately flew to Germany. His departure came less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would pardon his long-time rival.