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Actor Dean Norris took to Twitter the other day. "Missed last night's Breaking Bad," he wrote. "Heard it was intense. Filmed several alternate versions. Can't wait to see what they used."

Please note: There's a spoiler farther down this page.

Norris plays — played? — a drug enforcement agent on the acclaimed AMC series, which wraps for good after just two more episodes. His character's brother-in-law is a chemistry teacher with cancer who, at the series' outset, gets into cooking methamphetamine to pay for his treatment.

But even as Breaking Bad began to wind down, Norris kept busy on Under the Dome, a summer sci-fi show based on a Stephen King novel. His character, Big Jim Rennie, is a small-town politician who takes control after the town is cut off — literally, by a giant dome that suddenly materializes above it — from the outside world.

Norris tells Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep that "having played a morally constrained character for five to six years with Hank, it's nice to play a character who's less morally constrained [on Under the Dome]."

During the 2012 presidential race, Republican Mitt Romney was mocked by President Obama during a debate for calling Russia — and not al-Qaida — the "number one geopolitical foe" of the United States.

But a new Gallup poll released Wednesday shows perhaps some belated support for the Romney view: More Americans see Russia as unfriendly or an enemy — as opposed to friendly or an ally — for the first time since at least 1999.

According to the survey, 50 percent of Americans consider Russia unfriendly or an enemy, while 44 percent think the country is friendly or an ally. (Specifically, 34 percent called it unfriendly, 16 percent an enemy, 31 percent friendly, and 13 percent an ally.)

The last time Gallup posed this question, in 2006, 73 percent of those polled called Russia friendly or an ally, compared to just 20 percent who saw it as unfriendly or an enemy.

Gallup's most recent poll was conducted Sunday and Monday, not long after Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an op-ed in The New York Times critical of Obama's foreign policy approach, his speech to the American people on Syria, and the idea of American exceptionalism.

Putin continues to stand by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, and he recently granted National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum in Russia. But he also assisted the U.S. in reaching a deal to require Syria to surrender its chemical weapon stockpile.

The poll found that 54 percent of Americans view Putin unfavorably, and 19 percent hold a favorable view. The last time Gallup asked Americans their opinion of Putin — 10 years ago — 38 percent had a favorable impression of the Russian leader, with 28 percent unfavorable.

In the most recent poll, 72 percent of respondents said they approved of the Syria plan that Putin helped broker, which calls for Syria to turn over its chemical weapons to an international body. Eighteen percent of Americans disapproved of the deal, which interrupted Obama's call for congressional approval for a military strike on Syria

During the 2012 presidential race, Republican Mitt Romney was mocked by President Obama during a debate for calling Russia — and not al-Qaida — the "number one geopolitical foe" of the United States.

But a new Gallup poll released Wednesday shows perhaps some belated support for the Romney view: More Americans see Russia as unfriendly or an enemy — as opposed to friendly or an ally — for the first time since at least 1999.

According to the survey, 50 percent of Americans consider Russia unfriendly or an enemy, while 44 percent think the country is friendly or an ally. (Specifically, 34 percent called it unfriendly, 16 percent an enemy, 31 percent friendly, and 13 percent an ally.)

The last time Gallup posed this question, in 2006, 73 percent of those polled called Russia friendly or an ally, compared to just 20 percent who saw it as unfriendly or an enemy.

Gallup's most recent poll was conducted Sunday and Monday, not long after Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an op-ed in The New York Times critical of Obama's foreign policy approach, his speech to the American people on Syria, and the idea of American exceptionalism.

Putin continues to stand by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, and he recently granted National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum in Russia. But he also assisted the U.S. in reaching a deal to require Syria to surrender its chemical weapon stockpile.

The poll found that 54 percent of Americans view Putin unfavorably, and 19 percent hold a favorable view. The last time Gallup asked Americans their opinion of Putin — 10 years ago — 38 percent had a favorable impression of the Russian leader, with 28 percent unfavorable.

In the most recent poll, 72 percent of respondents said they approved of the Syria plan that Putin helped broker, which calls for Syria to turn over its chemical weapons to an international body. Eighteen percent of Americans disapproved of the deal, which interrupted Obama's call for congressional approval for a military strike on Syria

If you are trying to buy a home, you just got good news: The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is not going to try to drive up long-term interest rates just yet.

Stock investors are happy for you. They like cheap mortgages too because a robust housing market creates jobs. To celebrate, they bought more shares, sending the Dow Jones industrial average up 147.21 to an all-time high of 15,676.94.

Unfortunately, if you are a retiree who wants a higher return on your savings in the bank — well, sorry. The interest paid to you will be meager.

In fact, the Fed's surprising announcement on interest rates created lots of winners and losers. But before sorting them out, let's first look at what happened:

Policymakers for the central bank met this week and concluded that the U.S. economy is still weak enough to need their help. They said they recognize that the country has seen "improvement in economic activity and labor market conditions," but they added that the Fed still has to tamp down interest rates as officials "await more evidence that progress will be sustained."

Their decision stunned most economists, who believed Fed officials were ready to switch gears away from the long-standing policy of restraining interest rates. The low-rate strategy has been in place throughout the Great Recession and slow recovery.

But many experts say it's time for a change. They think the economy is strong enough to allow interest rates to start to return to historical norms.

Back in June, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke himself suggested such a switch would come by year's end.

But since then, interest rates on mortgages have been ratcheting up on their own — in anticipation of the coming change. Ditto for interest rates on Treasury securities.

Then on Wednesday afternoon, Bernanke and his fellow policymakers sprang their surprise. After taking a harder look at the most recent information, they decided not to change course after all.

They are worried that congressional Republicans and the White House might have another big showdown this fall, which could rattle markets. And Fed officials don't like seeing the latest higher mortgage rates, which have been scaring off some potential homebuyers.

"The tightening of financial conditions observed in recent months, if sustained, could slow the pace of improvement in the economy and the labor market," the Fed officials said in a statement.

So for the time being, the Fed will not back off its strategy of buying $85 billion a month in bonds to push down on long-term interest rates. It could still taper those purchases by year's end if the policymakers think conditions have changed, but for now, the low-rate strategy is firmly in place.

As a result, these groups cheered the Fed announcement:

Homebuyers and sellers. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates, which jumped from about 3.5 percent in April to around 4.5 percent recently, are more likely now to halt their upward march. That may prompt more people to get into the homebuying market.

Stock owners. Shares become more valuable when investors can't get much of a return from interest payments on insured securities. So stock prices shot to record highs as of Wednesday's close.

Gold owners. The price of gold surged more than 4 percent to about $1,360. The hike came because gold gets more attractive in times of economic uncertainty and inflation. Some people believe the Fed's current policies eventually will lead to inflation.

And these groups found little to celebrate:

Gas guzzlers. The price of oil — just like gold — rose on inflation fears. By late afternoon, U.S. crude had risen more than $3 per barrel to a high of $108.49.

Conservative savers. If you like to keep your money in very safe securities, your interest income will stay depressed. For example, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note plunged to 2.71 percent after the announcement, down from 2.90 percent.

Job seekers. Not that you needed anyone to tell you this, but the Fed said the economic outlook is not great. It sees growth of 2.3 percent at best this year, down from its earlier forecast of growth as strong as 2.6 percent.