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Each holiday season, thousands of people find temporary jobs helping retail companies meet the demands of the busiest shopping period of the year. This year, many companies are being cautious about additional hiring because consumers are expected to spend only slightly more than last year.

The federal government said it has found a "strong association" between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year.

The world's largest atom smasher made another leap forward Monday by circulating beams of protons in opposite directions at the same time in the $10 billion machine after more than a year of repairs, organizers said.

Home resales far exceeded expectations last month, surging 10.1 percent to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit. Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million in October.

The abysmal job market is making it hard for some to start making student loan payments, which come due this month for May graduates. A new law could ease the pain for some: It limits monthly payments to 15 percent of a graduate's income.

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

The government-sponsored insurance alternative known as the public option stands as the biggest sticking point, though it's not the only one.

One of the most popular programs on Iraqi TV these days is Hotline, a call-in show that allows viewers to take their problems directly to the highest government officials. It offers an unprecedented chance for ordinary Iraqis to confront their government.

Philippine troops found 21 bodies in the country's restive south after dozens of gunmen on Monday hijacked a convoy of politicians and supporters filing their nominations for next year's elections, officials said. The identities of the gunmen were unclear but victims' relatives blamed political rivals.

In Northern Ireland, a 400-pound car bomb failed to detonate over the weekend. It was placed outside police headquarters in Belfast, and that has residents wondering if dissident factions of the IRA are intent on stepping up violence.

The brutal killing of a Chicago teenager in September brought U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the city to speak out about youth violence. Now that the Cabinet members are back in Washington, what is happening in the effort to stop youth violence? Some Chicago teenagers are taking on the issue themselves.

Thanksgiving is just days away, and for many Americans, that means taking to the highways. This week, NPR looks at ways to improve road safety. Today: the testing and technologies that are making vehicles safer.

A Charlotte, N.C., construction firm is among an increasing number of small companies trying a strategy that makes the firing process a bit gentler. It's called "attached unemployment," a kind of temporary layoff aimed at softening the blow of job cuts.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has denounced the actions of some Israeli soldiers who support Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Some Israelis say the soldiers are heros. Palestinians demand Israel freeze all settlement activity as a condition for restarting peace talks. The international community views the settlements as illegal.

Some moderates threatened Sunday to scuttle legislation if their demands aren't met, while more liberal members warned their party leaders not to bend.

We're headed into the year's biggest travel week, and there's not much bigger than what's sitting in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., right now. It's called the Oasis of the Seas, and it's the largest cruise ship ever built — five times the size of the Titanic, with a price tag of $1.5 billion.

Irish Republican Army dissidents left a 400-pound car bomb outside police reform headquarters in Belfast but the homemade device failed to detonate, Northern Ireland's police commander said Sunday.

Rescuers worked in frigid cold to reach 21 miners trapped underground Sunday as the death toll from a huge gas explosion in a northern Chinese mine jumped to 87 — the deadliest blast to hit the beleaguered industry in nearly two years.

The shimmering, white glove Michael Jackson wore when he premiered his trademark moonwalk dance in 1983 was auctioned off for $350,000 — plus tax — on Saturday.

The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood will be confined until his military trial, initially staying in a hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds, his attorney said Saturday.

The Obama administration has launched the Financial Fraud Task Force to investigate issues related to the economic crisis. The Department of Justice will lead the task force's efforts to combat fraud in such areas as mortgage lending, stimulus spending and the government's bailout of the financial sector. Host Liane Hansen talks with Department of Justice Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, who will be one of the leaders of the task force.

Barack Obama's presidential campaign was one of several successful, modern-day political campaigns to break through racial barriers. Is this an indication that America is experiencing a shift toward political colorblindness?

A team of New Zealand conservators is planning to unearth two crates of Scotch whisky belonging to polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. The crates have been trapped under the Antarctic ice for a century. Host Liane Hansen speaks with Alistair Fastier, of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, who will be leading the expedition.

Astronaut Randolph Bresnik is a new dad again, after launching into space and taking a spacewalk, all for the first time.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving the central sacrament of the church because of the congressman's support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

Highway safety has improved through better vehicle technology, smarter road designs and reformed behaviors, such as reduced drunken driving. But fatalities are still high: In 2008, more than 37,000 people were killed in crashes involving motor vehicles. This week, as the holiday travel season begins, NPR will explore these issues.

Journalist Charles Sabine watched his father die from the degenerative illness Huntington's disease. After watching his brother struggle with the disease for years, Sabine decided to be tested. "Nothing that I've experienced compares with that test in terms of the terror that it inflicted on me," he says. Sabine says his young daughter does not have the Huntington's gene.

The University of Akron said it could ask new workers for a DNA sample to run background checks. But an anti-discrimination law that went into full effect Nov. 21 prevents employers from requiring workers to share genetic information.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs 60 votes — that's every Democrat and both Independents — to clear the way for a vote on historic heath care legislation Saturday. The final two Democrats fell in line Saturday afternoon — Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. But the holdouts still expressed strong reluctance about the "public option" in Reid's bill.

Senate Democrats pushed through a procedural wall Saturday night and formally opened the floor debate on their effort to overhaul the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system. The Senate mustered 60 votes, the exact number required to prevent a Republican filibuster against consideration of the bill, in a straight party-line vote.

These days, if you want to find a fling, a friend or a cheap used sofa, you might check Craigslist. But decades before Craig Newmark posted his first list, computer users all over the country were connecting through electronic bulletin boards.

The historic health care overhaul plan proposed by Congressional Democrats makes its way to the Senate for a test vote tonight. The sweeping legislation sets the stage for a showdown between Republicans and a fragmented Democratic majority. Sixty votes are required to advance the bill toward full debate. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sen. Dick Durbin, the majority whip of the Senate.

While President Obama weighs his options on Afghanistan, one thing is clear: The U.S. is beefing up its civilian presence there. The aid effort has been hobbled from the start, and many experts consider it a weak link in the struggle to build a stable society in the conflicted country. Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew insists that the U.S. is now recruiting the right kind of people, but before those people head to Afghanistan, they get trained to work with the military at a base in Indiana.

For the second time in a week, a panel of medical experts has recommended that younger women be tested less frequently for cancer. The latest advice is that women can wait until 21 to have their first Pap test for cervical cancer. Many women can skip annual Pap smears after that. The guidance comes after another recommendation earlier this week that routine mammograms needn't start until age 50. NPR digital health correspondent Scott Hensley has been following the changes and joins host Scott Simon to talk about it.

The Web site Recovery.gov lists the jobs the Obama administration claims to have saved or created. In one company the government certainly did helped save a jobs, but it wasn't in manufacturing or technology.

The administration has made $45 billion available for doctors and hospital across the country to digitize medical records. This money, part of the government's stimulus plan, promises what amounts to a gold rush for major technology firms, who have begun competing to win those accounts. But Fred Schulte, senior reporter for the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, says some health care professionals wonder if the promise of electronic medical records has been exaggerated. Host Scott Simon talks to Schulte about the potential pitfalls.

Dozens of demonstrators who barricaded themselves inside a campus building at the University of California, Berkeley in a protest over fee hikes and budget cuts were removed late Friday, bringing the daylong occupation to an end, university officials said.

Wide-eyed children around the world will be hearing from Santa's "elves" at the North Pole after all.