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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.