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A lot of emotion — and money — have been pouring into Ohio for an initiative on the November ballot. The measure would repeal a new state law that sharply curtails collective bargaining rights for public employees. Ida Lieszkovszky of StateImpact Ohio reports.

For almost 50 years workers have filed into the Whirlpool's plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas to build refrigerators, freezers and other home appliances. But after months of layoffs, Whirlpool announced plans to close the Fort Smith plant altogether. And that means more than 1,000 people will lose their jobs. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks with Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders, who worked at Whirlpool for more than 30 years, about how the shutdown will affect the city.

Raphael Bostic, the architect of President Obama's refinancing plan, says the plan has the potential to help millions of homeowners take advantage of historically low mortgage rates. But that alone won't heal the ailing housing market.

NPR has been reporting on the country's tough economic times for years, but in November, two reporters take the story on the road. Starting this week, correspondents Debbie Elliott and Richard Gonzales begin reporting for the NPR series Hard Times: A Journey Across America..

The New York Times' pay wall was seen as a risky move at the time, but the Gray Lady's third-quarter profit reports are in, and the results are better than expected. The paper's profits are up, and the Times has seen a boost in digital subscribers.

Rebuilding Libya will be complex, but the Libyans should be able to pay for reconstruction with their oil. Host Audie Cornish talks with John Hamilton, a Libya expert at Cross Border Information, about the current state and future of Libya's oil industry.

Month in and month out, Idaho's foreclosure rate remains one of the highest in the nation. Some former homeowners are finding themselves in an even tighter spot than they thought was possible. They've lost their homes and wrecked their credit ratings, yet, as StateImpact Idaho's Molly Messick reports, lenders are still pursuing them for the debt that remains.

Efforts to solve the European debt crisis are sure to be front and center when leaders of the countries that make up the G20 meet in France later this week. President Obama arrives in France on Thursday to meet with European leaders, and NPR's Scott Horsley joins host Audie Cornish to talk about the president's trip.

In Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Jason Morris led the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, which suffered the highest casualty rate of any Marine unit during the past 10 years of war. The "Darkhorse Battalion" commander says the unit's mission was a success — but he will live with the burden of those deaths.

Industry experts estimate trucking companies are short about 125,000 drivers. It's tough to fill open jobs; many who go into trucking seem to be in a hurry to get out of it. Learning how to drive an 18-wheeler is a big investment in itself, and the brutal job requirements make for high turnover.