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A solid majority — 59 percent — say that smokers should pay more for health insurance than nonsmokers in the latest NPR-Thomson Reuters Health Poll.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. homes with mortgages are underwater. But federal budget cuts have sharply reduced the supply of housing counselors who can help distressed homeowners in the nation's hardest hit communities. One Virginia city is demanding — with some success — that banks pick up the tab.

For the first time, the U.S. government has officially named China as the world's leading source of economic espionage, largely using cybertools — followed by Russia. Intelligence officials say the new candor reflects their heightened level of concern over the growing espionage threat.

The animal is reminiscent of Scrat, the fictional character from the film Ice Age, but the find is important scientifically because it closes a 60-million-year gap in the mammalian fossil record of South America.

The new U.S. food safety law will require foreign growers and manufacturers to prove their products are safe before they're shipped to the United States. Food and Drug Administration officials went to China to explain what that country's problem-plagued food system will have to do to measure up.

The worst could be yet to come in Spain — not because of public debt, but because its banks are still laden with unpaid real estate loans, putting both sectors in jeopardy. Small banks, with much of their assets in mortgage loans, are most vulnerable.

Americans for Prosperity first enlisted the Republican presidential candidate in 2005 to spearhead what it called the Prosperity Expansion Project. Herman Cain met his future campaign manager, his first press secretary and the architect of his 9-9-9 tax plan while working with the organization.

A story in The Atlantic uncovers new information about the alliance between the United States and Pakistan, including a move by Pakistan to disperse its nuclear weapons in civilian vehicles after the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Host Steve Inskeep speaks to the author, Jeffrey Goldberg, about what's been discovered.

Swat Valley was once Pakistan's premier vacation spot. The area is trying to regain its appeal after regional conflict and massive floods. Co-hosts Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne report on an effort underway to rebuild Swat Valley's economy.

Friday morning, the Labor Department releases its unemployment report for October. The unemployment rate has been stuck above 9 percent for most of the past three years, and it's not expected to dip below that this month. Host Renee Montagne speaks with NPR's Jim Zarroli about the numbers and the outlook for the U.S. economy.