Thousands of Pakistanis are fleeing to Afghanistan to avoid a military launch against the Taliban. Pakistani soldiers are going door-to-door in the area demanding that Afghan refugees, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades, go back to Afghanistan as well. Afghan officials question how many more refugees they can house and feed in the midst of a food shortage.

As Election Day draws near, listeners and readers from around the country have been submitting questions about voting regulations. NPR's Pam Fessler answers some of those most frequently asked.

Two 80-something film critics, Marcia Nasatir and Lorenzo Semple, review movies on YouTube. They share some of their all-time favorite films.

Many investors are fixing their gaze on Washington, D.C., to see whether financial leaders meeting there can do anything to relieve the financial crisis. The Dow industrial average was swinging wildly from the start Friday, trading well below 8,500. European shares prices have also tumbled, as did every stock market in Asia.

The nuclear disarmament deal between North Korea and the United States appears to be unraveling. North Korea has banned U.N. inspectors from a nuclear weapons complex, and there are reports that it may be getting ready to test some short-range missiles.

The credit crisis is definitely affecting ordinary people. Customers are finding that when they need a loan, they are unable to get one. It's not because their credit is bad — it's because banks are afraid to loan money to each other.

Polls indicate that more Americans trust Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama than Republican John McCain when it comes to dealing with the economy. McCain has been unable to score many political points for his economic platform, so he's targeting Obama's character.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama told a crowd in Cincinnati that he can take four more weeks of John McCain's attacks. But America, he said, can't take four more years of John McCain's policies — which are George Bush's policies. Obama added that "enough is enough."

Japan's Nikkei index lost nearly 10 percent Friday, following a plunge in U.S. stock prices. This week alone, the Japanese index has lost nearly 25 percent of its value. Other Asian stock markets also dropped Friday. In Europe, stock prices tumbled as the markets opened.

A top labor leader is making an unusually blunt pitch to working-class white voters in key battleground states. Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, urges members to ignore race and vote for Barack Obama.

One crucial element in understanding and fixing the financial crisis is liquidity. The waterfall of cash that buoyed the global economy in recent years has gone dry. Getting capital flowing again is proving to be an enormous, and so far unsuccessful, challenge.

Many of the world's financial leaders are meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss how to restore something that has turned out to be easy to lose and hard to get back: confidence in the financial markets. Britain's Alistair Darling says governments around the world will have to work together to end the crisis and stop it from happening again.

There's a new way to relieve the stress of these times. Customers at Sarah's Smash Shack in San Diego pay to throw plates and glass against a wall. A sign says "Break More Stuff." One couple came after the credit crisis kept them from getting a home mortgage. The husband calls it the best $50 he ever spent.

Mother's Cookies, the company that makes the Circus Animal cookies with pink and white frosting and sprinkles, is shutting down. Founded 92 years ago in Oakland, Calif., it changed hands many times. Its owner filed for bankruptcy protection this week, citing the cost of raw materials and fuel plus difficulty finding credit.

One key part of the $700 billion rescue plan requires the government to take "toxic assets" off the books of financial institutions. The Treasury Department has said it will use market mechanisms where possible, such as reverse auctions. But a reverse auction, in which the government agrees to purchase a specific number of assets at the lowest price, is complicated.