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NPR's John Ydstie reports the unemployment rate remained unchanged in October at 5.2%. But the economy did manage to generate a healthy number of new jobs -- business payrolls were up 210,000 for the month. There were several other reports on the economy today...the last batch of information before the Presidential election next week.

Delta and Continental are talking about the possiblity of merging the two airlines, according to published reports. The talks are described as preliminary, but analysts point out that both airlines have pulled off impressive turnarounds and few overlapping routes. The complementary route structure would make it easier for the two airlines to clear regulatory hurdles. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

General Motors reports that its profits for the third quarter of 1996 are double what they were for the same quarter last year. NPR's Don Gonyea reports that despite the good financial news, more than ten thousand auto workers have been laid off from GM plants in the US and in Mexico due to the Canadian Auto Workers' strike against GM.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports that Ford Motor Company has been forced to close three assembly plants, idling some 6,800 workers. The plant closings were made necessary because of a UAW strike at a key parts-manufacturer, Johnson Controls, Inc. The company makes seats for Ford's popular Expedition model. The UAW and Johnson Control are still negotiating, but there were no reports of progress.

Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros released a report today suggesting that in the past four years, the Clinton administration has moved thousands of homeless from shelters to independence. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that advocates for the homeless say the administration has taken the right approach. But they add that it's barely making a dent in the problem, and they worry that welfare reform and changes in the economy will swallow up any gains.

In Central America, most of the best musicians around wind up in cover bands, because it pays better than trying to do original material. But Prueba de Sonido refuses to do that. This Salvadoran band hopes its style of rock propels it onto the international stage. Reporter Clark Boyd reports from San Salvador.

Gregory Crouch reports from the Netherlands that Dutch voters go to the polls for the second time in eight months today. The party of slain right-wing Dutch politician Pym Fortuyn is plummeting in popularity after months of negative news reports about its members. Fortuyn, best known for his anti-immigrant stance, was assassinated a few days before last year's elections.

Sprint Corporation confirms its two top executives are leaving the company. The Wall Street Journal reports that CEO William Esrey and President Ronald LeMay were forced out in a boardroom dispute over their use of a tax shelter. Matt Hackworth of member station KCUR reports.

Each night this week on All Things Considered, reporter Deborah Amos examines the sixty billion dollar illegal drug trade in this country. Today in the first report from her series, Amos covers the status of America's war on drugs, and the effects on people on both sides of that war. There's more at http://www.npr.org/news/specials/drugwars/.

Office equipment company Xerox is in trouble. Today, Xerox reported its first quarterly loss in sixteen years. As NPR's Jack Speer reports, the company is selling off assets and laying off employees to try and reduce its debt load. It is also seeking to regain dominance of the market for copiers and low-price printers, after ceding much of the territory to aggressive competitors such as Ricoh, Canon and Hewlett Packard.