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Wal-Mart's employment practices are under fire from labor unions. Demonsrations were held Thursday in 40 states. The discount leviathan shrugs at union criticism. Company officials note that previous union bids to organize Wal-Mart have failed. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports on the Bush administration's decision to cut pay raises for non-military government workers. Cutting the scheduled pay raise one point -- to 3.1 percent -- will save the federal government about $1 billion. The move drew sharp rebukes from union officials. (3:20)

Being in the National Guard doesn't mean giving up a couple of weekends anymore -- longer stints are becoming more common across the globe. Oregon Public Broadcasting's Colin Fogarty reports on a group of National Guardsman from Oregon who found themselves stationed in Egypt's Sinai desert. (5:30)

Next month, Louisville, Ky., will catapult from its mid-sized city ranking to become the nation's 16th most populous city. City officials hope to see an increase in business when Louisville merges with its surrounding county. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

A British Columbia mass-murder trial is the focus of a debate over U.S. press freedom. The lawyer for defendant Robert Pickton, who's accused of killing 15 women, plans to request that a hearing be closed to the public and media. NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court will review two landmark decisions. One involves a 1978 decision allowing affirmative action in college admissions. The high court will also revisit its 1986 decision upholding state laws that criminalize private, consensual homosexual conduct. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

A last-minute addition to the Homeland Security Act effectively cancels more than 200 lawsuits against drug maker Eli Lilly. The cases involve children whose autism may be tied to a vaccine developed by Lilly. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

United Airlines meets with mechanics union officials to try to persuade it them to take salary cuts to stave off bankruptcy. The mechanics are the last holdout in a companywide effort to reduce labor costs. United faces a Monday deadline for a huge debt payment. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

Jazz pianist James P. Johnson -- the "father of stride" -- once collaborated with poet Langston Hughes on De Organizer, an opera describing union organizing among blacks in the 1920s. For 60 years, the work was forgotten. But a production of the opera opens Tuesday in Detroit. Celeste Headlee of member station WDET reports.

So many election polls this year were just plain wrong. People no longer want to talk to pollsters on the phone. And more people are using cell phones, which traditionally aren't polled. NPR's Andy Bowers reports.