If Greece, Spain, Italy or other European governments were to suddenly default on their debts, European banks could find themselves holding worthless assets and becoming insolvent. That could lead to a global financial meltdown worse than the one in 2008.

Insurgent candidate Herman Cain suspended his campaign on Saturday. As Cain has fallen back, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has emerged as the leading alternative to one-time presumptive front-runner Mitt Romney. NPR's Mara Liasson talks with host Audie Cornish about the changing political climate.

Holden Village, Wash., is a tiny town that faces big pollution problems from its long history with copper mining. The only way to clean up the mess is to almost shut it down completely for several years. As Northwest News Network's Anna King reports, the project is costly in more ways than one.

The U.S. relationship with Pakistan is in crisis, a week after an incident in which NATO troops killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border. The Pakistanis have cut off a key NATO supply line to Afghanistan, and they've refused to take part in the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Lahore, Pakistan.

Herman Cain is a presidential candidate no more. Cain's campaign was always unconventional, and just as he made his unlikely rise to front-runner status, he was enveloped in controversy about alleged inappropriate behavior with women. His campaign never recovered. NPR's Tamara Keith looks back at his campaign.

Unemployment is especially stubborn in rural places. In central Idaho, the recession has left Fairfield struggling for survival. Not long ago, it was poised for growth, but this summer, unemployment topped 16 percent.

Traffickers are reportedly forcing illegal border crossers to smuggle drugs into the U.S. For courts along the border, it's a struggle to decide how to deal with terrified migrants, especially when there's no proof to their claims.