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The once-rare possibility of a federal government shutdown reared its head again this week. This time it was over House Republicans' desire to pay for disaster relief costs with money for other, unrelated projects. NPR's David Welna explains the Capitol Hill machinations ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

Every week it seems there are more people looking for work, more companies laying people off, and more nations teetering at the edge of unrecoverable debt. But beyond the latest headlines of gloom, there is a fundamental shift going on in our economy and our world. Host Scott Simon talks with Mike Hawley, formerly of MIT's Media Lab, who says that shift may also hold great promise.

It's election day in the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain. Voters will be filling seats left vacant when the leading Shi'ite opposition party walked out of parliament to protest the crushing of unrest back in March. The opposition is calling for a boycott, and street protests have continued. But the government, with Washington's encouragement, insists it will maintain order and usher in genuine reforms. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Bahrain.

Two years ago, the Obama Administration secretly authorized the sale of 55 deep-penetrating bombs — or bunker busters — to Israel. That's according to an investigation by Newsweek magazine. The bombs could potentially be used in Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks with Eli Lake, the reporter who broke the story.

The former Godfather's Pizza CEO easily beat Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. It's a big victory for Cain, who up until now has not gotten a lot of attention in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, in large part because of his standing in the polls.

As a middle-school student in the '80s, Lee Buono stayed after school one day to remove the brain and spinal cord from a frog. He did such a good job that his science teacher told him he might become a neurosurgeon someday. That's exactly what Buono did.

A group of semi-nomadic Irish known as Travellers has been ordered to leave the former scrap yard east of London where they've been living. On Monday a judge will rule on their plea to remain on land that's been their home for a decade.

The Internet has become another battleground as the Syrian government expands its crackdown on opponents. Sophisticated Web surveillance of activists has led to numerous arrests.

Syria's government is quashing protest online as well as in the streets. Host Audie Cornish talks to NPR's Deb Amos in Beirut to expand on what the success of the Syrian Electronic Army means for the momentum of the opposition protests and the state of play inside Syria.

The new nation is in need of a major development program. There is also a lot unfinished business in the peace process that divided Sudan into two, along with new accusations that South Sudan is supporting rebellions in its northern neighbor.