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In Michigan, unions have bet big on ballot proposals to stem a tide of Republican legislation curtailing organized labor's ability to bargain contracts, collect dues, and raise money for political races. Their top goal is to make sure the state legislature cannot pass a so-called right-to-work law that outlaws compulsory union membership. They also want to reverse a law that allows the state to temporarily take over financially struggling local governments and scrap public employee contracts.

Wal-Mart and American Express have teamed up to offer a new prepaid card. The two companies say it will act like a checking account, but without the many fees that frustrate customers. Audie Cornish talks with Stephanie Clifford, retail reporter for The New York Times.

When Mitt Romney said he would cut PBS funding in the first presidential debate — and singled out Big Bird, whom he said he liked a lot — he perhaps inadvertently introduced the befeathered yellow children's icon smack into the center of political debate. President Obama approved a cable-only commercial dinging Romney for going after Sesame Street rather than Wall Street, but Romney appears to think he has a winning hand — castigating the president for focusing on a profitable educational puppet empire rather than big issues, like terrorism in the Arab world.

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life has released a new study that looks at the rise of people in the U.S. who do not identify with any religion. Audie Cornish speaks with Gregory Smith, Pew Forum senior researcher and co-author of the study, for more on that growing segment of the population.

Robert Siegel talks to UCLA Law Professor and author Richard Sander about the impact on California's education system when the state banned Affirmative Action.

German Catholics are facing a stark choice: Pay a church tax or forget about receiving the sacraments, including baptisms, weddings and funerals. Germany taxes registered Catholics, Protestants and Jews. In 2011, the tax raised $6.5 billion for the Catholic Church alone. Many progressives and conservatives are up in arms over the German bishops' decree.

In November, Maine voters will decide on a ballot initiative that would legalize same-sex marriage. Canvassers are trying to drum up support for the initiative, though opponents say they are sure they have enough support to vote it down.

The vast web of geometries traced out in light shows you cities as a kind of infestation. They're like living networks spreading across the planet.

Author Robin Sloan has written short stories and worked for Twitter. His new book brings those two worlds together to argue that embracing digital culture doesn't mean you have to give up the treasured books — and values — of the past.

As the Berlin Wall was coming down, East Germany's secret police, the Stasi, tore up millions of files. More than two decades later, the vast array of secret papers collected by the Stasi is still in huge demand. Archivists are now using groundbreaking computer technology to reconstruct those files.