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Choosing whether and when to have children is one of the most important economic decisions a woman can make. That decision can be shaped by whether or not a woman has access to abortion.

From member station WHYY Mhari Saito reports that the city of Philadelphia is trying to shut down a neighborhood once associated with the radical separatist group MOVE. Fifteen years ago, dozens of homes were unintentionally destroyed when police dropped an incendiary device on a neighborhood house in an attempt to end a stand-off. The city rebuilt the homes, but now says they are unsafe.

Host Mike Shuster talks to Peter Miller, author of The Common Sense Mortgage: How to Cut the Cost of Home Ownership by $50,000 or More, about interest rates and mortgages. (3:21) The Common Sense Mortgage : How to Cut the Cost of Home Ownership by $50,000 or More by Peter G. Miller is published by Contemporary Books; ISBN: 08092

Many economists agree that the nation's housing market is strong and that, overall, home values should continue to rise. But home prices are cooling in Boston and other cities that have seen dramatic run-ups in recent years. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

NPR's Kenneth Walker reports from Beira, in Northern Mozambique, about regional flooding which is forcing people to leave their homes for the second year in a row. The United Nations estimates that floodwaters have forced 200,000 people to flee their homes. Relief agencies and Mozambique's government are working on ways to minimize damage from the annual flooding.

To kick her 10-year habit, Tori is leaving home for a small island — theoretically a no smoking island. Home is an Indonesian zoo and Tori is an orangutan. The Guardian reports, she learned to smoke imitating visitors, who tossed cigarette butts into her cage.

The massive Cedar fire in 2003 destroyed hundreds of homes in the San Diego area. Now, people who lost their homes in 2003 are providing both practical advice and inspiration to the victims of this week's devastating fires.

As the economy grew, more and more Americans bought homes. Even those with bad credit could obtain mortgages or home equity loans through a practice bankers call sub-prime lending. Now, some of these borrowers are finding that their mortgages carry huge interest rates. As NPR's Jack Speer reports, some critics are saying the sub-prime lenders engaged in predatory lending.

One of President Mandela's promises for a new South Africa was improvements in housing for the country's poor. NPR's Ann Cooper revisited a refugee shelter in Johannesburg, where people who lost their homes in political violence five years ago are still living. She found that many of the residents are frustrated with the government and don't anticipate living in homes of their own in the near future.

Noah talks with Marjorie McQueen, a councilwoman from Lockerbie, Scotland. She and two children were at home watching television in December of 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 crashed 300 yards from their home. Her children lost friends. The experience was a painful one. Noah talks with Mrs. McQueen about how the town is reacting now that the long awaited verdicts are in.