Emerging from the shadow of the Washington Monument, civil rights groups marched to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on Saturday.

The rally, a rainbow crowd dominated by African-Americans, marched for jobs and economic justice on the eve of the new memorial's dedication.

Activist Rev. Al Sharpton said his National Action Network organized the march because the nation has ignored the plight of the chronically unemployed and because lawmakers haven't passed President Obama's jobs bill.

The release of more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is being trumpeted as a major victory by the Islamist Hamas faction that has held Shalit for five years. The boost for Hamas has sidelined the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas, who was just recently feted for his efforts to win Palestinian statehood recognition from the UN. The political shift leaves Palestinian supporters of a two-state solution feeling isolated. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

The deadline for presidential candidates to file their third-quarter reports with the Federal Election Commission passed at midnight. The reports detail how much money the candidates have raised and spent. NPR's Peter Overby joins host Audie Cornish to talk about what he's learned.

President Barack Obama hits the road this week on a three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia. Both states traditionally vote Republican, but Obama won them both in 2008. Host Audie Cornish talks with Rep. David Price, a Democrat from North Carolina, and former congressman Tom Perriello, a Democrat from Virginia, about the political climate and Democratic prospects for the 2012 race.

The Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot has begun, and some are melding the observance with the various Occupy Wall Street protests throughout the country. Ari Daniel Shapiro spent some time with observers in Boston and has this report.

Last year's U.S. troops surge in southern Afghanistan was aimed at ousting the Taliban from much of its home turf. So what does Kandahar province look like today? NPR's Quil Lawrence spent a week in the region and shares his impressions with host Audie Cornish.

Economic disparities and race are closely aligned issues in America. Host Audie Cornish talks with Harvard economics professor Roland Fryer, who recently won a MacArthur genius grant for his research on the subject.

Supernova 2011fe is bringing out the stargazers. It's one of the brightest supernovas in the last century and it's now visible. It's the kind of event amateur astronomers dream of.

The supernova will last for more than a decade, but it won't stay this bright. Within the next week, the light that took 21 million years to reach earth will fade out of view for amateur astronomers.

Speculators in the agricultural commodities markets are forcing grocery prices to rise too quickly and erratically, according to some top economists marking World Food Day on Sunday.

"Excessive financial speculation is contributing to increasing volatility and record food prices, exacerbating global hunger and poverty," wrote 461 economists, from more than 40 countries, in an open letter.

From the outset of the Syrian uprising last spring, Syria's president, Bashar Assad, offered promises of reform. Activists, meanwhile, documented abuses by his security forces, including video footage of shootings against unarmed protesters.

Now, the Assad government appears to be relying exclusively on brutal repression, giving free reign to the security services to crush the revolt, according to analysts inside and outside the country.