NPR News

An Oregon school district has rejected more than $2.5 million in federal funds. Oregon City — just south of Portland — turned down money that would have given performance-based pay bonuses to teachers, a controversial part of the Obama administration's education policy.

It's called the Teacher Incentive Fund, and it's meant to reward results. Oregon City actually applied for the money it's now turned down.

Home prices rose slightly in August, according to the latest data from the S&P/Case-Shiller index. They're still down compared to August 2010, and way down from their pre-recession peak in 2006. But it's good-ish news, reports the AP:

Because you can apparently never have enough flat-tax plans in a race for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday officially introduced his own version.

That gives us two flat tax proposals in the GOP race, Perry's and Herman Cain's (all together now) 9-9-9 plan.

Actually, Perry's plan is not so much a flat tax as a flatter tax since he maintains some deductions and exemptions and even the current tax code for those who would prefer to use it.

Throughout the month of October, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of World Cafe and revisited some of the best and most memorable interviews of the past 20 years.

Beware Massachusetts fish fans: If you're buying or ordering red snapper, white tuna, local cod or haddock, there's a pretty good chance that's not what you're going to get.