The number of new applications for home loans rose last week. In its report today, the Mortgage Bankers Association credited lower interest rates - a '30 year fixed is now an average 5.68 percent. Many folks would prefer to patch up the place they already have. You many have a tough time finding qualified carpenters, electricians, plumbers and others to help out. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says it's going to keep getting worse - more than a million of these skilled jobs are going unfilled every year. We sent Marketplace's Lisa Napoli to find out what some are trying to do to fill a growing blue collar gap.

This week, the Washington Post reported on a unique new newspaper in Southern Illinois. The Madison County Record was launched in September as a kind of local legal journal. Recent front pages have carried a variety of stories about lawsuits against businesses. What readers probably don't know is that the Record is a creation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Post story called the Madison County Record a weapon in the Chamber's multimillion-dollar campaign for 'tort reform'. The expose was written by Post reporter Jeff Birnbaum, who argues the Chamber is wielding a lot more power right now than many may suspect.

America has long been considered the leader in global aviation. But its leadership position has been overshadowed during the past couple of decades by the emergence of the European consortium Airbus. Host Kai Ryssdal talks to Stephen Aris, author of Close to the Sun, about how Airbus changed the world's aircraft industry.

The Supreme Court heard arguments today about whether wineries will be able to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states. It pits two amendments of the constitution against one another - and two powerful lobbies in the $21 billion wine business. Host David Brown speaks to US News reporter Betsy Streisand about the case.