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Being middle class in America once meant feeling secure. You could count on having a decent home and a steady paycheck. Over the past three years, that sense of security has eroded. In a new series, NPR profiles Americans who are feeling squeezed in the middle and fearing a slide to the bottom.

At the charity event over the weekend in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, attendees could buy everything from bacon-flavored lip balm to bacon soap and a bacon board game. The proceeds went to a charity that helps children with autism.

In 2008, linguist K. David Harrison traveled to Arunachal Pradesh, a remote region in northeast India, where he discovered a hidden language: Koro. A few hundred people speak Koro, Harrison says, and those who speak it didn't notice how distinct it was. He documents this language, and his efforts to help revitalize dying languages, in his new book, The Last Speakers.

Evening Primrose, Stephen Sondheim's made-for-TV musical about a poet and the girl he discovers living after hours in a department store hasn't been been televised since its 1966 premiere. David Bianculli says the musical, out Tuesday on DVD for the first time, showcases Sondheim's "early brilliance."

The House is about to vote on a measure that could give bankruptcy judges the power to rewrite the terms of mortgages. Proponents of the provision say it would help solve the nation's foreclosure crisis. But lenders say the "cramdown" measure will do more harm than good.

Online shopping normally picks up momentum the Monday after Thanksgiving — so-called Cyber Monday. Overall retail sales have been sluggish in this economy, but online sales have continued to climb. Among the best-selling items online: Susan Boyle's new CD, and Zhu Zhu hamsters, which may be the toy of the season.

Richard Heene was ordered to serve 90 days in jail, and his wife, Mayumi, got 20 days in an alternative sentencing program. The judge, who accused the couple of exploiting their children in a bid for a reality TV show, also gave them four years of probation.

State agencies are overwhelmed by the number of people applying for unemployment insurance during the recession. It's taken up to two months for some unemployed workers to get their first check in California. The Obama administration says improving states' performance is a priority.

Food, water and medical supplies from around the world are flooding into Haiti's small airport. Officials say they are making progress at moving it out of the airport and into Port-au-Prince and other devastated areas. But tens of thousands of people are still waiting for relief.

A new federal commission will consider raising Americans' retirement age and increasing taxes to attack a record U.S. budget deficit, the co-chairmen of the panel told NPR. Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff to President Clinton, said President Obama made it clear "everything's on the table." Former Sen. Alan Simpson said the panel's work is about the nation's "grandchildren."