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Tucked between Gray Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday. It's a designation invented by American Express, but it's becoming vital to small businesses around the country.

2: Writer ISABEL ALLENDE (I-en-day). Her first work of non-fiction, "Paula" (Harper Collins) is now a bestseller in paperback. The book was inspired when her 28 year old daughter fell into an irreversible coma. "Paula" began as a letter to her dying daughter and turned into an autobiographical work telling of life from ALLENDE's childhood in Chile to her exile in Venezuela and her move to San Francisco. Publisher's Weekly says, "Only a writer of Allende's passion and skill could share her tragedy with her readers and leave them exhilarated and grateful." Two of Allende's previous works of fiction, "The House of Spirits" and "Of Love and Shadows", have been made into motion pictures. (ORIGINALLY BROADCAST 5

Lead singer for the band the Jayhawks, Gary Louris. The Minneapolis band has seven albums to its credit — the latest is Rainy Day Music. The band is considered pioneers of the alternative-country movement, but have incorporated everything from pop to folk to rock and country. One reviewer in Rolling Stone writes of their new album, (it's) "all lilting vocals and gentle accoustic fireworks: The slow waltzing guitars and sweet, wrenching vocals of the mortality-obsessed 'Will I See You in Heaven' might seem melodramatic on any other record, but not here, because time rolling slowly away from us is the Jayhawks' main subject matter."

A study released by the website CareerBuilder finds nearly a third of employees said they called in sick when they weren't really. Among their imaginative medical excuses: losing false teeth out the car window or extreme grumpiness from quitting smoking.

Dan MacArthur is a Vermont farmer, student and mechanic who easily made friends on a trip to Cuba by taking along a backpack full of brand-new car parts. The island nation is full of older U.S.-built cars that owners labor to keep in shape. MacArthur speaks with NPR's Bob Edwards.

The 23-year-old has made a thematically tight, formally slender album full of sun-dappled songs about frittering youth away and being mostly okay with it.

Stock prices continue to fall as global investors worry about China's slowing demand. At the same time, oil prices are plunging as supplies surge. Together, it's making for a tough day in the markets.

Every day until Dec. 20, African-American tech thinkers will live-tweet about their day and answer questions in a special Twitter series hosted by NPR's Tell Me More. Join the conversation at @TellMeMoreNPR or #NPRBlacksinTech.

Though there's no end in sight to the standoff, there are reports that Republican lawmakers are looking for a new way to strike a deal.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on today's downing of a U.S. Chinook helicopter near Baghdad. The aircraft was carrying dozens of soldiers headed for leave. At least 15 soldiers died, making today the deadliest for U.S. forces in the six-month occupation of Iraq.