NPR News

Actor Al Pacino is returning to Broadway in November to star in David Mamet's classic play, Glengarry Glen Ross. He's playing a different character from the one he playd in the movie version 20 years ago. According to Bloomberg News, he's making $125,000 per week, plus a cut of the show's profits — one of the biggest pay packages ever for a Broadway performer.

For years, NBC has struggled at the bottom of the pile of big broadcast networks, ratings-wise. However, this season it's on top, thanks in part to Sunday Night Football.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Let's take a look at alternative energy now. There's growing interest and investment in the process of extracting oil from algae and turning it into fuel for vehicles and airplanes. It requires a lot of water, nutrients and land. And a new report from the National Research Council says that will make it challenging to turn algae into a sustainable source of energy.

NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Here in the U.S., auto sales are up, and fall is traditionally a big time for car buying. Question is, what's the best way these days to pay for that car - financed through the automaker or through your bank or simply leased?

To think through the choices, we called Michele Krebs. She's the senior analyst for the auto information site Edmunds.com, and she joined us from Detroit.

Good morning.

MICHELE KREBS: Good morning.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are suing Bank of America for more than $1 billion for mortgage fraud against government-backed mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac around the time of the financial collapse. The lawsuit alleges that Countrywide Financial, which was later acquired by Bank of America, sold large volumes of mortgages that weren't quality-controlled.