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John Powers, Fresh Air critic at large, weighs in on the trends of 2007: political campaigns, Iraq movies failing at the box office, HBO's The Sopranos, stories about hitting the road, the TMZing of America, jocks gone wild, hip sentimentality, the nightly ideological news, atheist chic and the writers strike.

Have you tried the Japanese breakfast food that's as sticky as chewing gum and "smells like stinky feet"? Meet nattō.

China's health officials say the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus has risen to 5,974 in 31 provinces with 132 deaths. People are asking why it took so long for controls to be implemented.

In the liner notes to his 2012 trio album Accelerando, the pianist and composer Vijay Iyer wrote: "[T]his album is in the lineage of American creative music based on dance rhythms." Dancing in rhythm and exemplifying creativity, here are 10 records which belong to that great lineage.

The Communist Party chooses 59-year-old Hu Jintao as its new general secretary, in effect taking the helm of the world's most populous nation. Hu is not expected to stray far from the path of outgoing President Jiang Zemin, who has pushed economic but not political reform. Hear more from NPR's Rob Gifford.

After a record-setting Christmas, Hollywood wraps up the year with more than $9 billion in the till -- the second biggest box office total in its history. Film critic NPR's Bob Mondello says a large part of that money was well-earned: some of 2003's most popular movies were also among the year's best. He offers a list of his top movie picks for the year.

Robert Siegel sits down with a group of students from Tel Aviv University for a conversation about their expectations for the future. The students are politically divided, but they agree that their main concern, even more than security, is the Israeli economy.

Called "buy-now, pay-later" loans, they essentially work the way they sound. Shoppers borrow money to buy goods then pay the loan back over time, often interest-free. Experts share risks and benefits.

In a huge comeback, Nathan Chen spun around four times in the air during six jumps on the second and final day of the men's singles figure skating competition.

Facebook's new chief lawyer is tasked with guiding the firm through increasingly treacherous legal woes. Jennifer Newstead was one of the lawyers who crafted the controversial Patriot Act.