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Also: Statue of Liberty reopens; Bolivia's president blasts "North American empire;" South Korea proposes talks with the North; Mandela's grandson ends battle over kin's graves; Boston Celtics hire Butler's Brad Stevens to be coach.

It was a tremendous year for upbeat music that reflected on aging and ennui in wise, wonderful ways.

Also: IRS's actions add to conservatives' case against Obama; Pakistanis go to polls after campaign marred by violence; astronauts prepared for spacewalk to station's leaks; survivor of Bangladesh building collapse said to be "doing great."

World Cafe features daily interviews and live in-studio performances from seasoned music veterans and new sensations, in genres ranging from rock to blues to folk to alternative country and beyond. From NPR station WXPN, host David Dye chooses his favorite albums of 2006.

A Marine and his buddies joined the mob that entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. They were not the only Marines there. NPR asked the Corps' top officer a question: Do the Marines have an extremism problem?

It was an unusually strong year for great unknown artists. While bigger, more established bands continued to attract the most attention, smaller, lesser-known acts made the most memorable music of 2008. All of the great unknown artists featured here made music that was inspired, original and heartfelt.

Residents in South Gate, Calif., vote to oust the mayor, treasurer and two council members, amid allegations that they conducted city business through backroom deals and gave city contracts to friends. Adolfo Guzman-Lopez of member station KPCC reports.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are ramping up their campaigns across Texas and Ohio ahead of the states' March 4 Democratic primaries. But voters are focused on very different issues in the two states.

Director Ridley Scott has made two of the best science fiction films of modern times, Alien and Blade Runner. Prometheus is more involving than this year's summer blockbuster competition, but by the standards of the director's earlier films, it's a disappointment.

The city of Chicago has one more thing to boast about: Its hometown orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, has been named America's top orchestra in a new critics' poll published in the venerable British magazine Gramophone.