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Last night's Oscar ceremony drew surprisingly strong ratings, though the evening itself was free of upsets. In a movie season that began amorphously, with no blockbusters in contention and no clear front-runner, Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby took four awards in top categories, including best picture.

USA Today editor Karen Jurgensen steps down four months after the revelation that former foreign correspondent Jack Kelley fabricated stories under her watch. Jurgensen had held the paper's top editorial post since 1999. NPR's Bob Edwards speaks with Marvin Kalb, senior fellow at Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Television season finales get dangerous this year: Seven characters from major shows will bite the dust, four will get married, and two will be institutionalized — plus, we'll have a new "Idol," and Tyra will tell us who America's next top model is. What makes a good season finale? TV critics weigh in.

An enormous work of art opens Saturday in New York's Central Park. The Gates Project is the brainchild of artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The husband-and-wife team's work consists of 7,500 squared arches topped with orange flags.

Filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 arrives in U.S. theaters, after winning the top prize at the Cannes film festival and being shelved by the Disney Co., its original backer. The film, which criticizes President Bush's response to the attacks of Sept. 11, is being released independently. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

In Kansas City, home to some of the nation's top sports architects, a competition is unfolding to build a new downtown sports arena. The local firms' competition comes from acclaimed California architect Frank Gehry, who's better known for designing museums. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

One of Iraq's top foreign ministry officials, Bassam Kubba, died Saturday after being shot by unknown gunmen in Baghdad. He is the first member of Iraq's two-week-old interim government to be killed. Kubba worked through the ranks of the foreign ministry under Saddam Hussein and became ambassador to China. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

One of the top priorities before Congress adjourns for the holidays is a bill that would prevent more than 20 million middle-class Americans from having to pay the alternative minimum tax in 2008. The Senate recently approved a repair to the rule, but neglected to pay for it with spending cuts.

Ken Khachigian, senior adviser to Fred Thompson's exploratory presidential campaign, says Thompson has caught up with top GOP candidates in fundraising. It helps that Americans have some comfort and familiarity with Thompson, he tells Michele Norris.

Mitt Romney gets enough delegates, in some counts, to go over the top in his bid for the GOP nomination. But his celebration is upstaged by Donald Trump. Plus: The Texas GOP goes into overtime to find a Senate nominee, Rep. Thad McCotter plans a write-in campaign, and a look ahead to Wisconsin.