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From the versatility of the violin to the virtuosity of a mysterious opera composer, NPR's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin an eclectic set of the year's best classical recordings.

Khaled Mashaal, the long-exiled leader of Hamas, made his first visit to the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Bill Murray plays Franklin D. Roosevelt in the new movie Hyde Park on Hudson. Critic Kenneth Turan says Murray's work beautifully conveys the notion of the chief executive as seductive star performer who counts on his charm to get his way.

While the movement loses popularity nationwide, it's still a force in the GOP. When it comes to fiscal cliff negotiations, however, Tea Party members in Congress seem resigned to the fact that any eventual deal will be one they won't like. That doesn't mean the Tea Party spirit can't be recharged.

Listener Laurie Pavlos tried re-creating her great-grandmother's "jumble" cookie recipe — transcribed by her great-grandfather in 1914 — with little success. So she turned to the Lost Recipe project, and got some help re-creating the molasses-rich cookie from cookbook author Nancy Baggett.

President Obama and Senate Republicans have different views when it comes to what counts as "recess." A federal appeals court is now weighing the question in a case challenging three of Obama's appointments.

After the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognize the Palestinians as a non-member state, Israel announced it would expand settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. If completed, the project would effectively divide the West Bank in two, according to the Palestinians.

Critic Alan Cheuse maps out a winter wonderland of fiction and poetry — from ancient Greece to the near-future visions of Walter Mosley, a selection of the best books to give and receive this holiday season. Cheuse says these five books strike the perfect balance between lyricism and narrative.

It's now widely agreed that steering away from the fiscal cliff — the combination of spending cuts and tax increases set to hit at the start of the year — will require some combination of revenue increases and spending cuts. The central sticking point could well be whether President Obama and Congress can agree on the definition of revenue.

Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, is changing the way the Chinese communicate and has become a major source of news. Its more than 300 million users are, among other things, using it to criticize government policies, stop official injustice and help ordinary people — but only up to a point.