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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.

Since the assault weapons ban passed in the mid-1990s, Congress has had little appetite for gun control measures. "I think it was a very different time in 1994. I don't think there's very many lessons to learn from that," says Ted Kaufman, who was then-Sen. Joe Biden's chief of staff.

Venezuelan officials say their president Hugo Chavez remains in a "delicate" condition in a Havana hospital following his fourth cancer surgery. If Chavez cannot be sworn in to a new presidential term on Jan. 10, a process of selecting a new president will begin. How well prepared is the U.S. government is for a post-Chavez Venezuela?

President Obama has nominated his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to lead the CIA. Brennan's work with the agency under George W. Bush has been controversial, and he's also drawn criticism for his lead role in the Obama administration's use of unmanned drones.

The stunning resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, a retired 4-star general, has been followed by an investigation into potentially inappropriate communications between Gen. John Allen and a woman in Tampa.

Since Monday's announcement by Pope Benedict that he will step down, the world has been abuzz. Catholics and the rest of the world are grappling with the implications of the pope's stunning announcement that he will resign on Feb. 28.

The ongoing European debt crisis is expected to pose major challenges to the next U.S. administration.

Psychologists have come up with an interesting twist on the old notion of the power of positive thinking: They've shown that you may be able to improve your golf game by believing the hole you're aiming for is larger than it really is.

Now that he's all but certain to be the Republican challenging President Obama in November, Mitt Romney has begun to bulk up his operations. The president's campaign is already well-staffed and spread across the map, so it's become a game of catch-up for Romney.

Host Rachel Martin speaks with Nate Silver, who writes the FiveThirtyEight blog for The New York Times, about the mechanics of the GOP primary, the number of delegates apportioned so far and how future contests will determine the delegate count.