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At the end of a year in which pop songs were a constant, provocative part of the national conversation, NPR Music critic Ann Powers sifts through the 100 most popular songs of the year to highlight 10 pure pop pleasures worth remembering.

Dig below the strata of pop songs so ubiquitous you can't stand to hear them anymore, and you'll find plenty of riches in the Top 40, from country crossover to innovative R&B and classic pop.

Rep. George Miller (D-CA), tapped by Nancy Pelosi to head up some of the Democractic Party's most important policy initiatives, looks ahead to what Democrats will try to accomplish now that they have control of Congress.

Sierra Leone is at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak. All homes exposed to virus have been quarantined. We visited one of them and found the atmosphere there surprisingly relaxed.

During a long illness, Bradley planned a special touch for his funeral. As his coffin was lowered into the ground, a voice from inside said, "Let me out." Bradley recorded his voice before his death.

University of Kentucky officials say a student climbed through ceiling ducts, found his professor's office and drop in to steal an exam. He was caught. At 1:30 a.m., the professor was there working.

The newest album by the trumpeter and composer features his arrangements of hymns that his mother, who recently died of ovarian cancer, asked him to perform at her funeral service.

Weekend Edition Sunday begins its three-week-long CD Wish List series, with music insiders picking the best albums that have yet to be issued on CD. This week's picks come from JoAnn Falletta, music director for the Buffalo Philharmonic and Virginia Symphony orchestras; Sibley Music Library's Jim Farrington; and Rick Luningham of the Ernest Tubb Record Shops.

A Weekend Edition series continues: What are the best albums that have never made it to CD? Hear from Village Voice and Jazz Times writer Lara Pellegrinelli (left), musician and co-owner of Amoeba Records Joe Goldmark, and Bill Monroe, author of the book Country Music, U.S.A. Pellegrinelli picks Embers and Ashes by Shirley Horn; Goldmark likes Clover, by the group of the same name. Monroe's choice is The Blue Sky Boys. Hear samples of "I Thought About You," "Santa Fe" and "Asleep in the Briny Deep."