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NPR's pop critic shares her favorite albums and songs of 2021.

In Budapest, Hungary, President Bush compares Hungary's struggles under Communist rule to Iraq's recent history. "The desire for liberty is universal," the president said. President Bush has visited several Eastern European capitals to highlight countries that have recently become democracies.

The Rocky Mountains contain huge reservoirs of gas, but they also have some of the last untouched lands in the country. Colorado's Roan Plateau is one of these largely pristine places, and a debate is raging over whether to open its public lands to drilling.

Nigeria produces so much oil that just the possibility of trouble there affects world markets. Prices first approached $60 a barrel after this summer's threat to the U.S. consulate. Oil first hit $50 last fall after another news item from Nigeria. A Niger Delta rebel ordered all oil companies out of the country.

Wendy's is doing away with its "biggie" and "great biggie" portion names. But that doesn't mean sizes are getting smaller. A medium drink is 32 ounces, and a large tops out at 42 ounces. Nutritionists see this new, larger soft drink as a setback in the battle against obesity.

A floating retreat, the USS Sequoia was one of the places U.S. presidents found to escape the rigors of office. Richard Nixon took his family there the day he announced his resignation. Now, NPR's Susan Stamberg reports, there's an effort to preserve the former presidential yacht. See historic and current photos of the Sequoia.

Local Colombian music permeates the soundscapes crafted by the band Aterciopelados. But what gives the group's music its universal appeal is something less tangible: a quality of dry-eyed optimism that proves both persuasive and reassuring in these troubled times.

The pop band Weezer is known for its quirky nods to pop culture, most notably in music videos that reference the Muppets and the Internet's most popular memes. Now, the rock band has embraced the Snuggie — the blanket you can wear.

The tobacco crop is quickly disappearing from the farm fields of Kentucky. But tobacco barns, in various states of repair, stand proudly on the landscape as icons of family farming.

We're al fresco for New Orleans' Marlon Jordan Quartet, at the annual Summer of Jazz series in scenic Glenwood Springs, Colo. The group improvises with a Miles-and-Trane vibe while dogs, kids, baseball-tossers and Frisbee-throwers groove to the music.