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To celebrate Christmas, Fresh Air listens back to a concert given by the late singer and actress on Feb. 11, 1997. Clooney spoke then with Terry Gross about her childhood, being on the road as a young performer with her sister, and working with Bing Crosby and Billy Strayhorn.

President Barack Obama traveled to Elkhart, Ind., for a town hall meeting to promote the economic stimulus package. The administration hopes the city's poor economic situation will help ease the bill's passage after a week of partisan bickering.

A Congressional subcommittee on Wednesday had a hearing with two witnesses who warned the Bush administration against harsh interrogation techniques. One is Ali Soufan, the FBI agent who interrogated Abu Zubaydah. The other is Philip Zelikow, the State Department official who protested that there was no legal basis for justifying the techniques.

The death of journalist Ruben Salazar was a catalyst for the nascent Chicano-rights movement. It is still at the center of deeply held belief that he was purposely killed by LA law enforcement.

Jay-Z is one of the most successful hip-hop artists of all time. On Fresh Air, he discusses growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs and violence, and the stories behind many of his famous songs.

Bestselling author, poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is considered to be among the greatest writers alive today. In this week's Wisdom Watch, Angelou talks — and sings — about why she feels proud to be an American woman of color. Her latest book is A Song Flung Up to Heaven, the final volume of her memoirs.

Rickie Lee Jones' first original album in four years comes with a little heaven-sent inspiration. The Grammy Award winner's new album, The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, was inspired by the words of Jesus, and tells stories of the worldly and the divine.

A sign in Springfield, Mass. warns young Latinos: "No Hangear" -- don't hang out on this corner. Spanglish -- a cross between Spanish and English -- it seems, is everywhere. NPR's Bob Edwards talks with Ilan Stavans, author of a new book, Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language. Hear a Spanglish translation of Don Quixote.

In his short but brilliant career, he pioneered a new standard of rapid-fire virtuosity on the electric bass and helped bridge the jazz and pop music of his day. Close collaborators offer a retrospective on Jaco Pastorius.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday testing whether states can make it a crime to lie about candidates during an election campaign.

We spoke with him on the occasion of an album releasethe double CD concert album Premonition. Featured on the recording is many of his biggest hits with Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Down on the Corner," "Bad Moon Rising," and "Proud Mary." Fogerty won a Grammy Award in 1997 for his album Blue Moon, Swamp. (Original Airdate: 6

Official Israeli reaction to President Obama's speech to the Muslim world was muted, but settler groups were outraged by his renewed call for a complete halt in settlement construction. In East Jerusalem, reaction was mixed.