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This wasn't the strongest year for hip-hop, but 2007 still featured some excellent releases that pushed the genre's boundaries, as well as a few records that reveled, old-school style, in great beats and rhymes.

As the world waits for definitive news about Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he remains in serious condition at a Jerusalem hospital. Doctors will begin bringing him out of a drug-induced coma on Sunday. They offer scant hope for a full recovery.

NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports that the role of the United States in Israel's withdrawal from Gaza reflects a different approach to the Middle East from that of the Clinton administration. President Clinton tackled regional issues always in the context of the peace process. The Bush administration feels compelled to make the U.S. position known on various developments. But those reactions seem to be dictated by events themselves rather than the larger goal of reaching a peace agreement.

Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, son of Indian immigrants, says he didn't think about his ethnic identity growing up. But on his new album Kinsmen, he and other like-minded South Asian American jazz musicians, fuse American jazz with a global sound that embraces the music of India.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports Yasser Arafat returned home to a hero's welcome in Gaza where thousands of supporters took to the streets to praise the Palestinian leader for his refusal to compromise on key issues at the just-concluded Camp David summit.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Gaza reports that while Israeli and Palestinian leaders continue the search for peace at Camp David, both sides are also preparing for the worst. There are fears that a failure at Camp David could lead to a fresh eruption of violence.

As temperatures around the globe rise, the world's mountains are changing. In the Alps, retreating glaciers, more landslides and dramatic rockfalls are causing shifts not only in the physical environment, but in jobs, town budgets, and attitudes.

More than 100 people were injured today and at least three killed in continuing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Yesterday the U.N. General Assembly condemned Israel's excessive use of force against Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Host Lisa Simeone speaks with NPR's Mike Shuster in Jerusalem

This year, cooks poured their hearts into these carefully crafted, kitchen how-tos. T. Susan Chang says these cookbooks are like a properly seasoned skillet — heavy-duty, battle-tested and much to be prized.

William Christenberry grew up in Hale County, Ala. For more than 40 years, he has returned there each summer, revisiting the same locations to document the passage of time.

In the purely democratic world of hip-hop mixtapes unsigned rappers build a fan base, past-their-prime artists re-connect with an audience, and major-label commodities show their adventurous side on records that overprotective label reps would never authorize and commercial radio could never pick up. Here are some of this year's finest tapes.

NPR's Linda Gradstein reports on another day of escalating violence in Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine. A car bomb killed at least two Israelis and wounded dozens in the northern Israel town of Hadera. In Gaza, Israeli soldiers ambushed a senior Fatah official and his motorcade killing the commander and three others.