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The full weight of the recession has come bearing down on the labor market. Employers shed more than half a million jobs in November. The unemployment rate is now 6.7 percent and economists expect it to go significantly higher. Layoffs are accelerating in just about every industry.

On Second Stage, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton profiles the best of music's great unknowns. He chooses the best outsider artists of 2007: musicians who made remarkable recordings that were largely overlooked, led by Le Loup.

If these books prove anything, it's that the legacy of nonfiction storytelling is still very much alive. Steve Weinberg's picks reflect the depth and diversity of the 2009 current affairs library, ranging from investigations of the role of women in America to a look at what it means to sit supreme on the highest court in the U.S.

From French electronica and melancholy songwriters to worldly, eccentric indie-rock, here are 10 of this year's best debut albums, as chosen by Bruce Warren, executive producer of WXPN's World Cafe.

Fresh Air's arbiter of things filmic offers his annual year-end movies wrap-up. This time, his Top 10 list has 11 entries, as the number-nine slot features a tie. At the top: Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The case of Gareth Williams has riveted England, but a coroner says his death may remain a mystery.

A car bombing near the presidential palace in Beirut on Wednesday killed a top Lebanese army officer. The victim was widely expected to succeed army Chief of Staff Michel Suleiman, who has emerged as the consensus candidate for president after months of political deadlock.

Civil rights protesters argue Jena, La., school and law enforcement officials are dealing out harsh justice to the African-American teens for a schoolyard fight while overlooking their white counterparts who hung nooses to intimidate the black teens.

It was an unusually strong year for great unknown artists. While bigger, more established bands continued to attract the most attention, smaller, lesser-known acts made the most memorable music of 2008. All of the great unknown artists featured here made music that was inspired, original and heartfelt.

Also: Malawi's president has reportedly died; Coast Guard sinks "ghost ship" off coast of Alaska; day two of the Masters begins.

Steve Seel, afternoon music host on Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, offers his picks for the Top 10 albums of the year.

Also: Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in northern Afghanistan; Oakland shooting suspect said to have "anger management" issues; Baylor women finish perfect season.