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Rock critic Ken Tucker gives us his top picks in pop for 2004. He runs down his 10 best albums, and then talks about some trends of 2004, such as the return of punk, the year of the hip-hop producer, crunk music, and the potential end of an era as iPods and single song downloads replace album purchases. Ken Tucker is also a film critic for New York magazine.

Scott Burnside, national hockey writer for ESPN.com, talks with Robert Siegel about the NHL Playoffs, which started this week.

At an international solar convention, companies were optimistic about their future and new products. There are certainly causes for concern in the industry — like a looming controversy over China's subsidization practices — but industry executives point to fast growth and new ideas in the market.

Working with the national Get Schooled Foundation, Seattle officials are encouraging kids to sign up to receive celebrity wake-up calls — from Tyra Banks to rapper Wiz Khalifa. They say the recordings — plus a variety of prizes and mentorship programs — can give truant kids the extra push they need to make it to class.

The contempt hearing for Pakistan's prime minister has been adjourned until next month. Pakistan's Supreme Court wants him to explain why he refused to reopen an anti-corruption case against the country's president.

The basic idea is to have rich countries that emit lots of climate-warming gases pay poorer countries to keep their forests, or even expand them. That's because forests suck carbon from the atmosphere. But there's not yet a global system to make a plan like this work.

The city is exploring a bid for the 2022 Winter Games. It has the advantage of extensive and specialized facilities. But Olympic officials may want to give another place a chance.

College football is set to enter its final week, and that means the biggest bowl games are coming up. The first week of 2012 will feature marquee matchups like Oregon vs. Wisconsin, and Oklahoma State against Stanford.

A 16-year-old from Michigan named Claressa Shields is the youngest fighter competing for a place on the first-ever U.S. Olympic women's boxing team. She's facing fighters almost a decade older and much more experienced — but she's beaten the odds before.

Now that Donald Trump is the apparent Republican nominee, those in the "Never Trump" camp have a decision to make. NPR's Melissa Block speaks with Rory Cooper, Senior Advisor to the "Never Trump" PAC.