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NPR's Ari Shapiro and others join the Pink Martini co-founder in a journey through popular song.

In Syria, the port city of Tartous is fiercely loyal to President Bashar Assad. It's where many of his supporters, as well as Syrian soldiers, go for vacation. So far about 300,000 Syrians have also fled to the city looking for work and refuge from fighting in cities like Damascus and Qusair.

The Great Beauty is the latest portrait of the city onscreen, in all its wonder, decadence, sinfulness and ugliness. The film, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, is also Italy's official entry for this year's Academy Awards.

With babies getting bigger and moms' pelvises getting smaller, it's no wonder moms have problems in delivery these days. Inventors have come up with all kinds of devices to help babies into the world. Some seem promising, but others are a little far-fetched.

Demographers say China needs more children because the country is aging and the workforce is shrinking. But raising kids costs so much these days that many parents are expected to forgo the option of having a second child.

A court has ruled that a social welfare organization that ran a hospital where the mix-up occurred must pay the man about $317,000 for causing him "mental distress by depriving him of an opportunity to gain a higher education." The 60-year-old man is a truck driver. The boy raised in his place by the rich family became the president of a real estate company.

The strike also killed a militant, the U.S.-led international coalition says. The deaths come as the two countries negotiate a bilateral security pact that would keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdraws its combat forces by the end of next year.

Small Business Saturday is this weekend, but for author Sherman Alexie, it's also Small Bookstore Saturday. He's encouraging authors across the country to visit their local independent bookstores and put in a shift behind the counter, selling their favorite titles.

Tucked between Gray Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday. It's a designation invented by American Express, but it's becoming vital to small businesses around the country.

Science isn't known as a career field that attracts showboats. But academics must give seminars, pharmaceutical researchers present results, and graduate students defend their work. In San Diego, one of the country's science hubs, a group aims to teach scientists the art of small talk and public speaking.