Consider This from NPR

By most objective measures, the US economy is in good shape. Employers added about 2 million jobs this year. Unemployment is low. In much of the country, gasoline is now selling for less than $3 a gallon.

The Economist has called the United States' performance "the envy of the world."

But even as the U.S. is outperforming most other countries, many Americans remain frustrated by the high cost of living. And that's fueled a lot of unhappiness, and a political comeback for President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump will soon take the reins of an economy that's bounced back strongly during the four years he was out of office. For many families, though, that rebound was overshadowed by soaring prices for food, housing, and other necessities.

Will his policies bring costs down? Or rekindle inflation?

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It was a hectic election season in America, to put it lightly, and we're not alone. What do this year's elections across the world say about the state of democracy at large? Host Scott Detrow speaks with NPR correspondents about some of the most consequential global elections of 2024.

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Given the fact that it seems like Hollywood churns out nothing but sequels, you would think the industry would have perfected the genre by now.

Some sequels are pretty darn good, but many believe the perfect movie sequel came out 50 years ago this month.

Of course, we're talking about Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II. It's not only considered the greatest sequel of all time, it's also considered one of the greatest movies of all time.

So why does Godfather II work, and where so many other sequels fall short?

NPR producer Marc Rivers weighs in.

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At the start of this year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing a crisis. Just a few months before, Hamas had breached Israel's border with Gaza, killing some 1200 people in Israel on October 7th.

As the year ends, Netanyahu is spending some of it in a courtroom to fight corruption charges that have dogged him since 2019. The Israeli Prime Minister has called the charges absurd.

You might think that would be detrimental to his political career, but instead Netanyahu looks stronger than he has since the war began.

This — despite that trial, an international arrest warrant and a grinding war.

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How does fitness and movement change across the lifespan?

According to NPR's Allison Aubrey, who covers health and wellness, the official recommendation is to aim for more than 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity. That could be running, walking, biking, swimming, or weightlifting.

We meet a group of active older people, who show it's never too late to find movement and exercise that works for you.

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