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Cliches are often criticized as the most overused and contemptible phrases in the English language. But writer Hephzibah Anderson says there are times when cliches are not only useful, but also create a sense of camaraderie. And sometimes, she writes in Prospect magazine, only a cliche will do.

In his 2012 book, How To Be Black, comedian Baratunde Thurston offers a humorous and poignant commentary on race in America. As part of our annual series on books we missed, Thurston shares his take on the conversations Americans have about race — as well as the ones we should have, but avoid altogether.

The film actor is moving to neighboring Belgium to avoid a new 75 percent tax on the superwealthy. This has touched off a war of words with the prime minister, and the public seems deeply divided.

It was the warmest year on record and brought a series of extreme weather events, from wildfires and floods to drought and a devastating derecho. Polls show a big jump this year in the number of people connecting such disasters with climate change.

Coverage of the gun control story has become hypercharged since the shootings in Newtown, Conn. Even journalists such as David Gregory and Piers Morgan have become part of the story.

Conventional wisdom says e-books are destroying the traditional publishing business model. But the story's not that simple. For one thing, flexible pricing allows publishers to hold what amount to one-day-only sales on any given title — which means more people will discover that book.

President Barack Obama will meet with the four leaders of Congress Friday, to discuss a possible deal that would avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases in the new year.

The latest NPR-Truven Health Analytics Health Poll finds that most Americans favor physician-assisted suicide for people with less than six months to live. But the survey found opposition to assisted suicide for people in severe pain who aren't terminally ill or for those with disabilities.

The secretary of state has been recuperating from a stomach virus and a concussion she suffered when she fainted and fell. Congressional committees have been waiting for her to come testify about the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.