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Conor J. O'Brien is the driving force behind the acoustic folk outfit Villagers, and his intensity pushed the band to the top of the charts in Ireland even before its debut had been released. In just a couple of years, Villagers has become one of the biggest musical names on the Emerald Isle and an internationally known folk group.

The Olympic torch has reached the top of Mount Everest, the climax of a massive publicity campaign leading up the Olympic Games. China hopes the spectacle of the flame atop the world's highest mountain will erase the memory of ugly protests. But some activists say that by taking the flame up Everst, China is trying to show its dominance over Tibetans.

The BBC is apologizing to women who claim they were sexually abused decades ago by one of the broadcaster's top entertainers. Jimmy Savile had been knighted for his charity work in 1990. He died last year. The number of women alleging abuse could be more than two dozen and the scandal has dominated Britain's media.

"Colors" is the buoy that floats to the top of Smith's new record: It's an up-tempo jaunt that illustrates one side of a long-distance relationship, not lamenting the isolation but instead looking fixedly to the future. Both a plea for the separation to end and a promise to remain steadfast, "Colors" is at least as much a ballad of heartfelt yearning as it is a stomp-and-swagger jam.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announces a reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. Rumsfeld said the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq will be cut to 15 from 17. The top ground commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, also said he could advise further cuts in troop levels by spring.

At just 19 years old, Australian guitarist Joe Robinson has accomplished what most musicians can only dream of. He recorded his first CD at age 14, and won first place on Australia's Got Talent at 17. The following year he took the top title at the World Championships of Performing Arts.

The war's sixth year begins in Baghdad with rockets falling into the U.S.-protected Green Zone over the weekend, while the overall U.S. military death toll tops 4,000 after a roadside bombing claims more American lives. Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales (Ret.) joins Robert Siegel.

Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay more money for the troubled securities firm Bear Stearns. Last week, Bear Stearns almost melted down because of the credit crisis, and JPMorgan hoped to scoop up the firm at a fire-sale price. Then, top shareholders in Bears Stearns balked.

Which songs will dominate summer playlists on radio, social and streaming platforms? Avid fans and followers of pop music know that by late spring most of the candidates are already climbing the charts, so we're looking at the current top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 chart to see which entries have a chance to be the song of the summer.

President Trump has pledged to help rescue one of China's top telecommunication firms, which the U.S. Commerce Department has penalized for violating U.S. sanctions on North Korea and Iran. The penalties have convinced many Chinese that they can no longer rely on the U.S., and must manufacture their own hi-tech products.

Inflation, rising food prices and the high cost of living have been top of mind for consumers all year. But then Olive Garden offers an unlimited pasta meal, or a chain steakhouse restaurant sells a steak dinner with two sides for less than 30 bucks. So, how are chains able to keep prices as low as they do in this economy?

The Trump administration aims to turn up the heat on the Taliban and force those fighters into peace talks proposed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Positive assessments by U.S. commanders there during a visit by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are a stark contrast to darker appraisals from the U.S. intelligence community and a top Afghanistan scholar.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld again dismisses talk that his time is short as the top civilian at the Pentagon. The Washington rumor mill has put Rumsfeld's job on the line in the past -- and been wrong. Renee Montagne talks to John Hendren about Rumsfeld's status, and the status of the initiatives he brought with him to the Pentagon five years ago.

There's a form of railroad travel that few people ever see: private railroad cars, which attach to normally-scheduled Amtrak trains and pull riders paying top-dollar across the country. Jordan Salama took a ride on one, traveling between Chicago and Huntington, W.V., to bring us the story of these "yachts on rails."

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was on top of the jazz world during the '60s and '70s. But personal setbacks left him unable to play and took him out of the limelight and off the stage. Hubbard died on Dec. 29, but in this story from 2001, he talked about attempting a comeback with an album called New Colors.

The price of a barrel of oil briefly topped $67 Friday, setting an all-time record. Oil prices have been rising in the past two months due to strong demand, refining capacity shortages and concerns about stability in Saudi Arabia. High energy prices contributed to a jump in the U.S. trade deficit in June.

In April of 1943, the body of a British Royal Marine washed ashore in Spain, carrying top secret letters about Allied plans to invade Greece and Sardinia. Or so it seemed. In reality, the body was that of a homeless Welsh laborer, and the letters were fakes designed to direct German attention away from the real Allied invasion target: Sicily.

According to a new government report, allegations of wrongdoing by military recruiters rose from 4,400 cases in 2004 to 6,600 cases in 2005 -- and numbers are likely worse than reported. Violations range from falsifying documents to telling a recruit not to reveal a legal or medical problem that could bar enlistment. The rise in recruiter problems could reflect pressure to meet wartime recruiting goals.

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay regulators more than $900 million in fines over last year's London Whale trading fiasco. A handful of rogue traders at the bank lost more than $6 billion in a bad derivatives trading strategy. The traders then concealed the losses from senior executives for weeks. JPMorgan also formally admitted wrongdoing in the settlement with four different regulators.

John Irving's immense 1985 novel, "The Ciderhouse Rules," has become an equally immense play. It's being presented in two parts by Seattle Repertory Theatre. Part One, premiering tonight (Wed. 3/6) in Seattle, runs almost four hours. It requires seventeen actors playing multiple roles and two directors. One of them is noted actor Tom Hulce.