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President Obama tapped Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to be the next Secretary of State on Friday. Kerry is expected to win easy confirmation in the Senate, which would be a relief in the midst of fierce partisan battles over taxes, spending and — coming next month — gun control. Melissa Block talks to Scott Horsley.

Japan's economy was a world beater in the 1980s. But the country has now gone through two tough decades and there's no end in sight. What lessons might it hold for the U.S. as it confronts the "fiscal cliff"?

Over the past quarter-century, millions of people have poured into theaters to see the stage-musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Now it's opening in movie theaters; director Tom Hooper tells NPR's Melissa Block that it was a total labor of love.

If John Kerry leaves the Senate to become secretary of state another Kennedy could fill his Senate seat — at least on an interim basis. And ousted Republican Scott Brown could have fighting chance of returning to the Capitol.

In a news conference Friday, the president said both parties would have to work together in the next 10 days to prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans.

Eno has left an indelible footprint on the popular-music landscape as a producer, a composer and an early innovator in ambient music. Speaking with World Cafe host David Dye, he looks back on his career and discusses his latest album, Lux.

While some cities push measures that drive immigrants away, some cities are doing exactly the opposite. Dayton, Ohio, adopted a plan to rebuild its battered economy by attracting immigrants — an approach that's influencing the way other cities deal with immigration.

With Christmas on Tuesday this year, stores may be jam-packed this weekend. Those busy stores are also going to be on the lookout for shoplifters, especially at self-checkout machines, where it is a big problem.

The inspirational El Sistema music education program, developed in Venezuela, has Sao Paulo Symphony conductor Marin Alsop fantasizing about a better musical world. Her other orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, is bringing similar opportunities to Charm City children.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with Atlantic correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg about the massacre in Newtown, Conn. He wrote the cover story in this month's issue, titled "The Case For More Guns — And More Gun Control." In it, Goldberg posits that it's impossible to reduce gun crime with the number of guns already on the street, and that maybe the answer is to allow more people to carry them.