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Officials from France, Britain and Israel claim chemical weapons have been used in Syria. President Obama has warned Syria that the use of chemical weapons would be a red line. U.S. officials say they are looking into the latest allegations of chemical-weapons use but have not come to the same conclusions that others have.

Kids may not like the idea of extending the average six-hour school day, but some educators and politicians do. They are experimenting with ways to increase enrichment classes and make it affordable for school districts.

President Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas when he travels to the Middle East next week. Host Scott Simon talks with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic and Bloomberg View about the president's upcoming trip.

Renee Montagne talks to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and which power players stand to win or lose from the crisis.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in the region Tuesday. And in Cairo, Egypt's new Islamic leadership is now serving as a mediator between the Israelis and Gaza's Hamas-led government.

Robert Siegel talks to Aaron David Miller, Vice President at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars who has worked on Middle East policy at the State Department under past Republican and Democratic administrations. Miller points out that while the world is focused on the issue of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the leadership in the other Palestinian territory, the West Bank, is seeing diminished clout. Milller says the militant approach of Hamas is drawing support from many Palestinians. But he adds that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party offer ssomething that Hamas does not: the prospect of Palestinian statehood.

The soprano, whose life unfolded with more tragic and triumphant twists and turns than any opera plot was celebrated for her electrifying performances and her dissident political views.

Thousands of votes poured in from our listeners, telling us their favorite albums for 2012. In the end, a record that didn't come out until this fall wound up in the number one spot.

Abraham Lincoln's likeness adorns everything from the penny to a South Dakota mountain. Naturally, such a heroic and tragic American figure has been a subject for the silver screen since its early days. NPR's Bob Mondello surveys some of the most memorable big-screen Lincolns.

President Obama wrapped up talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday before heading back to Jerusalem's convention center to deliver a speech to Israeli university students.