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The hostility that has characterized the China-Taiwan relationship for the past year seems to have abated. NPR's Rob Gifford tells Noah Adams that this week Taiwan allowed the first legal direct shipping from Taiwanese-held islands to mainland China. And Taiwan's top policymaker indicated China might be more flexible than in the past on the issue of one China. China always has insisted that Taiwan accept the concept of one China, including Taiwan, with Beijing as the capital. But in an interview yesterday, a high-level official indicated Beijing might consider a broader definition of what constitutes one China.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Davos, Switzerland, that the annual World Economic Forum got under way today amid concern over a downturn in the U.S. economy. This year's event did not draw as many top leaders to Davos as last year's 30th anniversary meeting. The Bush administration -- in the midst of confirmation hearings -- sent no senior official to Davos. Swiss police have mounted a huge security operation to prevent the kind of "anti-globalization" protests that have surrounded recent meetings of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organization.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that, while financier Marc Rich's pardon didn't go through the usual channels at the Justice Department, one top official, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, was informed. Another issue about Rich's citizenship has also arisen. At one time he renounced his citizenship, but the State Department maintains he is still a U.S. citizen. If so, the multimillionaire could owe U.S. income taxes on earnings during 17-years of exile in Switzerland. That could sway his decision on whether to return to the U.S.

Champion race car driver Michael Andretti won the race — covering 350 feet at a top speed of 17 miles per hour. The event helped to launch the parking garage at a new casino in Washington state.

This is Dr. Fauci's first pandemic — but he's become the nation's top expert on infectious diseases over five decades in government.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, considered to be one of the leading presidential historians of this era, was part of a top-secret meeting Biden had at the start of his presidency with a group of distinguished presidential historians.

Chile has joined Israel, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates as one of the top countries in the world when it comes to vaccination rates.

Drake recently released Scary Hours 2, a mini-album with three songs on it, and those songs all debuted in the top-three spots of the Billboard Hot 100. No other artist has ever pulled this off.

Brian Murphy, a former top official in the Department Of Homeland Security, alleges he was instructed to downplay the threat of Russia and white nationalism.

The Puerto Rican rapper only performs in Spanish — a sign of the growing power of Hispanic music. It's the first time an artist who never sings in English tops the year-end list.