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To celebrate the new year, Sasa Woodruff's mom bakes a punch torte, a tradition started in her family back in the former Czechoslovakia. Her mom was born during World War II and food was scarce, but thanks to her family's chickens, the 16 eggs the cake calls for were a luxury they could afford.

NPR asked four chefs to divulge the dish that most reminds them of the holidays. Atlanta-based food chemist Shirley Corriher says her favorite is her grandmother's sweet potato pudding, while Dorie Greenspan thinks fondly of gingerbread cookies -- and what happened when her son was young.

Greta Gerwig's film joins a high-grossing list of mostly male-directed movies, most of them with men leading the casts.

A recent bout of public disgust over dirty politics in Brazil could have had an impact at the polls today. Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds the lead, but claims of corruption may result in a runoff with his main opponent, Geraldo Alckmin. Debbie Elliott speaks with NPR's Julie McCarthy.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Moscow to discuss the West's nuclear standoff with Iran. She's meeting with foreign ministers from the G8 -- the group of eight leading industrial countries. They'll also go over the agenda for next month's G8 summit in Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.

Robert Siegel and Melissa Block review listeners' e-mails from Monday's story on bread, fish and ducks in Linesville, Pa. People gather there to toss bread to the carp in a spillway, and there are so many fish that the ducks literally hop, skip, and jump across the fish to get their own slices of bread.

President Barack Obama suffered a big setback Tuesday when two of his nominees withdrew their names from consideration for top administration jobs. Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, pulled his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services. Nancy Killefer withdrew her name from consideration as Mr. Obama's chief government performance officer.

State Department employees have snooped inside the passport files of all three presidential contenders. The State Department has apologized and is investigating. Two employees have been fired. The Justice Department is weighing whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, faced tough questions on Iraq from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The three American military contractors who were among the 15 hostages rescued from Colombian leftist rebels have returned home safe. The rescue operation was assisted by quick thinking, acting skills and Che Guevara T-shirts.