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NPR's Debbie Elliott reports that Exxon Mobil Corporation has been ordered to pay the state of Alabama nearly 3-and-a-half billion dollars in punitive damages. An Alabama circuit court jury found the company had deliberately underpaid on its natural gas leases off the Alabama coast.

NPR's Joe Palca reports on today's partial eclipse of the sun. It's the first time since 1954 that there's been a partial solar eclipse on Christmas Day, but the last eclipse was only visible in South Africa. Today's partial eclipse will be visible across North America. More information on times the eclipse will be visible in your area is on the NPR website.

NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Northern China on political corruption in China's provinces. The latest incident involves a member of the Communist Party who was a figure in the local people's Congress and a mob boss. Critics say major political reforms are needed in order to erase the link between organized crime and the government.

Scott Horsley of member station KPBS in San Diego reports that California Gov. Gray Davis announced a plan yesterday to speed up the construction of new power plants over the next several years. It's the latest effort to ease the state's power crisis.

NPR's Phillip Davis reports on the case of 14-year-old Lionel Tate, who was sentenced to life in prison last month for the murder of a six-year-old playmate. Tate's conviction is the continuation of a trend in Florida, where many juvenile criminals are prosecuted as adults.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen clashed in several parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank today. The escalating violence came amid signs Israel's Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon may succeed in efforts to form a national unity government made up of his Likud faction and the Labor Party.

Reporter Curtis Fox takes us on a visit to Harlem, the storied black neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper West side. White people are buying brownstones and moving in, and trendy, white-owned chains like Starbucks are opening up. Long-time residents are divided about whether or not it means the beginning of the end of Harlem's cultural identity as the "Black Mecca".

Rachael Myrow, of member station KPCC in Los Angeles, reports that another of President Clinton's last-minute actions is drawing criticism. The president commuted the sentence of a convicted drug dealer, and now mayoral candidates, a cardinal, and a former U.S. Representative — who all pushed for the commutation — are backing away from their support.

NPR's Pam Fessler reports that the preliminary numbers for the 2000 Census seem to be more accurate than the 1990 count. But Republicans and Democrats are still debating whether to use the controversial "statistical sampling" technique, which many statisticians claim could further increase the accuracy of the census. Republicans argue that the method is unconstitutional.

NPR's Guy Raz reports on a scandal developing around one of Germany's leaders. Last month German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer gave testimony in a murder trial about his past as a student radical. Now evidence suggests that Fischer may have whitewashed his story, and he is being accused of perjury.