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A 12-day-old general strike in Venezuela turns violent again as supporters and critics of President Hugo Chavez battle in Caracas. Detractors say Chavez has impoverished the country. The leftist leader fired four dissident oil executives Thursday, increasing tensions. NPR's Gerry Hadden reports.

It's holiday film season and that usually means big budgets and special effects. But the film Drumline puts the emphasis on storytelling. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

NPR Religion Correspondent Duncan Moon reports on the dilemma the Roman Catholic Church faces over whether to give the Boston Archdiocese the go ahead to declare bankruptcy. Cardinal Bernard Law, archbishop of Boston, resigned this week after meeting with Vatican officials in Rome. Moon reports that bankruptcy may not remove the tremendous financial problems the Boston Archdiocese faces because of lawsuits, filed by victims of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

The European Union welcomes 10 new members at a summit in Copenhagen. The agenda is crowded, including debate about financing the expansion and whether Turkey, with its new Islamist government, will ever be allowed to join. NPR's Nick Spicer reports.

Starting Dec. 16, Morning Edition premieres its first original radio play, "I'd Rather Eat Pants." The five-act play, starring Edward Asner and Anne Meara, is a comic tale of an elderly couple's cross-country trek on a young slacker's motorcycle. They're in search of fame, fortune and a whole lot more. NPR's Bob Edwards and Susan Stamberg have cameo roles.

President Bush signs executive orders to help religious groups get federal money for charitable activities. The move advances the president's so-called "faith-based initiatives" while bypassing Congress. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

North Korean officials say they will reopen a nuclear power plant closed under a 1994 agreement with Washington. The move raises new concerns about North Korea's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Hear NPR's Rob Gifford and Johns Hopkins professor Donald Oberdorfer.

President Bush criticizes remarks by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) that seemed to endorse the nation's segregated past. Lott praised retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's segregationist campaign for president in 1948. Bush termed the comments "offensive" and "wrong." Hear from NPR's David Welna and David Hampton of the Jackson, Miss. Clarion-Ledger.

Cardinal Law resigns as Archbishop of Boston as controversy persists over his handling of sex-abuse allegations against the Roman Catholic clergy. The move comes after 58 priests called for Law to step down. The Archdiocese's financial problems remain. Hear from NPR's Bob Edwards, John Allen of The National Catholic Reporter and NPR's Duncan Moon.

As part of NPR's year-long Housing First project, Morning Edition this week airs three reports on the economics of housing for some of the neediest Americans. In the third report, NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Boston on a controversial program that's had some success turning around crumbling neighborhoods, but can also be used to clear desirable land for high-rent construction.

President Bush announces a plan to make an effective but risky smallpox vaccine available to all Americans. Military personnel and health care workers will get the innoculations first -- the front-line defense against a potential bioterror attack. Availability of vaccine played a big part in the administration's approach to the threat. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

Injuries are always a problem in professional sports. But this year star players in the National Football League seem to be burdened with more than their fair share of broken bones, bruises and concussion. Host Bob Edwards talks with commentator Peter Richmond about the rash of NFL injuries and which teams are staying healthy enough to make a run for the playoffs.