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Headlines from December 10, 2012

South Korean musician Psy apologizes for rapping about killing American torturers.
Psychologists try to use brain science to “cure” boredom.
The true meaning of Hanukkah—war, resilience, hope—is better for being complicated.
“Mysterious monkey in posh miniature winter coat found alone at Toronto Ikea.”
From a 10-year study of London’s bus stops, photographs that resemble Renaissance tableaus. #tmn
Music critic Alex Ross’s year-end top 10 classical recordings.
Now I was left with a very American song about the evils of drugs. Somali musician K’naan retools his music to fit top-40 requirements.
How people escape from North Korea.
See also: Reporter’s idealism tested by tough door policy at London’s North Korean embassy. #tmn
Oscar handicapping for “the best slate of movies we’ve had since at least 2009, if not 2007.”
Sports ranked by “exhilaration gap”—difference between watching a sport live and watching it on TV.
Depository for lesser-told stories of China’s 5.4 million mops.
Father hates me and I’m never coming back. Round-up of dying rock stars’ last words.
Crossword puzzle “constructors” earn paltry pay and no rights to their work; a reconsideration of an industry.
Man replaces wallet with a smartphone and a money clip, and explains why and how.
What would you say about a person who collected jelly beans? Confessions of a compulsive iPhone photographer.
Researchers find biological parents are four times less at risk of premature death.
The death rate of many of the biggest and oldest trees around the world is increasing rapidly.
Drug makers are working like pathogens, sharing information in new efforts to stay ahead of antibiotic-resistant infections. #opinions
Still a long way from being perfected, hydrogels, which can mimic human tissue, hold great promise in medication delivery.
Next to a cheesesteak stand, a barbershop was set up to dispense free mohawks. Business strategy meets testosterone at the Tough Mudder.
West Point’s fullback is the most-tackled player in college football, thanks to the service academies’ overreliance on the triple option.
There was a college football national championship game arranged not by computer rankings or a rubric of poll results.
TMN’s Robert Birnbaum issues his annual list of the year’s best coffee-table tomes. #books
Why abolishing homework will work for France only if the French want it.
Brooklyn, always a desert, has expanded into a limitless desert. From 1906, Alvan F. Sanborn returns to New York from Paris.
Photos of Manhattan’s Lower East Side from both 1980 and 2010. #tmn
Mr. Bloomberg has long adored The Economist, and his affinity for the paper, at least as a reader, has deepened lately.
The BBC explains how U.S. states’ secession bids differ from the separatist initiatives sought by Scotland, Catalonia, and Quebec.