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Steve Martin is at the top of his game. He has just been awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, at the same time that his newest movie, Shopgirl, is winning strong reviews around the country.

His songs include "By The Time I Get to Phoenix," "Up Up and Away," "Wichita Lineman," "Macarthur Park," "Galveston," "Didn't We," "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "All I Know." His songs have been recorded by Glenn Campbell, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, Art Garfunkle and the Fifth Dimension. At one point in the 1960s, he had five Top 10 hits within a 20-month period. Webb has a lifetime achievement award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he's been inducted into the Nashville Hall of Fame. There's a new album, One Life, by singer Michael Feinstein, that pays tribute to him.

President Bush's top getaway, his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is also the place where Laura Bush seems to find the most solace. NPR's Ketzel Levine gets a rare tour of the ranch with the first lady, who discusses her efforts to restore native grasses and plants to the 1,600-acre property. See photos of wildflowers at the Bush ranch.

Richard Clarke, who served as the top White House counter-terrorism official under three presidents, says George W. Bush's administration did not consider terrorist threats to be urgent in its first seven months, despite Clarke's urgings. Speaking on Capitol Hill to a national commission investigating U.S. policies before Sept. 11, 2001, Clark said terrorism was given extraordinarily high priority in the Clinton administration. Also Wednesday, CIA Director George Tenet told the panel that terrorist intelligence was not properly integrated among different agencies. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Judi Dench has won major acting awards on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Oscar, the Tony and six Oliviers (England's top theatrical honor). The British actress is famous for Shakespearean roles, but she's also played spy chief M in James Bond films and currently appears in the Vin Diesel science fiction action flick The Chronicles of Riddick. NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews Dench about the art of acting.

An international think tank has released a new report ranking the response to the coronavirus pandemic by countries around the world. The list includes 98…

New York Times writer JASON DEPARLE. He covers poverty and social welfare issues for the Times. Recently DEPARLE has been writing about the disappearance of affordable housing. Government guidelines suggest that renters should be paying 30% of their income for housing, but many of our nations disabled and poor are paying 50, 60 and 70 percent of their income on housing. On top of that government subsidies for low-income housing have all but disappeared. DEPARLE's New York Times Magazine cover story about housing appeared on October 20, 1996. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE

The number one song in Britain is sung by a cartoon character, his name is Bob the Builder and his show appears on the BBC. The song shot to the top of the charts in Britain during the holiday, surpassing Scottish boy-band Westlife and Eminem's "Stan". The cartoon series -- and the song -- will be coming to the States next month. Linda talks with David Sinclair, pop music critic for the Times of London, about the sensation created by the Bob the Builder. (3:30) Bob the Builder is written by Paul Joyce, voiced by actor Neil Morrissey. The Audio CD is "Bob the Builder," from BBC Worldwide Music; ASIN: B00005244T Catalogue Number: WMSS60372.

Billboard reports that last week was the best week for vinyl record sales in three decades. Adele's 30 was the top-selling vinyl album of the year. Taylor Swift's Red also broke vinyl sale records.

The English-Irish pop group One Direction was near the top of the list with their 3-D concert film One Direction: This Is Us. It grossed $17 million in its first three days. The documentary cost $10 million to make.