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Here to look back at some of the trends of 2013 as well as some of the best and worst is KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando.

A Sampling of Tempting Indie Fare

When Daniel Catán's opera premiered in San Diego in 1994, it was the first by a Mexican composer in the United States.

Counting Down The 10 Best Films Of 2013 And More

North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean border island comes during a difficult period for the isolated regime in Pyongyang. It is undergoing political succession and facing new food shortages. In the past, weakness and uncertainty have sparked provocations like Tuesday's attack.

North Korea's top governing body warned Thursday that the regime will conduct its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, and made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States.

In dictatorships or monarchies, the death of a powerful leader may produce a political crisis. U.S. intelligence analysts right now are following the medical conditions of leaders in Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Cuba. In each case, the United States has a stake in the outcome.

In February, North Korea agreed to freeze uranium enrichment and missile tests and allow international nuclear inspectors — and then immediately announced a rocket launch. North Korea watchers are puzzled by the mixed messages and wonder who is calling the shots in a country with a new, untested leader.

With delegates from the Workers' Party believed to be gathered in the capital Pyongyang for a political conference, North Korea watchers are saying a leadership change could be in the works. But the meeting is cloaked in secrecy, making it difficult for outsiders to determine where the nuclear-armed country is headed.

Defying U.N. warnings, North Korea on Tuesday conducted its third nuclear test in the remote, snowy northeast, taking a crucial step toward its goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States.