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The appeal of soccer's quadrennial World Cup tournament baffles many Americans. With the world's greatest soccer players convening in Germany for the monthlong FIFA World Cup 2006 — where the United States team has hopes of contending for a top spot — we have tips for potential Cup viewers.

With his band the Belmonts, singer-songwriter Dion rose to fame as a '60s teen idol, topping charts with hits like "The Wanderer" and "I Wonder Why." The latest album in his long career is Heroes: Giants Of Early Guitar Rock.

Lahiri famously brought a disco vibe to India's biggest film industry. He composed dozens of hits in the 1970s and '80s — which appeared in many top Bollywood movies.

The Bangles were a rock phenomenon in the early 1980s, beginning with the chart-topping hit "Walk Like An Egyptian." After a 15-year hiatus, they're back as rock 'n' roll moms. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

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.

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.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, a new film about a young woman's illegal abortion in Ceausescu's Romania, won the top prize at Cannes and has just opened in the U.S. It's a fierce and unsentimental film; Terry Gross talks to Mungiu about growing up in a totalitarian state, and why he wanted to make the movie.

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.