Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo prepares to speak at a Miami-Dade County school board meeting. Curbelo began his political career on the school board. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption

Marion Chabrel (center), 37, has taken in two migrants as roommates, Brahim (left), from Bangladesh, and Shabada (right) from Afghanistan. Eleanor Beardsley/NPR hide caption

Chacoda, an Atlantic harbor seal at the New England Aquarium, is so good at vocalizing that he can mimic his teacher, Kathy Streeter, when she says, "How are you?" Gabrielle Emanuel/NPR hide caption

Bittersweet liqueurs including Cynar, Jagermeister, Chartreuse and Amaro Nonino have long been popular in Italy and other parts of Europe as a digestive aid. Now, they're becoming popular on U.S. cocktail menus. Kirk McKoy/LA Times via Getty Images hide caption

Clockwise from left: Corey King, Esperanza Spalding, Laura Mvula, Michaela Anne. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

San Francisco Bay area voters recently approved a sales tax increase to upgrade the aging BART system. Ben Margot/AP hide caption

Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 provides listeners rare access to the Miles Davis Quintet's creative process. Veryl Oakland/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 11 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a defense detachment on Mahap Islet. KNS/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Chef Niki Nakayama in the kitchen with her wife and sous chef, Carole Iida-Nakayama. Nakayama is a modern master of the ancient Japanese art of kaiseki, a local, seasonal, multicourse meal rooted in Eastern philosophies that value being in harmony with nature. Katrina Dickson hide caption

People wait at the border in Maicao, Colombia, just across from Venezuela. Venezuelans used to come to buy TVs, computers and other expensive goods. But with the Venezuelan economy in ruins, they now come to buy basic items like rice and sugar. John Otis for NPR hide caption

Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, speaks to the media at Trump Tower on Monday. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Rep. John Lewis views for the first time images and his arrest record for leading a nonviolent sit-in at Nashville's segregated lunch counters in 1963. Rick Diamond/Getty Images hide caption

Lady Gaga went on a dive bar tour this year to promote her country-influenced album, Joanne. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

As the presence of artificial intelligence continues to grow in the world, industry leaders and scholars are starting to explore the ethics surrounding the science. Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images hide caption