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As a clock tower rings out 12 chimes, people all over the country will scoff a dozen grapes, hoping for good luck. With several seeds per grape and only a couple of seconds to swallow each one, the task is harder than it sounds. And then there's the bit about wearing a gift of red undergarments.

The countdown is on to a new year — and the fiscal changes that are on the other side of midnight. But what else is on the cards economically for 2013, both here and overseas? Guest host Celeste Headlee puts the question to the Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy.

We the People is supposed to be an online way for the public to petition the president. It's being used by advocates to score political points. Media critic and blogger Jeff Jarvis says it's time to stop the stunts. So he has, of course, started a petition.

Communities hit by Hurricane Sandy are waiting for more help from Washington. There's been no agreement on how much air they can expect, but people in the storm zone are concerned that repairs and rebuilding will be delayed, leaving them vulnerable to future storms.

With hours to go before the so-called fiscal cliff deadline, the House adjourned for the night and the Senate has yet to scheduled any vote. NPR's Julie Rover talks with All Things Considered host Audie Cornish about the latest.

The 2012 mammography debate was a continuation of a controversy touched off three years ago when a government task force said women under 50 don't need regular mammograms. And one recent analysis found that regular screenings haven't reduced the rate of advanced breast cancers.

Sen.-elect Ted Cruz is a bright young Hispanic star who will be sworn in this week in Washington. Many in the GOP hope he'll be able to bring more Latino voters into their column. But Cruz takes a Tea Party hard line on immigration.

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, 36, is a former social worker who spent part of her childhood living in an abandoned gas station. To win her district, made up of almost equal parts Republicans, Democrats and independents, she had to focus on voters in the middle.

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Jon Kuhl, public affairs and media manager at the National Conference of State Legislatures, about new laws going into effect Jan. 1. The laws include three tech-related rules in California — one about texting, another about driverless cars and a third about social media passwords.

The Senate-approved budget compromise that is meant to allow the U.S. government to avoid higher tax rates and austere budget cuts has tax rates as its central issue. We list some of the bill's effects, from tax credits to rising rates.