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If you have a few too many pounds around the belly, too few coins in the purse and access to a Santa suit this Christmas season, you might be thinking you could make a few extra bucks posing as Old St. Nick. Well, some professional Santas warn, it's not that easy.

Since last week's shootings in Newtown, Conn., many people are wondering what could have been done to stop them. Connecticut already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, including a gun seizure statute that was crafted with the goal of preventing this kind of tragedy.

Syrian activists are reporting that a government airstrike has killed tens of people at a bakery near the central city of Hama. As the situation continues to worsen, special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is arriving in Damascus for talks with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

If you've been arrested in the last 10 years, there's a good chance your arrest photo ended up on any number of websites. You'll have to pay to make them take it down, but one lawyer aims to make the websites pay instead.

The only women who have gotten pregnant with an ovarian transplant are cancer patients at great risk of losing their fertility. But a handful of doctors are now doing the procedure for patients trying to beat their biological clocks.

Boys are entering puberty six months to two years earlier than they did in past studies. Caucasian boys tend to begin puberty, on average, at around 10 years old while African American boys tend to begin puberty at 9.

With several things to worry about — including the possibility of automatic tax increases and spending cuts — it appears American consumers weren't in the cheeriest of holiday spirits on the last weekend before Christmas. Shoppers were out, but analysts say their spending was subdued.

George McGovern, Arlen Specter, Warren Rudman, Dan Inouye ... just some of the political giants who died in 2012. This week's super-sized Political Junkie column is dedicated to their memory.

A combination of greater job security, fewer bills and rising wealth sent shoppers heading off to car dealerships, malls and restaurants. "Job growth was not great, but it was good enough to make people feel like things are getting better," said Nariman Behravesh of IHS Global Insight. NPR's Marilyn Geewax covers 2012's economic good news.