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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.

Following an already violent year in Pakistan, on the first day of the New Year gunmen shot and killed five teachers and two aid workers as they were driving home from work.

Early this morning, the Senate passed tax and spending measures in an effort to avoid the fiscal cliff. House Republican leadership meets this afternoon to discuss the deal and a possible vote. Host Neal Conan checks in with NPR's senior Washington editor Ron Elving about the current status of the agreement and today's potential outcomes.

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.

In October 2013, open enrollment begins, when people can start signing up for their 2014 coverage through the new state-run health exchanges. But most of the changes in 2013 are tax increases and cuts in tax deductions to pay for the 2014 changes.

After a massive oil rig ran aground near Kodiak, Alaska, Shell Oil again faces questions about its ambitious and expensive plans to drill for oil offshore in the Arctic. The rig doesn't hold any crude oil but carries more than 150,000 gallons of diesel and lube and hydraulic fluids. Drilling opponents claim the incident shows that fierce weather and daunting logistics make the Arctic unsafe for oil production.

A colossal monument of the Lakota warrior chief in South Dakota is 64 years in the making. Problems in the underlying rock are forcing the sculptors to deviate from the original model. But the family carving the monument says it will carry on even if it takes another lifetime to finish.

A Pakistani bill would allow intelligence and law enforcement agencies to tap phones, monitor Internet traffic, and follow people they suspect are terrorists. Security agencies in Pakistan already do this, but the new bill will give them the legal cover to do so.

The California congressman lost his seat this fall. Stark has been part of almost every piece of health legislation enacted while he was in office. The 113th Congress will be the first one in 40 years to convene without him as a member.

A scientist in Thailand raises mosquito colonies so she can study a new malaria drug. The insects are quite spoiled — they'll eat only live human blood. So she feeds them "breakfast" each day from her right arm.

An analysis from the Centers For Disease Control and Research finds that being overweight, but not obese, is associated with lower risk of death. But no one is suggesting you ditch your exercise or diet goals.

The 'fiscal cliff' deal passed by both houses of Congress provides a five-year extension of the earned income tax credit — an important one for lower income families. It also extended the child tax credit.

A development project in a remote area of northeast Vermont is one of the largest in the country to bring in funds using the federal EB-5 immigrant investor program. It allows qualified foreigners who invest $500,000, and create at least 10 American jobs, to get green cards.

The peanut butter and chocolate candy bar has designated 2013 as its 90-ish birthday. While there's a trademark document that dates back to 1928, officials believe the candy bar was first promoted in 1923. The Curtiss Candy Company, which was based in Chicago, made Butterfinger and also the Baby Ruth candy bar. They're both now made by Nestle.

The Federal Trade Commission receives more than 200,000 complaints a month about phone solicitations offering everything from lower credit card interest rates to new products. The commission is offering $50,000 to whoever can come up with a way to block them.

Maps do more than help us get around, Simon Garfield makes evident in his tour through the history and science of map-making. They can unlock vast wealth, solve mysteries of science, project political power — even trace the outlines of the divine.

First there will be a fight over raising the debt ceiling. Then there's another deadline for deep spending cuts. It's like another Lord of the Rings trilogy — we know at least two more stories are coming and it's clear there's going to be a lot of nastiness before the day is (we hope) saved.

It's part of a larger development, which is going ahead even though critics note it's partly in a flood zone. Flooding from Hurricane Sandy prompted the developer to make only minor adjustments.

Actor Jack Black plays a kindly small-town funeral director who murders a millionaire in the film Bernie. Black is also one-half of the comedy folk-rock group Tenacious D. In May, they released an album in the style of heavy metal bands from the 1980s.

Our live show concluded with an audience Q&A that you can now enjoy — just like you were there!