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The half-Spanish, half-English musician is known for her eclectic style — quite possibly a result of her time working as a magician's assistant and burlesque dancer.

Her highness — known outside the big dress as Mary Alice LeGrow — is a professional party princess. She uses her best princess voice and dresses up in full regalia to charm children. But life in the kingdom isn't all candy and sugarplums; it takes a lot of muscle to be a princess.

On Election Day, voters in Colorado and Washington state legalized marijuana for recreational use. Residents can't just walk in and buy a dime bag yet, however; the states need to set up some ground rules first.

Every answer consists of a made-up two-word phrase in which the first word starts with CH, and the second word is pronounced the same as the first except with an SH sound at the start. (The spelling may or may not change.) For example, given the clue "some Central African fish," the answer would be "Chad shad."

Gangnam Style, by Korean pop star PSY, is now the site's most-viewed video of all time. With more than 810 million views and numerous spoofs, "the velocity of popularity for PSY's outlandish video is unprecedented," YouTube said.

The court's answer to that question could significantly restrict employer liability in racial and sexual harassment cases, or, in the view of some business organizations, it could result in frivolous litigation.

Each year, Lego turns out 19 billion plastic bricks, figures and gears for building things. But sometimes it seems even 19 billion isn't enough. Seattle-area resident Will Chapman wanted more, so he started making Lego-compatible parts — including World War II weapons.

Scientists say that whether tipping waiters or trading Christmas cards, we're programmed to reciprocate when we receive a gift. But the rule of reciprocity can also complicate politics and medicine.

After Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, he expanded his powers at home by exempting his rulings from judicial review until a new constitution is ratified. Egyptian judges have condemned the move, and some have called for a strike.

Pakistani columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee was revered in his nation for exposing corruption, nepotism and mismanagement at all levels of government. He died this weekend at the age of 86. Steve Inskeep has this remembrance.

Eight days of Israeli missile strikes on Gaza killed a lot of children — and terrified many more. Yet in this war zone, the task of healing psychological wounds is handled a little differently. The children of Small Hands Kindergarten are barely more than toddlers. Led by their teachers to a public square, they wave toy guns at imaginary Israeli jets overhead and stomp on a poster bearing the Star of David. Yet this kindergarten isn't run by Hamas — it's run by supporters of Fatah. These young children are part of a chorus of voices calling for an end to the two rival factions who rule Gaza and the West Bank respectively.

More than 15,000 otters in Illinois are pilfering fish from fishermen and disrupting the local ecosystem. To deal with it, the state is allowing an otter trapping season for the first time in 87 years, starting this month. Bob Bluett, a biologist from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, joins Steve Inskeep to talk about the otter inundation.

The decision lets stand a lower court ruling, which found placing limits on taping police in public spaces unconstitutional. The ACLU said to make the rights of free expression and petition effective, Americans need to be free to gather information on their government.

Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice, first for her 2009 novel, Wolf Hall, and now for that book's 2012 sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. The novels are part of a historical fiction trilogy about Tudor England and the events surrounding the reign of King Henry VIII.

After early reports that the singer known for party anthems like "Party Til You Puke," was headed to the restive Gulf country hosted by the U.S. embassy, the State Department decided it wasn't an appropriate use of government money.

Thanksgiving weekend spending shot up nearly 13 percent from last year, and there's more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year for people to shop. And if a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff comes just before Christmas, as some expect, it could brighten the economic mood of last-minute shoppers.

Arab-Kurd skirmishes in southern Iraq late last week injured dozens of people and killed at least one. Now troops from both sides are escalating and tensions are high again. This all comes as Kurdistan president Massoud Barzani battles Iraqi Central government Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Analysts say Barzani has been emboldened by independent oil contracts, the increasing support of Turkey, and ongoing events in Syria.

Melissa Block talks to Steve Henn about Cyber Monday.

Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of giving information to the website WikiLeaks, is expected in court on Tuesday. Manning denies being a spy and recently offered to plead guilty to minor charges. This is just one more oddity in a case some describe as "bizarre."

The decree, which granted the Egyptian president sweeping power, unleashed mass protests. Today, Mohammed Morsi softened his language, but stood his ground, saying the decree will not change.