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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently gave Russia's foreign minister a couple of Idaho potatoes. That's just the latest in the pantheon of gifts to world leaders — from camels to bulletproof limos — where, no really, the giver shouldn't have.

The Senate is still struggling to find a way to pay for an extension of unemployment benefits for those out of work for 26 weeks or more. Majority leader Harry Reid agreed to bring up five Democratic and five Republican amendments in hopes to winning enough Republicans over to get to the 60 votes needed for passage.

Most of Washington expects that the massive omnibus spending bill to pass House and Senate before the week is out, but some House Republicans and Democrats are still fighting a rearguard action to delay or stop it. What do the opponents have to say about the bill?

As President Obama prepared to announce changes to surveillance programs done by the National Security Agency, Congress heard from members of the panel that recommended major restructuring of NSA efforts.

Secretary of State John Kerry is attending a donors conference in Kuwait to try to raise money for the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. Millions of people have been forced from their homes and the U.N. has struggled to gain access to many parts of the country.

Gamemaker Tim Schafer revolutionized how to fund creative projects in his industry. He used funds from a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for an Internet game, bypassing corporate backing. His success influenced other gamers. And on Tuesday, the people who helped fund his project got to point-and-click their way through his new adventure.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has struck down a provision of the Federal Communications Commission's "Open Internet Rules." That provision allowed the FCC to regulate Internet service providers in much the same way it regulates phone service providers — requiring them to provide unrestricted service to all users.

Is that a cross? A ship with a figurehead? It's only human to wonder what the future will hold, especially on the threshold of a new year. In one German tradition, fortune-seekers drop molten lead into cold water — then it's anyone's guess what the strange shapes portend.

Despite uneven economic signals, the stock market boomed to record levels in 2013. To find out why, NPR's Linda Wertheimer speaks with Jeremy Siegel from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business about what's behind the rise, and what to expect in 2014.

Emergency unemployment benefits are ending, the auto bailout is over, and the Federal Reserve is scaling back its market support. All these are signs that federal stimulus is coming to an end. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with TIME magazine's Michael Grunwald about the winding down of government recovery efforts following the financial collapse of 2008.