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As 2013 wraps up, NPR is looking at the numbers that tell this year's story. When it comes to the economy, $85 billion is a good candidate. That's the amount the Federal Reserve has been pumping into the financial system each month trying to stimulate growth and bring down unemployment. On Tuesday, Fed policymakers begin a two-day meeting at which they'll decide whether to dial back that stimulus.

Across the country, a new model of housing development is springing up that embraces the local food movement. Farms — complete with livestock, vegetables and fruit trees — are now serving as the latest suburban amenity.

Democrats in Congress are promising to try to retroactively extend emergency unemployment benefits after the new year. The expiration of the benefits may satisfy some fiscal conservatives, but it has some economists and many desperate job-seekers concerned.

The Chinese Exclusion Act, designed to prevent Chinese laborers from entering the country, prompted tens of thousands of people to use forged papers to enter the U.S. The law was repealed 70 years ago, but many Chinese-Americans are still piecing together their ancestors' true identities.

The head of British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline told The New York Times on Monday that the company will stop paying doctors to promote its drugs. Pharmaceutical firms commonly pay physicians to speak at medical conferences — a practice criticized as a conflict of interest.

For the 29th straight year, Michael Gray, 34, and his younger brother Martin, 29, posed together with Santa. They say it makes their mom happy. She keeps a book of the photos at home.

Most social networks require users to be at least 13. But Itay Eshet's daughter, like many kids, wanted to join Facebook when she was just 10. So Eshet created a site just for younger kids, designed to protect them from bullying and other risks while teaching them to navigate social media safely.

Colorado and Washington state are setting up legalized marijuana markets, and advocates are celebrating. But there are signs of discontent. Even a founder of a marijuana legalization group says there's a possibility of a popular backlash.

These days, with salary caps and benevolent socialism, if a team has wise management, it has a chance, observes Frank Deford — even if it's a franchise in an itsy-bitsy market. That's a big change from when the leagues were invariably dominated by dynasties.

Raed Fares, a pro-democracy activist from the Syrian town of Kafr Nabl, has helped lead that town's anti-government protests since the very early days of the Syrian conflict in 2011. This week, Fares is in the U.S., on only his second trip outside of Syria. Fares is attempting to rebuild support for the revolution among Syrian Americans. He speaks with NPR's Arun Rath about the conflict and the toll it has taken on his town.