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The week between Christmas and New Year's used to be a sleepy spot on the American calendar. Nowadays, it's crammed with people rushing around reminiscing with friends and families, returning presents and raking in gift-card booty. Others, even perhaps members of Congress, go straight back to work in this fiscal cliffhanger of a year.

Gerry Anderson, the man who created the iconic TV series Thunderbirds in the 1960s, has died, the BBC reports. Anderson, whose work was honored by a special set of moving-image stamps in Britain last year, had suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.

The year saw some disappointments in the development of drugs to treat Alzheimer's. But the setbacks were offset by progress in other areas. The upshot from this year's mixed results, some scientists say, is that treatment for Alzheimer's needs to start long before forgetfulness and muddled thinking are apparent.

Now that marijuana is legal in Washington state, parents and drug counselors face the quandary of what to tell kids about the drug. Counselors, especially, say their job is harder now because of the example of adults who are openly and legally indulging in a substance that, just a few weeks ago, could still be dismissed as illegal.

Connecticut has suddenly become the epicenter of America's gun control debate, in a way no one there could have foreseen. In the wake of the Newtown massacre, the state that once led the world in making modern weaponry is now the backdrop for arguments over the U.S. gun industry.

The Department of Veterans Affairs wanted to reduce a backlog in veterans' claims for disability benefits. Instead, the problem has worsened this year, in part, the VA says, because the department made it easier for more vets to file claims.

The company that makes BlackBerry, Research in Motion, had only 5 percent of the global smartphone market in 2012. That's down from 11 percent the year before, according to the market research firm IHS iSuppli. Also in the 5 percent club: Nokia and HTC.

President Obama returns to Washington Thursday as do members of the U.S. Senate. They're cutting holiday plans short in hopes of coming up with a deal to avoid the tax hikes and budget cuts set to take effect on Jan. 1.

Mary and Lenny Buongiorno figured their photos were lost forever after Sandy flooded their Staten Island home. The waterlogged album was in a pile of roadside debris when bus driver Mike Valente spotted it. He spent five weeks meticulously cleaning and restoring the images on his computer. After presenting the new album to the overjoyed couple, he told the New York Post, "I'm all about memories."

The storm that spread blizzards from Texas to the Great Lakes, and spawned tornadoes in the Southeast, will dump more snow before it heads off toward Canada and the Atlantic Ocean. It's been blamed for at least 15 deaths.