Week of December 17th, 2012

Common Sense Media reviews educational apps for kids and shared these 10 recommendations.

Fancy educational toys don't give rich kids an advantage over poor kids when it comes to brain development.

The Weekly Wrap talks about what can happen now that Speaker John Boehner's Plan B has failed.

The NRA says that the only way to keep schools safe is to train and arm someone at every school in America — but how much would that cost? Meanwhile, Speaker John Boehner’s so-called “Plan B” to avoid the fiscal cliff failed before any votes were taken. Facebook is testing a $1 fee that allows strangers to message you. Some pediatricians say that expensive educational toys are a waste of money and may even actually be harmful. We hear about what’s being done to avoid costly medical mistakes. And Dan Bobkoff finds out why the Japanese no longer dominate in the world of electronics.

There are 7.3 million teachers in America — among them are countless substitute teachers who haven't always been portrayed in the best light, but what subs do in their day-to-day work life is a lot more than most of us realize.

What would it take for us to become a completely cashless society? Marketplace's Queena Kim takes us on a test drive of the Google Wallet app and talks about the efficacy of technology that's designed to make paper money a thing of the past.

The "never events," like leaving a sponge behind in a patient, or receiving the wrong operation, happen 80 times a week in hospitals nationwide, according to a new study.

Now that it's publicly owned, Facebook needs to generate revenue, so it's looking for more ways to monetize its users.

If the government fails to agree on a budget, what, if anything, can poor people do to weather the automatic spending cuts that will kick in after the nation plunges off the fiscal cliff?

The executive director of the National Rifle Association proposes having "good guys with guns" protect school children from "bad guys with guns."

Paying with cash may be passé, but swiping that credit card is getting to be old school too. And, tipping a little extra during the holidays is an American tradition but is that tip from guilt or gratitude? Plus, how do you keep a natural disaster from becoming a financial one?

How many Sony, Panasonic or Sharp gadgets did you buy this year? Japan’s electronics giants have lost their competitiveness — and perhaps creativity.

The census report tells us which states are growing the fastest. Two soccer teams in Greece are finding sponsors in unusual places. And, a reindeer in Canada spreads a little Christmas cheer, but that's not all it's spreading.

Facebook started testing a new feature yesterday. For a dollar, a stranger can send you a message that’ll land in your directly in your inbox.

The photo sharing app Instagram is retreating from its new privacy policy after users cried foul. How common are such reversals in the tech world?

How do you get rid of a worthless stock? Is life insurance for seniors a good investment option? What ever happened to the paper U.S. Savings Bonds? CBS Money Watch editor-at-large Jill Schlesinger answers listeners' personal finance questions.

The Dinner Party serves up news that didn't quite make the headlines — perfect for your dinner party conversations this weekend.

In June 2012, Marketplace Money shared the story of the Gulis, a couple whose home and business were destroyed in the Colorado wildfires. We check in on them six months later and find out how they're rebuilding their lives after losing nearly everything.

It was called "Plan B" — a way to avoid some of the tax increases that are part of the fiscal cliff without putting together a broad bipartisan deal before the New Year.

As local and national funding is slashed, two soccer teams in Greece are turning to some unusual sponsors to make ends meet.

In a Washington surprise, “Plan B” — a temporary solution to the fiscal cliff problem — failed last night, after House Speaker John Boehner could not muster the support in his own party to pass it. Another end-of-year deadline that could cause some economic trouble: The Longshoremen’s Union is in heated contract negotiations with 14 ports along the East coast and the Gulf coast, and if an agreement isn’t reached by December 30th, there could be another big port strike. And in Greece, two soccer teams are so cash-strapped they are turning to some unusual sponsors to make ends meet.

A video gamer has asked for a kind of “ceasefire” today, 24 hours in which people agree not to play shoot ’em up digital games as a gesture of respect to the children and adults killed in the Newtown massacre a week ago. And there’s new data on how social media reacted to the Sandy Hook story. Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism has been looking at Twitter, Blogs and op-eds online.

A man asks fellow gamers to lay down their digital weapons in the wake of Newtown, and a new report from Pew's Excellence in Journalism project looks at why reaction to this shooting was different.

In the U.S., tipping is multi-billion dollar industry. But has gratuity simply become an expectation rather than a reflection of good customer service?

Ebeneezer Scrooge seems the epitome of a bad boss. He keeps the thermostat low, you have to beg for a day off and forget about a holiday office party. But is Scrooge's bad reputation undeserved?

The usually stoic National Rifle Association will break their MO with a press conference in the wake of the gun deaths of 20 elementary school children.

Honk if your palms are sweaty! Carmakers are heading down the road toward biometric technology.

Commentator Logan Sachon loves her 2-year-old nephew dearly. She shows it by never, ever buying him presents.

London fish vendor Shahid Nazir sang the praises of his produce so musically that it led to a song, a record deal and Internet stardom, but he might prove a one-hit wonder.

Tips for your next hotel stay from a long-time hotelier.

Now that the New York Stock Exchange has been bought, what does it mean for investors? Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year, which gives shoppers — and retailers — an extra weekday for finding that last-minute gift. The demand for architects is on the rise. Shaquille O’Neal announced he will launch a new vodka called Luv Shaq. Stephen Beard follows the rise of Shahid Nazir from fish monger in London to a worldwide Youtube sensation. And we hear the story of a man who, after serving 13 years in prison, found out he owed the city of Philadelphia almost $42,000.

Basketball great Shaquille O'Neal puts his big name on a new brand of vodka.

Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, meaning procrastinators get an extra day at the beginning of next week to finish up their shopping. And because Thanksgiving was as early as it could be this year, it's an extra-long holiday season for retailers.

It's another sign the global business world has become less centralized and more diffuse. The company poised to buy the New York Stock Exchange for more than $8 billion is based not in a world financial center, but in Atlanta.

Architects were slammed by the fiscal crisis and recession. Now an index of their billings shows work coming back as developers proceed with projects.

Could the New York Stock Exchange have at last found a soul mate regulators can live with? In Europe, the Catholic Organization Opus Dei has gotten into a fight with a small Danish game-maker. And Boeing uses potatoes to test in-flight Wi-Fi.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has dealt Apple some bitter news.

The latest revision of third quarter GDP finds the U.S. economy growing even faster than we'd thought this summer — 3.1 percent.

Those internal emails of UBS LIBOR rate-rigging do have a certain poetic ring to them…

In the aftermath of the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, the debate around tighter gun control quickly became a national conversation.

There’s news that the New York Stock Exchange might be acquired for $8 billion by the Atlanta-based upstart IntercontinentalExchange.

Throughout all of this fiscal cliff back and forth, the stock market has reflected a certain stoicism from corporate America: Not much movement at all. But the stock market leaves out a huge chunk of our economy: Private companies.

There are apps that let stalkers track their victims. Now there’s a move in Washington to outlaw them. And while they’re at it, some members of Congress would like us all to have a clear idea of which pieces of software for a smartphone keep track of our physical location. One of the sponsors of new legislation that has just come out of committee is Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota.

Vice President Joe Biden is meeting with law enforcement officers today to come up with ways to stop gun violence. The vice president has been asked to offer some recommendations to President Obama by late January. So what do the American people think should be done? As we approach the fiscal cliff, much of the attention in Washington has been on income tax rates. But there’s another tax that’s likely to rise whether we go over the cliff or not: the tax on capital gains. Plus, a fight that’s going on over a card game.

A squabble between Opus Dei, the exclusive Catholic organization, and a small Danish game-maker, has ended up in court. At issue is a card game.

New research suggests rising violence in Mexico could be tied to U.S. gun laws.

Top capital gains tax rates would increase to 20 percent, taxes on dividends would go as high as 39.6 percent.

A new study out today confirms what parents already know: Don't let your babies grow up to be rock 'n' roll stars.

Senator Al Franken is pushing for more privacy options when it comes to location data.

A year after launching Dr Pepper TEN, a diet drink targeted at men, Dr. Pepper Snapple says it will unveil new 10-calorie drinks to challenge zero-calorie brands.

With six shopping days left until Christmas, we take a look at dynamic pricing. In part two of our series on Michigan’s right-to-work legislation, we look ahead to what’s next for the state’s middle class. General Motors will purchase 200 million shares of stock from the U.S. Treasury in its first step towards a government exit. When acts of violence shake the nation, sales of guns go up — and the same happens with gun magazine sales. Meanwhile, some schools are looking to beef up security. And Dr. Pepper and other affiliated products are introducing a new soda to attract more male consumers.

GM wants you to never, ever call it 'Government Motors' again. Ralph Reed, of the Christian Coalition and more lately the Faith and Freedom Coalition, stops by to talk about what social conservatives want out of budget negotiations. And the most precise, nastiest-tasting Gingerbread house you've ever had the pleasure to not eat.

Community college replaces unionized auto factories as landmarks of economic mobility in Flint, Mich.

The government is on track to lose money on the GM bailout. But would doing nothing have cost more?

Schools are willing to spend to make schools safe, but security systems aren't a panacea.

Continued drought along the Mississippi River is creating problems for barge lines and the goods they ship.

Some treasured tax breaks are coming in for close scrutiny, and one of the country's leading social conservatives is weighing in on the matter.

After a rush of homebuilding in October, November turned out to be a little muted. Much of that you can blame on Sandy — the storm definitely seems to have slowed down construction in the Northeast.

General Motors has just announced it is going to buy back 200 million of its shares from the Treasury Department, which plans to sell the rest of its GM shares in the next year or so.

The International Energy Agency says coal will overtake oil and become the number one fuel within a decade unless government policies change.

Greece's credit rating just got an upgrade by Standard & Poor's. The ratings agency bumped Greece up to a solid B-. And it says that rating is stable — meaning it won't change in the next several months.

Pediatric dentistry is the fastest-growing dental specialty, as rising demand by parents makes it lucrative–and the kids make it fun.

Brazilian President announces plans to build at least 800 new regional airports.

The online photo sharing site Instagram made a lot of its users angry this week with a change to its terms and conditions. The site announced that it might use some people’s photos in advertisments, and that started an uproar. In Newtown, Connecticut, local businesses are taking on new importance in the wake of the tragic school shooting last week. And, the Census Bureau is trying something new that could let you void a knock on your door from one of its workers.

The net this week is awash with complaints about privacy and Instagram. That’s the photo-sharing application Facebook bought this year for about a billion dollars. A new Instagram policy is set to take effect within weeks that seemed to give the company the legal right to use your photos in advertising. Even though the company says it has no plans to actually use pictures this way, the policy change is angering some users.

Where do people go to celebrate after the big game? Where do they go for late-night snacks, or a greasy cheeseburger? The same place they go to commiserate together. In Newtown, Connecticut the all-night diner the Blue Colony is one of those places.

The mobile phone app Instagram rose to fame on its filters. There's the 1970s filter, Nashville and Sierra, which give photos an artistic sheen. Now it might be time to add another one: Rage.

As companies and customers cut shipping costs by using slower, cheaper rail and truck, FedEx's expensive air-cargo fleet suffers.

Census Bureau to put yearly American Community Survey online to save money, encourage responses.

Under its bailout terms, GM was banned from owning corporate jets. Now that U.S. government has announced its selling its remaining GM shares, that ban will be lifted.

A negative response to Instagram’s privacy setting changes, and a paper that calls the reasoning behind service provider data caps into question.

Fiscal cliff negotiations on tax rates hinge on an issue that has vexed the tax policy debate for years: What income level defines rich?

The billions of dollars spent on holiday shopping each year leaves out one big piece of the gift-giving puzzle.

The photo-sharing service Instagram has changed its privacy policies to allow your photos to be used in advertisements, and users aren’t happy. Kai Ryssdal talks to game designers at USC’s Interactive Media department about what goes into designing a game and what makes some of them so addictive. Labor unions in Michigan took a blow when the “right to work” law passed last week– Krissy Clark reports on the history and the future of unions. After President Obama proposed he’ll extend Bush-era tax cuts for households making less than $400,000, we wonder whether $400,000 is the new rich. And reporter Dan Gorenstein visits Newtown, Conn., to see what small businesses are doing to help after the tragedy.

Pet stores and pizza parlors offer more than goods and services in the wake of the tragedy.

Photo-sharing site says it has the right to sell user photos to advertisers.

Residents of Flint reflect on Michigan's move from union stronghold to right-to-work state.

For fiscal cliff tax hikes, just how rich is 'rich'? Officials are wrangling with a particular type of home business in the home of country music and news this morning that you can probably get a Big Mac on Christmas Day if you want to, but be sure to spare a kind word for the person behind the counter.

The future of ad revenues at Facebook is looking somewhat brighter than most had expected.

McDonald's is telling franchisees to open this year on Christmas Day. Staying open on Thanksgiving this year gave a nice boost to McDonald's sales, and they'd love a repeat performance.

Students at USC's video game design school say jumping and flying are the fun experiences that keep us coming back to classic games.

President Obama made a new offer to the Republicans yesterday in the fiscal cliff negotiations. The President said he’ll extend Bush era tax cuts for households making less than $400,000, he’d previously drawn the line at $250,000.

On the face of it, it sounds crazy: Your house or apartment is on fire, and rather than phoning the emergency services, you tweet them. But that is what the London Fire Brigade is mulling over.

In Connecticut today, people are heading back to work after Friday's tragic shooting in Newtown.

It’s likely that Google will go into the holidays with what some see as a nice bouquet of holiday flowers courtesy of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC could wrap up its antitrust investigation without forcing Google to make big changes to the way it displays search results. At the heart of the case were complaints about the way Google sometimes puts its own products at the head of the pack when listing results.

Forget the fiscal cliff, the European debt crisis and the slowdown in China. Carmakers are on track for a record year, led by sales right here in the U.S. There are reports that a deal is close between Google and the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement would end a two-year investigation into whether Google unfairly uses its dominance of search to steer customers to other Google businesses. Plus, why it turns out one of the big challenges when making the world’s biggest skyscrapers is the elevator.

Car makers are headed for a record year for sales. Never mind a sluggish U.S. economy and a European recession.

A settlement between Google and the FTC may be in the tech company's favor, and a project by IT academics aims to separate the truth from rumors on social media during catastrophic events.

The U.S. may be littered with skyscrapers, but by the end of the year, nearly three-quarters of the world's 100 tallest buildings will be located in Asia and the Middle East.

The 'Music City' is considering loosening the rules on home recording studios.

A company in Salt Lake City makes lightweight body armor and armored backpacks with Avengers and Disney logos.

Google's expected deal with the Federal Trade Commission would end an investigation into whether the search engine steered Internet users to its own site.

Two spacecraft will crash into the moon today at the end of their orbiting mission to map the celestial body, and the National Intelligence Council has made predictions about our bionic lifestyle in 20 years.

We won’t stop climate change through individual action alone, but together, we can make a real difference. Here are some steps to climate-friendly habits.