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Mince pies are a centuries-old Christmas tradition. And this year, a six-year-old boy in England won the most expensive mince pie in the world. A London pie maker raffled it off. To make the $4,7000 dessert, he used rare ingredients. And, buried in the holiday treat was a solid platinum coin worth nearly $1,000.

Pvt. Danny Chen's death in October was first said to have been a suicide. But there have been allegations that he was taunted and abused by other soldiers before his death.

The presidential candidate has been an ambassador, a governor and a business executive. But he also had an unusual academic career for a presidential candidate. And some of his former endeavors might surprise you.

For many years, the search for unknown or forgotten soul singers has dug deeply into music archives. But surprises still turn up. Music critic Milo Miles says this year's best discovery is a West African singer and bandleader named El Rego.

The Arab uprisings and the death of North Korea's Kim Jong Il may be unrelated, but both contributed to the dramatic drop in longtime dictators this year, which continued a long-term trend. In the era of global and social media, it's harder for autocrats to keep their citizens isolated and themselves in power.

If you think all American food tastes alike, you may be on to something. A chemical analysis of flavors around the world found that Americans cook with flavors that are chemically similar, like eggs, milk, and vanilla, while East Asians go for chemical contrast. Think shrimp and lemon.

In a strident statement, the U.S. warned Syria about further repercussions if it continued its assault on protesters. France called on a "firm" U.N. resolution that calls for an end to violence.

House members on Tuesday rejected a Senate plan for extending the payroll tax cut. To attract House conservatives, the Senate had included a controversial provision forcing President Barack Obama to decide on the fate of a planned oil pipeline within 60 days.

The national standards are the first applied to the country's oldest and dirtiest power plants. Power companies have opposed the standards saying the demands are too costly and the EPA is not giving enough time to comply.

More than 40 percent of the long-term unemployed say they've received a lot of help from family and friends, while only 1 in 10 reports getting much help from churches or community groups, according to an NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation poll. But these groups say they're in high demand.