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A massive civil lawsuit over liability for the worst oil disaster in U.S. history goes to trial next week in New Orleans. The U.S. Justice Department and Gulf states say BP was grossly negligent and put profits over safety, leading to the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon. Eleven rig workers were killed. Settlement talks have continued but states say they are pushing for a trial to make sure BP is held accountable and pays to restore the Gulf Coast environment and economy.

The federal government once considered whistle-blowers a nuisance, or worse. But over the past few years, that attitude has slowly started to change. More agencies have been reaching out for tips about fraud and abuse, even if digging through the stacks of complaints can present a challenge.

A pretrial hearing in the Sept. 11 case was suspended briefly last week to investigate allegations of eavesdropping. The commissions' chief prosecutor launched an investigation, and said no one was "listening, monitoring, recording" the proceedings. Defense attorneys seemed to take his word, which given the history of the commissions, is a baby step toward progress.

When we asked listeners to tell us what they ate on Christmas Day, we found a lot of commonality — puddings, cookies, egg nog — and a few quirks, including a drink called a "Holiday Harvey," and an odd Christmas Day sandwich made of biscuits, salami, cookies, and butter.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution, there was a debate over what to do with the spectacular jewels that had symbolized the power and wealth of the czars. Most have remained in the Kremlin, but some can't be traced.

The "fiscal cliff" wasn't the first time Vice President Joe Biden has helped carry a deal across the finish line. Though critics dismiss him as a gaffe-prone windbag, he has reached across the aisle many times to get compromises through Congress.

The U.S. and other countries are cracking down on banks that are known to help clients hide their assets, and the international push is beginning to have a major effect.

Listening to Republicans this week, it was often hard to figure out the party's stance on the across-the-board cuts. But while they took different approaches, many made more or less the same argument: They're open to making the cuts more flexible, but they're not sorry to see spending cut.

Lack of a director can leave a federal agency treading water on policy and personnel issues, and several major agencies have been leaderless for years. The Senate also needs to act before federal judgeships can be filled, and some 10 percent of those jobs are vacant.

In New Jersey, thousands of discarded Christmas trees have dodged the wood chipper and hit the beach instead. They're being used to jump-start new dunes, but scientists warn that these man-made dunes could be less sturdy than dunes that form naturally.