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Farm-state lawmakers are urging leaders to include a farm bill as part of any budget deal to avert year-end tax increases and spending cuts. But others argue that Congress shouldn't toss the farm bill into a giant package because it would very likely stifle debate and amendments.

The Bureau of Land Management is auctioning off 18,000 acres of oil leases in California Wednesday. The state has one of the largest deposits of shale oil in the country. And it's attracting new attention because of the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing – or fracking.

Despite his re-election and bolstered Democratic numbers in Congress, President Obama has far from a free hand to make a comprehensive deal with House Speaker John Boehner that would include cuts to entitlement programs. Strong resistance to that notion is coming from the political left — and with a warning.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, New Yorkers, local politicians and scientists face a tough decision: How to spend limited funds to defend themselves in a world where climate change is making flooding from coastal storms ever more likely.

Some places have banned fracking, a controversial type of natural gas drilling. Critics say the process contaminates groundwater. But proponents say it creates jobs and energy independence. Host Michel Martin is joined by NPR's Jeff Brady and reporter Scott Detrow from NPR's StateImpact project in Pennsylvania. They discuss the boom and bust of fracking.

Think the apps your kids download are harmless? A federal government report says that may not be true. The investigation found that hundreds of popular mobile device apps have been collecting and sharing data about children. Host Michel Martin talks with Rey Junco of the Harvard Berkman Center, about how best to protect your kids' digital privacy.

Peter Jackson takes his audience back to Middle-earth in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, set in a time before the Lord of the Rings films. NPR's Bob Mondello says that where the Rings films struggled with what to omit, The Hobbit labors to justify its three-hour running time.

Host Michel Martin is joined by NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax to look at the latest jobs numbers. They talk about why businesses big and small aren't ready to make major hiring decisions yet — and whether that will change if politicians avert the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Justices on the nation's highest court announce they will take up cases involving California's Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, and a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act. Analysts say the court might confine itself to determining jurisdiction, not the merits of the cases' claims.

After lifting President Obama to re-election, African-American and Hispanic advocacy groups want him to champion initiatives that will specifically benefit minorities.