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There were 138 toothbrush-related patents filed this year in the U.S. Why so many new ideas? "Cleaning the teeth is actually a pretty complex problem, and I think that's why there's been so much invention around it," says the head of Colgate's global toothbrush division.

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.

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.

The day is designed to say goodbye to the worst memories of 2012. In New York Friday, a mobile shredding truck along with a dumpster and sledgehammer, will help you say goodbye to things you don't need heading into the new year.

The nation's 41st president, George H.W. Bush, has been in a Houston hospital since just after Thanksgiving. He went there for treatment of a persistent cough. Since then, he's developed a fever. Doctors are working to bring it down. Bush, 88, is said to be alert and bantering with his nurses.

Angered by an American law barring some Russian officials from entering the U.S., parliament members in Moscow have retaliated. Putin has now said he sees no reason not to sign the adoption ban. More than 60,000 Russian children have been adopted by Americans since 1992, the State Department says.

Many Americans appear to be worried about what will happen to the economy if the federal government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff, the Conference Board reports. But there's also good news: The housing sector continues to recover.

Children can easily become kinder and more helpful. And that behavior makes them more positive, more accepting and more popular with other children, a study of Canadian kids finds.

Accused by Republicans of running an agency that issued "job-killing regulations," Jackson has faced stiff political opposition in her four years at the Environmental Protection Agency.

To keep pace with the nation's increasing racial and ethnic diversity, the Census Bureau could change how it asks about identity in the 2020 count.