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Internet memes used to stick around for months on end (remember "Charlie Bit My Finger"?). But in 2012, the shelf-life of an Internet sensation became increasingly fleeting. Funny videos and games are now enjoying only brief moments in the cultural spotlight before they're forgotten.

Services like Pandora and Spotify have been trying to win over two types of customers: younger people who don't buy music at all and older people who still like physical albums. But it's been difficult to lure customers willing to pay for music they won't own or that they can find for free online.

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.

Go! Pop! Bang! is grounded in the Baltimore club sound — super-danceable, lots of bass and crazily fast rapping. Rye Rye's debut album was all set to be released in 2009, but then sweeping changes in her life got in the way.

The company that makes BlackBerry, Research in Motion, had only 5 percent of the global smartphone market in 2012. That's down from 11 percent the year before, according to the market research firm IHS iSuppli. Also in the 5 percent club: Nokia and HTC.

In the last election, the red states got redder and the blue ones bluer. That's true not only in presidential voting, but at the state level, where half the legislative chambers are now dominated by supermajorities of one party or the other. The result is that blue and red states are moving further apart on most major issues, including tax policy, abortion and guns.

Zany presidential candidates, Clint Eastwood's chair, and vice-presidential trips to Costco. 2012 was a significant, and perhaps odd, year for politics. Host Michel Martin is joined by former White House staffers to review some of the best and worst political moments of the year.

A decline in coal mining tax revenue has many of Kentucky’s top officials concerned. House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Governor Steve Beshear say they are…

If you put together a list of the 100 "best lists," what might you mention? The New Yorker suggests they include Carlin's seven dirty words, Van Halen's famous "no brown M&M's" contract rider, and the lineup for baseball's greatest team. Is there a list to be made of the lists that were missed?

Three models of the infant recliners are being recalled voluntarily by some of the nation's biggest retailers, including Amazon.com and Buy Buy Baby. The Consumer Product Safety Commission claims the products are hazardous. The maker has said the infant seats are safe when used as directed.