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People in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., sponsor the Ducktona 500, floating hundreds of ducks downriver. They did it for years before learning the raffle based on the race is illegal gambling.A state representative is sponsoring a bill that would legalize duck races.

Cyprus has secured a $13 billion package of rescue loans in tense, last-ditch negotiations. Some in Cyprus question whether the European Union wanted Cyprus' recently discovered natural gas reserves or big bank deposits to go to German banks.

Finance ministers from European countries that use the euro approved a last-minute bailout for Cyprus to keep its banking system from collapsing. The $13 billion deal came after tense negotiations during which the Cypriot president threatened to resign.

Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky died over the weekend in London. The oligarch made a fortune when the Soviet Union broke up but after disagreements with Russia's president, he sought and received asylum in Britain in 2003. In Britain, there's intense speculation over whether the Kremlin wanted him dead.

An appeals court ruled last week that Starbucks can't block a micro roaster's use of the name Charbucks. The court says consumers won't be confused by a "blurring" of the brands.

Lessing's 1962 novel, The Golden Notebook, is considered one of the great works of the 20th Century. It's been called by many the first feminist novel, a distinction Lessing always rejected.

It takes a real craft-oriented city to experience yarn bombing. The latest soft hit: statues decked out in holiday knitwear. Two dolphin statues now sport red and green sweaters. A deer statue wears a pompom cap and legwarmers.

The government is expected to partially shutdown at midnight Monday night if Congress cannot agree on a spending plan. The Senate is expected to reject a House bill passed over the weekend. That bill funds the government, but delays the president's health care law by one year, and repeals a tax that helps pay for it.

If all goes as planned, people who don't have insurance will be able to shop for it on online insurance marketplaces starting Tuesday. As long as people sign up by Dec. 15, they'll be covered starting Jan. 1.

Sales in commercial real estate in the U.S. have soared over the past year. Asian nations, particularly China, are scooping up trophy properties and investing in some large, long-term development projects at a record pace.