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Girdles and hormone therapy for grapes? California farmers go to great lengths to plump and firm up grapes as much as possible. But don't worry: None of these techniques hurts the grapes or those who love them.

The Bullitt Foundation's new Seattle headquarters, billed as the world's "greenest" building, is designed to be entirely self-sustaining. The developers hope it can inspire others to build this way.

President Obama started the first round of talks Friday about how to avoid fiscal calamity. He has been pushing to end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, a plan strongly opposed by some House Republicans. But in the end, a deal with the House may come down to Speaker John Boehner and the president.

Mohammed Morsi was dismissed by many Egyptians when he stood in the country's first free election after the ouster of the Mubarak regime. Morsi was seen as lacking charisma and was referred to as the Muslim Brotherhood's spare tire, since he wasn't the group's first choice for president. But Morsi has been able to rock the system. He ousted Egypt's top generals, reshuffled the military ranks and now picked what appears to be the perfect time to override the courts and push through a constitution.

For more than 150 years, a charity auction has kicked off the wine season in France's Burgundy grape-growing region. It's turned into an A-list rendezvous for international industry players — this year attracting former supermodel and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and record prices.

Several top government officials have been caught up in an embarrassing cheating scandal — including the defense minister, who resigned as a result, and the education minster, who is under investigation for her doctoral dissertation. An informal group of "plagiarism police" has undertaken the hunt.

Venezuelan officials say their president Hugo Chavez remains in a "delicate" condition in a Havana hospital following his fourth cancer surgery. If Chavez cannot be sworn in to a new presidential term on Jan. 10, a process of selecting a new president will begin. How well prepared is the U.S. government is for a post-Chavez Venezuela?

President Obama has nominated his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to lead the CIA. Brennan's work with the agency under George W. Bush has been controversial, and he's also drawn criticism for his lead role in the Obama administration's use of unmanned drones.

If you can't develop a real rooting interest in the Super Bowl, perhaps you can come up with something almost completely arbitrary to help you care.

Francine Segan, author of Dolci: Italy's Sweets, discovered the unusual treat while traveling in Tuscany.