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Many residents and officials say New Jersey beach towns with bigger sand dunes suffered the least damage during Hurricane Sandy. The federal government's been working on building up dunes along the coast. On Long Beach Island, N.J., the town's mayor is eager for the beach replenishment work to move forward as soon as possible. But some oceanfront residents oppose federal dune-building. They say it's their land and they don't want the government to build up the dunes in front of their homes, unless they're compensated.

The final polls ahead of South Korea's presidential election show Park Geun-hye with a narrow lead over her opponent, and poised to be the first female leader of a country where, until quite recently, men monopolized politics. But feminists say Park, the daughter of a former authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee, is not one of them. Her policies, they say, are no more beneficial for women than those of her opponent. And while they would welcome a female leader, they predict it would do little to change South Korea — where women's representation in government and cases of unequal pay are among the worst in the developed world.

The shootings in Newtown, Conn., have cast a spotlight on gun control and gun rights in the U.S. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is a supporter of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms, but the tragedy has caused him to look at gun ownership differently. He speaks with Robert Siegel for more on his changing views.

Many airports send their discarded french fries, burgers and Cinnabons to the landfill. But Charlotte Douglas International plans to transform that garbage into fertilizer for flower beds. All it needed was a couple of million red wiggler worms.

Now the White House chief of staff, Lew finessed the 2011 deal that set up the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set for the new year — and did it in a way that put President Obama in the catbird seat for the current talks. Now he's a possible pick to be the next Treasury secretary.

Global deaths from malaria have dropped sharply in the past decade, thanks in part to powerful drugs called artemisinins. But on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, doctors are starting to see cracks in artemisinin's armor. The medicine is working more slowly, and sometimes not at all.

As a national conversation about stricter gun control takes shape in the wake of the Newtown shooting, some are arguing instead for arming school personnel. Supporters say having armed school officials would help prevent shootings and enable staff to protect children if one occurs.

Starting in January, the French government will provide contraceptives for girls ages 15 to 18 — without charge and without parental notification. The measure, which passed parliament without debate, aims to reduce teen pregnancies by increasing access to birth control and education.

Late last week, zoo keepers delivered some tasty presents. You could say they were the animal equivalents of holiday cookies — but without sprinkles.

We told you last week that the University of Chicago received a package addressed to Indiana Jones. The character is said to have attended the school. It turns out it was just lost mail. It was part of another package, an eBay purchase that was supposed to go to Italy.