For 35 years, Willis Welch received a pecan pie every Christmas. From whom? He has no idea. Now the Columbus Dispatch reports the sweet streak is ending. This Christmas, the last pie came with a note explaining "I am a little too fat to fly anymore." Signed, "Pie Fairy."

The Green Bay Packers are favored to repeat as Super Bowl champions, according to oddsmakers in Las Vegas. The Denver Broncos are not favorites. Quarterback Tim Tebow's team managed one close victory after another this season. But the odds are 120-1 against Denver winning it all.

President Obama used a recess appointment to name Richard Cordray head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Wednesday. Unlike similar appointments, the Senate hadn't technically recessed.

President Obama campaigned outside Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday, where he announced the appointment of a new consumer watchdog. The president used a recess appointment to install Richard Cordray. That might have been routine, but the Senate is not officially in recess.

Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour made his name in music, and now he wants to be president of his homeland.

N'Dour gained an international audience in 1994 with his hit song "Seven Seconds," with Neneh Cherry. He went on to earn a Grammy in 2004 for the album Egypt, becoming one of Africa's most influential and popular singers.

Residents of Wichita, Kansas, are outraged after Boeing announced Wednesday that it will close a massive defense plant there. More than 2,000 highly skilled jobs will be gone by the end of next year. The announcement sparked considerable frustration among elected officials who had been lead to believe that more Boeing jobs were on the way to Wichita.

Now that the Iowa caucuses are over, all eyes are on New Hampshire and its Republican presidential primary which is next week.

Fresh off a win in the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned in New Hampshire yesterday. There, he picked up the endorsement of Senator John McCain. Four years ago, McCain beat Romney in the state's Republican presidential primary.

Steve Inskeep has business news.

There is a natural gas drilling boom going on in Youngstown, Ohio. But a series of earthquakes there has renewed focus on activities like drilling and mining that are known to cause earthquakes. Now people in the area are weighing safety over economic growth.