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Crumpet the Elf is back for another Morning Edition Christmas. Crumpet is the not-so-secret identity of humorist David Sedaris, who was once a department store elf at Macy's. He wrote about the experience in his memoir The Santaland Diaries.

Playwright Harold Pinter came into prominence at a time when Tennessee Williams' and Arthur Miller's plays were being performed in the U.S. and Bernard Shaw and the Boulevard Comedies dominated London's West End. In contrast to the work at the time, Pinter's plays dealt with the theater of menace.

The National Retail Federation has urged Obama transition officials to devote some of the stimulus package to the creation of tax holidays next year. The group wants three, 10-day periods in which there will be no state sales tax.

Retail sales have been weak this holiday season, but store owners have another chance to move goods. With Dec. 26 falling on a Friday, stores are trying to create a three-day weekend to celebrate shopping. The day began with early-morning door-buster sales and deep discounts.

President-elect Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus plan calls for creating jobs through ambitious construction projects, which sets it apart from the plans of previous presidents that have focused on persuading consumers to spend more.

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration have recommend that drugs Serevent and Foradil no longer be used for asthma. Top-selling Advair was not affected by the recommendation.

Investor Bernard Madoff has been placed under house arrest after allegations he ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of up to $50 billion. Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he was "gravely concerned" about the SEC's failure to act.

President-elect Obama is reported to have picked Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan to serve as his education secretary. Duncan, who has run Chicago schools for seven years, is known for his efforts to reform urban public education. An announcement is expected Tuesday.

On a deadly day in Iraq, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says most British military personnel will leave the country by the end of June.

In the wake of talks over the auto bailout collapsing on Capitol Hill, auto workers in Detroit ponder their increasingly dismal fate. Many say the failure of the package in the Senate was a political attack by Republicans who blocked aid for Detroit automakers.