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When she was 10 years old, Zoe Averianov tossed a bottle into the North Sea with a letter talking about her love of the flute and hamsters. Now 33, she's hard back from a Dutch couple who found her bottle.

As 2013 wraps up, NPR is looking at the numbers that tell this year's story. The number 1,134 got us all talking about where our clothes come from, who's making it, and under what conditions. It's the official death toll of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh.

The Obama administration just released the latest sign-up numbers for its troubled health insurance exchange website. Enrollment picked up last month, after a disastrous start in October. Still, the number of people signing up for coverage is below the administration's original forecasts.

Winters was best known for creating a repertory company of characters that he carried around in his head. In 2000, he told NPR's Scott Simon how he built that cast, after taking some advice from another performer.

In his memoir The Friedkin Connection, the legendary director of films like The Exorcist and The French Connection recounts his journey from a poor Chicago neighborhood to the apex of Hollywood success.

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died last month, is supporting Nicolas Maduro in Sunday's presidential election. How do we know? Maduro says Chavez came to him, as a bird, in a dream. For some Venezuelans, that's enough: Maduro leads the race by a considerable margin.

NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg has worked in all four of NPR's locations since it went on the air in 1971. As the company moves into its bigger space, Stamberg once again shepherds us to our new home.

Countless movies were filmed there, including Tarzan and Creature From the Black Lagoon. With its wildlife and freshwater springs, Silver Springs in Central Florida was one of the state's most popular tourist destinations. Those waters have receded now as the delicate ecosystem suffers from problems that threaten the entire state.

Alex Atala's Sao Paulo restaurant, D.O.M., is ranked among the top 10 restaurants in the world. His cuisines, which showcases irridescent insects, delicate jungle herbs and other ingredients from the Amazon, is pushing the frontiers of gastronomy.

ABC's hit reality series adds its first bachelor-of-color this season: Juan Pablo Galavis. But critics say he adds little diversity beyond The Bachelors who came before.

Secretary of State John Kerry is wrapping up his latest trip to the Middle East. He's trying to get Israeli and Palestinian leaders to agree on a "framework" deal.

Hal Faulkner was kicked out of the Marines in 1956 for homosexuality. He's now terminally ill, and the Marine Corps expedited his dying wish to correct his status to "honorable discharge." Since the Pentagon changed its policy, tens of thousands of gay veterans are navigating a maze of red tape to correct their discharges status and gain access to VA benefits.

Only 41 "war on terror" captives remain at the prison camps on the U.S. navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Roughly a third of them are being held there at Camp 7, a lockup so secret that its very location is classified. Known as "high value detainees." they all underwent brutal interrogations in secret CIA prisons elsewhere. Now a military judge is letting some of their lawyers visit Camp 7 for the first, and possibly only, time.

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter James Grimaldi about the discovery that at least five governmental agencies receive fake comments challenging the agencies' rules. In its latest analysis, The Journal found that 40 percent of those surveyed said they did not write the comments attributed to them on the Labor Department's website.

Tech giant Apple is buying Shazam, an app that can identify songs playing near a user's phone. Apple Inc. issued a statement describing Shazam as "natural fit" with its services.

In 1936 the book, The Story of Ferdinand, was published. Two years later, Disney turned it into an Oscar-winning short film. Now, the beloved story has gotten its first major movie adaptation.

Scotty Bowers, now 95, facilitated the sexual proclivities of major film actors during Hollywood's golden age — and kept their most intimate secrets. A new documentary reveals his secrets.

NPR movie critic Bob Mondello reviews Hacksaw Ridge, a film about a World War II hero who changed American attitudes about conscientious objectors.

The Chicago singer learned about civil-rights-era funk and soul through his Indian Muslim father's record collection. Bagewadi's new album, Vetted, is informed by his family's immigrant story.

There are currently no black governors anywhere in the country. In U.S. history, only two African-American men have ever been elected governor. But this year, about half a dozen are running, including in Maryland and Georgia.

NPR critic Bob Mondello says Deadpool 2 marks the return of the adventures of Marvel's trash-talking-est R-rated superhero. But this time, there's a bit more humor.

Ursula Wilder is a CIA psychologist who counsels spies heading to or returning home from hostile environments. But how do you provide mental health services to patients who are professionally trained in the art of deception?

After many private conversations, the overhaul effort is shifting into high gear. At the center of the campaign is Gary Cohn, an ex-Goldman Sachs executive who directs the National Economic Council.

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reviews the dramatic changes that have occurred on her beat this year, including the election of Emmanuel Macron and France's resurgence in global politics.

Venezuelans vote Sunday for delegates to an assembly that will have the power to rewrite the constitution and annul the opposition-led legislature. Critics say this body will usher in a dictatorship.