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Ten years after a cascading power outage across a broad section of the U.S. and Canada, utility operators and regulators are concerned about another blackout scenario: a massive cyberattack that could threaten the U.S. electric grid.

Along with submissions for our Weekly Innovation post, we've also received ideas for things that haven't been created yet, things that NPR readers want to see become a reality (like reversible tattoos or steering wheel fans). As we look ahead to 2014, here are our favorite ideas of the past year.

A Chinese company plans to buy U.S. pork giant Smithfield Foods for nearly $5 billion. The deal may undergo review by an interagency panel known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The panel has played a significant role in shaping foreign investments in this country for nearly four decades.

Carl reads three news-related limericks: The Angry Skyscraper, A Grocery Cart Filled With Self-Loathing and Beyoncephobia.

California Rep. Henry Waxman, elected in 1974 in Watergate's aftermath, has announced his retirement. The Democrat leaves behind one of the most substantive legislative records in the House's recent history, and was instrumental in the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Rodney Scott's legendary South Carolina barbecue cookhouse went up in flames last year, so friends of the pit master cooked up a plan to help him rebuild. Scott is now making a comeback with his Bar-B-Que in Exile Tour and bringing people together with his whole hog barbecue.

The British-American actress co-stars opposite Eric Bana in the surveillance-state thriller Closed Circuit. She joins NPR's Robert Siegel to talk about playing a barrister, working with her celebrated Shakespearean father and being inspired by her opera-singer mom.

Three years after bariatic surgery, most people experienced health improvements. Yet some people benefited much more than others. Figuring out those differences would help doctors and patients understand who should have surgery and who should avoid it.

The Puente Hills Landfill received waste from all over Los Angeles County for more than 50 years, and eventually grew higher than 500 feet. But with the site's closure, the trash won't just disappear.

A study of online conversation finds some big differences in geographically distinct parts of Florida around the issue of unemployment. This kind of information could be important to President Obama and Mitt Romney in how they shape their messages while visiting the state, and in advertisements.