12/28: Long-term unemployment benefits expire for 1.3 million; after Batkid extravaganza, the bar gets raised for Make-A-Wish
Congress opted to not include emergency unemployment compensation in the recent budget agreement, causing 1.3 million Americans to lose their benefits on Saturday, and millions more in 2014; and, the popularity of the Batkid wish in San Francisco has increased the number and complexity of the requests for ailing children.