The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree may soon become a lot easier: just pick a nice clone

BERLIN: That's what German scientists are now working on: They are searching a way to ensure that the sensitive saplings of the popular Nordmann fir species grow into impressive specimens.

Australian boy's egg collection turns into nest of deadly snakes

A 3-year-old Australian boy was lucky to escape uninjured after a collection of eggs he found in his yard hatched into a slithering tangle of deadly snakes.

Reptile specialist Trish Prendergast said Friday that young wildlife enthusiast Kyle Cummings could have been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes -- the world's most venomous species on land after Australia's inland taipan.

Judge: Middle finger display can go back on roof

WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

A Baton Rouge federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday to prohibit Denham Springs officials from interfering with a woman’s right to adorn her roof with a lighted image of a giant hand with its middle finger extended.

U.S. District Judge James J. Brady has scheduled a hearing in the case for Jan. 7. The woman, Sarah Childs, said in November that the lights were intended for neighbors with whom she’s had a yearlong disagreement over personal matters.

Sweet wedding proposal video is literally magical

Wedding proposals captured on video can be a magical thing to behold. But I'm speaking in metaphor with that idea. When you happen to have a magician proposing to his girlfriend, the term gets a bit more literal... Go ahead and watch what happens above.

Charges Filed In Cheeseburger Rage Incident

McDonald's patron became irate over botched order

DECEMBER 19--A Pennsylvania man has been charged with assault and disorderly conduct for his alleged rampage last month at McDonald’s, a meltdown reportedly triggered when his drive-thru order contained a hamburger with an unwanted piece of cheese.

Sean Varone, 35, was named in a District Court criminal complaint filed yesterday in York County, Pennsylvania.

Little Zach Tahir's eating disorder means he craves everything from CARPET to STONES

And this Christmas he is being given a life-changing present - a special bedroom he can't chew

A boy who munches curtains and carpets is getting a special Christmas present - a bedroom he can’t eat.

Zach Tahir suffers from a rare eating disorder which makes him crave inedible objects.

He has devoured wallpaper, his bedroom blinds and bedding.

The five year old, who has Pica Disorder, has even chewed the plaster off his walls.

Man Trying to Make a Point About Lax School Security Walks Into Different Sandy Hook Elementary with ‘High Powered Rifle’

It remains unclear why a Virginia man walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Strasburg this morning armed with a 2 x 4 labeled "High Powered Rifle" written on it, though the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office believes he was trying to make a point about school security — or, rather, lack thereof.

Whatever his intentions, 33-year-old Christopher Johnson was immediately approached by a school employee upon entering the school that shares its name with the one in Connecticut that was targeted by a mass murderer last Friday.

Chicago Woman Attacked With 'Sock Full of Poop'

OAK PARK — A woman assaulted on the CTA Blue Line in Oak Park last week told police another passenger struck her in the face with a sock filled with human excrement.

“He had a sock full of his poop on me,” said the 21-year-old college student.“It was everywhere; on my face, my hair, my clothes.”

Half a billion dollars' worth of checks found at Jewish holy site in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM – Worshippers usually leave notes to the Almighty at one of Judaism's holiest sites. But half a billion dollars?

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, who oversees Jerusalem's Western Wall, said a worshipper found an envelope at the site Wednesday with 507 checks in the amount of about $1 million each. They were not addressed to anyone, and it's doubtful they can be cashed.

Christmas lights removed from inside dog

He probably just wanted a light lunch: Dog survives surgery to have Christmas decorations removed from his stomach

• Sharon Fay was concerned when she saw wire sticking out of dog's feces 
• X-ray showed decorations in his stomach that could have proved fatal
• Vets rushed the dog to the operating table and performed life-saving surgery

VIDEO  Meet Charlie. The dog with a taste for Christmas lights... 

Christmas is a time for overindulgence.

But this hungry hound took it too far when he swallowed a foot of fairy lights.

Charlie, a seven-year-old crossbreed dog from Southampton, had to be rushed to the operating table and saved by a team of vets who performed life-saving surgery on him.