It’s a busy time for Santa Claus, but he’s making time to feed some fish in San Francisco. The California Academy of Sciences launched its holiday festivities Thursday by having a scuba diver dressed as St. Nick submerge into a coral reef exhibit while dozens of children watched from behind… Read More

Odean Cleckler, 89, said she has been doing her best to help run her husband’s used-appliance business since he died a decade ago. This week, that work landed her and her son in jail. City officials arrested the pair for disobeying a court order to clean up Cleckler’s Appliance and… Read More

Customs officials at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport say they found 70 live finches hidden inside hair rollers. Authorities say a passenger arriving from Guyana on Saturday had the songbirds in a duffel bag. The New York Times reports officials believe the birds were brought to the U.S. to participate… Read More

Janet Jackson joins her brother Michael and the Jackson 5 as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, earning induction on Thursday along with Stevie Nicks and the top fan vote-getter, Def Leppard. Radiohead, the Cure, Roxy Music and the Zombies will also be ushered in next spring… Read More

A man is suing after he says one of his pinky fingers was caught in an airline armrest mechanism for nearly an hour during a flight to Los Angeles. City News Service reports Stephen Keys has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against both American Airlines Inc. and SkyWest Airlines… Read More

Andre Pittman and Gregory Cornes are on a mission to rid Washington of opportunistic vermin. But their target isn’t corrupt officials or shady political fixers; it’s Rattus Norvegicus, the common Norway Rat. The nation’s capital is facing a spiraling rat infestation, fueled by mild winters and a human population boom…. Read More

A street in a western German town got a repaving worthy of fictional candy maker Willy Wonka when a ton of chocolate flowed out of a factory and solidified. The German newspaper Soester Anzeiger reported Tuesday that a “small technical defect” involving a storage tank caused the sweet and sticky… Read More

Biometric screening is expanding to the rental car industry. Hertz said Tuesday it is teaming up with Clear, the maker of biometric screening kiosks found at many airports, in an effort to slash the time it takes to pick up a rental car. Clear hopes it will lead more travelers… Read More

“Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland says she had a second kidney transplant last year, replacing a kidney from her father with another from her brother. Hyland detailed her lifelong health struggles in an interview in Self magazine, and tweeted Monday that she hopes it “spreads awareness of organ donation” and “brings a sense… Read More