Nashville, Tenn.
When Bob Bernstein arrived at his coffeehouse to assess the scene of an early Christmas morning break-in, the one thing he noticed missing was the cinnamon bun that bears a striking likeness to Mother Teresa. Bernstein said he believes that the culprit is someone angry over the shop displaying the world-famous pastry, which has been preserved with shellac. A jar of money next to the Nun Bun was not stolen. "They went right for the bun," he said. "Unfortunately I think it's somebody who wanted to take it to destroy it." The Nun Bun gained worldwide attention in 1996 when a customer nearly took a bite of it before recognizing the revered nun in the folds of flaky pastry. The bun was featured on world news programs, "The Late Show" with David Letterman and was even mentioned on episodes of "The Nanny" and "Mad About You."
Fayetteville, N.C.
The questions were unusual for Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Wolford: Did you play with GI Joe action figures when you were a child⢠What if you could be one⢠"Usually, it is not something good when the sergeant major calls a platoon sergeant into his office," said Wolford, 29, of Oakland, Ore. This time, it was good. Wolford, who used to own about 200 action figures, will now become one. He will model for a new line of figures based on the sequel to "America's Army," an online video game released by the Army in 2002 as a recruiting tool.
Chicago
A federal appeals court has upheld the city's ban on pet racing pigeons, rejecting claims by some enthusiasts that the ordinance is unconstitutional. The ban makes Chicago the only large U.S. city that outlaws pet pigeons, according to the American Racing Pigeon Union. The pigeons coo excessively and scatter feathers and droppings, proponents of the ban said.
Blue Springs, Mo.
A lovers' dispute over a cell phone ended suddenly when the woman swallowed the phone whole, police said. Police said they received a call at 4:52 a.m. Friday from a Blue Springs man who said his girlfriend was having trouble breathing. When they arrived at the house they found the 24-year-old woman had a cell phone lodged in her throat. "He wanted the phone and she wouldn't give it to him, so she attempted to swallow it," Detective Sgt. Steve Decker of the Blue Springs Police Department. "She just put the entire phone in her mouth so he couldn't get it."
Kansas City, Mo.
The letters pour in from children around the world, telling two magical far-off figures their holiday wishes. These missives aren't sent to Santa Claus. They come from Jewish boys and girls who, for so long, had no one to write each December. They're for an ageless Kansas City couple known simply by Yiddish derivatives for grandmother and grandfather, Bubbie and Zadie. The story was created in 1981 by Danny Bloom, then a thirtysomething public relations professional at an Alaskan community college who wanted to pen a holiday narrative for Jewish children.
