Associated Press - December 19, 2008 6:23 AM ET

RUDOLPH'S GENDER

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Could Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer really be a she deer? Dr. Alice Blue-McLendon is a veterinary medicine professor specializing in deer at Texas A&M University. She says Santa's flying reindeer are most likely females. She notes most male deer shed their antlers by Christmas, while females keep theirs until spring. The deer doc adds that Rudolph's shiny red nose is a gender clue. She says females like a little bling.

TRAFFIC TICKET TOYS

SANSOM PARK, Texas (AP) - The "tickets for tots" program isn't just for speeders. Police in a Fort Worth, Texas, suburb have been giving warning tickets to some drivers they pull over. The officers also encourage them to drop off a $10 toy at the police station. Sansom Park Police Chief Tony White says people from all over the country are getting involved. He says they've gotten toy donations from folks in New York, Iowa, Tennessee and Maryland. He tells a local TV station (KTVT) officers will continue writing "tickets for tots" until Christmas Eve. The toys will be given out starting next week.

MIRACLE MITTENS

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - A Washington state school principal calls it the "Miracle on 17th Street." A woman who saw kids without mittens earlier this week has donated 300 pairs of gloves to Stanley Elementary School in Tacoma. The school is on 17th Street. Serena Smith says she chose the school because 80% of the students meet federal poverty guidelines. Smith tells The Tacoma News Tribune that co-workers at the retirement community where she works helped to pay for the gloves.

SINGING MAYOR

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy knows what he's giving for Christmas: copies of his CD. His Honor is out with an album of Christmas favorites he sings himself. Healy's been mayor of New Jersey's second largest city for the last four years. He says music has always been a big part of his family's Christmas tradition, dating back to when they emigrated from Ireland.

NAKED PUMPKIN RUN

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - What do you get when you mix beer and pumpkin carving? The Naked Pumpkin Run, a Boulder, Colo. tradition. Now, the first of 12 people cited in the 10th annual run Halloween night has taken a plea deal. Twenty-year-old Natalie Ziemba pleads guilty to disorderly conduct. She'll have to do community service, six months' probation and pay 27 bucks in court costs. Prosecutors say similar deals will be offered to the other runners who were wearing only pumpkins on their heads. They had been charged with indecent exposure, which would have required them to register as sex offenders if convicted.

FISHY DISAPPEARANCE

SHICKSHINNY, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania state troopers have a fishy case on their hands. State police are investigating the theft of more than 40 large fish from a backyard pond. Rich and Pamela LeValley say their colorful Japanese koi were worth up to $6,000. The fish were taken in separate incidents. The LeValleys say most were stolen while they went on a November trip to North Carolina. Last weekend the last of the fish were removed from the pond. Pamela LeValley hopes someone with information about their fish-napping will "have a heart" and call police.

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