Jump to November 2011 archive page: 1 2 3 ... 19

  • Spruce shines in NYC's Rockefeller Center

    Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images

    The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is lit on Wednesday night.

    AP reports:

    NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has helped light the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, putting a spotlight on a small-town spruce from Pennsylvania.

    The 74-foot (22.5-meter)-tall Norway spruce was illuminated by 30,000 lights during a ceremony Wednesday night.

    The crowd was entertained by Neil Diamond and Cee Lo Green. Justin Bieber and Tony Bennett provided pre-taped performances.

    Full story here.

    Watch as our cameras capture the intricate process that transforms and illuminates a 12-ton Christmas tree in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza.

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  • It's beginning to look like Christmas at the White House

    Charles Dharapak / AP

    The White House Christmas Tree is seen during a press preview, Wednesday Nov. 30, 2011, in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington.

    Charles Dharapak / AP

    First lady Michelle Obama, and White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, left, join children from military families as they decorate cookies at the White House on Wednesday.

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    The Gold Star Families Tree stands in the East Landing at the White House. The tree pays tribute to military service men and women who gave their lives to the nation and to their families, who can inscribe a ceramic gold star to decorate the tree.

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    A replica of the White House made from 400-pounds of gingerbread, white chocolate and marzipan is on display in the State Dining Room on Wednesday.

    AP reports:

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    Small reproduction of the first family's dog, Bo, made from buttons stands on a table in The Red Room of the White House.

    First lady Michelle Obama welcomed military families to the first viewing of the 2011 decorations on Wednesday. "Shine, Give, Share" is the theme for the Obama family's third Christmas in the mansion. The theme translates throughout the public viewing space from gold foil leaf trimming to shiny quartz ornaments.

    Several decorations honor military families including a Gold Star Families Tree with ceramic gold ornaments carrying personalized messages by families. Tour visitors can also create handwritten notes for the troops.

    The usual centerpiece of Christmas at the White House is the official tree, an 18½-feet tall balsam fir in the Blue Room. The tree is decorated with holiday cards created by military children, medals, badges and patches from all the military branches.

    Full story here.

    Previously on PhotoBlog: Obamas give White House Christmas tree the thumbs-up.

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    Handcrafted tabletop trees made from recycled aluminum decorate The Green Room of the White House.

    First lady Michelle Obama unveiled this year's White House Christmas decorations Wednesday with some special guests in attendance. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

     

  • Big day for stocks; Dow closes above 12,000

    Richard Drew / AP

    Raul Rodriguez sweeps the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after the closing bell on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011.

    msnbc.com staff and news services reports:

    Stocks rocketed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it was joining other major central banks in injecting more money into the global financial system.

    The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,000 for the first time Since Nov. 15.

    Full story here.

  • Carrier USS Carl Vinson departs for Western Pacific

    Gregory Bull / AP

    Kristian Tarang, 1, wears a sailor costume as he waits with his mother, Genessis Tarang, alongside the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier as the ship is prepared for deployment Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, in Coronado, Calif. The aircraft carrier is scheduled to deploy Wednesday to the Western Pacific, along with the USS Bunker Hill and the USS Halsey. Tarang's husband, Petty Officer Third Class Eli Tarang, is onboard the aircraft carrier.

    NBCSanDiego.com reports:

    Families say goodbye to sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson Wednesday morning, which departs for the Middle East from Coronado.

    The ship was scheduled to leave in the morning, but encountered a mechanical issue and may have to wait until high tide returns to depart. As of 11 a.m., the captain told sailors to stand down, as fog was obstructing visibility.

    Before its return to San Diego, the carrier conducted Osama Bin Laden’s burial at sea after a Navy SEAL team killed him in Pakistan in May.

    Gregory Bull / AP

    Sailors wave from the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier as the ship is prepared for deployment Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, in Coronado, Calif.

     

     

     

  • Michael Phelps predicts records will tumble in new swimsuit

    Kathy Willens / AP

    Athletes from the United States swim team model highly technical swimsuits during a news conference debuting Speedo's new Fastskin 3 swimsuit in New York, Nov. 30, 2011. Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is shown, fifth from right.

    By Rich Shulman

    I'm fascinated by the "arms race" of technology in swimsuit design. I wonder what the Chinese and Australians have up their sleeves.

    Reuters reports:

    NEW YORK - The bodysuit war that reduced the 2009 swimming world championships to farce and effectively turned the sport into a battle of technology could erupt again on Wednesday when Michael Phelps takes to the catwalk to launch a new outfit for next year's London Olympics.

    Phelps was bitterly opposed to the now-banned swimsuits that were used in Rome two years ago, refusing to wear them because he believed they aided buoyancy, but he is getting ready to promote a new space-age suit.

    Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

    U.S. Olympic gold medallist swimmer Michael Phelps (L) and U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin model the new Speedo brand swimsuits "Speedo FASTSKIN3" at a news conference in New York Nov. 30, 2011.

     

    Olympic sports coverage on NBSSports.com

  • Indian farmers get attention of tax officials with a bag of snakes

    Two farmers in India dump snakes inside a government tax office over allegations of bribery. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

    AP reports:

    Two farmers fed up with alleged bribery demands emptied three bags filled with slithering snakes in a busy tax office in northern India, an official said Wednesday.

    The 40 or so snakes of different sizes and species — including at least four deadly cobras — sent clerks and villagers climbing atop tables and scurrying out the door to escape the office in Basti, about 186 miles southeast of Lucknow, said Uttar Pradesh state official Ramsukh Sharma.

    "Snakes started climbing up the tables and chairs," he said. "There was total chaos. Hundreds of people gathered outside the room, some of them with sticks in their hands, shouting that the snakes should be killed."

    No one was bitten or injured in the incident Tuesday afternoon, and police and forest officials captured the snakes.

    The farmers had been asking for tax records for their land in nearby Narharpur village, but tax officials withheld the files for weeks while allegedly demanding bribes.

    Sharma said their method of protest was unacceptable. Police are searching for the farmers, who were identified as Hukkul Khan and Ramkul Ram. Khan is known locally as a snake charmer.

    AP

    People climb onto chairs and tables to defend themselves from snakes scattered in an office room in Basti, about 186 miles southeast of Lucknow, India, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Two farmers fed up with alleged bribery demands emptied three bags filled with slithering snakes in a busy tax office in northern India, an official said Wednesday. The 40 or so snakes of different sizes and species, including at least four deadly cobras, sent clerks and villagers climbing atop tables and scurrying out the door to escape the office.

  • Bulletproof boom: armored cars in Latin America

    Ariana Cubillos / AP

    A worker installs a bullet resistant window on a brand new armored car in Cagua, Venezuela. According to Horacio Zuniga, business manager of the Bogota-based glass manufacturer Glassek, Venezuela is the Latin American country with the biggest growth in sales of bullet-resistant windows. Venezuelans are coping with increasing numbers of abductions, robberies and killings, driven at least in part by ineffective law enforcement that allows the vast majority of crimes to go unsolved and unpunished.

    By Rich Shulman

    I wonder how much it costs to put level 3 armor on a car.

    AP reports:

    CAGUA, Venezuela — Ever since a gunman tried to rob his father, Venezuelan businessman Dumas Rojas has insisted on driving cars armored with windows strong enough to withstand the bullets of a .44 Magnum.

    "As far as I'm concerned, personal security right now is priceless," said Rojas, 33.

    In Latin American countries from Brazil to Mexico, the affluent are increasingly shielding their cars as a precaution against violence that has thrived due to weak police forces, easy access to guns and young, unemployed men on the lookout for lucrative targets.

     

    Ariana Cubillos / AP

    Workers assemble a brand new armored car in Cagua, Venezuela.

    Ariana Cubillos / AP

    A worker cuts Kevlar, a bullet resistant material that will be used on a brand new armored car, in Cagua, Venezuela.

    Related:

  • Prisoners do hard time in South Sudan's Rumbek central prison

    Tony Karumba / AFP - Getty Images

    A man accused of murder in Rumbek central prison wears padlocked chains around his ankles as his fellow prisoners look on in Rumbek, in Southern Sudan, on Nov. 14, 2011. The prison in Rumbek, the capital of Lakes State (center), dates from 1948, at the time of Anglo-Egyptian occupation (1899-1956). Despite its vast oil reserves, Southern Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world.

    Tony Karumba / AFP - Getty Images

    A prisoner said to be mentally unsound is held in solitary confinement at Rumbek central prison with a padlocked chain around his ankle, on Nov. 14, 2011.

    Tony Karumba / AFP - Getty Images

    Prisoners at the Rumbek central prison, with one wearing padlocked chains around his ankles, sit on bed, in Rumbek, in Southern Sudan, on Nov. 14, 2011.

    Tony Karumba / AFP - Getty Images

    A prisoner in Rumbek central prison with a padlocked chains around his ankles, is seen, in Rumbek, in Southern Sudan, on Nov. 14, 2011.

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  • Sri Lankan students hit with tear gas during protests

    Eranga Jayawardena / AP

    A member of Socialist Students Union reacts as others cover their faces from tear gas fired by police during a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Nov. 30. Police used tear gas and water canons to disperse a protest held by Socialist Students Union, a wing of Sri Lanka's Marxist political party People's Liberation Front, against the government's budget proposals.

    Eranga Jayawardena / AP

    Members of Socialist Students Union shout slogans as they confront police during a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Nov. 30, 2011.

     

  • Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano continues eruptions

    Dolores Ochoa / AP

    A plume of smoke comes out the Tungurahua volcano after it erupted as seen from Cotalo, Ecuador, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Ecuador's Geophysical Institute said the volcano's increased activity that began Sunday, is billowing columns of ash, sending superheated clouds of gas down the slopes and cascading hot rocks from the summit.

    Dolores Ochoa / AP

    A view of the Tungurahua volcano as it erupts as seen from Cotalo, Ecuador, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Ecuador's Geophysical Institute said the volcano's increased activity that began Sunday, is billowing columns of ash, sending superheated clouds of gas down the slopes and cascading hot rocks from the summit.

    See more images of volcanoes in PhotoBlog.

     

  • Taking to the slopes for skiing on fresh... pebbles?

    Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

    A freeride skier carves his way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.

    Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

    Freeride skiers carve their way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.

    By Natalia Jimenez, NBC News

    I don't think of myself as someone who is scared of heights, but these pictures definitely make my feet tingle with the thought of skiing down a steep slope full of rocks! It is quite impressive how this photographer managed to balance his camera(s?) and ski poles, and still made it to the bottom to transmit his pictures.

    Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

    Freeride skiers carve their way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.

    Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

    Freeride skiers carve their way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.

  • "Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away..." arrives in Afghanistan

    Omar Sobhani / Reuters

    A "Sesame Street" character walks with Afghans at the French Culture Center in Kabul on Nov. 30. Children in Afghanistan will from Thursday be able to start their education as have millions of preschoolers elsewhere in the world: by watching TV show 'Sesame Street'.

    By Natalia Jimenez, NBC News

    Children in Afghanistan will now have a "sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away," as Sesame Street begins broadcasting a locally produced version of the show tomorrow. "Baghch-e-Simsim" will be broadcast in Afghanistan's Dari language, and is intended to help the country's education levels. The project, funded by the U.S. embassy in Kabul, is a result of Sesame Street working with the Afghan ministry of education and two local television stations. With its arrival in Afghanistan, Sesame Street will now extend to 22 countries around the world, including China, Nigeria, Mexico and Israel.

    Reuters reports:

    The series aims to encourage a love of learning in Afghanistan's youth. Around 45 percent of the population is under 15 and many will struggle to get an education, said Masood Sanjar, channel manager at TOLO TV, which will broadcast the show in Afghanistan's Dari language.

    "Less than two-thirds of children are enrolled in primary school," he told reporters and children who had been invited to meet characters Grover and Ernie at a briefing in Kabul.

    "'Sesame Street' is undoubtedly the most influential children's television program in the world. It was the first show to effectively use television as education," he said. Continue reading.

    Omar Sobhani / Reuters

    Afghan children pose for pictures with "Sesame Street" characters at the French Culture Center in Kabul on Nov. 30, 2011.

     

  • Pakistan releases first images of border posts attacked by NATO

    Amid rising anger, Pakistan's military has released a set of images which it says show the remote border posts attacked by NATO helicopters and fighter jets on Saturday in an incident that has soured relations between Pakistan and the United States. 

    Inter Services Public Relations - Pakistan Defence Forces via AFP - Getty Images

    An image released by Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Nov. 30 shows smoke rising apparently after a cross-border NATO air strike on Pakistani border posts on a mountain in the Mohmand tribal district on Nov. 26, 2011.

    Inter Services Public Relations - Pakistan Defence Forces via AP

    An image released by Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Nov. 30, 2011 shows a Pakistani army post reportedly targeted by NATO helicopters resulting in the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers.

    Inter Services Public Relations - Pakistan Defence Forces via Reuters

    A still image taken from an ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) video released on Nov. 30, 2011 shows a white flag in a Pakistani army post after a NATO attack in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area on Nov. 26.

    Inter Services Public Relations - Pakistan Defence Forces via Reuters

    A still image taken from an ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) video released on Nov. 30, 2011 shows a destroyed Pakistani army post after a NATO attack.

    Reuters reports:

    A senior Pakistani army official has said a NATO cross-border air attack that killed 24 soldiers was a deliberate, blatant act of aggression, hardening Pakistan's stance on an incident that could hurt efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

    Major General Ishfaq Nadeem, director general of military operations, said NATO forces were alerted they were attacking Pakistani posts but helicopters kept firing.

     "Detailed information of the posts was already with ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), including map references, and it was impossible that they did not know these to be our posts," Pakistani newspaper The News quoted Nadeem as saying at a briefing held at army headquarters on Tuesday.

    The army released a video to the media showing what it said were the Pakistani border posts -- rough constructions of large stones, corrugated metal and canvas in isolated positions.

    Filmed from a helicopter, it also showed foxholes and what appeared to be a mortar emplacement surrounded by rocks.

    Nadeem was adamant NATO had been told it was attacking Pakistani positions. "They continued regardless, with impunity," The News quoted him as saying. Read the full story.

    Related content:

    Saturday's incident on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan has complicated U.S. attempts to ease a crisis in relations with Islamabad. Senior U.S. officials tell NBC News they have no additional details regarding the US/NATO airstrikes. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

  • Dramatic picture of gunman at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace

    AP

    A heavily armed gunman walks inside the courtyard of the the Ottoman-era Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 30, 2011. A gunman wounded a soldier and a security guard at the entrance of Istanbul's Topkapi Palace before being shot dead Wednesday, witnesses said.

    Osman Orsal / Reuters

    A police officer tries to keep away people from the entrance of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul on Nov. 30, 2011.

    msnbc.com news services report:

    A heavily armed gunman wounded a soldier and a security guard at the entrance of Istanbul's Topkapi Palace before being shot dead Wednesday, witnesses said.

    Multiple gun shots were heard from behind high walls of the Topkapi Palace, which is across the city's Blue Mosque, an Associated Press Television editor at the scene said.

    A picture by IHA news agency showed the man carrying at least two rifles and a cartridge belt around his neck. The picture shows the man wearing a black overcoat, cap and also carrying a backpack. Read the full story.

  • 9 killed as fire engulfs Hong Kong residential block

    Tyrone Siu / Reuters

    Firefighters rescue people from the roof of a building after a fire broke out at hawker stalls on Fa Yuen Street at Mong Kok in Hong Kong on Nov. 30, 2011. Nine people were killed, according to a government radio station.

    ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

    Firefighters battle a fire at Fa Yuen Street on Nov. 30, 2011 in Hong Kong.

    Tyrone Siu / Reuters

    Reporters lie down on the roof of an illegal structure at a building as they film the scene after a fire broke out in Hong Kong on Nov. 30, 2011.

    Agence France Presse reports:

    A fire believed to be the work of an arsonist engulfed a Hong Kong residential block and popular tourist market early Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring 30, police said.

    Ambulances rushed the injured to hospital as firefighters battled to put out the blaze, which started before dawn at a stall in the Ladies Market in the Mongkok area of Kowloon.

    The narrow market street was a wall of flame and thick black smoke as the fire tore through the flimsy stalls and residential flats above, witnesses said. Continue reading.

  • Police move in to clear Occupy LA encampment

    The police operation to clear the Occupy Los Angeles encampment is under way. For the latest updates, click through to our story.

    Lucy Nicholson / Pool via Getty Images

    Los Angeles Police Department officers wait on a bus to transport them to the Occupy LA encampment outside Los Angeles City Hall to evict protesters on Nov. 29, 2011, in Los Angeles, California.

    Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

    Members of the Occupy LA protest group, some wearing gas masks, link arms as they await eviction on the front lawn of Los Angeles City Hall on Nov. 29, 2011.

    Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

    Members of the LAPD line up against protesters from the Occupy LA encampment outside City Hall on Nov. 29, 2011.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

  • Reports: Raid on Occupy LA camp imminent

    Michal Czerwonka / Getty Images

    Tents remain in place during the Occupy LA protest outside City Hall in downtown on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 in Los Angeles.

    msnbc.com staff and wires reports:

     

    LOS ANGELES -- A raid on Occupy LA’s City Hall encampment was imminent Tuesday night as several local news sources reported that Los Angeles Police were gathering at Dodger Stadium.

    The Los Angeles Times reported that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he decided to evict the protesters after learning that children were staying in the camp.

    Occupy LA’s Facebook page said city buses would be staged near City Hall between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., NBC station KNBC reported.

    It was not known exactly when police would clear the area out, but about half the tents were gone, the KNBC report said. 

    Full story here.

  • World temps maintain the heat of global warming

    AFP - Getty Images

    Chinese motorists make their way along a smog filled road in Hefei, east China's Anhui province on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. The amount of global warming gases sent into the atmosphere made an unprecedented jump in 2010, according to the US Department of Energy's latest world data on carbon dioxide emissions, with China alone was the biggest polluter with a spike of 212 million metric tons in 2010 over 2009.

    AP reports:

    Record high concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are fast approaching levels consistent with another 3.3 F (2.4 C) rise in average global surface temperatures, "which scientists believe could trigger far-reaching and irreversible changes in our Earth, biosphere and oceans,"

    Read the full story.

  • Peruvian doctor plans bionic arm for girl with Tetra-amelia syndrome

    By Rich Shulman

    Tetra-amelia syndrome is an extremely rare genetic disorder that prevents growth of limbs. She looks like one determined kid.

    Mariana Bazo / Reuters

    A medical worker exercises with Yovana Yumbo Ruiz, 8, diagnosed with the Tetra-amelia syndrome, during a rehabilitation session at the clinic La Luz in Lima, Nov. 29, 2011.

    Mariana Bazo / Reuters

    Yovana Yumbo Ruiz, 8, diagnosed with the Tetra-amelia syndrome, lies on the floor during a rehabilitation session at the clinic La Luz in Lima, Nov. 29, 2011. Dr. Luis Rubio, the head of Yovana Yumbo Ruiz's medical case, is rehabilitating her with the hope of putting a bionic arm on her in the future.

    Mariana Bazo / Reuters

    Yovana Yumbo Ruiz, 8, diagnosed with the Tetra-amelia syndrome, draws on the floor during a rehabilitation session at the clinic La Luz in Lima, Nov. 29, 2011.

    Mariana Bazo / Reuters

    Dr Luis Rubio holds Yovana Yumbo Ruiz, 8, diagnosed with the Tetra-amelia syndrome, during a rehabilitation session at the clinic La Luz in Lima, Nov. 29, 2011.

     

  • Juan Carlos Ulate / Reuters

    Motorcyclists protest against a vehicle policy by the Costa Rican government in San Jose Nov. 29, 2011. According to local media, the motorcyclists are protesting against the State National Insurance Institute (INS) for a disproportionate increase in vehicle insurance premiums, a claim that was backed by President Laura Chinchilla.

    Protesting motorcyclists cause traffic chaos

    By Rich Shulman

    Like death and taxes, insurance price increases are inevitable.

    INSIDECOSTARICA reports:

    Traffic in parts of San José was a complete mess, more than the usual, as caravans of taxis and motorcyclists joined in protest. Some 3.000 motorcyclists, according to estimates of the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (ANEP).

    Motorcyclists argue that they are being asked to pay 50% more over last year, the group with the single largest increase to the mandatory insurance portion of the Marchamo - vehicular circulation permit.

    Eduardo Fernandez, head of the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS0) solidarity insurance, said the state insurer has grounds to justify the increase and it is impracticable to reduce it.

    Related:

    Would You Take a Road Trip on a Motorcycle?

  • South sees a few inches of November snow

    Dan Henry / /Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP

    Graham Shults, 9, has batting practice with snowballs before heading to school as snow fell atop Signal Mountain, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011.

    Weather.com reports:

    A cold low-pressure system over the South has delivered a rare late-November snow to portions of Tennessee, northeast Arkansas, northern Mississippi and far northwest Alabama. 

    By far, the snow "winners" from this winter storm have been southeast Missouri, northeast Arkansas, western Tennessee and far northern Mississippi. 

    Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP

    Amy Speek, left, and her daughter Olivia Speek, 9, walk their dog "Juno" as snow falls atop Signal Mountain, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. This was Juno's first time in the snow.

    Cities in the South are under winter weather advisories while northern cities are enjoying record high temperatures. NBC's Brian Williams has more.

  • Worst drought in 70 years afflicting Mexico

    Editor's note: An image of a dead cow appears in this post.

     

    Reuters

    A farmer herds cattle in San Isidro de Cienega in the state of Nuevo Leon on Monday. Mexico is being battered its worst drought in seven decades, affecting almost 70 percent of the country and which has devastated farm life and is expected to continue into next year.

    Reuters

    Cracks are seen in dry earth in San Isidro de Cienega in the state of Nuevo Leon.

    Reuters

    The carcass of a cow lies on the ground in San Isidro de Cienega in the state of Nuevo Leon.

    Related content:

  • Ariz. gun club offers Santa shoot

    By Sylvia Wood, msnbc.com

    scottsdalegunclub.com

    Want to improve the caliber of your family’s Christmas card this year? How about having your picture taken with Santa Claus and your choice of machine guns?

    For a fee of $5 for members and $10 for non-members, the Scottsdale Gun Club in Arizona will arrange a Yuletide photo op with Santa and a selection of automatic weapons valued at $170,000.

    "It's been really fun," said Brooke Rodda, a spokesperson for the club. "We've had a tremendous response from the community."

    The "unique" opportunity, Rodda said, permits families to handle weapons in a "safe, controlled environment." About 500 people turned out for the club’s first shoot on Nov. 26, and Rodda expects more crowds for the second "Santa and Machine Guns" event on Dec. 10.

    Among the firearms to choose from are M60s, M249s, M240s and a modified Ar15, as well as more traditional holiday props such as reindeer antlers.

    The event isn't attracting just gun enthusiasts:  "It has a broader appeal from families to older people," Rodda said.

    But if firearms don’t exactly convey your holiday message, Rodda says don't worry: Santa can be just as disarming for the camera without the weapons.

    More news and other features:
    Case of the drowned million-dollar car to go to trial 

    How to make an honest profit in politics

    Give me all your money or my penguin will explode

  • Nic Bothma / EPA

    Cyclists power lights on an installation depicting a Baobab tree part of a renewable energies display on Durban's beachfront during the COP 17 / CMP 7 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference 2011 in Durban, South Africa, 29 November 2011. COP 17 is the 17th session of the Congress of the Parties (COP) comprising 194 countries meeting to discuss the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between 28 November and 09 December 2011.

    Cyclists light up a tree during renewable energy demonstration at climate talks in South Africa

    Related stories:

  • Violence, missing ballots mar election in Congo as voting extends to a second day

    Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

    A voter shouts at an election official at the Njanja polling station in Lubumbashi on Nov. 29, 2011. The polling station was attacked by seven armed gunmen yesterday, who burned all of the ballot papers, including those already cast. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted Tuesday in polling marred by deadly violence.

    Jerome Delay / AP

    A Congolese man walks Tuesday Nov. 29, 2011 through ballots claimed to be fake by opposition supporters and then shredded and burned in a school used as a polling station in the Bandal commune in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, one day after the country went to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections. The vote is only the second since the end of Congo's last war, and the first to be organized by the government instead of the international community. The election was supposed to mark another step toward peace, but if the results are not accepted by the population, especially the country's fractured opposition, analysts fear it could drag Congo back into conflict

    Simon Maina / AFP - Getty Images

    The Congolese national army patrols on Nov. 29 in the the town of Saki west of Goma. The armed forces have been deployed following several attacks in the country following the just concluded presidential and legislative election that was marred with violence in some parts of the country.The DRC held its second presidential and legislative election since 1960.

    Finbarr O'reilly/Reuters

    Results from a single polling station showing main opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi (bottom) with 56 votes to incumbent President Joseph Kabila's 36 votes (3rd from top) are posted on a wall in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, November 29, 2011. First results emerged from the Democratic Republic of Congo's chaotic elections on Tuesday but some voters were still casting their ballots in a vote tainted by confusion, violence and allegations of fraud. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

    Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

    A voting official sits in the Njanja polling station in Lubumbashi on Nov. 29, 2011. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted Tuesday in polling marred by deadly violence.

     From the AP:

    KINSHASA, Congo — After an election marred by missing ballots and violence, officials extended voting to a second day Tuesday in an attempt to prevent further unrest in sub-Saharan Africa's largest nation.

    Country experts had urged the government to postpone Monday's presidential and legislative elections, arguing that a delayed vote was better than a botched one.

    Congo is in a race against the clock, though, because the five-year term of President Joseph Kabila expires next week, and the country could face more unrest if he is seen as staying past his constitutional mandate. For more on the story click here.

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