Christmas Without Power?
Due to the weekend ice storms, much of Midwest could remain without power through Christmas. But the utility companies are reminding customers that they can get heat and holiday lights at the same time if they simply set their Christmas trees on fire.


New Mortgage Rules
The Federal Reserve is introducing new mortgage protections for homeowners by barring abusive lending and making mortgage rules easier to understand. Sadly, there are still no protections for buyers who end up with homes that are haunted.


Strike Breaking?
Despite the writers strike, NBC says "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will return with new programs on January 2nd. The shows will simply not use any comedy writers, kind of like what "Saturday Night Live" has been doing for 15 years.



Goldman Bonuses
After a super-profitable year, Goldman Sachs is giving its employees an average bonus of $2 million this Christmas. Of course, if those employees were really smart, they'd demand those bonuses in euros.


Saudi Poll
A new poll shows that most Saudis oppose terrorism and actually want to strengthen ties to the U.S. But those numbers are likely to change when they find out that in America we punish rapists not rape victims.



Bank Giveaway
A North Dakota bank is giving its full-time employees $1,000 each that they must give to a worthy cause and document the good deed with a video camera.... which is too bad because the hooker I intend to give that money doesn't like to be videotaped.