Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Police officer helps deliver Xmas baby PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A baby was born in Philadelphia on Christmas after a helpful public worker found the child's mother waiting in the cold at a local bus stop. Advertisement A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority police officer, Sgt. Steven Rocher, saw the new mother standing in the cold at a bus stop and in the spirit of the season, stopped to help the woman, Philadelphia's WCAU-TV reported Wednesday. After stopping to aid the distressed mother on Tuesday, Rocher then helped her give birth to her newborn child. Officials told the TV station that the mother, Tonia Hall, and child were then immediately rushed to a local hospital, where they were said to be in good condition. The mother apparently recognized her good fortune on the holiday, naming her child Christmas Carol Hall. More good ways to recycle Bubble Wrap Advertisement ELMWOOD PARK, N.J., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Fifteen youngsters who have come up with innovative ways to recycle Bubble Wrap are the semi-finalists in a contest for grades 5 to 8. This year's is the second annual Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors, sponsored by Sealed Air Corp., the product's maker, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported. The inventions include converting bubble wrap into a flooring that is less stressful for dancers. "Dancing on Air" was the invention of 11-year-old Kayla Weston of Longwood, Fla. Then there's Andy Boler's "Bubble Wrap Plant Shelter." The 9-year-old from Richardson, Tex., came up with a light-weight collapsible shelter for outdoor plants to protect them from the cold. Hannah Haas, 13, of Charlotte, N.C., came up with "Sensory Wallpaper," to stimulate children with autism. Grace Abernathy, 13, of Noblesville, Ind., devised the "Lap Popper," an activity for people with Alzheimer's disease. On a more frivolous note, Nicolette Mann, 13, of Christiansburg, Va., invented the "Transformable Bubble Wrap Kite." The three finalists are to be selected in early January. They will get a trip to New York for the Grand Prize selection on Jan. 28, Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, the newspaper said. The annual contest is sponsored by Sealed Air Corp., the Elmwood Park, N.J., company that makes Bubble Wrap. Advertisement Brothers get into Christmas fight JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A Christmas afternoon spat in Florida between two sets of brothers, one group on bicycles and the other in a car, escalated into a fistfight. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said three brothers, ages 28 to 37, were trying out their new bicycles when three men -- two of them brothers, ages 16 and 17 -- drove by, The Jacksonville Times-Union reported. The bicyclists said the car passed so closely that a side view mirror struck one of them. The bicyclists pursued the car and caught up with it. Both groups agreed the situation escalated into a fistfight, although they do not agree on who threw the first punch. One of the bicyclists received a broken nose. Sheriff's deputies said the county prosecutor will have to decide where to take the case from here. 'Santa' unites couple on Christmas Day CONGRESS PARK, Colo., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A Colorado couple who met at a Christmas party and got engaged while visiting Santa at a mall were married Christmas Day by a minister dressed as Santa Claus. Dave Hauck Jr. and Cathy Spencer were both dressed in red for the ceremony, The Rocky Mountain News reported. Snow provided an appropriate seasonal backdrop. Advertisement Gary Michael, an ordained minister who maintains a chapel-art studio in his home in Congress Park, did the honors. He said he has married about 500 couples but this Christmas Day wedding was a first. The engagement and wedding was very much a Christmas and family affair. Cathy Spencer, who works for her new mother-in-law as an accountant, met her husband-to-be at a company Christmas party. They became romantically involved a year later while Spencer was spending Christmas Eve at the Haucks' home. Hauck proposed last year while Spencer was sitting on Santa's lap at the mall. In Spencer's family, Christmas weddings are becoming a tradition. Her parents married on Christmas 37 years ago.
