COLORADO SPRINGS (Colorado) - WHO says Santa Claus doesn't exist? The military personnel charged with being the eyes in the sky are certainly acting like he does - and they've been joined on the Internet by millions of believers.

Even doubters have reason to pause when they hear that the North American Aerospace Defense Command - or NORAD, which monitors air and space threats against the US and Canada - is in charge of the annual Christmas mission to keep children informed of Santa's worldwide journey to their homes.

PARIS - FIRE broke out on Wednesday in a biology laboratory at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, famed for research on fighting infectious diseases, officials said.

No victims were reported, and no sensitive materials or viruses were affected by the fire, which was extinguished by firefighters, an official at the institute said. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to company policy.

ANCHORAGE - A GIANT snowman named Snowzilla has mysteriously appeared again this year - despite the city's cease-and-desist order.

It is the third year running that Snowzilla has appeared in Billy Powers' yard in east Anchorage, to the delight of some and the chagrin of others. Mr Powers is not taking credit. When questioned on Tuesday afternoon, he insisted Snowzilla just somehow happened, again.