Boston "Christmas" tree switch causes flap

Boston set off a furor this week when it officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree."

The move drew an angry response from Christian conservatives, including evangelist Jerry Falwell.

"There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas," Falwell told Fox Television.

The Nova Scotia logger who cut down the 48-foot tree was indignant and said he would not have donated the tree if he had known of the name change.

The controversy reflects the legal vulnerability of city and state governments over taxpayer-funded displays of religious icons and separation between church and state.

Gay man seeks

spousal protection

A gay man charged with helping his lover loot a wealthy school district has asked a judge to rule that state law protecting spouses from having to testify against each other also applies to same-sex partners.

Stephen Signorelli, fighting charges that he stole at least $219,000 from the Roslyn, N.Y., school district, is seeking to bar testimony by his longtime companion, Frank Tassone, the district's former superintendent.

Auditors say $11.2 million was taken from the Long Island district. It is considered among the largest thefts from a U.S. school system.

Tassone pleaded guilty this year to stealing $1 million between 1996 and 2002. As part of his plea bargain, he agreed to testify against other defendants in the case, which meant he might have to take the stand in Signorelli's trial.

New York

Injury won't keep

girl from parade

The 11-year-old girl conked on the head when a Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade balloon ripped down a street lamp says she'll be back next year — with better seats.

"I love New York," Sarah Chamberlain said at her home in Albany, N.Y., where she and her 26-year-old disabled sister, Mary, were recovering from their brush with disaster.

Macy's has offered the Chamberlain family seats in the reserved bleacher section at the 2006 parade, and Sarah plans to accept, with one caveat.

"I want them to take down the light poles during the parade," she said. "But I think the balloons should definitely stay."

A 515-pound M&M's balloon swayed out of control in gusty weather Thursday morning and snagged a 30-pound light fixture atop a lamppost.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the creation of a city task force Friday to probe the cause of Thursday's accident and recommend changes to safety guidelines before next year's parade.

Company's rocket

due for launch

A new rocket designed by a company that wants to offer low-cost space launches was poised to make its maiden flight today.

If the launch is successful, the Falcon 1 will become the first privately developed rocket to reach orbit.

The Falcon 1 is the first in what is intended to be a family of launch vehicles from the El Segundo-based SpaceX. The company is the latest enterprise of Elon Musk, whose previous endeavors include PayPal, the online payment service now owned by eBay.

The rocket's payload is a satellite for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force Academy. It will measure space-plasma phenomena, which can impair space-based communications.

Father, child fall

through ice, drown

An ice-skating trip at a small pond ended in tragedy Friday when a young girl fell through the ice and her father plunged in trying to save her. Authorities searching with divers and boats recovered their bodies.

Brian Obbink, 44, of nearby Oostburg, and his two daughters, ages 9 and 6, were skating on the pond Friday morning when the older girl, Megan, fell through the ice, Sheboygan County Sheriff's Sgt. Doug Tuttle said.

The father also fell in while apparently trying to rescue her, Tuttle said. The 6-year-old then ran to a nearby home.

Tracks in sand lead

to arrest, pot seizure

Two men accused of piloting a boat filled with 900 pounds of marijuana to a remote beach and burying the drugs in a sand dune were behind bars Friday.

Pasqual Mejia-Ferto, 45, and Ernesto Martinez Guzman, 26, were caught Thursday after an investigator found tracks in the sand where bags of marijuana had been dragged across the beach near Padre Island National Seashore.

The seized marijuana has a street value of $1.2 million, authorities said.

Compiled from Reuters, New York Daily News and The Associated Press