Free Republic

It sounds like a job for Wallace and Gromit. A "monster" rabbit has apparently been rampaging through vegetable patches in a small village in northern England, ripping up leeks, munching turnips and infuriating local gardeners. In an uncanny resemblance to the plot of the hit animated film "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit," angry horticulturists in Felton, near Newcastle, have now mounted an armed guard to protect their prized cabbages and parsnips. "They call it the monster. It's very big -- it's nearly the size of a dog," said Joan Smith, whose son Jeff owns one of...

LONDON (AFP) - In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a suspected monster rabbit. Leeks, Japanese onions, parsnips and spring carrots have all been ripped up and devoured by the mystery were-rabbit -- prompting the 12 allotment holders in Felton, north of Newcastle, to hire two marksmen with air rifles and orders to shoot to kill. "It is a massive thing. It is a monster. The first time I saw it, I said: 'What the hell is that?'" the...

LOS ANGELES - A wind-whipped wildfire grew rapidly along the city's northwestern edge Thursday, threatening hundreds of homes and forcing evacuations as firefighters worked under hot, dry conditions. Winds that had spread flames a day earlier were calmer, but the fire turned out to be far larger than originally thought. Firefighters increased their estimates of the wildfire's size to around 17,000 acres after daylight surveys, more than double the early morning figure of 7,000 acres, said Fire Capt. Carlos Calvillo. More than 1,000 firefighters worked against the tricky combination of dry brush, low humidity and temperatures in the high 90s...