The Pentagon has launched a new initiative aimed at creating more happy couples. The program, called "How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk," aims to teach troops the correct way to choose a spouse. The Defense Department says that more than 56,000 people in the Army have divorced since 2001, when the Afghanistan campaign began. Those numbers show that strain of war, distance and long period of time spent apart have taken their toll on troops' relationships.

A whopping 57 percent of U. S. adults said holiday drinks such as eggnog, hot chocolate and punch were boring. Those results led a contest given by a syrup firm to invent a new drink. The winner: Mulled Pomegranate Warmer, which includes lemons, oranges, sugar, water, pomegranate or raspberry syrup, wine and spices.

Reports continue to surface of 'badly behaving Santas' around the world. The reports continue to tarnish the image of a once highly revered holiday figure. A Santa in Ludwigshafen held up a store and forced two cashiers to open the safe. He filled his sack with cash, locked the two women in the safe and escaped.

More than 200 partiers dressed like Saint Nick gathered in Los Angeles to do some pretty unsaintly things in the name of Santacon. It's a spontaneous, rollicking piece of performance art that, depending on who you ask, is known as Santacon (for "Santa Convention"), Santarchy (think anarchy), or Santa Rampage. The fun-loving Santas swarmed Los Angeles subways, sidewalks and bars doing some un-Santa-like things in the name of meaningless fun, the Los Angeles Times reported. Those in costume doled out oddities such as old credit cards and ramen noodles as Christmas gifts to passersby Saturday. They even stopped at bars to have a few drinks. Most onlookers say they were very amused.