A Cornell University horticulturist research says that giving some plants diluted alcohol stunts the growth of a plant's leaves and stems but doesn't affect the blossoms. William Miller, director of Cornell's Flower Bulb Research Program, reported his findings in the April issue of HortTechnology, a peer-reviewed journal of horticulture.

A Los Angeles couple was sentenced to two years each in prison after being convicted of stealing a gold chain from around the neck of a five-year-old girl. Both Patricia Serrano, 31, and Julio Beltran, 18, pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree robbery after a videotape showed Beltran ripping two gold chains off of a little girl to pawn for drug money.

U. S. Customs agents in California were investigating a man accused of currency smuggling when they came across 250 fake billion dollar bills. Authorities say the counterfeit money was well made. The only glitch was there is no such thing as a one billion dollar bill.

There is such a things as having too much money. U. S. Customs agents in California bust a man with 250 bogus billion-dollar bills while investigating him for currency smuggling. Tekle Zigetta, 45, pleaded guilty to three federal counts of trying to bring cash, phony bills and a fake $100,000 gold certificate into the United States in January.

Dutch efforts to ban orange replicas of Nazi helmets have only spurred their popularity. Sales of the helmets worn by soccer fans at the World Cup have increased since they were prohibited earlier this month.