EAST PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) — Call it a ho-ho-holdup.

Police say a man dressed as Santa Claus has robbed a Rhode Island yacht club.

Authorities say a bartender was alone in the East Providence Yacht Club Sunday night when a large man wearing a red suit, red hat, white beard and carrying a sack walked into the bar and brandished a gun.

The bartender fled and ran to a nearby business where she called police.

By the time police arrived, the Santa bandit and an undetermined amount of cash from the register were gone.

Co-owner Tony Perry says he’s just glad no one was hurt.

There were no immediate arrests.

Hanna the snake

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio zoo has settled on a familiar name for its new snake that has replaced her record-breaking mother.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says its new reticulated python will be called Hanna — which happens to be the last name of the zoo’s celebrity zookeeper, Jack Hanna.

Hanna the snake was acquired last month from the same private breeder who had sold the zoo her mother, Fluffy. At 24 feet, Fluffy was the longest snake in captivity when she died in October of an apparent tumor.

At 18 feet, Hanna is a little shaver compared to her mom.

The zoo says a name-the-snake contest on Facebook awarded Hanna the most votes, slightly more than second-place, Fuzzy.

Jack Hanna says having a namesake chokes him up.

Camel falls on audience at show rehearsal

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — A camel and its rider are unhurt after toppling onto audience members during a rehearsal for a costumed Christmas pageant at a South Florida church.

The camel named Lula Bell walked down the aisle and was supposed to stop and kneel. Instead, the animal balked and then stumbled sideways. It fell onto several pews and the rider was also tossed into the audience.

No one was injured during the Thursday night rehearsal at the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach. But the pastor organising the pageant says the camel won’t be in any shows.

The camel was on loan from Animals in Motion, a Florida company that trains and transports animals for movies, shows and parties.