NORTH POLE –   An ominous white rainbow has been hovering over Arctic sky for weeks.

The rare phenomena, named a fog bow, was spotted by several explorers, including Sam Dobson, during a recent expedition to the North Pole.

As their ice breaking ship cruised through the chilly waters, Dobson clocked the arching rainbow but was stunned to see it was completely white.

He quickly grabbed his camera, and despite freezing temperatures, captured the unique sight.

The 51-year-old, from Russia, said: ‘It was around midnight, but because of the time of year it was still fairly light… At first it just looked like a cloud, but as we got closer it was a solid rainbow, but white.”

About two dozen other explorers – from Russia, Sweden and Canada – also have seen the white rainbow.  The rainbow has not gone away for over two weeks.

‘We were so impressed with it we all got off onto a floating slab of ice to take a closer look.It is actually closer than it looks in the pictures,” said one of the explorers.  I was stunned and amazed by the natural miracle. Despite the fact I am totally obsessed with photography, I sometimes forgot to press the shutter button.”

‘I was just staring at the natural wonder in front of me.  We spent several days there and it never went away.  It was beautiful at first, but then it became ominous, almost like it was watching us,” said one of the Canadian explorers.

Dobson had been travelling on the nuclear icebreaker ’50 years of Victory’, the biggest of its kind in the world, setting off from the Russian town of Murmansk.  The amateur photographer added: ‘I feel privileged to have been on the trip and witnessed something not many people can say they have seen in person.’

A fog bow is a similar phenomenon to a rainbow, but it appears as an arch in fog rather than rain.  And because of the very small size of water droplets that cause fog, it appears as a white arc, rather than a multi-coloured one.

Experts say there have been a number of white rainbows seen over the centuries, but there has never been one that has stayed in one place for days on end.  What could it mean?

ANCHORAGE, AK – The popular program of answering Santa’s letters from the “North Pole” is being discontinued!

The program was started in 1954, in the Alaskan town of North Pole. The Postal Service had noticed letters arriving in the town addressed to Santa, and decided to organize a group of volunteers to respond to the thousands of children who wrote.

The 2,100 person town of North Pole prides itself on its Christmas connection, with stores like Santa Claus House, light poles that look like candy canes and streets called Kris Kringle Drive and Santa Claus Lane.

But the mood has changed, now that the USPS has declared it would no longer be running the letter answering service. This is mostly due to an incident last year, when a registered sex offender was recognized volunteering for Operation Santa! He was stopped before he could answer any letters, but the repurcussions have been felt nationally.

While the Operation Santa program will still exist, letters addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole” will no longer reach the Alaskan town. And considering the residents only just found it, a dark mood has settled over the community.

Said Mayor Doug Isaacson, “It’s Grinchlike that the Postal Service never informed all the little elves before the fact. They’ve been working on this for how long?”

Unless a change is made in the next couple weeks, it is likely the cancellation will be permanent.

UPDATE: Through a miraculous combination of teamwork and ingenuity, Santa Claus was saved and Christmas proceeded as scheduled.

Numerous attempts to free Santa from inside a giant block of ice failed. Blowtorches refused to start as a surprise blizzard came roaring through. Hammers and chisels made hardly a dent in the solid ice.

Finally, a daring combination of fresh chocolate chip cookies and gamma radiation saved the day. Head of the North Pole research department Sprinkles Von Bohrstein came up with the holiday saving idea to combine Santa’s favorite treat with a gamma powered “Cheer Emitter.” Mrs. Claus made up a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and placed them in front of the frozen Santa. Then Von Bohrstein aimed the experimental device at him, hoping the ice could be broken from the inside out.

Immediately results could be seen as Santa become hotter from the radiation and began to grow in size. With the thunderous crash of ice the mutated Santa Claus shattered his icy prison with a bellowing “Ho HO HOOOO!”

After a few cookies and a hug from his wife, Mr. Claus returned to his old self and immediately began preparations for his annual flight.

Receipt of presents by children all over the world proves that Santa Claus was able to make his run despite the setbacks. However due to his late start several wealthy families in Beverly Hills received glittery IOU’s attached to their fireplace.

December 24, 2008

NORTH POLE – Santa Claus has yet again been frozen in a block of ice.

Delaying critical Christmas preparation, the elf union is working overtime to thaw out the yule time celebrity.

After going on his traditional pre-holiday bender, Santa drunkenly fell asleep outside the reindeer stables and was quickly frozen in a solid block of ice.

Experts believe he may have been hitting the bottle harder than usual due to his difficulty in receiving a federal bailout.  Unsubstantiated reports say that Mrs. Claus may have been one of the unlucky victims taken in by the Madoff financial scheme.

A representative of the United Elvin Workers union confirmed that this is not the first time Santa has been frozen solid.  “He does this every year.  We’d hoped he would stay inside this year and just need a coffee the next morning.  But it looks like we’ll need to dust off the glitter-powered blowtorches again.”

Will Santa be freed in time? Updates will be forthcoming as the diminutive labor union works to save Christmas.

WASHINGTON, DC – Santa Claus has requested a $14 million federal bailout to avoid a crash which could cancel Christmas.

The struggling world economy and increased costs of reindeer feed are cited as reasons why the North Pole is facing its first ever budget crisis.  Santa Claus spoke before Congress this week, requesting a portion of the $700 billion federal bailout fund to make sure Christmas can go ahead as usual.

Some representatives are highly critical of the request.  Jim DeMint (R. S.C) said, “Their business model brings in no income, they just give everything away.  I’m amazed they got this far.”

Mr. Claus spoke before Congress delivering an impassioned plea on behalf of the threatened holiday, asking for a $14 million loan to keep the North Pole afloat through the rest of the season.  He closed by saying “I will pay it back just as quick as I can, cross my heart and hope to diet”, leading the thoroughly charmed Congress in a brief chuckle.

Elf Unions are believed to be the cause of a hold up on a final deal.

Critics say that the United Elvin Workers are responsible for the North Pole’s collapse, demanding lavish wages for its workers.  However, research shows that the average elf gladly works 16 hours a day in exchange for food and shelter.  The last formal complaint made by the union requested five-minute song breaks every hour, extra tinsel allowances and improved handicapped bathroom access.

Congress is expected to hold a special session to iron out details and avoid a holiday crisis.

When asked if he would be using confidential information from his “Naughty List” to sway his opponents, Mr. Claus said “Right now all options are on the table.” Senator Norm Coleman squirmed in his seat.