Cocaine vaccine makes cholera cool again

Two Houston researchers are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug. The researchers created the vaccine by attaching inactivated cocaine to inactivated cholera proteins. The vaccine then prompted the immune system to create antibodies that bind to cocaine and prevent it from reaching the brain, where it normally would generate addictive highs.

The 210 take: This version of the vaccine was much more effective than their first try: Combining cocaine and Pixy Stix.
 

Well, whaddaya know: Fireworks are flammable

Sparked by fireworks, fueled by dry weeds and driven by high winds, hundreds of brush fires broke out around the area. The San Antonio Fire Department received nearly 800 calls for brush fires on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Though there were no serious injuries or evacuations, a fire that left hundreds of acres burned near China Grove left in doubt the fate of a fireworks safe area located nearby.

The 210 take: Who knew putting incendiary devices in the hands of San Antonians would be a bad idea?
 

Corn State caucuses leave us all ears

The Iowa caucuses — the starting bell of the 2008 vote — rocked the election landscape for front-runners in both political parties. The Republican results in Iowa propelled Mike Huckabee into the forefront and helped rejuvenate John McCain's campaign. Barack Obama's win on the Democratic side left Hillary Clinton on the ropes heading into New Hampshire 's first-in-the-nation primary.

The 210 take: Thank goodness we've got a state known as Wisconsin's-slightly-more-boring cousin setting our political course!
 

River Walk cleanup lets tilapia tourists loose

The annual draining of the San Antonio River downtown had the city in hot water over some floundering fish. Along with the usual River Walk debris, workers removed some trapped tilapia and set them free downstream. However, the transporting of the non-native fish ran afoul of a state game warden, who told the city, “We would prefer that you ..... donate them to a children's home there in San Antonio, because they are good food.”

The 210 take: Feeding River Walk fish to kids? Isn't there enough child abuse in San Antonio already?
 

Kids already on Santa's ‘naughty list' for 2008

A 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy in New Jersey pulled off a Christmas Eve gift heist that eventually got them busted. The tiny-tot thieves used a gift card to pick the lock of a neighbor's home and made off with $200 in wrapped Christmas presents. The kids' relatives eventually became suspicious of the mysterious extra presents the children appeared to receive on Christmas.

The 210 take: In New Jersey, that's not called burglary, it's just called “advanced for their age.”

From staff and wire reports