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In some fancy hotels, Christmas tea has become a refined respite for harried shoppers. But the tradition's roots are much rowdier: efforts to fight public drunkenness.

Concierges are finding ways to keep it fresh — including by stepping out from behind the marble counter.

Alex Chadwick reports on the extraordinary biodiversity of Madagascar. The island split off the southeast coast of Africa millions of years ago, before many mammals evolved. As a result, Madagascar's disappearing forests are populated mostly by insects, amphibians, and reptiles -- and by the island's newest and most rapidly reproducing species -- humans.

Three federal agencies have come up with a plan to try to stop the slaughter of bison near Yellowstone National Park. More than 700 of the park's herd of 3500 buffalo have been killed for wandering onto private land outside the park in search of food. The agencies say they will implement 24 hour patrols to keep the bison in the park and try to steer wayward animals onto national forest lands. NPR's Mark Roberts reports that environmental groups and the governor of Montana are not satisfied.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on new research that both illuminates and further complicates the picture of how the Earth is warming. It's long been thought that forests mitigate the warming effect of the earth, and that as the amount of carbon in the atmosphere grows, more trees will grow. But this built-in braking system on warming may not take place. More trees cause the earth to reflect less solar radiation and absorb more. The findings make calculating future temperatures even more complicated.

The recent meeting in Thailand on endangered species receives mixed reviews as it closes. U.S. delegates proclaimed the conference a success. But critics call the treaty -- the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species -- a "shark without teeth." They say poachers are bolder and better armed than ever, and many species, like forest elephants, are on the road to extinction. NPR's John Nielsen reports.

A century ago, only 6% of the Scottish Highlands were covered in trees. Among other things, the government ordered more native tree species planted. A U.K. paper reports that now 18% is forested land.

Norman Mailer's first novel in 10 years, The Castle in the Forest, imagines the childhood of Adolf Hitler. Mailer says that, as a young Jewish boy from Brooklyn, he became obsessed with the early life of the reviled dictator.

President-elect Trump's major cabinet nominations are in. Now it's up to the Senate to confirm them.

A mushroom thought extinct in the US for 100 years has been rediscovered. It's an example of the remarkable synergy between amateur and professional fungus aficionados.