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But who gets to blow out the candles? What’s believed to be a lightly-camouflaged 50th Anniversary Ford Mustang has been spotted out on a test drive just a few weeks before its expected debut at the 2014 New York International Auto Show. The GT-spec ‘Stang features several retro styling cues to mark the occasion, including a unique grille with a horizontal chrome bar and corral around the Mustang logo, what appear to be rear quarter window louvers hidden under a black panel, and forked-spoke wheels reminiscent of the ones seen on

Screen legend Doris Day is celebrating a landmark birthday with an auction to benefit her favorite cause: animals. A spokesman for Day said Tuesday the nonprofit Doris Day Animal Foundation will mark her 90th birthday in April with a bash in Carmel, Calif. A sold-out fundraising celebration at Day's Cypress Inn will include a doggie fashion show, adoption event and an April 4 tribute dinner for fans and friends.

Ninety years ago today, the song millions of people sing around a candlelit cake was published in a songbook. Although by 1924 the recognisable melody had been sung in American primary schools for nearly three decades, the publication was to trigger almost a century of legal wranglings which would result in Happy Birthday To You being one of the most lucrative songs of all time. Even though nobody knows who actually wrote Happy Birthday's lyrics, Warner Music contentiously owns the copyright to the song in its entirety. The media giant has therefore been earning millions from people celebrating their birthdays...

An Italian exchange student once asked me what he should know in order to understand America. The best I could come up with on the spot was the U.S. Constitution, jazz and baseball. Later it would come to me that to study each of those only in the abstract, as just a rule book or a series of notes on a page, would be less than useful to someone trying to understand America. The notes would be there, but not the music. The rules of the game would be there, but not the spirit. That spirit cannot be appreciated...

Looks like Sarah Palin is turning 50 and there are many wishing here a Happy 50th Birthday in this new video by ShePAC:

Beyonce and Stevie Wonder rocked the White House at a star-studded, late-night dance party celebrating first lady Michelle Obama's 50th birthday, two guests told the Tribune on Sunday. President Barack Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha joined family friends, elected officials, entertainers, athletes, business executives and big donors at the gala, which kicked off Saturday and lasted until the wee hours Sunday morning, the sources said. The event was closed to the press, and the White House did not release a guest list or any other details. But two guests spoke to the Tribune on condition of anonymity, describing a...

Happy Birthday card from AARP: Best wishes and sincere thanks for all you’ve done for us! You’ve probably noticed: the photo embargo, backed by the full faith, credit and retaliatory power of the U.S. government, was in full force for Lady M’s big, historic, Fab Fifty bash last night. So it’s unlikely that you will see much of the actual party that you paid for. The photo-Gestapo gendarmes were out in full force. As of this morning they had confiscated “detained” over 350 cameras and smartphones that will be scanned for data by the NSA before and if they are...

“Here I greet you in the shadow of the statue of your Commander, General Robert E. Lee. You and he left us memories which are part of the memories bequeathed to the entire nation by all the Americans who fought in the War Between the States.”

This is a "revised and extended" re-post of an article I wrote in 2011 to mark an anniversary of General Lee's death. It celebrates instead the two hundred and seventh anniversary of his birth on January 19, 1807, a happier occasion. It's a couple days early, but I don't think he would mind. We have changed as a nation, often for the worse.We, as a nation, seem to have done with heroes of General Lee's type. Yet he inspired a fledgling nation, the Confederate States of America -- young, old, rich and poor alike. Those who reminisce about him do...

In preparation for the first lady’s 50th birthday on Saturday, ABC News has served up a fawning list 50 ways to celebrate the occasion. It highlights Michelle Obama’s most memorable and glamorous moments. Below, ten examples from the list, which you can read in full here: Dance to Beyonce Move into a massive new house with your family and invite your mother to move in too Make the cover of Vogue Buy a Jason Wu dress Hang out with your friend, Oprah Roll your eyes at House Speaker John Boehner or the Danish prime minister Hug, kiss and fist bump the...

The Enquirer has earned a measure of respectability in Washington with its reporting of political scandals - most notably its exposure of the double life of John Edwards, a former senator and once a Democratic presidential contender. Yet its so-called bombshell Obama report was based on nothing more substantial than the vague allegations of an unnamed "Oval Office insider" who claimed the first couple "are now sleeping in separate White House bedrooms" - tame stuff compared with the adventures of the president's French counterpart Francois Hollande.

Guests attending Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday party at the White House later this month can look forward to “a little Dougie” but definitely not dinner. Word’s out that the lucky VIPs invited to fete Mrs. Obama at a “Snacks & Sips & Dancing & Dessert” party have been advised to dust off their dancing shoes and, more strictly, “to eat before you come.” While it’s always nice to give the stiletto sporting crowd a heads-up, the East Wing’s “EBYC” directive has some folks in the party planning business scratching their heads. “I don’t think it’s rude, but I do think...

Elvis Presley would be celebrating his 78th birthday on January 8th, 2013. Some members of Congress have been considering the creation of "Elvis Presley Day" on January 8, commemorating the birthday of the legendary entertainer. Elvis was born in Tupelo, Miss., and moved to Tennessee at age 13. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music and one of the most well regarded figures of pop culture, known as the "King of Rock and Roll." He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36 as was inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Prescription drug...

President Barack Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha left their vacation in Hawaii on Saturday, but left First Lady Michelle Obama behind on the islands, according to news agency reports. The president reportedly let his wife stay on in Hawaii with friends as a "birthday present." Michelle Obama will turn 50 years old on Jan. 17.

Kudos to President Obama for giving his wife a birthday present we all can envy, indeed covet. CBS News reports: President Barack Obama is going to give his wife the birthday present that many parents can only dream of - time off, alone, without the children. The White House said on Saturday first lady Michelle Obama would stay in Hawaii, where the family has been on vacation for the last two weeks, rather than return home with her husband and their two girls. "As part of her birthday gift from the president, the first lady will remain in Hawaii to...

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. —A newborn baby was welcomed into the world minutes after the clock struck midnight.

Was Jesus Born on Christmas Day? My wife and I took the kids Christmas light watching last night, December 26. We are always saddened to see so many folks already taking down their lights or leaving them off only one day into the Christmas Season! For the world—and unfortunately many Christians—Christmas is over because Christmas Day has passed. For Catholics, Christmas has just begun because the Christmas season stretches from the vigil of Christmas, on the evening of December 24, until the Saturday after the Feast of the Epiphany. This year that will be January 11th.It is so fun to...

Pope Francis turned 77 on Tuesday and celebrated Mass in the Santa Marta guesthouse with 4 homeless men, his closest collaborators and staff from the guesthouse, all of whom afterwards greeted him with a birthday song. Listen to this report by Susy Hodges: It was Pope Francis’s 77th birthday on Tuesday and those present at his morning Mass included Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, together with staff from the Santa Marta guesthouse. The congregation also included the Almoner Monsignor Konrad Krajewski who brought with him 4...

Father had launched into a holy rant. Mid-way through his homily, he startled us so we bolted upright in the pews. “You parents,” he said, as if by rattling our brains he could jump-start our consciences, “do not know evil when you are looking at it.” Although this homily took place years ago, I remember it still. Father was right. As parents in a sometimes wildly wicked world, we are often blinded by the evils that can pelt us and our children harder than a hailstorm. Parents need to sometimes wonder about the immorality hidden in things our “non-judgmental” society...

I’ve recently prepared what may well be my last message to our nation. I have prayed a great deal about this. The program is called The Cross, and you can see it on television beginning November 7. I hope you won’t watch the program alone. It’s intended to be watched with someone you know—a loved one, friend, or co-worker—who needs Jesus Christ.