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I received an email from my SIL in New Rochelle NY: This little kitty was born this spring in a backyard on Webster Avenue and has been living outside, and with all of the dangers that come with this, since then. He had a brother until a week ago when he was hit and killed by a car. The young girl whose yard he lived in was devastated and we don’t want to see this one meet the same fate. I have captured him and had him fixed but the shelters are all over capacity and cannot take another cat....

Golden, celebrity-endorsed shampoo for sale -- 13,000 bottles of it -- sits in the Ormond Beach garage of actor John Martino. Hollywood Movie Hair Products was his dream business, just coming into fruition when the venture was tarnished unexpectedly -- not of Martino's doing. Now he's hoping to polish the product with an image makeover. Martino -- most famous for his Godfather role of Paulie, a turncoat driver killed off in the first Godfather trilogy episode -- never expected part of his real life business to become involved in a new drama.

This morning I realized I forgot to buy bread so since it was nice morning, I walked down the street to the Latino grocery store. It was actually nicer than my usual grocery store - smaller, but neat and clean, all the check-out stands were open, and I was the only white person in there. Now that isn't unusual at my regular grocery store, but there people don't stare at me. Anyway, I was blown away by the produce and meat sections. Everything looked really nice (as opposed to my regular grocery store) and I didn't know what half of...

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said Monday that President Obama's Treasury Department still isn't doing enough to help minority firms that want to help manage bailout programs. The department announced Monday that it's trying to broaden the field of companies that could help manage its program to buy up toxic assets from banks in the wake of criticism that it favored large firms and excluded minorities.

For years, political shakedown artists like Jesse Jackson and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) have used demonstrations, boycotts and racial intimidation to dragoon millions of dollars, sub-prime mortgages and other assets from local and state officials, Fortune 500 corporations and federal bureaucrats. Now an aggressive group of non-profit activists using a somewhat more sophisticated version of the same approach is targeting the billions of private dollars given annually by tax-exempt philanthropic foundations and charities to groups and organizations spanning the spectrum of human need and improvement. Rather than simply flinging accusations of racism, the group challenges...

The Pentagon said Wednesday that top military officers and civilians had to sign a letter promising to keep details secret as they work on the military's budget. Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters that Secretary Robert Gates made the unusual request out of concern for national security. He said the department didn't want any leaks to "unravel" the budget process.

Close to 1.5 million people poured onto the National Mall Tuesday, and the biggest police action appeared to be reuniting parents with their lost children, law enforcement officials said. “We had a crowd stretching from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and for the most part it was an orderly and festive,” said U.S. Park Police Sergeant Robert LaChance. “We couldn’t have asked for a better day.” No arrests were made as of Tuesday afternoon, according to D.C., National Park and U.S. Capitol police.

Metro will have two hours to do maintenance on Inauguration Day before it offers unprecedented service to accommodate record crowds on Jan. 20. Yet the problems the system has faced in the past week with normal crowds on its regular service may not bode well. Even Metro officials acknowledge that Inauguration Day will tax the aging system. “Something will happen on the 20th,” Metro General Manager John Catoe told the Metro Riders Advisory Committee last week. “We cannot operate that many trains and not have something happen.” ---snip--- Just last week Catoe had warned board members that it couldn’t push...

Near-impossible car access to the District on Inauguration Day could limit crowd size and leave many stranded on the region’s roadways, but within the city packed conditions likely will remain. ---snip--- “I don’t know where you’ll put a million people,” said McPhail, who has analyzed dozens of D.C. crowds.

Inauguration Information Are you planning on attending the Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20? The answers to several questions might be helpful in deciding whether to attend inauguration activities: Do you have the physical stamina to stand outside, "shoulder to shoulder," in large crowds for four, five or six hours or more and then spend additional hours getting back home? Are you comfortable in extremely large crowds? Can you walk long distances to get to your destination? Are you prepared for the extremely long delays getting to and from events? Can you care for and control small children in large crowds...

Few are more excited for Barack Obama's inauguration than those in D.C.'s hospitality industry, as the city's top restaurants prepare for record crowds in what is otherwise a tough market. "The inauguration has been AWESOME for our restaurant," writes Ellen Gray, manager of Equinox, in an e-mail to Yeas & Nays. "D.C. is finally getting its day in the spotlight — Obama has made politics fun, sexy and breathed some new life in to what can sometimes be a very dowdy town. Bring on the millions. Just make sure they pick up their trash when they go..."

Metro is scaling back its plans to offer parking to more than a thousand buses for the inauguration, citing an apparent lack of interest. Although as many as 10,000 buses are predicted to bring more than 500,000 people to the region for the historic Jan. 20 swearing in of Barack Obama as president, Metro officials said Tuesday they had received just 35 requests from charter buses. Now the transit system will open nearly all of its 60,000 parking spots to cars instead.

Happy Halloween everyone! When I was a little kid in 60s, my parents bought me one of those costumes with the plastic mask (that made your face sweat and get all itchy) and an outfit to wear over your clothes. What was I? I was an ASIAN WOMAN! Apparently a rich one (maybe a princess??) as there were sparkly things on the clothing and big plastic earrings that looked like gems. Somewhere there is a picture to humiliate me. I never told this to any of my Asian heritage friends over the years. It's just to weird. How about you?...

(CNN) -- Deborah Scaling Kiley still can't break free from that night. Deborah Kiley and her friend, Brad Cavanaugh, spot their rescuers after five terror-filled days in the ocean. She can't shake the screams, the image of the frothing water turning red, and the sounds of sharks attacking the man who had just been sitting next to her.

Help fellow cat-loving Freepers! Our Persian girl became terribly matted and had to have a lion cut. She is not taking it well - she is spazzing out, jumping around, crying, compulsively licking herself. It is so sad as she is usally a calm, happy cat. She can't seem to relax at all and now we are worried about her. Has anyone had a similar experience? I am kicking myself for not keeping up with her grooming!

New York -- Robert Irvine, host of the popular Food Network series "Dinner Impossible," has lost his job following allegations that he padded his resume. Irvine had claimed that he helped design Princess Diana's wedding cake, worked at the White House and graduated from the University of Leeds. But an article was published in the St. Petersburg Times last week that cast doubt on his claims. On Friday, the Food Network announced they were not renewing his contract with the show, and released the following statement: "We looked into the situation and found that, as Robert has already admitted, there...

Like a first love or a first car, a first computer can hold a special place in people's hearts. For millions of kids who grew up in the 1980s, that first computer was the Commodore 64. Twenty-five years later, that first brush with computer addiction is as strong as ever. Millions of Commmodore 64s were sold in the 1980s. "There was something magical about the C64," says Andreas Wallstrom of Stockholm, Sweden. He remembers the day he first laid eyes on his machine back in 1984. "My father brought it home together with a tape deck, a disk drive, a...

British Columbia's lake country is producing Pinot Noirs and Rieslings well worth tasting. Here, a Travel + Leisure wine expert's primer on the best way to explore the region -- and which bottles to take home with you. Destination: Okanagan Valley, British Columbia When to go: Fall, when farmers' markets brim with local produce and summer crowds have dispersed Getting there: Alaska Airlines offers five daily flights from Seattle, and Air Canada and WestJet have direct service from Calgary or Vancouver to Kelowna Airport (YLW). The valley's southern tip is three miles north of the U.S. border on Highway 97...

I'm looking for some guidance – having kitty grooming issues. I had a black Persian cat who passed away in February. She was almost 19 years old and had a coat like silk. I rarely had to groom her until she got very old and lost her teeth. Then I would gently brush her a couple times a week to help with loose hair and keep the knots at bay. In April we got two chocolate-smoke Persian kittens (we have a thing for fluffy black cats). They are quite huge now and their coats are the most high maintenance things...

I found out today I have to have my thyroid removed (cancer - but treatable). I'm kind of freaked out as I have always been an active, athletic and thin woman. The doctor assured me I could still be active without a thyroid. But I could use some additional assurance - as in, can I run a marathon? Am I going to wake up and weigh 300 lbs? Seriously, I'm too young to become a couch potato. Any Freepers with some experience here? I'm always amazed at what I can learn on this site. Thanks! Meowmeow