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Pop superstar Taylor Swift slammed music industry manager Scooter Braun on Thursday after he reportedly bought the rights to her music with what she claims was funding from the family of left-wing billionaire George Soros. Swift made the remarks during her acceptance speech for Billboard’s Woman of the Decade award Thursday evening, calling out the “unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying our music as if it’s real estate — as if it’s an app or a shoe line.”Braun, 38, recently purchased the independent record label Big Machine and the master rights to Taylor’s first six albums, which...

Back in the summer of 2015, the co-directors of Disney’s “Zootopia” went rogue, disregarding the advice of their corporate colleagues and appearing onstage at the Annecy animation festival disguised as the talking-animal cartoon’s fur-covered lead characters, an anthropomorphic rabbit and her foxy best friend. The audience ate it up, but behind the scenes, the Disney suits were sweating. For decades, the family entertainment company had been dealing with a very specific group of enthusiasts, identified as “furries,” who get off on dressing up in full-body animal costumes, drawing inspiration wherever they can find it. By now, Disney lawyers know how...

Well, hello to you, too. Gambino, a ginger cat, is quickly gaining fame on social media for his unusual meow — which many claim sounds like he’s saying “Well, hi,” in a “thick Southern accent.” In a video shared on Instagram, Gambino is seen running past another black-and-white cat, Tom, and hiding behind the refrigerator. As Gambino’s owner follows him, the orange-and-white tabby surprises with a unique meow before grooming himself.

We’ve reached a barking point in American history. (Yeah, I’m sorry for that one.) A few years ago, for the first time ever, the number of dogs in this country surpassed the number of children under eighteen. According to Statista, there are 90 million dogs in America today, up from just 68 million in 2000. And a higher percentage of American households own dogs than ever before. By contrast, there are just over 73 million children. That still sounds like a lot, but as a percentage of the population, children have never been rarer. In 1960, for instance, over one-in-three...

Turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, all the scents of Thanksgiving food will have your family rushing to the table, even your pets. Per owners may be feel tempted to treat their pets to some of the leftover but Dr. Michael Mongue with Pace Veterinary Clinic said you really will do more harm than good if you feed them human food. "Their physiology is different, a dog is not a small human or a regular size human and the way they digest food and their whole system is different than humans," said Dr. Mongue. Many of the foods we enjoy can...

A courageous rat decided to fight back when it was confronted by a cat and dog in a house in Thailand. Footage shows the vermin as it squares up against the two pets in the rubbish-strewn home on Sunday, November 10. During the three-minute scrap, the rat leaps and squeaks menacingly whenever the larger animals try to corner it. The trio are first seen in the front section of the house but the tactical rat then takes the fight nearer the back - and uses cookery ware on the floor as a hiding place, and a launchpad for a counterattack.

Even with some significant household names and star power taking the field for Monday's Giants-Cowboys game in the Meadowlands, the night's biggest headliner came via a most unexpected (and unsettling) candidate -- a rogue black cat. That's right, a black cat stole the show on "Monday Night Football.'' It may not have been the best omen for either New York or Dallas but the cat provided quite a lot of entertainment value for everyone watching both inside the stadium and at home. After somehow making its way onto the field during the second quarter of the contest, the poor kitty...

Former Vice President Joe Biden is using National Cat Day to gin up support for putting a pet back in the White House. The 2020 presidential candidate on Tuesday called on his Instagram followers to pitch in to his campaign, saying in a post that "it’s time we put a pet back in the White House." "Some Americans celebrate #NationalCatDay, some celebrate #NationalDogDay - President Trump celebrates neither. It says a lot," Biden wrote in a post. The message accompanied a photo of Biden and the German shepherd he and his wife, Jill Biden, adopted from the Delaware Humane Association...

The price of pork continues to surge across China because of supply shortages driven by the poor handling of African swine fever Chinese people are looking for alternatives, including dog and rabbit, as the country’s most popular meat becomes unaffordable African swine fever has swept through China’s pig population, leading to mass culls that are expected to take years to recover from. Photo: AFPAfrican swine fever has swept through China’s pig population, leading to mass culls that are expected to take years to recover from. Photo: AFP African swine fever has swept through China’s pig population, leading to mass culls...

A cute cat called Cinderblock appears to be taking things easy while completing her workout on a special treadmill. The cat from Bellingham, Washington state who is morbidly obese, is now on a weight reduction program, which involves an underwater treadmill in order to shed the pounds. But the clever kitty appears to have found a way to avoid getting on all-fours and in an adorable video shot by her vet, the cat simply taps away at a passing treadmill.

Since yesterday was dedicated to the dogs it seems only fair to dedicate today’s post to the cats. Unlike the dogs, I got no help from the cats. Like your computer they’re unreliable that way.I’ll finish when I feel like it, Karen.And they seem a bit more ambivalent to autumn’s beauty.  Sure, it’s lovely…But do you think you could rake these up Karen? It’s making it hard for me to creep up on the chipmunks.Nor are they particularly fond of fall rain. Another rainy day, guess I’ll have to find something to play with inside. Okay, maybe playing in that box...

Although cats have a reputation for being aloof, a new study says they bond with humans much like dogs do. Researchers at Oregon State University discovered that cats — just like dogs and young children — can form secure or insecure bonds with their humans. “Like dogs, cats display social flexibility in regard to their attachments with humans,” Kristyn Vitale, study author and researcher at Oregon State University’s Human-Animal Interaction Lab, said in a statement. “The majority of cats are securely attached to their owner and use them as a source of security in a novel environment.” Vitale and her...

From grasslands to seashores to forests and backyards, birds are disappearing at an alarming rate in the United States and Canada, with a 29% population drop since 1970 and a net loss of about 2.9 billion birds, scientists said on Thursday.

The ban on eating dogs and cats was recently blocked in the UK. It might offend Asian migrants.   Summit News reported: A legal ban on eating dogs and cats in the UK has been blocked over fears it might offend people from South-East Asian countries.Yes, really.After a bill was drawn up to make possession of dog or cat meat illegal in the UK, civil servants stepped in to halt the move.Tory MP Giles Watling was later told that the main reason the Ministry of Justice blocked the bill was over fears it would be seen as “culturally insensitive” to...

Emotional support animals come in all shapes and sizes—as large and ostentatious as a miniature horse or full-sized peacock, or as unobtrusive as a well-trained guinea pig. Some offer support via timely yaps, others by quiet companionship. Some are friends to all, others take their work too seriously to bother with strangers. In the US, most public places are under no obligation to make any allowance for these animals, whatever their demeanor or size. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service animals in terms of their extensive training—think guide dogs or medical-emergency animals that receive months of specialized instruction....

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A West Bloomfield couple that was facing four years in prison in the largest hoarding case in Oakland County history was given probation Wednesday. Between April 24 and May 17, animal control officers removed 178 cats from a home in deplorable condition in the 1700 block of Elsie Drive in West Bloomfield. As of May 20, officials had to humanely euthanized 60 cats due to severe illness or aggression. According to the Oakland County Animal Shelter & Pet Adoption Center, the cats were found when an officer conducted a welfare check on cats that...

Three tiny balls of fur huddle together for warmth inside a cardboard box. The baby cheetahs are just a few weeks old, but they've had a traumatic start to life. A smuggler was attempting to spirit the cubs out of Somaliland, a breakaway state from Somalia, when he was caught red-handed by the authorities. The cubs, who will soon be taken to a safehouse, are the lucky ones. Some 300 young cheetahs are trafficked out of Somaliland every year -- around the same number as the entire population of adult and adolescent cheetahs in unprotected areas in the Horn of...

A classic dividing line between people has to do with pets: are you a dog or cat person? Many people prefer one over the other, while some like both, and some like neither. Then there are those who despise one or other. Mike Leach doesn’t understand the cat haters. The Washington State Cougars head coach, who is known to opine on random subjects, tweeted Tuesday about his lack of understanding regarding cat hate.

A seriously fat cat up for adoption in Pennsylvania literally broke the internet after internet users fell in love with him on social media and crashed his shelter's website. On Thursday, Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia shared pictures of a 26 pound cat named BeeJay on their Twitter account and told users the big guy was looking for a forever home. 'OMG, big boi Mr. B is a CHONK. He's a chonk of a chonk. He redefines the term', the now viral tweet says.

(CNN)It's the news cat owners have been waiting for: Owning lots of cats does not, in fact, mean you're mad, sad or anxious.