Hot off the Press: Cats and Christmas trees edition

This may be a "duh!" moment. TV news experts who review products are often corporate shills whose advice is just a thinly veiled sales pitch — which is illegal under federal law: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/despite-law-against-it-stealth-commercials-frequently-masquerade-as-tv-news/2011/12/05/gIQANXaxaO_story.html?hpid=z2.

I do not know how to describe this column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-color-the-abortion-debate/2011/12/06/gIQAbNvpaO_story.html?hpid=z3.

Overlooked in the discussion about building a new jail in Johnson County are the modernization needs of the 110-year-old courthouse: http://thegazette.com/2011/12/07/johnson-county-justice-center-debate-focuses-on-courthouse-space-security-concerns/.

"Looking at all the evidence, it's clear that around 40% of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change": http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16031149.

A photographer captured an image of polar bear cannibalism in the Arctic, which she attributes to the bears being "trapped ashore, completely food-deprived for extended periods of time due to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change": http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16081214. Yes, there may be less and less ice, which is their natural habitat, but I wonder if there are now fewer seals, too.

The world's oldest living dog died last week at the age of 26: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/guinness-book-of-world-records-oldest-living-dog-hachiko.html. I find this graph a little confusing:

Last December, Pusuke made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living dog, breaking the previous record of 21 years and 3 months, according to the Daily Yomiuri newspaper.

So he did not break the record of 21 years and 3 months until he was 25? I assume this means his record was not recognized until then.

The $50 Canadian bill is getting a makeover, and many are not pleased that an Arctic research vessel is replacing the "Famous Five" women who championed women's rights in the Great White North: http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/12/should-the-new-50-bill-show-an-arctic-research-boat-instead-of-the-famous-five.html.

Under pressure from an evangelical Christian group, Lowe's has pulled advertisements aired during TLC's "All-American Muslim": http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-1212-lowes-muslims-20111212,0,5764837.story.

"A rash of tuba thefts at Southland high schools": http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tuba-thefts-20111212,0,5110587.story.