The most common pets in the United States are warm-blooded, with dogs and cats topping the list. But not everyone can have a furry pet. Those people might want to consider a reptile.

Most towns have a gadfly, someone who's a bit eccentric and frequents local government meetings. Then there's Robert, "The Traveler" Hill, of Tacoma, Wash. He's a gadfly who, among other things, has been known to sit through meetings in his underwear.

SUKHUMI, Georgia -- Only the monkeys seem oblivious to the destruction that rained for years on this once-renowned research institute.

Limber-limbed macaques swing from the rafters of their narrow cages like miniature acrobats, while the bigger baboons sit on their large behinds, blinking at tourists, whose admission tickets help pay their room and board.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Dwight Yoakam's cowboy boots never touched concrete when he played a concert at Oklahoma's Riverwind Casino.

It was in his contract.

Pat Benatar demanded that her own washer and dryer be installed in her dressing room before she performed at the Riverwind theater.

It was in her contract, too.

A proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is trailing in a new poll of Californians likely to vote in the November election.

The nonpartisan Field Poll released this week found that 51 percent of likely voters oppose Proposition 8, while 42 percent are in favor.

WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the government-chartered mortgage giants tumbling toward a taxpayer bailout -- have not been penurious about making campaign contributions and engaging top lobbyists to grease their way on Capitol Hill.

SNOWBIRD, Utah -- Ambitious plans for the 100th birthday of the nation's national parks will include more attention to a wider swath of citizens, especially youngsters, people over 65 and racial minorities.

Think fast: How do you say flat-head screwdriver in Spanish?

PITTSB URGH -- Two years ago, when Denise Snell's family physician told her that her son Malik should lose weight and referred her to a specialist, she brushed the idea off.

"We hesitated," said Snell, of Pittsburgh. "We thought we could make it on our own."

Produce industry leaders, furious over the muddled federal investigation of a major salmonella outbreak that led to hundreds of millions of dollars of dumped tomatoes, are demanding the government be more certain the next time it banishes tons of vegetables to the garbage.