By SALLY KALSON, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

They may be kept with the best of intentions, but exotic pets can create havoc at home and in nature.

Sometimes they turn on their owners, as happened to Kelly Ann Walz, 37, of Saylorsburg, Pa., who was mauled to death Oct. 4 by a 350-pound black bear while cleaning its cage.

Summer vacation season officially began last weekend, and the recession-racked travel industry is aiming to lure economically insecure Americans with all kinds of enticing offers, from reduced rates for cruises and resorts to special deals on airfare and free nights at upscale hotels.

The longest-running drama in broadcast history is going to become history, and loyal fans -- some of whom began watching at their grandmother's knee -- are preparing to go into mourning.

Last year on March 20, Katie Couric wore a sweater on "The CBS Evening News." Joe Scarborough wore one, too, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," as did the folks on "Good Morning America" and "Fox and Friends." Also wearing sweaters that day were Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, news personalities on Pittsburgh TV stations and lots of others.

Last year on March 20, Katie Couric wore a sweater on "The CBS Evening News." Joe Scarborough wore one, too, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," as did the folks on "Good Morning America" and "Fox and Friends." Also wearing sweaters that day were Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, news personalities on Pittsburgh TV stations and lots of others.

When he was 27, Moshe Reznik joined up with the Bielski Partisans, Jewish underground fighters who risked life and limb to save other Jews and frustrate Nazis in Belarus (then a Soviet republic) as portrayed in the film "Defiance."

To predict the hot travel destinations for 2009, just follow the money. Wherever Americans can get good value for their bucks, that's where travel experts expect them to be flocking in the new year.

To predict the hot travel destinations for 2009, just follow the money. Wherever Americans can get good value for their bucks, that's where travel experts expect them to be flocking in the new year.

For Jewish families, certain questions seem to crop up every year as the Hanukkah holiday approaches:
Where did we stash those dreidels? Why didn't we dig the wax out of the menorah last year before we put it away? And isn't there something we can do to make the latkes a little different this year?
The answer to the last question is a definite "yes."

Money problems are always a risk factor in relationships. With record job losses, home foreclosures and the collapse of the financial markets, more people are looking at unemployment and insecurity than at any time in recent memory. That translates into more tension at the much-vaunted "kitchen table" that politicians like to invoke.