Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Group warns of 'Thanksgiving liability'

CHICAGO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. group supported by food companies has issued a tongue-in-cheek document aimed at protecting hosts from guests who overeat on Thanksgiving.

The "Thanksgiving Liability and Indemnification Agreement" confirms your guests have chosen to eat as much as they wish despite your failure to provide nutritional information on salt, calories, fat and carbohydrates, said the Center for Consumer Freedom.

The center, which describes itself as a non-profit coalition supported by food companies, consumers and restaurants, is known for criticizing what it calls "food cops, public health zealots and trial lawyers" who focus on the nation's obesity epidemic, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

Critics call the center a lobbying front for the food and restaurant industries.

Needy children's Christmas tree stolen

SORRENTO, Fla., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- An artificial Christmas tree bearing the names of poor children needing gifts has been stolen from a post office lobby, police in Sorrento, Fla., said.

"How rotten is that?" asked Greg Johnson, 43, who had planned to buy gifts for several of the needy children.

The tree, decorated with 50 cardboard angels bearing the first name of a child, disappeared last week after the post office closed but the lobby remained open, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Tuesday.

The children, whose age, gender and clothing sizes also were on the cardboard angels, were referred to the program by teachers and counselors, the Sentinel reported.

Postal officials said they have retained all of the children's applications and will be able to tell who got a gift and who didn't when the gifts are collected from other drop-off locations participating in the program.

Volunteers said they hope to collect enough cash donations to buy gifts for every child who who didn't get picked or whose name was stolen with the tree.

Cat alerts owner to house fire

DUNEDIN, Fla., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A cat named Charley is credited with saving his owner from a fast-moving fire in their home in Dunedin, Fla.

John Griffin said the cat climbed on his face and clawed at him until he got out of bed and ran from the burning house, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Tuesday.

"He's a good cat," said Griffin, 52, who escaped the burning one-story wood-frame home along with Charley and a family dog, none of whom were injured.

Flames were shooting 45 feet high and blistering the sides of the homes on either side of Griffin's house when firefighters arrived, the Times reported.

"The entire sky in this area of Dunedin was lit up. It was pretty spectacular," said Dunedin Fire Chief Bill McElligott.

Fire investigators said the blaze, which apparently started in a shed, appears suspicious, but has not been ruled arson.

Bobcat expelled from Kansas City school

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The facility manager of a Kansas City, Mo., elementary school said he needed help evicting a bobcat that he found holed up in the building.

KMBC-TV in Kansas City said Tuesday the female cat had to be taken out by an animal rescue group after apparently deciding Maplewood Elementary School was too cozy to leave.

"I kicked at it … tried to run it off. Then clapped. I banged on the door and it would not leave," facility manager Paul Wolfe said.

Wolfe said he spotted the intruder when he opened the school early Monday and at first thought it was a tabby from the neighborhood that got in somehow.

"It was a little female bobcat," Jody Paul of Critter Catchers told the television station. "She was trying to hide and there wasn't any place to hide up there."

Maplewood's students missed everything, KMBC reported. The feline was long gone before the first bell rang.