Free Republic

Rep. Dan Crenshaw questioned Monday whether the trip to Puerto Rico by congressional Democrats was a good decision amid the deadlock on border security. About 30 lawmakers traveled to Puerto Rico -- with their families and lobbyists -- for a winter retreat over the weekend despite the partial government shutdown. "It sounds like they had a lot of fun. They've also been talking a lot about the plight that federal workers see themselves in," Crenshaw said on The Story. "They're not wrong about that, but if we're gonna talk about that then I don't know if these excursions to Puerto...

The moose at the Minnesota Zoo are resting on waterbeds as part of a new research project. Zoo conservation biologist Dr. Nick McCann says the rubber mats topped with straw may not allow heat to be conducted away from their bodies to the ground below. He is conducting a study on the impact of heat stress on the animals. McCann says he also wants to determine if the waterbed will be better at keeping the moose cool. He says water is an excellent conductor of heat. Two of the zoo's five holding area stalls were outfitted with waterbeds.

At least four dairies in Oregon's Willamette Valley have bought into the "new thing" in dairy farming: buying waterbeds for their cows. "There's four or five dairies in the Willamette Valley that have them. It's really beginning to catch on around here," Kevin Krous with NW Dairy Service told KGW The cow waterbed trend reportedly first began in Minnesota but is now starting to catch on the West Coast. For example, the Van Loon Dairy has purchased more than 300 such beds for their cows, at a cost of more than $100,000. "As the cow gets ready to lie down,...