President Barack Obama in Keene, California (Olivier Knox)KEENE, California—On a California campaign swing, President Barack Obama on Monday honored the late Latino labor activist Cesar Chavez by formally designating the United Farm Workers leader's former home and headquarters as a national monument.

"Today, La Paz joins a long line of national monuments—stretching from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon—monuments that tell the story of who we are as Americans," Obama said. "It's a story of natural wonders and modern marvels; of fierce battles and quiet progress."

"But it's also a story of people—of determined, fearless, hopeful people who have always been willing to devote their lives to making this country a little more just and a little more free," Obama said.

"One of those people lies here, beneath a rose garden at the foot of a hill he used to climb to watch the sun rise. And so today we celebrate Cesar Chavez," the president said.

Pierre with his new owner, Kayla (YouTube)With Halloween coming up, there will be a surge in advertising and imagery showing black cats as a symbol of mischief. For most people, the association is harmless.

But employees at pet shelters around the country say the inaccurate belief that black cats are somehow unlucky or are linked to supernatural traits has a negative effect on their adoption rates, making them less likely to find a home than cats of other colors.

"They get placed less and they get overlooked when they shouldn't be," said Lange Foundation adoption counselor Jonathan. The Lange Foundation is a nonprofit, no-kill pet adoption center.

However, there are some positive stories that buck the trend. The video below shows the successful adoption of Pierre, a black cat who waited two years for a family to take him home.

"I don't know, I always thought black cats were pretty cool," Pierre's new adoptive mother, Kayla, says in the video. "I didn't think of them as bad luck or anything like that. I definitely never avoided

A girl wearing a Big Bird sweater waves at President Barack Obama at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, …KEENE, Calif.—President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and the White House defended his handling of world affairs from a scathing attack by Republican challenger Mitt Romney, arguing that the former Massachusetts governor is fond of "chest-pounding" and "saber-rattling."

"This is somebody who leads with chest-pounding rhetoric," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One.

"He's surrounded himself with a number of people who were advisers to past President Bush, people who have used saber-rattling rhetoric when it comes to Syria and Iran," she said. "And that's something that we think the American people should take a look at."

But she also claimed that Romney's speech at the Virginia Military Institute aimed to "reboot" his foreign policy after a series of troubled attempts—notably a summertime overseas trip marred by verbal missteps.

"When you're commander in chief you don't get to bring an Etch A Sketch into the Oval Office. You don't get second chances, never mind seventh chances," she said. (But presidential foreign policy has to adapt: Obama's approach to Iran, for example, went from offering unconditional negotiations during the 2008 campaign to overseeing the toughest economic sanctions regime against Tehran by 2012.)

Arnold Schwarzenegger attends a book signing for his new autobiography. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty)Arnold Schwarzenegger has long combated rumors alleging that he praised Adolf Hitler. In his new autobiography, "Total Recall," the former California governor admits to praising the Nazi leaders speaking style but says he always opposed Hitler's policies.

"I philosophized that only a few men are born to lead, while the rest of humanity is born to follow, and went from that into discussing history's great conquerors and dictators," Schwarzenegger writes in his book. "I admired Hitler's speaking ability, though not what he did with it."

Speculation and criticism over Schwarzenegger's 1977 seminal bodybuilding film, "Pumping Iron." The Hitler exchange was ultimately edited out of the film by director George Butler. While acknowledging the exchange, Schwarzenegger says it was essentially a ruse often employed by the actor, 65, to draw attention to himself.

"Coming up with outrageous things to say was easy because I was always thinking them to keep myself entertained," he writes in Total Recall.

Nonetheless, the Schwarzenegger camp takes issue with the way the quote has been framed by the New York Daily News, in a story titled "Arnold Schwarzenegger admits he once expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler after publicly denying it for years."

"This is a totally misleading and irresponsible headline," Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Ashley Robinson said in a statement provided to Yahoo News. "The governor wrote about something he said over 30 years ago that was reported countless times during his election for governor, that he had strong oratory skills that were abused for power. The headline is a shameless, reprehensible attempt by a tabloid to get attention and web traffic."

Ryan Andresen, who turned 18 on Monday, was denied his Eagle Scout award. (Andresen family)

[Updated at 2:20 p.m. ET]

Ryan Andresen may have been shunned by the Boy Scouts, but not by scores of strangers who've stepped up to pledge their support over his plight.

The California teen made headlines around the world last week after his scoutmaster refused to approve his Eagle Scout award because Ryan is gay.

Since then, more than 350,000 people have signed an online petition urging the leaders of Troop 212 to ignore the Scouts' anti-gay policy and award Ryan the organization's highest honor.

"I'm just totally and completely blown away and amazed," said Ryan, who will appear on the "Ellen" TV talk show this Thursday. "I can't believe it. I really want to thank everyone for showing their support. It means so much to me."

His supporters include many former Scouts who say they plan to pledge their own coveted Eagle pins to Ryan.

"In my mind he's earned it simply by refusing to be anything other than who he is," Andrew Lanham wrote in an email to Yahoo News. "As an Eagle Scout, I'm

It's not often that viewers experience genuine fear while watching QVC. Folks who tuned into the shopping channel on Sunday night were no doubt concerned when guest host Cassie Slane appeared to faint while plugging an Android tablet for kids.

After talking about how kids love educational games on tablets, Slane began patting her chest. She then stopped speaking and fell into co-host Dan Wheeler's arms as the camera quickly cut away. It's unclear what happened (a co-worker of hers mentioned low blood sugar), but Slane did recover. On her Facebook page, she wrote that she's "feeling alot [sic] better." QVC also released a statement saying that the network is "pleased to report that she is feeling fine now."

Wheeler's reaction to his co-host's fainting spell is priceless. Ever the pro, he kept listing the benefits of the Android tablet while the camera cut to a close-up of the device. As the off-screen viewer says in this clip, "Keep selling, buddy."

A group of high school students in Pekin, Ill., were suspended last week after school officials suspected the mints they were eating were actually illegal drugs.

Jason McMichael, the father of one of the students, told the Journal Star that his 17-year-old son Eric was suspended for two days from Pekin Community High School and not allowed to attend the school's homecoming festivities after staffers found four students eating energy mint tablets that are marketed like caffeine energy drinks.

McMichael said he received a phone call from the dean's office informing him of his son's suspension and that the teen was being monitored by the school nurse for an elevated heart rate—though McMichael doesn't believe it was due to the energy mints.

"He's never been in trouble," McMichael said. "He was probably just nervous."

Eric McMichael said he and three others were eating Revive tablets—touted as "nature's energy mints"—in the school cafeteria when they were disciplined.

"People bring energy drinks to school every day," the teen told Central Illinois' WMBD-TV. "I see this every day and we get in trouble for energy mints?"

According to EnergyFiend.com, each mint contains 101 milligrams of caffeine along with guarana, green tea, ginseng, acai, mangosteen and goji. The Revive brand is endorsed by several MMA fighters and fitness pageant contestants.

McMichael's father said school officials later admitted they did not know if the chewable, unmarked mints were, in fact, illegal drugs but upheld the suspensions anyway, saying the teens displayed "gross misconduct for taking an unknown product."

"Now they know nothing illegal happened," McMichael said on Friday, "but they're still pursuing the suspension."

(Getty)

A man who skipped out on a lodging bill was later caught thanks to a common item he left behind in his hotel room.

Stephen Evans left a Welsh seaside resort in Llandudno after two nights without paying, according to news.com.au.

But Evans left his toothbrush.

Police discovered the mouth cleaning instrument in the vacant hotel room, and after having it forensically checked—in CSI fashion—found a match in their database to Evans, news.com.au reports.

Prosecutors said Evans had been kicked out of his home and had no place to stay. So he checked into the hotel using a false name.

Evans, 29, who is a plasterer in Llandudno, admitted to the charge of leaving the hotel without settling up the bill. He was ordered to pay $102 for the two nights he had stayed there, and $95 in costs. He was also placed under a four-month curfew, during which he is not allowed to go out from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day.

The incident may now give Evans something more to think about every time he brushes his teeth.