Simpson says no to auto bailout • Mail those Christmas cards before Monday • Cat hoarders in Montana get a scare • $100 home a hard sell in Idaho Falls • Hawk crashes through kitchen window in Coeur d'Alene

Simpson says no to auto bailout

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson yesterday voted against the bailout bill for the U.S. auto industry, saying he believes fundamental restructuring is necessary for the "Big Three" domestic auto companies to be competitive and relevant in the future.

"We've been down this road before. In the early 1980s, Chrysler came to Congress requesting federal assistance and promising to change they way they did business," Simpson said. "While Chrysler repaid their loan within three years, they never carried out the required restructuring. A generation later, Congress has apparently not learned its lesson, passing legislation that provides funding without ensuring real results."

Read more on Simpson's comments here, and read more on the failure of the bailout bill here.

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Mail those Christmas cards before Monday

The Postal Service expects that about 960 million cards and letters will be processed on Monday, Dec. 15, nearly double the average daily volume, making it the day of the year for the U.S. Post Office.

To help customers with their last-minute shopping, the postal service stated that priority mail sent by Dec. 20 will arrive before Christmas.

It is also providing a money-back guarantee that express mail sent by Dec. 23 will be delivered by Christmas Day.

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Cat hoarders in Montana get a scare

Animal Control pitched a standard that would allow only five cats per household at a Missoula City Council committee meeting this week.

The change to the cat ordinance, which would make it illegal for a person or household to have more than five cats over the age of 4 months without a breeder's license, came up because local shelters are full.

Animal Control also is proposing a new "leash law" that would require cats that roam the outdoors be spayed or neutered.

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$100 home a hard sell in Idaho Falls

If you're having trouble buying your own home, you may want to consider Idaho Falls, where the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho is raffling off a 2,800-square-foot home for $100 per ticket.

However, the nonprofit agency hasn't sold enough raffle tickets to validate the drawing, which is set for Dec. 19.

Shawn Tolman, the American Red Cross' East Idaho regional director, told the Post-Register the organization had sold 200 tickets as of Thursday, far from the 2,200 tickets his group needed to sell.

The five-bedroom house features three bathrooms, major appliances, a finished basement, a mammoth plasma TV and Lyptus hardwood floors. It's wired for phone, TV and Internet, the yard has a sprinkler system and there's a two-car garage.

Read more at the Post-Register's Web site. (Subscription required)

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Hawk crashes through kitchen window in Coeur d'Alene

A large Cooper's Hawk crashed through the window of a Coeur d'Alene home, showering a one-year-old boy with glass before shaking it off and flying away an hour and a half later.

Karyn Holt picked up the bird after it had come in through the kitchen window and brought it into the yard. It flew away 90 minutes later.

The young boy and the rest of the family were unharmed.

A raptor biologist told the Associated Press that raptors like the Cooper's Hawk can get so focused on prey that they don't notice sudden threats, like a glass window.