I've caught some fascinating tidbits in media reports about Chelsea Clinton's recent wedding: The bride dropped the ring during the ceremony. She and Marc did a sexy tango during the reception. Chelsea's father, former President Bill Clinton, followed his daughter's lead by going vegan—and he moonwalked during the reception!

Wait—Bill Clinton went vegan?

That's right: People magazine's Sandra Sobieraj Westfall recently revealed to Today show viewers that, because Chelsea is so concerned about her father's health, Mr. Clinton "went on a vegetarian, no dairy diet, took lots of walks, and he dropped twenty pounds."

So, will he stick with heart-healthy, animal-friendly, green cuisine? Considering his heart problems vs. vegan vitality and incredible vegan edibles, I'm optimistic. What do you think?

Written by Karin Bennett

You say you care about lonely, neglected dogs who are chained up in all weather extremes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? How far would you go to prove it? Seminole County resident and PETA member Bryan Wilson (right) and a friend went so far as to chain themselves up for eight hours in the blazing Florida heat to call attention to the plight of dogs who spend all day, every day fighting off flies, fleas, and hopelessness.

"Dogs are very social animals," Wilson told a reporter. "By [depriving] them of their human packs, they are essentially reduced from family members to lawn ornaments."

Wilson, who helped draft a proposed law restricting chaining in his county, isn't the only one going to bat for chained dogs. Deborah Linz and Paulette Dean, who are featured in the current issue of PETA's quarterly magazine, Animal Times, were each successful in passing ordinances restricting chaining in Kanawha County, West Virginia, and Danville, Virginia, respectively. More than six states and 120 communities across the country have banned or restricted chaining.

Want to be a hero to dogs by working to pass an anti-chaining ordinance in your community? You'll die happy! To get started, visit HelpingAnimals.com for information on lobbying for anti-chaining laws.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Summer hasn't even officially kicked off, but the folks at the Today show were talking Thanksgiving this morning—or, rather, discussing PETA's Thanksgiving Day public service announcement (PSA), which was just named one of the "Best Commercials of the Year" by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP).

As AICP President and CEO Matt Miller noted, many networks refused to air PETA's PSA—in which an adorable young lady educates her family about the violence on turkey factory farms—but the Today show coverage ensured that millions of viewers saw and heard our "potent message" (Matt Lauer's words).

Curious and caring Today show viewers who are compelled to educate themselves about how turkeys are abused on factory farms and in slaughterhouses just might opt for Tofurky on Thanksgiving Day.

Written by Karin Bennett

In preparation for tonight's American premiere of the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed, this morning's Today Show featured a segment on the horrors behind the rampant breeding of purebreds.

Sylvia, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, suffers from syringomyelia—a condition in which the dog's brain is too big for the skull, resulting in a nonstop, crippling headache that's been deemed by humans who endure it the worst kind of pain imaginable. And she's not alone—after years of inbreeding, at least one-third of all King Charles spaniels suffer from syringomyelia and other incurable genetic deformities, a common problem among purebred dogs.

Breeders around the globe are guilty of spreading these deadly defects, contributing to what Dr. James Serpell, associate professor of humane ethics and animal welfare at the University of Pennsylvania, deems "institutionalized animal cruelty," and they—along with the individuals who continue to buy purebred companion animals instead of adopting from animal shelters—are at fault for the animal overpopulation crisis and the deaths of millions of homeless animals each year.

Don't miss the sure-to-be-heart-wrenching Pedigree Dogs Exposed tonight on BBC America.

Written by Logan Scherer

nowilaymedowntosleep / CC

This morning, PETA Vice President Dan Mathews appeared on the Today show to talk about the court case involving Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Alert PETA Files readers will recall that Ringling has been sued by a coalition of animal protection groups over what they allege are violations of the Endangered Species Act. Namely, they're arguing that beating elephants with bullhooks and keeping them chained for hours or even days on end are no way to treat an endangered species.

Here's a little refresher: Over the course of the six-week trial, reams of evidence were trotted out to support reports that Ringling keeps elephants chained for an average of more than 26 hours at a time, sometimes for as many as 60 to 100 hours straight, and that elephants often suffer from bleeding wounds after being struck with bullhooks. Former Ringling employees testified about the horrors they witnessed while on Ringling's payroll, which included seeing an elephant who was violently beaten for a solid half hour.

The judge is still weighing his verdict, but in the meantime, Ringling is on trial in the court of public opinion. Kudos to Today for helping us expose Ringling for the sleazy animal-abusing con artist that it is.

Written by Alisa Mullins

This morning, The Today Show ran a fluff piece that literally made my skin crawl, and the complaints started pouring into our office—and for good reason! The show glorified alligator "harvesting" and called it the "deadliest catch, Florida-style." By alligator harvesting, they really mean alligator slaughtering, but harvesting sounds just oh-so-much comfier. To wrap your head around what we're saying, check out our own video footage from the "glamorous" world of the alligator harvest, and spot the difference between that and, say, the Vermont apple harvest:

Luckily, we've got some wicked smart and compassionate folks working at PETA, like our Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. Lisa fired off this fantastic letter to Today Show correspondent Kerry Sanders, who covered the story this morning. In the letter, Lisa said, "If people want to buy handbags and shoes made from [alligators'] skins, we think they should know exactly how the animals were killed and what better vehicle than Today?" All too true, Lisa. Hopefully, Today will respond, but until then, check out this compelling ad, and say sayonara to the exotic skins in your closet.

So I’ve been vegetarian for kind of a long time, and back in the day, my choices for nonleather shoes and belts and so forth were pretty much nonexistent. If I found a decent pair of vegan shoes in my size, I’d snap up a couple of pairs at a time. Honestly, it was a little tough. But that was back in the dark ages, and today it couldn’t be easier. I don’t have to look hard at all to find cruelty-free clothes anymore, and as you can see from the picture, the results are positively devastating.

But I digress. The point is that I was really excited to see this Today Show piece about modern cruelty-free fashions. It makes it clear how easy it is nowadays to be cruelty-free and super fashionable at the same time, if that's your thing. Check it out:

Holland, being awesome since 100 B.C.

I've talked about how rad The Netherlands are before—when the Dutch "Party for the Animals" (yes, Holland has a legitimate political party dedicated to animal protection which holds seats in parliament) paid to run spots of “Free Me” on Dutch national television. Well, the latest news from our clog-wearing friends is that Holland has just become the first country where vegetarians are eligible to receive discounted health-insurance because of their diet. According to Ode magazine, which reported on the story, the policy, called VegePolis, "operates on the principle that people who choose not to eat meat live healthier lives." Apparently, members also get a 10 percent discount on vegetarian dinners, and a portion of the insurance revenue goes to animal welfare groups. What a kickass country. Nice job, The Netherlands.

Fears of E. coli contamination have prompted California-based Richwood foods to recall more than 100,000 pounds of beef from grocery stores. The scare comes after three children became seriously ill. You can read about the story here if it hasn't come across your radar yet, but if you’re in the mood for a little bit of "I told you so" posturing from yours truly, stick with me.

In order to line the wallets of its executives, the meat industry crams animals by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds that are contaminated by feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. Leaving aside the ethics of this practice for a second (which, well, you can probably guess where I stand on that issue), what this means from a health perspective is that most of the flesh from the 10 billion animals a year killed for meat in the U.S. is contaminated with dangerous bacteria like E. coli, campylobacter, and listeria. The fact is that this recall shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone—and it definitely won't be the last. Anyway, it's good that these products are being recalled when kids start getting sick, but if the meat industry wants to be consistent, it might want to pay attention to the significant role it plays in the 700,000 annual deaths from heart disease in this country, just for starters.

In other relevant news, companies like Boca and Morningstar Farms make these really delicious, 100 percent disease-free veggie burgers, which you can find at any grocery store. I'm just saying.

Thanks to a few compassionate Kentucky residents, including the insuppressible Lindsay Rajt, who works on our KFC Campaign out of Louisville, David Novak, the CEO of KFC's parent company, got more than he bargained for out of an evening at a local restaurant on Friday night. Lindsay and company were in the midst of a well-attended KFC protest that was drawing a lot of attention in downtown Louisville when a passerby shouted out that Novak was eating at Seviche restaurant just down the street. Lindsay and a fellow activist got into their vehicle (which, by a stroke of good fortune, happened to be a large black truck with a video screen set to play images of chickens suffering live scalding, debeaking, and other abuses) and circled the restaurant until the entire wait-staff came out to gawk. Despite a slightly unpleasant incident in which the chef thought a good way of handling the situation would be to spit in people's faces, the protest was a big success. At the very least, it probably put David Novak off his dinner.