Academy Award winning actor Jeff Bridges came to Washington, D.C. yesterday to roll out a new campaign as national spokesperson for the No Kid Hungry Campaign. “This is the most significant thing I’ve ever done,” he told reporters.

The nationwide effort launched by hunger advocates at Share Our Strength pledges to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

“Millions of our kids can’t learn in school because they are hungry.” Bridges said. “Public charities, food banks, and church pantries are doing more than ever before, but they can’t keep up with the need.”

Bridges said the campaign is not proposing any new government programs, but they do have a plan to address the gaps where existing federal programs, like the school lunch program or food stamps, can effectively fill in by expanding their access.

Jeff Bridges with school children – Share Our Strength Photo on Flickr (all rights reserved)

Steve Carell, Betty White and Steve Martin walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC along with other comedians, including Lorne Michaels and cast members from Saturday Night Live, to honor the woman who perhaps best personifies hip humor in the age of social media.

Tina Fey credits luck and Sarah Palin’s “crazy voice” for her meteoric rise to fame as a comedy writer and actor, best known for her impersonation of Alaska’s ex-governor (“I can see Russia from my house”), and her Emmy Award-winning show, 30 Rock.

(Photo courtesy of WETA-TV)

Veterans are getting a big thank you from companies that are providing free meals and discounts in honor of Veterans Day this week. Applebees, Golden Corral, Chili’s and Hooters are all offering free meals to vets, both active and retired, while Outback Steakhouses are giving away Bloomin’ Onions.

More than 70 years after Seabiscuit took America’s attention away from the Great Depression and the prospect of war, another hero has emerged to distract the nation as it copes with recession and the aftertaste of a bitterly divisive election.

Zenyatta, a six-year-old thoroughbred mare, is unbeaten in 19 races, trouncing mares, fillies, colts and geldings. On Saturday she is bidding to make history by recording her 20th win in one of the US’s greatest horse races, the Breeders’ Cup.

What’s more, she is the only female racing  in an all-male field.

“Usually the fillies can’t keep up with the boys,”  said one horse-racing enthusiast.

Additionally, she is unfamiliar with dirt tracks only having run on them twice. This, her 20th race, will be the last of her career. (Read the story in the Guardian)

Photo credit: Jade (via morguefile)

UPDATE: Watch her last-to-first victory from October 2, 2010, in the TVG’s Lady’s Secret Stakes at Oak Tree Hollywood Park, the mare’s 19th win in a row, undefeated in her career.

Here is her unbelievable come from behind (down by ten lengths) in last year’s Breeders Cup to become the first female ever to win the season ending race.

An old man’s photo was anonymously posted to an infamous internet site known for targeting people and pulling pranks. But sometimes, the hive mind falls in love.

The image of the old man warmed their withered heart. One anonymous poster was able to track down the phone number of the American Legion, where the man lives. Then they revealed the guy’s name, William Lashua. Anonymous users found his military record and declared, “We are going to throw this guy the best birthday party ever.”