We've heard of the Dogs of the Dow, but what's this? Fire-hydrant traffic was snarled in the nation's capital this morning as, according to USA Today, a pack of unlikely heroes was honored for a range of "humanitarian efforts." It's about time.

Among the honorees: Crazy Joe, a six-year narcotics vet and Buhn-gye, a search and rescue wiz kid from South Korea. All will be awarded medals, "along with having their paw prints enshrined in a Canine Walk of Fame during a ceremony in Washington." Shares of Crazy Joe surged in early trading.

In today's Motley Fool Take:

Krispy Kreme's Sweet Q2

Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) , maker of the tasty glazed goodies that keep sugar-lovers happy, baked up some yummy second-quarter results. Higher systemwide and same-store sales and a big jump in net income were highlights for the quarter ended August 3.

Systemwide sales, which includes revenues from franchises and company-owned stores, grew 27.6% to $238.5 million. Sales at company-owned stores grew the fastest, zipping up 39.6% to $104.3 million, while sales at franchised stores jumped 19.6% to $134.2 million. Systemwide same-store sales were up an impressive 11.3%.

Net income for the second quarter rose 46.8% to $13 million from $8.9 million. Earnings per share came in at $0.21 a diluted share vs. the prior year's $0.15.

Krispy Kreme's story continues to be its compelling growth prospects. With just 307 locations in 41 states, Canada, and Australia (and soon, London, England), the whole world awaits Krispy Kreme. The company will add 77 new stores and 10 coffee/doughnut shops for fiscal 2004.

Comparisons to a young Starbucks(Nasdaq: SBUX) are not without basis. As highlighted in our Starbucks retrospective today, the coffee king boasted around 1,700 locations five years ago. Today, there are more than 6,500 Starbucks, and its market capitalization has more than doubled. It's not hard to imagine Krispy Kreme cooking up a similar future.

Little wonder investors are used to paying a premium for Krispy Kreme, which trades at a lofty P/E just as Starbucks always has. Krispy Kreme goes for about 52 times management's updated fiscal 2004 earnings estimate of $0.91. Like Starbucks, the market may never give wary investors a more "reasonable" chance to get into Krispy Kreme. If not, many will be left on the sidelines watching this growth story unfold

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Kodak's New Look

Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) executives have been extremely busy these past few months. Today, the film and processing giant took a big step away from film by announcing a major realignment that will make it more competitive on the digital front.

The company has long been criticized for its underperformance in the digital age. Earnings have lagged and Kodak stock has lost 16% over the past 10 years, dividends included, while the S&P 500 has gained 160%.

In an effort to get back into the game, CEO Daniel Carp introduced a structure today that he says will help "build entirely new businesses that will position us for growth." This includes a new Commercial Printing division to be headed by former Hewlett-Packard(NYSE: HPQ) executive James Langley. No pressure or anything, but Kodak says this division is one of the keys in its transformation "from its historical roots in consumer film to a company with a more balanced and diversified portfolio of businesses."

Two things here. First, much credit goes to Carp and team for finally positioning the company to meet the digital age head-on. Second, it's hard to know whether to trust that they'll actually be successful. Ten years of disappointment is enough to make anyone skeptical.

The stock is beaten down enough, however, that the rising "Teacup Index," the 6.3% yield, and this realignment have put the company back on our radar.

Quote of Note

"A man's true wealth is the good he does in this world." -- Mohammed

AOL Gets the Message

AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL) won a victory when the Federal Communications Commission voted yesterday to allow AOL's Instant Messenger to transmit audio and video. The stock inched over $16 in morning trading.

The FCC reversed a condition it had imposed for approving America Online's 2001 merger with Time Warner. The commission had believed that the merged company could exercise monopoly power in the instant-messaging market if allowed to carry audio and video.

By a 3-2 party line vote, the FCC now agrees with AOL Time Warner that the competition can withstand new pressure. Chairman Michael K. Powell wrote, "The hypothesized competitive harms from the combination of AOL's internet service and Time Warner's content and broadband facilities have not materialized."

AIM still leads Microsoft's(Nasdaq: MSFT) MSN Messenger and Yahoo!(Nasdaq: YHOO) Messenger, but its market share has fallen to 58.5% from 61.5% at the time of the merger, according to the FCC majority. And both competing services offer video and audio capabilities. When AOL Time Warner introduces AOL 9.0 in September, it will reportedly allow video clip attachments but not yet streaming video.

Depending on your point of view, instant messaging is either an essential tool for living or a time waster for employees. Perhaps both. But for youth, the debate ended years ago. One of our writers spent a recent vacation in a household with a teenage girl. She was mostly incognito in her room -- chatting on AIM instead of the phone. No wonder that instead of limiting phone use, parents must now limit IM time. So much so that when they appear, teens quickly type, "POS," or "parent over shoulder."

We've got EOS (editor over shoulder), so we're outta here. Have a great day.

Discussion Board of the Day: What to Wear?

Does it pay to dress sharp? What's the harm in matching patterns with stripes? Why did the leisure suit die? Hemlines? We don't need no stinkin' hemlines? All this and more -- in the What to Wear? discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Quick Takes

Pennsylvania-based drug company Cephalon(Nasdaq: CEPH) made an unsolicited offer of $26 a share for specialty drug maker CimaLabs(Nasdaq: CIMA). That's a 10% premium to yesterday's $23.58 close. On August 5, AaiPharma(Nasdaq: AAII) and Cima agreed to a merger that appeared to be a wash for both companies. Cima shares jumped 15% to over $27 today, perhaps in anticipation of a bidding war.

Shares of materials maker Solutia(NYSE: SOI) vaulted 300% to lead the NYSE gainers. For good reason. The company settled Alabama litigation over PCBs -- polychlorinated biphenyls widely used as coolants and lubricants in transformers and other electrical equipment prior to 1977. Solutia will pay $50 million over 10 years. Other settlers include Monsanto(NYSE: MON) and a Pfizer(NYSE: PFE) unit.

Shareholders of Corel(Nasdaq: CORL), the once venerable maker of WordPerfect software, approved a buyout by Vector CC holdings, which will take the company private. The takeover is priced at $1.05. Corel closed yesterday at $1.03.

Retailers Sharper Image(Nasdaq: SHRP), Limited(NYSE: LTD), and Charming Shoppes(Nasdaq: CHRS) all reported earnings that beat estimates. Sharper Image's same-store sales jumped 15% and overall sales 21%, while the shares climbed as much as 3% during the day.

And Finally...

We're still celebrating our 10th anniversary here at The Motley Fool (no, we haven't been celebrating the whole 10 years). Check out Jeff Fischer's call on a young Starbucks, and if you haven't yet, our other retro columns -- they're a blast and get better with age. And if you want more, Robert Brokamp has a Financial Manifesto for Couples, and Jeff Fischer spouts off about July's 10 Most Shorted stocks.

Contributors:
Bob Bobala, Robert Brokamp, Paul Elliott, Mathew Emmert, Jeff Fischer, Tom Jacobs, LouAnn Lofton, Bill Mann, Selena Maranjian, Rex Moore, Rick Munarriz, Matt Richey, Reggie Santiago, Kate Southerland, Dayana Yochim