Waiter Michael Garcia Refuses to Serve Man Who Insulted Boy with Down Syndrome

By Dahvi Shira 01/26/2013 at 09:00 AM EST Waiter Michael Garcia made his regular customer Kim Castillo feel like family last week at the Houston restaurant Laurenzo's Prime Rib.Castillo was eating there with her husband and their 5-year-old son Milo when several waiters came by their table to chat. Milo, who...

Read More..

CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

Read More..

Wall Street Week Ahead: Bears hibernate as stocks near record highs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks have been on a tear in January, moving major indexes within striking distance of all-time highs. The bearish case is a difficult one to make right now. Earnings have exceeded expectations, the housing and labor markets have strengthened, lawmakers in Washington no longer seem to be the roadblock that they were for most of 2012, and money has returned to stock...

Read More..

IHT Rendezvous: France Is Sweet on 'Sugar Man'

A love story is developing between the French and Rodriguez, the Detroit-born musician who flopped in the 1970s, was a star without knowing it in apartheid South Africa and was rediscovered last summer in the United States when the documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” was released.The film tells the extraordinary story of a talented and philosophical musician who spent his life working in construction...

Read More..

Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

Read More..

Stock index futures signal mixed Wall Street open

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 rising 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones futures down 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.3 percent. Apple stepped up audits of working conditions at major suppliers last year, discovering multiple cases of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems. ...

Read More..

Sony fined in UK over PlayStation cyberattack

LONDON (AP) — British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($ 396,100) for failing to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network which put millions of users’ personal information — including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords — at risk.Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time “were simply not good enough.”...

Read More..

Cameron Defends Decision to Seek E.U. Vote

PARIS — Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain on Thursday defended his decision to seek a referendum on his country’s membership in the European Union, saying his goal was to reform the 27-nation bloc, not to retreat into isolation. “This is not about turning our backs on Europe, quite the opposite,” Mr. Cameron told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, ““It’s...

Read More..

'Sweet' Rooney Mara Enjoys Vegan Fare at Sundance

Caught in the Act 01/24/2013 at 06:00 AM EST From The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to the Girl with the Vegan Menu!On Monday night, Rooney Mara celebrated her new movie Ain't Them Bodies Saints at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Joined by the cast – including Casey Affleck, Ben Foster and Nate...

Read More..

Women have caught up to men on lung cancer risk

Smoke like a man, die like a man.U.S. women who smoke today have a much greater risk of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago, partly because they are starting younger and smoking more — that is, they are lighting up like men, new research shows.Women also have caught up with men in their risk of dying from smoking-related illnesses. Lung cancer risk leveled off in the 1980s for men but...

Read More..