Early Childhood Obesity Rates Might Be Slowing Nation-Wide

About one in three children in the U.S. are now overweight, and since the 1980s the number of children who are obese has more than tripled. But a new study of 26.7 million young children from low-income families shows that in this group of kids, the tidal wave of obesity might finally be receding.Being obese as a child not only increases the risk of early-life health problems, such as joint problems,...

Read More..

Sale shoppers ‘set to spend £3bn’

26 December 2012 Last updated at 00:11 ETBritish shoppers are expected to spend almost £3bn in the Boxing Day sales, experts have predicted.Millions of bargain-hunters are set to descend on High Streets and shopping centres across the UK.Shops will be cutting prices and opening as early as 06:00 GMT in a bid to tempt customers in.Market analyst Experian says online spending is expected to be the “biggest...

Read More..

Bolivia’s Morales visits Cuba after Chavez surgery

HAVANA (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales has made a lightning trip to Havana where key ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery.Morales did not speak to foreign journalists during his weekend visit. Cuban state-run media didn’t confirm that he visited Chavez, but said he came “to express his support” for the Venezuelan president. The Cuban government had invited media to cover Morales’...

Read More..

Bolivia’s Morales visits Cuba after Chavez surgery

HAVANA (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales has made a lightning trip to Havana where key ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery.Morales did not speak to foreign journalists during his weekend visit. Cuban state-run media didn’t confirm that he visited Chavez, but said he came “to express his support” for the Venezuelan president. The Cuban government had invited media to cover Morales’...

Read More..

Holiday music stops at Irving Berlin’s NY door

NEW YORK (AP) — A caroling group that for 35 years has performed the Irving Berlin classic “White Christmas” on Christmas Eve outside the New York City home where he lived has cancelled the tradition.A group spokesman says the plans were abruptly cancelled last week for lack of space at the Manhattan home, which now serves as the Luxembourg consulate.The tradition started in the late 1970s with one...

Read More..

Lawmakers play waiting game with ‘fiscal cliff’ deadline in sight

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With only a week left before a deadline for the United States to go over a “fiscal cliff,” lawmakers played a waiting game on Monday in the hope that someone will produce a plan to avoid harsh budget cuts and higher taxes for most Americans from New Year’s Day.Though Republicans and Democrats have spent the better part of a year describing a plunge off the cliff as a looming...

Read More..

Macy’s: Here’s What an All-Night Retail Binge Looks Like

Earlier this month, Macy’s, the second-largest department store chain in the nation, announced it would be keeping most of its stores open all night the Friday and Saturday before Christmas. To check out the early morning scene, Bloomberg Businessweek sent three reporters from the Billfold to various Macy’s around the country.Macy’s Herald Square, New York, Saturday, Dec. 22., 12:20 a.m. East Coast...

Read More..

Taliban not demanding Afghan power monopoly

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban representatives at a conference did not insist on total power in Afghanistan and pledged to grant rights to women that the militant Islamist group itself brutally suppressed in the past, according to a Taliban statement received Sunday.The pledges emerged from a rare meeting last week involving Taliban and Kabul government representatives.The less strident substance...

Read More..

Taliban not demanding Afghan power monopoly

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban representatives at a conference did not insist on total power in Afghanistan and pledged to grant rights to women that the militant Islamist group itself brutally suppressed in the past, according to a Taliban statement received Sunday.The pledges emerged from a rare meeting last week involving Taliban and Kabul government representatives.The less strident substance...

Read More..

RIM shares fall at the open after earnings

TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd fell in early trading on Friday following the BlackBerry maker’s Thursday earnings announcement, when the company outlined plans to change the way it charges for services.RIM, pushing to revive its fortunes with the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 devices next month, surprised investors when it said it plans to alter its service revenue model, a move that...

Read More..