Dec 16 (Reuters) – “The Hobbit” brought home a big box
office treasure over the weekend, setting a December movie
record with $84.77 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales as
legions of fans turned out for the long-awaited big-screen
return to Middle Earth.

The 3D movie directed by Oscar-winning “Rings” filmmaker
Peter Jackson is the first of three films based on a 1937
classic novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Warner Bros. is aiming to build
on the success of the “Rings” series, one of Hollywood’s biggest
franchises with $2.9 billion in global ticket sales.

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Tavi Gevinson has accomplished
more in her 16 years than most people double her age.

The style blogger, writer and darling of the fashion set
launched a fashion blog from her suburban Chicago home before
she turned 12. Two years later it was getting 50,000 hits a day
and she was a fixture in the front row of fashion shows in New
York, Paris and Tokyo.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Although women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, only 16.6 percent have seats on the boards of Fortune 500 companies and the number has barely budged since 2005, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The Catalyst 2012 F500 Census, which annually tracks women in top positions in companies, showed progress is painfully slow for women seeking the top spots in corporate America, with only a 0.5 percent rise from the previous year.

NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Women around the globe are
blocked from advancing in their careers because of unequal
access to high visibility jobs and international experience,
according to a new report.

After graduate school, women start at lower level jobs than
men and receive less pay, and the gender gap just gets wider as
their careers progress, the study by non-profit group Catalyst
showed.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Looking for an affordable face lift without breaking the bank? Want to combine a tummy tuck with two weeks in the sun? You’re not alone.

Nearly a third of people surveyed around the world say they are open to the idea of medical tourism – traveling abroad to enjoy cheaper medical or dental treatment, according to a new Ipsos poll of 18,731 adults in 24 countries.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Looking for an affordable face lift without breaking the bank? Want to combine a tummy tuck with two weeks in the sun? You’re not alone.

Nearly a third of people surveyed around the world say they are open to the idea of medical tourism – travelling abroad to enjoy cheaper medical or dental treatment, according to a new Ipsos poll of 18,731 adults in 24 countries.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Music and food have always been a big part of Dante Gonzales’s life. so it is no surprise that the award-winning chef, caterer and party promoter managed to combine both worlds.

His love of music comes from his grandfather, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, who had a big hit with his recording of the jazz classic “Night Train,” while his grandmother taught him to cook.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Receding water after Hurricane Sandy left its ugly mark on the walls of New York’s art district, rising up to five feet on some buildings, and gallery owners sifted through the debris on Friday and assessed damage to valuable works of art.

Streets in the Chelsea district on the West Side of Manhattan bordering the Hudson River were strewn with discarded frames and building material from damaged galleries, remnants of the ravages of Sandy, which flooded some spaces with several feet of water.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Alex Hitz grew up in Georgia, was classically trained in France and uses the culinary techniques he learned in Europe to enhance the southern food of his childhood.

In his first cookbook, “My Beverly Hills Kitchen, Classic Southern Cooking with a French Twist,” Hitz provides 175 recipes, an abundance of photos, menus and tips on entertaining gleaned from some of America’s top hosts.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The personal archive of former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, who served under President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis 50 years ago, will be sold at auction later this month, Sotheby’s said on Tuesday.

The sale, which will include personal papers, letters, furniture and memorabilia, will be held on October 23 and mark the half century anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.