New York City wouldn't be the same without its tasty selection of cupcake bakeries. But there was a time when the nostalgic goodies hadn't yet made it big in the Big Apple. In fact, today's cupcake frenzy wasn't even a blip on the trend radar when founders Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel opened the doors to Magnolia Bakery in 1996. But their selection of freshly made cupcakes, artfully displayed in a 1950s setting, soon caught the attention of customers, making this quaint bakery a hit. Magnolia Bakery also spawned a number of cupcake offshoots. In 1999, Appel ventured off to start Buttercup Bake Shop, another cupcake hit. Today, entrepreneurial-minded employees of both bakeries have followed suit, each hoping to add a unique touch and find the path to sweet success.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will spend in excess of $2 million in the first few weeks of the Democratic-controlled Congress to lobby for several of the party's first-100-hour agenda items, union president Gerald McEntee tells U.S. News.
AP - Robert Gates, seemingly clinching confirmation as the new secretary of defense, said Tuesday the United States is not winning in Iraq and he's confident President Bush will listen to his ideas about forging a new war strategy.
AP - Iraq's prime minister reversed course Tuesday and said his envoys will talk with Iraq's neighbors about the possibility of a regional conference on quelling the violence here, despite opposition to the plan by some key political allies.
AP - Fiji's military overthrew the elected government Tuesday after weeks of threats, locking down the capital and putting the prime minister under house arrest in the fourth coup in the South Pacific country in 19 years.
President Bush's nominee for defense secretary, Robert Gates, got unanimous backing Tuesday from the Senate Armed Services Committee. The vote came after just one day of testimony, during which Gates said he believed the U.S. was not winning in Iraq. His nomination now goes to the full Senate.
The mother of a 5-year-old boy and her boyfriend staged his abduction -- which led to an Amber Alert -- to cover up his death as a result of "physical abuse and trauma," law enforcement officials believe. Shalinda Glass and boyfriend Kevin Andre Towles have been arrested but charges have not been filed. Police believe Geontae Glass was dead when his mom staged the fake abduction at a gas station in Albertville, Alabama.
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