British naturalist Charles Darwin shocked Victorian society when he suggested that humans evolved from animals over millions of years, and his theories still spark controversy. February 12 marks the scientist's 200th birthday and 2009 is the 150th year since he published the pivotal "On the Origin of Species." Expedition organizers

Americans hungry for feel-good fine dining are reaping the benefits of the struggling economy. Wine deals, bar menu specials and three-course, prix fixe meals for $25 to $40 are popping up in high-end eateries across the country to lure customers as business and leisure travel dips and diners stay closer to home and make

Growing up in America, Joshu Harris was captivated by the mystique, music and history of Cuba. So before Harris started law school, he traveled to Santiago in southeastern Cuba -- something very few Americans can do today. While there, he played his trumpet with a local dance band, touring across the Cuban countryside. I wanted to see and experience the country

Days after thick snow brought London to a standstill, the traditional drizzle has returned and it is business as usual in the bustling British capital. The pavement might be slippery with ice but the resumption of the bus and rail services means that you'll at least be able to move around the city. All airports in the south are operating normally

The title on Chris Doyle's business card reads "mad scientist," but he's not crazy, he's just crazy about snowboarding. Doyle decided one snowy day in New York to quit his job as a bank accountant and chase his dreams on the snowy slopes of Vermont. Eventually, that spur-of-the-moment decision led to his job as senior product development specialist

Gas prices nationwide jumped a bit over the past two weeks, according to a survey published Sunday. A gallon of self-serve regular cost, on average, $1.86, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey. That's a rise of nearly 8 cents over the past two weeks. After breaking all-time-high records over the summer, prices

Every year when I update my guidebook series, I find out what's new in Europe. Here's a review of what Americans can expect the next time they cross the Atlantic. Note that this is a continent-wide look at the latest in Europe. In upcoming columns, I'll cover what's new per major country. In 2009, it's not the "old Europe" anymore as

Kay Pratt's rental car gets a ticket when she stays in a San Francisco hotel. Problem is, the car was under the care of the property's valet services. Now she wants the $85 ticket refunded, but the hotel is stringing her along. Is she stuck with the ticket.? Q: I'm having a problem with a hotel's valet parking service, and could use a little help

Three juvenile Triceratops, a species thought to be solitary, died together in a flood and now have been found in a 66 million-year-old bone bed in Montana, lending more evidence to the idea that teen dinosaurs were gregarious gangsters. Triceratops were ceratopsids, herbivorous dinosaurs that lived until the the very end of the Cretaceous Period.

Ice cover on the Great Lakes has declined more than 30 percent since the 1970s, leaving the world's largest system of freshwater lakes open to evaporation and lower water levels, according to scientists associated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They're concerned about how the milder winter freeze may

Jonathon Porritt, one of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's leading environmental advisers, is to warn that Britain must drastically reduce its population if it is to build a sustainable society. Porritt's call will come at this week's annual conference of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), of which he is patron.

Animals obviously hook up, at least during mating season. But do they like it? According to experts, there are two answers: "yes" and "it is impossible to know." "Mosquitoes, I don't know," hedged Mark Bekoff, a University of Colorado biologist and author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals" (New World Library), "but across mammals, they enjoy sex."

British intelligence officers scoured hundreds of UFO sighting reports in the 1980s and 1990s looking for top-secret American stealth-plane projects, newly released files have shown. At the end of the cold war, the Ministry of Defense was worried that America was developing mysterious planes but not telling its closest ally.

Blockbuster Inc. plans to rent and sell its movies and TV shows through TiVo Inc.'s digital video recorders in the second half of this year. The Dallas-based video rental company is playing catch-up to rival Netflix Inc., which already offers free instant streaming of its movies and TV shows through TiVo DVRs and other devices with its "Watch Instantly" service.

NASA's online contest to name a new room at the international space station went awry. Comedian Stephen Colbert won. The name "Colbert" beat out NASA's four suggested options in the space agency's effort to have the public help name the addition. The new room will be launched later this year. NASA's mistake was allowing write-ins

After eight days together, space shuttle Discovery pulled away from the international space station Wednesday, ending a successful effort to boost electrical power and science research at the orbiting outpost. The two spacecraft went separate ways as they soared above the Indian Ocean. The undocking puts Discovery and its seven-member crew on course

A prestigious medical journal on Friday accused Pope Benedict of distorting scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine by saying that condoms increase the spread of AIDS. The Lancet in an editorial called on the Pope to retract the comments made last week, saying anything less would be an immense disservice to the public and

King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain will appear at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival's gala ¡Viva España! celebration of Iberian cuisine and wines at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The event benefits Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Fundación España-Florida. For information and

In a sparkling new kitchen in the Biltmore Hotel's conference center, five teary-eyed home cooks compared tips for no-cry onion chopping. I heard it helps if you breathe through your mouth, one said. My mother told me to put bread on the cutting board while you do it, offered another. Lourdes Castro chuckled. 'I say, `Chop faster.'

Lights went out at tourism landmarks and homes across the globe on Saturday for Earth Hour 2009, a global event designed to highlight the threat from climate change. From the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and London's Houses of Parliament, lights were dimmed as part of a campaign to

British supermodel Naomi Campbell walked down the ramp in Mumbai on Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of last November's Mumbai attacks. Along with a host of Indian celebrities, the 39-year-old Campbell helped raise funds for the city's emergency medical services in a charity show called "Mai Mumbai." Campbell heads a charity called "Fashion

Rhonda Barnett remembers her husband Marc's proposal as if it were yesterday, she says. Actually, it was 1994 when her then-beau enlisted the help of her co-workers -- and one large ladder truck -- at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, where she worked as public information manager, to ask for her hand. Knowing my sweetheart was going

Royals and celebrities joined Princes William and Harry to honor their mother Princess Diana on Friday, the 10th anniversary of her death in a high-speed limousine crash in Paris. Hundreds of mourners lined the streets outside a chapel near Buckingham Palace where the Queen, Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles, her brother Charles

Inauguration Day will belong to President Barack Obama, but that night will be wife Michelle's turn in the spotlight, as all eyes will be on her -- and her choice of ball gown. Throughout U.S. history, and especially in the post-World War II era, first ladies have made statements about themselves and the times they live in with their inaugural wardrobes.