Month: July 2014

Award-winning actor, director and screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton says we are living in a time where people root against one another. In the above clip from “Oprah’s Master Class,” Thornton gives reality TV junkies something to chew on.

“We’re living in a time that’s just become judgmental and everybody wants to see failure,” Thornton says. “They want to see people knocked off the hill. You can’t have a television show without a competition because they want to see who cries this week and who goes downhill, who gets kicked out.”

Thornton’s case in point: The Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.” “We don’t need one show about cupcakes, as far as I’m concerned, but you know what, if you want one — okay, that’s fine,” he says. “Let’s have a show about cupcakes. But does it have to be a f****** competition? Do you have to have cupcake wars? And I’m sure people who have been in war kind of take offense to that because seriously, it’s not that g****** dangerous to make a cupcake.”

“I guess I’m just really ready for people to kind of settle down and know each other again and root for each other as opposed to look for the faults in each other,” Thornton says.

Thornton muses that maybe that’s why in his films, the stories he writes take place in other times and places. “There’s a lot of great stuff in life from the top to the bottom and from the left to the right,” he says. “Life is magical and I guess my thing is I wish that people wanted that magic.”

“Oprah’s Master Class” airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.

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HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — There’s mischief afoot in one suburban Portland neighborhood, but police say it doesn’t involve the typical spray paint or broken windows. No, we’re talking pastry here — maple bars smeared on cars, doughnuts left atop windshield wipers, pastries littering a yard.

One woman told officers she’s seen more than a dozen incidents of food smeared on cars. Not just pastry, but yogurt, cakes and eggs. She alerted police July 11.

The next day, another woman told police her vehicle had been hit six times — twice with a maple bar, once with a cinnamon doughnut, once with pink yogurt, once with “bread soaked in a white slimy liquid” and once with red potato salad.

The crime wave in a northeast Hillsboro neighborhood has been going on for six weeks, The Oregonian reported Monday (http://is.gd/67zUZO ).

Police think the victims of the night-time vandalism are chosen at random and kids are likely behind it.

Lt. Mike Rouches says officers are investigating and extra patrols have been added.

Still, he adds, “In my 25 years in police services, I have never investigated or seen a criminal mischief involving pastries.”

OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) — McDonald’s Corp. said its profit slipped in the second quarter as sales in the U.S. continued to flag.

The world’s biggest hamburger chain has been struggling to boost sales in its flagship market amid intensifying competition, changing eating habits and the persistent financial struggles of its lower-income customers.

In the U.S., sales at established locations fell 1.5 percent for the period fewer customers came into its restaurants. The company, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, hasn’t managed to raise the figure since October.

Executives say they’re working to improve basics such as operational speed and service, but that they don’t expect performance to change significantly in the near term.

CEO Don Thompson said the company was moving with a sense of urgency to improve its performance but acknowledged the concerns expressed by analysts about the pace of change during a conference call.

“This is not the kind of thing that I would say I sleep well at night,” Thompson said.

Globally, McDonald’s said comparable sales were “relatively flat” for the period. A stronger performance in the unit encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa helped offset a decline in Europe. For July, however, McDonald’s said it expects the figure to be negative.

For the quarter ended June 30, McDonald’s earned $1.39 billion, or $1.40 per share. That was short of the $1.43 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

A year ago, the company earned $1.4 billion, or $1.38 per share.

Total revenue rose 1.4 percent to $7.18 billion. That missed Wall Street forecasts for $7.29 billion.

Shares of McDonald’s, which is based in Oak Brook, Illinois, were down 2 percent at $95.19 in premarket trading.

Shares have increased 52 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $97.55 since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed 6.8 percent.

(Reuters) – The latest food scandal in China is spreading fast, dragging in U.S. coffee chain Starbucks, Burger King Worldwide Inc and others, as well as McDonald’s products as far away as Japan.

McDonald’s Corp and KFC’s parent Yum Brands Inc apologi…

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