Thomas Keller And His Restaurant, The French Laundry: Story

November 2nd, 2009 Novelist NDiaye wins France's top literary prizePARIS — French-born writer Marie NDiaye won France's top literary prize Monday for "Three Strong Women," her moving tale of the struggles of women in Europe and Africa. NDiaye has written a dozen books, from novels to short story collections and plays, and in 2001 she won France's Femina literary prize, awarded by a jury of women.

October 29th, 2009 Child star ABIGAIL BRESLIN will make her Broadway debut in a revival of WILLIAM GIBSON play THE MIRACLE WORKER. The Oscar-nominated Little Miss Sunshine actress will tread the boards as Helen Keller, a deaf and blind girl who is taught how to communicate by her instructor Annie Sullivan, played by Alison Pill.

October 27th, 2009 The Met returns Egyptian artifactCAIRO — New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will return to Egypt a fragment of an ancient pharoanic shrine it purchased from a collector, Egypt's antiquities department said Monday. The Supreme Council of Antiquities said that a piece of a red granite shrine, known as a "naos," was purchased from an antiquities collector in New York last October so that it could be returned.

October 5th, 2009 McDonald's to become Mona Lisa's new neighborPARIS — French culture and American convenience will come together in December — thanks to plans by the McDonald's restaurant chain to hang its shingle in the shadow of the Louvre. McDonald's is delighted at the prospect of feeding hungry culture vultures.

September 4th, 2009 LONDON - A former employee of Tyra Banks has sued her claiming she has held back his wages worth thousands of dollars. Richard Thomas filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court charging the supermodel-turned-TV presenter of not paying him 3, 638 pounds, reports the Daily Star.

July 21st, 2009 MELBOURNE - Sienna Miller has been restaurant hopping during her visit to Sydney to promote her latest film G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra.

July 17th, 2009 Rob Thomas' new album explores darker themesLOS ANGELES — Rob Thomas' new CD, "Cradlesong," reveals a more complex side of the singer: Themes of despair, and even death, are explored in various songs. While it may suggest a darker mood, the 37-year-old, best known as the frontman for Matchbox Twenty and hits like his "Smooth" collaboration with Santana, says it simply reflects life from a more mature vantage point.

July 12th, 2009 LONDON - French fashion tycoon Christian Audigier is set to buy Michael Jackson's Neverland home. "I have decided to buy that house," the Mirror quoted him as telling French TV.

July 6th, 2009 Industry wants to ban Minn. woman from downloadingMINNEAPOLIS — It's been just a few weeks since a federal jury ruled in a music-downloading case that a Minnesota woman must pay $1.92 million.

July 2nd, 2009 Hefty restaurant bill shocks tourists in ItalyROME — They were looking for a bit of La Dolce Vita but what two Japanese tourists got in a restaurant in Rome left a bad taste in their mouths. The couple was handed a €695 ($980) restaurant bill after lunch last month at a restaurant just steps away from Piazza Navona.

June 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Actress Mia Farrow's sculptor brother died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, a coroner said. Farrow, 66, was discovered dead Monday at the Castleton, Vermont, home he shared with his artist wife Susan, reports People.

June 12th, 2009 US writer Michael Thomas wins lucrative book prizeDUBLIN, Ireland — American writer Michael Thomas won one of the world's most lucrative literary prizes Thursday for his debut novel "Man Gone Down." A panel of judges from Ireland, Britain, Switzerland and Canada named Boston-born Thomas, 41, the winner of the euro100,000 (US$140,000) IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. "Man Gone Down" follows a thirty-something African-American man, broke and estranged from his wife and three children, who has four days to keep his family afloat and reclaim his stake in the American Dream.

June 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Slumdog Millionaire's nine-year-old star Rubina Ali is ready to tell her life story. According to reports, the Mumbai resident, who played the young Latika in director Danny Boyle's Oscar winning movie, is penning a memoir.

June 5th, 2009 LONDON - Elle Macpherson, Charlize Theron and Sienna Miller are among the celebrities who have slammed a top London restaurant for putting endangered Blue Fin Tuna on its menu. Actors Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson, musician Sting and comedian Stephen Fry are also supporting the protest against Nobu, reports the Sun.

May 6th, 2009 The Four Seasons: NY 'power lunch' mecca turns 50NEW YORK — The Dalai Lama. Madonna. Bill Clinton.