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Like many pregnant women, when the need to use the restroom hit Ilana Scheinker, it was sudden. “The urge hit me as it does many women who have two weeks to go,” Scheinker told KPNX-TV. She had to go and she had to go right then. So she ducked into a nearby Starbucks in Phoenix. When she asked to use the restroom though, she was refused. “I said, ‘I’m pregnant, I really have to use the bathroom now,’ ” Scheinker told KPNX. The mother-to-be told her husband waiting outside what happened. He went into the coffee shop and offered to...

Did you know that the upcoming midterm elections can be summarized as Denny's vs Dunkin' Donuts? Does that sound ridiculous to you? Well, it is just as ridiculous as Chuck Todd stretching to raise Meet The Press out of its third place ratings yesterday by describing the midterm elections as Starbucks Nation vs Chick-Fil-A Country as you can see in this video (and below). As a result, Todd who needs respect as the new host of MTP, instead received widespread and well deserved mockery from across the ideological spectrum. The mockery begins with Brian Maloney of the Media Equalizer who...

The company, which is known for flooding markets with its stores, also pointed out that it closed all of its stores in Israel in 2003 because of "operational challenges."

Why is Vernon Charles Allen Merriweather suing talk show maven Oprah Winfrey and Starbucks for discrimination and harassment to the tune of $15 million? Well, the man claims that the tea bearing Oprah’s name and sold at the famed coffee chain was not only laced with heroin but Ambien and hallucinogens as well, according to TMZ. The Buffalo, New York, resident allegedly filed a federal lawsuit stating that when he applied for a job at Starbucks, he was told in no uncertain terms, “We don’t hire ni****s!” The suit then claims the baristas referred to themselves as members of the...

“Just before 5:30 a.m. Monday, employees of the Starbucks in the 1800 block of W. Broad St. called police about a suspicious man outside the store. According to police, the suspect then ran into the business, and attacked the two employees,” nbc12.com reports. “Both baristas sustained facial injuries, with the suspect kicking an officer who arrived on scene. Assuming customers waiting for the store to open were observing Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz’ request to leave their legally carried guns at home (thank you, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America), knowing that the coffee company doesn’t allow its employees...

Sameera planned carefully for her attempt at breaking a world record. She obtained permission from the store where her attempt would take place, and even made sure to alert media outlets ahead of time. She even brought the proper equipment and a support team. What record was she out to break? She sought to make the most expensive single free Starbucks drink of all time. The initial cash register total was more than $60, but scanning her loyalty card brought the total down to $57.75. You know, only $57.75. The previous record, as you may have learned from Consumerist or...

Starbucks cannot fire a union activist employee who cursed at a manager in front of customers, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled for the second time. Joseph Agins was active in trying to unionize four Manhattan Starbucks coffee shops between 2004 and 2007. According to the NLRB ruling, he twice cursed during arguments with managers. The first time, on May 14, 2005, Agins was angry that an assistant manager did not come to help him right away when the shop got busy. When the manager did come to help, Agins said it was "about damn time," noisily shoved a...

<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Chipotle is asking customers not to bring firearms into its stores after it says gun rights advocates brought military-style assault rifles into one of its restaurants in Texas.</p> <p>The Denver-based company notes that it has traditionally complied with local laws regarding open and concealed firearms.</p>

Watching the celebration at the NRA convention over the defeat of background checks was the most nauseating experience of the day. I am not a New York gun control liberal, either. I support a shotgun for home defense, a handgun for limited conceal/carry, and an assortment of hunting rifles to balance West Virginia's exploding deer population (as evidenced by hourly collisions with cars). So, I am hardly out of the mainstream. But, the gun safety debate is B.S. This foaming at the mouth, Obamar is coming for the guns, Nanny Bloomberg is a bad billionaire, and most despicable of all,...

In a bizarre op-ed in The Charleston Gazette last week, journalism professor Christopher Swindell argued that the National Rifle Association “advocates armed rebellion against the duly elected government of the United States of America.” Stirring words, to be sure, but Swindell was hardly done — not even close. He also said that the NRA is guilty of “treason” “worthy of the firing squad.” “To support the new NRA president’s agenda of arming the populace for confrontation with the government is bloody treason,” Swindell charged in his wacky essay. After briefly playing the race card and alluding to the Civil War,...

Usually, it adds extra cheer to your day when the person who made your coffee beverage adds a decorative flourish to the cup, whether it’s traditional latte foam art or a pretty caramel drizzle. One Starbucks customer in Louisiana says that a barista served up two beverages adorned with a pentagram and the number 666 in caramel syrup.

Here’s something that will definitely make that $5 cup of coffee go down a little smoother: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced Wednesday that he will be donating $30 million to help our war veterans. The donation will mostly go toward traumatic brain injury and PTSD research, he told CBS News. "[D]epending on who you’re talking to, 20, 30, 40 percent of the two million people who have served are coming back with some kind of brain trauma or [PTSD]. So we’re going to fund the opportunity for significant research and for medical practitioners and science to understand the disease...

I "have" given you a message so make it clear, There are no excuses the Harvest "is" here, The Outpouring of My Spirit begins in you ! Do not fear ~ release what I have given you , My spirit "is" here and His words are plain to see, Everything Magnifies My "T" estimony, Just speak what I give you to each man,woman and child, Bring it in love and Unity completely unguiled, For judgment and correction shall come directly from me, Your whole job is My Testimony ! Do not hinder My Spirit when I desire to speak through...

Still adjusting to his life as an amputee, doctors discovered Mr Baer had bone cancer after a non-combat related injury in Iraq in 2009. His left leg had to be amputated from the knee down and was given a physical service dog, Beanz, through a national organization called Canine Companions for Independence. However, as soon as he walked through the door of the coffee chain, the trouble started. A Starbucks employee approached him as he entered with Beanz, his service dog. 'You can't have dogs in here,' the worker yelled at him. It was in your face, loud and bold....

The real Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) isn't happy with the parody coffee shop calling itself Dumb Starbucks that's popped up in Los Angeles, and wants the faux baristas to drop the act. "We appreciate the humor but they can't use our name," Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson told CNNMoney. "It's a protected trademark. It's our trademark."

Starbucks is known for aggressively going after small businesses that appear to infringe on its trademark rights. So it was no surprise that a tiny brewpub in Missouri got a cease-and-desist letter from the coffee chain after it started selling a beer called "Frappicino." But unlike other businesses that have quietly caved to the coffee giant's demands, Jeff Britton, owner of Exit 6 Pub and Brewery in Cottleville, responded with a sarcastic letter and a $6 check, which he claimed was his total profit from selling three pints of the beer. He posted the letters to Facebook. Britton addressed his...

One Seattle-area woman just gave the phrase "Starbucks junkie" a whole new meaning. For an entire year, Beautiful Existence (yes, that's her name) ate all of her meals exclusively at the company's brands and documented it. "I started designing these yearlong challenges, and I knew I wanted to do an eating challenge because eating is a really large challenge that many people are interested in and want to take on," said Existence in a phone interview.

A US woman is claiming victory after eating food from Starbucks every single day last year. But unlike Morgan Spurlock who ate McDonald's every day for a month to see the health effects of the diet, or Jared Fogle who ate Subway every day in order to slim down, the reason for Beautiful Existence's (yes, it is her real legal name) Starbucks diet is not clear. "WHY? am I doing this challenge? Or WHY? will I do any challenge in the future? Because I LOVE being human and I LOVE the privilege of being able to ask the question WHY?...

EAST VILLAGE — A teenager pretending to gather signatures for a petition was arrested for swiping a passport and wallet from an East Village Starbucks customer — and then biting the victim in the face when confronted, police said. Jamel Chandler, 18, approached a man in the Astor Place Starbucks at about 7 p.m. on Nov. 29 and asked him to sign a petition, according to police and the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Chandler then placed a clipboard over the victim's wallet, which contained a passport, credit cards and cash, to distract the victim and grab the wallet, police said....

Starbucks Corp has failed to persuade a federal appeals court to stop a small, family-owned New Hampshire roaster from selling coffee known as "Charbucks." Ruling in a case that began in 2001, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Black Bear Micro Roastery and its owner, Wolfe's Borough Coffee Inc., may keep selling "Charbucks Blend," "Mister Charbucks" and "Mr. Charbucks" coffee.