Hotels offer fire safety Although the blaze last month at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas made headlines, the fire was put out in only 90 minutes. Thousands of people were evacuated from the hotel, but only 17 sought medical treatment, and most of these were minor cases of smoke inhalation, the Los Angeles Times reports. Since 1980, the number of structural fires each year in U.S. hotels and motels has dropped by about two-thirds, the National Fire Protection Association says. Hotels have made vast improvements in fire safety, largely in response to the 1980 blaze at the former MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which killed more than 80. People are safer in a hotel room than they are in their own homes, one expert says ...

Vanity Fair party cancelled Although Hollywood's party factory is back in business since the writers' strike settled last week, one iconic bash won't go on. Vanity Fair magazine has cancelled its post-Oscar party, traditionally one of the hottest tickets in town, blaming the acrimony caused by the strike ...

Bordertown blues in Tijuana Tourism in Tijuana, Mexico, has dropped 90 percent since 2005, largely due to fears of drug violence.