Minorities, which currently represent about one third of the U.S. population, are expected to become a majority by 2042 and be 54% of U.S. residents by 2050, according to Census Bureau projections. The shift will happen sooner among children, 44% of whom are minority. By 2023, more than half are expected to be "minority," and by 2050, the proportion will be 62%. The largest share of children, 39%, is projected to be Hispanic, followed by non-Hispanic whites (38%), African Americans (11%) and Asians (6%). The Hispanic population is expected to nearly triple by 2050, growing from about one in six …

Twenty-three-year-old adult-entertainment star Kendra Wilkinson is a Playboy cover model, television star and one of Hugh Hefner's three live-in girlfriends. To the consternation of Olive Garden's marketers -- who have spent millions crafting the franchise's family-friendly image -- she is also a rogue brand ambassador for the Italian restaurant chain. The San Diego native says she made frequent trips to the restaurant during her childhood, developing a taste for the artichoke dip and the all-you-can-eat salad and breadsticks. She calls it "my soul food." Wilkinson says that when she started praising the restaurant on television and on her very popular …

Jack in the Box is touting its new Jack's Hearty Breakfast Bowl --which features scrambled eggs, hash-brown sticks, white-cheddar-cheese sauce and shredded cheddar cheese -- as a portable, "Sunday-brunch-worthy meal" that can be "enjoyed on a weekday schedule." Darren Tristano, exec VP of restaurant consultant Technomic, notes that the new offering could appeal to consumers looking to trade down from casual dining chains during the recession, but says the bowls might be a tough sell to the so-called dashboard diners. "These are people [who when they are] eating with one hand, the wheel in the other hand and a …

Best Buy will announce today that it will sell Apple's newly launched 3G iPhone -- which lets users connect to the Web at high speeds -- at its 970 U.S. stores beginning on Sept. 7. About 600 stores will also showcase the handset, priced at $199 to $299, in their Apple mini-shops. Stand-alone Best Buy Mobile shops, which have opened in about 15 U.S. cities, will also sell the device, which requires a two-year contract with carrier AT&T. The addition of the iPhone is a coup for Best Buy, which is counting on the introduction of the phone to …

Since June 1, Microsoft's small business logo has been emblazoned on the rear-quarter panel of Michael Waltrip Racing team's #00 car. The $1 million market-value spot on a Nascar Sprint Cup Series car hasn't cost it a penny. Instead, Microsoft got resellers and small businesses that use its software to pony up the sponsorship cash. So far, 40 partners have put in about $165,000 on behalf of Microsoft. They don't get to place their logos on the car, however. Under their agreement with Microsoft, they are allowed to put their logos on a mock-up of the #00 car, and …