Miami Police Department, torn by scandal, steps up scrutiny of its own

From the outside, the Miami Police Department seems perpetually torn by scandal, with the latest rip in the fabric — Wednesday’s arrest of a veteran officer accused of extortion — coming only days after a narcotics sergeant was convicted of corruption in an embarrassing federal trial that pitted a group of veteran detectives against their own boss.

But police and city officials say the latest string of arrests and investigations — playing out against the backdrop of an ongoing Justice Department probe into seven fatal police shootings — obscures the recent efforts of Police Chief Manuel Orosa to purge the department of bad cops.

“We cannot be following around every cop 24-7,” said Orosa, who formally took over as chief 13 months ago. “We are doing everything we can to ensure our officers are doing the right thing.”

That includes adding five more detectives to the department’s Internal Affairs Unit, which has been working hand-in-glove with the FBI in its current investigation of up to 10 officers suspected of providing protection to a Liberty City gambling ring and other crimes.

The first of those officers, 41-year-old Nathaniel Dauphin, was arrested Wednesday on an extortion charge for allegedly helping organize an off-the-books protection squad for an illegal sports-betting racket run out of the Player’s Choice Barber Shop in Liberty City.

Internal Affairs detectives also worked with the FBI in the 2010 investigation of Sgt. Raul Iglesias, a narcotics detective who was convicted Jan. 18 of eight felonies, including obstruction of justice and taking drugs and money from suspects. A second detective, Roberto Asanza, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug charges stemming from the same investigation, and later testified against Iglesias — as did four detectives who worked on his team.

The FBI’s role

Miami’s Internal Affairs officers first began working in 2009 with the FBI-led Miami Area Corruption Task Force, a team that also includes officers from Hialeah and Miami Beach, and agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Office of Internal Affairs. The task force, which was launched when Orosa’s predecessor, Miguel Exposito, was chief, focuses on both police and government corruption. It is the FBI’s largest anti-corruption squad in the country, said John Jimenez, the supervisory special agent overseeing it.

Of the nine Miami police officers arrested since 2010, seven have been busted by the FBI’s team.

Jimenez noted that participation in the team can be politically risky for the police departments, because the task force could end up unearthing embarrassing information. “We’re really proud of the fact that police departments are willing to participate,” he said.

Since taking over as chief, Orosa has increased the number of officers on the FBI task force from three to nine.

Orosa said he does not believe the string of arrests points to a systemic problem with his department, and emphasized that the arrested officers make up just a fraction of the department’s 1,100-member force.

“There’s always a small percentage of people who are corrupt,” Orosa said. “It’s unacceptable, and that’s why we are trying to root out the bad apples.”

Read More..

Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit

“No more vertical videos.” – Joan Crawford’s message for the digital generation.

Twitter’s new snap-and-share video service, Vine, has forced users to break the first rule of iFilm making: never shoot vertical videos.

[More from Mashable: 10 Awesome Pranks to Play On Your Facebook Friends]

SEE ALSO: Vine Mania! 10 Creative Vines on Twitter

Of course, Vine’s videos appear as a square, so you could argue it doesn’t really matter. But after years of comment shaming and PSAs to break novice video shooters of this deplorable habit, will Vine reverse all the progress made?

[More from Mashable: Vinepeek Opens a Window on the World, Six Seconds at a Time]

BONUS: How to Use Vine

Click here to view the gallery: How To Use Vine

Mashable image

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/vine-is-teaching-everyone-this-terrible-habit/
Link To Post : Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Exclusive PIC: 2013 SAG Awards Seating Chart GigaPan Photo

Where the stars will be sitting at this year’s SAGs?

You don't have to wait until Sunday to see which celebs will be seated together! ET has your first look at the 2013 SAG Awards seating chart.

Pics: The 10 Best SAG Awards Dresses of All Time

Explore our exclusive interactive GigaPan (high-res panoramic photo) below!

Related: Pick The Winners with ET's SAG Awards Ballot!

Don't miss the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, airing Sunday, January 27 at 8pm on TNT and TBS.

Read More..

Bloomberg giving $350 million to alma mater Johns Hopkins; he's first to donate more than $1B to single US university

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving $350 million to alma mater Johns Hopkins University, pushing his lifetime giving to the private Baltimore university past $1 billion, the university said today.

University officials believe Bloomberg, who earned his fortune creating the global financial services firm Bloomberg LP, is now the first person to give more than $1 billion to a single U.S. university.

Most of the latest gift, $250 million, will go toward a variety of cross-disciplinary subjects, including research on water resources, health care, global health, the science of learning and urban revitalization.

AFP/Getty Images

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving $350 million to alma mater John Hopkins University.

The remaining $100 million will go to need-based financial aid for undergraduate students, awarding 2,600 Bloomberg scholarships in the next 10 years.

"Johns Hopkins University has been an important part of my life since I first set foot on campus more than five decades ago," Bloomberg said in a statement released by the university. "Each dollar I have given has been well-spent improving the institution and, just as importantly, making its education available to students who might otherwise not be able to afford it."

The mayor has stayed closely involved with the university where he graduated in 1964, including stints on its board of trustees from 1996 to 2002 and as chairman of Johns Hopkins Initiative fundraising campaign. Among his past gifts was $120 million toward the construction of a children's section at The John Hopkins Hospital in honor of his late mother.

"This latest initiative allows us to greatly accelerate our investment in talented people and bring them together in a highly creative and dynamic atmosphere," university president Ronald J. Daniels said in a statement. "It illustrates Mike's passion for fixing big problems quickly and efficiently."

Read More..

Crisis has Americans raiding their 401(k)s

WASHINGTON --
As the father of two college-age kids, Rob Harris knew that finding money to pay soaring tuition costs wasn’t going to be easy. Reluctant to saddle himself or his children with loans, the 55-year-old product development manager from Kansas City, Mo., tapped another source: his retirement savings.

Harris plans to pay himself back, but his decision to prioritize his kids’ education is at least partly responsible — along with rising healthcare costs and a sluggish stock market — for pushing his target retirement age from 59 to 62.

“Everyone says you shouldn’t do it, but there were several years the market was a big loss. You’ve got money there, you’ve got a real need, why not use it?” he said.

Harris is among a growing number of Americans who are dipping into their 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans to pay for more immediate needs such as tuition, overdue bills, credit cards and mortgages.

One in four American households withdraw a total of more than $70 billion from 401(k)s or similar retirement savings plans for non-retirement spending needs every year, according to a report published this month by the financial advisory firm HelloWallet.

With traditional pensions fading into memory, and Congress considering cuts to Social Security and Medicare, many Americans working in the private sector expect their 401(k) nest eggs to guarantee financial security in their older years. But in the aftermath of the Great Recession, increased “leakage” from 401(k)s in the form of cash-outs, hardship withdrawals and loans is worrying policymakers and retirement savings experts, who also bemoan the plans’ high fees and stubbornly low participation rates. Some are looking for ways to reform 401(k)s, or even offer innovative alternatives.

One such plan has been proposed by Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor at The New School in New York City and an ardent critic of 401(k)s.

“A good pension plan helps people accumulate money, helps them invest money appropriately, and helps people pay out your pension for life, and the 401(k) fails at all three of those dimensions,” Ghilarducci said.

Her plan would require that employers deduct 2.5 percent of their employees’ pay, a contribution that businesses could match if they choose. Employee contributions would be mandatory. The money would be set aside in a fund that pays a guaranteed, modest rate of return to supplement Social Security. The return could be guaranteed by a paid fund or an insurance company, and it would be paid out after a worker retired in the form of an annuity for the rest of that person’s life.

Last year, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, floated the idea of privately run pension plans he calls USA Retirement Funds. Workers without a pension or a 401(k) would be able to make automatic contributions toward retirement through pre-tax payroll deductions. Businesses would be required to contribute as well but would receive tax credits to offset the cost. Workers would receive regular payments from the funds throughout retirement, like a pension. The proposal hasn’t made much headway.

Whatever politicians ultimately come up with, 401(k)s aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, said David John, a senior research fellow in retirement security and financial institutions at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Read More..

Appeals court again upholds power of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel

An appeals court has struck down a police officer’s challenge to the validity of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel — the second time the panel has withstood a legal challenge from police officers in the past five years.

Police Lt. Freddy D’Agastino and the Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit arguing that the civilian panel, which reviews citizen complaints against officers and makes recommendations to the police chief, had no legal authority to investigate officers.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Third District Court of Appeal found that the panel neither conflicts with state or local law, nor intrudes on the police department’s power to discipline its officers. The CIP does not have the authority to discipline officers, though it does have the power to subpoena records and witnesses in its own investigations.

The appeals court also upheld the panel’s authority in 2008, when then-Police Chief John Timoney sought to prevent the panel from investigating him.

Read More..

BlackRock to buy $80 million Twitter stake: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, has taken an $ 80 million stake in Twitter Inc, a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday.

The six-year old social media company will not raise new capital as part of the private deal that values the firm at more than $ 9 billion. BlackRock will buy shares directly from early Twitter employees seeking to liquidate their stock holdings and options.

Twitter’s new valuation represents a slight rise from late 2011, when the company facilitated a similar tender offer with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia that valued the company at a reported $ 8.4 billion.

Twitter sought investors for another tender offer last summer in the wake of Facebook Inc‘s botched initial public offering in May, but did not complete the deal until recently, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

In recent years other tech companies including Facebook, Groupon Inc and SurveyMonkey have used similar transactions to cash out existing employees and delay an initial public offering. Twitter itself is rumored to be a potential IPO prospect within two years.

Several hundred Twitter employees, including many who joined the company before 2009, will be eligible to sell their shares as part of the transaction.

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; editing by Andrew Hay)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: BlackRock to buy $80 million Twitter stake: source
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/blackrock-to-buy-80-million-twitter-stake-source/
Link To Post : BlackRock to buy $80 million Twitter stake: source
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Burt Reynolds Hospitalized with Flu

Burt Reynolds is recuperating in a Florida intensive care unit after being hospitalized for dehydration and severe symptoms relating to the flu.

A representative for the 76-year-old actor tells CNN that, as of Friday afternoon, Reynolds is "doing better" after being admitted to the ICU.

Related: Burt Reynolds Undergoes Open Heart Surgery

"We expect, as soon as he gets more fluids, he will be back in a regular room," says rep Erik Kritzer.

When asked, Kritzer declined to say which hospital facility Reynolds is currently recovering in.

The actor has suffered other bouts of ill health in recent years. In 2010, Reynolds underwent a quintuple heart bypass one year after entering rehab to end a reliance on prescription drug habit acquired after back surgery.

Read More..

Caught: Suspect who escaped during bathroom break nabbed in Bronx

They finally flushed out this fugitive!

A murder suspect who escaped from a Brooklyn police precinct yesterday by asking a cop for a bathroom break was captured today by cops hiding out in a friend’s Bronx apartment, the NYPD said.

Brandon Santana, 24, was apprehended at 3:15 p.m. at 3930 Third Avenue by NYPD officers and the Regional Fugitive Task Force, about 37 hours after he ran, un-handcuffed, from the 78th Precinct in Park Slope after knocking down a cop escorting him to the toilet.

Police said that the girlfriend of Santana’s friend opened the door when they arrived, and she told them that a pal of her boyfriend was staying there.

NYPD

Brandon Santana, escaped during bathroom break.

Cops found Santana standing in the bedroom, and took him into custody without incident, according to the NYPD.

Santana is suspected of repeatedly bashing 22-year-old dad-to-be Alexander Santiago with a lead pipe during a gang assault on the man and three of his friends at 12th Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope on Aug. 1, 2010.

After Santana’s latest arrest today, Santiago’s girlfriend Stephanie Mercado, told The Post, “'I hope the cops keep him tight, and don't let him get away.”

“No bathroom breaks this time,” Mercado said. “And now that they have him we want them to get the rest of the cowards. I want justice."

Santana’s apprehension was the second time in the past week he was caught by cops.

He had been hiding out with a relative in Iowa, but returned to the city this week – and was promptly caught by cops who wanted to arrest him for Santiago’s murder.

Detectives questioned Santana at the station house Wednesday night, and then left at the end of their shift at 1 a.m. yesterday, expecting to put him in a witness lineup later.

An hour later, after he had been placed in a first-floor holding cell, Santana asked the officer minding him if he could use the bathroom.

When the cop opened the cell door, Santana — who was not handcuffed — shoved the officer, knocking him to the ground, and ran straight out of the station house, law-enforcement sources said.

One cop behind the front desk jumped over it to chase him, but hurt himself in the process, sources said.

A lieutenant also went after Santana but couldn’t catch up, sources said.

“It’s like they gave us justice, then took it away,” said Anaisa Santiago, Alexander’s 15-year-old sister yesterday.

Read More..

Economist: Euro crisis could erupt again this year

DAVOS, Switzerland --
Is the euro crisis over? A leading U.S. economist says not by a long shot.

Even as the head of the European Central Bank talked Friday of “positive contagion” in the markets and predicted an economic recovery for the recession-hit eurozone later this year, economist Barry Eichengreen warned that the debt crisis that has shaken Europe to its core could easily erupt again this year unless European leaders move faster to solve their problems.

While European governments and markets have been breathing easier in recent months after years of turmoil, it’s no time for complacency, said Eichengreen, a professor at the University of California - Berkeley who has chronicled the Great Depression and explored the consequences of a breakup of the euro currency.

“Nothing has been resolved in the eurozone, where markets have swung from undue pessimism to undue optimism,” Eichengreen told The Associated Press in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual gathering of corporate and government leaders. “They said all the right things last year … and they’ve been backtracking ever since.”

He urged eurozone leaders follow up on its proposals to steady its banking system and keep failed banks from adding to government debt through expensive bailouts.

European leaders in Davos this week are seeking to reassure investors and corporate leaders that the continent is on the mend after its punishing debt crises.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Friday forecast a recovery in the eurozone economy in the second half of the year, and spoke of “a new restored sense of relative tranquility” and “positive contagion on the financial markets.”

But he acknowledged “we don’t see this being transmitted into the real economy yet.”

Read More..

Florida Legislature now rethinking mental health spending

In light of the tragic shootings in Connecticut and Colorado, Florida legislators are taking a hard look at the state’s mental health system, which ranks 49th among states and the District of Columbia when it comes to funding.

“That’s $39 per person per year,” said Bob Sharpe, president and CEO of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health, one of 10 panelists addressing the House Healthy Families Subcommittee Thursday as an “ongoing conversation” to address the system’s woes. That figure, experts said, was lower than per capita funding for mental health in the 1950s.

The violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School is just one reason for action, said the subcommittee’s chair, state Rep. Gayle Harrell, R.-Stuart. “Any time you have a tragedy it certainly focuses public attention on an issue,” Harrell said. “We want to make sure that we don’t just do this however when there’s a tragedy.”

Legislators need to look at the continuum of care “from prevention to identification to intervention to treatment,” Harrell said, if any improvements can occur in a system where issues range from school safety to finding places for mentally impaired nursing home patients.

The lack of funding for prevention in the community, particularly in schools, has been a key issue both at Thursday’s subcommittee meeting and at a Senate meeting Wednesday chaired by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood.

That’s because the bulk of the state’s $723 million mental health budget is used for treatment, said Rob Siedlecki, assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

Harrell’s committee asked each panelist to come up with policy rather than funding solutions for mental health issues in the state.

“If we can set up a system in place and look at our system and really change it so that it is much more responsive to prevention, to the needs of the community then you can avoid some of those tragedies perhaps,” Harrell said. “When a tragedy fades and the memory of it fades, you don’t want to let this issue fade. “

Read More..

Beyond Google Fiber: Google looks to create its own experimental wireless network

Look out, wireless carriers: Google (GOOG) may have its eye on shaking up your business as well. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google “is trying to create an experimental wireless network covering its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters” that “could portend the creation of dense and superfast Google wireless networks in other locations that would allow people to connect to the Web using their mobile devices.” But before anyone gets too excited about “Google Wireless” coming to their neighborhoods, the Journal notes that documents Google filed with the Federal Communications Commission show that the network will “use frequencies that wouldn’t be compatible with nearly any of the consumer mobile devices that exist today, such as Apple’s (AAPL) iPad or iPhone or most devices powered by Google’s Android operating system.” So for now it looks as though Google’s wireless network is still squarely in the experimental phase and won’t be rolling out across the country anytime soon.

[More from BGR: Unlocking your smartphone will be illegal starting next week]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Katy Perry Turns '70s Game Show Host

A mustachioed Katy Perry helps celebrate Ellen DeGeneres' 55th birthday during tomorrow's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

RELATED: Candid Star Sightings

The comedienne's birthday is Saturday, but instead of receiving gifts she decided to dish them out, allowing Perry to live her dream of being a game show host.

In the clip, Perry enters in '70s TV garb complete with a plaid three-quarter-length suit jacket, bow tie and mustache.

RELATED: Ellen DeGeneres Slams One Million Moms

"I asked for the Anne Hathaway, obviously," Perry joked, referencing her cropped hairdo.

Click the video to see the pop star introduce "everyone's favorite party game" Grab Ellen's Bust. You can watch the entire birthday episode on Friday. Check your local listings.

Read More..

Tourist busted after racking up bill & forgetting his wallet

Mama mia!

An Italian tourist got to add a night in jail to his Big Apple itinerary after he racked up a $208 bill at Smith and Wollensky without having a wallet to pay the bill.

Graziano Graziussi, 43, said he begged workers to let him leave an iPhone as collateral while he got money from the apartment where he was staying — but they instead called cops, who were equally unsympathetic.

“I found it completely unreasonable to call the police when I was coming up with possible solutions,” he told The Post. “I wasn’t going to run away. I was there, I had just forgotten my wallet. “

Cops asked Graziussi if he could have someone deliver wallet or recite his credit-card number for the restaurant to run — but he could not and was taken into custody, law enforcement sources said.

A judge released Graziussi the next morning, on the promise he’d pay up.

“I don’t think they should have arrested me in the first place,” the busted steak lover said. “I wanted to pay the check.”

A rep for Smith & Wollensky’s management company declined comment.

A manager and bartender at the restaurant last night said it’s standard practice to call cops when a customer can’t pay.

“If someone doesn’t want to pay the bill then yes, I will call the police,” the manager said. “That’s the best way to handle that type of situation.”

Read More..

A made-for-TV drama plays out in Spanish-language television dispute

One of the best-known talk programs on local Spanish-language television has been cancelled and its host is out of a job — the result of a made-for-TV drama unfolding in the South Florida Hispanic media industry.

Hosted by popular journalist María Elvira Salazar, the María Elvira show was launched only three months ago on GenTV (WGEN-Channel 8), now an affiliate of MundoFox Broadcasting, a new Spanish-language network partially owned by a subsidiary of media giant News Corp.

María Elvira was abruptly taken off the air in December and this week Salazar’s contract was terminated.

Luis Calle — vice president for operations, news and sports of Caracol Televisión, one of the dominant media players in Colombia and an owner of Miami-based GenTV — confirmed that Salazar was out.

“We wish her the best future anyone can wish a person with her professional and human qualities,” he said.

The departure of Salazar is the climax of a controversial and confusing contractual tussle that involves two Miami TV stations and the new network, which was launched nationally in August by Fox International and RCN Televisión de Colombia.

GenTV cancelled all the programming it premiered just three months ago during its re-launch except its local newscast. Meanwhile, América CV Network, owner of América TeVé (WJAN-Channel 41), which had announced an affiliation agreement with MundoFox Broadcasting several months ago with great hoopla, has been sued by MundoFox for allegedly breaching two agreements signed last May.

“Obviously, Channel 8 made a decision to become part of a national network and a greater world and, based on its history of scant success in the local market, decided to take another course,” said Tomás Johansen, a veteran Spanish-language television executive.

“This is a real telenovela that we’re watching in 2013,” Johansen added.

On Friday, Dec. 28, at 8 p.m., just before the María Elvira program began, GenTV’s screen went black for a second. Immediately afterward, without notifying the audience or telling Salazar, the station changed its signal to MundoFox programming. The previous program had even promoted the María Elvira show.

Salazar and her team were on vacation. The day’s program was taped in advance.

“This caught the public in South Florida and those of us who work at the channel by surprise,” wrote Salazar on her Facebook page upon returning from vacation. “I am so sorry that so many of you feel deceived by Miami’s Channel 8 when it changed its programming without previous warning,” she continued the following day.

The programming changes and the primetime signal switch were ordered by MundoFox, which only a few hours earlier had announced its affiliation with GenTV. Until that time, the MundoFox signal had been broadcast in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market through frequencies belonging to América CV Network, a television company that has catered to the local Cuban audience.

“Simply put, from an operational standpoint, we were ready, and that was the time and date chosen by MundoFox,” Calle explained. “There was no ill intention; it happened by chance.”

MundoFox said in a statement that the addition of GenTV, “represents a major step forward for us in Miami, bringing full coverage, a consistent channel position, and a strong, built-in Spanish-language audience in this very important market.”

Read More..

Miami conclave to help map the next 50 years for Southeast Florida

On a Google map, the long stretch of Florida coastline from deep South Miami-Dade County to Sebastian Inlet appears a seamless mass of urban development jammed between a thin border of sand on one side and wetlands and farmland on the other.

But zoom in and it’s soon sliced up by lines both real and imaginary: roadways, highways, railways, waterways and the boundaries of numerous, and often overlapping, governmental jurisdictions.

Now this vast area, at once connected and disconnected, is the subject of one of the most ambitious planning efforts ever undertaken in Florida. Called Seven50, it aims to chart a coordinated, integrated future for the development of Southeast Florida’s seven counties for a couple of generations, through the year 2060.

On Thursday, the big moveable feast of thinkers, planners, economists, government officials and business leaders that is Seven50 will convene in downtown Miami for the effort’s second public summit since its launch in Delray Beach last June.

It may sound like “wonky stuff,’’ said Seven50 lead consultant Victor Dover, a Coral Gables-based planner. But he said Seven50’s scores of participants are convinced that agreeing to coordinated plans across jurisdictional lines is critical if the region is to prosper and meet a long list of common challenges. They range from transportation logjams to the prospect of rising seas and U.S. and international competitors trying to grab our share of international investment, tourism, cargo and trade.

And that competition is serious and well-organized, Dover said. In Texas, for instance, 13 counties and 100 cities between Houston and Galveston have banded together in a similar planning alliance, and so have cities and states along the Great Lakes.

The advantage Southeast Florida has, Seven50 planners say, is that old real-estate cliche: Location, location, location.

But it risks throwing its advantage away unless it better links up its airports and seaports, installs more and better-connected mass transit, and develops strategies to improve education and retain and attract the kind of skilled, educated young people considered key to economic prosperity in today’s economy.

“Planning at this scale is profoundly American, from Jefferson to the creation of Washington, D.C., and if we don’t do it, we’re going to get blown away by the competition,’’ said Andres Duany, a renown Miami-based planner who will give the keynote address at the downtown gathering. “They’re gunning for us.’’

The free, full day of sessions at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus is designed to gather public input and share a still-in-development snapshot of the region as planners build what they describe as a massive data warehouse covering everything from demographics to housing, economics and transportation networks. Key discussion areas will be transportation, education and the daunting implications of climate change.

Because Southeast Florida will be among the first regions to experience rising sea levels, across-the-board planning on how to adapt will be essential. That could include difficult options like steering investment for new public infrastructure away from vulnerable areas, or protecting the region’s underground water supply from saltwater intrusion by raising freshwater levels in drainage canals, which could produce more seasonal flooding in some areas.

Some 200 public agencies, advocates, business groups and academic institutions, including the region’s principal universities, have signed up for the effort. Any resulting plans are purely voluntary, and no town or agency is obligated to adopt any ideas it doesn’t like, planners stress.

Still, the process hit a roadblock in the northernmost county, Indian River. The county commission and the Vero Beach city council voted to drop out after Tea Party-linked activists raised a public ruckus over their participation. The activists contend Seven50 is part of Agenda 21, a 20-year-old, nonbinding United Nations resolution that called for environmentally sustainable urban development, which they describe as a conspiracy to evict people from their homes and force them into dense urban housing.

Seven50 planners had to post a response on their website explaining they intend no such thing. Since then, the Stuart city council voted to join Seven50. Other Indian River agencies remain as participants.

The two-year planning effort, led by a consortium established by the South Florida Regional Planning Council and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, is funded by a $4.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The federal agency is encouraging local governments to engage in long-range planning under the sustainability label, which covers a range of strategies to foster development of pedestrian-friendly urban zones that put jobs close to homes and save energy by providing alternatives to auto transportation.

Read More..

Google dominates the mobile app market, has 5 of the top 6 apps in the U.S.

Wondering why Apple (AAPL) is sinking so much effort into building its own Maps application? Because it doesn’t want Google (GOOG) to gobble up all the revenue from big-name mobile applications. ComScore has published its most recent monthly review of the top iOS and Android apps in the United States ranked by unique visitors and has found that Google captured 5 of the top 6 spots with Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Gmail and YouTube. In fact, Facebook (FB) was the only non-Google app to crack the top 6, although it also had the benefit of being the most-visited app in the entire country by a margin of more than 10 million unique visitors. iTunes was the only Apple app to crack the top 10, meanwhile, as it ranked eighth with roughly 46 million unique visitors last month.

[More from BGR: As data gets cheaper for Verizon to transmit, customers are paying more]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Google dominates the mobile app market, has 5 of the top 6 apps in the U.S.
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/google-dominates-the-mobile-app-market-has-5-of-the-top-6-apps-in-the-u-s/
Link To Post : Google dominates the mobile app market, has 5 of the top 6 apps in the U.S.
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Ariel Winter Covers Taylor Swift

If Ariel Winter's acting career ever slows down, she's definitely got a shot at being a pop singer.

PICS: We Rank Hollywood's Hottest Former Child Stars

The 14-year-old Modern Family star, who has previously been recorded covering Adele's Rolling In the Deep, has just posted a YouTube video where she performs a rendition of Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble.

The song's title seems appropriate for the young actress who faced her own share of troubles last year. Winter has been under the temporary guardianship of her older sister Shanelle Gray since allegations surfaced that her mother, Chrystal Workman, may have been emotionally abusive.

Read More..

Columbia grads file $16M sex suit

Two Columbia University graduate students claim a pair of lecherous former instructors ruined their career prospects by retaliating against the women for reporting their sexual advances.

In their $16 million Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, filed today, the women also fault the Ivy League school and its deans for failing to address their complaints.

The suit names former Human Rights Department head J. Paul Martin, who now teaches at Barnard, and Law School lecturer Francis M. Ssekandi.

Scholarship student Laura Williams, 31, was in Martin’s campus office in 2005 when he allegedly cornered her against a wall, the suit claims.

“If you wanted a good grade, you’d need to have sex with me,” Martin allegedly told Williams.

Martin then allegedly asked Williams, who is black, “if she planned to have children out of wedlock,” the documents allege, adding that “he thought that black women typically have children out of wedlock.”

Fellow master’s student Susan Farley, 41, was doing research in East Timor in 2002 where Ssekandi allegedly harassed her, according to the suit.

“Ssekandi would hold Farley’s leg beneath the table and insist that she call him by his first name, which she refused to do,” court papers claim.

Both women told The Post they’ve struggled to find work since the incidents because the university has allegedly withheld transcripts and marred their credit ratings.

Neither the professors nor Columbia University returned calls or emails for comment.

Read More..

Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.

The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida and Miami-Dade split the costs with owner Stephen Ross for a $400 million renovation. The Dolphins would pay at least $201 million, with taxpayers using state funds and a higher Miami-Dade hotel tax to pay $199 million.

In a fact sheet sent to media Tuesday morning, the Dolphins listed ways their deal differs from the 2009 Marlins deal. First: Ross, a billionaire real estate developer, would use private dollars to fund at least 51 percent of the Sun Life effort, compared to less than 25 percent from Marlins owner Jeff Loria. Second, Sun Life helps the economy more than the Marlins park does.

“Just because the Marlins did a bad deal doesn’t mean we should oppose a good deal where at least a majority of the cost is paid from private sources and more than 4,000 local jobs are created during construction alone,” the fact sheet states. And while the Dolphins’ Miami Gardens stadium has hosted two Super Bowls since 2007 and is in the running for the 2016 game, “Marlins Stadium does not generate the ability to attract world-class sports events -- other than a World Series from time to time depending on the success of the team.”

NFL teams play eight home games a year if they don’t make the playoffs, while baseball teams have 81.

Miami and Miami-Dade built the Marlins a $640 million stadium at the site of the Dolphins’ old home at the Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The Marlins contributed about $120 million and agreed to pay between $2.5 million and $4.9 million a year for 35 years to pay back $35 million of debt the county borrowed for the stadium. As a publicly owned stadium, the Marlins ballpark pays no property taxes. Most of the public money came from Miami-Dade hotel taxes, along with $50 million of debt tied to the county’s general fund.

Sun Life is privately owned and pays $3 million a year in property taxes to Miami-Dade. It currently receives $2 million a year from Florida’ s stadium program, a subsidy tied to converting the football venue to baseball in the 1990s when the Marlins played there. The Dolphins also paid for a second full-page ad with quotes from leading hoteliers in Miami-Dade endorsing the stadium plan. Among them: Donald Trump, whose company recently purchased the Doral golf resort. “Steve Ross’ commitment to modernize Sun Life Stadium -- while covering most of the construction costs -- is the right thing for Miami-Dade,’’ the ad quotes Trump as saying.

Also on Tuesday, Ross and team CEO Mike Dee sent a letter to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and county commissioners requesting negotiations over the stadium deal. The letter said the deal Ross unveiled last week is a “baseline for debate” and asked for talks. The letter also urged the commission to adopt a resolution proposed by Commissioner Barbara Jordan endorsing the state bill that would allow taxes for Sun Life. The resolution is on the agenda for Wednesday’s commission meeting.

Read More..

PortMiami tunnel firm, FDOT reach deal over payment dispute

The Florida Department of Transportation and the multinational company building the $1 billion tunnel to PortMiami from Watson Island have reached a settlement in their dispute over how much the state must pay the firm for unanticipated work on the project.

Under the settlement, FDOT will pay Miami Access Tunnel (MAT) $58.5 million for extra work the company carried out to reinforce the porous limestone subsoil with grout so the tunnel-boring operation would be more stable.

The amount is less than MAT had sought: $67.5 million. The money will come from the project’s contingency reserve fund.

The settlement closes a chapter on an issue that marred the early stages of the project in July 2011. Details of the settlement were contained in a lengthy Jan. 14 memo from FDOT Miami District 6 secretary Gus Pego to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

As workers prepared to start boring the tunnel from the MacArthur Causeway to the port, MAT asked FDOT and its partners — Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami — to provide additional money from a contingency fund to cover expenses linked to the extra grouting.

On July 19, 2011, 13 days after MAT requested the money, FDOT rejected the request on the ground that its assessment of subsoil conditions was incorrect.

MAT insisted that geological conditions that its experts found in the bay were different from what FDOT had previously found.

“A preliminary review of the notices by FDOT experts indicates that a changed geological condition does not exist and therefore the concessionaire is not entitled to accessing the reserve [fund],” FDOT said on July 19, 2011.

Company executives took the matter to a mediation panel set up under the project’s agreement. MAT insisted that the limestone its experts found under Biscayne Bay was extremely porous, and that the many gaps in the rock needed to be filled with grout. They also said this meant the $45 million tunnel-boring machine had to be modified. MAT also requested an additional $27 million to cover costs of modifying the tunnel-boring machine, a request FDOT rejected as well.

The Technical Disputes Resolution Board ruled in favor of MAT on the grouting issue and in favor of FDOT on costs to modify the tunnel-boring machine.

The board ruled that the modifications to the tunnel-boring machine were not “compensable” but that the grouting costs were because they were “necessary.”

After the ruling, MAT and FDOT negotiated the settlement down to $58.5 million. At one point, Pego’s memo said, MAT indicated that the amount could go as high as $149 million, and that the project could sustain a three-month delay.

Under the settlement, Pego wrote, no delays are foreseen.

Pego assured Gimenez that the dispute and settlement did not delay the work. “The project schedule remains on track for opening to traffic in May 2014,” Pego said.

Read More..

Google’s fourth quarter results shine after ad rate decline slows

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Revenue from Google Inc’s core Internet business outpaced many analysts’ expectations during the crucial holiday quarter and advertising rates fell less than in previous periods, pushing its shares up more than 4 percent.

The world’s largest Internet search company introduced new product listings during the fourth quarter – typically its strongest – and also benefited from business growth in international markets, analysts said.

Excluding traffic-acquisition costs, the business generated net revenue of $ 9.83 billion, up from $ 8.13 billion a year earlier, Google reported on Tuesday. That surpassed a $ 9.6 billion average forecast from six analysts polled by Reuters.

“Business looked really strong, especially from a profitability perspective. They really grew their margins in the core business,” said Sameet Sinha, an analyst with B. Riley Caris. “Most of that strength seems to be coming from international markets which grew revenues quite substantially: up 23 percent year over year, versus the 15 percent growth in the third quarter.”

Average cost-per-click, a critical metric that denotes the price advertisers pay Google, declined 6 percent from a year ago, the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.

Google executives told analysts on a conference call that the company had focused on improving the metric – shoring up margins – while lowering the overall growth rate of paid clicks in the holiday quarter.

“Click prices are still declining, but it’s better than expected,” said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

MOTOROLA MOBILITY “STILL LOSING MONEY”

Consolidated net income in the fourth quarter was $ 2.89 billion or $ 8.62 per share, compared with $ 2.71 billion, or $ 8.22 per share, in the year-ago period when Google had not yet acquired Motorola.

Excluding certain items, Google said it earned $ 10.65 per share in the fourth quarter.

“The core business is a great business and the fourth-quarter is always a time for Google to shine. However, Motorola is still losing money and click rates still declined. They only declined 6 percent, but go back four or five quarters and click prices were improving. So mobile is still pressuring click prices,” Gillis said.

The company posted consolidated revenue – which includes its Motorola Mobility mobile phone business but not the television set-top box business it recently agreed to sell – of $ 14.42 billion on Tuesday.

Motorola Mobility had an operating loss of $ 353 million during the quarter.

Shares of Google were up roughly 4.5 percent at $ 734.46 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Google’s fourth quarter results shine after ad rate decline slows
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/googles-fourth-quarter-results-shine-after-ad-rate-decline-slows/
Link To Post : Google’s fourth quarter results shine after ad rate decline slows
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Sheryl Crow on Lance Armstrong Doping Confession to Oprah Winfrey

Sheryl Crow (who will be advising Blake Shelton on The Voice this season) opened up to Nancy O'Dell on the set of the singing competition over the weekend, commenting on Lance Armstrong's doping confession.

RELATED: Shelton Taps Sheryl For The Voice

"I think that honesty is always the best bet and that the truth will set you free," said Crow, who caught "bits and pieces" of her ex-fiance's interview with Oprah Winfrey. "To carry around a weight like that would be devastating in the long run."

Armstrong, 41, and Crow, 50, began dating in 2003 -- the same year that Armstrong divorced his wife of five years, Kristin -- and split in 2006.

Last year, a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency led to Armstrong's downfall. The shamed cyclist was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and, until now, vehemently maintained his innocence.

RELATED: Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2012

During a series of rapid-fire yes or no questions, the retired cyclist confirmed to Oprah last week that he had blood transfusions and used the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO) during his career -- particularly during all seven of his Tour de France victories. Although he expressed a desire to make things right with the people he may have hurt, Crow was never mentioned by name.

Read More..

B'klyn to get 'the next Apollo'

Borough President Marty Markowitz’s dream of turning Brooklyn's biggest movie theater -- the once-majestic Loews Kings in Flatbush -- into "the next Apollo" is finally coming true.

The Beep, Mayor Bloomberg and other officials tomorrow at noon are expected to host a ceremonial groundbreaking on a $93 million city Economic Development Corp. project to restore the 84-year-old historic jewel to its former glory, sources said. The former 3,195-seat picture palace and vaudeville house at 1025 Flatbush Ave. closed its doors in 1978.

After decades of failed attempts to rejuvenate the site, the city three years ago tapped Houston-based ACE Theatrical Group to restore the Loews Kings to its original French-Renaissance-style, so that ACE could present up to 250 concerts, theatrical performances and community events annually.

Part of the Loews Kings' legacy is its A-list of former employees -- among them Barbra Streisand and Sylvester Stallone, who worked as ushers.

Construction is set to be complete by late 2014, source said.

The Post first reported in February 2006 that the theater was in danger of being demolished until Markowitz began leading a new community effort to restore it. The site holds a special place in Markowitz's heart since he had his first date there in high school.

Prior to 2006, many ideas for the site were considered including a 1999 multiplex movie house plan by ex-NBA star Magic Johnson that fell apart.

Read More..

Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.

The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida and Miami-Dade split the costs with owner Stephen Ross for a $400 million renovation. The Dolphins would pay at least $201 million, with taxpayers using state funds and a higher Miami-Dade hotel tax to pay $199 million.

In a fact sheet sent to media Tuesday morning, the Dolphins listed ways their deal differs from the 2009 Marlins deal. First: Ross, a billionaire real estate developer, would use private dollars to fund at least 51 percent of the Sun Life effort, compared to less than 25 percent from Marlins owner Jeff Loria. Second, Sun Life helps the economy more than the Marlins park does.

“Just because the Marlins did a bad deal doesn’t mean we should oppose a good deal where at least a majority of the cost is paid from private sources and more than 4,000 local jobs are created during construction alone,” the fact sheet states. And while the Dolphins’ Miami Gardens stadium has hosted two Super Bowls since 2007 and is in the running for the 2016 game, “Marlins Stadium does not generate the ability to attract world-class sports events -- other than a World Series from time to time depending on the success of the team.”

NFL teams play eight home games a year if they don’t make the playoffs, while baseball teams have 81.

Miami and Miami-Dade built the Marlins a $640 million stadium at the site of the Dolphins’ old home at the Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The Marlins contributed about $120 million and agreed to pay between $2.5 million and $4.9 million a year for 35 years to pay back $35 million of debt the county borrowed for the stadium. As a publicly owned stadium, the Marlins ballpark pays no property taxes. Most of the public money came from Miami-Dade hotel taxes, along with $50 million of debt tied to the county’s general fund.

Sun Life is privately owned and pays $3 million a year in property taxes to Miami-Dade. It currently receives $2 million a year from Florida’ s stadium program, a subsidy tied to converting the football venue to baseball in the 1990s when the Marlins played there. The Dolphins also paid for a second full-page ad with quotes from leading hoteliers in Miami-Dade endorsing the stadium plan. Among them: Donald Trump, whose company recently purchased the Doral golf resort. “Steve Ross’ commitment to modernize Sun Life Stadium -- while covering most of the construction costs -- is the right thing for Miami-Dade,’’ the ad quotes Trump as saying.

Also on Tuesday, Ross and team CEO Mike Dee sent a letter to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and county commissioners requesting negotiations over the stadium deal. The letter said the deal Ross unveiled last week is a “baseline for debate” and asked for talks. The letter also urged the commission to adopt a resolution proposed by Commissioner Barbara Jordan endorsing the state bill that would allow taxes for Sun Life. The resolution is on the agenda for Wednesday’s commission meeting.

Read More..

Don’t mind the helicopters, it’s just practice, Miami-Dade police say

If you see military helicopters buzzing through your neighborhood sometime soon, don’t freak out. It’s probably a military training exercise.

Miami-Dade police sent out a warning Monday that multiple police agencies would be providing support for a joint military training exercise somewhere over Miami and elsewhere in the county. The exercise will include the use of military helicopters.

When and where will this happen? Police didn’t say.

The police statement said the training locations and times “were carefully selected to minimize negatively impacting the citizens of the City of Miami/Miami-Dade County and their daily routines.”

But it also acknowledged that there would be some impact on residents.

“This is routine training conducted by military personnel designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments, prepare forces for upcoming overseas deployments, and meet mandatory training certification requirement,” the police statement said.

This isn’t the first time such training has been done in Miami. In April 2011, military helicopters buzzed through Brickell, leading to sleepless nights for some people and a lot of griping on social media about it.

Read More..

Sony to sell new Xperia tablet in Japan: Nikkei

(Reuters) – Sony Corp’s Sony Mobile Communications Inc said it will sell the new version of its Xperia tablet in Japan this spring, the Nikkei reported, citing Kyodo News.

The Xperia Tablet Z, whose price has not been announced, has a 10.1-inch display, is 6.9 mm thin and weighs 495 grams, according to the company’s website.

Rival Google Inc’s Nexus 10 tablet is 8.9 mm thick, while Apple Inc’s iPad mini measures 7.9 mm.

Sony halted sales of Xperia in October, a month after launch, after discovering gaps between the screen and the case that made some of the machines susceptible to water damage.

The Nikkei reported on Sunday that Japanese smartphone makers seem to be regaining some market share they lost to companies like Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.

(Reporting by Krithika Krishnamurthy in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Sony to sell new Xperia tablet in Japan: Nikkei
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/sony-to-sell-new-xperia-tablet-in-japan-nikkei/
Link To Post : Sony to sell new Xperia tablet in Japan: Nikkei
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Diane Lane Fashion Flashback

With classic good looks, killer style and a body that puts women half her age to shame, Diane Lane, 42,  just seems to get better with age.

Join us as we look back at Diane's most stunning red carpet looks over the years!

Related: Who Are The Most Desirable Women of 2013?

Read More..

Michelle Obama wears Wu to the balls again

Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama made it a fashion tradition Monday night, wearing a custom-made Jason Wu gown to the inauguration balls. The ruby-colored dress was a follow-up to the white gown Wu made for her four years ago when she was new to Washington, the pomp and circumstance, and the fashion press.

She now emerged in velvet and chiffon as a bona fide trendsetter.

The first family headed out to inaugural festivities earlier on Monday with Mrs. Obama leading a very coordinated fashion parade in a navy-silk, checkered-patterned coat and dress by Thom Browne that were inspired by a menswear necktie.

READ THE TEXT OF OBAMA'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS

PHOTOS: OBAMA'S SECOND INAUGURATION

PHOTOS: CELEBS TURN OUT FOR 2ND SWEARING-IN

CELEBS TWEET ABOUT INAUGURATION

NY VETS TRAVEL TO DC FOR INAUGURAL PARADE

The outfit was specifically designed for Mrs. Obama, but Browne said he wasn't 100 percent sure she was going to wear it until she came out with it on at Inauguration. "I am proud and humbled," he said.

The rest of Mrs. Obama's Inauguration Day outfit included a belt from J. Crew, necklace by Cathy Waterman and a cardigan by Reed Krakoff, whose ensemble she also wore to yesterday's intimate, indoor swearing-in ceremony.

President Barack Obama wore a blue tie with his white shirt, dark suit and overcoat. Malia Obama had on a plum-colored J. Crew coat with the hemline of an electric-blue dress peeking out and a burgundy-colored scarf, and her younger sister Sasha had on a Kate Spade coat and dress in a similar purple shade.

"It is an honor that Sasha Obama chose to wear Kate Spade New York," said the company's creative director, Deborah Lloyd, in an email to the Associated Press. "She epitomizes the youthful optimism and colorful spirit of the brand. We are so proud to have been a part of this historic moment."

Jenna Lyons, creative director of J. Crew, said it was "a huge point of pride for all of us" to be a part of the day — as the brand was back in 2009 when the girls wore outfits by CrewCuts, its children's label.

"It's amazing to see the evolution of the family. I love the way Michelle looks. She looks beautiful in something so clean and tailored. It's such an elegant choice," Lyons said, "and they all look so sophisticated! You can see how the girls have grown up in the four years, and they're still so alive and vibrant, but more sophisticated."

The vice president's wife, Jill Biden, wore a gray coat and dress by American designer Lela Rose.

Mrs. Obama has worn Browne's designs for other occasions, including a gray dress with black lace overlay to one of the presidential debates last fall, and she honored him last summer at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards for his contribution to fashion.

Browne made his name in modern — very modern — menswear, but he launched womenswear in 2011. He was in Paris on Monday, just finishing previews for his next menswear collection. The idea to use the tie fabric came to him because he was indeed designing these men's clothes at the same time, he explained.

"I wanted 'tailored' for her. For me, she stands for strength and confidence, and that's what I wanted to design for her," he said.

Simon Collins, dean of the school of fashion at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, said the Obamas dressed in their typical fashion: one that shows pride in their appearance.

"They are a stylish couple and their children look fabulous. Too many people get dressed in the dark," he said. "They show it's good to dress up, take pride in how you look. ... It's a wonderful example for America and the rest of the world."

He also noted that the Obamas seem to understand that the fashion industry is a driving force in the U.S. economy and that its lobby is a powerful one. They don't treat fashion frivolously, he observed.

The first lady "is so supportive of so many American designers," Browne noted.

But Collins said he was a bit surprised the public doesn't pay much attention to the president's wardrobe. He joked that Obama should perhaps try one of Browne's signature shrunken suits — the ones that show a man's ankles.

At the end of the Inaugural festivities, Mrs. Obama's outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

Read More..

Series for Miami’s emerging art collectors begins Thursday

For art enthusiasts interested in bring their interest home, Miami’s Bakehouse Art Complex is hosting a lecture series for emerging collectors. The first panel, slated for Thursday at 6 p.m., features arists and curators who will talk about fine tuning your taste and learning to make informed decisions. The second session, Feb. 7, is oriented to the mechanics of purchasing. The third, on Feb. 21, explores how to manage your collection.

Moderating all three panels will be Denise Gerson, independent curator who served as associate director for the Lowe Museum of Art for 24 years. Cost is $25 per session or $60 for the series. Seating is limited; reservations are recommended.

Information at 305-576-2828; www.bacfl.org.

Jane Wooldridge

Read More..

Police continue hunt after man set afire Christmas night

Miami-Dade police are searching for a group of people they believe are connected to a man being set on fire Christmas night.

The attack happened about a half hour before midnight on Dec. 25, according to police. Darrell Brackett, 44, had gone to a gas station at 4700 NW 27th Ave. after his van ran out of gas.

But, soon after he bought a small amount of gasoline, witnesses told police they saw him running in the middle of the street, on fire.

Brackett was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center for treatment. He was still in Jackson on Sunday.

Since the attack, one man, Alex Cineas, 21, of Miramar, came forward and talked to police. No charges were immediately filed. Police are still searching for a second man, Willie Summersett, 29, of Brownsville.

They also are looking for two other people, an unidentified man and woman who might have information about what happened and might have been involved.

Investigators asked anyone with information to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Read More..

BlackBerry Z10 confirmed for Verizon in new leak

Another day, another handful of BlackBerry 10 leaks to enjoy as the tech world waits for the new platform’s January 30th unveiling. Twitter user “evleaks,” who has a solid track record of leaking accurate details and images of unreleased smartphones, published a purported screenshot from Verizon Wireless (VZ) on Friday. The document confirms some details we already know — RIM’s (RIMM) first full-touch BlackBerry 10 phone will be called the BlackBerry Z10 and will feature 4G LTE, among other specs — and it also confirms Verizon will support the handset. An image of Verizon’s BlackBerry Z10 screenshot follows below.

[More from BGR: Samsung’s latest monster smartphone will reportedly have a 5.8-inch screen]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: BlackBerry Z10 confirmed for Verizon in new leak
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/blackberry-z10-confirmed-for-verizon-in-new-leak/
Link To Post : BlackBerry Z10 confirmed for Verizon in new leak
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Mama Wins Arnold Schwarzenegger Flops at Box Office

Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Last Stand came in last place on the box office Top 10 list over the weekend.

RELATED: New on Blu-ray & DVD

The action flick struggled through its debut, pulling in $6.3 million, as audiences couldn't get enough of Jessica Chastain -- the star of Mama and Zero Dark Thirty.

Jessica's films came in at first and second as Mama garnered $28.1 million and Zero Dark Thirty $17.6 million.

Silver Linings Playbook landed in third with $11.4 million.

Read More..

Man dies, firefighters hurt in Brooklyn fire

Theodore Parisienne

Firefighters at the scene of the deadly blaze in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

A man died and three firefighters were injured in a Borough Park apartment fire, FDNY officials and witnesses said.

The 60 year-old man who was found unconscious in his study, sources said. He later died at an area hospital, cops said.

The fire started on the third floor of the four-story building at 2:03 p.m. on the corner of Utrecht Avenue near 52 Street, sources said. The three firefighters suffered non life threatening injuries. One was treated for minor burns and the other two suffered “strains and sprains,” Fire Chief Howe said at the scene.

135 firefighters responded to the blaze.

Deputy Chief Richard Howe said, “The fire was contained to one apartment. That was the apartment where the victim was found. We found him unconscious in his study.”

One resident said he was standing next to a man whose head was on fire. “I saw the guy when they carried him [out.] His head was all black and burned. I couldn’t really see who he was, his head was black, his head was on fire,” the man who refused to give his name said. An EMT worker at the scene confirmed the victims head was on fire.

A resident on the fourth floor who identified himself as just Ruben said “ I heard someone screaming downstairs. Screaming in pain. Then I heard the smoke alarms go off. I called my daughter and we ran outside,” he said. Ruben said he has seen the burn-victim in the halls and riding his bike outside. “I usually see him riding his bike,” he said.

The 59 year-old victim was sent to Lutheran Hospital in cardiac arrest, fire officials said.

Ting Yileung, A 73 year-old resident who has lived in the building close to 45 years said he smelled smoke. “Everybody was yelling fire, fire, fire!” He suspects the fire started from a space heater because residents have been without heat recently. “It’s dangerous. People try to stay warm, just trying to stay alive,” he added.

The building is home to a medical lab and clothing store which were both damaged from the two-alarm fire. Residents who live on the upper floors were evacuated.

The victims name is being withheld pending proper family notification.

Read More..

Investors await word from Apple

No company today elicits such devotion and dedication among its customers and shareholders like Apple. The fervor felt by Apple fans for its products, its leaders and its business underscore the company’s technological eco-centric strategy. While that loyalty has made for rich rewards over the long term, it will mean very little to a myopic stock market when Apple reports its latest financial results Wednesday.

When a company so dominates a business like Apple does, it is subject to plenty of rumors, especially when that company, like Apple, is disciplined to not respond to speculation. There have been a series of anonymous and Wall Street analyst worries floated in the past quarter centered on the iPhone 5. First were concerns Apple couldn’t get enough supplies to build the phones fast enough. Then there were hints Apple cut its supply orders, suggesting slower sales.

Apple optimists have been quick to defend the company even as its stock has fallen from $700 to around $500 per share since September. The stock drop has come even as Apple probably sold a record number of iPhones and iPads during the holiday quarter.

No doubt Apple will trumpet its financial prowess on Wednesday. And it should. After all it generates more than $500 million dollars a day. But the short-sighted stock market has been conditioned to expect big numbers. Therein is the challenge for Apple: incubating such devotion without inflating expectations.

Tom Hudson is anchor and managing editor of Nightly Business Report, produced by NBR Worldwide and distributed nationally by American Public Television. In South Florida, the show is broadcast at 7 p.m. weekdays on Channel 2. Follow him on Twitter, @HudsonNBR.

Read More..