Miami Dolphins hopeful on stadium referendum date

The Miami Dolphins are hopeful the Miami-Dade County Commission will approve a May 14 date for a referendum on the $400 rehabilitation of their stadium, time enough to get South Florida in play for Super Bowl 50, a Dolphins spokesman said Saturday.Spokesman Ric Katz said the language of the proposed referendum has yet to be decided, and ultimately the commission decides the...

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Independent Spirit Award Winners 2013

The 2013 Film Independent Spirits Awards were handed out in Santa Monica, CA today and lots of Oscar frontrunners cemented their status by dominating in their categories once more.Check out all the winners below: Best Feature Beasts of the Southern Wild Bernie Keep the Lights On Moonrise Kingdom Silver Linings Playbook BEST FEMALE LEAD Linda Cardellini, Return Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere Jennifer...

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Wall St. wants Fed sequester

Jonathon M. Trugman While the Obama administration and Congress face a week of photo ops and talking points on sequestration, Wall Street’s laser focus is on announcements coming from Washington’s Marriner S. Eccles Building, which houses Ben Bernanke’s office.As the Fed chief released the board’s latest minutes last week — which said...

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The faces of Florida’s Medicaid system

The tea party governor now says he wants to expand Medicaid. The Republican Legislature isn’t as sure. Hanging in the balance? Access to health care for 1 million or more poor Floridians. Billions of dollars in federal money.The state budget, which — already — pumps $21 billion a year into care. Florida’s Medicaid system today serves more than 3 million...

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Shots fired as Hialeah police attempt to stop a stolen vehicle, perimeter set up in search of suspects

A perimeter has been set up in Hialeah as police search for car thieves after shots were fired in an attempt to stop the vehicle.According to Hialeah police Sergeant Eddie Rodriguez, shots were fired as police approached a stolen blue mini-van in an attempt to make a stop. The occupants then fled and crashed into an occupied vehicle around the corner at East 6th Avenue. and...

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2013 Oscars Preview

Security is airtight at the Dolby Theater in the days leading up to Oscar Sunday, but ET has your ticket inside the heavily guarded streets of Hollywood as the Academy preps for the big day!Our Brooke Anderson even snagged a moment aside with host Seth MacFarlane where the funnyman revealed that nine-time emcee Billy Crystal was kind enough to give the newbie a few pointers. Despite the pep talk,...

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Crime ring chief gets 7 years for illegal guns, motorcycle thefts

The kingpin in a massive ring that sold at least 13 illegal guns and stole scores of motorcycles off city streets is going to prison for at least 7 1/2 years.Tiwane Paul, 31, had asked for less time, arguing through his lawyer that he'd had a tough childhood in his native Dominica. But prosecutor Diana Florence countered that Paul "was a very, very smart...

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Ian Schrager joins forces with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten for new Edition Hotel

Two of the best-known names in their respective fields — hotelier Ian Schrager and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten — have teamed up for the Edition Hotel in Miami Beach, they told The Miami Herald Friday.The partnership had not previously been officially announced, but the two were set to host a cocktail party Friday night at the site of the old Seville Beach hotel, 2901 Collins...

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Are Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake coming to South Florida? It seems likely

The rumored Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z tour appears closer to reality — and a South Florida show is in the plans.First, bloggers hinted the Legend of the Summer Tour would take place in at least 12 outdoor venues across the U.S.Then Thursday night, Jay-Z's lifestyle website, Life + Times, coyly posted photos of 12 stadiums — including Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens,...

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Prince Michael Uncovers Oz the Great and Powerful Casting Secrets

While on his first assignment as an ET correspondent, Michael Jackson's 16-year-old son Prince Michael got the scoop on who else was in the running with James Franco for the lead role in Oz the Great and Powerful.PICS: Bewitching Oz the Great & Powerful Posters Despite director Sam Raimi's decade-long friendship with Franco (they worked together on the Spider-Man trilogy), Raimi revealed that...

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Realtors waiting for spring

Don’t call it a shortage — but the number of homes on the market has shrunk to a 13-year low.The decline, coupled with a double-digit increase in buyers in some parts of the country, and you have Realtors itching for the spring selling season to begin.“With fewer homes available, and more buyers’ demand, it’s easy to see that home prices have only one way...

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National Hotel nears end of long renovation

A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007. “Every time I am exhausted and I pass...

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U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects many immigrant convicts in South Florida

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday shuts the door on appeals for hundreds of Floridians convicted in the past of crimes for which they could be deported.The high court, in Chaidez v. United States, ruled that immigrants convicted of certain crimes before 2010 cannot appeal their cases if their criminal defense lawyer did not properly warn them of deportation.Wednesday’s...

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Independence Party nominates Carrion to run for mayor

There’s going to be a three way race for mayor.The Independence Party shook up the race for City Hall tonight by unanimously nominating former Bronx President Adolfo Carrion as its standard bearer.Carrion will face against whoever the Democratic and Republicans elect in their respective party primaries.“Today the Independence Party gave New Yorkers a real...

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Caribbean cell phone company asks South Florida relatives to buy minutes for family back home

An Irish billionaire’s telecommunications company, which has revolutionized cell phone usage in some of the world’s poorest countries, is bringing it’s latest marketing pitch to South Florida.Digicel is tapping into South Florida’s close ties to Haiti and Jamaica in a campaign that asks families stateside to send minutes home.Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien has staked a claim...

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Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez to speak at Miami’s Freedom Tower

Dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, who is on a world tour after 10 years of being barred from leaving her homeland, plans to visit Miami April 1 and speak at the iconic Freedom Tower.“It is such an honor to not only have Yoani speak at what we affectionately call Democracy’s College, but also at the Freedom Tower. I can think of no better venue for this historic conversation...

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Emma Stone and Nicolas Cage Get Animated for The Croods Movie

Emma Stone will soon make her very first foray into the world of CGI with DreamWorks' caveman comedy The Croods, and the starlet tells ET that the project got her animated in every sense of the word."I didn't really realize that there was going to be so much movement playing an animated character," laughs Stone about lending her voice to adventurous teen cavegirl Eep in the film. "It was pretty fun."Pics:...

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Judge blocks city from Ken Burns film footage

Famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns today beat back an effort by the city to obtain raw footage and outtakes from his recent movie on the infamous "Central Park jogger" rape case.A judge granted the PBS icon's request to quash a subpoena for the unused material on grounds that his production company, Florentine Films, is covered by the "reporter's privilege."Manhattan...

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Best photo apps for Android devices

Whether you want to slap a simple filter on your photo or get granular and change attributes like color levels and saturation, we’ve got a list of the Android apps you’ll want to use. Snapseed The good: With its unique gesture-based interface, this offers an incredible level of control over its effects and filters. The bad: The tools and interface aren’t...

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Work begins on State Road A1A repairs in Fort Lauderdale

The battered section of northern Fort Lauderdale’s shoreline will start to take its former shape this week, when pieces of a 2,600-foot-long sea wall made of corrugated steel are installed.The repairs, initiated to undo the damage left by Hurricane Sandy in October, will not be complete before spring break or possibly the Fort Lauderdale Air Show in April, Florida Department...

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Newtown massacre gunman wanted to exceed Norway shooter's death toll

The gunman who carried out the Newtown school massacre was inspired by violent video games — and was trying to outdo a Norwegian mass murderer who killed 77 people, it was reported today.Adam Lanza believed he was in ghoulish competition with Anders Breivik, who carried out a bloodbath at two locations in July 2011, law enforcement sources told CBS News.Breivik,...

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Open English expands across Latin America

Back in 2008, Open English, a company run from Miami that uses online courses to teach English in Latin America, had just a handful of students in Venezuela and three employees. Today the company has more than 50,000 students in 22 Latin American countries and some 2,000 employees.To fund this meteoric expansion, the founders of Open English — Venezuelans Andrés Moreno and...

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The builders of the Sen. Marco Rubio brand

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Marco Rubio is on a breathless rise, a testament to his political skill and demographic appeal that last week saw him delivering the Republican State of the Union response and appearing on the cover of Time as “The Republican Savior.”But behind the scenes is a relentless, methodical effort to build the Rubio brand, aided by a team of strategists and media...

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Mindy McCready Dies of Apparent Suicide

A source confirms to ET that country music singer Mindy McCready has died. She was 37 years old.RELATED: Stars We LostHer death is allegedly the result of an apparent suicide, according to FOX reporter Stacy McCloud.McCready had attempted suicide before, having been hospitalized in 2008 after she cut her wrists and took several pills. Her passing follows the shooting death of boyfriend David Wilson...

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7 hurt when cab crashes into food cart crowd

Seven people were injured on West 34 Street and Eleventh Avenue when a cabbie plowed into a vehicle, jumped a curb and hit a small crowd of people near a food cart on the sidewalk, cops and witnesses said. A witness said the cabby was stopped behind another vehicle in the eastbound lane at a light on 34th Street at around 5 p.m. when he suddenly “took off,"...

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Small business lending rebounds in South Florida

For years, Pablo Oliveira dreamed of buying a property to house his high-end linen and furniture rental company, Nuage Designs, which has created settings for such glamorous events as the weddings of Carrie Underwood and Chelsea Clinton.A few months ago, that dream came true, when Oliveira purchased a warehouse across the street from his current Miami location. He is now...

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