Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones running for reelection

Eight years have passed since Michelle Spence-Jones was elected to the Miami City Commission.She isn’t willing to leave just yet.Spence-Jones — who was charged with bribery and grand theft in 2009, suspended from office, acquitted and reinstated to her post — is seeking reelection, she announced Friday. She represents District 5, which includes Overtown, Little Haiti and...

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Facebook Profile May Expose Mental Illness

A person’s Facebook profile may reveal signs of mental illness that might not necessarily emerge in a session with a psychiatrist, a new study suggests.“The beauty of social media activity as a tool in psychological diagnosis is that it removes some of the problems associated with patients’ self-reporting,” said study researcher Elizabeth Martin, a psychology doctoral student at the University of...

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Report: J.J. Abrams to Direct New 'Star Wars' Movie

Disney/ Andrew H. Walker/ Getty ImagesThe Force is with J.J. Abrams. The prolific producer/director has agreed to direct the next installment of the Star Wars franchise, confirms Walt Disney Studios.Pics: Must-See Movies of 2013"I've consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller," said George Lucas of Abrams in an official statement. "He's an ideal choice to direct the new...

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Guilty gun seller ‘Scarfaces’ 25 yrs.

Say hello to your little verdict.A brazen gun trafficker who liked to quote from “Scarface” — and who was caught on surveillance video selling an AR-15-style assault rifle on a Chelsea street corner — was quickly convicted by a Manhattan jury yesterday.It took less than five hours to find Sentell Smith guilty of the entire 21-count indictment against him,...

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Fed aims for a 6.5% jobless rate

Six and a half percent unemployment in America would mean almost 2.1 million more people working than today. At the rate the country has been creating new jobs each month, it would take more than a year to find work for that many people.Keep 6.5 percent in mind this week when the Federal Reserve meets Tuesday and Wednesday to talk about its efforts to push interest rates...

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Broward contractor accused of accepting bribe for Florida Keys roadwork

A Pompano Beach contractor has been charged by federal authorities with bribery for accepting money to steer a state Department of Transportation contract to a subcontractor working on traffic signals in the Florida Keys, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.Ron Capobianco Jr., 40, is charged with committing bribery in connection with programs receiving federal funds. If convicted,...

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Nokia CEO closes the door on a potential Android smartphone

Nokia (NOK) CEO Stephen Elop on Thursday shot down rumors that his company might be interested in developing Android-based smartphones. During Nokia’s fourth-quarter earnings call, the executive reiterated his support for the company’s Asha phones and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Phone platform, while shutting the door on earlier Android rumors. [More from BGR: Unlocking your smartphone will...

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SAG Awards Flashback: Jon Hamm 2008

Jon Hamm's Mad Men role of "Don Draper" changed his life. After years of floating around in the acting world, he landed on a lead role on the period drama and has since been one of Hollywood's most popular actors. In 2008, it began with a flurry of fame, which he gratefully accepted.The acclaim was instant. After the premiere season of Mad Men, Hamm and the show won Golden Globes, and he and the cast...

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Elderly woman struck and killed by private bus in Brooklyn

An elderly woman woman was struck and killed by a private bus in Brooklyn this morning, authorities said.She was hit about 7:15 a.m. in Canarsie on Avenue K and East 105th Street and died at the scene, according to an FDNY spokesman.No criminality is suspected, police said. Benny J. Stumbo Police at the scene today. ...

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Lennar design accommodates multigenerational families

In some cases, it may be Grandma moving in with the family. Other times, it may be a recent college graduate returning to the nest. For all sorts of reasons — financial, medical, personal — a rising number of Americans are moving into extended family households.Spotting a niche in the growing trend, Lennar Corp. has launched a new concept tailor-made for multigenerational...

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Wife of Boca Raton cop accused of running prostitution service

BOCA RATON It wasn’t the stereotypical prostitution ring where girls stop cars asking johns if they want a date and turn their pay over to a pimp. Nor was it as fancy as the escorts that wealthy men hire for weekend trips in Las Vegas, authorities say.But a ring advertised online as Sara’s Entertainment Service provided thousands of dollars to two local women, allowing at...

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SAG Awards Flashback: Helen Mirren 2007

Helen Mirren has received many accolades for her acting over the years, but no year was more special for her than 2007. The nominations and awards came crashing over the English actress for her roles as Queens Elizabeth I and II. Backstage after winning an award at the SAG Awards, Dame Mirren finds her king.At that year's SAGs, Mirren was nominated for both of her Queen Elizabeth performances: Best...

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Rare posters seized by Nazis net $2.5M at NYC auction

A poster collection seized from a Jewish collector by the Nazis and only returned to his descendants in recent years has brought in approximately $2.5 million at a New York auction.Born in 1881, Hans Sachs started collecting posters as a teen and became Germany's leading private collector with 12,500 posters. The Nazis seized the collection in 1938, and the posters were held behind the Iron Curtain...

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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...

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Drug-tracking Fat Albert blimp in the Keys will be deflated in March

Fat Albert, the familiar military blimp based on the bayside of Cudjoe Key, is set to come down permanently on March 15 after keeping watch over the Lower Keys since 1980.Due to federal defense funding cuts, the U.S. Air Force's Tethered Aerostat Radar System, comprising Cudjoe and eight other sites along the Gulf of Mexico, Mexican border and Puerto Rico, will shut down.The...

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First “Firefox OS” Phones Previewed, to Launch in February

Mozilla, the non-profit organization behind the popular Firefox web browser, has been promoting its Firefox OS project (once known as “Boot to Gecko”) for some time now. A hardware partnership with Telefonica, the international telecom giant, had been announced, but no phones had yet been unveiled.But in an announcement today on its blog, Mozilla announced the impending launch of its first “developer...

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SAG Awards Flashback: Alec Baldwin 2007

Alec Baldwin has been to a few awards shows in his time, so even though he was once again nominated for what might have been his first SAG Award in 2007, the 30 Rock actor was more interested in someone who was new to the awards scene, like 10-year-old first-time nominee Abigail Breslin.Baldwin received first SAG nomination in 1996 and had accrued four other nominations over the years, so that he...

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Charlie Brown voice actor arrested for 'stalking'

SAN DIEGO — Authorities in California say the voice actor who portrayed Charlie Brown in many "Peanuts" shows was arrested on charges that include stalking.US Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Angelica de Cima said Peter Robbins was arrested Sunday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. She told U-T San Diego that a background check yielded a warrant...

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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...

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Appeals court throws out Miami judge’s controversial fingerprint ruling

An appeals court has thrown out a Miami-Dade criminal court judge’s controversial ruling restricting long-accepted fingerprint evidence.The Third District Court of Appeals this week ruled that Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch should have removed himself from the case before issuing his ruling.The reason: Hirsch had earlier told two prosecutors that he would remove himself from...

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I Might Be Too Old for Facebook Graph Search

On Sunday, I turned 30.That’s not too old, I tell myself, yet the signs of aging are creeping in. Teenagers listen to music that I either haven’t heard of or believe to be mostly terrible. They use slang I don’t recognize, and I imagine my slang would sound to them like “groovy” or “far out” sound to me.But for the purposes of our tech blog, the most notable sign is how much more active teens...

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SAG Awards Flashback: Anne Hathaway 2006

Anne Hathaway is currently one of Hollywood's top actresses, emphatically so with her latest hit film Les Miserables, so it's a bit strange to return to the beginning stages of her career. At her first major awards show, Hathaway is giddy to be there and reveals her pre-show snack.Prior to the 2006 SAG Awards, Hathaway had walked awards show red carpets but never at a major awards show, which made...

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Parts of LI get over 3 inches of snow as arctic blast continues through end of week

Wayne CarringtonParts of Long Island woke up to snow this morning.Parts of Long Island got more than three inches of snow late Monday.Strong winds and frigid temperatures are expected today with wind chills dipping into the single digits through tomorrow.Meteorologists say Brookhaven and southern and eastern communities received over three inches of snow.The...

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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....

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Cuban exile mother of poet laureate Richard Blanco now in spotlight as his inspiration

At first, Geysa Blanco thought her son was kidding. "He said, ‘Mom, I have news for you,’ " Blanco said, recalling the telephone call from her son a few weeks ago. "Between English and Spanish, he told me that they had chosen him to write and read a poem at the presidential inauguration,” she said. But Richard Blanco, a child of exiles who was raised...

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Why Google Isn’t Scared of Facebook’s Graph Search

Facebook may have just released a major search product that many are saying “declares war” on Google or may at least put the social network “on a collision course” with the search giant, but Google CEO Larry Page doesn’t sound all that worried about the new competition. Because who said Facebook and Google couldn’t get along someday? In an interview for the new issue of Wired published...

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SAG Awards Flashback: Tina Fey 2008

Tina Fey had a career year in 2007. After acting and writing for Saturday Night Live for many years, she created her own comedy series in which she also starred, 30 Rock, and was graced with nominations at the ensuing awards circuit. How did she celebrate that momentous span of her career? With a cough drop.As the comedic actress and writer stands on the red carpet at the 2008 SAG Awards with ET's...

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Rare posters seized by Nazis up for auction in NYC

A collection of rare posters seized from a Jewish collector by the Nazis is up for auction.Hans Sachs started collecting posters as a teen and became Germany's leading private collector with 12,500 posters. The Nazis seized the collection in 1938.His grandson Peter Sachs went through a legal battle for several years to get what was left of the collection back.Just over 1,200 have been put up for sale...

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Three-generation family businesses share their secrets of success

In 2009, when Larry Zinn took over as sales manager for the Infiniti dealership that his father owned, he had a great idea: retrain the sales staff in a team approach and offer customers complimentary add-on services for the first year.Some salesmen who were used to selling the same way for decades up and quit. But that didn’t deter Larry from insisting a new sales culture...

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Ex-Mayor Diaz to talk about new book at alma mater

Congratulations to my friend and former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who has will be presenting his new book at 9:45 a.m. in the Roca Theater at his alma mater, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, 500 SW 127th Ave. in West Miami-Dade.His book is titled Miami Transformed: Rebuilding America, One Neighborhood, One City at a Time.Born in Cuba, Diaz really is a Miami success story....

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Why does Michelle Obama need two Twitter accounts?

Michelle Obama is on Twitter! That was big news on Thursday, the first lady’s birthday. The White House announced that Mrs. Obama had launched a new Twitter account, @FLOTUS, and lots of folks chimed in with messages welcoming her to the world of micro-blogging social media.But hold it – wasn’t she already on Twitter? We’ve been following @MichelleObama since the beginning of the 2012 presidential...

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Batmobile sells for $4.2 million at auction

APThe original Batmobile in Los AngelesLOS ANGELES — "Holy windfall, Batman!" The Batmobile just sold for $4.2 million.The original 19-foot-long black, bubble-topped car used in the 1960s "Batman" TV show sold at auction Saturday.The Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., revealed the selling price but says the winning bidder has not been disclosed.The...

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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...

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