Police investigating ‘suspicious’ death of elderly woman in Miami home

Police are investigating details surrounding the death of an elderly woman found inside her home near midtown Miami.Shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, Miami Police officers went to the home of Carmen Diaz, 78, whose adult son decided to visit her after not hearing from her in a few days, according to a news release. When he arrived, he found Diaz dead inside her home of 50 years...

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Twitter, Washington Post targeted by hackers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Social media giant Twitter is among the latest U.S. companies to acknowledge that it is among a growing list of victims of Internet security attacks, saying that hackers may have gained access to information on 250,000 of its more than 200 million active users. And now, The Washington Post is joining the chorus, saying that it discovered that it was the target of a sophisticated...

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Buzzmakers: SAG Winners Pics and Nicole Kidman Explains Jimmy Kimmel Lap Dance

What had ET readers buzzing this week?1. PICS: SAG Winners with their Statues! Some of Hollywood's biggest stars gathered Sunday night to honor acting achievements at the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Anne Hathaway -- winner of the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Les Misérables -- kicks off our gallery of the stars accepting their handsome statuettes!Click...

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Thousands mourn death of George W. Bush's dog Barney on Facebook

DALLAS — Thousands have offered their condolences via Facebook over the death of Barney, President George W. Bush's beloved black Scottish terrier.Bush and his wife, Laura, released a statement Friday saying their famous 12-year-old pooch had died after suffering from lymphatic cancer."Barney was by my side during our eight years in the White House," Bush...

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Miami Beach hotels seek more political clout

When Miami Beach wanted local hotels to scale-back their popular rooftop parties and bars, Alexander Tachmes fought back. An attorney who has represented Beach hotels on a myriad of issues, he “cobbled” together a group of his hotelier clients and went before the city commission to ask them to curb the proposed rules. The hotels won. It was a learning...

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National Urban League to hold 2015 conference in Fort Lauderdale

The National Urban League announced today that Fort Lauderdale edged out nine other cities to attract its 2015 conference.“There were some strong cities and affiliates,” Rhonda Spears Bell, the senior vice president for the National urban League said Friday during a news conference held at the Urban League of Broward County’s headquarters. “But everything seemed to line up...

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This Week’s Social Media Power Rankings: The Return of Swatch

The social media sphere is an increasingly noisy place, especially for brands. But hiding somewhere in the static are strong signals from companies reaching their customers in innovative ways. The Social Business Index from the Dachis Group provides a (free) real-time ranking of more than 30,000 global brands based on their social performance. Every week we’re taking a tally...

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Revenge Sacrifice Sneak Peek Clip

The second season of Revenge has been building towards The Amanda sinking and claiming at least one life -- and when the sudsy ABC series returns on February 10, the doomed voyage commences. RELATED - 2012's Best ShowsThis morning, I received a Shamu-cam straight from "Nolan Ross" and it contained a very exciting video file labeled "Confidential: For Your Eyes Only." But I've decided to risk Emily's...

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Energy Secretary Chu steps down after Solyndra scandal

WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who won a Nobel Prize in physics but came under questioning for his handling of a solar energy loan, is stepping down.Chu offered his resignation to President Barack Obama in a letter Friday. He said he will stay on at least until the end of February and may stay until a successor is confirmed.Chu's departure had...

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Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.Four months later, as the “mompreneur”...

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Another Miami police officer criminally charged with extortion

A Miami police officer who recently resigned while under investigation surrendered to authorities Thursday on criminal charges stemming from an FBI investigation. He became the second officer charged with involvement in an alleged protection racket for a sports-betting ring operating out of a Liberty City barbershop.Harold James, an eight-year veteran, is charged with two...

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Apple loses a U.S. appeals bid in Samsung patent fight

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected Apple Inc‘s request to revive its bid for a sales ban on Samsung‘s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, dashing the iPhone maker’s attempt to recover crucial leverage in the global patent wars.Apple had asked the full Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to revisit a decision in October by a three-judge panel of the same court....

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New Jack Ryan Pic

The new Jack Ryan reboot doesn't hit theaters this Christmas, but that hasn't stopped Paramount from teasing us with new pics from the movie starring Chris Pine in the title role.Pics: 13 Must-See Movies of 2013 The pic, courtesy of USA Today, features Pine and co-star Kevin Costner, who plays a CIA vet who recruits Ryan, an injured Marine, to work as a high-level analyst, teaching him that his intellect...

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DA shot and killed outside courthouse in Texas

KAUFMAN, Texas — An assistant district attorney was shot and killed Thursday morning near the North Texas county courthouse where he worked, and authorities said they were searching for two suspects.The shooting occurred just before 9 a.m. outside the Kaufman County Courthouse annex, which is across the street from the main county courthouse about 33 miles...

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Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.Four months later, as the “mompreneur”...

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Miami police officer fired for shooting of unarmed man in Little Haiti

In an unusual move, Miami police on Wednesday announced it has fired an officer for the shooting death of an unarmed motorist two years ago.In a brief statement, the department said Officer Reynaldo Goyos,who has been on the force for seven-years, “has been terminated because his discharge of firearm on February 10, 2011 was found to be unjustified by the Department. “ Killed...

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The Z10 is a good first step, but BlackBerry still has to fix its app problem

BlackBerry, a.k.a., the Company Formerly Known as RIM, made good with its first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Wednesday. While the new devices are far from perfect, they will at the very least make long-suffering BlackBerry fans very happy and should provide a needed boost to a company in desperate need of growth. That said, BlackBerry still has a major problem that it will have to fix if it ever...

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Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook Off Exclusive Clip

The competition on Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off is heating up, and in this exclusive clip from the hit Food Network show, Sister Act star Kathy Najimy is definitely feeling the pressure -- and possibly succumbs to it."I'm feeling very nervous about the Béchamel Sauce because I've never done it for 100 people before," Najimy says, while quickly whipping up the famous white sauce. "The scary...

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WATCH: Dramatic NYPD helicopter rescue of ship captain who suffered heart attack

The NYPD saved the life of an Egyptian captain who had a heart attack on a ship yesterday, police said. Captain Aly Akl, 60, went into cardiac arrest shortly before 9:45 p.m. on a commercial cargo ship called the Grey Shark, which was anchored in New York Harbor between the Verrazano Bridge and the Staten Island ferry terminal.Detective Robert Brager, an...

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TotalBank on Wednesday reported $43 million in fourth quarter earnings, which included a one-time tax benefit of $41million. The results compared to a loss of $358,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011.For the full year, the bank earned $52.5 million, an increase of $48.3 million from 2011.Miami-based TotalBank has $2.3 billion in assets and 19 branches in Miami-Dade County....

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Study: Medicaid expansion may save state money

Florida would save money over the next decade — not lose billions as Gov. Rick Scott has argued — by accepting Medicaid expansion under federal healthcare reforms, according to a detailed economic study.Miami-Dade legislators and healthcare industry leaders, getting together on Monday, heard about the report by Georgetown University — the most positive yet on a highly debated...

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Mary J. Blige Talks Beyonce Super Bowl Performance

Mary J. Blige was one of the performers at Friday's Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, where the topic quickly turned to Beyonce's highly anticipated Super Bowl performance this Sunday.Mary, who herself performed at the Super Bowl in 2001 alongside 'N Sync, Britney Spears and Nelly for one of the most memorable halftime shows ever, has nothing but high hopes for Beyonce's big performance.Pics: Inside...

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Father of ad exec killed in elevator suing repair company

The father of the Midtown executive who was killed in a gruesome elevator accident is suing the lift repair company over his daughter's death.Alex Hart is suing Transel Elevator and Electric over the December, 2011 death of his daughter Suzanne, who was going to work at her advertising firm when the under-repair elevator suddenly rose as she stepped into...

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Consumer confidence takes a dip in Florida

Florida can’t quite get in a good mood about the economy.The latest consumer-confidence numbers from the University of Florida extend the overall trend of consumers inching away from their recessionary blues from several years ago. But the most recent numbers show a decline from the fall. In January, the parts of the survey that measure anxiety over personal finances took...

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Miami Heat’s LeBron James at White House event: “Mama, I made it!”

Out of uniform and looking dapper, Miami Heat players were honored Monday at the White House by President Barack Obama, a basketball fan who gushed over the play of team stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.In the packed East Room of the White House just before 2 p.m., Obama recapped the team’s road to victory in last year’s NBA championship, as 25 players, Coach...

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Crucial, long-overdue BlackBerry makeover arrives

TORONTO (AP) — The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedy browser, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone, the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company.Thorsten Heins, chief executive of Research In Motion Ltd., will reveal the first phone with the new BlackBerry 10 system in New York on...

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Seven Psychopaths Deleted Scene

A stare from Christopher Walken is worth a thousand words. The eccentric veteran star stands by while Colin Farrell and Sam Rockwell hash it out in this exclusive deleted scene from the Seven Psychopaths Blu-ray, in stores starting tomorrow. Watch the video!Pics: Six Most Devastating TV Deaths In Bruges writer-director Martin McDonagh rounds up usual suspects Farrell, Walken and Rockwell alongside...

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Alleged check-dodging tourist settles beef with Smith & Wollensky - pal vows boycott

Italy is saying basta! to Smith & Wollensky, the pal of an accused tab-dodging tourist huffed this morning, after the misdemeanor case was disposed of in a Manhattan court."In Italy, no one will go to Smith & Wollensky again!" the pal, who gave his name only as Mario, announced to reporters in a courtroom hallway after the brief proceeding this...

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Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge opens for entries

Entrepreneurs, please don’t let the name of our contest scare you.As we launch our 15th annual Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge today, we are putting out our annual call for entries. But we aren’t looking for long, laboriously detailed business plans. Quite the contrary.More and more, today’s investors in very early stage companies want to see a succinct presentation...

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ING Miami Marathon winner Luis Carlos Rivero Gonzalez inspired by father’s murder

Guatemala’s Luis Carlos Rivero Gonzalez has been a professional runner for more than two years — mainly at distances of ten to 21 kilometers – but he had never raced 26.2 miles until Sunday’s ING Miami Marathon. Toeing the front of the starting line with about a dozen elite marathoners from Africa, South America, Europe and the U.S., the 26-year-old law student ran away...

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Smartphone pioneer RIM looks to put recent hardships behind it with BB10

TORONTO, Cananda – Once a leader but now derided as a laggard, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion hopes to regain the confidence of cynical smartphone users this week as the curtain is lifted on its much-anticipated new smartphones.The stakes are high for the unveiling, which many observers say will determine whether RIM survives to see the launch of another BlackBerry smartphone.It has been a steep...

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