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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Terrorists Knocked Off Twitter After Threats

The Twitter account belonging to a self-identified spokesperson for an al Qaeda-allied terrorist organization has been suspended.The account, which began in late 2011 and is believed to belong to a representative of al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist organization, is currently out of service, days after it threatened the lives of Kenyan hostages, according to a report by The Associated Press.Representatives...

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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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Lots of Camelot

BOSTON — The family of a former special assistant to President John F. Kennedy is auctioning hundreds of photographs, documents, gifts and other memorabilia that once belonged to the late president.David Powers, who died in 1998, was a close personal friend to Kennedy and his wife, Jackie. He also was the first curator of the John F. Kennedy Presidential...

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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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Miami Dolphins assemble familiar faces for lobbying team, many with ties to Mayor Carlos Gimenez

The Miami Dolphins’ lobbying team looks like a reunion of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s campaign brain trust.To push for a $400-million stadium renovation funded in part with tax dollars, the Dolphins have enlisted three key figures from Gimenez’s recent election races: Marcelo Llorente, Brian Goldmeier and Jesse Manzano-Plaza. Llorente, who became a frequent presence...

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New PlayStation 4 details emerge: 8-core AMD ‘Bulldozer’ CPU, redesigned controller and more

2013 is a huge year for gamers. Nintendo (NTDOY) just launched the Wii U ahead of the holidays and both Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) are expected to issue next-generation consoles before the year is through. We’ve seen plenty of rumors about both systems over the past few months, and the latest comes from Kotaku and focuses on Sony’s PlayStation 4.[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 said to be overhyped,...

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Amanda Seyfried Calls Mean Girls Her Best Work

Despite being fresh off an Oscar-nominated film (Les Miserables), Amanda Seyfried apparently holds a soft spot for her breakout film Mean Girls, calling it her "best work" to date."I was so innocent. I was so green," reflects Seyfried in an interview with Indiewire. "I still look back at Mean Girls as my best work."Pics: Amanda Seyfried as Porn Star Lovelace The 27-year-old star stole the show playing...

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Mayor Bloomberg blasted at candidates forum

William MillerNew York City mayoral hopeful Joseph Lhota at at a Thursday forum discussion.It looks like Mayor Bloomberg is in for a very long campaign year.The mayor got battered last night at a forum in the East New York section of Brooklyn that featured Republican contender Joe Lhota in his first appearance with other candidates.The former MTA chairman...

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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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81-year-old reader is thankful for health, chance to serve

Dear Neighbors, thanks for your response to my "reasons to be thankful" request. I am amazed at how much we can find in our daily life to be thankful for.The other day, I heard from Nancy Perez, and member of Palm Springs United Methodist Church in Hialeah. Over the years, Nancy has sent me information from her church that I use in this column. I always welcome her input.Recently,...

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Siri was supposed to be a key feature on Verizon’s DROID lineup until Apple swooped in

Since the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple (AAPL) has touted its intelligent voice assistant Siri as a key feature of the iOS ecosystem. The startup company behind the app originally launched Siri as standalone program on the App Store and had plans to release Android and BlackBerry versions in the future. Siri was quickly acquired by Apple, however, and plans to expand the app were cancelled.[More...

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Ashton Kutcher Becomes Steve Jobs

Ashton Kutcher takes on the role of a lifetime in JOBS, and we have your first look at the movie.RELATED: Stars Who Have Missed Out on Movie RolesIn the clip, Jobs (played by Ashton Kutcher) is raving about the operating system that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (played by Josh Gad) created. While Jobs is certain that this will become a ubiquitous product for mass consumption, Wozniak needs convincing."Nobody...

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It’s plenty of 20 – plus flurries

When they say it’s “too cold to snow,” don’t believe them. A dusting of 1 to 2 inches is expected when snow showers develop tomorrow afternoon and continue into the evening.Before that we’ll get more struggling sunshine today, with temperatures peaking at 21 degrees — but icy winds feeling like only 2 degrees. Tonight’s low temperature will be about 13,...

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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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‘Lies, deceit and coverup’ in Rilya Wilson murder case, prosecutors say

Friends puzzled by the disappearance of the little girl. State child welfare administrators stunned at the vanishing of the 4-year-old foster child. A slew of police investigators dispatched to work the case.A pathetic shell of a woman, cowed by an older lover into keeping her silence. Three prison inmates — one an eccentric con with a long rap sheet — who said they learned...

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FTC study taking aim at online marketing of booze and kids

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans this summer to recommend ways that the alcoholic beverage industry can better protect underage viewers from seeing its advertisements online.Distillers, brewers and wineries pour millions of dollars into brand promotion on Twitter, Facebook and other social media, and industry critics contend they are not doing enough to prevent young...

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Mariska Hargitay Fashion Rewind

Despite her fourteen-year stint as tough-cop Olivia Benson on Law and Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay is a surprisingly girly gal when it comes to her real-life red carpet style. Related: Mariska Hargitay's Heartbreaking Adoption Moment Join us as we look back at Mariska's fashion evolution over the yea...

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Lucky ‘7’ at 3 Hudson Blvd.

Lois Weiss BETWEEN THE BRICKS The skyline in the Hudson Yards area is taking shape — at least on paper. Here’s the first look at a new rendering (see right) for developer Joseph Moinian’s 1.7 million-square-foot tower at 3 Hudson Boulevard, bounded by the new park, the Javits Center and West 34th and 35th streets. Designed by...

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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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No sympathy for Armstrong on social media

LONDON (Reuters) – Lance Armstrong’s televised doping confession has done nothing to restore his shattered reputation, a study of responses posted to the Twitter social media site showed.“What was particularly noticeable in our analysis of the Armstrong revelation was the sheer lack of sympathy out there,” said Charlie Dundas of sports market research company Repucom.“The tone of the discussion around...

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Bachelor Recap: Sean Lowe Sets Kissing World Record with Lesley and Dumps Kacie

Amid a drama-filled night of surprises, Sean Lowe whittled his sixteen ladies down to thirteen Monday on The Bachelor.To kick off week three, Lesley M was gifted with an entire day of Sean's company all to herself. Whisked from the mansion to the gritty streets of Hollywood Blvd, Sean surprised Lesley with a quirky museum date to peruse the Guinness Book of World Records where, interestingly enough,...

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Bath salts bust in Hell's Kitchen

Byron SmithPolice at the scene on West 54th Street where officials had suspected a meth lab — cops found illegal bath salts instead.Something foul is cooking in Hell’s Kitchen.Police raided a West 54th Street co-op and found pounds of the illegal designer drug "bath salts" in a possible drug lab after neighbors complained that apartment smelled of cat urine,...

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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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Notre Dame hoax tip was emailed: Deadspin.com editor

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The tip that led to the revelation that one of the most widely recounted U.S. sports narratives of the past year was a hoax came to the editors of an online sports blog as many of their news tips do: an unsolicited email.That email led Deadspin.com assignment editor Timothy Burke on the hunt of a story that exposed the heart-wrenching tale of standout Notre Dame linebacker Manti...

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Gayle King Reacts to Oprah Winfrey Interview with Lance Armstrong

ET's Rocsi Diaz chatted with Oprah Winfrey's best friend Gayle King on Sunday, where the CBS This Morning co-anchor revealed that Lance Armstrong wasn't the only one with a lot at stake during last week's interview.RELATED: Biggest Celebrity Scandals"I've only seen [Oprah] nervous twice -- Michael Jackson, back in the day that was live, and with Lance Armstrong," Gayle said at The Daily Beast/Newsweek...

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Death toll climbs past 80 in Algeria terrorist siege

ALGIERS, Algeria — The death toll from the terrorist siege at a natural gas plant in the Sahara climbed past 80 on Sunday as Algerian forces searching the refinery for explosives found dozens more bodies, many so badly disfigured it was unclear whether they were hostages or militants, a security official said.Algerian special forces stormed the plant on...

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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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10 awesome new (and old) things you need to know about in 2013

We’re just three weeks into 2013 and it’s surprising what a difference a year can make. RIM (RIMM) is on the rise as Apple (AAPL) is getting crushed, Samsung (005930) is supposedly generating Apple-like hype, and connected home appliances outshined smartphones at CES. It’s a brave new world indeed, but here are 10 awesome new (and old) things to keep you grounded in 2013 while you put 2012...

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