Jurors hear secret tape recording in Miami police corruption trial as feds rest their case

As rain began to fall on a June evening, Miami Police Sgt. Raul Iglesias told an undercover detective in his drug-fighting squad to turn off his cell phone and take out the battery as both officers stood outside the boss’s home.Iglesias, already relieved of duty on suspicions of being a dirty cop, feared Roberto Asanza’s phone could be recording him. And his instincts were...

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Softbank to sell stake in eAccess to Samsung, others: source

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Softbank Corp is in final talks to sell its stake in eAccess Ltd, representing around 67 percent of voting rights, to Samsung Electronics Co and 10 others, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The sale would ease concerns that Softbank could hold a monopoly on spectrum allocation designated by Japan’s Communications Ministry, the source said.Softbank,...

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Britney Spears Split with Jason Trawick

After more than three years together, Britney Spears and her fiance Jason Trawick have split, her rep confirmed to People. RELATED - Britney "Working Hard" on New Music"Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement," Spears says in the statement. "I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends." Trawick adds, "As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her...

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Subway platform door test

Stand clear of the closing platform doors. The MTA is considering adding sliding doors at L-train stations to stop riders from falling on the tracks following the deaths of two straphangers pushed in front of trains last month. The L would be the ideal test spot because it doesn’t share track with other lines and is used by only one type of train, said...

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What the week’s big mortgage moves mean for consumers

This week brought three big developments to the nation’s beleaguered mortgage landscape. For consumers, the complex moves have been mostly mystifying, but experts say they all aim at turning the page.“There is a strong desire to put behind us all this period of time — the aftermath of the darkest period in American finance. All these things [announced this week] are intended...

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DOJ proposes overhaul of Florida’s program for disabled children

TALLAHASSEE -- In a new and even harsher indictment of Florida’s treatment of severely disabled children, federal civil rights lawyers have issued a comprehensive blueprint for overhauling the state’s system of care for frail youngsters.The 17-page “settlement proposal” by the U.S. Justice Department demands the state stop slicing in-home nursing services for frail youngsters,...

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Holiday sales of PCs slide for first time in five years: IDC

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Holiday season sales of personal computers fell for the first time in more than five years, according to tech industry tracker IDC, as Microsoft Corp’s new Windows 8 operating system failed to excite buyers and many opted for tablet devices and powerful smartphones instead of PCs.PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co, Lenovo Group and Dell Inc sold 89.8 million PCs worldwide in...

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They Dated Golden Globes Edition Part 2

Remember them?Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhaal have a tendency to mix it up as far as dates go at the Golden Globes. With the 70th annual ceremony almost upon us, we're looking back at these celebs and their various plus-ones as they arrived to the star-studded event over the years.Related: They Dated?! Golden Globes Edition - Part 1 Jolie has had the privilege of walking the Golden...

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Man gunned down in Bed-Stuy

A man was gunned down in Bedford-Stuyvesant Thursday night, according to police.The man, described by cops as a white male in his 30s, was shot in the torso near the corner of Macon Street and Throop Avenue at around 9:30 p.m., authorities said.He was transported to Kings County Hospital where he later died.Police are still investigating. No arrests have...

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Miami doctors, Walgreens join race for ACOs

With Walgreens joining insurers and hospitals in a race to reshape healthcare delivery in the country, a group of 75 doctors has become the first federally approved accountable care organization in Miami-Dade, Medicare officials announced Thursday.South Florida ACO and the drugstore chain were on a list of 106 groups receiving approval to offer integrated care that is intended...

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Wisdom from the mouths of babes

The other day, a friend of mine email me the following letter from a 7-year-old second-grader, Abigal Lily Alder, at Heron Heights Elementary in Broward County, and I want to share it with you, my dear Neighbors in Religion readers:The title: "AUTISM SPEAKS to Me!" "If I could help somebody it would be my brother, Grant, who has autism. People with autism like Grant sometimes...

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Samsung sets sights on RIM’s corporate users

Now that Samsung (005930) has bested Apple in the consumer smartphone market, at least where shipment volume is concerned, the company is setting its sights on Research in Motion’s (RIMM) corporate user base. The company is investing heavily in enterprise devices that incorporate a higher level of security and reliability than consumers require. Various government agencies and corporations aren’t...

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Oscar Moments: Best & Supporting Actress Wins

The 85th Annual Academy Awards is just six weeks away, and we're taking a look back at four great moments from the last two years: When Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Melissa Leo and Octavia Spencer picked up their coveted statuettes.ET's Complete Academy Awards Coverage In a bit of an upset, Streep won her third Oscar at the 84th Academy Awards for her spot-on portrayal of British Prime Minister...

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LI travel agent shoved to his death in Brooklyn robbery: police

A Long Island travel agent who showed up at a South Slope, Brooklyn address to buy a car wound up dead when he was shoved to the ground and smashed his head in an apparent robbery, law enforcement sources said this morning.Jesus Morales, 67, of Merrick, LI, was discovered lying with head injuries at 260 18th street at around 7:15 p.m. yesterday.Morales...

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Florida company provides electrical power for the world

More than 4,000 miles from its home base in Doral, Energy International is helping keep the lights on and the power grid humming in Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.Energy International, a global provider of power plants and energy solutions, sent a temporary plant that will provide power for at least the next two years while a...

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Miami police to buyback guns — no questions asked

In efforts to reduce gun violence, Miami police will hold its first 2013 gun buyback operation of the year. Beginning on Jan. 19, anyone can drop off any firearm at designated locations and receive a gift certificate with no questions asked. “We are urging the public to join us in the efforts to reduce gun violence and make a difference,” the police department said in a news...

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Panasonic considers headcount savings, asset sales in revival plan

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Japan‘s Panasonic Corp may see its headcount fall further and may sell non-core money-making business units to raise cash, president Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters at the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.Hammered by competition from South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics, Panasonic may also squeeze wages and seek joint ventures in its semiconductors...

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Behind the Scenes of PSY's 2013 Super Bowl Commercial

ET has your exclusive sneak peek at PSY's next big project!Video: Stars Party Gangnam Style Backstage at AMAs The Korean superstar will launch an out-of-this-world Super Bowl commercial Sunday, January 3, and we have your first look behind the scenes of the top-secret shoot this Wednesday.Also tomorrow, inside Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey's American Idol feud! Plus, the deleted scene deemed too sexy...

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Kennedy kid sues nurses

A son of the late Robert F. Kennedy who was acquitted of criminal charges in a maternity-ward scuffle is suing two nurses who said on TV that he hurt them.Douglas Kennedy alleges defamation and malicious prosecution stemming from a legal battle with the pair, who said he physically harassed them after his son’s birth.The suit, filed in White Plains, doesn’t...

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4 smartphones with standout features

These days, smartphones are almost all drawing from the same bag of tricks, and it can be hard to tell one from the next. If the average smartphone will do all the basic things you want it to, what does it take to be special? Here are four smartphones with unusual features that really make them stand out. Nokia Lumia 920 Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent) ...

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Parents of disabled kids blast Florida care

Twice in the past year, state health administrators cut the number of hours caregivers assisted Alex Perez’s severely disabled son at his Westchester home. Both times, the child’s pediatrician was left wondering why the state had reduced the care he had prescribed for the boy.On Monday, state Rep. Katie Edwards asked Perez if she had been “misled or misinformed” when state...

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181,354 People on Twitter Think They’re Experts at Twitter

Do you tweet a lot? Do you post everything on Facebook? Do you #hashtag #complete #sentences #like #this? Do you describe yourself, variously, as a social media “maven”, “master”, “guru”, “freak”, “warrior”, “evangelist” or “veteran”? (Yes, a social media veteran. As if Tumblr were a deadly war you narrowly survived.) Well: you’ve got company! There are more than 181,000 such individuals...

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David R. Ellis Passes Away at 60

David R. Ellis, former Hollywood stuntman and film director, passed away today at the age of 60 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was preparing to direct the upcoming film Kite.Born in Hollywood, Ellis began working in the film industry as a stuntman in his late teens. He was promoted as stunt coordinator in the 1981 and worked on over 70 films in a 20-year span, including Scarface, Lethal Weapon,...

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Two struck by Chinatown bus

William MillerTwo pedestrians were struck Monday night by a Brooklyn-bound Fung Wah line bus just as it was pulling onto the Manhattan Bridge.The accident happened at around 11 p.m. in the crosswalk at Canal Street and Bowery, across the street from the Chinatown bus company’s office, cops said.The victims are in stable condition. The driver of the bus...

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Florida company provides electrical power for the world

More than 4,000 miles from its home base in Doral, Energy International is helping keep the lights on and the power grid humming in Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.Energy International, a global provider of power plants and energy solutions, sent a temporary plant that will provide power for at least the next two years while a...

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Scott Israel talks about BSO’s future

On Tuesday, Broward Sheriff-elect Scott Israel will take over the most powerful elected post in the county, overseeing about 5,500 employees and a $670 million budget.Past Broward sheriffs have generated colorful and political headlines. Nick Navarro, elected in 1984, ordered deputies to cook crack cocaine to use in drug stings, and ordered the arrest of the rap group 2...

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Samsung’s New Smart TV Software Development Kit Supports Linux and Mac O/S

 Samsung Electronics announced that it will be releasing the Smart TV SDK (Software Development Kit) 4.0 at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from January 8th to 11th, 2013. The Smart TV SDK will allow Smart TV software development on Linux and Mac, in addition to Windows O/S.Up till now, Samsung’s Smart TV software development only supported Windows O/S. However, the new...

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Mary Hart Bradley Cooper Zoe Saldana Palm Springs International Film Festival

Former ET host Mary Hart hosted the Palm Springs International Film Festival for the tenth time over the weekend, serenading birthday boy Bradley Cooper during his first event appearance since his rumored split from Zoe Saldana and getting him to dish on his potential Golden Globes date.VIDEO: The Star-Studded PSIFF Red CarpetAccording to The New York Post, Cooper (who turned 38 on Saturday) split...

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B'klyn man struck, killed while riding unregistered dirt bike

William MillerPolice officers inspect the dirt bike Paul Carthy was riding when he was struck and killed Sunday.A 24-year-old Brooklyn man on an unregistered dirt bike was killed in an accident in front of Kings County Hospital yesterday.Paul Carthy, of Brownsville, was riding his Kawasaki eastbound on Clark Avenue just after 9 p.m. when a Nissan Altima...

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Billionaire Phillip Frost an ‘entrepreneur’s entrepreneur’

For that blind first date, a half-century ago, the young doctor, Phillip Frost, showed up at Patricia Orr’s family house in suburban New York, with an unusual gift: a miniature mushroom garden.In the 50 years since, Frost, the son of a shoe store owner, has gone on to amass a fortune of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine, becoming the 188th wealthiest man in the United...

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CrimeWatch: Two email scams you shouldn’t fall for

This week I am going to share with you some scam emails that are going around. People are falling for them, but many could have been avoided with some common sense. If you get an email like the one below, please call the person before sending cash, which many have done and have lost their money.Caught out of the country Omg!! I’m writing this with tears in my eyes, my family...

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Leader of Online Movie Group IMAGiNE Gets five Years for Piracy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Jeremiah B. Perkins, the former leader of internet movie group IMAGiNE, was sentenced to five years in prison on a piracy charge, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.Perkins, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in August.In addition to the prison sentence, Perkins was sentenced to three years of supervised release...

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Cher Signs Development Deal with Logo

Logo just announced at The Television Critics Association in Pasadena, CA that the network has signed a development deal with the ultimate gay icon, Cher. AUDIO - Listen to Cher's New SongThe show, which is in its earliest stages of development, would mark Cher's first regular TV gig since The Sonny and Cher Show ended in 1977.While this could change before the show hits the air (if it actually does),...

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Boozy Brolin

What a Goonie!Boozed-up actor Josh Brolin was charged with public intoxication on New Year’s Day, California cops said yesterday. One of the stars of the upcoming flick “Gangster Squad” was briefly held on a misdemeanor public-intoxication charge after he was found blitzed on a Santa Monica sidewalk, according to Santa Monica police. “This was a booking...

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Billionaire Phillip Frost an ‘entrepreneur’s entrepreneur’

For that blind first date, a half-century ago, the young doctor, Phillip Frost, showed up at Patricia Orr’s family house in suburban New York, with an unusual gift: a miniature mushroom garden.In the 50 years since, Frost, the son of a shoe store owner, has gone on to amass a fortune of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine, becoming the 188th wealthiest man in the United...

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