The Complete List: 'Dancing with the Stars' Winners
On Tuesday night, TV personality and former Bachelor contestant Melissa Rycroft became the latest Dancing with the Stars victor! Click through the gallery for a look back at all the previous mirror ball winners.
It’s a thug supergroup.
The FBI busted a loan-sharking ring featuring an unlikely trio of associates: an alleged Gambino crime-family member, a Westies gangster and a motorcycle gang member, authorities said yesterday.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly likened the bust to hitting it big at the racetrack.
“With alleged involvement of the Gambinos, Westies and Hells Angels, this case hit the trifecta of loan-sharking and extortion,” Kelly said.
Brooklyn-based feds pinched reputed Gambino James Ferrara, Westies gang member Daniel Hanley and Demon Knights motorcycle thug Peter Kanakis for running the menacing outfit, officials said. The Knights are a spin-off of the Hells Angels.
Authorities said those who didn’t repay loans were threatened with brass knuckles, bats and, in one victim’s case, a bullet that narrowly whizzed by him as he left his house for work.
“If you default on a loan from a financial institution, you may lose property pledged as collateral. If you borrowed from these alleged gangsters, you risked losing life and limb,” said Mary Galligan, the FBI’s acting assistant director.
Assistant US Attorney Loretta Lynch said the thugs had a lot in common because they “spoke the same language of violence, threats and intimidation to their victims.”
The holidays are coming fast, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten very little of your gift shopping done.
Here are suggestions for a variety of gifts for the techie and the not-so-techie people on your list.
Some of these items can be found in stores and some are only available online, but you should be able to order them in time for Christmas or Hanukkah.
IOMEGA EZ MEDIA & BACKUP CENTER
What is it? A hard drive that lives on your home network so you can share files, store all your photos and music and back up your home computers. Works on Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers.
The EZ Media & Backup Center is available in 1-, 2- and 3-terabyte capacities. It is simple to set up. It lives next to your home router and plugs into the network via Ethernet.
Major features include a built-in iTunes server so your music is available to all connected computers, Time Machine support for easy Macintosh backups and Iomega’s Personal Cloud to access your data from any Internet connection.
It can also stream your video files to your TV if you’ve got a compatible streaming box or an Internet-connected TV.
Software for backing up Windows PCs is also included.
Who’s it for? Any family that wants central storage for their digital lives. This is a great home for your digital photo, music or video library.
What does it cost? One terabyte for $169.99, two terabytes for $209.99, three terabytes for $279.99.
Where can you get it? Online at www.iomega.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple store, Fry’s.
NETATMO URBAN WEATHER STATION
What is it? A wireless indoor/outdoor weather station that displays through an application on your Apple or Android mobile device.
There are two parts, one that lives in your house and one you place outside.
The indoor component plugs into the wall and monitors the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide level and even the sound level in decibels.
The outdoor module is battery-powered and measures temperature and humidity.
Once you connect the Netatmo to your home Wi-Fi network, you can download the free app and see your weather stats from anywhere.
Setup was easy enough, and you can set the app to notify you when carbon dioxide rises to levels that you should be warned about — which is great.
Who’s it for? Weather geeks and people who like to know what the temperature is without having to fire up a browser.
What does it cost? $179
Where can you get it? www.netatmo.com
3M LED ADVANCED LIGHT
What is it? 3M’s first foray into the home light bulb market is with the LED Advanced Light, which uses light-emitting diodes (LED) to produce 800 lumens (the light of a 60-watt bulb).
The Advanced Light has a life span of 25 years and costs just $1.63 per year if it’s turned on for three hours per day.
The bulb lights instantly and is dimmable.
It’s a little intimidating to start buying light bulbs that might outlive me, but my wallet approves.
Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to save money or wants a bulb that might not have to be changed until 2035.
What does it cost? $25
Where can you get it? Select Wal-Mart stores. For more information, go to www.3mlighting.com/LED.
STEM IZON 2.0 WI-FI VIDEO MONITOR
What is it? A small, wireless video camera that you can monitor remotely with an iOS device.
Two Miami men shot Sunday by Miami-Dade police outside a flea market were identified Monday, and the survivor was charged with battery.
Michael Nathaniel Parks, 21, faces charges of battery on a law-enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence. The second man, who had been driving the van the pair had been in, and who died at the scene, was identified as LeBron Warren, 23.
The shooting took place shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday at Flea Market USA, near Northwest 79th Street and 30th Avenue. Police said the victim of a nearby home-invasion robbery followed the robbers’ vehicle to the flea market and told police about it.
Officers found a van matching the description there, with Parks and Warren inside.
When officers approached, Warren put the van in reverse and accelerated toward them, hitting a police vehicle. Officers fired, and the van tried to get away, hitting other parked cars before it came to a stop, police said.
No officers were hurt.
Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow reteams with her Hurt Locker screenwriter Mark Boal for Zero Dark Thirty, a chronicling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and the two opened up to Nightline about how they recreated bin Laden's compound.
VIDEO: Zero Dark Thirty Trailer
The filmmakers built a full-scale version of the compound in Jordan, and Bigelow says that everything from the carpet to the marks on the walls were taken from ABC News footage that she studied frame by frame.
"Everything we could find from that video we replicated," Bigelow said. "Every conceivable piece of information that we could find we replicated."
As to the controversy over whether or not the filmmakers received classified information to make the movie, Mark Boal says, "I certainly did a lot of homework, but I never asked for classified materials. To my knowledge I never received any."
Zero Dark Thirty, starring Jessica Chastain, Kyle Chandler, James Gandolfini, Chris Pratt and Jennifer Ehle, hits theaters January 11.
Pedicab drivers who overcharge unsuspecting riders are being shut down by the City Council.
A key committee yesterday unanimously approved a bill that forces drivers to charge a per-minute rate — which is laid out on the side of the rickshaws and printed on a rate card handed to passengers before the ride begins.
Drivers must also have a timer in clear sight of passengers, so they can see how long the trip is taking.
The full council is expected to approve the bill today. Mayor Bloomberg said he supports the measure, which passed the council Consumer Affairs Committee.
Getty Images
STREET PEDALER: Riders see Central Park by pedicab, an industry the City Council is getting ready to regulate after cases of hidden charges.
The new rules will go in to effect in April.
“Deception must not be a legitimate business practice in New York City,” said Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan), who sponsored the bill.
“If somebody wants to pay an exorbitant amount for a pedicab ride, that should be their prerogative. I wouldn’t do it, but that’s their prerogative. What we want to do is eliminate the surprises at the end.”
Currently, pedicab drivers can charge a minimum fee per passenger, which is set at each driver’s discretion.
“Some of us feel like it’s as good a solution as there is going to be,” said Laramie Flick, president of the New York City Pedicab Owners’ Association. “As long as it gets rid of those per block, per person signs, we think it’ll help.”
He said he looks forward to seeing if “the rip-off artists will adapt or get out of the business. They’re not particularly smart.”
This summer, The Post reported on a pedicab driver who charged a Texas family of four $442.54 for a 12-minute ride in Manhattan.
The rip-off included a $100 flat charge for each passenger in addition to other fees. The rate was printed in very small type on the rate card, and the passengers didn’t see it.
And although it’s illegal, many operators were tacking on fees for taxes and mandatory tips.
Garodnick, who chairs the Consumer Affairs Committee, said the city still needs to work on regulating pedicabs, whose operators are known for reckless driving.
“If we can get the pricing issue under control, we’re significantly along in the process. But once you close one loophole, you fear that there are others that will open,” Garodnick said.
“It’s still an emerging industry, so we have been trying to regulate as the issues have become clearer.”
Riders who suspect they have been ripped off should call 311, Garodnick said.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Fermino
sgoldenberg@nypost.com
Shoppers swooped into stores in droves on Thanksgiving weekend, topping last year’s sales, as more retailers opened their doors earlier than ever on Thursday, luring bargain hunters away from eating another plate of turkey.
And now Cyber Monday is expected to set a record for online shopping this year, for those who prefer the Internet to the mall.
Spending per shopper nationwide averaged $423 — $25 more than last year — from Thursday to Sunday, while total spending increased nearly 13 percent, to an estimated $59.1 billion, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.
“I think the only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call it a huge win,” said Matthew Shay, the trade group’s president and chief executive. Shopping, he said, “has really become an extension of the day’s festivities.”
South Florida was no exception, as a flurry of stores, as well as several malls, opened on Thanksgiving. Thursday has seemingly become the new Black Thursday, taking a bite out of the old-fashioned kickoff day of the holiday, Black Friday.
“We had an excellent weekend,” said Humberto Maldonado, director of marketing for Dadeland Mall, which opened at midnight on Thursday. Sales figures are not yet in, but the overall trend was up from last year, he said Monday.
“It was really busy from midnight to 5 a.m., then it slowed, and picked up again at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., and stayed busy all day on Friday,” Maldonado said.
Nationwide, about 35 million people visited stores and shopping websites Thursday, up from 29 million last year. More than double that number — 89 million, up from 86 million — shopped on Black Friday.
“There were more people shopping every single day of the weekend,” Shay said.
Topping off the weekend, Cyber Monday’s early results, tabulated at 3 p.m. Monday, showed that online shopping was up a whopping 25.6 percent compared with the same time period a year ago, according to figures by IBM Benchmark.
Nationwide, most of the weekend’s shoppers — roughly 58 percent — bought clothing and accessories. Another 38 percent bought electronics and 35 percent shelled out for toys, National Retail Federation figures show.
Retailers made an effort to lure people in, with updated mobile shopping applications for smartphones and tablets, and expanded shipping and layaway options.
Still, it remains to be seen whether increased sales over the Thanksgiving weekend will translate to higher sales throughout the holiday shopping season. Analysts have been predicting mediocre sales this year, nationwide, as shoppers remain uncertain about the broader economy. Overall holiday sales are expected to increase 4.1 percent from 2011, compared with sales growth of 5.6 percent last year, the National Retail Federation said.
However, Florida is expected to beat those figures. Buoyed in large part by tourists and snowbirds, the Florida Retail Federation is forecasting a 5.3 percent gain this year over last, to $58 billion, marking the highest percentage growth predicted since the recession. Pre-recession, retail sales peaked at $54.3 billion in 2006.
Christian Cutillo, 26, of Weston, hit Walmart, then Sears, Target and Old Navy after eating Thanksgiving dinner.
She began at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and by 3 a.m. Friday she had finished shopping for all 15 people on her list, mostly buying clothing and toys.
TALLAHASSEE --
Florida lawmakers have filed their first bills of the season.
Most are familiar: a ban on texting while driving, a requirement that parasailing operators carry insurance and a “foreign law” bill criticized by opponents as anti-Islamic.
Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, says she will keep sponsoring the texting while driving measure until it passes. It nearly survived the Senate last year. But former House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, blocked the measure in his chamber, calling it a potential infringement on personal liberty that would be difficult to enforce.
Under Detert’s latest proposal, SB 52, law enforcement officers could tack a $30 texting fine on a driver stopped for another violation. The penalty would not apply to drivers reading a navigational device or traffic safety information, the proposal states.
Detert pitched the measure as “common sense” middle ground. Some lawmakers oppose all new government oversight while others think the rules should go further — banning the use of all electronic devices while driving, Detert said.
“We should put it before members and let them vote on it. And whatever they decide, so be it,” said Detert, adding that she thinks the bill stands a better chance with Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, now speaker.
Weatherford has been publicly impartial on the issue, saying the state needs to balance driver protection with individual rights. He plans to allow lawmakers to hash it out in committee, spokesman Ryan Duffy said. Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, is sponsoring the proposal in the House.
None of the bills filed so far address unemployment, foreclosures or healthcare, which lawmakers often tout as the most important issues facing the state.
A “foreign law” bill is bound to stir controversy in 2013, as it did it 2012.
SB 58, sponsored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, would make sure Florida law trumps foreign law in marriage, divorce and custody cases. Hays says the proposal doesn’t target a particular group, although he spurred protests from clergy of several faiths in 2012 by delivering anti-Islamic brochures to fellow senators days before a scheduled vote.
The proposal passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
A bill to regulate parasailing companies is also on the horizon after languishing last year under pressure from lobbyists.
Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Boca Raton, filed SB 64, to require parasailing businesses to use sturdy equipment, carry insurance, offer a safety briefing to passengers and not operate in bad weather. The bill is named the White-Miskell Act after Amber White and Kathleen Miskell, who died parasailing in South Florida.
“We need to encourage the industry, to promote it and protect it, and these operators know the best way to do that is protect the people,” Sachs said.
Parasailing is virtually unregulated in Florida (and almost everywhere else), with the state’s 120 companies required only to have a boat license. Parasailing accidents have caused at least four deaths in Florida within the past two years, something most beachgoers don’t realize as they’re strapped into a harness to dangle hundreds of feet over the water.
Lawmakers have filed bills to make sure citizens have the opportunity to testify before government boards or committees take action (SB 50) and to ensure that men and women have equal rights (SB 54). Lawmakers also have filed 19 claims bills, in which victims or their families are seeking damages for an injury or death caused by government employees.
House and Senate committees will begin meeting next month . The 60-day lawmaking session is scheduled to convene March 5.
After catching a bit of flack for meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister in a decidedly casual pair of overalls, Justin Bieber took to Instagram Sunday to explain himself.
Related: Justin Bieber on Selena, His Favorite Things
"The pic of me and the Prime Minister was taken in a room in the arena where I was performing at that day," Bieber wrote in response to a journalist who criticized the move as "white trash."
"I walked straight from my meet and greet to him," he explained further. "It wasn't like it was like I was going into his environment we were at a hockey arena. Wow am I ever white trash."
The superstar (seen above) was snapped in Canada this week to accept a Diamond Jubilee Medal from the leader of his home country, Stephen Harper.
EUREKA, Calif. — A couple died and their 16-year-old son went missing after being swept into sea in Northern California while trying to save their dog, authorities said Sunday.
The family was at Big Lagoon, a beach north of Eureka, Saturday afternoon when the dog chased after a thrown stick and got pulled into the ocean by eight to ten foot waves, said Dana Jones, a state Parks and Recreation district superintendent.
Jones said the boy went after the dog, prompting his father to go after them. She said the teenager was able to get out, but when he didn't see his father, he and his mother went into the water looking for him.
"Both were dragged into the ocean," Jones said.
The Times-Standard reports (http://bit.ly/UmSP2P) the couple's daughter called police.
Jones said a park ranger had to run a half mile to get to the beach because his car wasn't made to handle the terrain. When he arrived, he wasn't able to get to them because of the high surf, she said.
Rescuers eventually retrieved the mother's body and the father's body washed up.
The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and two motor life boats to search for the teenager, but the aerial search was suspended Saturday evening by thick coastal fog.
A call seeking the status of the Coast Guard's search on Sunday wasn't immediately returned.
The dog got out of the water on its own, Jones said.
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