Great-grandmother leads annual Miami-Dade, Monroe toy drive

Beginning in August, Bunchy Gertner puts aside her social life, her needs and even her great-grandchildren to head over to the “North Pole,” the place where she stores, wraps and distributes thousands of toys destined for foster care children in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.“This is top banana,” said Gertner referring to the nonstop volunteer work she has done for the past...

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NYPD Daily Blotter

Manhattan***A quick-thinking straphanger snapped a photo (above) of a man who had allegedly rubbed up against her in a subway car on the Upper East Side, authorities said. The suspect was aboard the No. 4 train Monday at 9:40 a.m. between 86th and 59th streets when the victim felt the perv’s unwelcome advances, police said. The victim says the man came...

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Investors shuffling assets ahead of fiscal cliff

Some citizens aren’t waiting to find out if the White House and Republicans in Congress will be able to reach a last-minute deal to pull the country away from the “fiscal cliff.” They are selling securities while capital gains tax rates are still low or transferring millions into trusts for the benefit of children and grandchildren before estate tax laws become more stringent....

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Bay of Pigs invasion veterans mark 50 years since release

In the days before Christmas 50 years ago this weekend, 1,113 Bay of Pigs fighters captured by Fidel Castro’s forces and imprisoned for 20 months were finally released to a heroes’ welcome in Miami.The first planeload of POWs arrived at Homestead Air Force Base on Dec. 23, 1962. Gaunt and betrayed by the John F. Kennedy administration, members of the proud Brigade 2506 were...

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Jennifer Lawrence Fashion Time Warp

"It" girl Jennifer Lawrence is getting a lot of attention this year, and with good reason! The recent Golden Globe nominee has proven herself worthy of the big-screen hype thanks to the box office success of The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook. On top of that, the beauteous bombshell has become a fashion-forward phenomenon.Related: Five Things You Don't Know About Jennifer LawrenceJoin...

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Former Gov. Patterson canned from radio hosting gig

William C LopezFormer Gov. David Patterson is out of work once again.Former Gov. David Paterson is looking for a new job — again.Clear Channel canned him yesterday as the 4-6 p.m. weekday talk show host on WOR-AM 710 radio – less than two years after he was out of work following his tumultuous and abbreviated tenure at the state’s helm.“As governor, he...

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The Cuban government Thursday denounced what it called the “unjust and illegal” multi-million dollar fines the U.S. government slapped on two foreign banks for violating Washington’s sanctions on the island. The U.S. actions show that its “ferocious persecution of financial and commercial transactions by Cuba and those with legitimate relations … has only changed but has...

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Slip-N-Slide’s Ted Lucas teams up with Miami Heat’s James Jones for All-Star Holiday weekend

Record executive Ted Lucas and Miami Heat star James Jones joined forces to bring holiday cheer to Miami Gardens kids — and motivate them to achieve academically — earlier this monthThe All-Star Holiday weekend started with a toy distribution at North County K-8 Center on Dec.13Lucas and Jones, who got good grades when growing up in Miami Gardens, got some help Santa Claus...

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GOP’s Sandy $lash

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans yesterday offered their own Hurricane Sandy relief bill — which is less than half the original proposed amount.The GOP version calls for $23.8 billion to be spent on disaster relief for New York and New Jersey — while the bill offered by President Obama totaled $60.4 billion.Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) introduced the new legislation,...

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Accelerator planned for healthcare-tech start-ups

A new start-up accelerator focused on the intersection of healthcare and technology is coming to Miami next year. Project Lift Miami, designed to help develop young companies and prepare them for investment opportunities, is a partnership between Lift1428, an innovation design, strategy and communications firm; the Miami Innovation Center at the University of Miami Life...

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Judge admonishes defendant in Rilya Wilson murder trial

A Miami-Dade judge admonished the woman accused of killing foster child Rilya Wilson after two brief courtroom outbursts Tuesday.At the time, Geralyn Graham’s ex-lover, Pamela Graham, was on the stand testifying under cross-examination about why she was cooperating with authorities. The two are not related.In front of the jury, Geralyn Graham yelled at Pamela Graham to stop...

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Angelina Jolie to Direct Unbroken Film

Angelina Jolie is in final negotiations to direct her second film, Unbroken, based on the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian-turned-World War II prisoner of war, according to Deadline. Video: Angelina Jolie Talks Kids, 'Blood and Honey' "I was so moved by Louie Zamperini's heroic story, I immediately began to fight for the opportunity to make this film," said The Oscar-winning actress in a statement....

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Relief for rebuilding

The city Department of Buildings will waive agency fees for work on the 1,000 or more local buildings damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.The charges won’t go back into effect until October 2014, under a bill the City Council passed yesterday.The city will also delay plumbing and electrical fees for repairs to those damaged buildings until April 2013.The...

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Stocking stuffers and last-minute gift ideas

In the portable electronic world, stocking stuffers are easy to find. Here are some for those last-minute holiday gifts on everyone’s list.•  WATER-POWERED CLOCK: Aside from telling time, the eco-friendly Bedol Water Clock is a portable alarm that is also waterproof in the event you feel like standing in a rain storm or showering with it. It’s battery-free so all you...

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Miami-Dade court program helps young inmates change their lives

It was a graduation without pomp and circumstance. There was marching in combat boots. No gowns.The remarks by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beth Bloom were full of the hallmarks common at any graduation. She spoke of goals and achievement and of the opportunity. But were it not for the “I’m Ready” program, many of Monday’s graduates would not be anticipating...

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YouTube Announces Top 10 Videos of 2012

YouTube has just released their top 10 videos of 2012 along with one dazzling video bound to become a viral sensation in its own right.Watch the clip to see the Rewind YouTube Style video featuring the website's biggest stars acting out a parody of Gangnam Style and Call Me Maybe. The video was shot at the new YouTube Space in Los Angeles, a place for YouTube creators to come learn, collaborate, and...

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NBC man MIA

Richard Engel, NBC’s award-winning chief foreign correspondent, has been missing in war-torn Syria since last week, Turkish media reported yesterday.A Turkish journalist working with Engel, Aziz Akyavas, also is missing. The pair has not been in contact with NBC since Thursday, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.Engel, 39, is fluent in Arabic and...

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

Entrepreneurs from around the world took the stage during this packed week of entrepreneurship events in Miami: Florida International University’s Americas Venture Capital Conference (known as AVCC), HackDay, Wayra’s Global DemoDay and Endeavor’s International Selection Panel.The events, all part of the first Innovate MIA week, also put the spotlight on Miami as it continues...

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Sperm whale dies off Pompano Beach coast

The carcass of a 40-foot sperm whale that apparently died as it neared the shore off of Pompano Beach on Sunday afternoon later drifted back out to sea, ending a drama that had drawn the attention of beachgoers and scientists alike.The whale was spotted about noon offshore near the 600 block of North Ocean Boulevard, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.Read the full...

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Mother devoted her life to him – then he ended it

Nancy Lanza doted on her son — and he repaid her by fatally blasting her four times in the head and killing 26 others with a gun she taught him to use.In the weeks leading up to Adam Lanza’s rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, his mom was focused on helping the troubled but brilliant 20-year-old build a life for himself. He was mulling a move to a...

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Five years after the recession, a slow recovery plods on

Five years ago this month, the Great Recession began. Which leads to this question: How much longer until South Florida can erase the damage?Officially, the recession ended in June 2009. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the national economy began contracting in December 2007 and did not grow again for 19 months. Using taxable sales figures, it’s probably...

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7-year-old in critical condition after accident

Police were investigating an accident involving a 7-year-old who was struck by a vehicle in a Lauderhill neighborhood late Saturday, Lauderhill Police spokesman Rick Rocco said. The vehicle and its driver, who has not yet been identified, remained on scene after the incident near the intersection of Northwest 27th Court and 56th Avenue.The child was transported to Broward...

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

As morning turned to afternoon on Friday, further details continued to emerge from Newtown, CT, a tight-knit community shaken by a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the lives of innocent students and teachers, in addition to the gunman, reportedly identified as Adam Lanza.RELATED: President Fights Tears as He Addresses NationAs President Barack Obama touched on in his tear-jerking...

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Hasid détente in Gropez ruin

The downfall of Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez could yield a political détente in the fierce war that has been raging for years among the Satmar Hasidim in Brooklyn. The once tight-knit community has been bitterly split since the death of Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum in 2006 left two sons, Aaron and Zalman, in a blood feud over succession rights....

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

Entrepreneurs from around the world took the stage during this packed week of entrepreneurship events in Miami: Florida International University’s Americas Venture Capital Conference (known as AVCC), HackDay, Wayra’s Global DemoDay and Endeavor’s International Selection Panel.The events, all part of the first Innovate MIA week, also put the spotlight on Miami as it continues...

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