Florida lawmakers to angry voters: We hear you

TALLAHASSEE -- What a difference an election can make. As legislators return to Tallahassee for their two-month-long annual session, beginning Tuesday, they will tackle some of the state’s most intractable problems, and they vow to do it with a new tone.From property insurance and foreclosure reform to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also...

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Modern Family Stars Get Stuck in Crowded Elevator

No good deed goes unpunished. PICS: Candid Celeb Sightings While on their way to a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City on Friday night, three stars of ABC's hit sitcom Modern Family were trapped in a crowded elevator for almost an hour, ABC News reports.Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson took pictures together during the ordeal, which Ferguson posted...

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Hubby, pregnant wife die in crash

An Orthodox Jewish couple was killed in a car crash early today as they were headed to the hospital to deliver their first child, authorities said.Husband and wife Nathan and Raizy Glauber, both 21 years old, were headed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, said Vos Iz Neias, a news blog that covers the Orthodox community.Their car slammed into a tractor-trailer,...

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When the latest layoff story is about you

It’s an odd feeling reading in the newspaper about losing your job. I didn’t learn about being fired in the newspaper but the story of losing my position was there. Why I lost my job (along with more than a dozen of my colleagues) was the lead story in the business section of The Miami Herald on Feb. 22. It even had a picture of me right next to the paragraph describing how...

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Attorney for dad of missing Hallandale Beach baby says evidence was damaged

The tiny bones recovered from a backyard grave have a story to tell: Are these the remains of Dontrell Melvin, a baby whose family didn’t report him missing for 18 months? And how was the baby killed?According to notes in the Hallandale Beach police lead investigator’s file, there was blunt force trauma to the child’s cranium after his death, likely caused during the search...

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Ellen DeGeneres Pens Open Letter to Supreme Court to Pass Prop 8 for Gay Marriage

With a touch of her trademark humor, Ellen DeGeneres tackles a very serious topic close to the talk show host's heart: gay marriage.In an open letter posted to her website, Ellen reaches out to members of the Supreme Court, who will soon decide the fate of same-sex couples who wish to wed.Pics: 'Amazing Race' Stars Cheer Up Bullied Gay Fan "Portia and I have been married for 4 years and they have...

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Rikers jail ‘imposter’ gets thrown in the clink

A Yonkers man who snuck onto Rikers Island by allegedly impersonating a Department of Correction employee — and even moved inmates between cells — was busted yesterday, sources said.Matthew Matagrano, 36, was arrested at a Bronx courthouse last night when he showed up claiming to be a “correction investigator” and was recognized by correction officers,...

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Tom Hudson: China’s new leaders plan quiet transition

If everything goes smoothly, you won’t hear much out of China in the new week. And that’s the way its new leaders want it. Even though the world’s second largest economy officially seats a new president and premier, the beginning of China’s parliamentary session on Tuesday comes without the usual pomp and circumstance. Instead, China’s new leaders hope to show their own version...

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’Les Mis’ touring company works out to stay in shape at Wilton Manors gym

Even if you’re a Broadway dancer in top shape, it’s not easy looking good and staying fit when you’re on the road with a show like Les Misérables."Touring is a difficult life because you’re constantly moving," said Trinity Wheeler, production stage manager for the Les Mis touring company, playing through Sunday at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami."It’s not like you can...

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The CW Says Goodbye to 90210

The CW's remake of the '90s hit show 90210 will reportedly end its five-year run in May.PICS: The High School Hotties of 90210According to Us Weekly, the show (starring AnnaLynne McCord, Shenae Grimes, Matt Lanter, Jessica Stroup and Jessica Lowndes) has been canceled due to meager ratings.The show has reportedly averaged 1.23 million viewers this season, being overshadowed by new hits The Vampire...

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WikiLeak soldier enters guilty plea

FORT MEADE, Md. — Bradley Manning, the Army private arrested in the biggest leak of classified material in US history, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that could send him to prison for 20 years, saying he was trying to expose the American military’s “blood lust” and disregard for human life in Iraq and Afghanistan.Military prosecutors said they plan...

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Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

Have you ever received a request to connect on LinkedIn from someone you didn’t know or couldn’t remember?A few weeks ago, Josh Turner encountered this situation. The online request to connect came from a businessman on the opposite coast of the United States. It came with a short introduction that ended with “Let’s go Blues!” a reference to Turner’s favorite hockey team...

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2006 report detailed problems with Havana Palms condos in Little Havana

In January 2006, executives at Montara Land V, LLC, hired a firm to do an analysis of the roof, structure, plumbing, and other conditions of an apartment complex in Little Havana that they wanted to convert to condominiums. This report, submitted to the state department that regulates conversions, concluded that the buildings, constructed in 1946, barely had five more years...

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ET at The Sunset Sessions: What do Fun The Black Keys and Jason Mraz Have in Common

When I'm driving home from work listening to the radio I sometimes wonder, How do these radio programmers know what new music is out there? I hear the constant streaming of Top 40 hits, but where are the underground singer-songwriters? Where can radio and music lovers find the new IT group or artist that is going to blow up? Well I found the answer and I have three words for you... the Sunset Sessions.PICS:...

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WH denies alien plan

WASHINGTON — The White House said yesterday it had nothing to do with the idea of releasing hundreds of detained illegal immigrants because of looming budget cuts — after lawmakers ridiculed the belt-tightening tactic.“This was a decision made by career officials at ICE without any input from the White House, as a result of fiscal uncertainty over the continuing...

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Would-be convention center developers make pitches to Miami Beach residents

Developers on Wednesday presented Miami Beach residents with competing ideas for what the city’s Convention Center could look like after an overhaul. It was the public’s first glimpse of what could become of the 52-acre site. Two heavy-hitting teams are competing for the project, which could cost up to $1 billion.Both teams – Portman-CMC and South Beach ACE – stressed that...

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Broward commissioner withdraws pit bull ban proposal

Pit bull lovers came out in force on Tuesday to oppose a county commissioner’s effort to get the breed banned in Broward County.After hearing dozens make emotional pleas, County Commissioner Barbara Sharief agreed to withdraw her proposal for a ban and work with experts to help keep neighborhoods safe from all dangerous dogs.Read the full story at Sun-Sentinel.com. ...

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Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Will Never Host the Oscars Together

To the dismay of William Shatner and fans around the world, Tina Fey recently revealed that she has no intention of ever emceeing the Academy Awards ceremony with or without her BFF, and Golden Globes co-host, Amy Poehler.Pics: The 2013 Oscars! When asked if she'd ever consider the gig, Fey told The Huffington Post that she wouldn't dare sign up for the task because the Oscars are far too much work."I...

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Coral Gables native Martin Zweig, Wall Street wiz, dies in Florida

A decade before he foresaw the 1987 stock market crash, Coral Gables native Marty Zweig was already considered a Wall Street wizard.Renown business journalist Dan Dorfman called him “the country’s hottest investment adviser” in 1981, his picture appeared on the cover of Money Magazine in 1982, and he was frequent guest on the PBS financial show Wall Street Week.He wrote...

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Is this really the end of Cuba’s Castro brothers? Exiles say not so fast

On the streets of Miami, the announcement of a possible end to the Castro brothers’ rule was met with uncharacteristic silence Monday — no clanging of pots and pans in Little Havana and Hialeah. No loud pronouncements on Spanish-language radio, either, about the news that President Raúl Castro planned to retire in 2018 and had named an heir apparent. “There’s like, a little...

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Exclusive Pic: Seth Rogen on 'The Mindy Project'

Comedic actor Seth Rogen is set to guest star on Tuesday's episode of Mindy Kaling's The Mindy Project, in which he plays her long-lost lover. ETonline has your exclusive first look.In his cameo on the comedy series, which premiered its first season last fall, Rogen reunites with Kaling's self-named character, "Mindy," after being her first kiss years ago. According to the episode's synopsis, the...

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Now it’s her turn to serve him up on a platter

Andrea Peyser Some husbands run around with random women, drink to excess, gamble away the kid’s college savings, or manhandle their wives to a bloody pulp. Police Officer Gilberto Valle was home most every night planning elaborate meals. Unfortunately, Valle’s notion of ways to better serve his trusting spouse featured an unconventional...

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Archbishop Wenski leads 90-mile motorcycle run

After a blessing, motorcycles roared their engines and drove out of St. Richard Catholic Church in Palmetto Bay to participate in the first Motorcycle Poker Run organized by the Archdiocese of Miami. Heading the bikers: Archbishop Thomas Wenski wearing a biker’s leather jacket and riding his black Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle. “Bikers are people that are accustomed...

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Best Actress Winner Jennifer Lawrence Talks Oscar Fall

First the SAG Awards and now the Oscars!? Jennifer Lawrence isn't having the best of luck with her gowns this awards season.After suffering an unfortunate fall at Sunday night's ceremony while accepting her Best Actress statuette for Silver Linings Playbook, a mortified Lawrence explained to the Academy Awards press room that she had (once again) fallen victim to her elaborate dress.Pics: The 15 Best...

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Reeva on the road to ruin

Newly released security footage shows a beaming Reeva Steenkamp driving into Oscar Pistorius’ apartment complex hours before she was shot and killed by the legless Olympian on Valentine’s Day. In the last known picture of Steenkamp alive, the South African model is seen smiling as she rolls her Mini Cooper toward the home of the world-famous “Blade Runner”...

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Miami medicine goes digital

About 10 years ago, Dr. Fleur Sack quit her practice as a family physician to become a hospital department head. Spurring her decision was the need to switch from paper records to electronic ones to keep her private practice profitable. “At that time, it would have cost about $50,000,” Dr. Sack recalled. “It was too expensive and it was too overwhelming.” But times and technologies...

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Miami Dolphins hopeful on stadium referendum date

The Miami Dolphins are hopeful the Miami-Dade County Commission will approve a May 14 date for a referendum on the $400 rehabilitation of their stadium, time enough to get South Florida in play for Super Bowl 50, a Dolphins spokesman said Saturday.Spokesman Ric Katz said the language of the proposed referendum has yet to be decided, and ultimately the commission decides the...

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Independent Spirit Award Winners 2013

The 2013 Film Independent Spirits Awards were handed out in Santa Monica, CA today and lots of Oscar frontrunners cemented their status by dominating in their categories once more.Check out all the winners below: Best Feature Beasts of the Southern Wild Bernie Keep the Lights On Moonrise Kingdom Silver Linings Playbook BEST FEMALE LEAD Linda Cardellini, Return Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere Jennifer...

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Oscar Pistorius's brother Carl faces homicide charges in 2010 car crash: report

Getty ImagesCarl Pistorius, older brother of tarnished athlete Oscar, faces homicide charges in a 2010 car crash, according to reports.Oscar Pistorius’s older brother Carl also faces homicide charges in South Africa over a 2010 car crash, it was reported today.Carl Pistorius allegedly struck and killed a female biker in the daytime crash, his lawyer told...

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The faces of Florida’s Medicaid system

MEDICAIDMiamiHerald.com/healthcareThe tea party governor now says he wants to expand Medicaid. The Republican Legislature isn’t so sure. Hanging in the balance? Access to healthcare for 1 million or more poor Floridians.Billions of dollars in federal money.The state budget, which already pumps $21 billion a year into care. Florida’s Medicaid system today...

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Miami police union challenges officer’s firing for fatal shooting

The Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami on Friday, asserting that an officer who fatally shot an unarmed motorist in 2011 was improperly fired from the police department.Officer Reynaldo Goyos shot and killed Travis McNeil as he sat in a car at a Little Haiti intersection. It was one of a string of seven deadly shootings of black men in the...

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Diogo Morgado as Jesus in 'The Bible'

Producer Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey are bringing The Bible to television with an epic, 10-hour, five-part miniseries, and ET's Nancy O'Dell is with the man who portrays Jesus, Diogo Morgado, and the actor who embodies St. Peter, Darwin Shaw.Pics: Adorable Tots: Celebs and Their Cute Kids!"Jesus is definitely the most complete and complex figure of mankind; he's just someone who belongs...

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Confessions of an Oscar voter

A prominent Hollywood director unleashed a colorful, blistering assessment of tomorrow’s Oscar contenders — dismissing actress Jennifer Lawrence as “mean-spirited,” deeming “Silver Linings Playbook” as “blah” and pronouncing “Zero Dark Thirty” “amazing.”The veteran member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences anonymously roasted and toasted...

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South Florida hospitals could lose $368 million from sequestration

A detailed survey shows that South Florida hospitals could lose $368 million over 10 years in federal budget cuts starting next Friday, if the sequestration program kicks in as scheduled.The Florida Hospital Association, using data from the American Hospital Association, estimates that over the next decade, sequestration would cause Miami-Dade hospitals to lose $223.9 million...

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Bill to ban smoking on some public land advances

Cities and counties could bar smokers from beaches, parks, and other publicly owned outdoor areas under a proposal that passed an early Florida Senate test Thursday, despite concerns from restaurateurs.By unanimous vote, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee approved the measure (SB 258), which expands the state’s clear indoor air restrictions to more outdoor venues....

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Oscars Flashback: Drew Barrymore 1983

Considering that Drew Barrymore turns 38 today, it's fascinating to think that she attended her first Oscars thirty years ago. At the 1983 Oscars, the charming, young actress is adorable as ever as she is interviewed on the red carpet.Although she had won a Young Artist Award for best actress for her performance in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Barrymore didn't receive a nomination for an individual...

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Kim’s baby rump

Behold Kim Kardashian’s ample, uhhh, evidence of pregnancy.Kardashian’s “baby bump from behind” drew stares from shoppers in Beverly Hills yesterday as she hit Barneys New York.It was only two months ago that the 32-year-old revealed she was pregnant with her first baby, with rapper Kanye West.The mom-to-be looked a lot different than in a recent photo...

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National Hotel nears end of long renovation

A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007. “Every time I am exhausted and I pass...

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Sleek pizza cafe brightens tech park

Thea Goldman, no stranger to culinary pioneering, has put down roots in a neighborhood on the edge of Overtown dubbed the Health District thanks to an ambitious building project around the University of Miami’s Life Science & Technology Park.Thea’s Pizzeria and Café is modeled on Joey’s Café, the business she and now ex-husband Joey Goldman opened in Wynwood in 2008....

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