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 and recovery of the skeleton.

And that, says attorney Ed Hoeg, who is representing the baby’s father, could have an impact on the case against his client.





“If evidence is compromised, it could change how the case goes,” Hoeg said. “You would hope the evidence would be in pristine condition.”

Meanwhile, the missing child’s parents remain in Broward County jails. Brittney Sierra, 21, faces two counts of felony child neglect; Calvin Melvin, 27, was charged with three felony counts of providing false information to police.

But those charges could be increased if a Texas lab confirms that DNA from a tiny skeleton unearthed in January behind the couple’s former Hallandale Beach rental home matches that of their baby, Dontrell Melvin.

Dontrell, who would have turned 2 last month, had not been seen for nearly 18 months before police learned of his disappearance on Jan 9.

At first, Melvin told Hallandale Beach police that the child was with his family in Pompano Beach. But when police went there, they were told by the grandparents that they didn’t have the child and hadn’t seen him.

During questioning by police, Melvin changed his story several times, investigators said.

At one point, he told them he’d taken the baby to a fire station under Florida’s Safe Haven Law.

But police didn’t believe him and began questioning Sierra, as well. The couple, who have another child together, pointed fingers at one another, police said.

Their answers led police to the backyard of their former rental home at 106 NW First Ave.

It was there that tiny bones were found.

Nearly 90 percent of the baby’s remains were recovered and reconstructed. An initial review of the bones did not reveal any trauma to the bones, said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy.

However, on Jan. 25, forensic anthropologist Heather Walsh-Haney briefed investigators, including Flournoy, Maj. Thomas Honan and Capt. P. Abut, on the case. In his notes, a Hallandale Beach investigator, who was not identified, wrote: “Dr. Walsh-Haney stated that there were no signs of perimortem blunt trauma. However, there was evidence of a postmortem blunt trauma to the cranium. She stated that said postmortem trauma had probably occurred during the search and recovery of the skeleton.”

The notes were provided to The Miami Herald by Hoeg.

The damage to the cranium, Hoeg said, could prove problematic for the case against his client.

“If there is only trauma afterward, did the damage destroy evidence?” he said.

But on Friday, Police Chief Flournoy insisted there was not any damage caused post-mortem to the skeleton. “The bones were not compromised in any way,” said Flournoy.

Regardless, the Texas lab working to identify the baby’s remains has enough evidence to work with.

All a scientist needs is a small bone fragment to create a DNA profile, said John Fudenberg, the president-elect for International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

“Unless there is significant trauma noted, it’s very difficult for a medical examiner to determine the cause of death,” Fudenberg added.





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Buzzmakers: Oscar Fashion and Janet Jackson Marries Wissam Al Mana

What had ETonline readers buzzing this week?

1. The Best & Worst Oscar Gowns of 2013

They came, they soared and several forward-thinking fashionistas conquered The 2013 Oscars red carpet, leaping onto ETonline's list of Best Dressed thanks to a magical mix of classic cuts and edgy embellishments.

And while 10 women hit new highs, some of the biggest stars stumbled in the bright lights, landing on our Worst Dressed List.

Click here to see who was the top and who was a flop!

2. Exclusive: Janet Jackson Confirms Marriage!

Rumors that Janet Jackson is planning her wedding to Wissam Al Mana have been flying fast and furious for weeks now. There's only one problem: they're already married!

In their first joint statement as a couple, Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana confirmed the news exclusively to ET, saying, "The rumors regarding an extravagant wedding are simply not true. Last year we were married in a quiet, private, and beautiful ceremony."

"Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favorite children's charities. We would appreciate that our privacy is respected and that we are allowed this time for celebration and joy. With love, Wissam and Janet"

Congratulations to the happy couple!

The newlyweds' official wedding photo was taken by world-renowned photographer, Marco Glaviano.

3. Joan Rivers Jokes About Adele's Weight

Despite winning an Oscar and a Golden Globe this awards season, Adele still can't escape her critics. Joan Rivers took numerous cheap shots at the 24-year-old new mom's size while on Tuesday night's Late Show with David Letterman, but it seems now Rivers is the one under fire following her not-nice remarks.

Making a joke in reference to Adele's song Rolling in the Deep, she said the singer should change the lyrics to "rolling in the deep fried chicken." Rivers, 79, added of meeting the acclaimed artist, "We got along." Letterman quickly changed the subject after the E! personality took yet another jab at Adele, causing the audience to gasp.

ET reached out to Adele's rep who had "no comment" about Rivers' jokes.

The comedian also came under fire regarding some quips she made about the holocaust in association with Heidi Klum's Oscars event dress on Monday's E!'s Fashion Police. Joking of Klum's skin-baring gown, she said, "The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing Jews into the ovens."

Rivers released a statement to ET on Thursday in defense of that comment, saying, "My husband lost the majority of his family at Auschwitz and I can assure you that I have always made it a point to remind people of the holocaust through humor."

4. Jennifer Lawrence Blames Oscar Stumble on Dress

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.

"I tried to walk up stairs in this dress, that's what happened," the humiliated 22-year-old star said of her stumble moments before, laying the blame on her Dior gown's lengthy train. "I think I just stepped on the fabric and they waxed the stairs."

So what was Lawrence thinking when the embarrassing moment played out live to millions around the world?

"[I thought about] a bad word that I can't say [on TV]," she laughed, elaborating that it 'starts with an 'F.'"

5. Derek Hough Talks Maksim's 'DWTS' Exit

ET caught up with the brand-new cast of Dancing with the Stars season 16 after their big Good Morning America announcement Tuesday morning, where one looming question couldn't be ignored -- can the show survive without popular pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy?

"It's the nature of the show, you know. People aren't asked back certain seasons and come back later," pro dancer Derek Hough says. "It'll be a different dynamic but that's what it's about I suppose. I'm excited for the new pros."

However, he did share that the producers of the ABC hit are trying to bring back a more "positive" vibe to the show -- and it's no secret that Maksim was a controversial figure in seasons past.

"We had a meeting with the producers, and like, we really want to bring the innocence back to the show and the positivity and the fun and not -- [yes] be competitive -- but we don't want to make it a negative competitiveness," Derek shares.

Derek, already a three-time winner of the coveted mirror ball trophy, is paired up with country star Kellie Pickler this season, who just happens to be the first crossover contestant from American Idol!

"It's exciting to kind of get the whole 'pick Pickler' thing going again and I don't know, it's great to step outside your comfort zone and try something new and I think it's when you do things like that you grow," an excited Kellie tells ET.

Check out the video to hear thoughts from brand-new DWTS contestants like Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, D.L. Hughley, Andy Dick, NFL wide receiver Jacoby Jones, Wynonna Judd and Real Housewives' Lisa Vanderpump.

Dancing with the Stars premieres March 26 on ABC.

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Sinkhole that swallowed Tampa man in bedroom grows deeper








AP


Jeff Bush's family and friends hug outside of the house where a sinkhole swallowed Bush in his bedroom.



SEFFNER, Fla. — Engineers worked gingerly Saturday morning to find out more about a slowly growing sinkhole that swallowed a Florida man in his bedroom, believing the entire house could eventually succumb to the unstable ground.

Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the earth opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five other people were in the house but managed to escape unharmed. Bush's brother jumped into the hole to try to help, but he had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy.





AP



Jeff Bush





Engineers began doing more tests at 7 a.m. Saturday. Crews with equipment were at the home next door, one of two that has been evacuated. By 10 a.m., officials moved media crews farther away from the Bush house so experts could perform tests on the home across the street. It's unclear how large the sinkhole is, or whether it leads to other caverns and chasms throughout the neighborhood. Experts say the underground of West Central Florida looks similar to Swiss cheese, with the geography lending itself to sinkholes.

PHOTOS: INCREDIBLE FLORIDA SINKHOLES

Experts spent the previous day on the property, taking soil samples and running various tests — while acknowledging that the entire lot where Bush lay entombed was dangerous. No one was allowed in the home.

"I cannot tell you why it has not collapsed yet," Bill Bracken, the owner of an engineering company called to assess the sinkhole, said of the home. He described the earth below as a "very large, very fluid mass."

"This is not your typical sinkhole," said Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill. "This is a chasm. For that reason, we're being very deliberate."

Officials delicately addressed another sad reality: Bush was likely dead and the family wanted his body. Merrill, though, said they didn't want to jeopardize any more lives.

"They would like us to go in quickly and locate Mr. Bush," Merrill said. Officials added Saturday morning that a fund had been set up to help the families affected by the sinkhole.

On Saturday, Jeremy Bush — who tried to rescue his brother when the earth opened — lay flowers and a stuffed lamb near the house and wept.

Hillsborough County Fire Chief Ron Roger called the situation "very complex."

"It's continuing to evolve, and the ground is continuing to collapse," he said.

Sinkholes are so common in Florida that state law requires home insurers to provide coverage against the danger. While some cars, homes and other buildings have been devoured, it's extremely rare for them to swallow a person.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

"You can almost envision a piece of Swiss cheese," Taylor Yarkosky, a sinkhole expert from Brooksville, Fla., said while gesturing to the ground and the sky blue home where the earth opened in Seffner. "Any house in Florida could be in that same situation."

A sinkhole near Orlando grew to 400 feet across in 1981 and devoured five sports cars, most of two businesses, a three-bedroom house and the deep end of an Olympic-size swimming pool.

More than 500 sinkholes have been reported in Hillsborough County alone since the government started keeping track in 1954, according to the state's environmental agency.

The sinkhole, estimated at 20 feet across and 20 feet deep, caused the home's concrete floor to cave in around 11 p.m. Thursday as everyone in the Tampa-area house was turning in for the night. It gave way with a loud crash that sounded like a car hitting the house and brought Bush's brother running.

Jeremy Bush said he jumped into the hole but couldn't see his brother and had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy who reached out and pulled him to safety as the ground crumbled around him.

"The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn't care. I wanted to save my brother," Jeremy Bush said through tears Friday in a neighbor's yard. "But I just couldn't do nothing."

He added: "I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him."

A dresser and the TV set had vanished down the hole, along with most of Bush's bed.

A sheriff's deputy who was the first to respond to a frantic 911 call said when he arrived, he saw Jeremy Bush.

Deputy Douglas Duvall said he reached down as if he was "sticking his hand into the floor" to help Jeremy Bush. Duvall said he didn't see anyone else in the hole.

As he pulled Bush out, "everything was sinking," Duvall said.

Engineers said they may have to demolish the small house, even though from the outside there appeared to be nothing wrong with the four-bedroom, concrete-wall structure, built in 1974.

Jeremy Bush said someone came out to the home a couple of months ago to check for sinkholes and other things, apparently for insurance purposes.

"He said there was nothing wrong with the house. Nothing. And a couple of months later, my brother dies. In a sinkhole," Bush said.

AP


Engineers talk in front of Jeff Bush's home, where a sinkhole opened up underneath his bedroom and swallowed him Thursday night.












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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 of austerity. For instance, there will be no booze at official meals.

The party leaders want a sober beginning to their terms as the hope for a more sober Chinese economy. They want to avoid any significant pronouncements that could threat China’s gentle economic recovery. The country’s biggest trading partner, Europe, continues to struggle, tensions with Japan have been rising and Chinese workers have been demanding (and in some cases getting) pay raises. Chinese home prices have heated up again as the Beijing government moved late last year to stimulate its economy.

It came after China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 13 years. The new government knows that its political stability depends upon a steady economy. With choking air pollution, a horrendous record on food safety and sanctioned corruption, the new slate of leaders taking their seats this week would like to reduce China’s reliance on exports to fuel its economic expansion, reassure its trading partners it wants to play fair and stoke a steady and sustainable rise of living standards.





Since early December as the stimulus efforts began, the Shanghai Stock Exchange index has shot up 21 percent. Electricity production is rising and manufacturing has rebounded too. But the political volume has been muted.

Tom Hudson is a financial journalist based in Miami. He is the former co-anchor and managing editor of Nightly Business Report on public television.





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Life after death: For wife, son of slain Nova Southeastern University professor Joseph Morrissey, the nightmare goes on




















Joe Morrissey loved country music, but his wife, Kay, never paid much attention to it until after he died.

How could the cheery mom of an adorable 5-year-old, who thanked God morning and night for the blessings of a loving husband and a comfortable home, relate to those weepy lyrics about tragedy and heartbreak?

Before April 5, 2010, Kay and Joe couldn’t have been happier. They so adored little Patrick, whom they’d adopted as an infant from South Korea, that they’d playfully fight about who’d get to feed and change him.





Money wasn’t a problem either. Kay, who came to the United States as a child from Peru, has an MBA and is director of operations, finance and human Resources for Jewish Family Services of Broward County.

Joe, a cancer researcher with a doctorate from Stanford University and an international reputation, taught pharmacology at Nova Southeastern University. Their combined incomes afforded a $393,000 house in Plantation, ice hockey and kung fu lessons for Patrick, foreign travel, and donations to the Catholic church.

They were planning to adopt a second Korean baby: a little girl with a cleft palate.

But something unthinkable shattered that blissful life nearly three years ago, and suddenly, those weepy lyrics made perfect sense.

The night of April 5, a homicidal father/son duo broke into the Morrisseys’ home, restrained Joe and Kay with plastic zip ties, then forced them, at gunpoint, to drive to the bank and withdraw $500 from an ATM.

Kay, hysterical, pleaded to take Patrick. But he was the assailants’ trump card. Don’t try anything, the man in the car told Joe and Kay, because someone’s at the house with your son.

On their return, one of the men hacked at Joe with a Bowie knife. Kay, re-restrained, lay next to her son on her bed, listening to her husband beg for his life. Patrick pretended to be asleep, like Daddy told him to do.

“Out of the whole crime, the worst for me to deal with are Joe’s last minutes,’’ she said. “He suffered.’’

The attackers splashed gasoline around the house and set the kitchen alight. After a fire alarm scared them off, Kay sent Patrick, who had not been tied up, for scissors to cut the zip ties, then grabbed him and ran screaming toward a neighbor.

As Patrick scurried across the street, Kay — barefoot, in her pajamas — ran back and pulled Joe’s body from the burning kitchen onto the pool deck.

The ordeal had dragged on for 90 minutes.

Then began what Kay Morrissey calls “the crime after the crime,’’ the emotional, financial and legal consequences that burden victims long after the yellow police tape comes down and leave a law-abiding, middle-class mom wondering what in the world her family did to deserve this.

Now, Kay Morrissey starts every day listening to a country-Western song: Stand, by Rascal Flatts.

You feel like a candle in a hurricane

Just like a picture with a broken frame

Alone and helpless, like you’ve lost your fight

But you’ll be all right, you’ll be all right.

The song has become her anthem.

On your knees you look up

Decide you’ve had enough

You get mad, you get strong

Wipe your hands, shake it off

Then you stand. Then you stand.





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Siobhan Finneran Leaves Downton Abbey


Downton Abbey
fans were rocked by the deaths of Lady Sybil and Matthew Crawley after actors Jessica Brown Findlay and Dan Stevens asked to leave the uber-popular show, and now another actor has asked to exit Downton: Siobhan Finneran, who plays O'Brien!


RELATED - Julian Fellowes Talks Downton Season 4

"I'm not doing any more," she said. "O'Brien is a thoroughly despicable human being -- that was great to play." A spokesperson for Downton confirmed the news to HuffPo UK.


RELATED - Rob James-Collier Talks Thomas' Redemption

The good news is The Grimm Reaper will most likely stay away this time as creator Julian Fellowes previously said, "When an actor playing a servant wants to leave, there isn't really a problem -- [that character gets] another job," he says. "With members of the family, once they're not prepared to come back for any episodes at all, then it means death. Because how believable would it be that Matthew never wanted to see the baby, never wanted to see his wife? And was never seen again at the estate that he was the heir to? So we didn't have any option, really. I was as sorry as everyone else."

The fourth season of Downton Abbey is currently filming in England.

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Coca-Cola paid CEO $21.6 million for 2012








REUTERS


Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent at Davos in January



Coca-Cola Co. gave Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent a pay package worth $21.6 million last year, as the world's biggest beverage maker navigated shifting drinking habits in the US and sold more of its drinks overseas.

The compensation is up from the $21.2 million Kent received in 2011, according to an Associated Press analysis.

The bump in pay was mostly the result of Kent's salary of $1.55 million, which was up 15 percent from the previous year. Stock and option awards were about even at $13.1 million. Incentive pay, which is based on formula tied to the company's performance, was unchanged at $6 million. All other compensation came to $963,816 and included costs for use of the company plane, a car and drive and contributions to retirement plans.




In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Coca-Cola noted that the company delivered profit growth in a year "marked by continued uncertainty in the global economy." The Atlanta-based company's profit in 2012 rose 5 percent to $9.02 billion, with global sales volume up 4 percent.

Kent, 60, took the helm as Coca-Cola's top executive in 2008. About a year later, he unveiled a plan to double the company's revenue by 2020, fueled by growth in China, India and other countries where the ranks of middle-class people are growing. At the time, Kent noted that Coca-Cola had to pay attention and react to changes in the world, which he said it hadn't done from 2000 to 2004.

Kent first joined Coca-Cola in 1978 and served in a variety of positions until 1998, when he left to become president and CEO of Efes Beverage Group. He returned to Coca-Cola in May 2005 and was named president of Coca-Cola International in January 2006 and appointed president and chief operating officer of the company in December 2006.

The Associated Press calculation of CEO pay is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonus, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with regulators.










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Florida class-action case takes aim at Citizens’ reinspection program




















Thousands of Florida homeowners buffeted by higher windstorm premiums have sued state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to recover potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in “back-door” rate increases driven by “arbitrary” reinspections of their residences.

The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in Broward Circuit Wednesday, aims to halt Citizens’ reinspection program, claiming it has illegally stripped discounts from homeowners who had earned them under a 2007 inspection program approved by the Florida Legislature. Their original inspections were supposed to be valid for five years.

But in 2010, Citizens violated the due-process rights of homeowners, who had submitted official inspection forms, by arbitrarily reinspecting their properties to boost lost revenue that the agency could not generate lawfully through premium hikes, the suit said.





Lawyers who filed the suit, whose class representative is a Broward homeowner, said Citizens violated the due-process rights of its policyholders, costing each higher premiums averaging upwards of $1,000 — and possibly more — a year.

The collective cost to homeowners throughout Florida exceeds more than $100 million, said attorney Todd Stabinksi, whose Miami law firm, Stabinksi & Funt, filed the suit with Farmer, Jaffe of Fort Lauderdale and Kula & Samson of Aventura. They gathered Thursday for a press conference outside the West Broward County Courthouse in Plantation.

“Citizens got the benefit of lowering their risks, but Citizens’ policyholders did not get the benefit of lower premiums,” Stabinski said. “It should have been a mutually beneficial bargain.”

Consumer advocates have accused Citizens of using the reinspection program to impose “massive” rate hikes on homeowners. Citizens has denied the charge, saying that it is simply trying to get accurate information about the homes it insures.

“Since at least 2010, Citizens has used a wind mitigation reinspection program to systemtically deprive policy holders of legitimate wind mitigation credits,” said a nonprofit group, Florida Association for Insurance Reform, which praised the legal action.

A spokesperson for Citizens said the company has been operating under the law, and that the reinspections came after regulators changed the mitigation criteria. “Our position is Citizens’ reinspections were conducted under statutory authority afforded any insurer to verify, at the insurer’s expense, the accuracy of inspection reports submitted for a mitigation discount,” said spokesman Michael Peltier.

Discontent has been widespread among Citizens’ policyholders, who spent large sums of money on roof, window and other upgrades to earn windstorm mitigation discounts while protecting their homes against potential hurricane damage. In response, Citizens unveiled major changes to its home reinspection program last August, after consumers expressed outrage over media reports about a staggering $137 million in premium increases generated by the unpopular program.

Under its new plans, homeowners who lose insurance discounts because of a reinspection can receive a second inspection free of charge. They will have new tools to dispute the findings of the first reinspection. That decision could impact more than 200,000 property owners, who have already seen their premiums go up by an average of about $800 after the initial reinspection.





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South Florida has groups for cyclists of every stripe




















For George Feliciano riding his bicycle is not just an escape. It’s a way of life.

He has spent at least $15,000 on bicycles since he adopted the hobby in 1999. And he now owns five: two road bikes, two mountain bikes and a special edition retro bike.

As he gained expertise, Feliciano began to ride with friends. In 2003, he co-founded Team Sindacato, a group of about 25 aficionados, ages 35 to 55, who wear professional cycling clothing and are not afraid of speed. With the help of sponsors, they have traveled to competitions in places like Mount Dora, in Central Florida, and La Vuelta, Puerto Rico.





“We are enthusiasts,” Feliciano, 51, said. “Some of us are fitness freaks, but it’s really about adopting a lifestyle.”

For those like Feliciano who enjoy the camaraderie of riding in a cycling group, there are thousands of choices in Miami-Dade. Some ride for exercise or to socialize, while others see cycling a way to promote issues like environmental conservation.

In the streets of Miami-Dade, there is safety in numbers. Cyclists say South Florida is among the most dangerous areas in the country in which to ride a bike.

“It feels safer to ride in a large group because people definitely see you and people work to give you more room,” said Collin Worth, the bicycle coordinator for the city of Miami. “Where if you ride alone they might harass you and not treat you with the dignity that you deserve.”

Before joining a group, experts suggest, beginners should buy an inexpensive bicycle and try short distances on easy trails. As the comfort level increases gradually, the need for a better bike will too. Riding groups usually require some safety training.

“You need to understand how to ride with people who are in front or behind you. You don’t want to hit some one’s wheel, because it can cause an accident,” said Xavier Falconi, the president of the Everglades Bicycle Club.

The Everglades Bicycle Club, founded in 1976, has a reputation for embracing beginners. The group of about 500 has several subgroups. Members pay a $25 annual fee or a $30 fee for a family of more than two.

“We classify the groups according to the speeds people ride,” Falconi said. “There is a lot of communication in a group. Others have to know if I’m turning or if a car is passing by. Over time we grow to trust each other. Our lives depend on it. It’s like being in a relationship. You slowly grow into knowing the other person.”

Worth, 32, likes groups that “grow organically” and considers himself a hipster when it comes to his preference for old bikes that are rebuilt.

The reason why many cycling enthusiasts own more than one bike, Worth said, is because there are so many different types of trails. A mountain bike is used in rough terrain, so it has suspension on the frame, gears, powerful brakes, larger tires, and heavier wheels.

In Miami-Dade the best place for this type of bike, Worth said, is at trail that the Virginia Key Bicycle Club put together at the historic Virginia Beach park. Worth and other club members worked to get the trails in 2011. The park now has a reputation among riders for having some of the most beautiful views in the country.

Adam Schachner, the co-founder of Emerge Miami, a group of about 150 that has been around since 2007, said Miami has some of the most exciting neighborhoods to explore.





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JWOWW Duct Tapes Breasts For NOH8 Campaign

That's one way to get people's attention. Jenni "JWOWW" Farley strips down in support of gay rights and marriage equality for the latest ad campaign for the organization NOH8. Posing in nothing but a duct tape bra that she, according to the organization's website, crafted, this scantily-clad photo comes just a week after the reality star revealed her own sexual encounter with another female.

During a recent appearance on Logo TV's That Sex Show, JWOWW, 27, confessed that at age 21 she engaged in a very enjoyable same-sex romp with an exotic dancer. "I ended up in a New York City strip club and I hooked up with a Russian stripper in the Boom Boom Room. The room that they say doesn't exist-- It exists."


RELATED: 11 Celebs To Come Out As Bisexual

For more pics from JWOWW's NOH8 photo shoot, click HERE.

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Space artifacts including Apollo 11 log entry to be auctioned off in NY








A sale of space artifacts, including the so-called Space Magna Carta, is coming to New York.

The Bonhams sale will be held March 25.

The 1975 certificate has a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 to $100,000. It marks the first successful docking of America's Apollo and the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz.

The text, in Russian and English, advocates peace and cooperation.

The astronauts signed the document in space. It includes an illustration of the Apollo and Soyuz locked in orbit.

The certificate is one of four in existence; one is at the Smithsonian.

Another lot features a two-page Apollo 11 log entry.



It describes the computer procedures that allowed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to lift off from the moon. Its presale estimate is $70,000 to $90,000.










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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 in St. Louis that he had mentioned in his profile. “It was a personal connection … that’s building rapport.”

LinkedIn is known for being the professional social network where members expect you to keep buttoned-down behavior and network online like you would at a business event. With more than 200 million registered users, the site facilitates interaction as a way to boost your stature, gain a potential customer or rub elbows with a future boss.





But unlike most other social networking sites, LinkedIn is all about business — and you need to take special care that you act accordingly. As in any workplace, the right amount of personal information sharing could be the foot in the door, say experts. The wrong amount could slam it closed.

“Anyone in business needs a professional online presence,’’ says Vanessa McGovern, the VP of Business Development for the Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs and a consultant to business owners on how to use LinkedIn. But they should also heed LinkedIn etiquette or risk sending the wrong messages.

One of the biggest mistakes, McGovern says is getting too personal — or not personal enough.

Sending a request to connect blindly equates to cold calling and likely will lead nowhere. Instead, it should come with a personal note, an explanation of who you are, where you met, or how the connection can benefit both parties, McGovern explains.

Your profile should get a little personal, too, she says. “Talk about yourself in the first person and add a personal flair — your goals, your passion … make yourself seem human.”

Beyond that, keep your LinkedIn posts, invitations, comments and photos professional, McGovern says.

If you had a hard day at the office or your child just won an award, you may want to share it with your personal network elsewhere — but not on LinkedIn.

“This is not Facebook. Only share what you would share at a professional networking event,” she says.

Another etiquette pitfall on LinkedIn is the hit and run — making a connection and not following up.

At least once a week, Ari Rollnick, a principal in kabookaboo, an integrated marketing agency in Coral Gables, gets a request to connect with someone on LinkedIn that he has never met or heard of before. The person will have no connections in common and share no information about why they want to build a rapport.

“I won’t accept. That’s a lost opportunity for them,” Rollnick says.

He approaches it differently. When Rollnick graduated from Emory with an MBA in 2001, he had a good idea that his classmates would excel in the business world. Now, Rollnick wanted to find out just where they went and reestablish a connection.

With a few clicks, he tracked down dozens of them on LinkedIn, requested a connection, and was back on their radar. Then came the follow-up — letting them know through emails, phone calls and posts that he was creating a two-way street for business exchange. “Rather than make that connection and disappearing , I let them know I wanted to open the door to conversation.”





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Drivers line up for $2.27 gas at the Finish Line in Sweetwater




















Hundreds of cars were backed up for more than four blocks waiting for gas Wednesday at the Finish Line in Sweetwater.

Drawing the crowd: a special promotion at the gas station and convenience store on 109th Avenue and West Flagler Street.

Drivers started lining up at 5 a.m. to pay a cash price of $2.27 per gallon, close to a 50 percent savings.





The promotion was part of the “14 Days of Neighborly Love,” an event hosted by Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz. It started on Valentine’s Day and ended Wednesday.

Miami-Dade residents were able to take advantage of other services and goods at a discount or for free, such as tax preparation, marriage counseling, car washes, and free SunPass transponders.

Finish Line owner Tony Cuevas and Roly Ramirez, owner of Doral Collision Center and Exclusive motoring, sponsored the $2.27 gas on the event’s opening and closing day.

“We’re very grateful for the success that we have,” Ramirez said. “I always give back in some way or another.”





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Stars Without Makeup!



Chloe Moretz







Carrie actress Chloe Moretz stepped out fresh faced and ready for a sweet treat! The young starlet was spotted snagging frozen yogurt in Los Angeles wearing a casual ensemble and without a stitch of makeup on.








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Pistorius' reps say substance found in his bedroom is Testis compositum, an herbal remedy to help with muscle recovery








JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius' representatives have named the substance found in his bedroom after the shooting death of his girlfriend as Testis compositum and said Wednesday it is an herbal remedy used "in aid of muscle recovery."

A product called Testis compositum is also marketed as a sexual enhancer, good for lack of stamina. Some online retailers advertise oral and injectable forms as testosterone boosters and say it can aid sexual performance.

South African police said during Pistorius' bail hearing that they found needles in Pistorius' bedroom along with the substance, which they initially named as testosterone. Prosecutors later withdrew that statement identifying the substance and said it had been sent for laboratory tests and couldn't be named until those tests were completed.




Pistorius family spokesperson Lunice Johnston said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the athlete's lawyers had confirmed that the substance is Testis compositum. In court last week, Pistorius' defense lawyer Barry Roux said the substance was not banned by sports authorities, but it had been unclear what it was and what the exact name was.

A product called Testis Compositum is made by Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH, based in Baden-Baden, Germany. The company website says it is one of the world's leading makers of homeopathic combination medications.

A U.S. subsidiary, Heel USA Inc., markets the product in tablet form only and spokeswoman Joan Sullivan said she didn't know if injectable versions are sold in other countries. Heel USA's website says the product provides temporary relief for men's "sexual weakness" and lack of stamina.

The U.S.-sold tablets contain 23 ingredients, including pig testicles, pig heart, pig embryo and pig adrenal gland, cortisone, ginseng and other botanicals. It also contains several minerals, according to a list Sullivan provided.

Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor emeritus and expert on steroid use in sports, said animal steroids likely wouldn't have an athletic performance-enhancing effect unless taken in huge quantities. Even so, he said many elite athletes would be wary of using such supplements because they can be laced with banned substances and few would want to risk it.

The company website listed a South African subsidiary as ModHomCo (Pty) Ltd., based in Centurion, near Pretoria. That company couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He says he shot her by accident after mistaking her for an intruder in his home. Prosecutors allege he intended to kill her.










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Drivers line up for $2.27 gas at the Finish Line in Sweetwater




















Hundreds of cars were backed up for more than four blocks waiting for gas Wednesday at the Finish Line in Sweetwater.

Drawing the crowd: a special promotion at the gas station and convenience store on 109th Avenue and West Flagler Street.

Drivers started lining up at 5 a.m. to pay a cash price of $2.27 per gallon, close to a 50 percent savings.





The promotion was part of the “14 Days of Neighborly Love,” an event hosted by Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz. It started on Valentine’s Day and ended Wednesday.

Miami-Dade residents were able to take advantage of other services and goods at a discount or for free, such as tax preparation, marriage counseling, car washes, and free SunPass transponders.

Finish Line owner Tony Cuevas and Roly Ramirez, owner of Doral Collision Center and Exclusive motoring, sponsored the $2.27 gas on the event’s opening and closing day.

“We’re very grateful for the success that we have,” Ramirez said. “I always give back in some way or another.”





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Bagpipes and kilts come to South Florida on Saturday




















As tradition calls for it, burly male competitors will be on hand to throw large, heavy wooden poles, some as far as 20 feet.

But it’s not just the athletics that will keep fans of Southeast Florida’s 30th annual Scottish Festival entertained. Expect to hear Charlie Zahm’s Celtic music, Albannach band playing the drums and blowing bagpipes, and men wearing the kilts of their clan. “It’s very important for the people to know that the Scottish culture in this community is not exclusive,” said Nigel MacDonald, one of the founders of the festival. “It’s for everyone — the music, dancing and piping is enjoyed by everyone.”

More than 4,000 are expected to fill Fort Lauderdale’s Snyder Park for the festival, which began three years ago in Key Biscayne.





“In Scotland there are games like this in every town, but we didn’t have any here and we had to go to other games in Orlando, Atlanta or the Carolinas,” said MacDonald.

Steve Rogers of Plantation hasn’t missed a festival in the last 12 years. He fell in love with the culture and even learned to play the bagpipes.

“At first I wasn’t involved, but after going a couple of times, I learned to play the bagpipes,” said Rogers, whose wife also got involved in the Scottish culture by playing the drums. “It turned out to be a very good decision. I participate in a lot of things that normally I wouldn’t be able to do.”

Among the activities that caught his attention was the caber toss, a traditional Scottish athletic event where men throw a large wooden pole that’s almost 20-feet long and weighing about 175 pounds.

Besides the caber toss, strong men compete in such age-old events as the hammer throw and the shot put.

These events come from the Highland games which are held throughout the year in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic heritage.

Plenty of Scottish merchandise and food will be on sale, including Scottish eggs, (a plate of hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried); sticky toffee, (a moist sponge cake made with finely chopped prunes); clootie dumplings, (a traditional dessert pudding made of breadcrumbs, dried fruit and spice) and of course, traditional Scottish beer.

Although there is no dress code, many of the men will be dressed in traditional kilts with patterns of their clan’s tartan. The different Scottish clans and societies will also set up displays to welcome members and educate people about their roots.

“There are the MacDonalds, the Campbells, the Ritchies and others,” said MacDonald. “We have all these families and set up tents where people who are associated, or not associated, can learn about our heritage.”





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Julianne Hough, Derek Hough Creating New Dance Show

Dancing with the Stars pros Julianne Hough and Derek Hough are setting out to expose what really goes on in the world of international competitive ballroom dancing. The siblings have teamed up with cable channel Starz to develop a new show titled Blackpool.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will be executive produced by Derek, 27, and Julianne, 24, and "revolves around the prestigious annual ballroom competition in Blackpool, England and will explore the dancer’s obsession with perfection and the darker side of the glamorous world of ballroom dance."


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"When you're in the world, you’re so invested. It's literally the be-all and end-all. But when you step back from it, you see that obsession with perfection and the fact that the lifestyle that you thought was so glamorous is actually a little shocking," Julianne told the trade publication.

Derek added, "What makes it so interesting is seeing all of the politics and the scandal. It's framed in the world of ballroom dancing, but the stories that are intertwined are of the partnerships and the sex and the love triangles."


Will you watch this show? Let us know, below.

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SI's GOP chief calls it quits








The leader of Staten Island’s powerful Republican Party abruptly announced his resignation today – a surprise move that could hurt the GOP’s chances to win the mayoralty, sources said.

GOP chairman Bob Scamardella cited disagreements with some of the borough’s Republican elected officials – particularly Councilman James Oddo – as reason for his decision to step down.

“My resignation occurs because I have been hamstrung in my ability to function and I want to put an end to recent public displays of party discord,” Scamardella said in a letter to GOP County Committee members.




“I became chairman to insure that volunteers would thrive in an environment where discord is minimized. There, of course, would be some disagreement but Republicans could expect party leaders to do whatever is necessary to end damaging displays of disunity.”

A protege of Staten Island power broker Guy Molinari, Scamardella referred to a “dispute” with an unnamed elected, but it clearly was Oddo. The two have feuded over the borough’s GOP appointment to the city Board of Elections.

“”I have been shut out of the selection process. This places me in a position where I cannot do the job effectively,” Scamardella said.

“To end it, I tried to arrange a private meeting. All to no avail,” he added.

Staten Island is the only borough where there is a Republican congressman and district attorney. And a GOP candidate for mayor would need a strong vote from Richmond County for any chance to capture City Hall – as Rudy Giuiliani and Mike Bloomberg did in the last five elections.

GOP candidates vying for the nomination include former MTA chairman Joe Lhota, billionaire supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, Doe founder George McDonald and Manhattan publisher Tom Allon.










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Univision bumps NBC into fifth place




















A failing NBC has left Univision the fourth most popular network in the United States — at least for now.

The latest ratings from the February “sweeps” race — a milestone moment for network ratings in the television business — had NBC fall behind its Spanish-language rival. The Doral-based network finished the sweeps period with a viewership that amounted to 1.5 percent of all adults between 18 and 49. That’s considered the key demographic for television advertisers, and it’s the most common yardstick for measuring a network’s success.

The 1.5 percent share was ahead of NBC’s 1.2 percent share. CBS dominated the contest with a 4.9 percent share, followed by Fox (2.0 percent) and ABC (1.7 percent), according to EW.com.





Univision has beaten CBS before in the ratings race, but this is the first time the Spanish-language powerhouse has bested NBC. The victory is a bit sweeter since NBC owns Univision’s cross-town rival, Telemundo. As NBC slid, Univision saw audience for its news programs and telenovelas grow.

But the ratings pecking order can be topsy-turvy. In November, NBC took the fall sweeps contest with a No. 1 ranking, thanks to big audiences brought in by The Voice, Revolution and Sunday Night Football.

DOUGLAS HANKS





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Second Miami cop-killer suspect changes mind; plea deal falls apart yet again




















With his brother finally mentally sound and agreeing to plead guilty, cop-killing suspect Dennis Escobar changed his mind Monday. No plea deal.

And so the perplexing legal saga of the Escobar brothers, accused of murdering Miami Officer Victor Estefan in 1988, took yet another bizarre twist.

The plea deal – 55 years in prison – for now has fallen apart again.





And Escobar, accused of gunning down Estefan after a traffic stop in March 1988 in Little Havana, will resume his trial and face a potential death sentence if convicted.

“F---ing playing games is what he’s doing,” Estefan’s son, Angel, growled he stormed out of the courtroom.

The Escobar brothers were previously convicted and sent to Death Row in 1991, a conviction later overturned by the Florida Supreme Court.

Monday’s development came after a week of stunning legal drama in Dennis Escobar’s murder trial, which began earlier this month. The timeline:

On Feb. 17, prosecutors discovered a previously unknown police audio tape in which Escobar appears to tell a Miami detective in 1988 that he wants to speak to his lawyer. The tape damaged the credibility of the case’s lead detective, who long claimed Escobar agreed to waive his right to remain silent before confessing in detail.

With the case damaged, prosecutors revealed last Tuesday that they had offered to waive the death penalty if Escobar pleaded guilty and accepted a life prison term.

On Wednesday, both sides asked for a mistrial – but Circuit Judge Leon Firtel refused. He ordered lawyers to pore over every piece of evidence in dozens of boxes to make sure there were no more items that could impact the case.

On Friday, after days of behind-the-scene negotiations, both sides agreed on a plea deal to be taken in that afternoon.

The deal called for a guilty plea to second-degree murder and a sentence of 55 years. Under 1988 Florida law, that means each brother would spend only about 18 more years in prison for the Estefan murder.

After that, the brothers would have been returned to California, where they must each serve a life sentence for trying to kill highway patrol officers there in 1988. They are, however, eligible for parole in California.

On Friday afternoon, as Estefan’s relatives and Miami homicide detectives gathered, the deal appeared to be set. But when Firtel began asking Douglas Escobar standard questions about pleading guilty, the man refused to accept the offer.

Douglas, who had a history of mental illness, clearly could not grasp the plea deal. In mixed English and Spanish, Douglas told the judge he didn’t want to go to trial — but he didn’t think he was guilty because “he didn’t shoot nobody.”

Firtel gave Douglas’ lawyers the weekend to talk him. On Monday morning, his mind sharp with medication, Douglas told his lawyers he understood and wanted to indeed plead guilty.

Two court-appointed psychologists interviewed him Monday, morning. “He’s stable, well organized mentally,” one of them told the judge.

But then, the bombshell. Dennis Escobar no longer wanted to plead guilty, attorney Phillip Reizenstein told the judge.

“He wishes to go to trial,” Reizenstein said.

The shocking decision spurred Estefan’s son to leave court, slamming the door. Estefan’s sobbing widow, Delia Estefan, left too.

Lawyers will reconvene in the afternoon to decide what to do now. Judge Firtel has yet to rule on the mistrial —the jury is still on standby.

If the trial indeed goes forward, Escobar’s defense team will likely ask that his confession be thrown out because of the audiotape. The detailed confession lies as the heart of the prosecution’s case.

For live tweets, follow @davidovalle305

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.





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Stars Without Makeup!



Lena Dunham





February 25, 2013




Girls' Lena Dunham shared her makeup-free face on Twitter, doing her best "dead-eyed American Gothic face."





ALSO IN THIS GALLERY:


















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The Onion apologizes for offensive tweet about 9-year-old Best Actress nominee








The Onion is apologizing for calling the 9-year-old star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" a vulgar and offensive name on Twitter.

During Sunday’s Academy Awards broadcast, the official Onion Twitter account posted a harsh message about Quvenzhané Wallis that has the Twitterverse up in arms.

“Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a c--t, right? #Oscars2013,” the tweet read.

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'ARGO' VICTORY A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION





AFP/Getty Images



Best Actress nomineeQuvenzhané Wallis before the start of the Academy Awards.





But users immediately came to Wallis’ defense, slamming the satirical site for the “joke.”

And though The Onion deleted the tweet shortly after posting it, plenty of users managed to get screen shots of the offending message.

CEO Steve Hannah wrote: "It was crude and offensive — not to mention inconsistent with The Onion's commitment to parody and satire, however biting."

Hannah said the offensive tweet was taken down in an hour and the newspaper has "instituted new and tighter Twitter procedures" to ensure it will not happen again.

He said those responsible would be disciplined.

Said Hannah: "Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry."

With AP and Fox News










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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 changed, and last year, Dr. Sack left her hospital job to restart her medical practice with an affordable system for managing electronic patient records. She agreed to a $5,000 setup fee and a subscription fee of $500 per month for the system. Her investment also qualified her for subsidy money, which the federal government pays in installments, and to date, her subsidy income has paid for the setup fee and about two years of monthly fees. “So far, I’ve got my check for $18,000,” she said. “There’s a total of $44,000 that I can get.”

That kind of cash flow is one reason why so-called EHR software systems for electronic health records have been among the hottest-selling commercial products in the world of information technology. EHR system development is a growth industry in South Florida, too. Life sciences and biotechnology are among the high growth-potential sectors identified by the Beacon Council-led One Community One Goal economic development initiative unveiled in 2012; already, the University of Miami has opened a Health Science Technology Park while Florida International University has launched a program in its graduate school of business oriented toward biotechnology businesses.





For many young businesses in the area’s IT industry, government incentives are paving the way. The federal government is pushing doctors and hospitals to use electronic health records to cut wasteful spending and improve patient care while protecting patient privacy — sending digital information via encrypted systems, for example, rather than regular email.

Under a 2009 federal law known as the HITECH Act, maximum incentive payments for buying such systems range up to $44,000 for doctors with Medicare patients and up to $63,750 for doctors with Medicaid patients. Hospitals are eligible for larger incentive payments for becoming more paperless. The subsidy program isn’t permanent; eligible professionals must begin receiving payments by 2016. But by then, the federal government will be penalizing doctors and hospitals that take Medicare or Medicaid money without making meaningful use of electronic health records.

“What the government did is, they incentivized, and now they’re going to penalize,” said Andrew Carricarte, president and CEO of IOS Health Systems in Miami, one of the largest South Florida-based vendors of online software service for physician practices. He said insurance companies also may start penalizing physicians for failing to adopt electronic health records because “the commercial payers always follow Medicare and Medicaid.”

It’s all part of the growth story at IOS Health Systems, which has more than 2,000 physicians across the nation using its online EHR system. Carricarte said many of the company’s customers buy their second EHR system from IOS after their first one flopped. “Almost 40 percent of our sales come from customers who had systems and are now switching over to something else,” he said.





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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 million 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 date.

But, he said, “we’d be very happy with” May 14 because “that gives us a week to communicate to the NFL before they make the important decision of Super Bowl 50.”





NFL owners are slated to meet on May 22 to pick the site of the 2016 Super Bowl — seen as a tourist revenue prize for whichever host city gets the 50th anniversary contest.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez met Friday with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and CEO Mike Dee to discuss the proposed stadium rehabilitation.

From the mayor’s side, there has been no agreement on a date and Gimenez does not plan to bring the proposed May 14 referendum to the commission at this time, said spokeswoman Suzy Trutie.

Friday’s was a “first meeting” at which “many things were discussed,” including the Dolphin’s preference for May 14.

But, “We continue negotiating with the Dolphins with regards to finances.”

One proposed financing plan would increase the bed tax in mainland Miami-Dade by 1 percent and increase the sales tax rebate the team already gets at the stadium in Miami Gardens. Ross had initially offered to pay at least $201 million in his financing plan. But Katz, a Miami publicist representing the team in the stadium campaign, said the two sides were still in negotiation on what the mayor would ask the commission to put to taxpayers in a referendum.

Trutie said the proposed referendum would gauge public opinion on increasing hotel taxes from 6 to 7 percent to fund the stadium renovations.

Of the commission, Katz said, “We do not take them for granted. They have the prerogative.”

Attorney Kendall Coffey did not return calls asking whether the Dolphins had hired him to write the ballot language.

Dolphins lobbyist Marcelo Llorente had said in recent weeks that the team was considering May 7 and 14 as possible referendum dates.

Any activity by the Florida Legislature would likely have to be undertaken before then. The regular session is slated to end May 3.

Miami Herald staff writers Patricia Mazzei and Doug Hanks contributed to this report.





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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 Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook


Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed


BEST MALE LEAD


Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

John Hawkes, The Sessions


Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On

Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe

Wendell Pierce, Four


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE


Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister

Ann Dowd, Compliance

Helen Hunt, The Sessions


Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice

Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere


BEST SUPPORTING MALE


Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike


David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere

Michael Pena, End of Watch

Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths

Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom


BEST DIRECTOR


Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook


Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild


BEST SCREENPLAY


Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook


Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

For the full list of winners, click here.

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Man nearly hacks wife to death with meat cleaver








A meat cleaver-wielding maniac attacked his wife in front of two firefighters who had been trying to break up their fight, officials said.

The man and woman were loudly arguing in front of Fong’s Trading at 74 Canal St. at 10:24 a.m. when two of New York’s Bravest -- stationed across the street at Engine Company 9, Ladder Company 6 -- saw the dispute and tried to break it up, according to FDNY spokesman Jim Long.

That’s when the man pulled out a meat cleaver and and began hacking at his wife, fire sources said.

“He got a couple of good hits in,” Long said. “He hit her several times.”



One of the firefighters tackled the cleaver-wielding man, Long said, as the woman took off, leaving her high-wedge shoes and clumps of bloody hair behind.

The other Bravest chased the injured woman and caught up with her, several blocks away, at 56 East Broadway, Long said. That’s where he flagged down a police car, and she was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

She’s listed in critical condition but is expected to survive her wounds, sources said.

Additional reporting by David K. Li










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South Beach Wine & Food Festival changes Miami's culinary scene, impacts economy




















For Miami restaurateurs, this is Showtime.

With dozens of top chefs — Bobby Flay, Todd English, Daniel Boloud and Masaharu Morimoto among the list — in town for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the pressure is on everywhere, from Michy’s to the new Catch Miami. The goal: Show everyone from around the country that Miami’s food scene has arrived on the national stage.

Chef Michelle Bernstein’s staff whipped up dishes designed to impress guests at Michy’s — like foie gras, oxtail and apple tarte tatin — while she juggled menus for multiple events. Bernstein kept her cellphone handy to make sure any chef friends could get a table, even though her namesake restaurant was sold out.





As always, Joe’s Stone Crab was a must-do stop for many, including Paula Deen and New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. Aussie Chef Curtis Stone attracted a string of admirers as he ate his way around town, with stops at Prime 112, Pubbelly Sushi and Puerto Sagua. Khong River House and Yardbird Southern Table & Bar hosted Meyer, The Food Network’s Anne Burrell and Chef Anita Lo.

Michael’s Genuine was another hot spot.

“This is kind of our coming out party for Khong and it’s our chance to knock it out of the park and wow people,” said John Kunkel, owner of Khong and Yardbird.

Prime 112 owner Myles Chefetz admits he’s a fanatic about checking plates when they come back from a chef’s table. And he’s always on the lookout for the table ordering 20 different items, because that’s usually a restaurateur doing research.

“If you have Jean-Gorges or Bobby Flay eating at your restaurant, you want to make sure he has a great experience,” Chefetz said. “You want to put your best foot forward because you know you’re going to get scrutinized.”

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is not just a forum for impressing the culinary elite. It’s among the top three tourist draws for Miami restaurants and hotels. In its 12th year, the festival draws more than 60,000 people to Miami Beach for a weekend of decadence, featuring more than 50 events spread over four days.

It is neck and neck with two of the area’s other most prominent weekends: Art Basel and Presidents’ Day (which coincides with the Miami International Boat Show).

There’s the immediate economic impact, of course, but the festival has made its mark in other ways: helping transform Miami’s food scene from a cultural wasteland to one of the country’s hot spots, one where top chefs all want to set up shop.

“Twelve years ago I don’t know if you could even name five really good restaurants. Now, you can’t think of where you want to eat because there are so many good restaurants,” said Lee Brian Schrager, festival founder and vice president of communications for Southern Wine & Spirits, its host. “What the festival can take credit for is introducing the culinary world to the great talent down here, and really highlighting South Florida as a great dining destination.”

There has been plenty of indulgence to go around. Flay finally broke his losing streak and took home top honors at the Burger Bash with his award-winning crunchified green chili burger. At the Q, barbecue lovers had their choice of Al Roker’s lamb ribs with baked beans or Geoffrey Zakarian’s smoked tagarashi crusted tuna, among other offerings.





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