Staten Island man killed in early-morning house fire

A Staten Island man was killed when an early-morning fire swept through his home, police and relatives said.Jameek Champagne, 23, died in the third-floor attic of the home on Osgood Avenue in Clifton. His brother and grandfather escaped the blaze uninjured.A neighbor reported the blaze after seeing flames erupt from the house at about 5:40 a.m. He banged on the door in a frantic effort to awaken its...

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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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Stand Your Ground motion denied in Janepsy Carballo case

It will be up to a jury to decide if Janepsy Carballo was justified in the killing of the man she said killed her husband. The Stand Your Ground motion filed by her defense was denied on Friday, based largely on Carballo’s inadvertent confession to a confidential informant who was wearing a police wire to investigate an unrelated drug charge at the pain management clinic...

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Nokia, RIM settle old disputes in new patent pact

HELSINKI (AP) — Nokia Corp. and Canadian smartphone rival Research In Motion have agreed on a new patent licensing pact which will end all existing litigation between the two struggling companies, the Finnish firm said Friday.The agreement includes a “one-time payment and on-going payments, all from RIM to Nokia,” Nokia said, but did not disclose “confidential” terms.Last month, Nokia sued the Blackberry...

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The Words Exclusive DVD Bonus Features Clip

Bradley Cooper has built his career on playing men stuck between a rock and a hard place -- from The Hangover to Limitless, audiences simply adore watching the actor wriggle out of sticky situations. RELATED - Bradley Cooper Talks The Words The Words promises to elate his fans once again as Cooper plays Rory Jansen, a struggling writer who finally achieves literary success after publishing what is...

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Oreo cookie maker Mondelez gives CEO $10M stock award

The company that makes Oreo cookies is sweetening the pay for its CEO with a special stock award valued at $10 million.Mondelez Inc. says in a regulatory filing that the reward recognizes Irene Rosenfeld for "top-tier performance," including the recent "highly successful" spinoff of its Kraft Foods grocery business.Mondelez, which also makes Cadbury chocolates...

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Miami-Dade jobless rate drops to 8.4 percent; Florida rate drops to 8.1 percent

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent for November, down .4 percent over the previous month, bring it to November 2008 levels. It was the largest drop in month over month rates since October 1992, reported the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity. In Miami-Dade County, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent when adjusted for seasonality; that represents...

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Religious leaders, students in South Florida remember Newtown tragedy with observances

South Florida religious leaders will be remembering the 20 children and six adults killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. On Friday, all Archdiocese of Miami schools will have a moment of prayer at 9:32 a.m. The archdiocese’s churches also will ring their bells 26 times in observance of those killed.On Sunday, Temple Judea in Coral Gables...

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Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company internationally

According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Nintendo (NTDOY) 3DS sold 333,000 units in the week ending December 16, while Sony’s (SNE) PS Vita limped along at 13,000 units, the new Wii U did an okay 130,000 units and the PlayStation 3 managed to sell 46,000 units.  The utter hardware domination of the 3DS is reshaping the Japanese software market. Franchises that were thought to be fading have...

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Who Is Miss Universe Olivia Culpo?

It was an exciting Wednesday night for Americans as Miss USA Olivia Culpo became Miss Universe. But how well do we know this New England beauty?Here are five little-known facts about the beauty queen:5. The 2012 Miss Rhode Island USA pageant was the first beauty contest Culpo had ever entered.4. Culpo is the first winner from the U.S. to become Miss Universe since Brook Lee in 1997.3. Miss Universe...

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