Several injured, one dead after tour bus hits overpass at airport




















Several people have been injured and one is dead after the top of a tour bus entering Miami International Airport hit an overpass at the airport's arrivals entrance.

There were 30 to 35 people on the bus and some suffered "major injuries," said Greg Chin, a spokesman for the aviation department.

About a dozen fire trucks and six ambulances blocked the airport entrance, and traffic entering the airport was delayed about 30 to 40 minutes as of 9 a.m.





As of 9:30 a.m., a body was still trapped near the driver's seat, which was crushed.

Mike Barber, who was running late to his flight to Los Angeles with American Airlines, was calm.

"There are worse things than losing a flight," he said.

People arriving from their flights were peeking from their windows to get a view of the scene.

On the first floor, in arrivals, a crashed white bus with the top missing over the driver's seat was parked. Shattered glass covered the floor.

The back side emergency door was missing and a bus chair was on the ground.

"You would think the driver should have know his bus was too high," Susan Lillis said, flying in from Baltimore. "You would think he would have been here before."

Ricardo Fernandez an employee at the airport brought bottles of water, granola bars and other snacks out for police officers and rescue.

The luggage had been removed from the bus' inferior level.

The top two rows of the bus were under the rubble. About 9:40 a.m., traffic homicide investigators arrived. Two men dressed in light forest green entered the bus with clip boards. One was wearing black pants and a white dress shirt. Firefighters holding a large hose stood by.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.





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EBay’s double tax base prompts calls for investigation












LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and Germany may have missed out on a combined $ 1 billion in sales tax since online marketplace eBay picked a tiny Luxembourg office as its base for EU sales, a shift that lawmakers say should now be investigated.


EBay’s nomination of Luxembourg unit eBay Europe Sarl – with a staff of nine – as its provider of services to EU clients allows it to charge customers in Europe a low rate of sales tax, often known as Value Added Tax, helping it to compete against rivals.












However, the unit doesn’t actually receive the money from sales. Instead, eBay said it continues to channel revenues through a Berne-based unit, allowing the company also to benefit from what Swiss tax lawyers say is the most competitive corporate income tax regime in Europe.


EU rules allow companies to establish subsidiaries in Luxembourg and levy VAT at Luxembourg’s low VAT rate on sales to customers across the bloc.


However, the rules also allow individual EU taxmen to challenge any claim to Luxembourg residence, and the right to charge Luxembourg VAT, in their domestic courts, if the taxman feels a Luxembourg-based subsidiary does not have sufficient staff or assets to support its claim to be the true supplier of goods or services.


Tax experts say eBay’s arrangement, which appears to give eBay the best of both income and sales tax worlds, could be open to challenge, and lawmakers in the UK and Germany want their taxmen to investigate.


“I hope that HMRC (UK tax authority Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) takes note … and takes prompt action,” said Margaret Hodge, member of parliament and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which monitors government finances.


“I will be seeking assurance that they are, next time we take evidence from HMRC,” she added. Officials from HMRC are due to testify to the PAC in early December as part of the committee’s investigation into tax matters.


Sven Giegold, member of the European Parliament for Germany’s Green Party, said he wanted the German tax authorities to “have a very critical look at this”.


It is common for companies to seek to reduce their tax bills, and a number of multinationals have established bases in Luxembourg so they can charge customers lower levels of VAT.


EBay said HMRC was aware of all its tax arrangements and that it was confident it met all its tax liabilities in the UK and elsewhere.


“In all countries and at all times, eBay is fully compliant with national, EU and international tax rules (including the OECD) including the remittance of VAT to the appropriate authorities,” an eBay spokesman said in an emailed statement.


The UK, German, French and Luxembourg tax authorities declined to comment on eBay, citing rules on taxpayer confidentiality.


LOWER THRESHOLD


Big companies’ tax practices have risen to the top of the political agenda in Europe in the past year, with lawmakers growing increasingly frustrated with the way in which companies such as search engine company Google pay almost no income tax in countries where they have billions of dollars in sales.


The companies escape liability for income taxes in countries like the UK by arguing the value created by their business, and therefore the location where the profit should be realized, is not the place where the customer resides, but rather in the location where the intellectual property underpinning the product or service is based.


Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said this was a valid economic argument and that if, for example, HMRC wants to claim more income tax from Google, it has to prove the company is generating more value in the UK than it is declaring.


This would require a thorough deconstruction of its business model and supply chain.


However, it is easier to establish liability to VAT, since this tax hinges simply on the location of the buyer and seller.


“The threshold is lower,” said Simon Newark, head of VAT at accountants UHY Hacker.


“There are a lot more aspects for HMRC to challenge in VAT than in direct (income) tax.”


For tax purposes, the EU deems eBay’s online platform an “electronically supplied service”, a category that also covers e-Books and music downloads.


Under EU rules, suppliers of such services based within the bloc are supposed to charge EU customers VAT at the rate prevailing in the country where the supplier is based.


A number of suppliers of electronic services, including Amazon.Com Inc and Apple Inc’s iTunes have established European headquarters in Luxembourg to enable them to charge customers lower VAT rates than prevail in their customers’ countries.


Luxembourg has traditionally charged the lowest standard VAT rates in the European Union. Its 15 percent rate compares with rates of 19-25 percent in most other EU members.


By charging customers VAT at Luxembourg’s rate eBay is better able to compete with rivals based elsewhere in the EU, such as Britain’s eBid, which must charge customers VAT at the standard UK rate of 20 percent.


However, to be entitled to charge Luxembourg rates, a company has to be able to prove in British, German or EU courts that it is genuinely based in the Grand Duchy.


Companies selling to EU customers from outside the EU – as eBay was until the 2007 nomination of eBay Europe Sarl as supplier to EU clients – must charge European customers VAT at the rate prevailing in the country where the customer resides, and to pay that VAT to the taxman in the customer’s country.


There is no definitive checklist that determines the true base of a company and any decision by a national court can be challenged in the European Court of Justice. In the UK, HMRC said it approached the matter on a case-by-case basis, and disputes are often resolved in court.


“HMRC will challenge any arrangements where it is claimed that supplies are made from a particular country but the business does not have the necessary resources to make those supplies,” a spokesman said.


EUROPE EXPANSION


EBay, which is headquartered in San Jose, California, moved into Europe in 1999 when it established eBay International in Berne. Switzerland’s low income tax regime for foreign companies was highly beneficial for the auction site. “We do have a very favorable international tax structure,” then-Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dutta told analysts in 2002 when asked how the company managed to pay such low taxes on its non-U.S. income.


The Swiss base also meant, initially, that the company didn’t have to charge EU customers VAT. But in 2003, Brussels changed the rules, which forced eBay to charge EU sellers on its platform VAT based on their residence. The VAT gathered was remitted to the tax authority in the customer’s country.


Not all customers are charged VAT. Most medium-sized and big businesses are legitimately exempted from paying VAT on some purchases, such as eBay seller fees.


EBay’s Swiss-based European public relations head declined to say what portion of its EU customers were liable to be charged VAT. James Cordwell, equities analyst at Atlantic Equities, estimated that such customers accounted for 40-50 percent of sales in Europe.


Since the 2007 creation of its Luxembourg operation, eBay has had German fee revenues of $ 6.1 billion and UK revenues of $ 5 billion, its annual accounts show.


If the services were supplied from Switzerland or another non-EU country, and assuming only half of customers should have been charged VAT, EU rules would have obliged eBay to collect $ 580 million in VAT for the German taxman and $ 500 million in VAT for HMRC since 2007.


EBay’s entitlement to charge Luxembourg VAT on sales and to pay this to the Luxembourg taxman rests on being able to prove in court that eBay Europe Sarl is the provider of services to EU clients.


But despite German and UK fee income of $ 3.1 billion last year, eBay Europe Sarl recorded turnover of only 5 million euros in 2011.


John Hemming, an MP with the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the British coalition government, said the fact eBay’s sales revenues did not go through the Luxembourg unit undermined the claim that it was the true provider of services to EU clients.


“If it’s a real transaction, you would expect the money to pass with it, and not pass someplace else,” he said.


Rather than going to Luxembourg, the money generated from customers continues to go to Berne-based eBay International AG, a spokeswoman said.


When Reuters visited in mid November, staff at the Luxembourg office, just opposite the central post office, declined to discuss what operations the unit conducted for eBay.


A spokesman later said the office conducted activities including billing, data privacy, contracting, regulatory, management and some customer services operations.


By contrast, Amazon and iTunes do report their sales of ebooks and music downloads to EU customers through their Luxembourg units.


Prem Sikka, professor of accounting at Essex University, along with Newark and Roy-Chowdhury said a cash trail through a unit was one of the key factors used as evidence that the unit was the true supplier of a service.


UK and German tax authorities could argue that the shift in eBay’s supply base to Luxembourg from Berne was therefore not genuine. If successful, they could claim back the VAT lost.


EBay declined to say why it channeled sales through Switzerland. Tax advisors say the country can still offer some companies lower tax rates than other European low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland and Luxembourg.


Indeed, EBay’s closest rival Amazon, which channels about half its non-U.S. earnings through Luxembourg, reported average income tax on overseas earnings of 6 percent in the past four years. EBay paid just 3 percent over the same period.


(Additional reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Will Waterman)


Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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Woman grazed by bullet after shots fired near Chelsea nightclub

A woman was wounded when gunfire erupted near a troubled Chelsea nightclub early today, authorities said.

The 26-year-old woman was grazed in the leg by a bullet on 28th Street and 7th Avenue about 4:10 a.m., cops said.

A nearby security guard said shots were fired after a fight broke out at the nightclub Shadow and spilled out down the block.

It was not clear who the intended target was. The victim was taken to Beth Israel Hospital in stable condition.

Nearby residents called for the closure of Shadow after shots were fired there earlier this year. The popular spot has also been the scene of stabbings and noisy clashes.




Seth Gottfried



Cops examine the scene of today's shooting



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Boat Show may block Miami’s 2016 Super Bowl bid




















This winter, the biggest NFL match-up in South Florida might be Super Bowl versus Boat Show.

As South Florida readies a bid for the 2016 Super Bowl, it must contend with a major potential conflict on the tourism calendar. The National Football League may move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend, already home to the five-day Miami International Boat Show since the 1940s.

It’s a significant enough conflict that, in the past, local tourism officials have declined to pursue a Super Bowl if it fell on boat show weekend. But this time around they may have no choice. For the first time, the NFL is requiring that potential host cities agree to a Presidents’ Day weekend Super Bowl if they want to pursue the big game at all, said two people who have seen the NFL request for Super Bowl bids.





The NFL “invited South Florida [to bid] knowing there was going to be an issue with Presidents’ Day weekend and the boat show,” said Nicki Grossman, Broward’s tourism director. “In the past, South Florida has not responded to a Super Bowl date that included Presidents’ Day weekend. This package is different.”

South Florida vies with New Orleans as the top Super Bowl host, with government and tourism leaders touting the game as both a boon to the economy and a publicity bonanza. But the notion of accommodating both Super Bowl and boat show — not to mention a major arts festival in Coconut Grove — strikes some top tourism officials as a bad idea.

“There is not sufficient hotel inventory available in Miami that weekend to host a Super Bowl,” said William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have taken a close look at that weekend, and it’s not physically possible in Miami to host Super Bowl during the Presidents’ Day weekend because of the boat show and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The hotel inventory is all being used for these two great events.”

His comments are at odds with the region’s top Super Bowl organizer and reflect the burden that the boat show may be to South Florida’s Super Bowl hopes for 2016 and 2017. The NFL invited Miami and San Francisco to bid for the 2016 Super Bowl by April 1, with the loser vying with Houston for the 2017 game. Talbert said the bid package states both decisions will be made in May.

For now, South Florida’s Super Bowl organizers face a largely hypothetical challenge, because the current NFL schedule has the Super Bowl occurring two weeks before Presidents’ Day weekend. The bid requirements for the ’16 and ’17 Super Bowls include three consecutive weekends as possibilities for the game, with the latest falling on the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Still, possible logistical hurdles may combine with political obstacles if the Miami Dolphins resume their push for a tax-funded renovation of Sun Life Stadium, the Super Bowl’s South Florida home.

Last year, the Dolphins proposed that Broward and Miami-Dade counties subsidize a $225 million renovation at Sun Life as a way to keep the region competitive for Super Bowls and other large events. The renovation includes a partial roof that would prevent the kind of drenching Super Bowl spectators suffered in 2007 when a rare February downpour hit Miami Gardens.





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College student seeks immunity in South Miami man’s stabbing death




















James Arauz, the Miami Dade College student who stabbed his mother’s employer to death, testified Thursday in the first day of a hearing to determine whether he would be granted Stand Your Ground immunity.

Arauz, who was 20 at the time, stabbed Vincent Pravata to death and went on a shopping spree with his credit cards in Oct. 2009. Investigators later found bloody fingerprints on a glass that led them to Arauz, who confessed to the murder and claimed self-defense.

The defendant’s mother worked as a housekeeper for Pravata for eight years and Arauz helped do yardwork for four months.





After Arauz’s father died from a heart attack in 2008, the 63-year-old Pravata offered to act as a mentor.

Arauz, an engineering student, testified that Pravata, who was openly gay, occasionally made comments about Arauz’s “beautiful eyes” and asked if he’d ever thought about gay sex.

The defendant’s mother said Pravata was unusually excited when Arauz broke up with his girlfriend less than a month before the stabbing.

From the witness stand Thursday, Arauz said he went to Pravata’s South Miami home to pick up the letter of recommendation he had requested for an internship application.

He said Pravata demanded sexual favors in exchange for the letter.

When Arauz rejected Pravata’s advances and tried to leave, he said the older man “went into a rage and tried to pin me against a wall”

After a chase and physical resistance, Arauz grabbed a decorative knife off a filing cabinet and stabbed Pravata 18 times when he tried to prevent him from opening a metal gate outside the house.

“I had already tried flight and it didn’t work, so I was trying to fight,” Arauz said, describing the desperate struggle for the knife. “It was the survival instinct.”

As Arauz was moving the body back into the house, he saw the victim’s wallet in his pocket and took his credit cards and $480 cash.

Arauz was also facing an outstanding shoplifting charge at the time. He was charged with second degree murder and credit card theft.

Judge Yvonne Colodny will hear further testimony on Friday and decide whether to grant the motion for immunity. If she decides that the defense has not provided enough evidence for Stand Your Ground, the case will go to trial before a jury.





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Rumer Willis on 'Hawaii Five-0' Clip

In Rumer Willis' upcoming cameo on Hawaii Five-0, her character quickly shifts from flirting with one of her customers to fearing for her life. ET gives you an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming episode.

Willis, the daughter of now-divorced couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, plays a bank teller in her upcoming Five-0 cameo, and is just about to seal a date with one of the bank's patrons when a group of masked gunmen storm into the bank.


VIDEO: Rumer Willis' First Interview Since Demi's Rehab

As the clip ends, one of the bank robbers points his gun at Willis' character and commands her to fill a duffel bag with money.

The 24-year-old actress has performed cameos on an array of television shows in her acting career, including CSI: NY and most recently the Comedy Central series Workaholics. While most of her appearances on TV have been cameos, Willis recently held a role on Gossip Girl in its second season.


VIDEO: Does 'Five-0' Cast Enjoy Working in Hawaii?

Watch a sneak peek of Willis' Hawaii Five-0 cameo above and find out if her character makes it out of the bank in one piece on Monday at 10 p.m. on CBS.

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Two men shot in Staten Island apartment building for allegedly being too noisy








One man is dead and another is fighting for his life this morning after they were shot in a Staten Island apartment building for being too noisy, police sources said.

The victims, 20 and 21, were in a first floor apartment in a Bodine Street building drinking and being rowdy around 6 a.m. when the upstairs neighbor complained to her boyfriend, the source said.

The man decided to take matters into his own hands and marched downstairs to put an end to the ruckus, sources said.

The confrontation quickly turned violent and the man sunk a bullet into the 20-year-old’s back and then shot the 21-year-old in the stomach, police said.



Emergency workers rushed the 20-year-old victim to Richmond University Medical Center, but were unable to save him, cops said. The other victim was taken in a private car to the same hospital, where he is in critical condition, cops said.

The shooter fled from the building and is still at large, police said.










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California Pizza Kitchen brings prototype to Sawgrass Mills




















The restaurant chain that took barbecued chicken pizza mainstream is ready to push the culinary envelope again. How about a pizza topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and applewood smoked bacon or a Korean barbecue pizza with pork loin and spicy kimchee salad?

Innovative menu items are just one piece of what’s unique about California Pizza Kitchen’s new flagship restaurant unveiled Thursday at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise. The first of its kind, the Sawgrass location aims to reinvigorate the brand that started in 1985 in Beverly Hills.

“The whole idea is about taking the best of what put us on the map and making it relevant for 2012 and beyond,” said G.J. Hart, who took over as chief executive officer of the chain just over a year ago. “Over the years the brand morphed from being a leader and it became a follower of food trends. We want to bring back the hip, cool feel.”





The changes are obvious from the moment you walk into the restaurant, which opens to the public Monday. The new look is all about focusing on the chain’s California roots. Very little of the bright yellow and chrome remains. The design is California-casual with earth tones and reclaimed wood everywhere from the walls to the floor and tables. An outdoor terrace with couches and fire pits is designed to encourage lingering. Large windows and glass doors let in lots of natural light and fold open to enjoy the weather.

Pizza is center stage with the kitchen designed so diners can watch the pizza makers at work. At the Sawgrass location — and by mid-2013 at all restaurants — pizzas will once again by hand-tossed. Currently the chain uses a pizza press to make the dough more uniform.

The new focus is on upping the culinary quotient across the board with dishes like a roasted beets and whipped goat cheese salad, plus a sweet pea carbonara featuring pea-filled pasta purses tossed with Italian pancetta and a Romano cream sauce. These are some of the unique items only on the Sawgrass menu, which also features a specialty menu of hand-crafted cocktails.

Chain-wide the company has actually slimmed the menu from more than 100 items to 74 in order to improve execution. But there are also more healthy choices like quinoa and arugula salad or a fire-roasted chile relleno stuffed with chicken, cheese, mushrooms, spinach and eggplant that dishes up at only 380 calories.

“As we grew, we didn’t keep up with the creativity on the menu and we tried to be all things to all people,” said Brian Sullivan, senior vice president of culinary innovation, who has been with the company for 24 years. “We’re always going to be pizza-centric. But we’ll continue to push the envelope with these specialty items that resonate with who we are. We don’t want items that you are going to see in other restaurants.”

The chain chose Sawgrass to unveil its new flagship location because of a combination of the area’s diverse demographic base and the influx of international visitors. South Florida has already been a strong market for the brand, which has seven locations in the tri-county area stretching from Coral Gables to Palm Beach Gardens.

The opening is the culmination of a new vision that began to take shape when Golden Gate Capital purchased California Pizza Kitchen in July 2011 for $470 million, taking the company private and bringing in Hart as the new chief executive.

“They saw a brand that was undervalued,” said Hart, who has an ownership stake in the chain. “This is an iconic brand with so much brand equity. If we can bring the excitement and enthusiasm back we’re only going to see it go up.”

Industry experts say the changes make sense because the brand still has a loyal following, although it has not kept pace with the competition.

“It’s a good time for them to go back to what were the fundamental things that made the brand so intriguing,” said Dennis Lombardi of WD Partners, a restaurant industry consultant. “The difficulty is going to be getting the word out to consumers that this is different. The devil is always in the details in these kind of evolutions.”

Based on consumer reaction, the plan is to take pieces of the Sunrise concept and introduce it into the chain’s other 268 existing restaurants. Some restaurants could be completely remodeled, but most will only get elements of the new prototype, which cost $2 million in Sunrise, Hart said. The company’s Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations could be strong candidates for remodeling next year or early 2014, he said.

Community and business leaders, who got a first look at the restaurant on Thursday, were impressed.

“This is phenomenal,” said Luanne Lenberg, general manager of Sawgrass Mills. “We’re so excited to have this caliber of restaurant and to be their test for the rest of the world.”





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Keys stabbing suspect surrenders in Miami-Dade




















A 33-year-old Islamorada man wanted in connection with a stabbing earlier this week has surrendered to law enforcement authorities in Miami-Dade.

Alexander Flores told police he stabbed his ex-girlfriend after breaking into her Plantation Key house.

She was airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami on Tuesday. Her condition is listed as stable.





Monroe County Sheriff’s detectives drove to Miami Wednesday and picked up Flores, who was charged with aggravated battery, burglary, criminal mischief and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Monroe County jail.

The arrest report says Flores entered the victim’s bedroom and stabbed her in the chest. Flores reportedly told police he became angry when he learned his ex was seeing someone else. He also told police he got drunk, broke into her house and attacked the victim.

The 33-year-old Plantation Key woman told police that Flores held the knife to her throat after the stabbing and forced her to leave the house with him. As they walked out the door, a friend of the victim was outside and Flores ran northbound on the old highway.

The friend then drove the victim to Mariner’s Hospital, where she was later airlifted for treatment in Miami.





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Past hosts teaming for Spike Video Game Awards












LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Spike Video Game Awards are assembling past hosts.


The cable network announced Thursday that the gaming extravaganza’s previous emcees would join “The Avengers” star and four-time VGAs host Samuel L. Jackson at next week’s show.












Previous hosts Zachary Levi, Snoop Lion, Jack Black and Neil Patrick Harris are set to appear at the 10th annual ceremony.


The show will also feature debut footage from upcoming games “BioShock Infinite,” ”Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2″ and “Tomb Raider,” and from downloadable content “Spartan Ops” for “Halo 4″ and “The Tyranny of King Washington” for “Assassin’s Creed III.”


“Assassin’s Creed III,” ”Dishonored,” ”Journey,” ”Mass Effect 3″ and “The Walking Dead: The Game” are vying for the best game trophy.


The VGAs will air live on Spike on Dec. 7 from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, Calif.


Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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Lohan Attends Bieber Show Pre-Arrest

Prior to hitting the club and getting arrested, Lindsay Lohan started out having a pretty wholesome night on Wednesday at New York City's Madison Square Garden.


RELATED: Lohan Arrested After Bar Brawl

The Liz & Dick actress, 26, attended Justin Bieber's show with opening acts The Wanted and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Lohan has praised Bieber in the past, even comparing their mothers. She tweeted on Sept. 28, writing: "I think @justinbieber's mom Pattie Mallette & my mom @dinalohan are so strong for speaking out about their stories. It's women like this... who make a difference in the world.. They encourage us to be strong. Thank you to @dinalohan & pattie mallette for being such strong women."


RELATED: Michael Lohan Reacts to Daughter's Recent Arrest

From the looks of a photo taken by Twitter user HarpoK21 on Wednesday night, the actress had pretty good seats for the show, perhaps even V.I.P.

Hours later at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning, Lohan was arrested after allegedly punching a woman at Club Avenue. She has since been released and is facing third degree assault charges.

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Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter results miss Wall Street estimates as jewelry company cuts 2012 outlook








Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter net income fell 30 percent, stung by a higher-than-expected tax rate, ongoing economic weakness and high precious metal and diamond costs.

The jewelry company's results missed Wall Street's expectations and it cut its full-year earnings forecast.

Shares dropped $5.58, or 8.7 percent, to $58.15 in premarket trading Thursday.

For the period ended Oct. 31, the company known for its blue boxes earned $63.2 million, or 49 cents per share. That's down from $89.7 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet forecast earnings of 63 cents per share.




Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski said in a statement that Tiffany had expected its quarterly results would be affected by ongoing economic softness and tough year-ago comparisons. But he added that the retailer's gross margin rate of 54.4 percent — down from 57.9 percent in the prior-year period — was weaker than expected and its tax rate was higher than expected. Gross margin, a key performance metric, is the amount of each dollar in revenue a company actually keeps.

While cautious about worldwide economic conditions, Kowalski said that the company anticipates results improving during the holiday season partly because of easier year-over-year sales comparisons but also because of new stores and new products.

The holiday season is critical for retailers, as it can make up to 40 percent of stores' annual revenue.

Revenue increased 4 percent to $852.7 million from $821.8 million. Wall Street expected $858.8 million.

Sales rose 6 percent in Europe and 3 percent in the Americas region. Asia-Pacific sales climbed 2 percent, while Japan sales rose slightly. Tiffany said that its other sales jumped 73 percent as it converted five stores in the United Arab Emirates from independently-run distribution to company-run stores.

Tiffany now expects 2012 earnings of $3.20 to $3.40 per share. Its prior outlook was for earnings of $3.55 to $3.70 per share.

Analysts predict earnings of $3.59 per share.

Tiffany had 272 stores at quarter's end.










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City National Bank of Florida and its Spanish parent have four years to evaluate the Miami bank’s future ownership




















City National Bank of Florida, the Miami bank purchased by Bankia (formerly Caja Madrid) of Spain in November 2008, said Wednesday that its parent has a “four-year window to evaluate alternatives” for the bank’s future ownership and will work closely with management in Miami during the process.

The Spanish government has reached and agreement with the European Union related to Spain’s financial system problems, which will result in a recapitalization of Bankia and other institutions, the bank said. The agreement calls for Bankia to sell non-core assets and its holdings outside of Spain so that Bankia will emerge with a solid capital position and be more focused on its core domestic business.

“Because City National Bank is so well capitalized, profitable and well positioned in the marketplace, we are going to take our time to fully evaluate all of our strategic alternatives,” City National Bank President and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement. “This does not impact our ongoing strategy of profitable growth and diversification or our commitment to the markets we serve. Our focus continues to be taking excellent care of our clients and employees. ”





City National, founded 65 years ago, has $4.32 billion in assets and 26 branches from Miami-Dade County to the greater Orlando area.

INA PAIVA CORDLE





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Group to begin reviewing Miami-Dade’s elections practices




















A group tasked with making recommendations to improve Miami-Dade elections will begin meeting Tuesday morning, three weeks after Election Day was marked by long lines and a surge of absentee ballots that took several days to count.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez convened the advisory group to examine state and local elections laws and practices, and suggest changes. The first meeting is expected to feature an overview of legal issues, an outline of the county’s approach to elections and a tour of Miami-Dade’s elections headquarters.

The elections department has not yet submitted its “after-action report,” a post-mortem detailing how things went during the election.





The group will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the county’s Doral elections department, 2700 NW 87th Ave. The meeting is open to the public.

In addition to Gimenez, the group includes 13 members he appointed. Among them are four county commissioners: Lynda Bell, Sally Heyman, Dennis Moss and Rebeca Sosa.

The other members are: Alice Ancona of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; the Rev. Victor Curry, president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the NAACP; Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert; former County Attorney Murray Greenberg; Lovette McGill, an activist who has been involved with African-American trade unionists; Gepsie Metellus, executive director of Sant La, a Little Haiti-based social services agency; C.J. Ortuño, executive director of the gay-rights advocacy group SAVE Dade; and elections attorneys Kendall Coffey and Robert Fernandez, who represented Gimenez and newly elected Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera in recent elections challenges.





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'Dancing with the Stars' Finals: Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani Win All-Stars Season


Dancing with the Stars
rounded off its firsts on Tuesday night by announcing a first-time winner in the first all-female finals in the show's first All-Stars season. After being showered in confetti on the stage for their victory, Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani gleamed as bright as the Mirrorball Trophies they held in their hands after the show.

"When it was just down to the two of us, we were going, 'O.K., [if we finish] second place, we've already topped what we did Season 8; [we] can't be disappointed' and then you heard Tom (Bergeron, host) say our names and it was just like this moment of 'Did this just happen? Did we just beat the powerhouse Olympian right here?' It is unbelievable," Rycroft said as her partner looked on with a wide smile.


PICS: Complete List: 'Dancing with the Stars' Winners


Early frontrunner in the competition Shawn Johnson was expected to win her second Mirrorball Trophy despite ranking lowest amongst the three finalists after the last round of judged dances on Monday. Although she strived to add another Mirrorball to her trophy case, Johnson said she nevertheless enjoyed the experience, as did her partner, Derek Hough.

"I feel great. I think we both feel great," she said after becoming this season's runner-up. "We put everything out on the dance floor. Even though you don't get the Mirrorball Trophy, you still have the biggest reward of seeing everybody on their feet and feeling the pride you have for putting everything out there."


VIDEO: Melissa Rycroft Exposes Her 'DWTS' Tango Trick

While neither Johnson nor fellow finalist Kelly Monaco seemed fazed to have missed out on their second Dancing victory, Rycroft and Dovolani both won their first Mirrorballs on Tuesday. Hough, who has thrice won the show in his eleven seasons, was happy for his fellow professional dancer to finally win his first after fourteen seasons.

"He's been here from...Season 2, and he's had some difficult seasons to say the least," he said. "For him to come out on top--honestly, when we were the last two up there, I had zero nerves. It was unusual; I was like, 'Wait, why am I not nervous at all?' [It was] because if we won it would be incredible, but if they won it would be just as incredible for us because we know how much it means to them."


VIDEO: Johnson Praises 'DWTS' for Changing Her Life

Although Johnson, Hough, and Monaco all had the comfort of a previous Mirrorball Trophy to ease the sting of defeat, Monaco's partner Val Chmerkovskiy has yet to win a trophy in his three seasons on the show. Above all, Chmerkovskiy was excited to witness his close friend Dovolani win his first.

"Everything happens for a reason and I just felt lucky that there was justice tonight. I feel like, personally, I got what time has given me and Tony got what he deserved," he said, content to finish third after finishing tenth last season. "Everything's about timing, and there's nothing more perfect than that for Tony, especially at this time."

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Getco makes $3.50 per share bid for Knight Capital








Getco is making a cash-and-stock bid for troubled trading firm Knight Capital that it values at $3.50 per share.

In a letter to City, NJ-based Knight Capital, Getco Holding Co. says the acquisition would involve a two-step process in which 242 million new shares would be issued, followed by a tender offer for an additional 154 million shares.

Getco already owns about 31 percent of Knight's outstanding shares.

Knight suffered a trading glitch in August that sent markets reeling and cost the company more than $460 million.

Getco, in a regulatory filing said that CEO Daniel Coleman would lead the new company, and Knight CEO Tom Joyce would become non-executive chairman.











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Gift ideas for the techie on your list




















The holidays are coming fast, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten very little of your gift shopping done.

Here are suggestions for a variety of gifts for the techie and the not-so-techie people on your list.

Some of these items can be found in stores and some are only available online, but you should be able to order them in time for Christmas or Hanukkah.





IOMEGA EZ MEDIA & BACKUP CENTER

What is it? A hard drive that lives on your home network so you can share files, store all your photos and music and back up your home computers. Works on Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers.

The EZ Media & Backup Center is available in 1-, 2- and 3-terabyte capacities. It is simple to set up. It lives next to your home router and plugs into the network via Ethernet.

Major features include a built-in iTunes server so your music is available to all connected computers, Time Machine support for easy Macintosh backups and Iomega’s Personal Cloud to access your data from any Internet connection.

It can also stream your video files to your TV if you’ve got a compatible streaming box or an Internet-connected TV.

Software for backing up Windows PCs is also included.

Who’s it for? Any family that wants central storage for their digital lives. This is a great home for your digital photo, music or video library.

What does it cost? One terabyte for $169.99, two terabytes for $209.99, three terabytes for $279.99.

Where can you get it? Online at www.iomega.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple store, Fry’s.

NETATMO URBAN WEATHER STATION

What is it? A wireless indoor/outdoor weather station that displays through an application on your Apple or Android mobile device.

There are two parts, one that lives in your house and one you place outside.

The indoor component plugs into the wall and monitors the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide level and even the sound level in decibels.

The outdoor module is battery-powered and measures temperature and humidity.

Once you connect the Netatmo to your home Wi-Fi network, you can download the free app and see your weather stats from anywhere.

Setup was easy enough, and you can set the app to notify you when carbon dioxide rises to levels that you should be warned about — which is great.

Who’s it for? Weather geeks and people who like to know what the temperature is without having to fire up a browser.

What does it cost? $179

Where can you get it? www.netatmo.com

3M LED ADVANCED LIGHT

What is it? 3M’s first foray into the home light bulb market is with the LED Advanced Light, which uses light-emitting diodes (LED) to produce 800 lumens (the light of a 60-watt bulb).

The Advanced Light has a life span of 25 years and costs just $1.63 per year if it’s turned on for three hours per day.

The bulb lights instantly and is dimmable.

It’s a little intimidating to start buying light bulbs that might outlive me, but my wallet approves.

Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to save money or wants a bulb that might not have to be changed until 2035.

What does it cost? $25

Where can you get it? Select Wal-Mart stores. For more information, go to www.3mlighting.com/LED.

STEM IZON 2.0 WI-FI VIDEO MONITOR

What is it? A small, wireless video camera that you can monitor remotely with an iOS device.





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Three people wounded in drive-by shooting in Miami Gardens




















An apparent drive-by shooting late Monday night in Miami Gardens has left three people in the hospital and neighbors wondering whether the wrong house was targeted.

The shooting happened in the 20800 block of Northwest 30th Court. Air rescue took the victims, two men and a woman, to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where at least one remains in serious condition.

Neighbors said three people were outside a house when bullets started flying from a passing car. Three people in the group were hit.





According to Miami Gardens police, the shooting happened around 11 Monday night.

“An unknown individual driving eastbound on Northwest 208 Terrace fired several shots from their vehicle striking a male in the leg and a female in the arm,” said Sgt. Bill Bamford, a police spokesman.

Police do not have a description of the car, except that it has tinted windows, Bamford said.

Audrey Roberts, 73, said his 37-year-old son was wounded in the shooting. He said his son and friends often spend time outside talking near the garage.

“They don’t know” who did the shooting, Roberts said.

He said he heard “a lot of shots,” possibly from more than one gun. “Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.”

On Tuesday morning, he pointed to a home garage door pocked with bullet holes.

Miami Herald photojournalist Walter Michot and Miami Herald staff writer Nadege Green contributed to this report. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.





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Card firms’ block on WikiLeaks did not break rules: EU












BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A block on processing donations for WikiLeaks by Visa Europe and other credit card companies is unlikely to have violated EU anti-trust rules, the European Commission said on Tuesday.


DataCell, a company that collected donations for WikiLeaks, complained to the Commission about Visa Europe, MasterCard Europe and American Express Co after they stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks in December 2010. Their decisions followed criticism by the United States of WikiLeaks’ release of thousands of sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables.












“On the basis of the information available, the Commission considers that the complaint does not merit further investigation because it is unlikely that any infringement of EU competition rules could be established,” said a spokesman for the Commission, the EU executive.


He added, however, that the Commission would look at new information from DataCell before taking a final decision.


WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been staying in Ecuador’s embassy in central London since June to avoid extradition to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations.


Assange said there were no lawful grounds for the card companies’ actions, which he said had cost Wikileaks 95 percent of its revenue and threatened his organization’s existence.


(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Adrian Croft; Editing by Louise Heavens)


Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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Golden Globes Flashback: Joaquin Phoenix 2006

It's no secret that Joaquin Phoenix isn't fond of awards shows. He's made that clear throughout his acting career and recently reiterated his dislike and discomfort with awards shows. Nonetheless, when he won an award in 2006 for Walk the Line, he was all smiles.

"Pitting people against each other . . . It's the stupidest thing in the whole world. It was one of the most uncomfortable periods of my life when 'Walk the Line' was going through all the awards stuff and all that," he said in a recent interview, but this flashback displays a different perspective.


VIDEO: Video: Joaquin Phoenix Apologizes to David Letterman

"No, it's alright," he says when directly asked if he finds the awards process uncomfortable. "It's not that bad. It's really surreal, you know what I mean? It's wild, but honestly I think this means more to me than I think I imagined."

Although Phoenix seems slightly agitated by some of the questions that he is delivered in the pressroom, including "What do you think that Johnny [Cash] would say to you right now if he could," he is primarily smiles and laughs as he soaks in his first Golden Globe.


VIDEO: Globes Flashback '01: McConaughey Brings J.Lo

The overwhelming pleasant experience of winning his first major award may have rendered him delirious and now unable to recall the joyful experience, as Phoenix often flashes amazed looks at his award in between questions from the press.

Phoenix has not won another major award since then. If he has the (mis)fortune of winning another award, we wonder if he'll walk the lines he speaks.

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Wintry mix hits city








Crews have treated the highways and plows are standing at the ready across the tristate for another November snowstorm.

A storm system is moving up from the Tennessee Valley region. Snow started falling at daybreak and will likely cause some problems for the morning commute.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for some portions of the region.

The storm system will pass to the south during Tuesday. This will bring snow and rain to the area with more of the snow occurring over the colder northern and western suburbs.

New York City could get up to 1 inch; 1 to 2 inches could accumulate in the nearby suburbs, and 2 to 4 inches could fall on the northern and western suburbs.



To read more, go to MyFoxNY.com.










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Shoppers welcome holiday sales by buying early, often — and online




















Shoppers swooped into stores in droves on Thanksgiving weekend, topping last year’s sales, as more retailers opened their doors earlier than ever on Thursday, luring bargain hunters away from eating another plate of turkey.

And now Cyber Monday is expected to set a record for online shopping this year, for those who prefer the Internet to the mall.

Spending per shopper nationwide averaged $423 — $25 more than last year — from Thursday to Sunday, while total spending increased nearly 13 percent, to an estimated $59.1 billion, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.





“I think the only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call it a huge win,” said Matthew Shay, the trade group’s president and chief executive. Shopping, he said, “has really become an extension of the day’s festivities.”

South Florida was no exception, as a flurry of stores, as well as several malls, opened on Thanksgiving. Thursday has seemingly become the new Black Thursday, taking a bite out of the old-fashioned kickoff day of the holiday, Black Friday.

“We had an excellent weekend,” said Humberto Maldonado, director of marketing for Dadeland Mall, which opened at midnight on Thursday. Sales figures are not yet in, but the overall trend was up from last year, he said Monday.

“It was really busy from midnight to 5 a.m., then it slowed, and picked up again at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., and stayed busy all day on Friday,” Maldonado said.

Nationwide, about 35 million people visited stores and shopping websites Thursday, up from 29 million last year. More than double that number — 89 million, up from 86 million — shopped on Black Friday.

“There were more people shopping every single day of the weekend,” Shay said.

Topping off the weekend, Cyber Monday’s early results, tabulated at 3 p.m. Monday, showed that online shopping was up a whopping 25.6 percent compared with the same time period a year ago, according to figures by IBM Benchmark.

Nationwide, most of the weekend’s shoppers — roughly 58 percent — bought clothing and accessories. Another 38 percent bought electronics and 35 percent shelled out for toys, National Retail Federation figures show.

Retailers made an effort to lure people in, with updated mobile shopping applications for smartphones and tablets, and expanded shipping and layaway options.

Still, it remains to be seen whether increased sales over the Thanksgiving weekend will translate to higher sales throughout the holiday shopping season. Analysts have been predicting mediocre sales this year, nationwide, as shoppers remain uncertain about the broader economy. Overall holiday sales are expected to increase 4.1 percent from 2011, compared with sales growth of 5.6 percent last year, the National Retail Federation said.

However, Florida is expected to beat those figures. Buoyed in large part by tourists and snowbirds, the Florida Retail Federation is forecasting a 5.3 percent gain this year over last, to $58 billion, marking the highest percentage growth predicted since the recession. Pre-recession, retail sales peaked at $54.3 billion in 2006.

Christian Cutillo, 26, of Weston, hit Walmart, then Sears, Target and Old Navy after eating Thanksgiving dinner.

She began at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and by 3 a.m. Friday she had finished shopping for all 15 people on her list, mostly buying clothing and toys.





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Police seize haul of bogus lobster tags




















An ongoing investigation into an elaborate scheme to counterfeit state-issued tags for spiny lobster traps has pulled in a second suspect.

Jesus Alonso Perez, 51, of Miami was charged with possession of phony trap tags after his arrest last week by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers in Miami-Dade County.

Perez is the first person arrested in the case since Ramon Rojas, 44, of Hialeah was arrested on Monroe County and Miami-Dade warrants earlier this month.





Rojas has been charged with dozens of conservation counts for possessing and using fake trap tags, and fishing traps without required state certificates. A handful of Rojas' personal traps bearing counterfeit trap tags were hauled from water off Big Pine Key before his arrest.

"During the investigation, we were able to determine [Rojas] actually was in the midst of selling some of these counterfeit tags and ended up selling 100 at $50 a pop," said FWC Officer Jorge Pino, an agency spokesman. "We knew some of these tags were being used already."

The case could lead to additional state and federal counts.

Investigation started June 29 when U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents intercepted a suspicious package shipped to Florida from Colombia.

Inside the package were 1,512 yellow plastic tags bearing serial numbers and state identification. The package was passed along to federal wildlife officers, who forwarded it to the FWC.

"To an untrained eye, they might have looked like real tags but our inspector immediately identified the tags as counterfeit," Pino said. "Not to mention, they were coming into Florida from Colombia."

The package was re-sealed for delivery, with FWC officers keeping watch. Other details on the investigation are still considered confidential.

"We've seen counterfeit trap tags before so that wasn't a surprise," Pino said. "We were a little surprised at the lengths he went to, going to another country to get this many."

"This goes contrary to everything the FWC is trying to achieve as a conservation agency in terms of protecting the resource," Pino said. "Putting what could have been a large number of illegal traps in the water has the potential to do a lot of damage."

Trap tags have been required by the state since 1992 as part of an effort to control and reduce the number of traps used by Florida commercial fishermen. Currently about 490,000 tags are issued annually, down from a peak of 750,000. Lobstermen receive an allocation of tags based on their history of commercial trap harvests.

People who want to enter the fishery or increase their trap numbers must buy trap certificates, which include the right to buy trap tags, from other fishermen. A tag itself costs only $1 each from the state but certificates can sell for more than $100 each.





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Facebook not so fun with a click from boss or mum












LONDON (Reuters) – Posting pictures of yourself plastered at a party and talking trash online with your Facebook friends may be more stress than it’s worth now that your boss and mum want to see it all.


A survey from Edinburgh Business School released on Monday showed Facebook users are anxious that all those self-published sins may be coming home to roost with more than half of employers claiming to have used Facebook to weed out job candidates.












“Facebook used to be like a great party for all your friends where you can dance, drink and flirt,” said Ben Marder, author of the report and fellow in marketing at the Business School.


“But now with your Mum, Dad and boss there, the party becomes an anxious event full of potential social landmines.”


On average, people are Facebook friends with seven different social circles, the report found, with real friends known to the user offline the most common.


More than four-fifths of users add extended family on Facebook, a similar number add siblings. Less than 70 percent are connected to friends of friends while more than 60 percent added their colleagues online, despite the anxiety this may cause.


Facebook has settings to control the information seen by different types of friends, but only one third use them, the report said.


“I’m not worried at all because all the really messy pics – me, drunken or worse – I detag straight away,” said Chris from London, aged 30.


People were more commonly friends with former boyfriends or girlfriends than with current ones, the report also found.


(Reporting By Dasha Afanasieva, editing by Paul Casciato)


Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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Joe Manganiello on 'How I Met Your Mother'

Now enjoying the skyrocketing success of True Blood and his recent film Magic Mike, Joe Manganiello now revisits the recurring role on How I Met Your Mother that enabled him to achieve that success.

"It's awesome," Manganiello told ET's special correspondent Melissa Peterman of returning to the show. "I missed everybody. You see everybody out and about over the years...but it was just really fun to get back in. It really feels like--other than the beard and long hair--like I never left."


VIDEO: Sneak Peek: Joe Manganiello Returns to 'HIMYM'

Manganiello ("Brad") originally appeared on the show as a fellow lawyer friend to Jason Segel's character, "Marshall," in Season 2. The now blooming star's character is now at odds with his former best friend over a court case in Season 8, and he attempts to use his good looks to sway the female jury.

"[Marshall's] got to dig deep...He's got to fight hard," he said of Marshall's response to Brad's tactics. "He uses some really unorthodox tactics to battle Brad as well and it just escalates."

Manganiello's character not only gives his old buddy Marshall a hard time in the upcoming episode but also inadvertently riles Neil Patrick Harris' character, "Barney," by challenging his dominance in attracting women.


VIDEO: Joe Manganiello Spills 'True Blood' Secrets

"It's competitive," Harris said of the altered dynamic on set with Manganiello present. "I'll tell you what, [there's] a lot of swooning [in] his direction....Everyone [gasps] every time he walks by."

Barney isn't the only one who is affected by Brad's swooning ways, as Alyson Hannigan's character, "Lilly," Marshall's wife, is also persuaded by his good looks and seductive tactics, to the extent that she turns against her husband.

"I was rooting for my husband until the pen incident," Hannigan said of her character's courtroom experience with Brad, "and he drops his pen and bends over, and now I'm easily swayed."


VIDEO: Wedding Jitters on 'How I Met Your Mother'

Check out Manganiello on How I Met Your Mother tonight (Nov. 26) at 8 p.m. on CBS.

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Man killed after car falls off lift in parking garage








A man was fatally injured this morning when a car fell off of a lift, pinning him underneath, authorities said.

The victim was at Icon Parking on Barclay Street near Church Street when the SUV fell from the lift around 8:10 a.m., officials said.

Emergency workers rushed to the scene, but the man was pronounced dead, said a spokesman for the FDNY.

It was not immediately clear whether or not the victim worked at the parking garage.











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Shifting tides of Panama real estate echo Miami trends




















PANAMA CITY, Panama — As a real estate agent shows off a model apartment — white leather sectional, stainless steel appliances, open concept, ocean views — in the 59-story Yacht Club Tower, and touts its fitness center and pool deck designed to mimic a ship floating on the sea, he makes a telling statement:

“We tried to emulate the Miami style in this building.”

Approaching this Central American capital from the air, the first thing a traveler notices is a skyline on steroids — gleaming towers jutting skyward like so many pickets on a fence. There’s even a Trump high-rise here — the sail-shaped 72-story Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower. And it’s not uncommon for those active in Miami real estate and development circles to try their luck in Panama or move back and forth between the markets.





Although Miami is nearly 1,200 miles from Panama City, the real estate markets of the two cities share certain similarities. Both went through booms and overbuilding and then had way too many empty condominiums. Wealthy Latin American buyers were a salvation in both cities when traditional segments of the market fell off.

“Now that things are starting to pick up in the States, they are picking up here too. Now that there’s not as much economic uncertainty in the United States, people feel more confident about Panama too,’’ said Morris Hafeitz, general manger of Emporium Developers. He used to work in Miami as a project manager for Odebrecht, the Brazilian conglomerate.

Now Hafeitz is trying to sell Allure at the Park, a 50-story building Emporium developed in Panama City’s Bella Vista neighborhood. The building is chock full of amenities — gym, teenage game room, adult lounge, toddler playroom, pool, squash court and even miniature golf on the roof — but one of its main selling points is that it overlooks a park and two low-rise historic buildings. “In the heart of the city without the hassles of the city,’’ said Hafeitz.

During the boom, many buildings in central Panama City went up practically on top of each other. “In the beginning of the boom there were no regulations on density,’’ said Mauricio Saba, a project manager at Zoom Development in Panama City and another Miami real estate alum. “I have a friend who said he could watch his neighbor’s TV from his balcony.’’

Margarita Sanclemente, a Miami real estate broker with offices in Panama City and New York, has seen it all — the boom, the irrational building and the slowdown — and has stuck with the Panamanian market.

She first ventured into Panama in 2005. The Panamanian real estate market, which had been sluggish for more than a decade, was undergoing a rebirth and Americans, lured by low prices and the low cost of living, were snapping up properties.

The sweet spot was the 1,000 to 1,500-square-foot apartment, sans maid’s quarters, which appealed to retirees from Canada and the United States, she said.

That was back when Americans still believed you couldn’t go wrong with real estate. “Some of the buyers didn’t even see the units. We sold them by phone,’’ Sanclemente said. Condo prices at new buildings such as Destiny averaged $98 to $120 per square foot. She herself bought a 1,000 square foot, one bedroom condo for $123,000 back in 2005.





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Never mind shopping; Messiah concert marks start of holiday season




















Participating in the annual Messiah sing-in, always made me feel like the Season had begun. I was a member of the community chorus for many years, under the late Dr. Lee Kjelson. It was a wonderful feeling, singing the words from the Bible that foretold the coming of Jesus. Now, decades later, the Messiah sing-in tradition is still going strong.

At 2:30 p. m. on Dec. 9, the Miami Dade College Kendall Campus will present the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami in the 41st Annual Messiah Sing-in at Old Cutler Presbyterian Church, 14401 Old Cutler Rd. in Palmetto Bay. Dr. Kenneth Boos is the artistic director of this time-honored event, and Robert Gower and John Guarente are the conductors. Jay Brooks is the organist. The singers will be backed by the Alhambra Orchestra, conducted by Alfred Gershfeld.

The program will feature the Chorale in a brief concert featuring original works and familiar classical selections. Following the concert, community singers are invited to join the Chorale in the singing of the Christmas sections of Handel’s beloved Messiah.





Founded by Kjelson, the Civic Chorale has been a vital part of the South Florida musical community since 1970. the group is comprised of students and adult members of the community, who share a love for singing and musical excellence. The Chorale is housed at Miami-Dade College Music, Theater and Dance Department, at the Kendall campus. Rodester Brandon is the chairperson.

Singers are asked to bring their own Messiah score, if possible. A limited number will be available for use on the day of the concert.

This is the way it works: Rehearsal for participating singers will be at 2:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 4 p.m. Admission is free, but a goodwill offering will be collected. This year, Miami food trucks will be at the event.

For more information, contact Phee Price, executive director of the Chorale at 305-490-5930 You may also visit the Chorale’s website at, www.civicchorale.info.

String quartet goes to Washington

Congratulations to Miami pianist Alan Mason and Florida International University’s Amernet String Quartet, who on Dec. 6, will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Mason is an associate professor of music at Barry University and the Amernet String Quartet is in residence at FIU. The musicians will perform in a concert called "From Psalm to Lamentation: A Concert of Cantorial Masterpieces," presented by Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization that was created by Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer and lawyer-turned-artist Robyn Krauthammer to present three concerts a year featuring the music of Jewish composers. .

The Dec. 6 concert will pay homage to the golden age of cantors and to the liturgical music of modern times and will feature Cantor Netanel Hershtik and the Hampton Synagogue Choir.

In addition to the Kennedy Center performance, the concert will be presented on Dec. 2, at New York’s Museum at Eldridge Street.

Mason is the music director of Temple Israel of Greater Miami and has performed at the White House, Lincoln center and Carnegie Hall. He has also performed in Rome, the United Kingdom and Israel. He is a leading accompanist of Jewish music and also serves as the program director and accompanist of the Winter Jewish Music Concert presented annually here in Miami. that concert will be on Jan. 19, and will be broadcast live on the JLTV cable network.





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Larry Hagman Dies

Larry Hagman, best known for playing Dallas villain J.R. Ewing, died Friday morning from complications stemming from his recent battle with cancer.

He was 81 years old.

Video: Larry Hagman Talks 'Dallas', Cancer and Veganism

"Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most," his family said in a statement via The Dallas Morning News. "When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones. It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for. The family requests privacy at this time."

Hagman's rep says the late actor will be cremated.

His Dallas co-stars Linda Gray (who played his wife Sue Ellen) and Patrick Duffy (who played his brother Bobby) were reportedly at his bedside when he died, The Sun is reporting.

"Larry Hagman was my best friend for 35 years. He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew," Gray told ET in a statement. "He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest ... The world was a brighter place because of Larry Hagman."

"Friday I lost one of the greatest friends ever to grace my life. The loneliness is only what is difficult, as Larry's peace and comfort is always what is important to me, now as when he was here," Duffy said in a statement. "He was a fighter in the gentlest way, against his obstacles and for his friends. I wear his friendship with honor."

Victoria Principal, who played Pamela Barnes Ewing, added, "Larry was bigger than life ... on screen and off. He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him. Look out God ... Larry's leading the parade."

Video: J.R. Menaces in New 'Dallas'

Hagman, who also starred as Air Force Captain Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie, was last seen on television in TNT's Dallas reboot, where he returned to play his most well-known character.

"Larry Hagman was a giant, a larger-than-life personality whose iconic performance as J.R. Ewing will endure as one of the most indelible in entertainment history," Warner Bros., Dallas executive producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael M. Robin, and the show's cast and crew said in a statement. "He truly loved portraying this globally recognized character, and he leaves a legacy of entertainment, generosity and grace. Everyone at Warner Bros. and in the Dallas family is deeply saddened by Larry's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time."

"It was truly an honor to share the screen with Mr. Larry Hagman," Dallas reboot star Jesse Metcalfe, who plays Christopher Ewing, said in a statement. "With piercing wit and undeniable charm he brought to life one of the most legendary television characters of all time. But to know the man, however briefly, was to know a passion and dedication for life and acting that was profoundly inspirational."

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Is the electric car dying again?




















A second administration of President Barack Obama will be forced to revisit the issue of subsidies for renewable energy and, with it, those for electric vehicles. Despite the millions of dollars spent on government incentives, marketing and promotion, sales of fully electric cars are well below projected targets. Investment in vehicle charging infrastructure also has fallen victim to budget cutbacks, limited usage and concern over the return on money spent.

Indeed, only last month, a leading automotive battery manufacturer, A123 Systems, was forced to declare bankruptcy. And the founder and CEO of Better Place, Shai Agassi, whose company (in which I was employed) promotes all-electric vehicles with batteries that can be both charged and replaced, was himself replaced due to low sales figures and high capital expenses arising from the deployment of battery-switching stations.

As a result, the question is now being raised: Are we again bearing witness to the death of the electric car?





Any such conclusion over the longer term may be premature. With declining costs and gradually improving technologies that can extend battery range beyond its current limitations, the electric car continues to hold promise. Rising gasoline prices and potential disruptions in oil supply favor alternative sources of energy.

To achieve mass market adoption, however, cars running on electricity — or any other alternative energy source — must satisfy the three “C’s”: cost, convenience and connectivity.

Few buyers are able or willing to pay more for a car running on clean energy unless the upfront cost of the car roughly equals or is below its carbon-powered alternative. Advertised savings over time in powering a car using alternative “fuels” so far have failed to persuade the average driver to buy. And while government subsidies play a role in reducing initial costs to consumers, such incentives so far have not been sufficient to attract large numbers of drivers to switch to electric vehicles.

Cars driven solely or partially by electricity or other alternative energies also must be at least as convenient as those powered exclusively by internal combustion engines. Drivers appear unwilling to sacrifice the expected hundreds of miles in driving range between refuelings. Likewise, drivers demand refueling times equal to what they are accustomed — about five minutes at the gasoline station.

Further, there must be adequate infrastructure in place to enable large numbers of drivers to connect to an alternative energy source before that source can be widely adopted. While a scattering of drivers simultaneously connecting to a power grid may not have much impact, large numbers of drivers doing so can cause major power outages that escalate absent the real-time balancing of energy loads across the network. Moreover, the environmental impact of the connected cycle between car and infrastructure, often referred to as the “well-to-wheel” balance, has to result in less pollution overall for alternative energy vehicles to achieve significant market traction.

Until the fully electric car can satisfy all three C’s, any assessment of projected vehicle sales must reflect a variety of energy sourcing options, both traditional and alternative, all competing for market share.

Gasoline and diesel likely will remain the predominant source of energy in the foreseeable future for new car buyers, with hybrid vehicles that run on both petroleum and alternative energy sources taking an increasingly larger share of the market. Although more costly than pure gasoline-driven cars, hybrids do offer a more environmentally friendly solution and provide the driving range demanded by car buyers.





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