Miami photographer sentenced to 10 years in child-porn case

A Miami-area photographer who secretly videotaped children while they changed clothes in his home studio was sentenced in federal court Friday to 10 years in prison. Diego Tobias Matrajt, 37, pleaded guilty in September to distribution and possession of child pornography.Last February, Matrajt distributed 10 images of child pornography to an undercover agent by using a peer-to-peer...

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

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

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WATCH: Obama discusses tragedy during weekly address

President Obama discussed the Connecticut school tragedy during his weekly radio and Internet address this morning, calling for politicians to put partisanship aside in order to better address gun violence.“Our hearts are broken today,” Obama said in the address, echoing sentiments from his Friday press conference. “We grieve for the families of those we...

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

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

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Clemency board grants full pardon to wrongfully convicted man

TALLAHASSEE -- After a wrongful murder conviction that put him behind bars for 27 years, William Michael Dillon received formal forgiveness from the state Thursday.Dillon, who was awarded a $1.3 million settlement by the state in March, stood before Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet and recounted how far his life has come since he was released from a maximum security prison...

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Anne Hathaway Fashion Time Warp

Anne Hathaway is having quite a year. Pics: Anne Hathaway's Stunning 'Les Mis' Premiere Looks Not only is the 30-year-old beauty receiving major critical acclaim for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in Les Miserables, the newlywed recently underwent a dramatic makeover and now looks better than ever!Join us as we look back at Anne's best and worst looks of red carpets pa...

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WATCH: 2012's odd, bad and heroic acts

What a year!Real-life became reality TV when people were caught by surveillance cameras and amateur video this year.The spray paint flew in a Manhattan subway station.A man was caught trying to rob a 99 cent store.Watch some of the most bizarre, bad and heroic acts caught on camera in 2012. ...

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Wynwood co-working center funded by Knight Foundation, angel investors

The LAB Miami announced Thursday it will open a 10,000-square-foot co-working center in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and local angel investors are investing $650,000.As Miami’s startup community continues to grow, The LAB Miami said its “work-learn campus” will offer an in-house mentor network that will include investors and...

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‘Jewish Spirituality’ lecture series to start Dec. 16

Temple Israel of Greater Miami will kick off its Jewish Spirituality Series on Sunday with Rabbi Arthur Green, who was named one of the "top 50 rabbis in America for 2012," by Newsweek Magazine.Green will speak on the topic, "Spirituality for a New Era."A highly respected scholar, teacher and expert in the field of contemporary Jewish spirituality, Green is rector of Hebrew...

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Google Maps finally comes to iOS. Again [updated]

Apple has had quite a bumpy car ride so far with it’s mapping product. That all ends in just a couple hours, however, because late Wednesday evening Google is planning on bringing Maps back to iOS with the release of the company’s own software. AllThingsD is reporting that Google’s app will be available for download in the App Store shortly, and we’ll provide some initial thoughts on it soon after.UPDATE:...

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EXCLUSIVE: Brandi Glanville Releases Book Cover

Brandi Glanville's upcoming book, Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders, is picking up buzz in the Twittersphere what with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star's notorious back-and-forths with LeAnn Rimes, and ET has an exclusive first look at the cover art of the hardcover.RELATED: Brandi Says Her Son Got Sick Eating LeAnn's LaxativesThe book supposedly details Brandi's split from...

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NY voters want legalized marijuana, stricter building codes post-Sandy

ALBANY - Legalize it.Most New York voters favor legalizing marijuana, but by a slim 51-44 majority, according a new poll.Quinnipiac University found the younger the voters, the higher they are on the idea, with 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds favoring legalization.Meantime homeowners and businesses destroyed by Hurricane Sandy should rebuild to stricter...

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Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

Miami-based Lennar Corp. has gotten approval on $1.7 billion in loans from China Development Bank to fund the development and construction of two major projects in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the transaction.The contract, set to close by Dec. 31 subject to various conditions, would mark the first U.S. loan by the big state-owned Chinese bank. One condition...

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Parents of students at Broward school warned of Legionnaires’ Disease exposure

Parents of students at Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach were being informed on Tuesday that their children may have been exposed to someone diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease, Broward School District officials said. The person with Legionnaires’ Disease was not a student, district spokeswoman Nadine Drew said. They did not say if the infected person was a teacher. Automated...

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Pope Benedict offers blessings with his first tweet

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – After weeks of anticipation, Pope Benedict sent his first tweet on Wednesday.“Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.”The tweet was sent when the 85-year-old pope tapped on a touch screen at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican before thousands of people.(Reporting...

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Hugh Hefner's Fiancee Shows Off Engagement Ring

If the size of the diamond is any indication of Hugh Hefner's love for bride-to-be Crystal Harris, it's a safe bet to say that he's head over heels.RELATED: Hugh Hefner Gets Marriage License?Harris revealed her engagement ring on Tuesday, via her Twitter feed."My beautiful ring from [Hugh Hefner]," Crystal posted along with photos of the giant sparkler.The couple is reportedly planning to wed on New...

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More NY voters want coalition to run state Senate, say no to Hillary Clinton for mayor

ALBANY — Hail to the chiefs!More New York voters prefer a bipartisan coalition to run the state Senate than outright control by Democrats or Republicans, according to a new poll.Quinnipiac University found 48 percent favor a power-sharing coalition — as Senate Republicans and five breakaway Democrats have formed — to 31 percent backing a Democratic majority...

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With spam, it’s better not to give or receive

Q. Recently I’ve been unable to send emails from my home email address. In addition, my incoming email contains several notices of undeliverable emails that I didn’t send that are addressed to people I don’t know. I suspect that my computer is infected by some malicious software and is being used to send spam email — and that those that are undeliverable are being returned....

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South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON -- Don’t expect South Florida’s congressional delegation to stray too far from party lines when it comes to dancing on the edge of the fiscal cliff, the end-of-the-year spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect if Congress and the president don’t address them.Democrats are firmly with President Barack Obama, whose proposal seeks to raise $600 billion over...

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Recent hacking of U.N. nuclear agency not first attempt: IAEA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A recently announced hacking of the U.N. nuclear agency’s computer servers was not the first time an attempt had been made to break into the organization’s computer system, the head of the agency said on Thursday.Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that a few months ago a group broke into the agency’s computer system and stole personal...

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Will and Jaden Smith Survive After Earth

Will Smith and his son Jaden haven't shared the big screen since 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness. Now the father-son duo pair up once more for M. Night Shyamalan's post-apocalyptic thriller After Earth, and we're showing you the new trailer.RELATED: Will Smith Surprises Jada on The TalkIn the film, opening June 7, 2013, a father and son crash land on a now-abandoned Earth. While the father, General...

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Man executed on busy Midtown street in planned ‘hit’

David McGlynnPolice investigate the scene where a man was executed on West 58th St.A man in a business suit was executed in broad daylight on a Midtown street packed with holiday shoppers, tourists and workers returning from lunch yesterday, in what authorities called a carefully coordinated “assassination.”The victim, 31-year-old Los Angeles resident Brandon...

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AutoNation: Back in the fast lane with expansion, higher sales

Despite an agonizingly slow economic recovery, the country’s largest auto retailer, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, is thriving again as demand for vehicles expands. The company, one of Florida’s largest, is posting increasingly strong profits and revenues. Just last week, in a sign of confidence, Autonation announced a major acquisition — buying six large auto stores in...

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U-Haul chase suspect appears in Miami-Dade court on Sunday

The suspect arrested in connection with Friday’s chase through the streets of Miami-Dade in a rental U-Haul truck appeared in front of judge Sunday morning. Darrell Conyers, 45, made his first appearance in bond court. Conyers faces a number of charges including grand theft, fraud and resisting arrest with violence. During the hearing, the judge noted...

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Singer Jenni Rivera Feared Dead in Plane Crash

The remains of a private plane carrying singer Jenni Rivera have been found in Mexico with no survivors following a suspected crash. Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that, on Sunday, officials found the remains of an airplane that was carrying the Mexican-American superstar and her entourage who were traveling from...

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Long after storm, LIRR restores normal service

The Long Island Rail Road is running on a normal rush hour schedule for the first time since Superstorm Sandy forced it to trim service.The busy commuter railroad suffered a big hit when floodwaters rushed into two critical rail tunnels beneath the East River, damaging the signal system used by LIRR and Amtrak trains.Repairs are still ongoing, but Gov....

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Back in the fast lane: AutoNation expanding again

Despite an agonizingly slow economic recovery, the country’s largest auto retailer, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, is thriving again as demand for vehicles expands. The company, one of Florida’s largest, is posting increasingly strong profits and revenues. Just last week, in a sign of confidence, Autonation announced a major acquisition — buying six large auto stores in...

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State scraps plan to have private vendors make license tags

TALLAHASSEE -- Backing away from a possible court fight, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced Friday that it will halt its attempt to bid license tag services to private vendors.Tax collectors — who distribute state tags — and two manufacturing groups tried to block the change by lobbying elected officials and filing legal action against...

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Top Google executive forced off Twitter

Working at Google (GOOG) has its benefits — for one thing, the company’s reputation as an innovator is nearly unmatched — however things aren’t always as simple as they look. After making a joke on Twitter about Microsoft and Nokia’s Windows Phone partnership, Google’s senior vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra was told to stop using the micro-blogging site. Gundotra had been using the social...

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How They Pulled Off 'The Impossible'

The true story of the devastating 2004 tsunami that consumed the coast of Phuket, Thailand -- and how one family survived it -- is reenacted by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor in The Impossible. Watch the video to go behind the scenes...Video: Tsunami Survivor Petra Nemcova Reacts to Latest Disaster in JapanIn theaters December 21, The Impossible finds Naomi as Maria and Ewan as her husband Henry, who...

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Police shoot, kill man in Queens after he pulls a gun on officers: report

Gabriella BassOfficers shot and killed a man in Queens Saturday.Police shot a man to death late last night after he pulled a gun on officers, according to a report.The shooting happened before 11 p.m. near the intersection of Gates and Seneca Avenues in Queens.Police told CBS 2 that the man, who's in his forties, has a lengthy arrest record.He pulled a...

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade...

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