An alleged drug “queenpin” accuses Miami prosecutors of misconduct before her trial

Sandra Avila Beltrán, once known as the “Queen of the Pacific” in the Latin American drug trade, is accusing Miami prosecutors of lying about her role in cocaine shipments to the United States to persuade Mexican authorities to extradite her last year.For Avila, a dark-haired beauty who stood out in a narco-trafficking world dominated by macho men, the misconduct accusation...

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When the latest layoff story is about you

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

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Modern Family Stars Get Stuck in Crowded Elevator

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

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Smile! Polar bear cub debuts at Buffalo Zoo

APBehind bars, a 3-month-old polar bear cub 'mugs' for the cameras at the Buffalo Zoo.BUFFALO — A smiling, playful 3-month-old polar bear cub has made its public debut at the Buffalo Zoo in western New York.The fluffy white cub was introduced Friday as the zoo announced the next phase of fundraising for a new $18 million polar bear exhibit. About $4 million...

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AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DOESN’T COVER LONG-TERM CARE POLICIES

Starting next year, the Affordable Care Act will largely prohibit insurers who sell individual and small-group health policies from charging women higher premiums than men for the same coverage. Long-term-care insurance, however, isn’t bound by that law, and the country’s largest provider of such coverage has announced it will begin setting its prices based on sex this spring....

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Fabiola Santiago: In Spain, the truth starts to come out about Paya “accident”

At long last, Angel Carromero has broken his silence from the confines of his negotiated parole status in Spain.He was the woozy-eyed Spanish political activist seen from Havana on a prosecutorial videotape issuing an unconvincing mea culpa that he was driving too fast, that he was at fault for the deaths of two prominent Cuban dissidents in a car crash last summer.Carromero’s...

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

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

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Internet bubble millionaire goes from dot.com to drug con: Jennifer Sultan gets 4 years in scheme

This dot.com millionaire has now gone from penthouse to poorhouse to Big House.A Manhattan judge wrote the latest chapter in the riches-to-rags story of pretty Jennifer Sultan today -- promising her a four-year prison sentence as she pleaded guilty to gun conspiracy and drug sales."Yes," Sultan, a 38-year-old recovering pain killer addict, answered sadly,...

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Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

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

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Second eastbound lane opens on Bear Cut Bridge leading to Key Biscayne

A second east-bound lane on the Bear Cut Bridge that connects Virginia Key to Key Biscayne has been opened, giving travelers heading to the village a second lane nearly two months after structural flaws nearly shut down the bridge. Public works administrators said they reconfigured the roadway to make more room for the second lane. On Wednesday, the first day it was in use,...

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EXCLUSIVE: General Hospital Star Genie Francis Visits The Chew

'General Hospital' Star Visits 'The Chew' Soap star Genie Francis (General Hospital, The Young and the Restless) is appearing on tomorrow's episode of The Chew and we have an exclusive first look! Click through the photos to get a glimpse of the actress chopping it up with co-hosts Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton...

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Read the heartbreaking impact statement read by the Figoski girls

Pool PhotoBelow is the impact statement read in Brooklyn Supreme Court today by the four daughters of NYPD Det. Peter Figoski at the sentencing of his killer, Lamont Pride. The one joint statement was read in court, with each daughter taking a portion.CHRISTINE FIGOSKI, 21:On the evening of Sunday, December 11, my sisters and I went to bed with the worries...

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Cab drivers stage protest at Fort Lauderdale airport over safety cameras

A morning protest at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport by taxi drivers upset with technology installed into their cabs that monitors problem driving ended with two drivers being arrested, and several passengers looking for other modes of transportation.“We have to stand up for our rights,” said Davincy Metayer, 50, who has been driving a cab for 15 years...

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Ex-con who shot parole officer was having 'a terrible month': lawyer

The Brooklyn ex-con who blasted his parole officer only attacked because he was “in the grips of extreme emotional distress,” his defense attorney said during the trial’s opening yesterday.Robert Morales, 52, shot his parole officer Sam Salters in the shoulder in 2010 because he said his new parole officer’s demands were ruining his life.“It was a terrible,...

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EEOC files discrimination suit against transportation firm

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that it filed a lawsuit against Prestige Transportation Service for hiring discrimination.According to the suit, Prestige refused to hire black applicants for employment, discriminated against a black employee and retaliated against three employees for opposing race discrimination and/or filing a discrimination...

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Temporary ban on Fla. welfare drug testing upheld

TALLAHASSEE -- A federal appeals court upheld the temporary ban on Florida’s drug-testing for welfare recipients Tuesday, saying that a lawsuit challenging the program had a good chance of succeeding.The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta sided with a lower court decision, stating that Florida failed to show that the drug testing plan was so critical that the Fourth...

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Stars Stay Peppy Through Wee Hours of Oscar Night

For those fortunate enough to be invited, Oscar Sunday is an all-day, non-stop event. ET caught up with the stars to get their tips on making it through the madness while maintaining their energy.PICS: Awards Season Fashion "This is just fun," said Academy Award winner Halle Berry. "I see all my friends and peers.""You just gotta enjoy it and then have a good dinner at the Governor's Ball, because...

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'Tanning mom' won't face charges

AP'Tanning mom' Patricia KrentcilTRENTON, N.J. — A grand jury in New Jersey has decided to let a woman who became an overnight sensation as "the tanning mom" bronze away in peace.Prosecutors in Newark said Tuesday a grand jury refused to indict Patricia Krentcil on a charge she took her young daughter into a tanning booth with her. New Jersey state law...

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Miami medicine goes digital

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

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A year in, a space for sharks and stars is taking form at Miami’s new Museum of Science

Standing in the busy construction site that will become the $275 million Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science by 2015, it’s hard to imagine that sharks will one day swim in a space now filled with cranes, rebar and dust.Slightly easier to visualize is the 70-foot-tall planetarium dome, just starting to emerge as a circle of steel jutting diagonally from the ground.“It...

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Stars Without Makeup!

Katie Holmes February 25, 2013 A bare-faced Katie Holmes is snapped chatting on her cell phone while on a stroll in New York City on February 25. ALSO IN THIS GALLERY: ...

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Chinatown hubby accused of attacking wife with meat clever kept at Bellevue -- same hosp as wife

The Chinatown husband who allegedly tried to end his marriage with a meat cleaver is being kept under observation at the psychiatric prison of Bellevue hospital -- the same hospital where his wife is also recovering.Ming Duang Huang, 28, allegedly repeatedly hacked at his 24-year-old wife, Jinyia You, outside Fong's Trading at 74 Canal Street on Sunday....

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Why Mr Smith ... er ... Mr. Sternad didn’t go to Washington

L amar Will Take Us Far.The catchy slogan of the congressional candidate who called himself Lamar Sternad was the earliest indication of a campaign of deception. His first name isn’t Lamar.But Justin Lamar Sternad’s slogan was spot-on in one regard. Of the hundreds of no-name political neophytes who mount quixotic bids for office in Miami, Sternad went...

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

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

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Jenna Dewan-Tatum Reveals Baby News on the Oscars Red Carpet!

Some of the most revealing celebrity news comes from the red carpet and ET's Nancy O'Dell got breaking baby Sunday night from one of this year's most glamorous Oscars couples, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum!While walking the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Jenna told Nancy that although she and her husband Channing are planning to be surprised regarding the sex of their unborn...

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Death of ex-Post employee 'suspicious'

The death of a former New York Post employee whose body was found in her Cobble Hill apartment Friday is being investigated as suspicious, sources said. Elizabeth Borst, 55, was found on her kitchen floor after her husband, Gaetano Lisco, called neighbors and asked them to check on the victim because he couldn't reach her.Although Borst's death has not...

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A crazy, hazy tomato battle at Tobacco Road

Here at Miami’s birthplace for blues and booze, there was a battle. A melee of Corona-soaked revelry to rid a farm of its winter excess of tomatoes.The crowd of university students, kickball leagues and business consultants stood around some 20,000 pounds of the vegetable-fruit behind the bar Tobacco Road on Saturday. The concept, simple: launch as many...

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Independent Spirit Award Winners 2013

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

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Third arrest in video where little girls are forced to fight

YoutubeStills from the sick YouTube hit, which has since been taken down.Another teen was busted for forcing a fight between two grade-school girls in the Bronx that was captured on YouTube video, authorities said.The 14-year-old was charged as a juvenile with endangering the welfare of a child, cops said.Sources said she may be the sister of the 6-year-old...

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Ian Schrager joins forces with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten for new Edition Hotel

Two of the best-known names in their respective fields — hotelier Ian Schrager and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten — have teamed up for the Edition Hotel in Miami Beach, they told The Miami Herald Friday.The partnership had not previously been officially announced, but the two were set to host a cocktail party Friday night at the site of the old Seville Beach hotel, 2901 Collins...

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Parents of missing Hallandale Beach baby formally charged

The parents of an infant who disappeared more than a year and a half ago were formally charged Friday in Broward County Circuit Court.Brittney Sierra, 21, faces two counts of felony child neglect.Calvin Melvin, 27, was charged with three felony counts of providing false information to police. Each could face more charges if a Texas lab confirms that DNA...

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Joan Rivers and Melissa Rivers Oscar Fashion Police Preview

The Academy Awards red carpet represents the ultimate in Hollywood fashion, but just because stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain will wear the best of the best, that doesn't mean that Joan and Melissa Rivers aren't sharpening their claws…. Meow!Pics: The 15 Oscars Dresses of All Time Joan and Melissa are all fired up for their E! Oscar Fashion Police special on Monday, and from Jennifer...

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Crime ring chief gets 7 years for illegal guns, motorcycle thefts

The kingpin in a massive ring that sold at least 13 illegal guns and stole scores of motorcycles off city streets is going to prison for at least 7 1/2 years.Tiwane Paul, 31, had asked for less time, arguing through his lawyer that he'd had a tough childhood in his native Dominica. But prosecutor Diana Florence countered that Paul "was a very, very smart...

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National Hotel nears end of long renovation

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

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‘Dangerous dog’ ordinance passed in Pembroke Pines

An ordinance in Pembroke Pines aimed at constraining the behavior of dogs who brutally assault other dogs and humans passed unanimously late Wednesday, in response to two dog attacks that occurred in the city last December.The nuanced regulations would require a dog owner to pay a fine and up to $750 in “dangerous dog” registration fees if a dog was determined to be “dangerous”...

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Developers want to raise proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park complex three feet to avoid massive flood damage

These guys want to put their Brooklyn Bridge Park plans on a pedestal.The developers tapped to bring a hotel and residential complex to Pier 1 near Old Fulton St are planning for a future Hurricane Sandy by raising both buildings up at least three feet to avoid the massive flood damage that devastated the surrounding DUMBO neighborhood during last...

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Barbie Dreamhouse coming to Sawgrass Mills

Barbie fans will get to step into a real-life Malibu Mansion starting next month at Sawgrass Mills.The Sunrise mall will be the only place in the United States to feature the first life-sized replica of the Barbie Dreamhouse. Located in the Oasis section at Sawgrass, the Dreamhouse will feature pink elevators, an endless closet, a walk-in “glitterizer” and a dazzling “diamond”...

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Miami imam testifies that he lied when he professed support for the Taliban

In testimony that was at turns deadly serious and comical, a Miami imam accused of aiding terrorists testified Wednesday that he lied about his ostensible support for the Pakistani Taliban because he wanted to obtain $1 million from a purported Taliban sympathizer — who was actually an FBI informant.Hafiz Khan, 77, the one-time leader of a Miami mosque, said he repeatedly...

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Renny Harlin Talks Cliffhanger and Sylvester Stallone

Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin's first-ever U.S. film, the supernaturally charged Prison, is out this week for the first time on a special-edition Blu-ray, and while talking about the project and his career he revealed to ETonline that before he shot a frame of film on Cliffhanger, Sylvester Stallone told him, "I have a fear of heights."Pics: 13 Must-See Movies for 2013 "When he...

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