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 file sharing program, according to court records.





In April, FBI agents did a search of his home and computers, uncovering 26 video images of boys and girls changing clothes alone in a guest bedroom with their genitalia exposed, records show.

Matrajt admitted surreptitiously video recording children under the age of 12 as they changed clothes in the guest bedroom during photo shoots.





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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 Nation

As President Barack Obama touched on in his tear-jerking press conference, this is not the first time the nation has witnessed a tragedy of this kind. The recent mass shooting at an Aurora, CO movie theater is just one instance of such violence. Columbine High School and Virginia Tech also resonate as prime examples.

Hollywood's biggest stars were quick to react to the news on Twitter and made an outcry for stricter gun control regulations.

Watch the video for ET's complete coverage of today's biggest headline.

RELATED: Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

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Foreign leaders shocked and saddened by Connecticut tragedy








LONDON — As the world joined Americans in mourning the school massacre in Connecticut, many urged US politicians to honor the 28 victims, especially the children, by pushing for stronger gun control laws.

Twitter users and media personalities in the UK immediately invoked Dunblane — a 1996 shooting in that small Scottish town which killed 16 children. That tragedy prompted a campaign that ultimately led to tighter gun controls effectively making it illegal to buy or possess a handgun in the UK

"This is America's Dunblane," British CNN host Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter. "We banned handguns in Britain after that appalling tragedy. What will the U.S. do? Inaction not an option."





EPA



British Prime Minister David Cameron addresses a news conference yesterday.





Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called Friday's attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, a "senseless and incomprehensible act of evil."

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING

"Like President Obama and his fellow Americans, our hearts too are broken," Gillard said in a statement, referring to the US leader's emotional expression of condolence.

Australia confronted a similar tragedy in 1996, when a man went on a shooting spree in the southern state of Tasmania, killing 35 people. The mass killing sparked outrage across the country and led the government to impose strict new gun laws, including a ban on semi-automatic rifles.

The mass shooting in Connecticut left 28 people dead, including 20 children. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their home Friday before beginning his deadly rampage inside the school in Newtown, then committed suicide, police said.

Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Union's executive Commission, said: "Young lives full of hope have been destroyed. On behalf of the European Commission and on my own behalf, I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy."

British Prime Minister David Cameron, said he was "deeply saddened" to learn of the "horrific shooting."

"My thoughts are with the injured and those who have lost loved ones," he said. "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."

Queen Elizabeth II sent a message to President Barack Obama, saying she was shocked to learn of the "dreadful loss of life" and that the thoughts and prayers of all in the UK are with those affected by the events.

The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI conveyed "his heartfelt grief and the assurance of his closeness in prayer to the victims and their families, and to all those affected by the shocking event" in a condolence message to the monsignor of the diocese in Connecticut that includes Newtown.










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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 to try to develop into a technology hub for the Americas.

“While I like art, I absolutely love what is happening today... The time has come to become a tech hub in Miami,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, who kicked off the venture capital conference on Thursday. He told the audience of 450 investors and entrepreneurs about the county’s $1 million investment in the Launch Pad Tech Accelerator in downtown Miami.





“I have no doubt that this gathering today will produce new ideas and new business ventures that will put our community on a fast track to becoming a center for innovative, tech-driven entrepreneurship,” Gimenez said.

Brad Feld, an early-stage investor and a founder of TechStars, cautioned that won’t happen overnight. Building a startup community can take five, 10, even 15 years, and those leading the effort, who should be entrepreneurs themselves, need to take the long-term view, he told the audience via video. “You can create very powerful entrepreneurial ecosystems in any city... I’ve spent some time in Miami, I think you are off to a great start.”

Throughout the two-day AVCC at the JW Brickell Marriott, as well as the Endeavor and Wayra events, entrepreneurs from around the world pitched their companies, hoping to persuade investors to part with some of their green.

And in some cases, the entrepreneurs could win money, too. During the venture capital conference, 29 companies —including eight from South Florida such as itMD, which connects doctors, patients and imaging facilities to facilitate easy access of records — competed for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes through short “elevator’’ pitches. Each took questions from the judges, then demoed their products or services in the conference “Hot Zone,” a room adjoining the ballroom. Some companies like oLyfe, a platform to organize what people share online, are hoping to raise funds for expansion into Latin America. Others like Ideame, a trilingual crowdfunding platform, were laser focused on pan-Latin American opportunities.

Winning the grand prize of $15,000 in cash and art was Trapezoid Digital Security of Miami, which provides hardware-based security solutions for enterprise and cloud environments. Fotopigeon of Tampa, a photo-sharing and printing service targeting the military and prison niches, scored two prizes.

The conference offered opportunities to hear formal presentations on current trends — among them the surge of start-ups in Brazil; the importance of mobile apps and overheated company valuations — and informal opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs.

Speakers included Gaston Legorburu of SapientNitro, Albert Santalo of CareCloud and Juan Diego Calle of .Co Internet, all South Florida entrepreneurs. Jerry Haar, executive director of FIU’s Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center, which produced the conference with a host of sponsors, said the organizers worked hard to make the conference relevant to both the local and Latin American audience, with panels on funding and recruiting for startups, for instance.





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Miami-Dade elections group to discuss potential changes to state law




















An advisory group poring over Miami-Dade elections problems will hold its second meeting Friday, this time to focus on what changes to request from state lawmakers.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who convened the group, and his appointed elections supervisor, Penelope Townsley, already asked Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner — the state’s chief elections officer — on Tuesday to make several recommendations to Gov. Rick Scott to tweak elections laws.

But the 13-member advisory group might choose to make additional suggestions. And while the meeting with Detzner was more informal, the Miami-Dade group plans to make its requests in writing, and incorporate them into the county’s annual package of policies to lobby for in Tallahassee. County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the legislative package Tuesday.





The 2013 state legislative proposals drafted by the elections department include allowing early-voting sites in more locations — a request Miami-Dade has been making since 2006. State law currently limits the sites to elections offices, city halls and libraries.

The department also plans to ask legislators to reinstate 14 days of early voting. Scott, a Republican, signed a law passed by the GOP-led Legislature last year reducing the number of days to eight, while keeping the total number of hours offered on the books — 96 — the same.

The law also guaranteed one Sunday of early voting, but prohibited voting the Sunday before Election Day. African-American churches with large numbers of Democratic voters had traditionally used that day to bring “souls to the polls.”

About 90,000 fewer Miami-Dade voters cast early ballots in 2012 compared to 2008, according to the department.

The third request proposed by the department would limit the number of words printed on state constitutional amendments on the ballot, keeping them to the same length as county charter amendments. The county caps its ballot measures at 75 words; this year, one of the constitutional amendments took up a full page in Miami-Dade, where ballots are printed in English, Spanish and Creole. The 2012 presidential ballot ran 10 to 12 pages long, depending on the voter’s location, compared to four to six pages in 2008.

Federal law requires that ballots be available in other languages for minorities whose population meets a certain threshold.

In a letter she sent to the mayor last month, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami Gardens, recommended that the county print separate ballots in each of the three languages. “Printing all three languages creates the false impression that the ballot is excessively long,” she wrote. It is unclear how that proposal would work.

She also made other requests, including that the county support extending early voting.

Gimenez replied Thursday that most of Wilson’s recommendations “are in line with what we are proposing.”

In addition, the Miami-Dade elections department would like more time to count absentee ballots, which have become an increasingly popular voting method. State law currently allows tallying to begin 15 days prior to Election Day.

Other requests include:

• Remove political party executive committeeman and committeewoman races from the primary ballot in presidential election years, and require the parties to pay for those elections. This change would shorten the ballot, reduce the number of different ballots printed in the county, and save money.

• Do away with the term “absentee ballot” and replace it with “vote by mail.” The mayor has endorsed this change, saying absentee voting is a misnomer because Florida no longer requires that voters provide a reason — such as being ill or out of town — for voting by mail.

• Require that community development district elections be carried out only by mail. This change would shorten the ballot and reduce the number of different ballots. Community development districts are special taxing districts of 1,100 acres or more.

The advisory group will meet at 9 a.m. on the 18th floor of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW First St.





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Robin Roberts Everything is Fantastic


Good Morning America
had a special guest today when co-anchor Robin Roberts called in to help the gang send out 2012 in style!


RELATED - Robin Decks The Halls With Her GMA Family

The Play of the Day has become a signature GMA segment and to honor the year's best, Roberts phoned in to help Josh Elliott announce their favorites. Coming in second was footage of a Walrus doing sit-ups while Eye of the Tiger played over the speakers.

First place honors went to an adorable home movie of two boys trying, and failing, to land a punch in Taekwondo class.


RELATED - Celebs Show Support For Robin Roberts

Roberts then took a moment to let her fans know how she's feeling. "All is well," she said. "Everything is fantastic."

And you can count President Barack Obama among her fans as he was later shown telling Barbara Walters, "Send a big Christmas greeting to Robin Roberts. Such a wonderful person, a person we've come to love. We're rooting for her, and hope she's doing great." So say we all, Mr. President.

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Kerry, Hagel front-runners to lead State, Defense








WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2004 and has pined for the job of top diplomat, vaulted to the head of President Obama's short list of secretary of state candidates after UN Ambassador Susan Rice suddenly withdrew from consideration to avoid a contentious confirmation fight with emboldened Republicans.

The exit of Rice and elevation of Kerry shook up Washington on Thursday and was coupled with the potential for even bolder second-term changes in Obama's national security team next month. Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, emerged as the front-runner to serve as defense secretary.




The possible selection of Kerry and Hagel would put two decorated Vietnam War veterans — one Navy, the other Army — at State and the Pentagon.

Official word on replacements for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in an Obama Cabinet remake could come as early as next week. The choice of Kerry would open a Massachusetts Senate seat, boosting the prospects for recently defeated Republican Sen. Scott Brown to win back a job in Washington.

Kerry, a senator for nearly three decades and the current Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, has won praise from his Senate Democratic and Republican colleagues and should be confirmed easily, if nominated. He has been Obama's envoy to hot spots such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, the administration's point man in 2010 on a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia and was a stand-in for Republican Mitt Romney during Obama's debate preparation.

Hagel was a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee during his years in the Senate. He and Obama became close while they served in the Senate and traveled overseas together. Hagel has irked some in the GOP with his complaints that the party has moved too far to the right and for his endorsements of Democrats, most recently Bob Kerrey in last month's Nebraska Senate race.

"He's a combat vet who was wounded twice and understands that the decisions we make here are carried out by our young men and women" in the military, said Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

It would be highly unusual for Hagel's political moves to sink his nomination, even in bitterly divided Washington.

But Democrats blamed politics for Rice's demise as a possible candidate. They clearly insinuated that Republicans who failed to get any traction in using the deadly September attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, to derail Obama's re-election bid instead took down Rice.










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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 serial entrepreneurs, said Wifredo Fernandez, co-founder of The LAB Miami with Danny Lafuente and Elisa Rodriguez-Vila.

The LAB Miami, now in a 720-square-foot space in the same neighborhood, turned a Goldman building at 400 NW 26th Street into an artsy, modern space that can support 300 members, including tech startups, programmers, designers, investors, nonprofits, artists and academics.





In addition to offering space to work, the new co-working space plans to offer courses and workshops in business and technology — including a startup school and code school — as well as art, design and education, Fernandez said. It will be a welcoming space for traveling Latin Americans, too. “We want this to be a community center for entrepreneurs,” said Fernandez, explaining that the mix of activities and workshops will be structured by the needs of the LAB’s members.

While the Knight Foundation’s Miami office has sponsored many entrepreneurship events in the past four months, this is the foundation’s largest investment announced so far in its efforts to help accelerate entrepreneurship in Miami, said the Knight Foundation’s Miami program director, Matt Haggman. The Knight Foundation’s Miami office, which made accelerating entrepreneurship one of its key areas of focus this year, is investing $250,000 with the rest of the funding coming from a group of investors lead by Marco Giberti, Faquiry Diaz-Cala, Boris Hirmas Said and Daniel Echavarria.

“This is an important part of our strategy,” said Haggman. “Entrepreneurs need places to gather, connect and learn.”

The LAB Miami has already hosted several events, including HackDay and Wayra DemoDay earlier this week, and the co-working space plans to open for membership in January.

Co-working space will start at $200 a month to use the communal tables, and private offices that will accommodate up to six are also available. The LAB will also offer “Connect” memberships for $40 a month, which allows members who do not need co-working space to participate in events. In addition, there will be phone booths, classrooms, flexible meeting spaces, a lounge area, a kitchen, a “pop-up shop” for local fashion, art or technology products, a shower for those who bike to work and an outside garden with native landscaping.





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Miami city Commission considers hiring attorney to defend mayor against commissioner




















The Miami City Commission will convene its final meeting of the year on Thursday.

The agenda is long, but few of the proposals are expected to be controversial except for an item from Mayor Tomás Regalado.

Regalado is asking the commission for an outside attorney to defend him in a lawsuit filed by Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones. The suit accuses the mayor and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle of plotting to destroy Spence-Jones’s political career. Spence-Jones successfully fought a pair of political corruption charges last year.





Regalado says that City Attorney Julie O. Bru cannot defend him because she was a player in some of the alleged activities outlined in the lawsuit.

“The city attorney is totally conflicted out,” he said.

He believes the city should foot the bill because he was sued for actions he took in his capacity as mayor.

Regalado would like to be represented by attorney José Quiñón, according to the meeting agenda.





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Taylor Swift Turns 23!


23 On the Dot



The 22 singer turns 23 today and if we know anything about Taylor
Swift's style it's that she loves to rock the dots! Though the
girly-girl has been known to wear lots of stripes and florals, her true
affection seems to lie with polka dots. Click the pics to see a few of
Swift's spotty style statements, and leave her a few birthday wishes!


First up, some dots were spotted on Swift as she was seen leaving Studio 59 in New York City on Dec. 4, 2012. 


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US retail sales up 0.3 percent in November








WASHINGTON — Americans spent more online in November to start the holiday season and began to replace cars and rebuild in the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy.

US retail sales rose 0.3 percent in November from October, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That offset a 0.3 percent decline in October from September.

The figures were much stronger after factoring lower gas prices. When excluding a large drop in gas station sales, retail sales increased a solid 0.8 percent.

The report offered a mixed signal for the holiday shopping season. Sales that reflect online shopping surged 3 percent — the biggest gain in 13 months. But department store sales tumbled and Americans spent less at stores like Wal-Mart and Target.





REUTERS



A crowd of shoppers browse at Target on Thanksgiving.





Some of the decline may be because of the storm. Still, economists worry that consumers may also be growing more cautious because of looming tax increases set to take effect in January.

Sandy made landfall on Oct. 29 and slowed business activity during the first couple of weeks of November — the start of the busiest shopping period of the year, Retailers can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue in the final two months of the year.

The November retail sales report largely reflected a rebound from the storm. Auto sales jumped 1.5 percent, as many people sought to replace damaged vehicles. Sales at home improvement stores increased 1.6 percent.

Some figures suggest shoppers regained their enthusiasm for the holidays, perhaps later in the month. Electronic and appliance sales rose 2.5 percent. Furniture sales increased 1 percent.

Still, department stores sales dropped 0.8 percent. And sales at general merchandise stores, a broader category that includes Wal-Mart and Target, fell 0.9 percent.

In addition to the storm's impact, consumers might scale back on holiday shopping if they are concerned about the "fiscal cliff." That's the name for tax hikes and spending cuts that are scheduled to go into effect next year if Congress and President Barack Obama cannot reach a deal to avert them.

The retail sales report is the government's first look at consumer spending. Consumer spending is important because it drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

The economy grew at a solid 2.7 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. But the gains were mostly because businesses stepped up restocking, which drove more factory production.

Consumer spending actually slowed over the summer from the previous quarter. And many economists worry that consumers have remained cautious in the final three months of the year, because of the storm and their fears about higher taxes next year. That should keep growth below an annual rate of 2 percent in the October-December quarter, they say.










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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 — tagged the “Chinese component”— is that China Railway Construction Corp. be included as a general contracting partner in the project, the person said.

Closing by year’s end is crucial because of new tax rules set to take effect, the person added.





The agreement, first reported in The Wall Street Journal, would provide funding for the first six years of what is envisioned to be a 20-year project.

The loan agreement, reached Dec. 7 after Lennar officials met in China with bank officials, provides for $1 billion in financing to a partnership led by Lennar to redevelop Hunters Point Shipyard-Candlestick Point, a site in southeast San Francisco spanning more than 700 acres, the person said. Plans for the mixed-use community call for nearly 12,000 residential units on the site. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.

Under the pact, the Chinese bank would provide another $700 million to a partnership of Lennar, Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany, a real estate investment and development firm, to redevelop Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Islands in San Francisco Bay. Some 8,000 units of housing are planned for the mixed-use project on 535 acres. The U.S. Navy is set to turn over the first parcel of land to the development company in late 2013.





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Fla. board to select education chief




















One finalist for Florida education commissioner conceded Tuesday that he can be caustic at times, while another said he resigned as Illinois’ top school official because of the political climate under a governor who later went to prison.

The remaining finalist acknowledged the federal No Child Left Behind Act that he helped draft and promote as a congressional staffer and U.S. Department of Education official was a compromise that needs to be revised.

The State Board of Education interviewed all three candidates in Tampa, where the panel is scheduled to make a decision Wednesday.





The finalists are outgoing Indiana School Superintendent Tony Bennett, Murray State University President Randy Dunn, who previously had been superintendent in Illinois, and Arlington, Va., consultant Charles Hokanson, who had been a deputy assistant U.S. secretary of education in President George W. Bush’s administration.

The new commissioner will replace Gerard Robinson who resigned in August after only about a year on the job. He cited separation from his family in Virginia where he previously had been secretary of education.

Bennett, a Republican who lost a bid for re-election last month, said if he has a fault it is being passionate, focused and looking to the end result as the only thing that matters when he was asked about his strengths and weaknesses.

"I do forget that the interpersonal touch, the human touch is so vitally important," Bennett said. "And I would tell you that probably some of my sharpest critics would tell you that sometimes I come off a little impersonal, that I can be a little caustic, and that’s not because I’m a mean spirited person."

Bennett said his strong suit is carrying out polices that are best for children. In Indiana those were similar to many that fellow Republicans, starting with former Gov. Jeb Bush, have instituted in Florida such as school grading and accountability and teacher evaluation programs.

Dunn said he took a sabbatical from his position as chairman of the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education at Southern Illinois University to serve as superintendent on an interim basis. He said he found that job so rewarding that he agreed to stay on permanently but resigned in 2006 to accept the presidency at Murray State in neighboring Kentucky.

"One of the things that was particularly challenging in Illinois at the time was the political climate," Dunn said. "It was not a good environment politically to be working in."

Dunn was referring to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who years later was removed from office and imprisoned on multiple corruption charges including trying to sell President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

Hokanson, a lawyer and policy specialist rather than educator, worked on No Child Left Behind while a staffer for now-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"There are amazing strengths to that piece of legislation," Hokanson said. "It was the first time that the federal government was able to really put in some levels of accountability for the billions of federal dollars that they had been spending for decades and not seeing results."

Hokanson, however, blamed Congress and Obama for failing to make needed changes in the law that is well past its planned renewal date.

Bennett and Dunn both stressed that they see the commissioner’s role as implementing rather than setting policy, which they said is the job of the board, Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott.

In Tallahassee, Scott said he wants a commissioner who would carry out his agenda including adequate funding, accountability, treating teachers right and not teaching to standardized tests.

"I want someone who I can work with who believes in what I’m doing," Scott said.





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Drew Barrymore's Baby Daughter Olive Lands First Cover

Drew Barrymore introduces her baby daughter, Olive, to the world on the latest People magazine cover.

The nine-week old is seen in the arms of her actress mom who told the magazine that after giving birth, "I couldn't eat or sleep for two weeks, I was just so nervous!" She added, "You have the highest highs and yet you're facing the biggest fear of, 'How do I keep someone alive?' "

Barrymore, 37, was eager desire to have kids and is grateful to have met husband and art consultant Will Kopelman. "I really wanted a wonderful traditional home for my kid," she told People. "Will comes from a strong family, he provides a strong family ... It just makes me so emotional because it's like a miracle."


RELATED: Drew Barrymore Opens Up About Motherhood

So, how do these happy parents keep their baby smiling? They sing Good Morning from the musical Singin' in the Rain. The E.T. actress gushed, "It's like the biggest crush I've ever had in my life!"

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Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar dies at 92








NEW DELHI — With an instrument perplexing to most Westerners, Ravi Shankar helped connect the world through music. The sitar virtuoso hobnobbed with the Beatles, became a hippie musical icon and spearheaded the first rock benefit concert as he introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over nearly a century.

From George Harrison to John Coltrane, from Yehudi Menuhin to David Crosby, his connections reflected music's universality, though a gap persisted between Shankar and many Western fans. Sometimes they mistook tuning for tunes, while he stood aghast at displays like Jimi Hendrix's burning guitar.





AFP/Getty Images



Ravi Shankar





Shankar died Tuesday at age 92. A statement on his website said he died in San Diego, near his Southern California home with his wife and a daughter by his side. The musician's foundation issued a statement saying that he had suffered upper respiratory and heart problems and had undergone heart-valve replacement surgery last week.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also confirmed Shankar's death and called him a "national treasure."

Labeled "the godfather of world music" by Harrison, Shankar helped millions of classical, jazz and rock lovers discover the centuries-old traditions of Indian music.

"He was legend of legends," Shivkumar Sharma, a noted santoor player who performed with Shankar, told Indian media. "Indian classical was not at all known in the Western world. He was the musician who had that training ... the ability to communicate with the Western audience."

He also pioneered the concept of the rock benefit with the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh. To later generations, he was known as the estranged father of popular American singer Norah Jones.

His last musical performance was with his other daughter, sitarist Anoushka Shankar Wright, on Nov. 4 in Long Beach, California; his foundation said it was to celebrate his 10th decade of creating music. The multiple Grammy winner learned that he had again been nominated for the award the night before his surgery.

"It's one of the biggest losses for the music world," said Kartic Seshadri, a Shankar protege, sitar virtuoso and music professor at the University of California, San Diego. "There's nothing more to be said."

As early as the 1950s, Shankar began collaborating with and teaching some of the greats of Western music, including violinist Menuhin and jazz saxophonist Coltrane. He played well-received shows in concert halls in Europe and the United States, but faced a constant struggle to bridge the musical gap between the West and the East.










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The first wave of Windows 8 PCs




















We’ve been benchmarking and field-testing new Windows 8 systems, including all-in-one desktops, traditional clamshell laptops and convertible laptops with displays that flip or twist around to form tabletlike devices.

Dell XPS One 27

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)





The good: Boasts the highest-display resolution among Windows 8 all-in-ones, and at an aggressive price.

The bad: A new adjustable display support arm is welcome, but stops short of reclining a full 90 degrees.

The cost: $1,999.99 to $2,099

The bottom line: Updated with a touch screen, a new stand and up-to-date components, the Dell XPS One 27 leads the inaugural class of Windows 8 PCs.

HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: An attractive ultrabook with a respectable mix of components for its price, a responsive touch screen and a backlit keyboard.

The bad: It isn’t very configurable, so you can’t make it too much more powerful than it already is. It’s on the heavy side for an “ultrabook” (if you consider 4.5 pounds heavy). Its touch pad is jumpy at default settings.

The cost: $799.99 to $974.98

The bottom line: The HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 is a good gateway to the Windows 8 experience with a responsive touch screen in a traditional laptop body.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: Looks as good as any 13-inch ultrabook, with the added attraction of a 360-degree screen and a laptop body that can fold into a tent, stand or slate.

The bad: Tablet mode leaves the keyboard exposed, and the Yoga 13 costs more than standard ultrabooks with similar components.

The cost: $1,099

The bottom line: The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a convertible touch-screen laptop/tablet that most importantly doesn’t compromise the traditional laptop experience.

Microsoft Surface RT

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: Interface is innovative, elegant, powerful, and versatile. The tablet feels strong and well-built, includes Office 2013 and offers rich video and music services. Its keyboard cover accessories are the best ways to type on a tablet, period.

The bad: The tablet has sluggish performance, its Windows Store is a ghost town, Metro requires some practice to get the hang of and the desktop interface feels clunky and useless.

The cost: $499 to $599

The bottom line: If you’re an early adopter willing to forget everything you know about navigating a computer, the Surface tablet could replace your laptop. Everyone else: wait for more apps.





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South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff




















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 a decade by eliminating tax deductions and $960 billion over the same period by raising tax rates for the top 2 percent of income earners. Many Democrats sounded as though the highly charged presidential campaign was still under way.

Republicans are just as committed to their party.





There’s been "no evidence thus far" that Republicans are truly interested in the middle class, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, who the president just asked again to head the Democratic National Committee.

"We need to continue to focus on rebuilding our economy from the middle class out," she said during an appearance on MSNBC.

"President Obama talked eloquently and passionately during the campaign about making sure that we can get a handle on this deficit, that we can rebuild our economy from the middle class out, that we can focus on creating jobs and getting the economy turned around," she added.

Equally firm: South Florida Democratic Reps. Alcee Hastings, of Miramar and Frederica Wilson, of Miami. Both are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which released a statement of principles this week calling for the Bush-era tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans.

Social Security should be completely off the table, the caucus warned, and it said it would oppose any plans that change the eligibility for Medicare or cut Medicaid, the statement said.

Some Democrats made conciliatory moves, however. Sen. Bill Nelson said that during his campaign, voters told him they want consensus and an end to partisan gridlock.

"They want bipartisanship," he said in a video message. "They want to stop the ideological rigidity."

It’s the only way to rebuild the economy and reduce the federal deficit, while preserving Social Security and Medicare, he said. He called on people of both political parties "to reach across the aisle and work together so America doesn’t go over the cliff."

That’s unlikely to come from his Republican counterpart, Sen. Marco Rubio, who along with former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was featured in a speech this week in Washington.

Rubio blamed the "complicated and uncertain tax code" for "hindering the creation of middle-class jobs." He gave no hint he would be interested in supporting the president’s tax proposal on the wealthiest Americans.

"You can’t open or grow a business if your taxes are too high or too uncertain. And that’s why I personally oppose the president’s plan to raise taxes," Rubio said. "This isn’t about a pledge. It isn’t about protecting millionaires and billionaires. For me, it’s about the fact that the tax increases he wants would fail to make even a small dent in the debt but it would hurt middle-class businesses and the people who work for them."

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Miami, was one of the few Republicans from South Florida to suggest she’d be open to tax reform, saying there needs to be a review of the tax code "to remove special interest tax loopholes used by the wealthy."

But she warned that the country’s debt exists "not because tax rates are too low, but because government spends too much."

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, also of Miami, said he was less optimistic about a resolution now than he was right after the election.

He said he feels as though Republicans have moved closer to the president without getting credit for it.

"I’m very disappointed with the president’s response," he said in an interview.

"The speaker put forward a proposal, and whether you agree with it or not, there are a couple of things beyond debate: He’s gotten closer to the president’s position."

Even those on their way out of Congress made no move to cross party lines. Republican Rep. Allen West, of Plantation, who was ousted by Democrat Patrick Murphy, warned constituents in a letter that he didn’t think there was a true plan to reduce spending.

Rep. David Rivera, a Republican who lost his re-election bid and who will be replaced by Democrat Joe Garcia, did not respond to a request for comment.





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Scandal Behind The Scenes of Oprahs Next Chapter

On Sunday's episode of Oprah's Next Chapter, the former Queen of daytime sat down with the current Queen of Nighttime as Shonda Rhimes opened up about her rise to primetime prominence, headline making work and new show, Scandal.


VIDEO - What's Next For Fitz?

For the Scandal-focused section, star Kerry Washington joined her boss in the Pope & Associates conference room to talk about ABC's white hot drama and everyone's favorite couple, Fitzlivia. Or Olivitz.

After Rhimes calls Fitz and Olivia the central relationship of the show, Washington added, "That doesn't mean easy, that doesn't mean together." A sentiment Rhimes seconded when she said, "They love each other, but they can't be together."


RELATED - Shonda Rhimes Adopts 

And she would know since the showrunner revealed, "I literally start out every season saying, 'Here's the last moment of the season.' I can only write it if we know how it's going to end," adding, "That doesn't mean I know how we're going to get there."


Scandal
fans did get a brief (albeit, not surprising) spoiler when Next Chapter gave us an exclusive sneak peek at the table read for episode 11, which President Fitzgerald Grant was a part of, leading me to conclude his bullet wounds won't be fatal.

And while Rhimes previously opened up about Katherine Heigl's controversial Grey's Anatomy exit, we learned that the experience led to the creation of a new policy. "Shonda Rhimes vetted these actors like we were going to be in the administration," Washington laughed. "She did background checks on everybody to make sure there were no a**holes."

"I learned the hard way," Rhimes concedes. "I learned some very difficult lessons in the past about not vetting people and then finding yourself with groups of people that don't gel."


Scandal
airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC and Oprah's Next Chapter airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on OWN.

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Mom gunned down outside hospital








A woman was gunned down this morning behind Brookdale Hospital, authorities said.

Shalema Gaskin, 32, was standing outside of the hospital on Hegeman Avenue and East 98th Street when a passerby opened fire around 3:10 a.m., police said.

She was hit once in the neck and rushed inside the hospital where she later died, police said.

Gaskin was at the hospital with her 8-year-old child, who had suffered an asthma attack, police sources said.











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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 Texas — that will add about 700 employees to its national payroll of 19,400.

In announcing the deal Tuesday, which is expected to provide AutoNation with $575 million in additional revenues next year, the company’s CEO and chairman, Mike Jackson, expressed optimism about the prospects for continued growth in vehicle sales.





“You want to know what I’m thinking, look at what I do,” Jackson told viewers on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

No information was released on the cost of the transactions, but in recent years auto dealerships sometimes sold for three to five times revenue, which would represent a significant investment for the company.

Tough times

To be sure, AutoNation has struggled through some tough times. It was battered by the Great Recession, which depressed sales and pushed the company into a $1.2 billion loss four years ago. As sales began to improve in 2010 and 2011, it was blindsided by a shortage of Japanese-made cars last year after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 shut down Japanese manufacturers of some essential components.

Since then, however, AutoNation has rebounded. Unit sales, revenues and profits all performed well in the first three quarters of this year, and the company expects new vehicle sales to continue their recovery nationwide, rising to the mid-14 million units this year, up from about 12.7 million in 2011. In the third quarter of 2012, AutoNation’s new car unit sales grew by 21 percent over the same period in 2011, doing better than an estimated 15 percent increase industry wide. November’s sales of new vehicles increased by 21 percent over November 2011 .

The big dealerships acquired sell Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Chrysler products in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. They are expected to sell 14,000 new and used autos this year, and will add substantially to AutoNation’s future sales.

“We are in the right industry at the right time,” Jackson said during an interview. “The recovery in new vehicle sales is being driven by replacement demand,” added Jackson, who has 42 years of experience in the auto business. “The average age of the light vehicle fleet in the country has increased to 11 years, and even though cars and trucks last longer today, they can’t go on forever. About 12 to 13 million vehicles are scrapped every year and need to be replaced.”

Other factors are contributing to stronger demand for vehicles. “The population is growing, interest rates are low, there is ample credit available and manufacturers are producing a wide range of new models that offer attractive styling, power and greatly improved gas mileage,” said Jackson, who took over as AutoNation’s CEO in 1999. “Auto financing is more available than it has been in recent years. A little known fact is that people are more likely to default on a mortgage than on a vehicle loan.”





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Tower Theater remains an asset for Little Havana




















More than 20 years ago, when the city of Miami bought an historic but abandoned theater on Southwest Eighth Street, city leaders expressed their hope that the investment would help revitalize Little Havana.

The troubled neighborhood that’s considered the symbolic heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community couldn’t afford to wait to see if “something will fall from the sky and drop in the middle of Eight Street,” then Commissioner Miriam Alonso implored during a 1991 meeting. “The time for that area is now”.

After spending some $3 million to purchase and restore the Tower Theater, the city in 2002 handed the management duties to Miami-Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College), which committed to showing films and cultural events at affordable prices.





Today, many consider the Tower Theater the beacon on Southwest Eight Street that attracts lovers of international film, including many Cuban immigrants who once lived in the neighborhood but now own homes in the suburbs and tourists who are unfamiliar with Miami’s cubaneo.

“The relationship with Miami Dade College has been one of this neighborhood’s success stories,” said Pablo Cantón, who retired this summer from his longtime post as administrator of the city’s Neighborhood Enhancement Team in Little Havana. “The theater has helped local businesses because when people come to see movies they also go across the street to buy dinner. And you have people who haven’t set foot in Little Havana in years who are now returning to watch a movie.”

Nearly 50,000 people attended films at the theater last year, said MDC spokesman Alejandro Ríos. It is also a principle venue for MDC’s Miami International Film Festival and has been the site of several major educational events, including the world premier of the documentary Oscar’s Cuba, about the famed Cuban dissident Oscar Elias Biscet.

“It can certainly be argued that the Tower Theater has been at the core of the Calle Ocho’s cultural renaissance,” he said. “It has brought new audiences into the city and the college. It has been visited by major actors, governmental leaders and thinkers with international acclaim.”

But the past decade of use has started to wear on the theater, built in 1926. This summer, city officials discovered that the roof had some water damage. Meanwhile, MDC President Eduardo Padrón presented a list of possible improvements to the theater, from replacing its four heating and air conditioning units to rebuilding the stage area to attract better live acts.

Currently, the college manages the theater on what’s essentially a month-to-month contract. The original five-year contract, which was renewed in 2007, expired in May. Padrón was out of the country last week and could not be reached for comment. Ríos did not respond directly to questions about the contract but said that the infrastructure improvements could cost some $700,000.

The city can’t afford to pay for repairs out of its general fund, so earlier this year, officials considered deeding the property to MDC with the understanding that the college would then finance the capital improvements.

“We considered that option with the clause that if they stopped maintaining the building or using it as a theater, the property would revert to the city,” said Henry Torre, director of public facilities. “The intent was to keep it open as a community center that services the residents of Little Havana.”

City administrators never brought the plan before the commission after learning that district commissioner, Frank Carollo, was opposed. “This has nothing to do with the college, which has a great reputation in this community,” he said. “It has to do with the fact that the city has given away so many other properties to other municipalities or government agencies, and I don’t think it’s necessary in this case.”

Instead, Carollo has proposed using a portion of federal Community Block Development Grantfunds designated for his district to pay for the capital improvements. A plan to pass the funds to the college will be presented at the commission’s first meeting in January, said George Mensah, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department. As the owner, the city must agree to all the work performed, Mensah assured.

Bill Fuller, a Little Havana developer, said it makes sense that the city hold on to the property. “The folks at Miami Dade College have been great stewards of the theater, but it’s a city asset, not a college asset,” said Fuller, who owns several properties along Southwest Eighth Street. “The Tower Theater is the centerpiece of the entire neighborhood and any community would be blessed to be able to preserve its local theater.”





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Abigail Breslin Lands Grown-Up Role In 'Final Girl'

Abigail Breslin isn't the adorable little girl we remember in the 2006 indie flick Little Miss Sunshine anymore. At age 16, the actress is taking on a new, mature role in photographer Tyler Shields' film Final Girl.

Not set to be released until 2013, Shields shared photos of his film's stars, Breslin and American Beauty actor Wes Bentley, 34. The celebrity photographer wrote on his website: "I have started directing my first Film called Final Girl staring Abigail Breslin Wes Bentley and a whole group of incredible people more updates coming very soon for now here's a little teaser!"

The latest pics show Breslin resembling Marilyn Monroe in a blonde wig and red gown, while Shields is dressed in a tux and holding an old camera in the actress' direction.

According to IMDB, Final Girl is about a pack of teenage boys who choose the wrong girl to be the victim of their "initiation."

Breslin also tweeted about the project, writing: "Insane day of filming today! Literally so stoked @tylershields @alexanderludwig @cameronbright @reecethompson88"


What do you think of the 16-year-old starlet's new look? Is this age appropriate?

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Bus driver in fatal casino crash feels 'sorry every day'









Bus driver Ophadell Williams said not a not moment passes without sad thoughts about last year’s horrific crash that killed 15 passengers returning from a gambling jaunt.

William emerged from his Brooklyn home this morning, seeing morning daylight for the first time since he was acquitted Friday on manslaughter charges.

“I feel sorry every day,” Williams told The Post. "This is my first day out of that house, since I have been home."

The soft-spoken Williams donned a tan suit and strolled through his Brownsville neighborhood, sharing handshakes and hugs with neighbors who haven’t seen him in more than a year.





Pool photo



Ophadell Williams after being acquitted on manslaughter charges Friday.





“I’m home, you know, I’m free,” the bus driver added.

Williams said he greatly appreciated the support from family, friends, neighbors and strangers throughout the trial.

"Just the amount of prayers, how many people prayed, all over the world, not just in New York City,” he said.

The 41-year-old Williams had faced up 15 years in prison for 54 criminal counts, emerging from the March 12, 2011 tragedy.

A Bronx jury cleared Williams of any criminal wrongdoing, except for driving without a valid license. He was fined $500.

"The anticipation, believe me, it's overwhelming -- sometimes I can't even breathe,” Williams said about his final days in jail and court before last week’s verdict.

The NTSB ruled that Williams was driving 78 mph in a 50 mph zone on I-95 on virtually no sleep. His World Wide Tours bus tours was taking passengers from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut back to Manhattan Chinatown.

Williams wasn’t sure what his next job would be. He reminisced how much he enjoyed being a bus driver.

"I loved my job. I really loved it,” Williams said. "It was a wonderful job."

He’s just happy not waking up inside Rikers Island anymore.

"It is great [to be home],” he said. "I mean, that Rikers Island was not made for humans."

He called the city’s biggest lockup “crazy” and “daunting.”

Additional reporting by David K. Li










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




















• AutoNation’s announcement December 4 that it was acquiring six auto stores in Texas, its second most important market after Florida, forms part of the company’s national growth strategy.

• AutoNation operates in 15 states and, according to CEO Mike Jackson, prefers to build its brand network in existing markets rather than expand to new markets. It grows either by acquisitions or by obtaining new franchises from manufacturers. Some recent acquisitions:

• The purchase of Audi, Chrysler, Dodge Ram, Jeep, Porsche and Volkswagen dealerships in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets, announced December 4, is projected to increase the company’s revenue by about $575 million per year in the Lone Star State, which accounted for 20 percent of revenue last year. The outlets are expected to sell about 14,000 new and used autos this year.





• In early 2011, AutoNation bought a Toyota dealership in Fort Myers with annual sales of $135 million.

• In 2006, the company made its largest purchase prior to the December acquisition: a Mercedes-Benz store in Pompano Beach that had annual revenues of $230 million.

Source: AutoNation

South Florida auto dealers

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 Texas — that will add about 700 employees to its national payroll of 19,400.

In announcing the deal Tuesday, which is expected to provide AutoNation with $575 million in additional revenues next year, the company’s CEO and chairman, Mike Jackson, expressed optimism about the prospects for continued growth in vehicle sales.

“You want to know what I’m thinking, look at what I do,” Jackson told viewers on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

No information was released on the cost of the transactions, but in recent years auto dealerships sometimes sold for three to five times revenue, which would represent a significant investment for the company.

Tough times

To be sure, AutoNation has struggled through some tough times. It was battered by the Great Recession, which depressed sales and pushed the company into a $1.2 billion loss four years ago. As sales began to improve in 2010 and 2011, it was blindsided by a shortage of Japanese-made cars last year after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 shut down Japanese manufacturers of some essential components.

Since then, however, AutoNation has rebounded. Unit sales, revenues and profits all performed well in the first three quarters of this year, and the company expects new vehicle sales to continue their recovery nationwide, rising to the mid-14 million units this year, up from about 12.7 million in 2011. In the third quarter of 2012, AutoNation’s new car unit sales grew by 21 percent over the same period in 2011, doing better than an estimated 15 percent increase industry wide. November’s sales of new vehicles increased by 21 percent over November 2011 .

The big dealerships acquired sell Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Chrysler products in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. They are expected to sell 14,000 new and used autos this year, and will add substantially to AutoNation’s future sales.





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State scraps plan to have private vendors make license tags




















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 the department.

Highway Safety Chief Julie Jones had wanted to save money by paying private companies $31.4 million over two years to make tags and distribute mail and online orders, but she abandoned the idea under pressure from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, among others.





“We listened to what everyone had to say, considered questions that vendors posed and received information from our tax collector partners,” Jones said. “Based on the input, we have decided to withdraw [efforts to privatize].”

The decision will keep Florida out of administrative court, which is where it seemed headed Tuesday after department lawyers shut down tax collectors’ requests to retract its invitation to bidders.

Jones’ change of heart earned praise from Bondi, who said the department “did the right thing.”

Manufacturing company Avery Dennison and St. Petersburg-based PRIDE, a nonprofit organization that uses prisoners to manufacture tags, filed formal protests and met with state officials this week.

For them, the state’s decision may only be a temporary victory.

Stephen Hurm, an attorney for the state highway agency, told tax collectors Friday the department will not seek to privatize plate distribution but could reignite the push as early as January to bid out the manufacturing role.

The state may want to switch from raised tags to the more modern flat tags that are thought to be more legible for red light and toll cameras. PRIDE doesn’t have the equipment to make flat tags.

Hillsborough County Tax Collector Doug Belden says he will fight the state if it moves to exclude PRIDE.

“Why change a system that is working well and that customers enjoy? My job as an elected official is to provide the most friendly, capable customer service for the best price. We’re doing that,” said Belden, who criticized Jones for excluding tax collectors in her decisions.

Belden, along with PRIDE lobbyist Wilbur Brewton, argue that flat tags are no easier to read and are more expensive — which will result in more fees for motorists. The company may try to invest in new technology if that’s what it takes to continue working with the state, Brewton said.

“Is the equipment currently sitting in the plant to do it? No,” he said. “This could cause harm, but we would have to calculate that once we see the details.”

Jones hasn’t committed to any tag — flat or raised, she said. She just wants something legible and well-priced.

“We want to get the best product moving into the future in terms of technology, but at a cost that’s affordable,” Jones said. “This is going to be done in a cost-effective manner.”

The controversy over the tags is not expected to stall a planned redesign.

Floridians can continue to vote on four designs for a new state tag at Vote4FloridaTag.com. About 50,000 people have weighed in. The deadline is Dec. 14.

Brittany Alana Davis

can be reached at bdavis@tampabay.com .





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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 Japan

In theaters December 21, The Impossible finds Naomi as Maria and Ewan as her husband Henry, who are enjoying their winter vacation in Thailand with their three sons. On the day after Christmas, their relaxing holiday in paradise becomes an exercise in terror and survival when their beachside hotel is pummeled by an extraordinary, unexpected tsunami.

Video: Watch the Trailer for 'The Impossible'

The Impossible tracks just what happens when this close family and tens of thousands of strangers must come together to grapple with the mayhem and aftermath of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time.

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Federal tax breaks proposed for Sandy victims








ALBANY — Two Democratic senators are proposing federal tax breaks to help victims recover faster from Superstorm Sandy.

Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey want to make all repair expenses fully tax deductible, reducing the tax bite of victims in their returns covering the current year.

The breaks would also include credits to subsidize home and business repairs and help businesses keep workers on the payroll.

The proposal wouldn't cost either state any of its scarce revenues as they try to rebound. But it would reduce payments to Washington as it seeks to reduce deficits.





REUTERS



Residents look through the debris of a house that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Union Beach, New Jersey.





The breaks announced Sunday would also provide relief for those who provided free temporary housing for victims and waive penalties for victims who have to withdraw from their retirement accounts to pay for storm costs.

"These changes to existing tax law are a common sense and simple way to help disaster victims, and a quick way to get them aid to repair their homes, to recover losses, and to support their businesses," Schumer said.

Businesses would see a tax credit for continuing to pay employees even when the business was shut down.

"This bill will provide critical tools to help families recover their losses, rebuild shattered businesses and restore communities devastated by the storm," Menendez said.










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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 the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.





One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”





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