New Year is a good time to count your blessings

The new year is a great time to look back and consider how blessed you are. I try to do that every day, but often in my life I am overwhelmed at the enormous blessings the Lord has bestowed on me.

No, I didn’t get a great big financial windfall last year. And I walk with a cane, because of painful arthritis in one of my knees. Still, I am blessed. I can still walk.

A few years ago, I was told by two doctors that I was going blind. But today, I can see without eyeglasses. So, every time I pass a patch of flowering weeds along the road, I say a silent "Thank you," to the Lord for allowing me to see His beautiful handiwork. I even get excited when I see my mango tree heavy with new blossoms, signifying a bumper crop (hopefully) of mangoes this season. And when I see a momma bird caring for her young, it brings a smile to my face.

Yes, I have a lot to be thankful for as I go into this new year. And so do you. This is even more evident in a letter I received a few months ago from local gospel recording artist Pat Jackson. She briefly told her touching story of survival and blessings and wanted to know if I wanted to interview her. I did, and still do. However, Jackson’s email doesn’t seem to work and the number she enclosed in her letter was missing one digit.

Jackson said she is a survivor of thyroid cancer. Her story is so touching for this and any time of the year, that I will share with you what she shared with me in her letter.

Jackson, 50, has been plagued with serious health issues nearly all her life, that included multiple cysts, benign tumors, diverticulitis, ruptured intestines, four major surgeries, during one of which she nearly bled to death, survived six car accidents and a stray bullet that came through her sister’s home.

She never knew her biological mother or father and spent her entire childhood as a foster child. "I was very fortunate and was able to live in the same [foster] home until I became an adult," she said.

"But," she added, "Today, I am cancer-free, even though doctors doubted that I would ever be able to speak or sing again. To God be the glory, for allowing me life and a second chance," she wrote. She has an album titled, Lord, I’m Still Standing.

What’s your "I am thankful for another year" story? Tell me in a few words and I may use them in a future column.

Email them to me at: bea.hines@gmail.com, or write to me at: Bea L. Hines, c/o The Miami Herald, 2000 NW 150th Ave., Suite 1105, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028.

‘Jews of Asia and Africa’

If you want to be in the class, "Jews of Asia and Africa," to be offered at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, Jan. 9-April 17, you have until Jan. 9, to register.

The class will be taught by FIU research professors Nathan Katz and Tudor Parfitt, and is open to both degree-seeking FIU students and community members interested in taking the class on a auditing basis.

Community members interested in auditing the class may enroll through the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education at 305-576-4030, ext. 128, or carlaspector@cajemiami.org. The cost is $295. Students seeking credit may enroll in course REL 4312 through FIU.

The 12-week course will look at the Jewish experience beyond Florida, which has been the traditional focus of the museum. The class will also feature guest speakers to include a visiting member of Zimbabwe’s Lemba Jewish community, and will employ different methodologies, from genetic anthropology to participant/observation findings.

For more information, contact Katz at nathan.katz@fiu.edu.

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Rihanna Posts Pic of Marijuana

Rihanna faced a bit of backlash from her Instagram followers after posting a pic of what looks to be marijuana.

The S&M singer, 24, captioned the abstract pic, writing: "This nug look like a skull or am I just....?"

With nearly 6,000 comments to the pic and over 9,300 likes, with one reader responding: "Why r u teaching other girls who look up to you to do this?"

Hours later, Rihanna posted another message that read: "I don't really give a f***."

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What do you think? Should Rihanna be sharing pics of this nature? Let us know, below.

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Brave Sandy Hook students return to classroom for first time since Newtown school massacre

AFP/Getty Images

A Sandy Hook Elementary student flashes a peace sign as children leave on a school bus in Newtown.

Give peace a chance.

A bus-riding Sandy Hook Elementary School tyke didn’t need to utter a word to say what’s on the mind of everyone between Newtown and Monroe.

Traumatized Sandy Hook kids came back in class today, for the first time since last month’s massacre that took the lives of 20 little kids and six educators.

About 400 kids from Newtown took over classrooms in nearby Monroe, at the site of what was once Chalk Hill Middle School, as their original school remains closed off as a crime scene.

The campus, seven miles away, has been decorated in “Sandy Hook Elementary School” signage, as students reunited with their teachers today -- many for the first time since that horrific Dec. 14 morning.

Newtown schools superintendent Janet Robinson teachers and staff are doing their best to make this a “normal day” for the children.

AFP/Getty Images

A sign welcoming children from Sandy Hook Elementary school sits on the road in Monroe, Conn.

"We will go to our regular schedule," she said. "We will be doing a normal day."

There was a huge police presence on campus today, with cops checking IDs of parents as they approached school grounds to drop off kids.

"I think right now it has to be the safest school in America," Monroe police Lt. Keith White said yesterday.

School officials encouraged parents to visit campus and even stay in classrooms or an auditorium throughout the day.

Sandy Hook dad Vinny Alvarez took a moment to tell his little girl’s third-grade teacher, Courtney Martin, how eternally grateful he’ll be for the instructor’s quick thinking.

Martin didn’t hesitate locking her classroom door when bullets began to fly on Dec. 14, keeping her kids safe from rampaging gunman Adam Lanza.

"Everybody there thanked her in their own way," Alvarez said.

With Post Wire Services

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Portion of Macy’s Flagler Street property in downtown Miami sold

A New York firm bought part of the Macy’s building in downtown Miami and is expected to acquire the rest. The next priority is negotiating a new lease to keep Macy’s as a tenant.

In a deal that could have implications for the future of downtown Miami’s anchor retail tenant, a New York real estate investment firm paid $15.55 million to acquire more than half the property that now houses Macy’s Flagler Street store.

The acquisition by Aetna Realty Group includes the 48,000 square feet of land that was leased to R.W. Burdine in 1917. Until the recent sale, the property was owned by 23 heirs of Richard and Harriet Ashby, who signed the initial 99-year lease with Burdine. The lease expires in 2016.

The Ashby family began taking steps to prepare the property at the intersection of Miami Avenue and Flagler Street for sale nearly four years ago, said Lewis R. Cohen, a GrayRobinson lawyer who represented the Ashby family in the transaction that closed on New Year’s Eve.

Over the years, Macy’s and its predecessor, Burdines, grew the site’s downtown presence well beyond the Ashby land, and the current building now extends another 30,000 square feet of land. Aetna has also made a commitment to purchase the remaining portion of the building, that is currently owned by Macy’s, Cohen said. But that deal hasn’t closed yet.

“That deal is a sure thing,” Cohen said. “They could not have closed with us without having an agreement with Macy’s completely nailed down.”

When Macy’s decided not to purchase the Ashby land itself, the owners soughta third-party that could control both pieces. The reason: Improvements made to the store over the years straddled both properties, such as elevators and escalators starting on one parcel and ending on another.

“Between the engineering difficulties of severing the properties and the legal issues involved, it would have been somewhere between extremely expensive and impossible” for different entities to share control, Cohen said.

Aetna was one of three bidders interested in the site, Cohen said. One of the other players was the Barlington Group, a Miami developer that in 2011 signed a deal with Macy’s to sub-lease 20,000 square feet of empty ground-floor space for a mix of restaurants and cafes.

Macy’s spokesman Jim Sluzewski said this transaction doesn’t impact Macy’s current lease. He declined to comment on any other pending transaction regarding the property the retailer owns in downtown Miami.

“It’s business as usual,” said Sluzewski, who also would not discuss Macy’s long-term plans for downtown Miami beyond the expiration of its lease. The company’s roots in downtown Miami date to 1898, when the first Burdines opened in a nearby downtown location.

Aetna and its local attorneys did not respond to calls Wednesday for comments.

But Cohen said Macy’s is in the process of finalizing a short-term deal with the new owners.

“They intend to stay for at least the foreseeable future,” Cohen said. “For a minimum of five years they’ll be there and possibly longer.”

Downtown scene

Macy’s long-term future on Flagler Street has been in doubt since 2007, when Macy’s Florida then-Chairwoman Julie Greiner took city leaders to task for the deplorable conditions in downtown and threatened that the retailer might leave.

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Man grazed by stray bullet in Miami on New Year’s Eve

A stray bullet fired into the air just after midnight on New Year’s Eve struck a man as he celebrated at a party in Miami, according to police.

The bullet grazed the man’s upper left shoulder. Paramedics treated him outside the Allapattah home at Northwest 25th Avenue and 32nd Street. The man, who was not identified, wasn’t taken to a hospital.

Miami police spokesman Detective Willie Moreno confirmed that the victim was struck by a stray bullet.

Homeowner Randy Ruiz said the injured man was a friend of a friend who was visiting his home on New Year’s Eve.

“We had a lot of friends and family in my yard, and fireworks were being fired off,” Ruiz said. “Just after midnight, one of the guests complained of blood on his shirt. So we quickly ran over to see what was going on and saw there was blood on his left arm.”

Neighbor Barbara Jimeno, who has three grandchildren between the ages of one and four, said she was alarmed by what happened.

“It could happen to me or my grandchildren, who live around the block,” she said.

The injury followed a series of warnings from the Miami mayor, Miami police and activists about the dangers of firing bullets into the air on New Years Eve.

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Fred Armisen Portlandia Season Three Interview

The dream of the 90's is alive once again now that the inspired insanity of IFC's Portlandia returns on Friday.

The brainchild of Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen, Jonathan Krisel and former Sleater-Kinney singer Carrie Brownstein, the Emmy-nominated Portlandia has amassed a loyal legion of fans who have Put A Bird On It, spent too much time in a Feminist Bookstore and fallen in love with the oversize yet understated characters that have come to life over the past two seasons. ETonline caught up with Armisen to find out what fans can look forward to this season, how he juggled Portlandia duties with his SNL responsibilities and how long Armisen plans to juggle both.

ETonline: Portlandia went from sleeper hit to full blown movement last season, culminating in a multi-city sold out tour. How exciting has it been that the quirky show has been so widely embraced?

Fred Armisen: It's like the ultimate surprise. Even though Carrie, Jonathan and I are very ambitious and work-oriented and try to make the best show we can, we still took everything in little steps. It was, "Let's see if we can make this pilot. Let's do six episodes." It was very much step-by-step. As a result of that, we never took anything for granted, and we still don't. I always assume people on the street are going to bring up SNL to me, but it's now a lot of Portlandia, and that's really nice.

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ETonline: When you begin mapping out a new season, do the writers go on a retreat or is it more informal than that?

Armisen: It's actually both. There's a very traditional writer's room in Los Angeles that then moves to Portland. That part is very much the way it's always been in comedy writing on television, and I think that's for a reason. It's something we adhere to. It helps us focus and see it as a workplace. We care about the show being entertaining for people. We don't ascribe to the school of "Who cares what people think?" There is an arty side to it, but we want to do what's interesting for us and the viewers. We want to talk about things people in this country and around the world are talking about and experiencing. But then, the crazier part of it happens when we're shooting. That's when we start throwing things out the window.

ETonline: Does working simultaneously on Portlandia and SNL ever present a Sophie's Choice problem of deciding which show gets which character?

Armisen: No, I never have to worry about that. For me, it's all about what's in front of me. Because ideas can be fleeting and because they can be irrelevant one day later, it's all about timing. If I'm working on SNL, that's where the idea goes. If it's June and I come up with an idea, it goes to Portlandia.

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ETonline: What are you excited for fans to see in 2013? Lots of guest stars, right?

Armisen: The people we have on as guests are people we're fans of. Matt Berry, Jim Gaffigan, Matt Lucas, Dirty Projectors, Rose Byrne. It's them doing the thing that we, as fans, love them for. For example, we needed someone to play a violent ex-girlfriend and thought Juliette Lewis would be perfect. With Chloe Sevigny, she's so cool and understated but also very present. There's this charisma and presence in her stillness that makes us so drawn to her. [Character-wise], we have this guy who talks about the recording studio all the time. In my opinion, there's this new phenomenon where guys used to talk about cars a lot in the past. But, more and more it's becoming them talking about recording studios.

ETonline: You guys got a lot of attention for getting the cast of Battlestar Galactica on the show last year. What TV are you loving right now?

Armisen: Sometimes I think I'm a really interesting guy and like all these shows and have this qualified taste, but when I look at it, I like what everyone else does. I love Homeland, I love Game of Thrones, this last season of Mad Men was unbelievable, Downton Abbey I love. It's an exciting time for TV. It's something people really do cherish; they seek them out like record collections and that's kind of great. It's the opposite of what I think people thought would happen with the internet. I've never heard people talk about TV so much.

RELATED - In Praise of SNL's New Stars

ETonline: People have been buzzing about Saturday Night Live a lot this season. How long do you envision yourself being able to juggle both?

Armisen: I thrive most when I have to juggle things. The more I keep myself occupied and jump from thing to thing, the more I think it enriches both. I'm having such a good time on SNL, it's still so much fun.

Portlandia returns January 4 at 10 p.m. on IFC.

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Pilot spots theft at own house while flying plane

LABELLE, Fla. — Authorities say a Florida man flying home from North Carolina caught a man stealing a trailer while piloting his plane over his own home.

The News-Press reports that David Zehntner was flying over his home in LaBelle Sunday when he saw a truck in his driveway. He lowered his altitude to get a closer look and saw a man attaching Zehntner's trailer to the truck.

Zehntner followed the truck and called the Glades County Sheriff's Office from the air. Glades deputies contacted the Lee County Sheriff's Office, which found the truck as it headed into Charlotte County.

Gary Haines, 59, of Virginia, was arrested and charged with grand theft. He was released Monday from the Charlotte County Jail on $2,500 bond. It's not clear whether he's retained an attorney.

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World markets rally after U.S. ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

LONDON --
The world’s financial markets breathed a huge sigh of relief Wednesday that U.S. lawmakers agreed on a budget deal that will stop hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that risked plunging the world’s biggest economy into recession.

Stocks around the world started 2013 with hefty gains as investors welcomed the vote in the House of Representatives that made sure that the U.S. does not go over the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Though longer-term fiscal problems remain and President Barack Obama will likely face more battles with the Republican-dominated House, investors were relieved that the biggest near-term stumbling block to the world economy has been cleared.

“Investors are trading with a sense of relief after lawmakers in Washington agreed on a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff that has been the dominant theme in equity markets since the presidential elections back in November,” said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares jumped 2.2 percent to 6,028, its first foray above the 6,000 mark since July 2011. The CAC-40 in France rose 2.4 percent to 3,729 while Germany’s DAX was up 2.3 percent at 7,786.

Earlier, in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shot up 2.9 percent to close at 23,311.89, its highest finish since June 1, 2011. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.2 percent to close at 4,705.90, its best finish in 19 months while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7 percent to 2,031.10.

Wall Street was likewise set to rally on the open – Dow futures were up 1.3 percent at 13,195 while the broader S&P 500 futures jumped 1.5 percent to 1,441.

The “fiscal cliff” deal is likely to remain the focus of attention in financial markets over the rest of the day.

The bill that Congress approved calls for higher taxes on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples, a victory for Obama. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. It also delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts that had been set to start affecting the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week.

If lawmakers had not agreed by the Jan. 1, 2013 deadline on the new budget measures, more than $500 billion in tax increases would have hit the economy in 2013 alone. Government spending worth $109 billion would have been cut from the military and domestic spending programs.

Though fears over an imminent fall off the “fiscal cliff” have eased, investors still have a host of issues to worry about – not least the prospect of more debates over unresolved longer-term U.S. budget issues.

“Cynics will point out that another argument has been booked in for two months’ time, when the debt ceiling comes up for debate, and Republicans will be looking to make progress on the spending cuts that haven’t been featured in the New Year deal,” said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG.

Investors will also keep a close watch on any response from the credit rating agencies. After a fight in Congress to raise the debt limit in 2011, Standard & Poor’s lowered the U.S. government’s AAA bond rating, citing the lack of a credible plan to reduce the federal government’s debt. It also voiced its concerns about the “effectiveness, stability and predictability of American policymaking.”

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Peeping tom suspect nabbed at Forever21 store at Sawgrass Mills mall

A suspected “peeping tom” was arrested Sunday after he was caught with video of women trying on clothes at the Forever21 store at the Sawgrass Mills mall.

Andre Clements, 30, has been charged with video voyeurism and disorderly conduct, Sunrise police said.

A manager at the store became suspicious when Clements, 30, was caught loitering in the dressing rooms. Customers also complained about Clements.

The manager alerted mall security, who called Sunrise police. When police arrived, the manager found several large slits in the curtain which separated the fitting room Clements was in and the adjoining fitting room.

In Clements possession police found a Sony camcorder with videos of young women changing clothes.

Clements admitted taping the women just before police had arrived.

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Kim K. Exclusive: Pregnancy is Hard

Entertainment Tonight's Christina McLarty was the first to catch up with Kim Kardashian in Las Vegas at her first appearance since her boyfriend, rap star Kanye West, announced that they are expecting a child together.

Pics: Kim's Pre-Pregnancy Style 

Kardashian tells ET that pregnancy is harder than she imagined and the changes to her body are difficult. She also tells McLarty that she is taking a lot of naps.

"I wouldn't say it's been easy," she said. "When people say that pregnancy is fun and they love it I would have to disagree. Even my sister has made it look easy, but it's not as easy as people think. I heard it's all worth it so I'm looking forward to that."

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Kardashian hosted a New Year’s Eve event at 1OAK Nightclub at The Mirage.

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