Backstreet Boys As Long As You Love Me Its Christmas Time Again Late Night

The Backstreet Boys were on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to promote their new Christmas song on December 19, and while you can watch that below, you're going to want to start with the video up top. Trust me.

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That's because the Late Night web-exclusive performance is of BSB rocking out to The Roots' take on As Long As You Love Me. Yes, that's right. And I'm not the only one jazzed about them kicking it old school (can't believe this song came out in 1997) as you can tell from the girly screams coming from the audience as soon as they hit the first harmony.

Click play up top and then you can watch BSB sing It's Christmas Time Again.

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Sales of previously occupied US homes jump to highest level in three years

WASHINGTON — US sales of previously occupied homes jumped to their highest level in three years last month, bolstered by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales rose 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in November. That's up from 4.76 million in October.

Previously occupied home sales are on track for their best year in five years. November's sales were the highest since November 2009, when a federal tax credit that was soon to expire spurred sales. Excluding that month, last month's sales were the highest since July 2007.

Sales are up 14.5 percent from a year ago, though they remain below the roughly 5.5 million that are consistent with a healthy market.

Job growth and low home-loan rates have helped drive purchases. Prices are also rising, which encourages more potential buyers to come off the sidelines and purchase homes. And more people may put their homes on the market if they feel confident they can sell at a good price.

In addition, the excess supply of homes that built up during the housing bubble has finally thinned out. The number of previously occupied homes available for sale fell to a 10-year low in October. The supply of new homes is also near its lowest level since 1963.

At the same time, more people are looking to buy or rent a home after living with relatives or friends during and immediately after the Great Recession.

These trends have supported a steady recovery in housing. Builder confidence rose in December for a seventh straight month to the highest level in more than 6½ years, according to a survey released Tuesday by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo.

The pace of home construction slipped in November, but it was still nearly 22 percent higher than a year earlier. Builders are on track this year to start work on the most homes in four years.

Economists note that the increase in building should lead to more construction jobs, though it hasn't yet done so. That could mean more construction hiring is coming.

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Survey shows better lending climate

Most Miami-Dade businesses believe they have easier access to borrowed money amid a slowly improving economy.

That’s one result from a recent survey of executives by Miami’s Bilzin Sumberg law firm. The online survey of about 200 top executives was conducted during the second half of 2012.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they thought the financing environment had improved since 2011, with venture capital funds and community banks identified as the top sources of potential capital. Fifty-two percent called the economy “growing slowly,’’ compared to 7 percent describing it as “strong and growing.” Only 16 percent described the economy as weak.

DOUGLAS HANKS

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New poll: Many Florida voters say they wouldn’t re-elect Scott as governor

TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Rick Scott continues to suffer from poor approval ratings despite an improving economy and lowering unemployment, and a majority of voters say they wouldn’t vote to re-elect him, a new poll shows.

The poll found, among other things, that many voters are crediting the Obama administration with an improving economy, rather than Scott.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed Florida voters disapprove by 45-36 percent of the job Scott is doing, and 52 percent said he doesn’t deserve a second term, compared to just 30 percent who told pollsters Scott should be re-elected.

The poll also found that 55 percent of voters — including 53 percent of Republicans — say they’d like another Republican to challenge Scott for the GOP nomination in 2014.

Republican voters do give Scott a positive 63-19 percent job approval rating, however, and GOP voters say by a 55-26 percent margin that he deserves a second term.

“Obviously, the governor has almost two years to go until the election and anything is possible, but he faces a herculean task in changing public opinion to his favor,” said Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown.

Scott, who has struggled with negative approval ratings since being elected in 2010, plans to seek re-election next year. The only declared candidate challenging him is Democratic former state Sen. Nan Rich. Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who is now a Democrat, is considering a run, and Democrat Alex Sink, who narrowly lost to Scott in 2010, is thought to be mulling a rematch.

Crist, who was governor as a Republican from 2007 to 2011 and lost a bid as an independent in 2010 for the U.S. Senate, has a 47 percent favorable rating and 33 percent unfavorable mark among all voters, according to the Quinnipiac poll. His favorability among Democrats is 65 percent and among independents is 48 percent, but only 28 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of Crist, compared to 56 percent who have an unfavorable view.

Sink overall is viewed favorably by just 27 percent of voters and unfavorably by 14 percent, but 57 percent of respondents didn’t have an opinion.

Among four other possible Democratic challengers the poll asked about — Rich, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and South Florida businessman and former lawmaker Jack Seiler — none has a favorability score of more than 17 percent and the overwhelming number of respondents said they didn’t know enough about them to have an opinion.

The only other Republican the pollsters tested was Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, thought by many to be a likely candidate for governor in the future. But 80 percent of voters don’t have an opinion currently about Putnam, a longtime former Congressman and former state legislator.

Respondents said they dislike Scott’s policies by 52 percent to 32 percent, though nearly half of voters say they’re at least somewhat satisfied with the way things are going in Florida — the highest so far during Scott’s term. The poll didn’t ask specifically what policies voters don’t like.

Scott has staked his success on creating jobs, and has been able to boast about a falling unemployment rate for several months. Florida’s jobless rate fell in October to 8.5 percent, its lowest level since December 2008, and non-farm employment has grown for more than 27 straight months. When Scott got elected, unemployment in the state was at 12 percent, so he has made good to some degree on his main promise of getting people back to work.

Pollsters found, however, that many voters are crediting the Obama administration with the improving economy. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said the president deserves “a lot” of the credit for the improving economy, to just 16 percent who think Scott deserves “a lot” of the credit. Similarly, though, those voters who believe the economy is getting worse, overwhelmingly blame Obama rather than Scott.

The poll also found a 52-30 percent approval rating for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and a 51-31 percent approval rating for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat. The Legislature, generically, is seen negatively by 44 percent of respondents with just 35 percent approving of lawmakers on the whole.

The poll included 1,261 registered voters and was taken Dec. 11-17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

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Killer Joe Exclusive Clip

When Matthew McConaughey first read the script for Killer Joe, he was at a loss for words. "I didn't get any of the humor," he says in ETonline's exclusive clip off the DVD's bonus features.

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McConaughey was so perplexed by the script, he nearly passed on the project. "It took me a couple days to shake that off," the actor says, adding that he searched out the advice of others in making the final decision. "[I talked to] some peers of mine, who I trust their reads on things, who said, 'No, it's hilarious.' And they pointed out how and why."

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And it looks like he made the right decision as the role not only scored McConaughey an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor, but also some of the best reviews of his career!

Although, it turns out, McConaughey wasn't exactly what the writer was looking for ... check out ETonline's exclusive clip off the Killer Joe DVD, in stores December 21, to find out how the actor ended up snagging the role. Then click here to pre-order!

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MTA approves sweeping fare, toll hikes

Angel Chevrestt

The MTA has approved a sweeping fare and toll hike, including a raise in the price of a monthly MetroCard from $104 to $112.

The MTA's board – including Chairman Joe Lhota, who will step down on Friday in order to run for mayor -- approved sweeping fare and toll hikes at their monthly board meeting this morning that will raise the price of a monthly MetroCard from $104 to a whopping $112.

The hikes will also make weekly unlimited ride cards $30 - up a dollar from their current price - and will include a twenty five cent increase to the base fare, bringing it to $2.50.

The hikes also include a $1 green fee every time a rider gets a new MetroCard from the machine – which means the rider opted not to refill a current MetroCard.

Officials scrapped a plan to eliminate the seven percent bonus on pay-per-ride purchases over $10 following outcry from the public.

Instead, the MTA will lower the bonus to five percent. But it will kick in on purchases five dollars and over, an effort to take the sting out of raising the base fare to $2.50.

A single ride ticket - typically used by tourists and non-regular riders - will rise to $2.75, up from $2.50.

The hikes go into effect in March.

Board members overwhelmingly expressed regret at hiking fares, but said they had no choice.

"What you have before you is the best of a not so great situation," said board member Andrew Albert.

Nearly all said the system must receive more funding to take the burden off of riders.

"Government seems to lack a will to find an alternative," said Charles Moerdler.

He said he'd support a tax on high incomes to fund mass transit. "Yes that tax would hit me and dammit its a good idea," he said.

The hikes will take effect in March.

The increases come one day after it was revealed that Lhota will step down on Friday in order to run on the GOP ticket for mayor. Lhota has been talked up for in recent months after the MTA performed well after Hurricane Sandy.

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Stone-crab season suffers in the Keys

Despite rocketing prices for stone-crab claws, many Florida Keys commercial fishermen have nearly given up on the season only 2 months old.

"We may see record prices but also record pain," said Gary Graves, general manager of Keys Fisheries in Marathon. "Prices don't mean anything if you can't catch anything."

Harvests since shortly after the season opening Oct. 15 have been "as bad as I can remember during my 45 years in the business," Graves said. "It's just bleak."

Keys Fisheries, one of the state's leading wholesalers for stone crabs, has laid off half of its production staff, maybe 20 people, Graves said.

"We hate to do it to our people but we're probably not finished," he said. "Right now, a big day for us is 1,000 pounds [of claws]. It should be around 15,000 pounds. We're doing nothing."

Keys Fisheries has raised its dockside prices paid to fishermen several times to encourage fishermen to keep their traps in the water.

Graves said it costs a fisherman about $1,200 in fuel, labor and other expenses to make a day's trip. The fish house's current prices are $9 per pound for medium-size claws and $17 per pound for the coveted jumbos.

"Our wholesale sales prices are higher than that and retail is through the roof," Graves said. "But we can't fill the orders we have."

A Marathon community group recently canceled the organization's annual stone crab feast for members because no claws were to be found.

The season runs until May 15.

Last season, Monroe County produced about 1.1 million pounds of legal-size claws, accounting for a large portion of Florida's total 2.67 million-pound harvest worth an estimated $23.6 million to the commercial fleet.

About 1,000 people statewide are licensed to fish traps for stone crabs. Only the claws are kept. Historically, stone-crab harvests have topped three million pounds of claws.

"The last two years were good and the recruitment looked normal," Graves said. "The first round of trap pulling was fine but it went downhill from there — like falling off a cliff."

Fishermen and researchers are baffled.

"Blame it on global warming, blame it on BP [Deepwater Horizon oil spill], blame it on Mother Nature," Graves said. "Everybody's got an idea but nobody can say why. It's probably a combination of a bunch of things."

News reports from stone-crab fleets farther up the Florida Gulf Coast suggest an octopus population explosion. Crabs are a favorite food of octopus, which are smart enough to get into traps.

"We've seen more octopus in the 6- to 8-pound range, which is abnormal," Graves said. State experts have suggested warm winters may have triggered the octopus boom.

"Things could turn around," Graves said, "but realistically the chances of it happening this season are slim."

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Miami owner of mental health chain pleads guilty to stealing millions from Medicare

Kept behind bars because of fears he might flee to Cuba, Armando “Manny” Gonzalez has pleaded guilty to stealing tens of millions of dollars from Medicare by fraudulently billing the taxpayer-funded program through a mental health chain in Miami and North Carolina.

Gonzalez, 50, a convicted cocaine trafficker who joined the Medicare rackets in the mid-2000 era, had opened a pair of mental health clinics in the Kendall and Cutler Bay areas. By 2008, Gonzalez suspected the feds were on to him, so the one-time Miami-Dade resident exported himself and his business to North Carolina.

Before his arrest last May, he was planning to open another psychotherapy clinic in Tennessee.

Gonzalez was indicted with others on charges of conspiring to defraud $63 million from Medicare. He was ordered held without bail after prosecutors argued that because he faces 30 years to life in prison, he could be a “flight risk” to his native Cuba.

Dozens of Cuban immigrants charged in South Florida with trying to bilk the federal healthcare program for seniors have fled to the island nation, which historically has turned a blind eye and doesn’t return the fugitives to the United States.

On Monday, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Gonzalez agreed to forfeit property valued at several million dollars, including $987,910 seized in July as well as a one-acre home, vehicles and other assets in Hendersonville, N.C.

According to court records, Gonzalez’s company, Health Care Solutions Network, billed both Medicare and the Florida Medicaid program for purported mental health services that patients did not need.

Gonzalez’s three clinics — accused of entertaining patients with TV and movies instead of providing actual group psychotherapy sessions — collected $28 million in Medicare payments from 2004 to 2011. Justice Department lawyers said in court papers that the “vast majority" of the money “disappeared” with a “substantial portion ... laundered through shell corporations.”

Gonzalez was initially indicted along with eight codefendants, including a registered nurse, John Thoen, and other employees of his shuttered company, Health Care Solutions Network.

Thoen has pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud, and so have three other employees, Alexandra Haynes, Serena Joslin and Sarah Da Silva Keller.

Also charged in the scheme: Daniel Martinez, Raymond Rivero, Ivon Perez and Alba Serrano, operators of three assisted-living facilities in the Homestead area called Mi Renacer, God Is First and Kayleen and Denis Care.

The ALF operators were accused of taking bribes from Gonzalez in exchange for supplying a steady stream of patients, many of whom suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. They could not have benefitted from the therapy, prosecutors said.

All four defendants have pleaded guilty to health care fraud and related charges for their roles in the scheme.

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Smurfs 2 Trailer

The Smurfs are back and this time, Smurfette is getting into a bit of trouble.

Kidnapped by Vladamir (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) after he learns she has a secret spell that can turn the evil sorcerer's newest creation, the Naughties, into real Smurfs, Smurfette (Katy Perry) is coerced into becoming bad. It's up to her Smurf and human friends to rescue her before it's too late.

Also starring Neil Patrick Harris and Sofia Vergara, Smurfs 2 hits theaters July 31, 2013. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think of the family film.

Is the Smurf movie franchise better than the cartoon?

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Woman shot dead while calling 911 in apparent Colorado murder-suicide

DENVER — Four people were found dead Tuesday in Colorado after a woman called police to report a shooting and was apparently shot to death while she was on the phone.

Weld County sheriff's spokesman Tim Schwartz says dispatchers heard the woman who called 911 scream "No, no, no," and then heard a gunshot. Schwartz says a man grabbed the phone and said he was going to kill himself, and dispatchers heard another shot.

The bodies were found in a home in a subdivision east of Longmont, which is about 35 miles north of Denver.

The dead included two men and two women, including one who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s.

Schwartz says investigators have a possible motive for the shootings, but he refused to release details.

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