On Saturday, Bay of Pigs invasion veterans mark 50 years since their release

In the days before Christmas 50 years ago this weekend, 1,113 Bay of Pigs fighters captured by Fidel Castro’s forces and imprisoned for 20 months were finally released to a heroes’ welcome in Miami.The first planeload of POWs arrived at Homestead Air Force Base on Dec. 23, 1962. Gaunt and betrayed by the John F. Kennedy administration, members of the proud Brigade 2506 were...

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Analysis: Apple’s swoon exposes risk lurking in mutual funds

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The nearly 28 percent decline in shares of Apple Inc since mid-September isn’t just painful to individual shareholders. It’s also being felt by investors who chased hot mutual funds that loaded up on Apple as the stock raced to a record $ 705 per share.Apple makes up 10 percent or more of assets in 117 out of the 1,119 funds that own its shares, according to data from Lipper,...

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Buzzmakers: New X Factor and Miss Universe Winners

What had ET readers buzzing this week?1. 'The X Factor' Crowns A Winner!And the $5 million recording contract goes to…Tate Stevens! The 37-year-old country crooner beat out runner-up 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar for the top prize Thursday night. 35 million votes were cast Wednesday to determine victory for L.A. Reid's mentee.Near tears, the Raymore, Missouri native thanked his fans for their overwhelming...

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Staten Island man killed in early-morning house fire

A Staten Island man was killed when an early-morning fire swept through his home, police and relatives said.Jameek Champagne, 23, died in the third-floor attic of the home on Osgood Avenue in Clifton. His brother and grandfather escaped the blaze uninjured.A neighbor reported the blaze after seeing flames erupt from the house at about 5:40 a.m. He banged on the door in a frantic effort to awaken its...

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Investors shuffling assets ahead of fiscal cliff

Some citizens aren’t waiting to find out if the White House and Republicans in Congress will be able to reach a last-minute deal to pull the country away from the “fiscal cliff.” They are selling securities while capital gains tax rates are still low or transferring millions into trusts for the benefit of children and grandchildren before estate tax laws become more stringent....

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Stand Your Ground motion denied in Janepsy Carballo case

It will be up to a jury to decide if Janepsy Carballo was justified in the killing of the man she said killed her husband. The Stand Your Ground motion filed by her defense was denied on Friday, based largely on Carballo’s inadvertent confession to a confidential informant who was wearing a police wire to investigate an unrelated drug charge at the pain management clinic...

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The Words Exclusive DVD Bonus Features Clip

Bradley Cooper has built his career on playing men stuck between a rock and a hard place -- from The Hangover to Limitless, audiences simply adore watching the actor wriggle out of sticky situations. RELATED - Bradley Cooper Talks The Words The Words promises to elate his fans once again as Cooper plays Rory Jansen, a struggling writer who finally achieves literary success after publishing what is...

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Oreo cookie maker Mondelez gives CEO $10M stock award

The company that makes Oreo cookies is sweetening the pay for its CEO with a special stock award valued at $10 million.Mondelez Inc. says in a regulatory filing that the reward recognizes Irene Rosenfeld for "top-tier performance," including the recent "highly successful" spinoff of its Kraft Foods grocery business.Mondelez, which also makes Cadbury chocolates...

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Miami-Dade jobless rate drops to 8.4 percent; Florida rate drops to 8.1 percent

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent for November, down .4 percent over the previous month, bring it to November 2008 levels. It was the largest drop in month over month rates since October 1992, reported the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity. In Miami-Dade County, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent when adjusted for seasonality; that represents...

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Religious leaders, students in South Florida remember Newtown tragedy with observances

South Florida religious leaders will be remembering the 20 children and six adults killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. On Friday, all Archdiocese of Miami schools will have a moment of prayer at 9:32 a.m. The archdiocese’s churches also will ring their bells 26 times in observance of those killed.On Sunday, Temple Judea in Coral Gables...

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Who Is Miss Universe Olivia Culpo?

It was an exciting Wednesday night for Americans as Miss USA Olivia Culpo became Miss Universe. But how well do we know this New England beauty?Here are five little-known facts about the beauty queen:5. The 2012 Miss Rhode Island USA pageant was the first beauty contest Culpo had ever entered.4. Culpo is the first winner from the U.S. to become Miss Universe since Brook Lee in 1997.3. Miss Universe...

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BMG nears $90M deal for Sony/ATV song catalog

BMG Rights is close to a deal for Sony/ATV’s Rosetta music publishing catalog, several sources told The Post.One executive said the music publishing firm had offered around $90 million for the rights to some 30,000 songs. Rosetta is packed with ’80s hits from acts such as Tears for Fears, Culture Club and Devo, along with British songstress Duffy’s “Mercy.”Sony/ATV,...

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Carnival fourth-quarter profits tumble

MIAMI (AP) – Cruise operator Carnival Corp. said Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income tumbled 57 percent, hurt by lower ticket prices and higher fuel costs. Despite the drop, the results beat Wall Street predictions. But the Miami-based company issued a lower-than-expected profit prediction for the full year, and its shares fell 6 percent in morning trading....

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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...

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Shooting renews argument over video-game violence

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the days since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a shell-shocked nation has looked for reasons. The list of culprits include easy access to guns, a strained mental-health system and the “culture of violence” — the entertainment industry’s embrace of violence in movies, TV shows and, especially, video games.“The violence in the entertainment culture...

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Tina Fey Amy Poehler Golden Globes Commercial Second

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are back with their second Golden Globes promo and for the second time, it's funnier than most comedies Hollywood released all year.VIDEO - Fey & Poehler Auction Off FriendshipIn it, they make several promises as to what the evening will be: splendid, wondrous, clever, drunken and that's just the red carpet! The Golden Globes will air January 13 at 8 p.m. on N...

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'Golden Eagle Snatches Kid' video probably a fake

A video of a purported golden eagle swooping from the skies of Montreal to snatch a toddler off the ground flew its way across the internet this morning, instantly becoming a viral sensation.But on closer review, the video, which has over one million views on YouTube already, is full of clues that might lead you to believe it is a fake.The eagle-eyed viewers...

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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...

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WWII vet to receive French Legion of Honor

Hal Lobree was an 18-year-old radio operator with the U.S. Army’s 106th Infantry Division, less than three weeks into his deployment to war-ravaged Europe, when Adolf Hitler launched a surprise blitzkrieg that would later be known as the Battle of the Bulge.From his post in a farmhouse cellar in the town of St. Vith, Belgium, Lobree frantically connected calls from the front...

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Kristen Stewart I Apologize To Everyone For Making Them So Angry

Getting noticed in Hollywood is the toughest task facing every fledgling actor and every A-lister will tell you countless stories about the times they almost quit the business. Kristen Stewart did just that during a new interview with Newsweek, recounting the make or break audition that ultimately put her on the path to stardom.RELATED - Kristen Auctions Gown Off For Charity After being discovered...

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Paula Broadwell online stalking probe dropped

The Justice Department is dropping its investigation into whether David Petraeus' mistress, Paula Broadwell, stalked a romantic rival online.Broadwell's lawyer, Robert Muse, gave The Associated Press a letter from U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill that says no federal charges will be brought in Florida related to "alleged acts of cyberstalking."A retired general, Petraeus resigned as CIA director in November...

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Pipeline Brickell, a new co-working space, reaches 70% occupancy

Pipeline Brickell, the shared workspace at 1101 Brickell Avenue that opened last month, announced it has reached 70 percent occupancy and is now home to dozens of startups, established companies and professionals. Company founders Todd Oretsky and Philippe Houdard said members of the 14,000-square-foot high-design co-working center include The Founder’s Institute, the world's...

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Narcy Novack gets life in prison for killing her hotel heir husband

An epic family murder saga ended Monday when Narcy Novack, wife of Fontainebleau hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., was sentenced to life in prison.Three years after she and her brother Cristobal planned and helped execute Ben Novack and his mother Bernice, the convicted killers, who had remained loyal to each other throughout the trial, made it clear their family ties would not...

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RIM begins BlackBerry 10 tests with business, government clients

TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd said on Monday that it had begun a “beta testing” program that allows 120 companies and government departments to try out its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones before their global launch on January 30.The Canadian company, which is trying to reverse a sharp decline in market share for the BlackBerry, said the program would enable so-called enterprise customers...

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Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Expecting First Child

The Sexest Man Alive is now going to be a dad.Channing Tatum and his wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, are expecting their first child together, ET confirms.Related: Channing Tatum Crowned as 'Sexiest Man Alive' The couple, who married in 2009 in Malibu, met on the set of their hit film Step Up.In November, the recently crowned "Sexiest Man Alive" told People that he wanted at least three kids with his dancer/actress...

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Fla. woman gets life in prison in family killings

A woman from Florida has been sentenced to life in prison in the killings of her millionaire husband and mother-in-law.Narcy Novack of Fort Lauderdale was not in the White Plains courtroom to hear the sentence on Monday. She waived her right to appear, just as she did when the verdict was delivered in June.Her brother and co-defendant, Cristobal Veliz of...

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Ryder CEO Greg Swienton retiring, COO getting promoted

Trucking giant Ryder will get a new CEO in two weeks, as the Miami-Dade company announces the retirement of Gregory Swienton and the promotion of current COO Robert Sanchez to the top job. Ryder, which leases commercial trucks and manages supply operations for companies around the world, saw revenues and profits increase this year, but has also been cutting costs and selling...

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7-year-old in critical condition after accident

Police were investigating an accident involving a 7-year-old who was struck by a vehicle in a Lauderhill neighborhood late Saturday, Lauderhill Police spokesman Rick Rocco said. The vehicle and its driver, who has not yet been identified, remained on scene after the incident near the intersection of Northwest 27th Court and 56th Avenue.The child was transported to Broward...

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Leaked BlackBerry Handset Appears to Emulate iPhone’s Design

Photos of RIM’s first handset that will run BlackBerry 10 — the company’s next operating system, which is scheduled for release in early 2013 — landed on a Vietnamese forum this week. If the 18 photos of the device on tinhte.vn are to be believed, the L-Series, codenamed BlackBerry London, looks quite similar to Apple‘s iPhone 5.The BlackBerry-branded device in the photos has a rectangular touchscreen...

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

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

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Conn. gunman killed self when he heard first responders coming; police 'confident' they'll be able to 'answer all questions'

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Connecticut's governor says the elementary school gunman committed suicide when he heard first responders coming.Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Gov. Dannel Malloy said Adam Lanza shot himself as police entered Sandy Hook Elementary School.Malloy's comments raise the possibility that Lanza had planned an even larger, more gruesome massacre.Malloy...

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

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

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