Preservation board to decide on Herald building

The city of Miami’s historic preservation office has compiled a lengthy, detailed report that substantially bolsters the case for designation of The Miami Herald’s “monumental’’ bayfront building as a protected landmark based on both its architectural merits and its historic significance.Somewhat unusually, the 40-page report by city preservation officer Megan McLaughlin,...

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Zynga seeks real-money gambling license in Nevada

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Social games maker Zynga Inc said on Wednesday it filed a preliminary application to run real-money gambling games in Nevada, a significant step in cracking a complex but potentially massive new market that could resuscitate its faltering business.The Nevada Gaming Control Board will now examine whether Zynga is fit to hold a gaming license that would allow gamblers in the...

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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 JapanIn theaters December 21, The Impossible finds Naomi as Maria and Ewan as her husband Henry, who...

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Woman gives birth at Syracuse zoo

SYRACUSE — An upstate New York zoo got a surprise visit from the stork.A woman gave birth on a wildlife path at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse on Friday, delivering her baby girl with the help of zookeepers not far from the bear exhibit.Zoo educator Liz Schmidt tells The Post-Standard that she rushed over from the reindeer pen to find the 21-year-old...

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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...

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Thousands of rejected Miami-Dade absentee ballots show perils of voting by mail

Absentee ballots are often touted as a pain-free, easy way to cast a vote without having to stand in long lines at a polling station.But nearly 2,500 Miami-Dade County voters had their absentee ballots rejected this election in what amounts to a wake-up call for those who ignore or fall prey to the perils and pitfalls of not voting in person. Another 2,100 ballots were rejected...

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Crowdfunding websites clamor for clearer regulation

LONDON (Reuters) – A new breed of internet-based financiers are calling for action to end regulatory uncertainty they say is preventing them from getting money to the small and medium-sized businesses that need it.The so-called crowdfunding sector raises cash from members of the public to fund lending and investment. Regulators, however, have proved resistant to pleas for adjustments to rules that...

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Restless Clip Michelle Dockery

Emmy nominee Michelle Dockery is sporting an updated look, but still bringing the drama, in the Sundance Channel's new miniseries, Restless (premiering December 7) and ETonline scored an exclusive clip from the can't miss TV event! PHOTOS - Go Inside Downton Season Three!The two part series tells the story of Ruth Gilmartin (Dockery), who discovers that her mother Sally (the powerful Charlotte Rampling)...

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Blow hard Baldwin rips into Quinn

Council Speaker Chrstine Quinn has landed on bloviator Alec Baldwin’s enemies’ list.The “30 Rock” actor ripped into Quinn as unworthy to be mayor because she overturned term limits to extend Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure.“Quinn has that blood on her hands,” Baldwin said when asked about the mayor’s race by CNN’s Piers Morgan. “She was the one who singlehandedly...

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Miami Beach Walgreens property sold for $30 million

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said Friday that it has arranged a $30 million sale of a 22,857-square foot Walgreens drugstore at 5th Street and Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The price, which equates to $1,312 per square foot, is the second highest paid for a drugstore in the United States this year, the real estate firm said.Trans World Entertainment...

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State lawmakers cautious about projected $437 million budget surplus

TALLAHASSEE -- Initial, positive indications about Florida’s budget for the coming fiscal year could be overtaken by events if the Florida Supreme Court strikes down changes to state employees or the nation plunges over the fiscal cliff, the state’s top economist warned Wednesday.Speaking to the first meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Amy Baker — coordinator...

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Windows 8: A ‘Christmas gift for someone you hate’

Microsoft (MSFT) is no stranger to criticism these days, and the company’s new Windows 8 platform is once again the target of a scathing review from a high-profile user. Well-known Internet entrepreneur and MIT professor Philip Greenspun handed Windows 8 one of its most damning reviews yet earlier this week, calling the new operating system a “Christmas gift for someone you hate.” Greenspun...

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Prince Charles 'Thrilled' About Kate Middleton's Pregnancy

Prince Charles has given his first reaction to the news that Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting their first child. Speaking to reporters Thursday in London, the Prince of Wales said he is looking forward to the prospect of becoming a grandfather to the royal offspring. "I'm thrilled, it's marvelous. It's a very nice thought of grandfatherhood in my old age, if I may say so, so that's...

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NJ Transit suffered $400M damage from Sandy

New Jersey Transit – which has faced criticism for storing trains in flood-prone areas during Sandy – suffered $400 million in storm-related damages, including $100 million in rolling stock, the executive director testified today. The staggering losses include heavily damaged dual-powered locomotive engines – which were brand new – and dozens of multi-level...

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Macy’s to open round the clock for last minute shopper

Last minute shoppers will have a marathon opportunity to finish their holiday purchases at Macy’s during any hour of the day or night.The department store chain announced Thursday that the majority of its stores across the country -- including South Florida -- will be open round the clock for 65 hours straight starting at 7 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21 through midnight, Sunday, Dec....

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Get your decorated home into our Holiday Lights showcase

It’s that time of year to decorate your home and tell us how wonderful it looks!We’re seeking all entries for our annual Holiday Lights showcase. Tell us about your home, your decorations and where you live. Send this information to Lidia at ltzdinkova@gmail.com. by Monday, Dec. 10 or to Joan Chrissos, Holiday Lights, Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fl., 33132. Please...

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PlayStation 3 was the world’s No.1 Netflix streaming device this year

There are dozens of devices that can stream Netflix (NFLX), but only one can machine be crowned the king of the living room. According to Netflix, that device is Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 console. Without revealing any specific figures, Netflix announced on its blog “in the U.S. and globally, PS3 is the largest TV-connected platform in terms of Netflix viewing” and that “at times, PS3 even surpassed...

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Paula Deen Delivers Holiday Hams to Storm Victims

ET caught up with celebrity chef Paula Deen as she traveled to storm-devastated Staten Island this week to deliver food aid and provide recipes to help feed victims of Hurricane Sandy. Deen said she'd been trying to get to the area for weeks before finally being able to make her visit on Tuesday. "We've been trying for a month to get here because you could see on TV what horrible, horrible shape...

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FDNY safety inspector gets 2 1/2 years for pocketing bribes in day-care scam

A corrupt FDNY safety inspector was sentenced today to 2-1/2 years in the slammer for pocketing $61,000 in bribes to help a ring of crooked day-care center operators run a massive scam on the city.Carlos Montoya pleaded guilty earlier this year to falsifying records and overlooking violations at centers run by "the Congregation," a group of Russian immigrants...

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Innovate MIA puts spotlight on startup community

If you think the next week is all about art, you may be surprised to learn there are also six entrepreneurship events vying for your time.And that is all by design. In much the way that Art Basel helped put Miami’s arts community on the international map, organizers of the first Innovate MIA hope their weeklong grouping of events will shine a light on the city’s growing tech...

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State elections officials to investigate voting problems in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner told a Senate committee Tuesday morning that he plans to dispatch a team of experts to Miami-Dade next week to investigate more fully the “problems” with the recent election, including long lines at the polls and an overwhelming surge of last-minute absentee ballots.Detzner, who is Gov. Rick Scott’s chief elections officer,...

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Is the iPad Mini as Good as the iPad?

The iPad Mini‘s screen doesn’t have the same “resolutionary” Retina display as its bigger brother, but don’t worry: the Apple snobs appear to have gotten over that. After spending time with his new baby-tablet, The New York Times‘s Nick Bilton gave in, calling the gadget his new “Desert Island Device.” (It replaced his iPhone, by the way.) The inferior screen had worried Bilton like it...

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Scandal Who Shot Fitz Exclusive Video

The already-electrifying second season of ABC's Scandal ramped up the drama up one-million notches when President Fitzgerald was shot in the closing moment of last week's episode, causing #WhoShotFitz to trend for hours. RELATED - TV's 10 Best Dressed StarsHow will Olivia react? Was Mellie involved in her husband's attempted assassination? What does this mean for James' vote-rigging expose? Two of...

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Worker crushed by falling refrigerator

A construction worker was crushed to death when a giant refrigeration unit fell from a crane at Bronx-Lebanon Medical Center this morning, authorities said.Witnesses said the boom of the crane hoisting the boxed refrigeration unit snapped at about 10:50 a.m. outside the hospital, at 1650 Grand Concourse.The shipping container-sized unit fell to the sidewalk,...

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The business behind the artist: Miami’s art gallery scene still evolving

This week, thousands of art collectors, museum trustees, artists, journalists and hipsters from around the globe will arrive for the phenomenon known as Art Basel Miami Beach. The centerpiece of the week: works shown at the convention center by more than 260 of the world’s top galleries.Only two of those are from Miami.While Art Basel has helped transform the city’s reputation...

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Family of worker killed in MDC garage collapse has filed suit against contractors

Family members of one of the workers killed when the garage at Miami Dade College West campus collapsed have filed a lawsuit against five companies involved in the construction. The garage was almost complete when a part of it collapsed on Oct. 10, killing four workers. Samuel Perez, 53, was driving a cement truck and the time of the collapse and was trapped by the rubble...

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Happy Birthday! Texting turns 20

Twenty years ago today a 22-year-old British engineer unknowingly invented both the scourge of intimate dinner conversations and the center of every teenager's social life. On Dec. 3, 1992 Neil Papworth used his computer in the sleepy town of Newburty, Berkshire, to send "Merry Christmas" to the cell phone of Vodaphone executive Richard Jarvis and a trillion-message...

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The business behind the artist: Miami’s art gallery scene still evolving

This week, thousands of art collectors, museum trustees, artists, journalists and hipsters from around the globe will arrive for the phenomenon known as Art Basel Miami Beach. The centerpiece of the week: works shown at the convention center by more than 260 of the world’s top galleries.Only two of those are from Miami.While Art Basel has helped transform the city’s reputation...

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Two dead after bus crash at Miami International Airport

What began as a day of prayer and fellowship turned into a surreal scene of stunned, bloodied passengers and twisted metal. There was the sickening sound of crunching metal early Saturday as a busload of Jehovah’s Witnesses was low-bridged by a concrete overpass at Miami International Airport, peeling back the top of the vehicle “like a can of sardines.” Airport workers running...

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Bachelorette Ashley Hebert and JP Rosenbaum are Married

Ashley Hebert is a bachelorette no more!The 28-year-old dentist and her construction manager fiancé J.P. Rosenbaum, 35, walked down the aisle on Saturday in Pasadena, California, reports People Magazine.The ceremony, officiated by Bachelor and Bachelorette host Chris Harrison, was attended by familiar faces from the series including Ali Fedotowsky, Emily Maynard, and Jason and Molly Mesnick.Video:...

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Chiefs take field vs. Panthers as owner calls the past 24 hours 'incredibly difficult'

Getty ImagesKansas City Chiefs players huddle in prayer in the tunnel to the field prior to their game against the Carolina Panthers today.KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt offered his condolences Sunday to the families affected by the murder-suicide involving one of his players, calling it "an incredibly difficult 24 hours for our family."Hunt...

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Boat Show may block Miami’s 2016 Super Bowl bid

This winter, the biggest NFL match-up in South Florida might be Super Bowl versus Boat Show. As South Florida readies a bid for the 2016 Super Bowl, it must contend with a major potential conflict on the tourism calendar. The National Football League may move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend, already home to the five-day Miami International Boat Show since the 1940s....

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