Miami’s book fair ‘Evening With…’ series ends on easy note

A bit of fiction and a bit of philosophy, both seasoned with a touch of the historical, rounded out the final night of Miami Book Fair International’s “Evenings With…” programs Friday.Emma Donoghue read from her Astray, new book of short stories inspired by old newspaper accounts, and historian Alan Ryan talked about his weighty new two-volume work On Politics: A History...

Read More..

Review: Nintendo Wii U blows up dual-screen gaming

When Nintendo first broached the idea of multiple-screen video games in 2004, many critics were skeptical that players could focus on two images at once. Yet the handheld DS, blending one touch-sensitive screen with a slightly larger video display, became a runaway hit.Turns out the portable DS may have just been a dress rehearsal for Nintendo‘s latest...

Read More..

Train hits school bus in Egypt, killing 47 children

APEgyptians gather at the scene of a train crash that killed dozens of people, most of them children, Saturday.ASSIUT, Egypt — A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying children to their kindergarten in southern Egypt on Saturday, killing at least 47, officials said. Distraught families searched for signs of their loved ones along the tracks in the aftermath...

Read More..

Jolly holiday shopping season already underway

Lilian Stoppa and Renata Rosa stepped out of Target in Midtown Miami with a cart piled high with holiday gifts.Landing in Miami on Thursday morning for a five-day shopping spree, they already had spent $800 by mid-afternoon on presents for family members: toys for Rosa’s daughter, beauty items for Stoppa’s mother, plus lots of other stuff.“This is just the start,” giggled...

Read More..

Christian Aguilar was poisoned, court files say

For some time, the father of Christian Aguilar had contemplated how to mark his son’s 19th birthday Friday.He wanted something small and quiet, an intimate moment for family to remember Christian as the firstborn full of promise rather than a body found by hunters in a shallow grave.But Thursday, the family — which had grieved publicly and privately — was forced to relive...

Read More..

In Gaza, new arsenals include “weaponized” social media

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – There have long been the tools of warfare associated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: warplanes, mortars, Qassam rockets. Now that list includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.This week the worldwide audience got a vivid look at conflict in the social media era as the Israeli military unfurled an extensive campaign across several...

Read More..

Stars Come Out For Restore The Shore Fundraiser

Celebrities from MTV and beyond came together Thursday night to lend their name to the network's Restore the Shore fundraiser in the wake of Superstorm Sandy's destruction of New Jersey's iconic Seaside Heights.Video: Tearful Snooki Witnesses Sandy's Devastation Stars from The Jersey Shore, Awkward, Teen Mom, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Teen Wolf stepped up to man the phones for the special's...

Read More..

Hostess going out of business

IRVING, Texas — Hostess Brands says it is going out of business, closing plants that make Twinkies and Wonder Bread and laying off all of its 18,500 workers.The Irving, Texas, company says a nationwide worker strike crippled its ability to make and deliver its products at several locations.Hostess was planning to ask a court for permission to shut down...

Read More..

Watchdog groups question tourism agency’s CEO pick

TALLAHASSEE -- The day after the CEO of the state’s top tourism agency announced he was stepping down, board members quickly handpicked his replacement. There was only one problem. Picking Visit Florida’s chief marketing officer Will Seccombe to head the agency without doing a national search could upset the agency’s main funders — state legislators and Gov. Rick Scott.Visit...

Read More..

Broward woman’s nose sliced off in boyfriend’s attack, police say

The 48-year-old truck driver's girlfriend rejected his advances, so he lashed out in a violent attack in which she nearly lost her nose, authorities said.On Wednesday, Ricardo Salamanca, of Plantation, appeared before Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley in first appearance court. He was charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm and was ordered held in lieu of...

Read More..

In Britain, spate of prosecutions for Twitter and Facebook tirades spark free-speech debate

LONDON – One teenager made offensive comments about a murdered child on Twitter. Another young man wrote on Facebook that British soldiers should “go to hell.” A third posted a picture of a burning paper poppy, symbol of remembrance of war dead.All were arrested, two convicted, and one jailed — and they’re not the only ones. In Britain, hundreds of people...

Read More..

Ellen Throws Keira Knightley a Bridal Tea Party

In light of Keira Knightley's engagement to Klaxons keyboardist James Righton, Ellen DeGeneres has a refined surprise for British actress on her next show.PIC: Knightley 'Doesn't Mind' Going ToplessThe TV host throws Knightley a bridal tea party as a celebration of her upcoming wedding, which the Anna Karenina star admits she hasn't put much thought into."The problem is ever since [our engagement]...

Read More..

'Zipper' rides high again in new Coney Island documentary

Paul MartinkaThe former "Zipper" ride in Coney Island is the subject of a new documentary.It’s been five years since the spinning, soaring “Zipper” ride in Coney Island was taken apart and shipped overseas after being a casualty of a game of chicken between the city and a developer over the seaside amusement district's future. But now the once-popular ride...

Read More..

Steve Wozniak, Chris Hughes share tales with Coconut Grove audience

Co-founders from two of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies gave a South Florida audience a glimpse into the early days of developing the technology that would reshape the world.Steve Wozniak, of Apple, and Chris Hughes, of Facebook, were back-to-back speakers for the three-day Americas Business Council’s Continuity Forum that wrapped up Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton...

Read More..

Police: 1 dead, 2 wounded in car shot up in Miami

One man was killed and two wounded in a shooting in Miami that left a car pocked with bullet holes. Miami police responded to a call reporting shots fired at about 11:50 p.m. Monday at the corner of Northwest 11th Place and 43rd Street where they found a Nissan Altima with three young males inside.The car was “shot up numerous times,” said Officer Kenia Reyes, Miami police...

Read More..

Petraeus & Allen dallied as furor over Benghazi raged

Gomer Pyle wasn’t this big of a screw-up.Former Gen. David Petraeus and his successor made a four-star farce of the military when they helped a woman whom a judge called mentally unstable in her bitter custody battle — less than two weeks after an ambassador was murdered in Libya, court records reveal.Petraeus, head of the CIA during the Sept. 11 attack...

Read More..

No touch screen? Stick with Windows 7

Q. I recently had to replace my 9-year-old Windows XP computer, and am having trouble adapting to Windows 7.What are the advantages, if any, for me to upgrade to Windows 8, which I’ve read has touch-screen capability and works with other equipment besides desktop computers? Since I don’t have a touch screen, I’m wondering if there is any point in upgrading.Peter Robinson...

Read More..

Transit worker killed by Metrorail train

A Metrorail train struck and killed a county transit employee Monday morning in Earlington Heights, shutting down service for hours, Miami-Dade police said.Detectives were still trying to figure out what led George Andrews, 47, who was working on or near the track, to be struck by the train at the station, 2100 NW 41st St. He died at the scene.“Our sentiments go out to the...

Read More..

Taylor Lautner on 'The Twilight Saga' Potential Sequel

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 2 marks the end of the widely popular franchise, which made Monday night's Los Angeles premiere bittersweet for its actors and fans. Although no future films are in the works, Taylor Lautner didn't rule out the possibility of a sequel or spin-off film.Author of the Twilight series Stephanie Meyer may have wrapped the vampire-latent story at Breaking Dawn but...

Read More..

Queens school’s student exodus

UPIDebris from damaged homes lies piled up across the street from the shuttered PS 114 in Belle Harbor.Hurricane Sandy scattered hundreds of students from one Queens school — to locales as far away as Nashville.At least 230 students from Belle Harbor’s PS 114 have enrolled in public schools in other parts of the city — the most by far of any storm-struck...

Read More..

Think local, former U.N. leader Kofi Annan tells Miami forum

In the Ritz-Carlton ballroom in Coconut Grove on Monday, Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed a crowd of well-dressed world savers to open the Continuity Forum of the Americas Business Council (abc*). In a speech that touched on the environment, the Arab awakening, democracy in Latin America, the spiraling conflict in Syria, nuclear war...

Read More..

Keys substitute teacher facing 130 child-porn counts

A now-former substitute teacher in Keys schools has been accused of possessing a huge cache of child porn.William Britt, 55, formerly of Cudjoe Key, is charged with 123 counts of possessing child pornography and seven counts of possessing a photograph of a sexual performance by a child. All are felonies.Records provided by the Monroe County School District's Human Resources...

Read More..

Stock index futures signal mixed open

PARIS (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.15 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.03 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1 percent at 3.37 a.m. EDT.* World equities fell on Monday as concerns about the fiscal crisis in the United States and progress on a bailout plan for Greece...

Read More..

DWTS All Star Teams Rehearse for Week 8

With seven couples left to duke it out for the coveted mirror ball trophy, the Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars competition is really heating up!Related: 'DWTS' Pro Derek Hough Will Need Surgery Melissa Rycroft, Apolo Anton Ohno and Shawn Johnson graciously let ETOnline in on their week eight rehearsals as the celebrities and their pro partners were immersed in preparation for Monday's Trio Challenge."Between...

Read More..

NJ Transit offering more limited rail service

New Jersey Transit is offering more limited service on the rails two weeks after Superstorm Sandy damaged tracks, signals and overhead wires.The Morris & Essex lines, including Midtown Direct, Bergen and Port Jervis are operating. However, service remains suspended along the Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Lines.Limited service also continues...

Read More..

Self-publishing industry explodes, brings rewards, challenges

The publishing world is being upended, and reinvented, by people like Hugh Howey, Ily Goyanes and Kristy Montee.They are part of a movement using the power of e-books and the Internet to lead publishing into a new frontier, and through the biggest upheaval of the industry since Guttenberg’s press.“It’s the Wild West,” Montee said. “It is literally changing at the speed of...

Read More..

Course to explore Jewish communities in Asia, Africa

Florida International University research professors Nathan Katz and Tudor Parfitt, considered to be the world’s leading authorities on Eastern Jewish communities, will explore the Jewish experience in Asia and Africa in a new, 13-week course to be offered at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, 301 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.The course will look at the Jewish experience...

Read More..

Sharp aims for near full-output from display plant – media

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sharp Corp aims to raise the output from its Kameyama No.2 plant to near 100 percent, from a current 30 percent, as early as the end of 2012, by mass producing larger, high definition, power-saving IGZO screens, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday.The Kameyama plant makes IGZO displays, which consume 10 percent to 20 percent of the power...

Read More..

Buzzmakers: Brooke's Cancer Fight & World War Z

What had ET readers buzzing this week?1. It's Brad vs. Zombies in World War ZZombie attack!!! Brad Pitt plays a family man and United Nations employee who faces a deadly zombie pandemic in World War Z -- we gave you an exclusive first look and now we've got the intense trailer!Just when you thought that the zombie genre may be starting to generate less screams and more Zzzz's, World War Z arrives...

Read More..