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 of Political Thought: From Herodotus to the Present (told you it was weighty).

“I feel like I should say, ‘Hello, Miami!’ ” joked Donoghue when she took the stage. Earlier, the Canadian author expressed wonder at the fact she was swimming in the Biltmore poolon a November afternoon before her appearance. “I don’t usually stay in places like that,” she said, laughing.





But Donoghue, author of the novel Room, is no stranger to new experiences: She’s a two-time emigrant from Dublin, once from Ireland to England, then on to Ontario.

“The Irish are obsessed with immigration,” she told the audience. Even when the economy’s good there, she said, the Irish look to other countries. “It’s still a small island,” she joked. “A lot of us have felt the need to fly that particular coop.”

Fitting then, that Astray features characters on the verge of moving on or struggling in their new surroundings. Donoghue read the amusing story The Widow’s Cruse and fielded questions about Room, a harrowing novel about a little boy being raised in a tiny shed by his kidnapped mother. Disturbing to be sure. But in case you wonder, Donoghue has no pressing childhood traumas of her own to inspire her to such a dark premise.

“I grew up in Dublin in a bookish household,” she said. “I was allowed to read all the time. . . There’s something to be said for a happy childhood that leaves you feeling confident.”

Ryan, who was in conversation with Robert Weil, editor-in-chief of W.W. Norton’s Liveright & Co., talked about his comprehensive study of political philosophy. Or, as his daughter (a biology professor) describes his profession: “He does dead philosophers.”

Ryan did mention a few of those worthy gentleman — Plato, St. Augustine and John Stuart Mill, for example — but still managed to elicit a laugh when discussing Americans’ adoration of a Constitution they’ve never read and continually confuse with the Declaration of Independence.

“The Constitution is revered, and it is at least worth knowing,” he said.

The fair continues this weekend with a full schedule of authors Saturday and Sunday.





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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 home console, the Wii U, which blows up the dual-screen concept to living-room size. It goes on sale in the U.S. on Sunday, starting at $ 300.













The Wii U is the heir to the Nintendo Wii system, whose motion-based controls got couch potatoes around the world to burn calories as they swung virtual tennis rackets, bowled and flailed around in their living rooms. The new console still allows you to use your old “Wiimotes,” but its major advancement is a new controller, the GamePad, with a built-in touch screen that measures 6.2 inches diagonally.


The GamePad looks like the spawn of a tablet computer and a classic game controller. Its surface area is a little smaller than an iPad’s, but it’s about three times as thick, largely because it has hand grips that make it more comfortable over prolonged game sessions. It has an accelerometer and gyroscope for motion-controlled games, as well as a camera, a microphone, speakers, two analog joysticks and a typical array of buttons.


It’s the touch screen that really makes the difference. In some cases, it houses functions that are typically relegated to a game’s pause screen. In others, it allows a group of people playing the same game together to have different experiences depending on the controller used. Nintendo Co. calls this “asymmetric gaming.”


In the mini-game collection “Nintendo Land,” you can shoot arrows or fling throwing stars by swiping on the touch screen. One of the games in the collection, “Mario Chase,” uses the GamePad to provide a bird’s-eye view of a maze through which you can guide the hero. His pursuers — up to four players using Wiimotes — see the maze from a first-person perspective on the TV screen.


“New Super Mario Bros. U” brings the asymmetric approach to cooperative action. While Wiimote-wielding players scamper across its side-scrolling landscapes, the GamePad user can create “boost blocks” to help them reach otherwise inaccessible areas. If you’re going solo, you can play the entire adventure on the GamePad screen, freeing up the TV for family members who might want to watch something else.


On a more basic level, the GamePad lets you select your next play or draw new routes for your receivers in Electronic Arts Inc.’s “Madden NFL 13.” You use it to adjust strategy or substitute players in 2K Sports’ “NBA 2K13.”


Ubisoft’s “ZombiU” — the best original game at launch — turns the GamePad into your “bug-out bag.” It’s where you’ll find all your undead-fighting supplies, from bats and bullets to hammers and health kits. It lets you access maps and security-camera footage as you navigate the devastated streets of London. If you hold it vertically, you can scan the virtual space in three dimensions to locate zombies who are lying in wait.


Essentially, the GamePad functions like the bottom half of the portable DS, with triggers, buttons and the touch screen offering additional information and an added dimension of control. In this comparison, your living-room TV would be the equivalent of the DS’ top display.


It’s somewhat gimmicky: Much of the time, you can easily imagine playing with just a regular joystick. But in “ZombiU,” the GamePad adds to the atmosphere, creating the panicky feeling of scrambling around in a backpack while another undead horde approaches.


The high-definition graphics produced by the Wii U are close to those of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3. That should bring back some of the game makers who had fled the underpowered Wii — at least until Microsoft and Sony bring out their next-generation consoles (neither company has announced any plans yet).


Some fine games from the past couple of years — Warner Bros.’ “Batman: Arkham City,” Electronic Arts’ “Mass Effect 3″ and THQ Inc.’s “Darksiders II” — are finally coming to a Nintendo console. The enhanced GamePad controls don’t substantially alter their DNA, and if you’ve already played them on the Xbox or PS3, you aren’t missing much. But if I’d had the option to play them the first time around with the enhanced GamePad controls, I would have.


The Wii U’s online functions include video chat, its own social network and the ability to search for TV shows and movies from services such as Netflix and Hulu. These are all free. I wasn’t able to test those features before writing this review. Nintendo said Friday that many of these features won’t be available until next month.


I don’t expect the Wii U to make as big a splash as the original Wii did six years ago. Nintendo‘s competitors are dipping their toes into the dual-screen pool as well: Some Sony games link the PS3 with the handheld Vita, while Microsoft’s SmartGlass app for tablet computers adds bonus material to Xbox games such as “Halo 4″ and “Forza Horizon.”


Still, the Wii U goes all in on the multiscreen concept for a relatively inexpensive price. And in a world where people tweet on their iPads while watching sports or reality shows on their TVs, the whole GamePad concept feels perfectly natural.


The Wii U’s success will depend on what Nintendo and other developers do with that second screen. The early results are very promising.


___


About the Wii U:


The basic Wii U model, with 8 gigabytes of internal storage, costs $ 300. The deluxe set, with 32 GB, “Nintendo Land” and a charging stand for the controller, costs $ 350. It comes to the U.S. on Sunday, later this month in Europe and Dec. 8 in Japan.


Both versions come with the GamePad, but you’ll need to snag old-school Wii controllers from older Wiis or buy them separately.


___


Follow Lou Kesten at http://twitter.com/lkesten


Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News



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Train hits school bus in Egypt, killing 47 children








AP


Egyptians 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 of the latest disaster to hit the country's railway system.

The bus was carrying more than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old when it was hit near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut, a security official said, adding that it appears that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it.




Books, school bags and socks of children were strewn along the tracks near the mangled bus. Parents of the missing wailed as they looked for signs of their children. An Associated Press reporter at the scene said many of the remains were unrecognizable.

Um Ibrahim, a mother of three, was pulling her hair in distress. "My children! I didn't feed you before you left," she wailed. One witness said the train pushed the bus along the tracks for nearly a kilometer (half mile).

As one man picked up a body part he screamed: "Only God can help!"

Two hospital officials said between seven and 11 wounded were being treated in two different facilities, many with severed limbs.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Egypt's railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on badly maintained equipment and poor management. The railway's worst disaster took place in February 2002 when a train heading to southern Egypt caught fire, killing 363 people.

The state news agency MENA reported that Transport Minister Mohammed el-Meteeni offered his resignation to President Mohammed Morsi. The agency said Morsi ordered an investigation into the accident and said that those responsible would be held accountable.










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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 Stoppa, 30, who works with Rosa, also 30, at a Sao Paulo telecom company. Their next stops: Sawgrass Mills, Aventura Mall and Bal Harbour Shops, if their money holds out. “We came to Miami to shop because it’s very much cheaper than in Brazil.”





Tourists like Stoppa and Rosa are exactly the reason retail experts predict Florida’s holiday shopping season will see its highest increase since the recession.

Across South Florida, stores are getting a head start on the holidays in hopes of cashing in. Sales are already underway everywhere from Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, to Macy’s, Toys“R”Us and Anthropologie.

The Florida Retail Federation forecasts that Florida will see a 5.2 percent jump in holiday spending from $55 billion in 2011 to $58 billion this year, marking the highest percentage growth predicted since the economic slump began. Pre-recession, retail sales peaked at $54.3 billion in 2006.

“All of the indicators point to what we believe will be a very robust holiday shopping season,” said Florida Retail Federation President and Chief Executive Rick McAllister.

That also translates into more than 42,000 new retail jobs, he said.

Buoyed in large part by tourists and snowbirds, Florida is expected to outpace the nation in spending for the holiday season, as it did before the recession.

This year, the National Retail Federation is predicting holiday spending nationwide to rise 4.1 percent. On average, consumers are expected to spend about $750 each.

Economists point to strong consumer confidence as a major factor contributing to a stronger shopping season.

“By and large the consumer is very confident right now, and that usually leads to spending,” McAllister said.

Other indicators also point to a healthy season. ICSC, a trade association for the shopping center industry, this week released its ICSC-Goldman Sachs 2012 Holiday Spending Intentions Survey, which found that 19 percent of consumers plan to spend more, and 5 percent substantially more, on holiday gifts this year versus last year. It was the highest percentage of consumers reporting they intend to increase spending over the previous holiday season since ICSC began asking the question in 2004.

Retailers like West Elm are ready, beckoning gift givers. Stores are decked out with sparkly, eye-catching displays of items like candlesticks, ornaments and crystal paperweights.

“We’ve had lots of people shopping early, for several weeks,” said Ana Meza, an assistant manager at West Elm in Midtown Miami.

Without question, the holiday season is critical for retailers, a period when they typically generate 20 percent to 40 percent of the full year’s revenue.

This year brings an added bonus. With Thanksgiving falling early, the shopping season is stretched to 32 days, giving retailers more valuable time to rack up sales.

Shoppers like Jose Hernandez aren’t waiting for the last minute. Hernandez, who works as a civilian supervisor at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Miss., and spends every other three months home in Miami, started his holiday shopping this week. He figures he spent $2,000 at Carter’s, GUESS, Marshalls and Target in Midtown, and plans to spend a total of $5,000 — up 40 percent from last year — before Christmas Day.

“The economy is going up,” said Hernandez, 44.

Yet experts say that many holiday revelers will avoid the stores all together, opting instead for online purchases.

Retail experts expect e-commerce to continue to post a dramatic increase this holiday season, up 15 percent. Though it still represents only about 5 percent of all shopping, online buying is the fastest-growing segment of the retail industry, McAllister said.

Many online sites are offering percentage discounts starting this weekend. Disney Store will offer a selection of “Magical Friday” deals on sale beginning Monday, at DisneyStore.com. Kohl’s is letting customers shop more than 500 “Early Bird specials” on Kohls.com starting Wednesday.

While apparel is expected to be the top category for purchases, gift cards are again projected to outsell any single article of merchandise. The National Retail Federation’s 2012 holiday consumer spending survey showed that 81.1 percent of shoppers will purchase at least one gift card, spending an average of $156.86 on them.

“Gift cards are the best invention ever,” said Jennifer Mayer, 44, a drug representative who has three daughters and lives in Miami Beach. “It’s not for everyone, but it’s great for those you don’t intimately know.”

This year, Mayer plans to buy gift cards at places like Starbucks, H&M, Forever 21 and Barnes & Noble.

“They’re great for bosses. They’re great for teenagers,” she said. “They’re a lifesaver.”





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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 the harrowing last chapter with this grim new detail: Christian Aguilar was poisoned and suffocated, authorities say.





“Everything just opened all back up,’’ said Carlos Aguilar, the impassioned father who led massive searches in Gainesville up until the week his son was found in mid-October. “We are trying to get through it, but how to do you get through it?”

Aguilar disappeared Sept. 20, last seen with Pedro Bravo — a friend, former Doral Academy Preparatory classmate and now murder suspect. Authorities now know Bravo did not beat Christian Aguilar as he told police in September before leaving him to die in the woods of Levy County. Instead, the 18-year-old Bravo poisoned and suffocated Aguilar using “a chemical compound with food and/or drink … with the intent to kill or injure,” according to the newly amended seven-count grand jury indictment.

“We believe the evidence will show the administration of a chemical compound for the purpose of sedating [Aguilar] so he can do injury,’’ State Attorney Bill Cervone told the Gainesville Sun on Thursday. “Once we found the body, it gave us some new information, so we made some changes in the indictment.”

The new information left friends and family awash with emotions.

“It was already so hard to bury him,’’ said Alyssa D’Bazo, 18, friends with Aguilar since ninth grade. “The cause of death just leaves me with a negative image. I didn’t want to have to imagine his last moments.’’

Carlos Aguilar and his family arrived in Gainesville the day after Christian first went missing, making the 350-mile trip to search for the University of Florida freshman, who had arrived on the campus just weeks before with aspirations of becoming a biomedical engineer.

Within days, Bravo, a Santa Fe College student, was arrested. He gave police varying versions of a story that involved the two traveling to a Best Buy together, arguing over a girl, fighting and, finally, Bravo leaving Aguilar bleeding and barely breathing in a parking lot — a detail police were never able to confirm.

Police later found that Bravo had recently purchased a shovel and duct tape. And investigators discovered blood in Bravo’s SUV and Aguilar’s backpack hidden inside a suitcase in Bravo’s closet.

But Bravo’s narrative, however shaky, gave the family a whisper of hope, prompted a coordinated search of police, cadaver dogs and mounted units from across Florida and attracted national attention.

Hundreds of volunteers, many inspired by the father’s desperate public pleas, joined in to scour woods and brush and marshes and dirt paths, seeking any trace of Aguilar. It was a monumental three-week effort that united family, friends and strangers and the two communities where Aguilar had lived.

As Bravo sat in the Alachua County Jail charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping — at one point on a suicide watch — volunteers combed much of the city. But it was 60 miles southwest of the campus town near Cedar Key that hunters searching for firewood on Oct.12 discovered the partially decomposed remains of a young man. He was left in a rural, obscured area, partially buried.

Carlos Aguilar would later describe the discovery as a blessing in the sense that it allowed him to finally take his son home and give him a proper burial. Just two days before Christian was found, three candlelight vigils were held simultaneously in Gainesville, Miami and Cali, Colombia, the western town where his parents are originally from.

On Thursday, the indictment was broadened to include more counts: poisoning with food or water and tampering with physical evidence by concealing the shovel, duct tape and personal belongings and disposing of Aguilar’s body. Other counts include providing false information to law enforcement and improper transportation of a dead body.

Carlos Aguilar just hopes his son did not suffer.

“This has been a very difficult time for my family,’’ he said. “[Friday] will be even harder.’’





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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 Internet channels after conducting an air strike that killed a top Hamas military commander in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.













The air strike, which came after several days of rocket attacks launched from Gaza toward targets in Israel, was confirmed by the Israel Defense Force’s Twitter account before the military held a press conference.


The public relations tug-of-war has long been understood as a central element of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinian leaders like Yasser Arafat were credited with skillfully courting international media during the first Intifada to highlight the Palestinian struggle and help sway public opinion.


But the newest technologies, including Twitter and YouTube, have been embraced particularly by the Israeli government, which has perhaps waged an unprecedented social media PR campaign as the conflict escalated this week.


The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has established a presence on nearly every platform available. It launched a Tumblr account Wednesday, posting infographics touting how Israeli forces minimize collateral damage to Palestinian civilians. It prepared Facebook pages in several languages, and even has a bare-bones Pinterest page with photos of troops deployed in humanitarian missions.


On Twitter, the @IDFspokesperson account issued a torrent of tweets that carried hashtags like #IsraelUnderFire and what it said were videos of rockets fired at Israel from Gaza, as well as pictures of wounded Israeli children.


“They are very conscious how things are going to be viewed, perhaps more so because they sense that they are more and more isolated in world opinion, and they are less shouldered by U.S. public opinion,” said James Noyes, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution.


The IDF also posted on Twitter a picture of Ahmed Al-Jaabari, the Hamas commander who was killed, with the word “eliminated” stamped over his face.


Meanwhile, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military group formerly led by Al-Jaabari, also took to Twitter to offer blow-by-blow updates of its fighters shelling Israeli military targets. It publicized deaths of Palestinian children due to Israeli attacks, and used hashtags like “#terrorism.”


HIGH STAKES


At certain points, the two sides clashed head-on.


“We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead,” tweeted @IDFspokesperson after Al-Jaabari was killed.


Al-Qassam (@AlqassamBrigade) shot back at @IDFSpokesperson, warning in a public tweet that the group’s “blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are,” and that “You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves” as a result of the air strike.


The exchange raised questions for the new media companies that have vowed to stand behind free speech but perhaps have never before played host to such high-stakes discourse.


Although Twitter regulates against “direct, specific threats of violence,” the two sides tweeted unchecked. The company did not respond to requests for comment.


But on Wednesday, YouTube briefly blocked a grainy IDF video that showed a missile striking Al-Jaabari’s car. The footage, uploaded shortly after the air strike, had drawn hundreds of thousands of views and was flagged by some users as objectionable.


YouTube’s parent Google Inc later reinstated the video and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said there was a lot of “back and forth” among senior executives at Google, including himself and Google Chief Executive Larry Page, over whether to block the footage.


In YouTube’s case, the general rule is that films that “encourage violence and depict violence are not allowed,” said Schmidt, speaking at a conference sponsored by the RAND corporation and Thomson Reuters entitled “Politics Aside,” in Los Angeles.


“The problem is, if we don’t host it, somebody else will. How do we get all of it down?” he added.


‘WEAPONIZED’ SOCIAL MEDIA


Observers say the Israeli military’s social media efforts are a far cry from the 2008 Gaza War, when the IDF launched a YouTube channel for the first time with videos that sought to justify sending troops into Palestinian territory.


“Operation Cast Lead marked the first time they weaponized social media,” said Rebecca Stein, a professor of anthropology at Duke University who has researched how Israeli military officials use social media. “But back then it was very improvisational,” she said.


In 2010, the government seemed to be caught off guard when activists on a humanitarian convoy bound for the Gaza Strip stirred up sympathy by tweeting and webcasting from their boats after they were boarded by Israeli troops.


That year, the Israeli foreign ministry invested more than $ 15 million to better grasp how the government could use social media in a broader campaign to burnish the nation’s image.


Last year, Israeli officials sent a letter to Facebook Inc asking the social network to remove a page calling for a third Palestinian uprising.


On Thursday, as Israel mobilized troops for a potential ground assault reminiscent of 2008, the PR machine that rolled out seemed nothing like the halting efforts of four years prior, Stein said.


“They’ve had to do a lot of learning between then and now and have invested a lot of resources and exponential manpower specifically for an event like this,” Stein said. “In some sense, they’ve been pioneers of social media statecraft.”


(Additional reporting by Tim Reid in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)


Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News



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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 "thank-you bank," personally calling individuals who donated to the cause with a personal message of gratitude.

Reflecting on good memories of the Seaside Heights, Snooki, DJ Pauly D, Deena Cortese, Sammi Giancola, Jenni Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, and Michael Sorrentino made an emotional visit to the now-destroyed boardwalk to get a first-hand look at the devastation.

Video: Ty Pennington Sees Sandy's Aftermath Firsthand

Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Carly Rae Jepsen, No Doubt, Kelly Clarkson, One Direction and Kim Kardashian were just some of the many stars Thursday who delivered personal pleas for donations benefiting the cause.

American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and Gym Class Heroes also lent their voices to the cause with emotional live performances.

If you'd like to help, you can still Text SHORE to 85944 to give $10 or go to restoretheshore.mtv.com to find out how you can help. Those who donate of $500 or more will be immortalized in writing on the boardwalk when it is restored.

Related: Celebrities Lend Their Star Power to Sandy Victims

Restore the Shore is paired with Architecture for Humanity, a non-profit that led rebuilding efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, with intent to restore the famed boardwalk as well as local businesses and homes destroyed by the storm.

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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 its money-losing business this morning, The Post exclusively reported.

Hostess had warned employees that it would file a motion in US Bankruptcy Court to unwind its business and sell assets if plant operations didn't return to normal levels by Thursday evening.





Getty Images



Twinkies and other Hostess Brands products





The bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, under plans that could still change, had planned to ask Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain for a Monday hearing to start shutting down the business, two sources close to the situation said.

If it gains court approval, Hostess would start liquidating during the last week in November, the sources said.

A Hostess spokesman declined comment.

Hostess is seeking a shutdown of the money-losing business after members of the Bakers Union started striking this week.

The thinly capitalized company cannot afford such a disruption.

Meanwhile, Hostess is being hurt on another front: a sizable customer, Costco, in the last few days booted Hostess’ hamburger and hot dog bun lines at nine locations, mainly in Long Island, in favor of Schmidt Baking Co.’s Blue Ribbon Bread, two sources close to that situation said.

Once a baker loses shelf space to a rival, it will likely not win it back, the sources said.

Hostess is not filling shelves at a crucial retail period. Thanksgiving week is considered one of the biggest of the year in the baking industry.

“There have been a lot of questions raised among customers that are very nervous,” a Hostess source said.

Walmart, which represents perhaps 40 percent of Hostess’ business, is weighing giving Hostess the boot to avoid the risk of having empty shelves, sources said.

Last month, bankrupt Hostess won court approval to impose a new contract on its workers that contained an 8 percent pay cut and slashed health benefits by 17 percent.

If Hostess liquidates, it is likely that competitors would buy the best brands — but not keep the plants or Hostess’ 18,000-plus workers, a source close to the situation said.

Additional reporting by Josh Kosman










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Watchdog groups question tourism agency’s CEO pick




















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 Florida’ solution: give a recruiting firm a no-bid, $45,000, two-month contract to conduct a nationwide CEO search. The firm, Minnesota-based Searchwide, just happened to be the same one that brought in Seccombe five years earlier.





Now, a state watchdog group is slamming the agency's recruiting process, saying it suggests either favoritism, government waste, or both.

The developments highlight the awkward relationship between Visit Florida's board and elected state officials who control so much of the agency's budget. While the board appears set to hire Seccombe, its handling of the transition process could lead to more scrutiny from the very lawmakers who control the agency's purse strings

“Visit Florida claims to be an equal opportunity employer, but it appears they have rigged their hiring process to unfairly benefit the acting president,” said Dan Krassner, executive director for Integrity Florida, which advocates for tougher ethics laws, and is now questioning whether the swift recruiting process is completely open and fair.

Searchwide, which signed the contract on Oct. 5, did not respond to requests for comments. The agency is expected to complete its nationwide search by early December.

Experts in the field of executive talent recruitment say that such a short period is abnormal for a national CEO search.

“That’s a really aggressive timetable,” said Theresa Rohr, senior associate at Stanton Chase International, a global executive search firm with offices in San Francisco. “For a CEO, very aggressive.”

While Searchwide is a top name in the hospitality industry, Visit Florida has used it only once before: to recruit Seccombe in 2007.

Visit Florida’s former CEO, Chris Thompson, who left in October to head up a national tourism agency, defended the decision to give the contract to Searchwide. While Seccombe may have an advantage as an “incumbent,” all candidates will be considered, he said.

He pointed out that Searchwide also had been retained by Visit Orlando for an executive search this year.

“It is absolutely in no way, shape or form going through the motions,” Thompson said. “It is a legitimate search.”

But Visit Orlando offers a useful comparison. The Central Florida tourism agency hired Searchwide to do a national search for a CEO back in May. A spokesman said the organization doesn’t expect the process to be completed until January. Several other companies that have contracted with Searchwide have given the company more than six months to complete a national search.

When Thompson announced he was leaving, some board members, in an emergency meeting, quickly decided to promote Seccombe to the $225,000-a-year CEO position.

Doing so would allow the state-funded agency to have a permanent CEO in place before Scott and the Legislature began making crucial decisions about how much taxpayer money the organization should get next year.

“I don’t think we need to put the time, money and effort into a nationwide search,” said John Perez, a hotel executive who sits on Visit Florida’s board. “I think we have a very competent replacement for Chris, in Will, already in place.”

But some board members were concerned about the perception of appointing a new CEO without consulting the Legislature or conducting an official search — something they believed Scott, Florida’s businessman-turned-governor, would expect.

Visit Florida relies on the Florida Legislature for a large chunk of its operating revenue. The public-private organization bolsters its budget with free advertising from private partners, but its cash revenue is overwhelmingly taxpayer-funded. That means the Legislature and governor hold sway over the future finances of the organization.

Visit Florida has been a darling of Scott and the Legislature in recent years. As most state agencies weathered drastic budget cuts in the last two years, Visit Florida saw its taxpayer funding more than double to $54 million.

At least one Visit Florida board member said the Legislature feels it should have a say in how the agency conducts because of lawmakers’ generosity.

“I think if we’ve all learned anything from our past, it is that there is a certain entitlement from the Legislature because there’s so much funding that they now allow us to have,” said Carol Dover, president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

The organization should “dot all our I’s and cross all our T’s” before appointing Seccombe as CEO, she warned.





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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 $75,000 bail. Rosita Rosario's "nose was severed down to the sinus cavity, where her nose was only attached by a thread," Hurley said. "She was trauma alerted to North Broward Hospital for surgery to reattach her nose."

Go to SunSentinel.com for the full story.








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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 are prosecuted each year for posts, tweets, texts and emails deemed menacing, indecent, offensive or obscene, and the number is growing as our online lives expand.













Lawyers say the mounting tally shows the problems of a legal system trying to regulate 21st century communications with 20th century laws. Civil libertarians say it is a threat to free speech in an age when the Internet gives everyone the power to be heard around the world.


“Fifty years ago someone would have made a really offensive comment in a public space and it would have been heard by relatively few people,” said Mike Harris of free-speech group Index on Censorship. “Now someone posts a picture of a burning poppy on Facebook and potentially hundreds of thousands of people can see it.


“People take it upon themselves to report this offensive material to police, and suddenly you’ve got the criminalization of offensive speech.”


Figures obtained by The Associated Press through a freedom of information request show a steadily rising tally of prosecutions in Britain for electronic communications — phone calls, emails and social media posts — that are “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character — from 1,263 in 2009 to 1,843 in 2011. The number of convictions grew from 873 in 2009 to 1,286 last year.


Behind the figures are people — mostly young, many teenagers — who find that a glib online remark can have life-altering consequences.


No one knows this better than Paul Chambers, who in January 2010, worried that snow would stop him catching a flight to visit his girlfriend, tweeted: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your (expletive) together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high.”


A week later, anti-terrorist police showed up at the office where he worked as a financial supervisor.


Chambers was arrested, questioned for eight hours, charged, tried, convicted and fined. He lost his job, amassed thousands of pounds (dollars) in legal costs and was, he says, “essentially unemployable” because of his criminal record.


But Chambers, now 28, was lucky. His case garnered attention online, generating its own hashtag — (hash)twitterjoketrial — and bringing high-profile Twitter users, including actor and comedian Stephen Fry, to his defence.


In July, two and half years after Chambers’ arrest, the High Court overturned his conviction. Justice Igor Judge said in his judgment that the law should not prevent “satirical or iconoclastic or rude comment, the expression of unpopular or unfashionable opinion about serious or trivial matters, banter or humour, even if distasteful to some or painful to those subjected to it.”


But the cases are coming thick and fast. Last month, 19-year-old Matthew Woods was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail for making offensive tweets about a missing 5-year-old girl, April Jones.


The same month Azhar Ahmed, 20, was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for writing on Facebook that soldiers “should die and go to hell” after six British troops were killed in Afghanistan. Ahmed had quickly deleted the post, which he said was written in anger, but was convicted anyway.


On Sunday — Remembrance Day — a 19-year-old man was arrested in southern England after police received a complaint about a photo on Facebook showing the burning of a paper poppy. He was held for 24 hours before being released on bail and could face charges.


For civil libertarians, this was the most painfully ironic arrest of all. Poppies are traditionally worn to commemorate the sacrifice of those who died for Britain and its freedoms.


“What was the point of winning either World War if, in 2012, someone can be casually arrested by Kent Police for burning a poppy?” tweeted David Allen Green, a lawyer with London firm Preiskel who worked on the Paul Chambers case.


Critics of the existing laws say they are both inadequate and inconsistent.


Many of the charges come under a section of the 2003 Electronic Communications Act, an update of a 1930s statute intended to protect telephone operators from harassment. The law was drafted before Facebook and Twitter were born, and some lawyers say is not suited to policing social media, where users often have little control over who reads their words.


It and related laws were intended to deal with hate mail or menacing phone calls to individuals, but they are being used to prosecute in cases where there seems to be no individual victim — and often no direct threat.


And the Internet is so vast that policing it — even if desirable — is a hit-and-miss affair. For every offensive remark that draws attention, hundreds are ignored. Conversely, comments that people thought were made only to their Facebook friends or Twitter followers can flash around the world.


While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that First Amendment protections of freedom of speech apply to the Internet, restrictions on online expression in other Western democracies vary widely.


In Germany, where it is an offence to deny the Holocaust, a neo-Nazi group has had its Twitter account blocked. Twitter has said it also could agree to block content in other countries at the request of their authorities.


There’s no doubt many people in Britain have genuinely felt offended or even threatened by online messages. The Sun tabloid has launched a campaign calling for tougher penalties for online “trolls” who bully people on the Web. But others in a country with a cherished image as a bastion of free speech are sensitive to signs of a clampdown.


In September Britain’s chief prosecutor, Keir Starmer, announced plans to draw up new guidelines for social media prosecutions. Starmer said he recognized that too many prosecutions “will have a chilling effect on free speech.”


“I think the threshold for prosecution has to be high,” he told the BBC.


Starmer is due to publish the new guidelines in the next few weeks. But Chambers — reluctant poster boy of online free speech — is worried nothing will change.


“For a couple of weeks after the appeal, we got word of judges actually quoting the case in similar instances and the charges being dropped,” said Chambers, who today works for his brother’s warehouse company. “We thought, ‘Fantastic! That’s exactly what we fought for.’ But since then we’ve had cases in the opposite direction. So I don’t know if lessons have been learned, really.”


___


Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless


Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News



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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 Topless

The 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] everyone keeps going, 'So when is it going to happen and what's they dress like?'" explains Knightley, who announced her engagement in May. "I'm just not one of those girls that's had the kind of fantasy wedding thing, so we haven't planned anything and it's all quite terrifying and I sort looked up on the Internet, 'if you're getting married what should you do?'"

RELATED: Knightley Engaged to Indie Rocker

In addition to her future nuptials, Knightley also discussed her topless Allure cover, which came out to her liking.

"I know that sometimes you have not been happy with the way your breasts have appeared in certain things and you're happy with this?" Ellen asked.

Knightley responded, saying that she sometimes doesn't appreciate the alterations made in past shoots to make her breasts seem bigger.

"You know, I'm happy with them -- with the size they are," said Knightley. "I'm alright with it unless they make them really droopy. Then I kind of think, 'Okay, if you're going to invent that fact that I have big t--s any way, could they at least be perky ones?' It seems a little unfair to go from nothing to a big droop. So that's when I get quite unhappy about it."

Catch Knightley's entire interview Thursday, November 15 on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Check your local listings.

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'Zipper' rides high again in new Coney Island documentary








Paul Martinka


The 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 is back for all Coney Island lovers to see – at least on the Big Screen. It’s the focus of a well-done, new documentary by director Amy Nicholson.

The 77-minute film “Zipper,” which premiered Saturday to a sold-out audience at SVA Theater in Manhattan, uses the popular carnival ride and its longtime operator Eddie Miranda as a backdrop to a much bigger story going on at the time: the battle between the Bloomberg administration and developer Joe Sitt over how the amusement district should be revived.




For those who don’t recall, Sitt and the mayor had conflicting visions for Coney Island. Sitt owned most of the prime boardwalk real estate, but he couldn’t go forward with his plan to bring a Vegas-glitz entertainment complex there without city blessing.

Meanwhile, Zipper and other popular seaside attractions became casualties of war after Sitt opted not to renew various leases. That move, many insiders say, was done to help pressure the city into dealing with Sitt to prevent the beachfront from resembling a ghost town.

The movie is the latest documentary to look at this epic seaside fight, following the lead of director JL Aronson’s ambitious 2010 documentary, “Last Summer at Coney Island.”

While both tell similar stories, Aronson’s film uses the closing of fabled Astroland Park in 2008 as its backdrop story.

Both films are worthy watches in their own right.

Aronson did a better job documenting the tearful final days of Astroland than Nicholson did showing Zipper’s final moments.

However, Nicholson more than makes up for it in several way, particularly covering the behind-the-scenes politics as the city in November 2007 first proposes a seaside rezoning that would set aside 15 acres for amusements -- and then months later drops the amusement area plan down to 9 acres.

This chapter is brilliantly told through interviews with past and present city officials like Lynn Kelly, Seth Pinksy, Robert Lieber and Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr., along with footage of the City Council approving the rezoning to the dismay of many local activists who wanted more space set aside for amusements.

And unlike “Last Summer,” Sitt gets to tell more of his side of the story – offering a nicer balance. One of this movie’s better lines was Sitt -- a notorious "flipper" of properties -- saying, he’s “proud of being preservationist speculator.”










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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 in Coconut Grove.

The conference brought together innovators, activists, and thought leaders in entrepreneurship and philanthropy and also showcased 32 emerging social entrepreneurial ventures from around the Americas.





On Wednesday afternoon, both men relayed plenty of stories.

As a teenager, Wozniak used to hole up in his bedroom on the weekends, designing a computer on paper.

And he made a game of it — every weekend he would try to make a machine that would work just as well or better but cost a little less than the last design.

That engineering mentality to build things more efficiently as well as the desire to learn never left him, he told the audience. “I would buy my college books on a Friday and be halfway through before the first class on Monday.”

Then he met Steve Jobs, and began working with him on a variety of projects. “Steve Jobs was a hippie with no money. I was an engineer with no money. We had to think creatively. I designed projects for fun, and he would figure out how to make money,” Wozniak recalled as he told how he invented the Apple I and Apple II that started it all and the company’s ups and downs through the years. He called the iPhone the greatest product ever.

As one of the Facebook co-founders that lived in the famous Harvard dorm room, Chris Hughes said the movie The Social Network got a lot of things wrong.

“Our dorm wasn’t like a luxury condo, there was no sex in the bathroom, as far as I know. An alcohol-fueled hackathon, while it looked like a lot of fun, didn’t happen.”

Hughes told the real story of Facebook and described his roommate Mark Zuckerberg as “highly analytical and very skeptical of conventional wisdom.” What the movie did get right, Hughes told the crowd: “Facebook is the defining example of American ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the 21st century.” And at the core: “There’s a new universal respect for the entrepreneur.”

Hughes, now owner and publisher of The New Republic, also talked about his current passion: How to use mobile and social technologies to support serious long-form journalism into the 21st century.

“Conventional wisdom says this kind of journalism isn’t sustainable. Cynics say the golden age of journalism has past,” said Hughes.

Yet, over the past six months Hughes said it is the long, in-depth New Republic stories that have gone viral.

“Folks are reading just as much news today, if not more. ... We have an opportunity to deliver it across a limitless number of devices. [These trends] all come together to suggest … we are entering a true golden age of journalism.”

Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter at @ndahlberg.





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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 spokeswoman.





One of the victims died on the scene and the others were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Unit. The second victim is listed in stable condition and the third was treated and released.

Several blocks away at Northwest 15th Avenue and 44th Street, police canvassed the area where they discovered gunshot casings. It’s not known yet if the incidents are related.

Reyes said the names of the victims are being withheld until the next of kin is notified.

Police have no suspects or motives so far and are asking anyone with information to call 305-471-TIPS (8477).





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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 on the US Consulate in Benghazi, and Gen. John Allen, the top military commander in Afghanistan, each wrote glowing letters to a judge on behalf of Natalie Khawam. And both included their lofty title — General.





UNIFORM MADNESS: Gens. John Allen (above left) and David Petraeus were convinced to write letters to a Florida court on behalf of Natalie Khawam, sister of their friend Jill Kelley.

Reuters





UNIFORM MADNESS: Gens. John Allen (above left) and David Petraeus were convinced to write letters to a Florida court on behalf of Natalie Khawam, sister of their friend Jill Kelley.




Jill Kelley


Jill Kelley





'GENERAL' MAYHEM AS SCANDAL WIDENS

“Natalie clearly dotes on her son and goes to great lengths — and great expense — to spend quality time with him,” Petraeus gushed in his Sept. 20 letter, filed nine days after Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed at the consulate.

He wrote that he and his wife, Holly — whom he betrayed by having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell — have known Khawam for about three years.

“We have, on many occasions, observed Natalie and her son . . . including when we hosted them . . . for Christmas dinner this past year,’’ he wrote.

“In each case, we have seen a very loving relationship.”

Allen was similarly sympathetic in his Sept. 22 letter to the court, saying, “Natalie clearly loves [her son] John and cherishes each and every opportunity she has to spend time with him.”

Khawam and her twin sister, Jill Kelley, have become focal points of the bizarre scandal that forced the married Petraeus to resign last week and has the two decorated commanders looking like hapless characters from “F Troop.”

Kelley, 37, received a series of harassing e-mails from Broadwell, 40, who had a months-long affair with Petraeus, 60, the then-CIA boss. Her complaints sparked an FBI probe, which she later asked to have dropped, The Wall Street Journal said.

Court lettes from Gens. Allen and Petraeus










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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 Chaska, Minn.





Different versions of Windows 8 are being offered on PCs, tablet computers and smartphones. But in every case the new operating system is primarily aimed at people who are using touch-sensitive screens.

So unless you’re planning to buy a touch-screen device in connection with upgrading to Windows 8, you’re probably better off continuing to use Windows 7. By most accounts, using the touch-screen-oriented Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard is more difficult than using previous Windows versions with a mouse and keyboard.

In addition, if you find the changes in Windows 7 to be challenging, I suspect you won’t enjoy the more radical changes embodied in Windows 8 (i.e., much different start screen.)

I’m not saying you should never upgrade to Windows 8; just let Microsoft deal with some of these usability issues first.Q. I disagree with your warning to never click the unsubscribe link to put a stop to spam emails. Totally inundated with spam, I began unsubscribing and cut my spam down from more than 50 a day to one or two.

Some spam senders were more difficult to shake than others. I threatened a nonexistent Florida corporation that I would go to their state attorney general’s office, but never heard from them again. I gave a dental company a taste of their own medicine until they finally stopped sending me email. Others just took me off their lists pronto. It has been well worth the effort.

Deborah Gray Mitchell North Miami

Your strategy will work with legitimate companies and with spammers who can be located and threatened with legal action.

Unfortunately, most spam producers are neither legitimate nor traceable. When you respond to their emails, you confirm that yours is a working email address, and therefore fair game.

At the same time, you’ve essentially challenged some spammers to a duel, a risky business because they know your email address. Make sure you have a strong email password to prevent tampering.

Congratulations on your success, but I can’t recommend your approach to others.





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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 family and everyone there working at the time,” a transit spokeswoman told reporters.





After the accident, transit workers used buses to ferry passengers to and from the station. The medical examiner’s office will determine the exact cause of death.





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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 that hasn't stopped fans and the media from hoping for a future film supported by the relationship between Lautner's "Jacob" and the on-screen daughter of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, "Renesmee."


GALLERY: ET's Daily 'Twilight' Tips

"You never know. I mean, you guys are definitely making talk about it, so maybe it'll happen one day," Lautner told ET's Nancy O'Dell.

As the actors look forward to branching out of the franchise and onto new projects, the longtime Twilight actors, who have now been involved in the series for half a decade, are eager to continue on with their careers.

When recently discussing his future acting career, Lautner expressed relief that he would no longer have to take off his shirt in a film as much as he did in the Twilight series. While the 20-year-old actor may not enjoy showing his skin to the camera, he revealed that he will consider it if it's in a suitable capacity.


VIDEO: Taylor Lautner Talks Life After 'Twilight'

"It's complicated," he said. "I would love not to [take off my shirt]. If it makes sense for the role, then of course I would, but not just [nonsensically] taking the shirt off."

Although he's relieved to cease removing his shirt on command for Twilight, Lautner stated that he will miss the franchise. When prompted by O'Dell, he gave his advice to his 16-year-old self who began the franchise.

"The biggest thing I would tell myself is to soak up each and every moment because this thing...has been five years but it has flown by faster than I can ever imagine," he said. "I never thought I would be standing here having to say goodbye to this, and here it is. It's a very surreal feeling."


VIDEO: Ashley Greene: End of 'Twilight' is 'Kind of Sad'

Check out the video above for more interviews with the cast of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 2, in theaters this Friday.

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Queens school’s student exodus








UPI


Debris 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 city school — while dozens of others are now in schools in Long Island, Connecticut, Virginia and Tennessee.

The school was among more than a half-dozen in the Rockaways battered by the storm — which damaged many houses in the surrounding neighborhood as well.




“My closest friends and my family either all live in Rockaway or [the hard-hit Long Island town of] Long Beach, so we didn’t really have places to go that were not two hours away,” said Monica Kalfur, who sent her 9-year-old daughter to live with a cousin and attend parochial school 900 miles away in Tennessee.

The mom, whose house was severely damaged by the storm, said just one student in her daughter’s fourth-grade class has shown up at an alternative site set up by the city in Glendale, Queens, 12 miles away.

“It just worked better trying to keep her in one place while we’re trying to work on the house,” Kalfur added. “She’ll come home right after Thanksgiving, and we’ll figure out where we’re living.”

Some parents said the city’s solution for their damaged school building — sending kids there, then having them board shuttle buses at 7 a.m. to one of three alternative sites — just didn’t work.

Attendance for PS 114 students at the three sites last week ranged from 2 to 10 percent.

“We weren’t given any information on our school or any idea when it is going to open... so all of the families immediately scattered,” said Missy Reder, who needs to wake up at 5 a.m. at a friends’ home on Long Island in order to get her four kids to the shuttle bus.

Other PS 114 families are driving in from Staten Island or renting apartments near the temporary school sites, according to posts on a Facebook page.

“The problem is nobody knows where they’re living the next week,” added Reder. “Most of us, we’re bouncing around.”

As of today, about 18,000 city students are still in relocated schools.

Officials said PS 114 would be among 31 schools they expect to fully repair by month’s end. Six other damaged schools - including PS 207 in Howard Beach - won’t be ready until 2013.

Additional reporting by Kathianne Boniello

yoav.gonen@nypost.com










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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 and resource scarcity, Annan encouraged attendees to address these and other problems by thinking local.

“People ask me all the time, ‘what should one do to become a global citizen?’ I tell them, get involved with your community, your city, your town, your village,” Annan said.

For abc*, a think tank dedicated to “people, planet and philanthropy” in the Americas, Miami is the center of that community. Smack dab in the middle of the hemisphere, for two years Miami has hosted the annual Continuity Forum that attracts more than 300 people from all over North and South America. Rebecca Mandelman, senior director of the abc* based in Miami Beach, said she has recently seen more and more of these would-be world changers coming to Miami to stay.





“There’s this intellectual thirst in Miami that brings a lot of these forces together,” Mandelman said. Referring to the co-sponsoring organizations — many of them local, like the Knight Foundation, Univision, PODER magazine and technology company Ico Group — she said, “Miami is like the fulcrum, the center for people in our community.”

The three-day conference, which sold tickets in advance, features a full roster of impressive speakers, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. But the main focus is the competition between 32 “social entrepreneurs” who will present their projects to be judged by the five chairman of abc* and the foundation’s 23 fellows. The best three projects will receive $100,000 grants, media support and business connections for two years.

“We evaluate them by their potential to make the greatest impact,” said Mario Scarpetta, director of Colombian cement and energy company Inversiones Argos and co-chairman of abc*. To evaluate their effectiveness, he said abc* would review each project’s “strategic business plans and economic models of their impact.”

The projects range from a museum of sacred Peruvian plants and an indigenous tourism agency in Mexico to a Nicaraguan organization dedicated to fighting cancer and a “green roof” sustainable building company. The presentations, videos and question-and-answer sessions took place in English and Spanish, and Mandelman said she hoped the casual conversations between sessions would lead to future ideas and organizations.

Even entrepreneurs whose projects are not chosen for the abc* grant have the opportunity this week to interact with investors and leaders of the industries they seek to influence. Pati Ruiz of Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda in Mexico said her alliance of five conservation organizations is already active in central Mexico, but if awarded the grant she would use it to expand to the rest of the country and into South America.

“The strength of our project is that it’s already up and running,” Ruiz said in Spanish after her presentation. “We have the tools to expand and reproduce what we’re doing.”

Although most of the conference attendees were excited about the ideas, some expressed frustration with the lack of avenues for individuals to get involved.

“I think that’s the problem with a lot of these conferences: There are no action items, nothing you can really do if you’re not a big-time donor,” said one attendee who didn’t want to be named because he works for one of the co-sponsors of the conference. “We come, watch, applaud and leave.”

Still, abc* continues to connect some of the most creative innovators in a younger generation to current political and business leaders who have the resources to give their ideas wings, Mandelman said, and the rest of the Continuity Forum promises to help make this happen.

“We believe that collective engagement can advance the Americas,” she said.





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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 Department indicate Britt earned $100 daily substituting at Horace O'Bryant Middle School, Sugarloaf School, Key West High School, Marathon High School, Poinciana Elementary School, Glynn Archer Elementary School and Gerald Adams Elementary School.





He was taken to the Monroe County Jail on Thursday on $145,000 bond.

In some cases, Britt, who started working as a sub in 2010, worked with prekindergarten and special-needs students.

In a prepared statement Friday, schools Superintendent Mark Porter said "at the time of his original hire, Mr. Britt was subject to and successfully passed all of the background screening and fingerprinting efforts that the School District requires of all employees. In fact, there is no indication in Mr. Britt's background of any prior criminal misconduct.

"There is also currently no evidence or indication that Mr. Britt committed misconduct in his role as a teacher or substitute teacher."

Monroe Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said Britt came to the agency's attention after his former landlord saw child porn in a box as he was helping Britt move out earlier this month. The landlord called authorities.

Britt was arrested following a search of his recreational vehicle, parked at the U.S. Navy's Sigsbee Park, where he reportedly moved from Cudjoe. In it, Herrin said, detectives found the child porn along with a sawed-off shotgun and a loaded handgun.

During an interview with a detective, Britt said he knows he is "sick" and that he works at schools "because he enjoys the company," Herrin said.

Deputy Anthony Fuentes wrote in a report that pictures he saw from Britt's collection were "extremely disturbing," depicting naked children as young as age 6 performing sex acts. Evidence includes photographs, videos, computer hard drives and other digital storage devices.





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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 dented optimism over global growth prospects.













* Data showed over the weekend that China‘s export growth climbed to a five-month high above 11 percent, beating expectations and adding to recent data suggesting the country’s seven straight quarters of slowing economic growth have ended.


* China‘s reassuring data, however, was offset by figures showing Japan’s economy shrinking 0.9 percent in the third quarter. Though this was in line with expectations, the decline in capital expenditure was much steeper than forecast.


* On Sunday, the Greek parliament approved an austerity budget for next year, a necessary step to unblock a new tranche of credit from the European Union and International Monetary Fund before the government runs out of cash, although investors remain concerned about whether the EU and IMF will agree to send the next tranche.


* A senior Republican senator voiced confidence on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers would forge a deal on the year-end “fiscal cliff,” while a top aide to President Barack Obama signaled a willingness to compromise over raising tax rates on the rich.


* Apple Inc and HTC Corp <2498.TW> announced on Saturday a global patent settlement and 10-year licensing agreement that ends one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars. Shares of HTC jumped by their permitted daily limit on Monday.


* China‘s Alibaba Group more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71 percent for the period, proving the country’s largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector. Yahoo Inc holds 24 percent of Alibaba.


* Exxon Mobil said it faces a $ 3.3 billion spike in costs at its LNG project in Papua New Guinea, the latest Asia-Pacific project to be hit by cost overruns as competition is set to grow from new gas supplies coming on tap in North America and Africa.


* The bullish money held by hedge funds and other big speculators in U.S. commodities has sunk to a four-month low as they unwound from gold and a broad number of markets after Superstorm Sandy’s feared hit on the U.S. economy, trade data showed on Friday.


* Sharon McCollam, the former chief financial officer of Williams-Sonoma Inc , will come out of retirement to take over as finance chief at Best Buy Co Inc at the end of the year, a source familiar with the matter said.


* UK lawmakers will quiz executives of Starbucks , Google and Amazon on Monday about how they have managed to pay only small amounts of tax in Britain while racking up billions of dollars worth of sales here.


* U.S. stocks advanced on Friday but failed to make up for what turned out to be the worst week for markets since June, as investors turned their attention from the presidential election to the coming negotiations over the “fiscal cliff.”


* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> edged up 4.07 points, or 0.03 percent, to 12,815.39 at the close. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.SPX> rose 2.34 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,379.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 9.29 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,904.87.


(Reporting by Blaise Robinson/editing by Chris Pizzey, London MPG Desk, +44 (0)207 542-4441)


Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News



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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 [Derek Hough's] neck and my knee, it's pretty interesting to choreograph around," said Shawn who, earlier this year, was forced to drop out of the summer Olympics as the result of a skiing injury.

As if Shawn's knee didn't present enough of a challenge, Hough will soon have to undergo surgery for a herniated disc. The DWTS pro told ET that his injury has made things especially tough given what is expected of the samba, their assigned dance.

"There are so many head whips," cringed Derek.

Video: Shawn Johnson Upset over 'DWTS' Partner's Injury

Click the video for more from Shawn and Derek, including interviews with Melissa Rycroft, Apolo Anton Ohno and their pro partners.

Don't forget to tune in to ABC tonight for all the action! Plus, in honor of Veterans Day, the first round will feature performances to songs that pay homage to servicemen and women.

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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 on the Northeast Corridor.

Trains into New York City remain extremely limited.

NJ Transit is encouraging rail passengers to continue to use buses and ferries.

PATH, meanwhile, is operating limited service between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. from Newark to 33rd Street in Manhattan.











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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 light.”





Howey is a writer who authored, designed, formatted and self-published all but the very first of his 14 novelettes and stories as e-books — and saw his Wool series of sci-fi stories make the Top 100 Kindle Best Sellers of 2012, above J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy and the four-book bundle of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.

Goyanes is one of a new breed of independent publishers filling the void between self-publishing and traditional publishing giants, offering technical, marketing and distribution help for do-it-yourself authors.

Montee is a Fort Lauderdale-based writer better known to her readers — along with her sister and writing partner, Kelly Nichols — as P.J. Parrish, the pseudonymous author of the Louis Kincaid and Joe Frye thriller series. She’s among the new “hybrid authors,” with a foot in both traditional and the self-published worlds.

“For a long, long, long time in our business anything that you published yourself just had a stench of amateurism about it,” she said. “That was just for desperate people who couldn’t make their way through the labyrinth of the New York system, so they resorted to paying pretty much scam artists to publish their books for them at great expense. And then, Amazon came out with the Kindle, which pretty much changed everything.”

With the stigma fading, and Amazon’s help, self-publishing has exploded. On its website, Publishers Weekly last month cited a new analysis of data from Bowker, which shows the number of self-published books produced annually in the U.S. has nearly tripled, growing 287 percent since 2006, with 235,625 print and e-titles released in 2011.

As a “mid-list author” with 13 moderately successful books to her name, Montee felt the pressure when her publisher began trimming its author list to reduce costs.

“So a lot of us, and this includes a lot of my friends,” began looking for ways to survive independently, Montee said. “Amazon made it extremely easy and very attractive to go self-publish through their model.”

She and her sister regained rights to two of their early books to re-publish and have a novella in the works they plan to self-publish.

The advantages, and the profits, can be huge. The downside, of course, would make a Vegas gambler sweat.

“The largest, by far, percentage of authors are making less than $500 a year self-publishing, because there’s a glut,” said M.J. Rose, a best-selling novelist and founder of the writer’s marketing company AuthorBuzz.com. “There’s over 350,000 books being self-published every year and readers are not finding them. There’s just no way to expose people to all of these books.”

Howey, however, who spends mornings writing at his home in Jupiter, might be the perfect example of what “making it” looks like in this thoroughly modern twist on every writer’s dream. He began writing while working at a bookstore, and he received a modest advance when a small press picked up his first novel.





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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 far beyond Florida, which has been the traditional focus of the museum. Among the Jewish populations of Africa to be explored include the Lemba of Zimbabwe, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the Ibo of Nigeria. The Asian communities include the Jews of Kochi; Mumbai and northeastern tribal peoples of India; Shanghai, China, a home in the 19th century to Sephardic Jews seeking business opportunities and refuge in the 1930s-40s to European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution; and a "Judaizing " movement in Papua New Guinea.

Classes start in January and are open to both degree-seeking FIU students and community members interested in taking it on an auditing





basis. The class will be the first FIU offering at the Miami Beach museum, which recently joined the FIU family.

The classes will feature guest speakers, including a visiting member of Zimbabwe’s Lemba Jewish community.

Before joining FIU earlier this year, Parfitt was director of the Jewish Studies Center at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, where he was dubbed "Britain’s Indiana Jones" for his pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant and his discoveries of remote Jewish communities.

Katz is Bhagwan Mahavir Professor of Jain Studies and is director of FIU’s Program in the Study of Spirituality. He spent many years living in South Asoa and is a recipient of four Fulbright research and teaching awards. He was instrumental in bringing the Dalai Lama to Miami three times and has played an influential role in the interreligious dialogues between Jews and Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

Degree-seeking FIU students may register for the class though Nov. 18. Community members who want to audit the class should contact the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education at 305-576-4030, ext. 128 or by emailing carlaspector@caje-miami.org. The cost for the 13-week course is $295.

Books club at the garden

The Green Book Club will begin its monthly meetings on Nov. 13, at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, 2000 Convention Center Dr. in Miami Beach.

My sources tell me the meetings, which are from noon to 2 p.m., are a great place to meet new people and become a better reader/writer by experiencing books in a whole new way.

The group reads and discusses environmentally-themed books chosen and read during the month preceding each meeting, which is on the second Tuesday of every month. This month’s pick is "Vita’s Other World: A Gardening Biography of V. Sackville-West," by Jane Brown (Viking, 1985).

Also, floral design classes, taught by accredited floral designers, will begin at the garden on Nov. 27. The designers will combine lectures, demos, and critiqued hands-on workshops to develop an understanding of the art of flower arranging. The class runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is the first part of a six-part floral design study hosted by the Miami Beach Garden Club.

The cost is $26 per class, or $150 for all six. A certificate from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs will be awarded those who complete the six courses. Lunch is included in the cost. To register, email Nina Worth at ninanevanu@gmial.com or call 305-532-9987.





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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 required by conventional panels, for Apple Inc‘s iPad tablet.













The company has won orders for larger 30-inch displays from manufacturers, the report said, without citing sources.


The panels would be used for computed tomography (CT) or game monitors that require clearer definition than conventional high-definition displays, the report added.


Sharp, which secured $ 4.6 billion in emergency loans from its banks in September, is looking to IGZO to spark a revival in its fortunes, as it forecasts a 450 billion yen ($ 5.66 billion) net loss for the current business year ending next March.


($ 1 = 79.4500 Japanese yen)


(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Michael Perry)


Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News



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Buzzmakers: Brooke's Cancer Fight & World War Z

What had ET readers buzzing this week?

1. It's Brad vs. Zombies in World War Z

Zombie 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 with an adrenaline shot in the arm for the genre -- complete with insane special effects and a claustrophobic urgency and realism not seen since the introduction of those "speed zombies" in 28 Days Later.

Directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), World War Z invades theaters June 21, 2013.

2. Oprah Reveals Her 2012 'Favorite Things'

It's officially the holiday season!

Oprah just revealed her "Favorite Things" for 2012, which includes such items as a $1,800 Jetson E-Bike, a $192 hand-picked Tom Ford lipstick palette and a $238 Lafco soap set.

"This luxuriously oversize, deliciously scented soap is my new go-to gift. I even brought a set to Mr. and Mrs. Colbert when I interviewed Stephen for Next Chapter," she says about the pricey soap set.

But of course if you don't have the income of Oprah, you can pick up O's December issue to learn how you can win all 49 of Oprah's favorite things, which hits newsstands November 6.

"Oprah's Favorite Things" is also getting its own two-hour, prime time special airing Nov. 18 on OWN. The special will surprise unsuspecting military spouses with items from the media mogul's exclusive must-have gift selections for the holiday season, and for the first time, viewers of Oprah's Favorite Things: 2012 will have the opportunity to watch and win select items featured in each segment of the show.

3. Brooke Burke-Charvet Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

Brooke Burke-Charvet released a video online Thursday to announce that she was recently diagnosed with a cancerous growth on her thyroid gland. In the video posted on her Modern Mom blog, the 41-year-old actress and TV host explained that a nodule was discovered on her thyroid and after a series of tests over the last few months, it was eventually determined to be cancerous and her thyroid will have to be removed.

"Which means that I'm going to have a nice big scar right her across my neck," Brooke said. "And I don't get to just walk around and pretend like nothing happened or not follow up or not share it, because it's going to be pretty much dead center."

Brooke said the discovery -- which originated from a regular physical -- came as a complete shock because she's otherwise healthy. "As crazy as it is, my head is in the right place, and it's going to be good," she said, adding that the doctors consider this a form of "good cancer" compared to many others and the prognosis is good. "I'm just going to make a positive out of this negative thing."

She said the surgery has been scheduled and she promised to keep her fans updated through her blog. "Now I'm ready to deal with it and I'm going to be fine. And I feel really, really strong."

Speaking on Thursday's episode of The Talk, Brooke's co-host on Dancing with the Stars, Tom Bergeron, commented on her cancer diagnosis. "My love and support are with you -- we are all there with her," he said. Bergeron added that he personally has a very positive outlook. "I've known about this for a few months. I have had experience with this in my family. You never want to hear the word cancer. But thyroid cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. It has an incredibly high success rate."

4. Kirstie on Secret Relationship with Swayze

Kirstie Alley reveals to ET's Chris Jacobs intimate details about what she says was a powerful attraction and hidden relationship with her North and South co-star, Patrick Swayze. Although both stars were married during filming of the mini-series, Alley tells Jacobs when she first saw Swayze, they had an intense attraction and she tried to avoid "going down that road," but they ultimately fell in love.

"Both of us were married. We did not have an affair. But again, I think what I did was worse. Because I think when you fall in love with someone when you're married, you jeopardize your own marriage and their marriage. It's doubly bad," said Alley.

Alley goes on to say that although she's friends with Patrick's wife, Lisa Niemi, who asked Alley to speak at Swayze's funeral, she is uncertain if Lisa is aware of their relationship.

5. One Direction & Drew Brees Play Catch - Exclusive

One Direction and Drew Brees teamed up last month to film an adorable Pepsi spot and during Thursday night's episode of The X Factor, the band will not only perform their newest singles, Live While We're Young and Little Things, but also reveal an alternate ending to the ad!

For those who missed the spot, the original ended with Drew Brees sacrificing his last can of Pepsi in order to become an unofficial member of One Direction. But, according to Angelique Krembs, VP Marketing for Pepsi, they also wanted to show fans what would happen if Drew won the last can of Pepsi. "Our latest Live For Now spot has received an enormous amount of buzz and online excitement," Krembs said. "And of course everyone wants to see the boys from 1D suit up in football gear and have some fun."

While you have to wait until Thursday to see the entire surprise ending to Pepsi's Live For Now television commercial, ETonline scored an exclusive sneak peek of One Direction tossing the pigskin around with Brees!

Tune in to The X Factor on November 8 at 8 p.m. to see the alternate ending!

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