State scraps plan to have private vendors make license tags

TALLAHASSEE -- Backing away from a possible court fight, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced Friday that it will halt its attempt to bid license tag services to private vendors.Tax collectors — who distribute state tags — and two manufacturing groups tried to block the change by lobbying elected officials and filing legal action against...

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Twitter to Start War on Instagram In Time for Christmas

Holidays seem to be Instagram‘s bread and butter, so it makes sense that Twitter would fire their first shot in the war on Instagram when the app is at its most vulnerable. RELATED: Why You Can’t See Instagram Photos on Twitter AnymoreIf we learned anything from Thanksgiving, it’s that people love to Instagram their holidays. Turkeys, stuffing, table settings: you Amaro’d it all. It was the service’s...

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How They Pulled Off 'The Impossible'

The true story of the devastating 2004 tsunami that consumed the coast of Phuket, Thailand -- and how one family survived it -- is reenacted by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor in The Impossible. Watch the video to go behind the scenes...Video: Tsunami Survivor Petra Nemcova Reacts to Latest Disaster in JapanIn theaters December 21, The Impossible finds Naomi as Maria and Ewan as her husband Henry, who...

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Quinn’s Vito Veto

It appears that Speaker Chris Quinn got the message — and so, too, has the municipal commission that establishes council-district boundaries. The panel has redrawn lines approved just last month. Thus, serial groper Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn) remains in his current district — dampening any plans the disgraced legislator may have to run for the...

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade...

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Preservation board to decide on Herald building

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

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Exclusive: Google to replace M&A chief

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc is replacing the head of its in-house mergers and acquisitions group, David Lawee, with one of its top lawyers, according to a person familiar with the matter.Don Harrison, a high-ranking lawyer at Google, will replace Lawee as head of the Internet search company‘s corporate development group, which oversees mergers and acquisitions, said the source, who spoke...

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There’s only one way to save Medicare

Fresh off his election victory, President Obama is pushing back against GOP efforts to reform Medicare — promising that only he can save the program. Indeed, the president’s surrogates regularly brag that the Obama health-care law “extends the program’s life by eight years.” In other words, the president will save Medicare by making sure it doesn’t go bankrupt...

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade...

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Driver of fatal MIA bus crash that killed two offers his “deepest sympathy.”

The driver behind the wheel of a bus that rammed into an overpass at Miami International Airport — killing two passengers and leaving many more injured — expressed his sympathies Thursday to those affected, while a group of survivors began speaking with a lawyer.On Thursday, a relative sent out a short statement in Spanish from driver Ramon Ferreiro. In it, Ferreiro extended...

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Minecraft sells almost 4.5 million copies on Xbox 360 as other indie games continue to struggle

Big-budget games such as Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II might brag about how they rule the Xbox 360 in terms of sales, but indie games can also compete – if they’re addictive enough and offer enough value. Take Minecraft, an indie game developed by Markus “Notch” Persson’s company Mojang. According to Mojang, Minecraft, an indie game originally made for PC and...

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MS tightens broker incentives

Morgan Stanley boss James Gorman taketh and giveth as he rejiggers incentive pay packages for its more than 17,000 brokerage force. The changes, announced during an internal call to brokers yesterday by head of brokerage operations, Doug Ketterer, better align the so-called financial advisers’ performance with Gorman’s goal of developing Morgan Stanley...

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New equity options exchange owned by Miami company starts trading on Friday

MIAX Options Exchange, a new fully electronic, equity options trading exchange, said it will begin trading on Friday.MIAX Options Exchange is based in Princeton, N.J., but its parent company is Miami International Holdings. While MIAX’s executive offices, technology development center and national operations center are based in Princeton, additional executive offices, and...

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To win in 2014, Florida Democrats must build on momentum

Democrats just concluded their most successful Florida election cycle in more than three decades, not just delivering the state to President Barack Obama and re-electing Sen. Bill Nelson, but also picking up state House, state Senate, and Congressional seats.But don’t get cocky, Florida Democrats. In many respects, 2014 is more important for the vitality of the party than...

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Dancing with the Stars Partners Reunite on Big Screen

Dancing with the Stars pro Karina Smirnoff is joining her Season 12 partner Ralph Macchio in a new movie, Us Weekly reports.RELATED: Ralph Macchio Gets 'Happily Divorced'According to the news source, the 34-year-old dancer plays a woman who becomes the object of a 10-year-old boy's fascination when he sees her dancing in a neighboring house."It is a dream come true to have this opportunity in working...

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Wonder-ful news

A suitor has emerged for Wonder Bread, the iconic US brand many thought was toast once parent Hostess Brands shuttered, The Post has learned.The budding bidder visited a majority of Hostess’ 36 plants in the last several days and is considering submitting an offer for the Wonder business, a source close to the situation said.Wonder, America’s largest bread...

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Innovate MIA puts spotlight on startup community

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

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State high court denies appeals by former Sweetwater cop slated for execution

The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday denied appeals by former Sweetwater cop and mass killer Manuel Pardo, who is slated to be executed next week.Prosecutors said Pardo, 56, and cohort Rolando Garcia committed nine murders during the 1980s, ripping off drug dealers and people who could implicate them in the crimes. At a 1988 trial, he admitted the murders, saying he was ridding...

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Adorable Tots: Celebs and their Cute Kids!

Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon "Monroe's in paradise," posted Mariah Carey along with an adorable snap of her daughter lounging in a room full of Hello Kitty toys as her twin brother Moroccan looks on. "Roc doesn't share the fascination lol," she remarked. ...

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Netflix gets glitz

Netflix scored an exclusive deal to stream Disney movies, marking the first time a major Hollywood studio has picked a Web upstart over an established pay-TV player like HBO. The streaming-video service paid big bucks to best Liberty Media’s Starz premium channel, which previously held the rights to show Disney movies in the US. Netflix’s chief content...

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

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

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Son of slain Miami Gardens car wash owner: ‘He put his own life before someone else’

When Dameion Peart got the phone call from his uncle, he didn’t believe it. He drove to his father’s Miami Gardens car wash to see for himself. He hoped the news wouldn’t be too bad, or maybe the shooting happened someplace else.He pulled up, saw flashing lights and police tape, and knew it was true.His father, Errold Peart, had been trying to protect a customer Sunday afternoon...

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‘The Daily’ doomed by dull content and isolation

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was too expensive. It lacked editorial focus. And for a digital publication, it was strangely cut off from the Internet. That’s the obituary being written in real time through posts, tweets and online chats about The Daily, the first-of-its-kind iPad newspaper that is being shut down this month.Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp. said Monday that The Daily will publish its final issue...

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First Look at TLC's Neat Freaks

Think you're a neat freak? Meet Alfreta.Video-'Crazy Obsession': The $150K Love Doll Collection The self-confessed germophobe not only spends the majority of her day scrubbing her home with gallons of bleach (as well as public bathrooms and friend's houses when she gets the chance), she utilizes her favorite cleanser to sanitize her meals before eating.Check out a sneak peek in the player above!Neat...

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UBS near Libor deal

Ubs is nearing a deal to settle claims some of its staff manipulated interest rates, and could reach agreement with US and British authorities by the end of the year, a source said yesterday. Britain’s Barclays was fined $453 million in June for manipulating Libor benchmark interest rates, and remains the only bank to settle in the investigation, which...

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

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

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Miami-Dade proposes spending $1.5 billion over 15 years to cure sewer system woes

Six months into negotiations with federal regulators over Miami-Dade’s aging sewer system, the county has come up with a $1.5 billion, 15-year plan to rebuild pipes, pumps and sewage treatment plants that in some cases are almost 100 years old. County leaders devised the proposal in an attempt to fend off a federal lawsuit, and potentially millions of dollars in fines, for...

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Dennis Quaid Officially Files for Divorce From Wife Kimberly

Despite an attempt to salvage their rocky marriage in April, actor Dennis Quaid has officially filed for divorce from his wife of eight years, Kimberly Quaid. Related: Dennis Quaid's Wife Files for Divorce In court filings obtained by ET dated November 30, Quaid blames "irreconcilable differences" for the pair's split, listing their date of separation as October 1, 2012. Joint legal and physical...

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60 seconds with Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster

Q: How do you know that women have more problems with women than with men in the workplace?Katherine Crowley: One study showed that women feel they have to compete 90 percent of the time with other women rather than men. There’s quite a bit of research done which shows women feel they are targeted by other women.Q: What happening here?Kathi Elster: It’s...

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

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

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