Mega mansion frenzy: Buyer snaps up Pat Riley’s $16M home to level it, rebuild

Miami Heat President Pat Riley sold his spectacular bayfront mansion in gated Gables Estates for $16.8 million last March.The 12,856-square-foot Mediterranean-style dream house at 180 Arvida Parkway has a theater, wine cellar, library, and a sprawling pool with waterfalls and an aqua bar.But that’s all coming down. Turns out the lure was the lot: a rare...

Read More..

Unscreened by state, firms cash in on Florida kids

First of two partsWhen Yolanda Axson wasn’t watching, a pot of hot water spilled into a crib at her daycare in Orlando, scalding a 4-month-old boy. She served probation for felony child neglect and then, barred from child care, found a less-regulated line of work. She started a company to earn tax dollars tutoring poor kids in Florida’s failing schools. ...

Read More..

Chris Brown Car Collision

ET has learned that Chris Brown was involved in a solo, non-injury traffic collision in Beverly Hills at noon today, blaming the paparazzi for losing control of his Porsche and colliding with a wall. Pics: Remembering Whitney Houston A statement from Lieutenant Lincoln Hoshino of the Beverly Hills police details the incident: "On February 9, 2013 at approximately 12:03 p.m., entertainer Chris Brown...

Read More..

Left’s misfire

The left’s incessant blaming of weapons and those who manufacture them for gun violence absolves those who pull the triggers and actually commit the crimes (“Moral Grandstanding,” George Will, PostOpinion, Feb. 4). Because a large amount of gun violence is traced to gangs, that would seem a good place to start solving the problem. President Obama’s executive...

Read More..

Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum, Feb. 21 at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal...

Read More..

Red light camera opponents find questionable champion in Rep. Campbell

Opponents of red-light cameras could have found a better advocate for their cause than state Rep. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, who is sponsoring a bill to outlaw the practice.A Honda minivan registered to her husband, Hubert, has five red-light camera violations, according to records obtained by the Herald/Times from American Traffic Solutions, or ATS, a Scottsdale, Ariz. vendor...

Read More..

Inside the 55th Annual Grammy Awards Gift Lounge with LL Cool J

Sunday's Grammy Awards will feature LL Cool J's second turn as host for the big show, but even this seasoned professional gets a few butterflies now and again.ET caught up with the NCIS: Los Angeles star in a free moment as he perused the Grammy Gift Lounge, presented by MTG, featuring signature headwear by New Era, Gibson guitars, Solstice sunglasses, M London handbags (courtesy of KeepAmerica.com)...

Read More..

The Dow at 14,000: not as good as gold

What an illuminating week for Wall Street — the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been bobbling just above and below the record high 14,000 mark, even as the country comes to grip with the reports that its economy has actually been slumping, with GDP shrinking 0.1 percent in the last quarter of 2012. The Obama administration is trying to put a bright face...

Read More..

Miami startup that turns text to video receives $1 million in seed funding

Guide, a new technology startup based in Miami, announced Tuesday it has closed a $1 million round of seed funding from investors including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Sapient Corp., MTV founder Bob Pitman, actor and producer Omar Epps, and early Google employee Steve Schimmel. The Knight Foundation is supporting Guide through its new early-stage venture...

Read More..

Stranded python hunters rescued from Broward Everglades

Two python hunters were rescued Thursday afternoon by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue after they became stranded and disoriented in the Everglades.According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles, a call came in shortly before 4 p.m. that the hunters, 22 and 25 years old and from Tennessee, were stranded 15 miles west of U.S. 27 near the Broward-Palm Beach County...

Read More..

Grammys Producer Ken Ehrlich Speaks About Possible Wardrobe Malfunctions & Rules

With music's biggest night less than 48 hours away, ET's Rocsi Diaz was front and center at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on to give you a preview of Sunday's much-anticipated Grammy Awards!Rocsi caught up with the Executive Producer of this year's show, Ken Ehrlich, who shared what viewers can expect from a special tribute number to be performed by superstars Rihanna, Sting and Bruno Mars!PICS:...

Read More..

Accused witch burned alive in Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea -- Assailants stripped, tortured and bound a woman accused of witchcraft, then burned her alive in front of hundreds of witnesses in a Papua New Guinea town, police said Friday after one of the highest profile sorcery-related murders in this South Pacific island nation.Some of the hundreds of bystanders took photographs of...

Read More..

Greenberg Traurig shuffles leadership

Law firm Greenberg Traurig on Tuesday announced a new management lineup that includes naming Hilarie Bass as the first female president in the firm’s history.Bass, one of the firm’s Miami shareholders, most recently had been global operating shareholder. She will share the presidency with Brian L. Duffy, a Denver shareholder who has been global litigation chair, a position...

Read More..

Judge angered after learning mentally ill Miami man was placed in assisted living facility, and escaped

After Cristobal Abreu was arrested for stabbing a Hialeah SWAT officer with a large BBQ fork in December 2009, doctors deemed his mind too ravaged by mental illness to stand trial.For years, he bounced around mental health facilities.Then a stay at a Miami Gardens assisted living facility, where funds for his medications ran out and his mental state deteriorated, ended last...

Read More..

Justin Timberlake Reveals New Album Cover for 20 20 Experience

We're one step closer to The 20/20 Experience!Justin Timberlake just dropped a major treat for his fans on Twitter, revealing the cover art and tracklisting to his upcoming solo album, The 20/20 Experience."I wanted you guys to see this first!!!," wrote Timberlake with a link to the cover (featuring the singer dressed to the nines behind a phoropter) and song titles.Pics: Justin & Jessica's Long...

Read More..

Mayor Mike’s morning after

Mayor Bloomberg doesn’t seem to realize it, but he’s handing his opponents a weapon to undermine his biggest policy triumph — mayoral control of the public schools.In an exclusive last Sunday, The Post reported that the mayor’s Health Department is running wild, distributing the controversial “Plan B” morning-after pill to city schoolchildren without many...

Read More..

FMLA still helping families cope with illness

When I gave birth to my daughter, I returned home with a squirmy little bundle and immediately felt overwhelmed. Though I was exhausted from changing diapers and waking for feedings, I was thankful that my job was secure.In our struggle to balance our family lives and our work lives, one law has made a giant difference for me and 35 million other American workers — the Family...

Read More..

6 Miami-Dade cops fired or suspended for loafing

A Miami-Dade police sergeant and two officers have been fired, and three others have been suspended, capping a two-year investigation into accusations that they ignored emergency calls, filed false police reports and lied about calls they handled, Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Nancy Perez said Tuesday.The Miami-Dade Internal Affairs Bureau launched the investigation into...

Read More..

Jessica Chastain Reveals Her Oscars Date Will Be Her Grandmother

Who will arrive arm-in-arm with Jessica Chastain on Oscar Sunday?The 35-year-old beauty, who is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in Zero Dark Thirty, tells ET she plans to bring a very special date to Hollywood's biggest night!"I'm going to take my grandmother to the Oscars," beamed Jessica at The Hollywood Reporter's award season bash at Spago in Los Angeles on Monday. "We...

Read More..

Sad Muslim summit

Amir Taheri Cairo - ‘May Allah protect believers against fear!” This is one of the slogans that greet visitors arriving at Cairo Airport for the Islamic summit set to open here today.Yet, in a sign that Allah’s protection may not be quite enough, the Egyptian hosts have moved the summit’s venue from the old Palace of Conferences to...

Read More..

Register for our free Business Plan Bootcamp

Whether you are planning to enter the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge or want to refine a short business plan you already have, our free Business Plan Bootcamp later this month can help. Melissa Krinzman, a veteran Business Plan Challenge judge and managing director of Venture Architects, will be leading a panel of experts who will give you advice on crafting a short...

Read More..

Jury: Man deserves execution for slaying of elderly Little Havana woman

A Miami man should be executed for the savage stabbing of an elderly Little Havana woman in December 2000, a jury decided Monday night.By a 7-5 vote, jurors recommended that Victor Guzman be executed for the slaying of 80-year-old Severina Dolores Fernandez. In September, the same jury convicted Guzman of first-degree murder.Using a DNA match, police linked Guzman, 39, to...

Read More..

Carpet Countdown: Directors Turn Fans at DGAs

Filmmakers like Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper have provided inspiration for young up-and-comers, who hope to reach their level of greatness, but who do the Oscar-nominated directors look up to? Click the video to find out.RELATED: Hot Looks of the Oscar Lunche...

Read More..

The dirt on ‘Government motors’

Charles Gasparino Maybe the most disturbing news in “American Turnaround,” Ed Whitacre’s new book that describes his stint as head of General Motors, is how naïve he was about what it means to run a company that’s been bailed out by the federal government, and is now regulated by the anti-business types who populate the Obama administration.As...

Read More..

Bright spots in Latin America despite global economic uncertainty

There are bright spots as Latin American and Caribbean economies begin the year but the uncertain health of the U.S. economy, the lingering financial crisis in Europe and more sluggish growth in China are casting shadows over the region.A decade ago, dim prospects in those major markets would have delivered a knock-out punch in the region, but this year Latin American and...

Read More..

Route of Barefoot Mailman – from Pompano Beach to South Beach – is revisited

Fred Kimball slipped off his worn sneakers and beige socks and picked up the 20-pound backpack he had already carried for some 35 miles.He set out for the beach, wanting to feel the sand between his toes – just as he imagined the mailmen of the late 1800s did on the final leg of their grueling route from Palm Beach to Miami Beach.Honoring the “through rain, hail, sleet or...

Read More..

Xbox Hoax Leads Armed Cops to Family

Members of a Florida family were shocked to be awakened in the middle of the night to find their house surrounded by police with guns drawn shouting at them to put their hands up.Police Lt. Mike Beavers said the commotion was “very rare” for the small town of Oviedo, about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.“This is the first time I’ve heard of it happening in our little town,” Beavers told ABCNews.com.The...

Read More..

Stars React to Super Bowl Power Outage

During the second half of the Super Bowl on Sunday, power was lost in half of the stadium, halting the game for 35 minutes and sending the twitterverse into frenzy. Here are some of the reactions from the stars:PICS: Stars Flock to Super Bowl XLVII Rosie O'Donnell: "If this were a movie - fireworks would go off - and the joker would show up - snarling at Gotham."Elizabeth Banks: "Oh um. Did not see...

Read More..

Talking Turkey

In a terrible symmetry, a suicide bomber attacked the American embassy in Ankara on the same day that John Kerry was sworn in as secretary of state.Kerry moves to State at a tough time. So we wonder if he has reconsidered any of his earlier characterizations of how America should address terrorism. In 2004, for example, Kerry famously stated that “we have...

Read More..