An alleged drug “queenpin” accuses Miami prosecutors of misconduct before her trial

Sandra Avila Beltrán, once known as the “Queen of the Pacific” in the Latin American drug trade, is accusing Miami prosecutors of lying about her role in cocaine shipments to the United States to persuade Mexican authorities to extradite her last year.For Avila, a dark-haired beauty who stood out in a narco-trafficking world dominated by macho men, the misconduct accusation...

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Modern Family Stars Get Stuck in Crowded Elevator

No good deed goes unpunished. PICS: Candid Celeb Sightings While on their way to a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City on Friday night, three stars of ABC's hit sitcom Modern Family were trapped in a crowded elevator for almost an hour, ABC News reports.Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson took pictures together during the ordeal, which Ferguson posted...

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Smile! Polar bear cub debuts at Buffalo Zoo

APBehind bars, a 3-month-old polar bear cub 'mugs' for the cameras at the Buffalo Zoo.BUFFALO — A smiling, playful 3-month-old polar bear cub has made its public debut at the Buffalo Zoo in western New York.The fluffy white cub was introduced Friday as the zoo announced the next phase of fundraising for a new $18 million polar bear exhibit. About $4 million...

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When the latest layoff story is about you

It’s an odd feeling reading in the newspaper about losing your job. I didn’t learn about being fired in the newspaper but the story of losing my position was there. Why I lost my job (along with more than a dozen of my colleagues) was the lead story in the business section of The Miami Herald on Feb. 22. It even had a picture of me right next to the paragraph describing how...

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UM, county clash with owner of mall over pedestrian overpass above U.S.-1

After several University of Miami students have been killed or seriously injured trying to cross busy U. S. 1 to get to popular retail spots on the other side, Miami-Dade County has finally approved building a Mediterranean-styled pedestrian bridge across the highway. But the project has come to a standstill after the owner of the mall, University Centre, has refused to cooperate.The...

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Ellen DeGeneres Pens Open Letter to Supreme Court to Pass Prop 8 for Gay Marriage

With a touch of her trademark humor, Ellen DeGeneres tackles a very serious topic close to the talk show host's heart: gay marriage.In an open letter posted to her website, Ellen reaches out to members of the Supreme Court, who will soon decide the fate of same-sex couples who wish to wed.Pics: 'Amazing Race' Stars Cheer Up Bullied Gay Fan "Portia and I have been married for 4 years and they have...

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Internet bubble millionaire goes from dot.com to drug con: Jennifer Sultan gets 4 years in scheme

This dot.com millionaire has now gone from penthouse to poorhouse to Big House.A Manhattan judge wrote the latest chapter in the riches-to-rags story of pretty Jennifer Sultan today -- promising her a four-year prison sentence as she pleaded guilty to gun conspiracy and drug sales."Yes," Sultan, a 38-year-old recovering pain killer addict, answered sadly,...

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AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DOESN’T COVER LONG-TERM CARE POLICIES

Starting next year, the Affordable Care Act will largely prohibit insurers who sell individual and small-group health policies from charging women higher premiums than men for the same coverage. Long-term-care insurance, however, isn’t bound by that law, and the country’s largest provider of such coverage has announced it will begin setting its prices based on sex this spring....

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Miami mayor: City will fight to keep fed funding for housing, anti-poverty programs

Miami city administrators said Thursday they will do “everything possible” to avoid losing out on $5.8 million in federal community development funds.The promise came days after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development threatened to penalize Miami for failing to spend $13.3 million in Community Development Block Grants over the past three years. Cities that do...

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Read the heartbreaking impact statement read by the Figoski girls

Pool PhotoBelow is the impact statement read in Brooklyn Supreme Court today by the four daughters of NYPD Det. Peter Figoski at the sentencing of his killer, Lamont Pride. The one joint statement was read in court, with each daughter taking a portion.CHRISTINE FIGOSKI, 21:On the evening of Sunday, December 11, my sisters and I went to bed with the worries...

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Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

Have you ever received a request to connect on LinkedIn from someone you didn’t know or couldn’t remember?A few weeks ago, Josh Turner encountered this situation. The online request to connect came from a businessman on the opposite coast of the United States. It came with a short introduction that ended with “Let’s go Blues!” a reference to Turner’s favorite hockey team...

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Florida advocates say 2012 proved need for Voting Rights Act

As a skeptical U.S. Supreme Court raised doubts about a central provision of the federal Voting Rights Act on Wednesday, the law’s defenders said the 2012 election provided a vivid example for why it was needed to protect Florida from voter suppression. “Look at the performance of our governor and Legislature in the last election,’’ says Howard Simon, executive director of...

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Hoarding: Buried Alive Daughter Goes Ballistic After Mom's Death

In the aptly titled This House Killed Her, tonight's Hoarding: Buried Alive tells the story of a deceased hoarder whose daughters are forced to clear  jaw-dropping amounts of clutter left in their mother's wake.Pics: Star Sightings! Sifting through endless piles of rubbish crawling with roaches and rats, sisters Aimee and Cheryl are desperate to locate the deed to their mom's home before the...

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Ex-con who shot parole officer was having 'a terrible month': lawyer

The Brooklyn ex-con who blasted his parole officer only attacked because he was “in the grips of extreme emotional distress,” his defense attorney said during the trial’s opening yesterday.Robert Morales, 52, shot his parole officer Sam Salters in the shoulder in 2010 because he said his new parole officer’s demands were ruining his life.“It was a terrible,...

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Economic development chief faces bruising fight

An organization charged with reviving Miami-Dade’s battered economy finds itself with some bruises, too.The Beacon Council, a non-profit that relies on tax dollars, is contending with a threat to its public funding, lukewarm support from County Hall and a rift within its own leadership. CEO Frank Nero faces a revolt from some board members, and the full board this month opted...

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Somerset parents, neighbors unhappy with school’s plans to move campus to Kendall

Somerset Academy is drawing the ire of both parents and neighbors in Coral Gables and Kendall as it expands its charter school empire.Angry parents crowded into a cafeteria recently to hear that their kindergartners likely will be bused to a new school in Kendall after Somerset lost its Coral Gables lease at Granada Presbyterian Church. Meanwhile, about 40 neighbors of the...

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Does Miranda Kerr Want Another Baby

Model Miranda Kerr quickly got back into runway shape after giving birth to her first son Flynn in 2011, but could she and husband Orlando Bloom be planning to expand their family further? ET Canada caught up with the Victoria's Secret Angel to find out.PICS: Who Wore What? "Someday," Miranda answered when asked if she planned on giving her son Flynn a sibling to play with. "Not right now."Miranda...

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Not in my backyard: Matthew Broderick slams NYU expansion

Ferris Bueller was busy on his day off.Matthew Broderick made a matinee appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court today to show his opposition to the planned, 20-year, $6 billion expansion of New York University in Greenwich Village. “I live in the Village, I have children, I like parks. The issue is personal,” the actor, currently starring in “Nice Work if...

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Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

Have you ever received a request to connect on LinkedIn from someone you didn’t know or couldn’t remember?A few weeks ago, Josh Turner encountered this situation. The online request to connect came from a businessman on the opposite coast of the United States. It came with a short introduction that ended with “Let’s go Blues!” a reference to Turner’s favorite hockey team...

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Wanna play for the Miami Marlins — the organ, that is

For the first time since the team's inception in 1993, the Miami Marlins held open auditions for an organist Monday night at their new stadium.Several local musicians showed up to vie for the special gig.The chosen organist will be responsible for performing songs such as Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Let's Go Fish and Clap and Stomp at all 81 home games next season. ...

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What's Next for Quvenzhane Wallis

As awards season comes to a close, ET caught up with Oscar's youngest nominee Quvenzhane Wallis at the Independent Spirit Awards to get the scoop on what's next for the 9-year-old actress.Exclusive Pics: Inside the 'Vanity Fair' Oscar Party! Shortly after we met with the spunky star, toting her now-signature puppy purse, it was announced Wallis was cast as the lead in an Annie remake that Will Smith...

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Cops 'n' robbers gunfight and car chase was a real life action movie

Testimony in a Queens trial sounded like it came from an action movie script today as witnesses described a wild police chase complete with guns blazing.Cops described the terrifying moments when they heard gunfire ring out during a high-speed chase along Sutphin Boulevard.“We were in a shooting together we could have died together,” said Officer Shawn...

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Miami medicine goes digital

About 10 years ago, Dr. Fleur Sack quit her practice as a family physician to become a hospital department head. Spurring her decision was the need to switch from paper records to electronic ones to keep her private practice profitable. “At that time, it would have cost about $50,000,” Dr. Sack recalled. “It was too expensive and it was too overwhelming.” But times and technologies...

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Execution of murderer raises new questions about the death penalty in Florida

TALLAHASSEE -- The execution of Paul Augustus Howell scheduled for Tuesday has put Florida’s death penalty process under the microscope again.Howell, 42, was convicted in 1992 of the pipe-bomb killing of Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmy Fulford in Jefferson County, east of Tallahassee. If he dies by lethal injection as scheduled, his attorneys say, he will be the first...

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COUPLES ALERT! Date Night Pics at the Oscars

COUPLES ALERT: Date Night Pics at the Oscars From expecting parents Channing Tatum & Jenna Dewan to Hollywood power couple Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban, Sunday's Oscars red carpet was full of well-suited celebrities! Click the pics to check out the hottest pairs on the red carpet! ...

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Death of ex-Post employee 'suspicious'

The death of a former New York Post employee whose body was found in her Cobble Hill apartment Friday is being investigated as suspicious, sources said. Elizabeth Borst, 55, was found on her kitchen floor after her husband, Gaetano Lisco, called neighbors and asked them to check on the victim because he couldn't reach her.Although Borst's death has not...

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South Beach Wine & Food Festival changes Miami's culinary scene, impacts economy

For Miami restaurateurs, this is Showtime.With dozens of top chefs — Bobby Flay, Todd English, Daniel Boloud and Masaharu Morimoto among the list — in town for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the pressure is on everywhere, from Michy’s to the new Catch Miami. The goal: Show everyone from around the country that Miami’s food scene has arrived on the national stage.Chef...

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