National Hotel nears end of long renovation

A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007. “Every time I am exhausted and I pass...

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Man set ablaze Christmas night dies; family files suit

A man who was doused in gasoline and set on fire at a gas station Christmas night died Friday after being in and out of a coma since then.Darrell Brackett, 44, walked to the U-Gas Station at 4700 NW 27th Ave. shortly before midnight night while his girlfriend waited in their van. They were returning from dropping off family members after a Christmas gathering when they ran...

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School janitor gets 20 years for raping 12yo student

A Brooklyn school janitor convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in his middle school was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison today as his family sobbed in the back of the courtroom.Ambiorix Rodriguez, 34, had sex with the girl in the basement and stairwell of the East Flatbush school but was busted when she told school officials.Rodriguez did not force...

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Architectural advisory panel rejects design plans for Midtown Miami Walmart

Controversial efforts to build a Walmart in Midtown Miami hit an unexpected roadblock Wednesday when members of Miami’s architectural advisory panel rejected the latest version of the plan.The unanimous vote to deny a permit application was unusual for the Urban Development Review Board, which functions as an advisory group to the city planning director, and rarely takes...

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More state spending on roads, ports

TALLAHASSEE -- If you think there’s too much road construction now, just wait.The state plans to increase transportation spending by 11 percent in an effort to boost jobs, build more roads, and get the state’s ports ready for the expansion of the Panama Canal. For motorists, that means navigating through more orange cones and thicker clouds of construction dust throughout...

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Mark Hamill on Star Wars VII, Sushi Girl & Spinoff Movies

Mark Hamill's new movie Sushi Girl hits DVD and Blu-ray this week, and while talking about the project, the Star Wars legend was more than happy to provide ETonline with an update on his involvement with the in-development Star Wars VII – and what he thinks of those planned spinoff movies…"It's all very, very exciting and so unexpected," says Hamill. "I think that's the quality I like about it most...

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Judge blocks city from Ken Burns film footage

Famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns today beat back an effort by the city to obtain raw footage and outtakes from his recent movie on the infamous "Central Park jogger" rape case.A judge granted the PBS icon's request to quash a subpoena for the unused material on grounds that his production company, Florentine Films, is covered by the "reporter's privilege."Manhattan...

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Best photo apps for Android devices

Whether you want to slap a simple filter on your photo or get granular and change attributes like color levels and saturation, we’ve got a list of the Android apps you’ll want to use. Snapseed The good: With its unique gesture-based interface, this offers an incredible level of control over its effects and filters. The bad: The tools and interface aren’t...

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Pension reform plan put on hold

TALLAHASSEE -- House Speaker Will Weatherford’s push to close the state’s $136 billion pension system to new state employees is on hold.A report released Friday was supposed to provide an estimate of how much the change would cost to pay out benefits to the employees currently in the system while switching new state employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans.Instead, the...

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Newtown massacre gunman wanted to exceed Norway shooter's death toll

The gunman who carried out the Newtown school massacre was inspired by violent video games — and was trying to outdo a Norwegian mass murderer who killed 77 people, it was reported today.Adam Lanza believed he was in ghoulish competition with Anders Breivik, who carried out a bloodbath at two locations in July 2011, law enforcement sources told CBS News.Breivik,...

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