South Florida groundhog says its six more weeks of tourism.

In Hollywood beach, the groundhog was not hiding in its burrow.

Instead, the 6-foot tall huggable Punxsutawney Phil (AKA Kevin Maloney) was tap dancing, mingling with guests and waiting for the crowd to jump in the water.

For the ninth year in a row, Hollywood Beach has celebrated Groundhog Day by inviting locals and snowbirds to enjoy a 6:30 a.m breakfast, watch the sunrise, get a quick dip in the water and raise funds for the local lifeguards.

“We always wanted something beach-related,” said organizer, Jeff Hasen, who fell in love with the tradition after celebrating it in Punxsutawney for seven years. The first year he decided to do it in Hollywood Beach, he only had two swimmers. “It’s all about having fun, just a great event for silly people.”

Although the Punxsutawney’s famous groundhog predicted early spring, the Hollywood beach groundhog decided that extending winter is going to be much better for the tourist.

Just like the tradition, the beach was crowded with men and women dressed in top hats and tuxedo tails, except here, they all wore their colorful bathing suits underneath. The children, wore groundhog costumes, painted their cheeks with groundhog whiskers and took turns hugging Phil the groundhog.

“He is the biggest groundhog I ever saw,” said 7-year old Olivia Cruz who was happy to wake up before 6 a.m. to come to Saturday’s Groundhog Day celebration. “I want six more weeks of winter-- I don’t like the cold water but I do like the cold air.”

But the highlight of the morning was when the crowd gathered at the shoreline for the legendary swim, despite the 60-degree weather.

“It’s cold but I brought two towels and I’ll live,” said 71-year old Saundra Bishop, a snowbird from Chicago who wore a bright pink bathing suit. “I put it on my bucket list last year, so I had to do it.”

About 50 brave swimmers ran to the water at once, but it only took about 30 seconds for the majority of them to come running back out of the water.

“I love it, I love it,” shouted Leonard Younger from Ft.Lauderdale who couldn’t contain his joy as he came out of the water. “I’m having such a good time!”

But while Younger lifted his hands to show his accomplishment, others shivered and ran to get towels and sweaters.

“It was cold. But we get together to have a good time for a good cause,” said Paul Schuman, a former lifeguard, who pulled on a big red hoodie after just seconds of being in the water.

In the end, no one knew what the official Punxsutawney’s famous groundhog prediction was, but that didn’t matter. In Hollywood, the folklore says that the beach is good all year long.

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Sony Teases ‘The Future’ of PlayStation in Short #PlayStation2013 Video

Sony‘s CEO, Kazuo Hirai, said he would let Microsoft “make the first move” when it came to releasing a next-generation game console, according to IGN’s Daniel Krupa. But now the official PlayStation blog is teasing viewers with a video entitled “See the Future,” with the #PlayStation2013 Twitter hashtag.

Whatever the future is, it’s apparently got something to do with Feb. 20, the date mentioned in the video. But when it gets here, what will it be like?

PlayStation2013 probably isn’t the actual name

Previous rumors have suggested the next PlayStation console won’t be called the PlayStation 4, because the number 4 is associated with death in Japanese culture. If Sony’s willing to break with its numbering scheme because of tradition, it may be unlikely to tag the actual new PlayStation console itself with the number 13, which is regarded as unlucky in the United States.

Much more powerful hardware

This one’s a given. Unlike in the PC and tablet gaming world, where hardware is regularly updated and improvements tend to be incremental, video game consoles tend to wait years to update before leaping ahead — if you don’t count the two smaller redesigns the PS3 has had over the years while keeping the same performance, anyway, or the introduction of the PlayStation Move controller.

The PlayStation 3‘s big performance draw was its ability to play games on an HDTV, with an upgrade to graphics realism to match. A report by Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett last year suggests that the new PlayStation console may be able to play 3D games (on a 3D HDTV, that is) in 1080p resolution, or regular games in 4096×2160. The latter would basically require a TV as sharp as Apple’s Retina Display.

Far fewer games?

The same report, however, suggests that — as Sony eventually did with the PlayStation 3 — the “PlayStation 4″ may not be able to play any games from the previous generation of consoles.

The PlayStation 3 debuted with the ability to run PlayStation 2 games, but this required it to have both of the PS2′s processor chips inside it. This console-within-a-console design helped push the PS3′s launch price up to $ 599, and Sony soon dropped one of the chips before abandoning them completely. Today’s PlayStation 3 consoles can only play the handful of PS2 games that have been re-released digitally (and are bought separately) on the PlayStation Network.

No place like Home

If the new PlayStation console can’t run PS3 games, that may mean the end of PlayStation Home, Sony’s virtual world and social gaming platform in the style of Second Life (but with Facebook-style games). IGN’s Andrew Goldfarb notes that Sony recently filed a trademark on “BigFest,” however, which it describes as an “online player networking” service in similar terms as PlayStation Home.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Brandi Glanville Talks Plastic Surgery and Says She's Done Talking About Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes

Brandi Glanville's new tell-all, Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders, is chock-full of juicy stories about her ex husband Eddie Cibrian, but The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star says that after promotion wraps on the book, she will no longer speak out about the actor and his wife LeAnn Rimes.

Pics: LeAnn Rimes Defends Self with Teeny Weeny Bikini Photos

"As soon the book tour is over, I'm done. I'm not gonna be talking about them publicly," vows Brandi of the topic that has gotten her into a bit of trouble in the past. "I won't be answering questions about them publicly, this is my final chapter. This is all my side of the story is in the book and then I'm done."

As Brandi's book tour has yet to conclude, Eddie is still fair game.

In Drinking and Tweeting, out February 12, Brandi reveals that she took revenge on her ex by sticking him with a $12,000 credit card bill for vaginal rejuvenation surgery after finding out about his extra-marital affair with LeAnn.

Related: LeAnn Rimes On Twitter War with Brandi Glanville

Now swearing off invasive surgeries, Brandi has found more inventive ways to look young. Instead, the RHOBH star has opted for a visit to Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Simon Ourian to get cosmetic fillers injected into her hands, which she says are starting to look "old."

Watch the video to follow Brandi during the procedure!

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White House releases photo of Obama shooting rifle amid gun-control push

AP

President Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David last August in this photo released today by the White House.

WASHINGTON — The White House has released a photo of President Barack Obama firing a gun, two days before he heads to Minnesota to discuss gun control.

In a recent interview with The New Republic magazine, Obama said "yes" when asked if he has ever fired a gun. He said "we do skeet shooting all the time," except for his daughters, at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

The White House photo released Saturday is dated Aug. 4, 2012, and shows Obama shooting at clay targets on the range at Camp David.

The rifle is cocked in Obama's left shoulder, his left index finger is on the trigger and smoke is coming from the barrel.

Obama is pushing a package of gun-control measures in response to the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

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Healthcare experts see bumpy road ahead: “Shift happens”

The healthcare industry in South Florida, like the rest of the country, faces huge challenges in the year ahead as major federal reforms kick in, experts told about 700 people at a University of Miami conference on Friday.

“We are at a critical time in health policy,” said Mark McClellan, former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “There are going to be some bumps along the way,” especially starting in 11 months, when the biggest changes in the Affordable Care Act kick in.

“Bumps may be understating what we may go through,” said Patrick Geraghty, chief executive of Florida Blue, the state’s largest health insurer.

They spoke at the conference on the Business of Healthcare Post-Election. The speakers accepted the federal reforms — often referred to as Obamacare — as not only inevitable but necessary. As Tom Daschele, a former Democratic U.S. senator from South Dakota, put it, “having 50 million uninsured is just unacceptable.”

But the reform act, signed into law in 2010, contains more than 2,000 pages, plus thousands of pages more of enabling regulations — details that will have major, and perhaps unexpected, impacts on the healthcare industry, which now makes up almost 20 percent of the nation’s economy.

In October, insurance exchanges will open for enrollment — groups that will allow individuals and small businesses to purchase policies with no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. Starting next January, virtually everyone will be required to have insurance, Medicaid will expand in many states, and businesses with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees will be required to provide insurance or pay fines.

“Jan. 1 is a very significant date,” said Steven Ulllmann, director of health policy programs at the UM business school. He called reforms “a process” that will change over time.

“The one thing we know is that healthcare reform will be reformed,” said Chris Jennings, a Washington health policy advisor for the Clinton administration and three senators.

Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the insurers’ trade group, said she had strong ideas about tweaks that could minimize disruption. One arcane, but crucial provision of the law requires that an older person’s policy can be no more than three times as expensive as a young person’s.

The provision will mean huge increases in the policies of younger persons, to pay for the much higher costs of their elders. Insurers are asking for that policy to be postponed for two years, retaining the present maximum spread of about five to one, so that younger people could sign up for insurance without huge sticker shock.

For example, if a 25-year-old pays $100 and a 60-year-old pays $500, the new rule would hike the younger person’s premium to $150 and cut the older person’s premium to $450 — a 50 percent increase for one and a 10 percent decrease for the other.

The thinking of lawmakers was that by lowering ratio, the costs of healthcare would be spread out and shared more equally by the population.

Anne Phelps, a healthcare principal with Ernst & Young, said she favored another change in the law, which now requires that next year a company with the equivalent of 50 employees to provide insurance for anyone working more than 30 hours a week or pay a fine. She thought the threshold should be raised to 32 or 34 hours.

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Feral cats to be trapped at federal wildlife refuges in Florida Keys

Efforts to protect native animals in Florida Keys wildlife refuges will trap feral cats and other unwanted "pests," say federal managers.

The "Final Integrated Pest Management Plan" for the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges, released this week, says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff "will begin actively controlling and removing certain exotic animals from public lands within these refuges."

That includes national wildlife lands at Crocodile Lake on North Key Largo, National Key Deer Refuge based on Big Pine Key, and the Great White Heron and Key West refuges in the Lower Keys.

"They've been talking about this for several years but this is the first we've heard that they're actually going to begin implementation," said Jerry Dykhuisen, an officer of Forgotten Felines, a cat-rescue group in the Middle and Lower Keys.

Forgotten Felines and several other national animal groups oppose trapping feral cats, which often are considered unadoptable and put to death.

A number of conservation groups including the Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation and the American Bird Conservancy support the plan, saying birds and local endangered species have few defenses against predatory cats that do not belong in Keys wild areas.

"In terms of influencing the Lower Keys marsh rabbit or Key Largo woodrats chance of persisting, the significance of cat predation exceeds other threats," says the management plan. "Cats impact a remarkable proportion of species in affected communities."

White-crowned pigeons and many other protected bird species "depend upon Keys habitats to sustain them before and after long, over-water migrations," said Audubon Florida's Julie Wraithmell in an FWS statement. "This management plan helps ensure a future for these species in the Florida Keys."

Phillip Hughes, an FWS biologist and acting manager at the Key Deer refuge, said the agency will not mount a large-scale trapping program, but will place traps in known areas where cats and wildlife may come together.

Cats captured will be taken to local animal shelters where staff "can use their expertise regard final disposition of the cats..."

That could include trying to place the cats with "responsible pet owners or placement in long-term cat care facilities on the mainland."

The county-contracted shelter closest to Big Pine Key is based in Marathon.

"When they were talking about this before, there was a no-kill shelter on Big Pine where people could go to get their pets back," Dykhuisen said. "Now there's no shelter at all, so that's a complicating factor."

Iguanas, also considered an unwanted exotic species that eats plants needed by native wildlife, also could be targeted under the plan.

When the draft Pest Management Plan was published in late 2010, the Fish and Wildlife Service received 9,614 comments. The final plan says "over 99 percent" of those were "Internet-generated letters with standard comments."

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How I learned to stop worrying and love Twitter

Is anything more uniquely American than our free-wheeling, 140-character missives?

Twitter is dead, you guys. Writers used to send pithy tweets across cyberspace, borne on the golden wings of Hermes. Now, as T.S. Eliot would say, “Our dried voices, when we whisper together are quiet and meaningless.” Twitter is so uncool, that even if we resurrected the spirits of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix and got them to tweet never-before-heard song lyrics from the grave, they would have like, 20 followers, tops. And most of them would be spambots. Do you know what else is dead? Rock and roll. When I put on the Dead Weather or Jay-Z, my parents inform me that music used to be all about free love and sharing ideas and now, “Will you turn off that crap you’re hurting my ears.” There is no cool left for me. I must survive on the vapors of Lady Gaga‘s strange perfume and the shiny white veneer of Kim Kardashian‘s teeth. But it’s okay, it’s not like I can tell the difference.

Hi. I’m a twenty-something journalist. And unlike my colleague Matt K. Lewis, I like Twitter.

SEE MORE: Introducing Vine: Twitter’s 6-second video-sharing app

Now, I can see where Matt is coming from. The popularity of Twitter used to befuddle me. When I was in college, I had a private account (rookie mistake) and only followed my friends. My feed read something like an episode of Girls, except with more substance-abuse problems. Twitter did seem kinda like high school, and, as Matt says, was more prison than vision (although to this day, I love a good nonsensical midnight Twitter ramble. And Horse E-Books.) But a couple years later, once I was a working journalist, I started following an increasingly diverse set of people. And another cool thing happened: The Arab Spring. Citizen activists in countries like Egypt, Libya, and Yemen successfully organized revolutionary protests through the social network, and all of a sudden, I stopped viewing Twitter as a place where people just talked about their hangovers. 

Since then, I have been tasked with tweeting from the official accounts of several media organizations — I’m kind of a professional tweeter. By the end of today, I (and my colleagues) will have written and sent out about 70 tweets for Mother Jones — tweets that are (hopefully) informative, spelled correctly, promote our content, match the tone of the publication, and don’t accidentally include cat gifs or naked pictures. If anything should make one despise Twitter, it’s being required to tweet all day long. But instead, it’s only made me more fond of the damn thing.

SEE MORE: 10 famous first tweets from the Pope, Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, and more

Every day, I get to hear from people, REAL LIVE PEOPLE, who are exercising their free speech rights about something my colleagues and I wrote with our free speech rights. How cool is that? What could be more American than a bunch of strangers conversing in real time about whether the Boy Scouts can constitutionally ban gay members, that great Local Natives album that just came out, and who is really the communist here? (Okay, fine. It’s me.) 

Another point in Twitter’s favor: Go to Facebook or (God forbid) the homepages of various news organizations, and you’re never going to easily or quickly find as many live updates of Hurricane Sandy, the Sandy Hook school shooting, or the 2012 presidential election as you would on Twitter. It’s the go-to place for lightning-quick, easily searchable information. (By contrast, if you need a live update of which color mason jars you should have at your wedding someday, Pinterest has so got you covered.)  

SEE MORE: Why I love Twitter

And unlike journalists exhausted by the troll-y nature of the beast, I like the free-wheeling accessibility of Twitter. The quality of my interactions are mostly positive, probably because I tend to only follow people I would be interested in speaking with in the real world. And just like the real world, sometimes some crazy guy who smells like whiskey and is probably on PCP will try to flash me on the Metro. But that just makes it kind of exciting, right? 

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Lady Gaga Goes On Profanity-Laden Rant With Personal Assistant

Lady Gaga spouted off some serious fighting words while under oath on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 after her former personal assistant accused her of unpaid overtime wages. The Born This Way singer, 26, referred to Jennifer O'Neal as a "f***ing hood rat who is suing me for money she didn't earn."

"She thinks she's just like the queen of the universe," Gaga said of her former aide during the court battle. "And, you know what, she didn't want to be a slave to one, because in my work and what I do, I'm the queen of the universe every day."

The outlandish pop star's rant didn't stop there, with her later referring to O'Neil as a "disgusting human being." Gaga added, "She knew there was no overtime, and I never paid her overtime the first time I hired her, so why would she be paid overtime the second time? This whole case is bull**** and you know it."

RELATED: Gaga Performs at Inauguration Event 

According to a 2011 lawsuit filed in Manhattan (obtained by the NY Post), O'Neal is claiming Gaga owes her more than $393,000, plus damages, for 7,168 hours of overtime.

What do you think? Whose side are you on?

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New York politicians mourn death of former Mayor Ed Koch

AP

Ed Koch raises his arms in victory at the Sheraton Centre after winning the Democratic primary in his bid for a third four-year term on Sept. 11, 1985.

Ed Koch, the fiery New Yorker who served at the city's mayor for three terms, died today at age 88. Politicians and friends expressed their grief today.

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York:

“Earlier today, New York City lost an irrepressible icon, our most charismatic cheerleader and champion, Edward I. Koch. He was a great mayor, a great man, and a great friend. In elected office and as a private citizen, he was our most tireless, fearless, and guileless civic crusader. Through his tough, determined leadership and responsible fiscal stewardship, Ed helped lift the city out of its darkest days and set it on course for an incredible comeback. We will miss him dearly, but his good works – and his wit and wisdom – will forever be a part of the city he loved so much. His spirit will live on not only here at City Hall, and not only on the bridge the bears his name, but all across the five boroughs.

“I’m expressing my condolences on behalf of all 8.4 million New Yorkers, and I know so many of them will be keeping Mayor Koch and his family and friends in their thoughts prayers. As we mourn Mayor Koch’s passing, the flags at all City buildings will be flying at half-staff in his memory.”

Bill De Blasio, Public Advocate:

""When Ed Koch said ‘How'm I doing?’ it was both a boast and an act of humility. That simple phrase captured the fact that he was deeply connected to everyday New Yorkers. And that connection fueled his urgency and his greatness. He helped bring us out of the fiscal crisis, he helped bring the South Bronx back, he helped give us hope again—all because it was personal for him. He simply wouldn't let New York City fail. Like many, I often disagreed with Ed. But I also got to know and learn from this great man, with a heart and mind as big as the city he loved. Ed Koch is gone now, but his energy and inspiration can never be forgotten by those of us lucky enough to have known him.”

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York:

"With the passing of Ed Koch, New York has lost one of our most admired public leaders. Ed Koch embodied the highest ideals of public service and his life was dedicated toward making New York - the city and our state - a better place for all. From his days on the front lines of World War II, his time in Congress, to his leadership as Mayor guiding New York City through difficult years, Ed Koch never strayed from his unwavering commitment to serving others.

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Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”

Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.

Four months later, as the “mompreneur” was leaving her Biscayne Park home to pick up her kids from school, she got a call from the show asking her to pitch on the spot. Driving with her phone on her shoulder, she told the Bibbitec story.

Shark Tank bit. After a few more back and forths, her segment was filmed last summer.

Friday night, Taylor is scheduled to be on the show pitching Bibbitec’s main product, “The Ultimate Bib,” a patented generously sized, stain-resistant and fast-drying child’s bib made in the USA — Hialeah, to be exact. Bibbitec’s $30 bib can be a burp cloth, changing pad, breast feeding shield, full body bib, place mat, art smock and more, Taylor says.

We won’t be getting any details on what happens Friday night when she and her husband, Stephen Taylor, get into the tank with Daymond John, Mark Cuban and the other celebrity sharks; Taylor has been contractually sworn to secrecy. But whatever the outcome, she believes it will be worth it for the marketing pop.

Taylor was inspired to create her bib after a long and very messy plane ride with her two young sons and started Bibbitec in 2008. She and her team — her husband is CFO, her sister, Heather McCabe, handles sales and marketing, her uncle, Richard Page, is in charge of production, and her aunt, Marcia Kreitman, advises on design — have expanded the line to include The Ultimate Smock for older children and the Ultimate Mini for babies. Coming soon: a smock for adults.

Taylor already got a taste of what a national TV show appearance can do for sales. In September, Bibbitec’s sales jumped 40 percent after she was on an ABC World News "Made in America" segment. “Within 30 seconds, we started getting sales from all over the country and they didn’t even mention our name on the air,” Taylor says. She said that confirmed her belief that a Shark Tank appearance would be worth it.

Plus, Taylor has been hooked on Shark Tank since the first time she watched it in 2008 as she was developing her product. Trained in theater, she admits she didn’t know much about business and learned from the show. She would practice how she would answer the questions.

“I’m all about empowering women who are sitting on the couch watching, because that’s what I was four years ago,” says Taylor. “All I wanted to do was to be on Shark Tank because I believed if I got on Shark Tank the world will see what I am trying to do and that’s all I need. I know it’s a great product.”

Will that theater training come in handy Friday night? Stay tuned. Shark Tank airs at 9 p.m. on ABC and Taylor hopes viewers will join in on Twitter using the hashtag #sharkbib.

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Miami Gardens students celebrate MLK with oratorical contest

The elementary school winner of the Miami Gardens MLK Oratorical Contest brought the crowd to their feet after his performance—which included a spoken-word poem and an a capella rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing.

This was Micah Clarke first oratorical competition and he was excited to win.

“I was shocked when they called my name,” said Micah, 8. “Actually my teacher signed me up. I didn’t know I was going to be in it. This is my first time doing an oratorical contest.”

The third grader, who attends Parkview Elementary in Miami Gardens, competed against 18 other elementary students. The competition took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 21, at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Center in Miami Gardens. This was the city’s ninth year hosting the event, which is open to students who live or go to school in Miami Gardens.

Each contestant wrote an original speech centered around the theme: "What needs to change in America and/or the world in order for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to be realized?” Each student was to focus on one thing they thought should be changed and explain why and how making that change would better adopt King’s dream.

Tamilla Mullings, who works in the Miami Gardens Events and Media department, planned and organized the King day event. Mullings, who is also a Miami Gardens resident, said that seeing all the talent in the students gave her hope for the future of Miami Gardens.

“Our youth have a lot to say about our society in this day and time,” said Mullings. “The contest gives our young people a voice and platform to showcase their multitude of amazing talent.”

Germa Clarke, Micha’s mother, suggested that he sing as well as recite his speech. Clarke said that performing is what Micah loves to do, although this was his first oratorical contest.

“It was not the first time I’ve seen him perform, actually he’s involved in church. He’s preached before,” Clarke said. “His talent is singing so to incorporate that with the speech, I thought that would have been best.”

Denise McArthur, 19, a judge for the contest who is a spoken-word artist, said that originality and confidence made the winners stand out from all the rest. She said she made to that each winner effectively expressed the judging guidelines. But it was no easy feat to chose a winner.

“They were all very talented and did very well,” said McArthur. “But I looked for uniqueness. It kind of was a tough decision but the winners captured me.”

Among the elementary school finalist were second place winner Ronzell St. Louis, 10 who attends Hibiscus Elementary, and third place winner Nykalia Buddle, 8, who attends Parkview Elementary.

The high school students also brought their flair to the completion with their interpretation of continuing King’s legacy. Second place winner Crystal Richards, 17, who attends Miami Norland Senior high school explained how African Americans in Miami Gardens must break the cycle of violence in their communities to fulfill King’s dream.

Each winner earned a certificate and a $100 Visa gift card.

Samantha Bryant,16, was the high school winner for the oratorical contest. Samantha is junior who attends New World School of the Arts in Downtown Miami, and has been writing poetry since the sixth grade. She learned of the contest a week before it took place.

Her piece spoke of the little talked-about color complex in the African American community — which she called “internalized racism”. Her piece mentioned how it serves a weight that keeps blacks from lifting one another up.

“Growing up I was always the lightest, and I was always preferred” said Samantha. “But I never really understood that.”

During her oration, she told the story of her being a second grader and her grandmother telling her that she wouldn’t win a spelling bee against a white girl because she believed white people were smarter. Samantha that she remembered King’s words and that gave her the encouragement to study hard, which led her to win.

“It was a personal thing that affected me and I think it’s one of the things that affects the African American race. It causes division.” said Samantha

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Beyonce Talks About Her Miscarriage

Beyonce is speaking out about her miscarriage for the first time ever in her new HBO documentary Life Is But a Dream.

"About two years ago, I was pregnant for the first time," she says in a candid scene, according to Us Weekly. "And I heard the heartbeat, which was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life. ... [but] I flew back to New York to get my check up -- and no heartbeat. Literally the week before I went to the doctor, everything was fine, but there was no heartbeat."

Related: An Intimate Look at Beyonce's Candid & Personal Pics

Beyonce's husband Jay-Z first opened up about the tragedy in his song Glory, written about their now one-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, but this is the first time Beyonce herself has discussed the heartbreaking loss.

"I picked out names," Beyonce recalls. "I envisioned what my child would look like . . . I was feeling very maternal."

It turns out Beyonce used the tragedy as inspiration for "the saddest song" she's ever written, though she doesn't name the song.

Pics: Blue Ivy Turns One!

"I went into the studio and wrote the saddest song I've ever written in my life," she shares about the aftermath. "And it was the best form of therapy for me, because it was the saddest thing I've ever been through."

Life Is But a Dream debuts February 16 on HBO.

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Hershey's fourth-quarter profit rises on stronger sales

Hershey said its net income rose 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter, as sales of its Kit Kats, Reese's and other candies boosted revenue.

The company, based in Hershey, Pa., noted that it gained market share across categories during the quarter and raised its outlook for the year. Its shares briefly hit a new high.

In the year ahead, the company plans to step up investments in five brands — Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Ranchers and Ice Breakers — that it believes "can transcend borders around the world."

For the October to December period, The Hershey Co. said it earned $149.9 million, or 66 cents per share. That's up from $142.1 million, or 62 cents per share, in the year ago period.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 74 cents per share. By that measure, analysts on average expected earnings of 76 cents per share, according to FactSet.

Sales rose 12 percent to $1.75 billion from $1.56 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $1.7 billion.

During the fourth quarter, the company said its adjusted gross margin improved on higher pricing and cost savings, although that was partially offset by higher costs for ingredients. Selling, marketing and administrative expenses, which includes advertising, rose 19 percent, reflecting increased investments overseas.

For 2012, Hershey earned $660.9 million, or $2.89 per share, up from $628.9 million, or $2.74 per share, in 2011. Revenue rose to $6.64 billion from $6.08 billion.

Hershey expects earnings to increase by 10 percent to 12 percent to $3.56 to $3.63 per share, above the 8 percent to 10 percent increase previously forecast. Analysts expect $3.60 per share on average.

It reaffirmed it expects total sales for the year to increase by 5 percent to 7 percent, driven primarily by a boost in volume.

Its shares rose 87 cents to $79.16 in morning trading after rising as high as $79.50 earlier in the session. That was its highest level ever, according to FactSet.

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Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”

Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.

Four months later, as the “mompreneur” was leaving her Biscayne Park home to pick up her kids from school, she got a call from the show asking her to pitch on the spot. Driving with her phone on her shoulder, she told the Bibbitec story.

Shark Tank bit. After a few more back and forths, her segment was filmed last summer.

Friday night, Taylor is scheduled to be on the show pitching Bibbitec’s main product, “The Ultimate Bib,” a patented generously sized, stain-resistant and fast-drying child’s bib made in the USA — Hialeah, to be exact. Bibbitec’s $30 bib can be a burp cloth, changing pad, breast feeding shield, full body bib, place mat, art smock and more, Taylor says.

We won’t be getting any details on what happens Friday night when she and her husband, Stephen Taylor, get into the tank with Daymond John, Mark Cuban and the other celebrity sharks; Taylor has been contractually sworn to secrecy. But whatever the outcome, she believes it will be worth it for the marketing pop.

Taylor was inspired to create her bib after a long and very messy plane ride with her two young sons and started Bibbitec in 2008. She and her team — her husband is CFO, her sister, Heather McCabe, handles sales and marketing, her uncle, Richard Page, is in charge of production, and her aunt, Marcia Kreitman, advises on design — have expanded the line to include The Ultimate Smock for older children and the Ultimate Mini for babies. Coming soon: a smock for adults.

Taylor already got a taste of what a national TV show appearance can do for sales. In September, Bibbitec’s sales jumped 40 percent after she was on an ABC World News "Made in America" segment. “Within 30 seconds, we started getting sales from all over the country and they didn’t even mention our name on the air,” Taylor says. She said that confirmed her belief that a Shark Tank appearance would be worth it.

Plus, Taylor has been hooked on Shark Tank since the first time she watched it in 2008 as she was developing her product. Trained in theater, she admits she didn’t know much about business and learned from the show. She would practice how she would answer the questions.

“I’m all about empowering women who are sitting on the couch watching, because that’s what I was four years ago,” says Taylor. “All I wanted to do was to be on Shark Tank because I believed if I got on Shark Tank the world will see what I am trying to do and that’s all I need. I know it’s a great product.”

Will that theater training come in handy Friday night? Stay tuned. Shark Tank airs at 9 p.m. on ABC and Taylor hopes viewers will join in on Twitter using the hashtag #sharkbib.

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Teen accused of school-bus shooting restricted to school, church

The 15-year-old South Miami-Dade student charged with a girl’s fatal shooting aboard a school bus can leave his house only for classes, church and to meet with lawyers, a judge said Wednesday.

Jordyn Howe, now charged as an adult with manslaughter with a deadly weapon, made his first appearance in circuit court.

“There will be no hanging out at the mall, no hanging out the friends’ houses,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer told the slender teen with a baby face.

Jordyn, who is out on bond, also was ordered to attend mental-health counseling.

Miami-Dade police say Jordyn was showing off his stepfather’s pistol to classmates about a school bus in Homestead just before Thanksgiving. The weapon accidentally discharged, fatally striking Lourdes Guzman-DeJesus in the neck as her 7-year-old sister looked on.

Lourdes, 13, attended Palm Glades Preparatory Academy. Jordyn has since returned to school at Somerset Academy Silver Palms.

Wednesday’s court hearing also marked the first time that Lourdes’ mother, Ady Guzman-DeJesus, saw the shooting suspect and his family in person. Visibly shaken, she began to bawl as the judge instructed Jordyn.

Adding to the pain: Lourdes’ father committed suicide after his daughter's death.

“This family has been torn apart,” her lawyer, Ron Book, told reporters after Wednesday’s court hearing.

The lawyer said that DeJesus recognized the boys’ stepfather as a man who had once employed her at a restaurant.

Book also said that the family is dismayed that Jordyn is allowed to go to classes at the same school that Lourdes’ little sister attends. He also questioned why the boy’s stepfather had not been charged for not properly securing the weapon, which Jordyn had taken to school “not once, not twice but on multiple occasions.”

Jordyn had been in juvenile custody, but prosecutors charged him as an adult last week. He is also charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and carrying a concealed weapon.

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RIM starts glitzy BlackBerry 10 launch parties

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd on Wednesday kicked off a string of global launch parties for a long-delayed line of smartphones it says will put it on the comeback trail in a market it once dominated.

The new BlackBerry 10 phones will compete with Apple‘s iPhone and devices using Google‘s Android technology, both of which have soared above the BlackBerry in a competitive market.

They boast fast browsers, new features, smart cameras and, unlike previous BlackBerry models, enter the market primed with a large app library.

(Writing by Janet Guttsman; Editing by Frank McGurty)

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Highest Earning American Idol Alums

Who's No. 1?

By JACKIE WILLIS

January 30, 2013

American Idol is in the business of making music stars, and in turn, has made lots of money for some of their contestants. Forbesreleased their list of the top-earning Idol alums of 2012 a few names on this list are sure to surprise you.

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WATCH: Te'o hoaxer 'fell deeply, romantically in love' with Notre Dame football star, Dr. Phil says

AP

Dr. Phil McGraw, left, interviews Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. The interview is set to air Thursday and Friday.

The mastermind behind the Manti Te’o hoax was lovestruck — and is "confused" about his sexuality according to a new report.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo said in an interview to run tomorrow and Friday on “Dr. Phil,” that his relationship with the college grid star was basically a love affair.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

“This was a deep, romantic connection that was two-way between Ronaiah and Manti,” psychologist Phil McGraw told “Entertainment Tonight.”

McGraw told NBC’s “Today" show in an interview aired this morning, that Tuiasosopo is “confused” about his sexuality.

“Here we have a young man that fell deeply, romantically in love,’’ McGraw said.

“I asked him straight-up, ‘Was this a romantic relationship with you?’ And he says yes. I said, ‘Are you then therefore gay?’ And he said, ‘Well when you put it that way, yes.’ And then he caught himself and said, ‘I am confused.'"

Te’o led his Notre Dame football team to an undefeated regular season. He inspired millions of fans by playing through emotional pain caused by the Sept. 11 death of his grandmother and loss of his girlfriend a day later.

But Te’o’s dead girlfriend “Lennay Kekua” turned out to be an online hoax -- hatched by acquaintance Tuiasosopo and embellished by the star linebacker. Sports Web site Deadspin uncovered the the massive scam two weeks ago.

Tuiasosopo told “Dr. Phil” that the fake, online romance was consuming his life.

“I wanted to end it because after everything I had gone through, I finally realized that I just had to move on with my life,’’ Tuiasosopo said. “I had to start just living and let this go.”

Tuiasosopo, a Christian musician from Southern California, sounded like a TV show producer explaining how Te’o and online gal pal Lennay would fall in and out of love at his discretion.

“There were many times where Manti and Lennay had broken up, but something would bring them back together whether it was something going on in his life or in Lennay’s life, or in this case, my life,” Tuiasosopo said.

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Tablets take their screen tests

Screen quality is critical to a great tablet, and in 2012 we saw the quality of tablet screens advance in leaps and bounds, especially in terms of clarity. Here are our favorites.

Barnes & Noble Nook HD

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: A light, comfortable design with a sharp screen and a well-implemented user profiles feature. Books, videos and magazines look great and the microSD slot takes some of the sting out of the lack of internal storage.

The bad: App, movie, TV show and game options are thin and there’s no native music service. It’s missing some typical tablet features and 8GB is low for the price. Fingerprints easily sully the screen.

The cost: $199

The bottom line: The Barnes & Noble Nook HD can’t match competing tablets in media library breadth, but as long as you’re not looking for bells and whistles, its sharp screen and comfortable body make it an ideal tablet choice for books and magazines.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: High-resolution screen rivals the new iPad’s display in sharpness and clarity. Also, apps launch quickly, GPS works well and its rear camera is the best we’ve seen on any Android tablet. The tablet’s body has the same great thin and light design as the Prime.

The bad: So far, not enough Android apps take advantage of the TF700’s higher pixel count. Also, its battery life isn’t as good as the Prime’s.

The cost: $479.88 to $590.37

The bottom line: The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is one of the fastest Android tablets out there, combining an already proven design with a better camera, a faster processor, and a beautiful screen.

Google Nexus 10

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: A beautifully sharp screen is light, durable and has the fastest processor of any Android tablet. Photo Sphere is an incredibly cool concept. Google’s content ecosystem is only getting better.

The bad: The included charger isn’t fast enough to power the battery while playing a game; even while idle, it charges painfully slowly. There’s no storage expansion option, and apps that take full advantage of the screen are currently few and far between. Navigation isn’t quite as smooth as on the Nexus 7.

The cost: $399

The bottom line: The Nexus 10’s superior design and swift performance make it one of the best Android tablets to date. We expect post-launch updates from Google to make it even better.

Apple iPad (fourth generation)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: A6X processor adds extra system speed and graphics power. Improved worldwide cellular compatibility makes the LTE model a more appealing proposition. And the iOS App Store remains best in class, with the widest selection.

The bad: The fourth-gen iPad is otherwise identical to its recent predecessor — same size, weight and Retina Display screen. It’s heavy to hold in one hand, and most older accessories won’t work without investing in a pricey Lightning adapter.

The cost: $499 to $539.99

The bottom line: The latest iPad adds several tweaks and improvements to secure its position at the top of the tablet heap. It’s better all around, but third-gen owners don’t need to upgrade.

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Study: Medicaid expansion may save state money

Florida would save money over the next decade — not lose billions as Gov. Rick Scott has argued — by accepting Medicaid expansion under federal healthcare reforms, according to a detailed economic study.

Miami-Dade legislators and healthcare industry leaders, at a meeting convened by United Way on Monday, heard about the report by Georgetown University — the most positive yet on a highly debated provision of what is often called Obamacare.

Jack Hoadley, a senior researcher with the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, said the study was the first to calculate spin-off savings in other state programs if Florida accepted the expansion, which over the next 10 years could bring $26 billion in federal funds to provide insurance to an estimated 815,000 to 1.3 million Florida residents who are now uninsured.

In Miami-Dade, expansion would cover an additional 150,000 to 225,000, according to the Georgetown projections. That reduction in the uninsured would bring huge relief to the county’s hospitals, which by federal law must treat anyone who comes to the emergency room, regardless of ability to pay.

At the very least, the Georgetown findings and other recent analyses have some critics reconsidering opposition to the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act.

State Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, who previously was an “absolute no” vote against Medicaid expansion, said after the meeting that he was now “open to the thought” that expansion makes sense.

State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez, R-Hialeah, said he was still concerned about the debt-ridden feds’ ability to fund Medicaid over the long term, but “we are looking at all the options.”

Estimates about the real costs of expansion have varied wildly based on the law, which requires the federal government to pay all costs of the expansion for the first three years. Starting in 2017, the state will start paying a small share, which will reach 10 percent of the expansion costs for 2020 and beyond.

Gov. Scott, who has long been critical of Obamacare, contended in December that expansion would cost Florida taxpayers more than $26 billion over 10 years. Opponents and healthcare experts criticized that estimate as way too high, and earlier this month the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration gave a much lower estimate of $3 billion for the decade.

That was lower even than a report by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, a Washington research group, which in November estimated that expansion would cover an additional 1.2 million residents at a cost to the state of $5.4 billion over 10 years.

Georgetown’s Hoadley said Monday that the Kaiser study used only rough data for all 50 states, while the Georgetown study, funded by two Florida nonprofit foundations, looked in detail at how Medicaid expansion would save money in other areas. The Georgetown study found that the state would have to spend less for safety-net hospitals such as Jackson Health System, mental-health and substance-abuse programs and the medically needy program.

Hoadley said the savings calculations were “a very cautious estimate.”

The Georgetown report projected that the state would save $300 million in 2014, the first year of Medicaid expansion, and $100 million in 2020, when the state would be paying for 10 percent of the expansion costs.

The Georgetown study found that expansion was especially important in Florida, where almost one in three — 30 percent — of nonelderly adults are uninsured, compared to 18 percent nationwide.

In South Florida, the figures are even higher for uninsured non-elderly adults: 57 percent in Hialeah, 50 percent in the city of Miami, 48.5 percent in Deerfield Beach and 31.2 percent in Kendall.

Hospitals strongly support the expansion. On Monday, Phillis Oeters, an executive with Baptist Health South Florida, told legislators that hospitals have already seen their Medicare and Medicaid payments reduced greatly in other areas.

“Enough is enough,” she said. “Hospitals can’t take it anymore.”

A study done for the Florida Hospital Association estimated that the infusion of federal funds from Obamacare would add 56,000 jobs to the state.

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Cricket-Australia board play straight bat to Warne twitter rant

Jan 29 (Reuters) – Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland has defended the organisation following a scathing attack aimed at them by spin great Shane Warne, who panned the board in a series of Twitter rants.

Sutherland added that he was prepared to meet with Warne and discuss the 43-year-old’s criticism of CA’s player rotation policy and his claim that “rubbish” decisions were turning Australian cricket into a “big joke”.

After venting his initial anger on Monday, Warne reiterated his views a day later.

“As I said last night we need cricket people running the team & who understand cricket & what’s required at the top level, not muppets,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

Warne questioned the logic of having former rugby union international Pat Howard as the board’s high performance manager but Sutherland threw his weight behind the former Wallaby back.

“I have every confidence in Pat Howard and his team, and what they’re doing,” Sutherland told local media on Tuesday.

“Personally I find it a little bit disappointing to read about that (Warne’s criticisms) in the fashion that I have.

“Ideally you’d like to be able to sit down with Shane and understand a little bit more deeply his opinions.”

Australia won all three tests in a recent series against Sri Lanka but were held 2-2 in the subsequent one-day internationals after resting skipper Michael Clarke for the first two matches.

The hosts, however, lost both Twenty20 internationals and were left debating the merits of a controversial rotation policy CA has introduced to manage injuries and the workload of their frontline players.

While Warne insisted Australia needed to field their best 11 players every time they stepped out, fast bowling great Dennis Lillee has backed CA’s approach.

“He’s 100 percent in agreement with the selection panel with managing the load and development of players,” Sutherland said of Lillee, who captured 355 wickets in 70 tests.

“Who’s right here?

“You’ve got Shane Warne saying one thing, Dennis Lillee saying another. It’s not a black and white issue.”

Warne retired from test cricket in 2007 after taking 708 wickets in 145 tests. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John O’Brien)

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Exclusive Suburgatory Clip

We first met Yoni, Dallas' Latin lover, in 2012, and in Wednesday's all-new Suburgatory, Yoni (and actor Wilmer Valderrama) are back!

RELATED - 6 Best New Shows of 2013

But unlike last time, it is Yoni's talents in the doggy department that Dallas requires as Yakult has fallen into a deep depression. However, George is skeptical of Yoni's true intentions as you can see in ETonline's exclusive clip!

You can catch Yakult Leader, the next all-new episode of Suburgatory, on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

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Debris of missing Missoni plane found in Curacao

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — The first sign of debris from a missing plane that was carrying the CEO of Italian fashion house Missoni has surfaced in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

A spokesman for the island's prosecutor's office says a tourist found a bag belonging to an Italian who missed the flight. The plane was carrying Vittorio Missoni when it vanished Jan. 4 after takeoff from the Venezuelan resort islands of Los Roques. Norman Serphos said Tuesday that the German tourist had contacted the owner of the bag in Italy, who in turn called police in Curacao.

ZUMAPRESS.com

Vittorio Missoni

Serphos said Curacao police received the bag on Friday and are working with authorities in Venezuela and Italy.

Curacao lies about 200 miles west of Los Roques.

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Study: Medicaid expansion may save state money

Florida would save money over the next decade — not lose billions as Gov. Rick Scott has argued — by accepting Medicaid expansion under federal healthcare reforms, according to a detailed economic study.

Miami-Dade legislators and healthcare industry leaders, at a meeting convened by United Way on Monday, heard about the report by Georgetown University — the most positive yet on a highly debated provision of what is often called Obamacare.

Jack Hoadley, a senior researcher with the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, said the study was the first to calculate spin-off savings in other state programs if Florida accepted the expansion, which over the next 10 years could bring $26 billion in federal funds to provide insurance to an estimated 815,000 to 1.3 million Florida residents who are now uninsured.

In Miami-Dade, expansion would cover an additional 150,000 to 225,000, according to the Georgetown projections. That reduction in the uninsured would bring huge relief to the county’s hospitals, which by federal law must treat anyone who comes to the emergency room, regardless of ability to pay.

At the very least, the Georgetown findings and other recent analyses have some critics reconsidering opposition to the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act.

State Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, who previously was an “absolute no” vote against Medicaid expansion, said after the meeting that he was now “open to the thought” that expansion makes sense.

State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez, R-Hialeah, said he was still concerned about the debt-ridden feds’ ability to fund Medicaid over the long term, but “we are looking at all the options.”

Estimates about the real costs of expansion have varied wildly based on the law, which requires the federal government to pay all costs of the expansion for the first three years. Starting in 2017, the state will start paying a small share, which will reach 10 percent of the expansion costs for 2020 and beyond.

Gov. Scott, who has long been critical of Obamacare, contended in December that expansion would cost Florida taxpayers more than $26 billion over 10 years. Opponents and healthcare experts criticized that estimate as way too high, and earlier this month the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration gave a much lower estimate of $3 billion for the decade.

That was lower even than a report by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, a Washington research group, which in November estimated that expansion would cover an additional 1.2 million residents at a cost to the state of $5.4 billion over 10 years.

Georgetown’s Hoadley said Monday that the Kaiser study used only rough data for all 50 states, while the Georgetown study, funded by two Florida nonprofit foundations, looked in detail at how Medicaid expansion would save money in other areas. The Georgetown study found that the state would have to spend less for safety-net hospitals such as Jackson Health System, mental-health and substance-abuse programs and the medically needy program.

Hoadley said the savings calculations were “a very cautious estimate.”

The Georgetown report projected that the state would save $300 million in 2014, the first year of Medicaid expansion, and $100 million in 2020, when the state would be paying for 10 percent of the expansion costs.

The Georgetown study found that expansion was especially important in Florida, where almost one in three — 30 percent — of nonelderly adults are uninsured, compared to 18 percent nationwide.

In South Florida, the figures are even higher for uninsured non-elderly adults: 57 percent in Hialeah, 50 percent in the city of Miami, 48.5 percent in Deerfield Beach and 31.2 percent in Kendall.

Hospitals strongly support the expansion. On Monday, Phillis Oeters, an executive with Baptist Health South Florida, told legislators that hospitals have already seen their Medicare and Medicaid payments reduced greatly in other areas.

“Enough is enough,” she said. “Hospitals can’t take it anymore.”

A study done for the Florida Hospital Association estimated that the infusion of federal funds from Obamacare would add 56,000 jobs to the state.

Read More..

Power suit: Monroe County sued by Keys residents for $10 million over no electricity to island

Four No Name Key residents filed a $10 million discrimination lawsuit against Monroe County Thursday in Circuit Court.

Jim and Ruth Newton, along with Robert and Julianne Reynolds, allege the county has for years willfully denied the Lower Keys island commercial power without proper cause. Currently homes there are powered by solar and generators.

"The county has a long history of discrimination against that island and the residents and its very flagrant. And if it's not discrimination, it's ignorance," Reynolds said Friday.

The crux of the plaintiffs' argument is Chief Circuit Court Judge David Audlin's ruling in 2011 that the state Public Service Commission has jurisdiction over the matter, not the county.

That ruling came about from a county filing asking Audlin to decide whether county law allows commercial electricity on No Name. County officials say the law doesn't allow it and that it can't issue permits for it.

The suit concentrates on Monroe County fighting the installation of 62 Keys Energy Services power poles last year, as well as a 2001 county ordinance creating a coastal barrier overlay district prohibiting commercial utilities in federal coastal barrier areas.

Congress created the Coastal Barrier Resource System in 1982, and updated it in 1990, to protect undeveloped coastal barrier areas.

The lawsuit also addresses the Newtons' controversial application last year for an electrical building permit from the county. Originally granted, it was revoked when county officials realized their home is on No Name.

In addition to the $10 million in damages -- which Reynolds called a "low" number-- the plaintiffs want Audlin to void the county's coastal barrier overlay district law and grant homeowners electrical permits.

"If you knew what this has done to the friendships and relationships there ... it's pretty much the only thing they think about and talk about. I don't know what the value of my peace of mind is, but in my mind it's pretty significant," Reynolds said.

He's owned a house on No Name since 2005.

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3 Bite-Size Tips for Using Twitter in a Job Search

Advice abounds on how to use social media to advance your career and job search. Beyond reading the volumes of great books, breaking down advice into manageable bites is a smart way to venture into the often-rough social networking waters. Also, choosing one site and really getting your feet wet is helpful to prevent social media overwhelm and scattershot behavior. The following are three snack-size tips to help you get started using the niche-networking site, Twitter.

Tip No. 1: Create a Twitter handle that articulates your value. This may simply mean using your name, particularly if your personal brand and unique value are highly connected to your name. So, @JaneDDoe may just be the perfect draw to brand you. However, if your brand is better exuded through a descriptive representation of what you do, whom you serve, how you serve, and so forth, then consider drawing a visual word picture. The challenge: Creating this handle to represent your brand in just a 15-character limit. But you can meet that challenge. It just takes thought and brainstorming.

Check out these eight examples of personally branded, value-focused and/or descriptive Twitter handles to get your juices flowing:

1. Showing your unique value: @WorkIntegrity (A career transition consultant with integrity)

2. Showing what you do: @bizshrink (A leadership psychologist who grows psychologically savvy leaders)

3. Describing how you help others: @AuntieStress (She undresses your stress by getting to the heart of the cause)

4. Using your name brand: @lizadonnelly (A New York-based cartoonist and writer)

5. Creating a hybrid handle: @RedBaronUSA (A turnaround management and growth strategy expert who uses a company name, RedBaron, and first name, Baron, in the handle)

6. Describing what you do while concurrently using your company name: @Brainzooming (Strategy, innovation, creativity, and social media ideas)

7. Incorporating your name brand plus credential (niche area of focus): @tracystewartcpa (A CPA PFS CFF CFP CDFA, collaborative neutral financial advisor)

8. Emphasizing your personal brand tagline: @ValueIntoWords (A certified master resume writer translating value into words. @Glassdoor career and workplace expert)

Tip No. 2: Follow a couple dozen people and begin sharing their content. This can start as simply as researching four or five of your favorite colleagues on Twitter and then following them. Tag along a few of the people they follow. Read through their tweets. Select a resonating tweet and share it using the “retweet” button. Or, better yet, create a personal introduction to the tweet and customize your share.

You can do this by copying/pasting the original tweet into a new tweet window and then typing in additional, value-add language to introduce the tweet. This will test your writing precision and editing skills because you likely will need to trim the original tweet (without changing the meaning), and have to create a brief, three- or four-word value-add remark, all while fitting into the 140-character limitations.

The following is an example of a tailored retweet of a blog post where the poster pulled out the takeaway message that she found most compelling.

Example of original tweet: “4 tips for better negotiations http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/s/73xwDS”

Example of tailored retweet: “‘Watch where you set your anchor’ + 3 more tips for better negotiations: http://bit.ly/VtqfOr by @twilli2861″

Tip No. 3. Tweet your own content. Once you get the hang of tweeting, consider developing your own original tweets. If you author a blog or guest post on other blogs, then it would be natural to share that content. If this isn’t the case, then create 140-character tips that apply to your area of expertise. So, for example, if you are a sales professional, you may want to prepare a sales tip to help your followers sell better, or you could share one thing not to do when trying to close a deal. In other words, consider what’s in it for the follower before composing a tweet, then offer practical advice they can immediately implement.

While Twitter can be a noisy playground with lots of equipment with which to experiment; e.g., TweetDeck, HootSuite, hashtags, Twitter chats, and such, don’t let that bog you down. Instead, target in on one area of that playground and start swinging. Let your legs fly, throw your head back. At the same time, play safely and courteously. You will find yourself exhilarated and playful, at the same time, growing your career muscle in communication and collaboration.

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter is a Glassdoor career and workplace expert, chief career writer and partner with CareerTrend, and is one of only 28 Master Resume Writers (MRW) globally. Jacqui and her husband, “Sailor Rob,” host a lively careers-focused blog at http://careertrend.net/blog. Jacqui is a power Twitter user (@ValueIntoWords), listed on several “Best People to Follow” lists for job seekers.

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'The View' Host Barbara Walters Health Update Chicken Pox

A week after being hospitalized for a fall that slightly injured her head, it was revealed on Monday that Barbara Walters is also suffering from another illness -- chicken pox.  

In an announcement on Walters' daytime talk show The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg gave the latest update on her colleague.

PICS: SAG Winners

"You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago, and then was running a temperature. But it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox," Goldberg said. "She'd never had it as a child. So now she's been told to rest, she's
not allowed any visitors."

She then added a special message for the 83-year-old newswoman, "And we're telling you, Barbara -- no
scratching! We love you. We miss you. We just don't want to hug you."

RELATED: Barbara Walters Gives Update on Head Injury

Walters fell January 19 on a stair while visiting the British Ambassador's residence in Washington, D.C. and was initially taken to the hospital to be treated for a cut on her head. She was transferred to a New York hospital late last week and expects to be home soon.

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Amazing 360-view from the top of the world

Watch your step!

A stunning, 360-degree image from the tallest building on Earth as been released as part of the second Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photography Award (HIPA).

SEE THE AMAZING VIEW

The panoramic view from Dubai's Burj Khalifa is the same view Tom Cruise had in "Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol."

The Gerald Donovan-image was created by over 70 photos — each 80 megapixels — merged together, according to the HIPA Web site.

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Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge opens for entries

Entrepreneurs, please don’t let the name of our contest scare you.

As we launch our 15th annual Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge today, we are putting out our annual call for entries. But we aren’t looking for long, laboriously detailed business plans. Quite the contrary.

More and more, today’s investors in very early stage companies want to see a succinct presentation of your concept and how you plan to turn it into a success. We do, too.

If you have a business idea or an operating startup that is less than two years old, you can enter the Challenge, our annual celebration of South Florida entrepreneurship. Sponsored by the Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center at Florida International University, our contest has three tracks — a Community Track, open to all South Floridians; an FIU Track, open to students and alumni of that university; and a High School Track, co-sponsored by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

Your entry may be up to three pages and you may attach one additional page for a photo, rendering, diagram or spreadsheet if you wish. Think of it as a meaty executive summary. Experts in all aspects of entrepreneurship — serial entrepreneurs, executives, investors, advisors and finance specialists (see judge bios on MiamiHerald.com/challenge) — will judge your short plan. In doing so, they will be looking at your product or service’s value to the customer, market opportunity, business model, management team and your marketing and financial strategies. See the rules on page 22, which also include tips on preparing your entry.

Your entry is due by 11:59 p.m. March 11. Entries should be sent to challenge@miamiherald.com, fiuchallenge@miamiherald.com or highschoolchallenge@miamiherald.com.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help!

“Frame your business from your customer’s perspective and not yours. Rather than diving into a detailed explanation of your product or service, a more compelling way to tell your business story is to clearly share the problem that you are solving for your customers and how your business is different, better, faster, cooler, cheaper, smarter,” says Melissa Krinzman, managing director of Venture Architects and a veteran Challenge judge.

On Feb 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Miami Dade College, we’ll host a free Business Plan Bootcamp, where you can bring your working plan with you for advice from experts, including Krinzman. Find the sign-up link on MiamiHerald.com/challenge.

And each week in Business Monday and on MiamiHerald.com/challenge, we’ll be bringing you advice and answering your questions. You can post your questions on the Q&A on MiamiHerald.com/challenge or email your questions to me at ndahlberg@miamiherald.com. Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter.

The top six finalists in the Community and FIU Tracks will present their 90-second elevator pitches for our popular video contest. Last year our People’s Pick contest drew more than 18,000 votes.

On May 6, in a special section of Business Monday, we will profile the winners — the judges’ top three selections in each track plus the People’s Pick winners. Along the way, we will unveil semifinalists and finalists to keep the suspense building.

Today, though, we are looking back on the entrepreneurial journeys of our 2012 winners. Funding was a nearly universal challenge, and many faced setbacks in developing their platforms. Throughout the entry period, we’ll also look back on other winners from the past 14 years.

Show us what you’ve got. Let’s make this the best Challenge yet.

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Woman’s Club member earns another well-deserved honor

Warm congratulations to my friend and Miami Woman’s Club sister Dolly MacIntyre, who will be honored as the club’s Historian of the Year for 2013 on Tuesday at the monthly luncheon meeting.

Dolly has been a resident of Miami for 56 years. She began her involvement with local history and historic preservation in 1966. She is a kind and unassuming woman who goes about doing good works without blowing her own horn and she is a highly acclaimed activist for historic preservation and the recipient of numerous awards for dedicated service.

In 2012, she received the Mary Call Darby Collins Award from the state of Florida for her preservation work. Early on, she became a charter member of the Villagers and founding president of the Dade Heritage Trust, and today she remains active in both organizations.

Dolly is a lonttime member and past officer of the MWC, the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove, the Dade County Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Women’s History Coalition. In addition, she is a board and committee member of many community organizations.

The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. with networking, with lunch and the program to follow at noon in the Ballroom of the Doubletree Grand Hotel, 1717 N. Bayshore Dr.

You can still make reservations and pre-order for vegetarian option by calling Nancy Smith at 305-891-3789. The cost is $25 for members and $35 for non members.

Retired FIU professor honored for book

There’s a lot to be happy about today. Howard B. Rock, Florida International University professor of history emeritus, recently was awarded the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year at the 2012 National Jewish Book Awards. The award was announced Jan. 15 by the Jewish Book Council and was for the three-volume series City of Promises: A History of the Jews of New York of which Rock wrote the first volume, Haven of Liberty: New York Jews in the New world, 1654-1865.

Rock shared the top Jewish book award with Annie Polland and Daniel Soyer, who authored the second volume, "Emerging Metropolis: New York Jews in the Age of Immigration, 1840-1920", Jeffrey S. Gurock, who wrote the third volume, "Jews in Gotham: New York Jews in a Changing City, 1920-2010", and noted Jewish historian Deborah Dash Moore, who was the general editor of the project.

Rock, a Miami resident and member of Temple Israel of Greater Miami, also co-authored a history of New York Jewry. He taught American history for 36 years at FIU. His speciality is early American history to 1815, early American social history, the history of New York City, early American labor history and early American political history. In addition, he has published an/or edited five books, including Artisans of the New Republic, The New York Artisan, Keepers of the Revolution, The American Artisans, and A History of New York Images.

Guest composer at FIU

The Florida International School of Music will present a program, “East Meets West,” with guest composer Chinary Ung and the FIU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, 10910 SW 17th St.

Also featured on the program is the Amernet String Quartet and the NOBUS ensemble and the music of Ung, Garcia, Sudol, Jen and Colangelo.

The concert is free and open to the public.

MDC leader to speak in Homestead

You are invited to hear Jeanne Jacobs, president of the Miami Dade College Homestead campus at noon on Feb. 4, at the Homestead Community Center, 1601 N. Krome Ave. Jacobs is the Black History Month speaker at the Bea Peskoe Lunchtime Lecture series, presented free by the Homestead Center for the Arts.

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Another look at RIM’s BlackBerry Z10 smartphone

Research in Motion (RIMM) is scheduled to announce the new BlackBerry 10 operating system and its latest flagship smartphone a press event on January 30th. The BlackBerry Z10 is rumored to come with 4.2-inch HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The smartphone is also said to include 2GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity, NFC, 16GB of internal storage and an 1,800 mAh removable battery. The not-so-secret device has already appeared in a number of leaked images and videos, and on Thursday it was the subject of yet another leak from Evleaks, which posted two images that it said were press photos of the upcoming handset.

[More from BGR: Unlocking your smartphone will be illegal starting next week]

[More from BGR: Why the iOS-Android feud is so intense: It’s about core philosophy more than products]

BGR exclusively reported that the BlackBerry Z10 will priced under the standard $ 199 and could be offered for $ 149 or less with a two-year agreement. The latest rumors suggest that the smartphone could launch at the end of February.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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Exclusive: JJ Abrams Confirms Bradley Cooper in Talks For Lance Armstrong Biopic

Shortly after Bradley Cooper expressed interest (publicly) in portraying disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in J.J. Abrams'upcoming biopic about the athlete, the producer/director confirmed to ET exclusively that he is indeed in talks with Cooper for the role.

Pics: Stars Take On Real-Life Roles

When asked about Cooper's interest in tackling the part backstage at the Producers Guild Awards in Los Angeles, Abrams told ET's Christina McLarty "[Cooper] sent me an email and we've been talking."

Said Cooper to BBC News on January 22, "I would be interested in [playing Armstrong]. I think he's fascinating. What a fascinating character."

Paramount Pictures & Bad Robot (J.J. Abram's production company) secured the rights to Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong, a book proposal penned by Juliet Macur, in mid-January just after Armstrong admitted publicly to doping during all seven Tour de France wins. The author, a sports reporter from The New York Times, has covered the athlete over the span of a decade throughout Armstrong's struggle with cancer, years of doping allegations and ensuing lawsuits.

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Staten Island woman goes missing in Turkey; family searching for her

Relatives of a missing New York City woman who disappeared while on vacation in Turkey, her first trip outside the U.S., are heading to Istanbul to look for her, her brother said Sunday.

Sarai Sierra's family was last in touch with her on Monday, the day she was supposed to start her journey home. The 33-year-old mother of two had been in Turkey on her own since Jan. 7.

Her brother David Jimenez told The Associated Press that he and Sierra's husband, Steven, were planning to leave for Turkey on Sunday night. He said he had no return date planned.

"I don't want to come home without my sister," he said.

Sierra planned to head to the Galata Bridge, a well-known tourist destination that spans the Golden Horn waterway, to take some photographs, said her mother, Betzaida Jimenez. Her daughter then supposed to begin traveling home and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.

Sierra's father went to pick her up at the airport and "waited there for hours" with no sign of his daughter, Jimenez said.

Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend but ended up going by herself when the friend couldn't make it. She was looking forward to exploring her hobby of photography, her family said.

"I was nervous. I didn't want my daughter to go," Jimenez said, but the trip had passed smoothly with Sierra in regular contact with her family and friends through text messaging and phone calls.

"She would always call and let us know, 'This is what I did today,'" Jimenez said.

When she didn't show up in New York City, her husband called the place where she had been staying, David Jimenez said. The owner of the hostel checked her room and saw that her passport, equipment chargers and other items were still there.

"It looked like she was just stepping out," he said.

The family has been in touch with authorities in their efforts to find her.

He said the adults in the family had kept the news that she was missing from her children, ages 11 and 9.

"We've really been trying to protect their hearts and their minds," he said.

Betzaida Jimenez said the situation has "been a nightmare."

"I'm forcing myself to get up because I have to get up," she said.

But she said the tight-knit family was holding onto their faith.

"We're praying and trusting God that she's safe somewhere and we're going to find her," she said.

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Miami Lakes company growing its brand of skin care products

For decades, Vivant Skin Care has formulated creams, serums, cleansers and tonics to treat such dermatological conditions as acne, aging and hyperpigmentation.

Family owned and linked to Dr. James E. Fulton, who co-developed the anti-aging formula Retin-A, the company built its reputation with medically tested therapies aimed at improving skin.

Now, like a complexion that has undergone the metamorphosis of time, Vivant is altering its manufacturing and sales structure and adding products, emerging from the economic downturn with a new plan for the future.

“Now we’re stabilized and looking forward to growth,” said Fulton’s daughter, Chief Executive, Kelly Fulton-Kendrick.

Founded in 1990, Vivant produces a line of 30 skin care products, all formulated in-house, and priced from $15 to $100. The products target both females and males, ages 13 and up.

“Our target market is people who have serious skin care problems and need solutions,” Fulton-Kendrick said. “Vitamin A is the best for affecting change in the skin.”

The clinical skin care products, packaged simply in white bottles and amber glass containers, have remained the company’s mainstay, as the business has transformed.

In mid-2011, Vivant decided to adjust its sales structure, to sell, for the first time, to online retailers like DermStore.com, SkinCareRX.com and amazon.com, as well as to make its products available on its own website, vivantskincare.com. It was a major change in course after more than 20 years of having its products sold only at spas and doctors’ offices.

“So now, we’re a mix of wholesale to skin care professionals and Internet retailers, and we’re selling directly to consumers through our own website,” Fulton-Kendrick said.

Mike Nelson, marketing manager at SkinCareRx.com, said Vivant, which it has sold since November, has “done very well for a new brand to our site,” surpassing some brands that have been on its site for over a year. He declined to provide figures.

SkinCareRX took on only 5 percent of the brands that approached it last year, he said, and had undertaken a rigorous review of Vivant.

“They have a good loyalty base and get great reviews,” Nelson said.

Along with changes in its sales system, in January 2012, Vivant moved from Medley to Miami Lakes, doubling its space to 11,000 square feet to accommodate manufacturing, which it brought in house to reduce costs. It had outsourced manufacturing to a lab in Costa Mesa, Calif., that it had previously owned and later sold.

Inside its warehouse space in a commercial business complex, a small staff handles manufacturing, shipping and packaging. All orders are taken by customer service and fulfilled onsite. A room used as an educational center allows vendors and aestheticians to learn about the products.

Martina Echeveria, international trade specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Miami U.S. Export Assistance Center, who is helping Vivant get a distributor in the Dominican Republic, said she recently nominated the company for a South Florida Manufacturer of the Year award. The awards are given by the South Florida Manufacturers Association.

“Their products are good and 100 percent U.S. made,” she said.

At Vivant’s offices, a lab area is used by Dr. Fulton for research and development. He also maintains a practice at Flores Dermatology in South Miami.

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