The missing Miramar mom: a tale of love, jealousy, mystery

It was Feb. 24, girls’ night out. Best friends Vilet Torrez and Clarissa Garcia went out to the Cheesecake Factory, where they ordered drinks and split a slice of cheesecake. They laughed and chatted and caught up on the things best friends talk about over drinks and desserts: their families, their children, their marriages.And, yet again, Garcia advised her friend she had...

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Buzzmakers: Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs and Carrie Underwood Premieres Two Black Cadillacs Music Video

What had ET readers buzzing this week?1. First Clip: Ashton Kutcher Becomes 'JOBS' Ashton Kutcher takes on the role of a lifetime in JOBS, and we have your first look at the movie.In the clip, Jobs (played by Ashton Kutcher) is raving about the operating system that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (played by Josh Gad) created. While Jobs is certain that this will become a ubiquitous product for mass...

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Bloomberg giving $350 million to alma mater John Hopkins; he's first to donate more than $1B to single US university

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving $350 million to alma mater Johns Hopkins University, pushing his lifetime giving to the private Baltimore university past $1 billion, the university said today.University officials believe Bloomberg, who earned his fortune creating the global financial services firm Bloomberg LP, is now the first person to give more than...

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Fed aims for a 6.5% jobless rate

Six and a half percent unemployment in America would mean almost 2.1 million more people working than today. At the rate the country has been creating new jobs each month, it would take more than a year to find work for that many people.Keep 6.5 percent in mind this week when the Federal Reserve meets Tuesday and Wednesday to talk about its efforts to push interest rates...

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Appeals court again upholds power of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel

An appeals court has struck down a police officer’s challenge to the validity of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel — the second time the panel has withstood a legal challenge from police officers in the past five years. Police Lt. Freddy D’Agastino and the Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit arguing that the civilian panel, which reviews citizen complaints against...

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Spanish newspaper sorry for “false photo” of Venezuela’s Chavez

MADRID/CARACAS (Reuters) – Spain‘s influential El Pais newspaper apologized on Thursday for splashing a “false photo” of Venezuela‘s cancer-stricken leader Hugo Chavez on its front page, prompting a furious response from the government in Caracas, which vowed to take legal action.Within minutes of posting the image online as a global exclusive, El Pais said it had discovered from social media that...

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Nicolas Cage Superman Lives Kickstarter Documentary

Director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan are putting the finishing touches on their big-budget Superman reboot, Man of Steel, which flies into theaters this June. As buzz around the return of the Son of Krypton continues to grow with Henry Cavill in the title role, many non-film geeks may be unaware that in the late '90s there was a major Superman film in the works that never got off the...

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Caught: Suspect who escaped during bathroom break nabbed in Bronx

They finally flushed out this fugitive!A murder suspect who escaped from a Brooklyn police precinct yesterday by asking a cop for a bathroom break was captured today by cops hiding out in a friend’s Bronx apartment, the NYPD said.Brandon Santana, 24, was apprehended at 3:15 p.m. at 3930 Third Avenue by NYPD officers and the Regional Fugitive Task Force,...

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Economist: Euro crisis could erupt again this year

DAVOS, Switzerland -- Is the euro crisis over? A leading U.S. economist says not by a long shot. Even as the head of the European Central Bank talked Friday of “positive contagion” in the markets and predicted an economic recovery for the recession-hit eurozone later this year, economist Barry Eichengreen warned that the debt crisis that has shaken Europe to its core could...

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Miami Dolphins assemble familiar faces for lobbying team, many with ties to Mayor Carlos Gimenez

The Miami Dolphins’ lobbying team looks like a reunion of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s campaign brain trust.To push for a $400-million stadium renovation funded in part with tax dollars, the Dolphins have enlisted three key figures from Gimenez’s recent election races: Marcelo Llorente, Brian Goldmeier and Jesse Manzano-Plaza. Llorente, who became a frequent presence...

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Nintendo Reaches into Wii U Grab Bag, Pulls Out Some Vague, Some Fascinating Promises

It’s been a ho-hum 2013 for Nintendo’s Wii U so far: some carry-over posturing about scads of “launch window” titles, but less than a handful of games with bankable release dates. When I checked the hopper for January, February and March, I counted four, maybe five Wii U titles with firm dates, all of them least a month or two off.That’s not how you move systems, and Nintendo ran damage control Wednesday...

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LeAnn Rimes' Fashion Transformation

Following the debut of her new hairstyle on Tuesday's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, we're with LeAnn Rimes as her closet gets a major adjustment at the hands of stylist Mary Alice Haney.PICS: LeAnn Rimes Defends Self with Teeny Weeny Bikini PhotosHaney, who is working with the singer as a part of a one-hour special called Celebrity Closet Confidential, explains that while Rimes has always been able to pull...

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Bronx detectives snare 14 in gun sales investigation

These Bronx detectives don’t have supernatural powers — but two operations, including one called Ghostbusters, took down fourteen people in a gun sales investigation today, authorities said.Ringleader Reinaldo Romero, 27, who gave the operation its name because of his alias ‘Caspa,’ and other crooks affiliated with him allegedly sold 55 guns to undercovers—including...

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Cinelatino and WAPA part of new company

A private equity firm hopes Wall Street will be simpatico with some leading Spanish-language media companies.InterMedia Partners has transferred three of its Latin media holdings into a placeholder of a publicly traded company called Azteca Acquisition Corp. The move of Cinelatino, WAPA America and WAPA TV gives investors quick access to Wall Street and the ability to trade...

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Miami conclave to help map the next 50 years for Southeast Florida

On a Google map, the long stretch of Florida coastline from deep South Miami-Dade County to Sebastian Inlet appears a seamless mass of urban development jammed between a thin border of sand on one side and wetlands and farmland on the other.But zoom in and it’s soon sliced up by lines both real and imaginary: roadways, highways, railways, waterways and the boundaries of numerous,...

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Let’s Welcome Back Hockey with This ESPN Commercial

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  RELATED: Cookie Monster Batman and the Dog You Wish You HadHockey, schmockey. As a whole, the Atlantic...

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Michelle Williams Destiny's Child Interview

Destiny's Child is back together, and ET's Rocsi Diaz sits down with 1/3 of the dynamic girl group to talk about their reunion after nearly a decade of time off with new music, the Beyonce lip sync controversy, Michelle's new stage role in the musical Fela!, her love life and her battle with depression.Pics: Beyonce's Candid & Personal Photos "Happiness is a choice," says Michelle, who says she...

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Mother & daughter victim of peeping Tom at H&M -- and employees let him get away, lawsuit claims

A Manhattan boutique owner and her daughter say they got more than they bargained for when they used an H&M dressing room to try on lingerie — they were videotaped by a camera-wielding perv who store employees let get away, a new lawsuit claims. Zia Ziprin, 51, of the Lower East Side haven Girls Love Shoes and daughter Aishling Labat, 23, were shopping...

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Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida...

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Recalled Mayor Carlos Alvarez wins — in bodybuilding contest

Former Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez is back, in rare form, displaying bulging muscles from his pecs to his calves, bronzed from head to toe, dressed in the skimpiest of black briefs.After almost two years of seclusion, Alvarez reemerged in November Hulk-like, taking home first prize in the National Physique Committee’s South Florida “Over 60s” Master’s bodybuilding competition...

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‘Atari’ Is in Trouble Again

Atari is declaring bankruptcy — twice. Both the U.S. video game company and its French parent have done so, the latest twist for the company which largely invented the video game industry and remains synonymous with it, despite having seen its glory days end by the mid-1980s.But wait. Even though the Atari name celebrated its fortieth anniversary last year, it’s a mistake to talk about Atari...

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Sheryl Crow on Lance Armstrong Doping Confession to Oprah Winfrey

Sheryl Crow (who will be advising Blake Shelton on The Voice this season) opened up to Nancy O'Dell on the set of the singing competition over the weekend, commenting on Lance Armstrong's doping confession.RELATED: Shelton Taps Sheryl For The Voice"I think that honesty is always the best bet and that the truth will set you free," said Crow, who caught "bits and pieces" of her ex-fiance's interview...

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Weberman victim's impact statement

Thank you, Honorable Justice Ingram for your role during this trial (and beyond.) A very special thank you to Assistant DA Kevin O’Donnell for your endless hard work and sleepless nights throughout the trial in order to see justice served.Standing here, I think back to those years throughout my ordeal when I suffered great psychological damage and fell...

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Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida...

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CrimeWatch: Son asks mom why no one saw Sandy Hook coming

Today is the second anniversary of the death of Miami-Dade police officers Roger Castillo and Amanda Haworth, who were killed while serving an arrest warrant. I extend our thoughts and prayers to their families, theses officers died protecting this community and we should all be extremely grateful for their sacrifice. Words will never easy the pain and suffering for the family,...

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Samsung decides to kick RIM when it’s down by bashing BlackBerry in new ad [video]

Samsung (005930) is well known for its clever ads mocking Apple (AAPL) and its fans, but the company has decided to pick on a less powerful target in its newest ad that takes swipes RIM (RIMM) and its BlackBerry smartphones. The ad revolves around an office that is implementing its own bring-your-own-device policy and is meant to show that both the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II are ideal...

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Sheryl Crow on Her Ex Lance Armstrong's Confession

ET's Nancy O'Dell sat down with music star Sheryl Crow to ask about her ex-fiance, former cycling champion Lance Armstrong, and his recent doping confession.RELATED: Most Shocking Hollywood Breakups"I think that honesty is always the best bet and that the truth will set you free," said Crow, who caught "bits and pieces" of Armstrong's interview with Oprah Winfrey. "To carry around a weight like that...

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Cops looking to ID gal accused of snatching handbag from Dream Hotel

A pretty blonde club-goer is accused of swiping a handbag from the swanky Dream Hotel in December then used it at a nearby bodega – and now police are asking the public to help identify her.The incident occurred at the hotel’s Electric Room nightclub on West 16 Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues around 3:30 a.m. on December 28, cops said. The purse...

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Series for Miami’s emerging art collectors begins Thursday

For art enthusiasts interested in bring their interest home, Miami’s Bakehouse Art Complex is hosting a lecture series for emerging collectors. The first panel, slated for Thursday at 6 p.m., features arists and curators who will talk about fine tuning your taste and learning to make informed decisions. The second session, Feb. 7, is oriented to the mechanics of purchasing....

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Few blacks appoint to judgeships by Gov. Rick Scott

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott is on pace to appoint fewer African-Americans to judgeships in Florida than either of his twopredecessors, Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush.In his two years as governor, Scott has appointed 91 judges. Six are black, including the reappointments of three judges who handle only cases involving benefits to injured workers.Scott has...

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BlackBerry 10 camera software revealed, including built-in Instagram-like photo filters [video]

Just when we start to think we know everything there is to know about BlackBerry 10, new details leak. Mobile blog The Gadget Masters on Friday published a video revealing the new BlackBerry 10 camera software included on a pre-release version of the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. While the software on this prototype phone likely isn’t final, several new features that will be included in RIM’s (RIMM)...

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Mama Wins Arnold Schwarzenegger Flops at Box Office

Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Last Stand came in last place on the box office Top 10 list over the weekend.RELATED: New on Blu-ray & DVDThe action flick struggled through its debut, pulling in $6.3 million, as audiences couldn't get enough of Jessica Chastain -- the star of Mama and Zero Dark Thirty.Jessica's films came in at first and second as Mama garnered $28.1 million and Zero Dark Thirty $17.6...

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Man critically hurt in Brooklyn lab fire

A man was left in cardiac arrest and two firefighters injured after a raging inferno erupted at a Brooklyn medical lab, fire officials said. The fire started on the third floor of the four-story building at 2:03 p.m. on the corner of Utrecht Avenue near 52 Street in Borough Park, sources said. The critically injured man, who was found inside the burning...

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Investors await word from Apple

No company today elicits such devotion and dedication among its customers and shareholders like Apple. The fervor felt by Apple fans for its products, its leaders and its business underscore the company’s technological eco-centric strategy. While that loyalty has made for rich rewards over the long term, it will mean very little to a myopic stock market when Apple reports...

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