Report calls Florida business incentives “corporate welfare’’

TALLAHASSEE -- A government watchdog group and a conservative advocacy group blasted Florida’s government Tuesday for the hundreds of millions of dollars it gives to corporations, blaming the state’s public-private jobs agency for “pay-to-play” cronyism and “corporate welfare.”A new report by Integrity Florida and Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity highlights...

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Member of Miami-Dade marijuana growhouse ring pleads guilty

An operative in the Santiesteban family’s alleged marijuana growhouse ring pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to kidnap a rival gang member, admitting he witnessed the man’s murder after the target stole 50 pounds of pot from the Miami-Dade clan.Juan Felipe Castaneda’s plea agreement signaled a major development in the federal government’s crackdown on one of South Florida’s...

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Live action: Twitter grabs Super Bowl spotlight

NEW YORK (AP) — Beyonce’s splashy show, a freak power outage, and —oh, yeah— a captivating game of football combined to generate a record 24.1 million posts on Twitter during Sunday night’s Super Bowl.That’s up from 13.7 million last year — and that doesn’t even include chatter surrounding the ads.Twitter said in a late Sunday blog post that about half of the more than 50 national TV spots that aired...

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Bruce Willis Cracks Up At Vintage 'Die Hard' Intv

Bruce Willis is back for his fifth Die Hard movie as veteran cop John McClane, and the junket for A Good Day to Die Hard proved to be the perfect opportunity to show Bruce some old footage of himself during our on-set interview for 1990's Die Hard 2: Die Harder.Pics: 13 Must-See Movies for 2013"This should be on your show, this is terrific," Bruce told ET's Christina McLarty with a laugh. "Holy mackerel."In...

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Hero cop Figoski's blood-stained badge revealed at trial

There was blood on his badge.Chilling photos of slain Brooklyn cop Peter Figoski’s blood-stained shield and uniform were revealed in the first-degree murder trial of his killer today – bringing tears to the hero cop’s mom as she watched from the courtroom gallery.Career criminal Lamont Pride, 28, shot Figoski once in the face when the decorated cop and...

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Minority Chamber holding job fair on Tuesday

The Minority Chamber of Commerce will hold an “Expedited Job Fair” Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Sweetwater.The event is advertised as having immediate openings to fill, including positions for sales executives, warehouse workers and managers. The free event will be held at the Minority Chamber of Commerce Convention Center at 10720 West Flagler St. in Sweetwater. It begins at 11...

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Giraffe injured at Zoo Miami fleeing amorous advances

A female giraffe at Zoo Miami took a nasty tumble Sunday afternoon fleeing the unwanted advances of a suitor.The accident played out within view of patrons watching the animals in the public feeding area.Zoo officials said Kita, one of six giraffes at the zoo, tried to avoid the unidentified suitor and ran into a rocky area to get away, but fell down. The 29-year-old female...

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BlackBerry Z10 Smartphone Already Going for $1,500 on eBay

The new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone won’t be out for weeks, but you can already get your hands on it via eBay for about $ 1,500.BlackBerry — the company formerly known as Research In Motion (RIM) — announced the new smartphone at an event earlier this week and handed out samples to guests and members of the press in attendance. It didn’t take long for the Z10, which could potentially turn around the...

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Stars Pick Sides at Hot Super Bowl Parties

ET correspondent and Ravens fan Rocsi Diaz seemed out numbered over the weekend in terms of her football affiliation, which sparked a little friendly competition with Jenny McCarthy.RELATED: Super Bowl Star Pics As a 49ers fan, Jenny agreed to a wager: the loser has to buy the other dinner and drinks when they get back to Los Angeles."Girls night out," said Jenny. "You go out with my posse if I win...

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Deadly deserts

Ralph Peters Violence in Allah’s name in northern Africa won’t end in my lifetime — and probably not in yours. The core question is: To what extent can the savagery be contained?From the Atlantic coastline to the Suez Canal, struggling governments, impoverished populations and frankly backward societies struggle to find paths to modernization...

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