5 reasons Charlie Crist should (and shouldn’t) run for Florida governor

It was the biggest piece of thoroughly unsurprising news in months: Charlie Crist is becoming a Democrat. The next expectation is Crist will announce a campaign for Florida governor. He’s tanned, rested and ready after two years at a high-profile law firm and anyone who follows his career has a hard time picturing Crist out of public life forever. But the Florida Republicans’ prince-turned-pariah is no lock to win a Democratic primary against the likes of Alex Sink, let alone a general election against Gov. Rick Scott, who can pour tens of millions of his own money into a reelection campaign. A Crist candidacy has pros and cons. Here are five reasons why the former governor should run again and five reasons why he shouldn’t.

FIVE REASONS HE SHOULD

RUN FOR GOVERNOR

1. Democrats need a winner. Tired of losing, Florida Democrats are so hungry for some real influence in state government that they will cut Crist slack for his blatant opportunism and overlook some of his more strident conservative stands.

Yes, President Barack Obama won Florida twice in a row, but Democrats have lost the past four gubernatorial races and now hold just one of six statewide offices. The ultimate prize for party-building and fundraising is the Governor’s Mansion, and Democrats only have to see how relentlessly the Florida GOP has attacked Crist for months to realize how seriously it views him as a threat.

A sizable chunk of the Democratic primary electorate won’t trust Crist, so the more crowded the primary, the better for him. So far, it looks like a crowd with potential contenders including former Chief Financial Officer Sink, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, former state Sen. Nan Rich of Broward County, state Sen. Jeremy Ring of Broward and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Jimmy Morales. But all would have to spend millions to become known statewide.

2. The Democratic coalition. Trial lawyers and teachers are two critical groups to bankroll a statewide campaign, and Crist is uniquely positioned to win over both. He works for one of the state’s most prominent trial lawyers, John “For the People” Morgan, and teachers praised Crist even when he was a Republican governor for vetoing a controversial teacher merit pay bill.

Crist also has wide support in the party’s most loyal constituency, African-Americans. They appreciated his outreach and his expansion of the attorney general’s power to prosecute civil rights cases and a decision, overturned by Scott and others, to make it easier for ex-felons to regain their civil rights so they could vote.

3. Obama. Crist has to be the president’s favorite Florida politician. He was one of the few Republicans to enthusiastically endorse Obama’s $700 billion stimulus package, and Crist was all over Florida this election season stumping for Obama. He raised between $100,000 and $200,000 for the president’s reelection campaign and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. At the moment, “the hug” looks pretty good.

And Sink? Right after her narrow loss to Scott in 2010, she told POLITICO the “tone deaf” Obama administration was to blame for her loss. “They got a huge wake-up call two days ago, but unfortunately they took a lot of Democrats down with them,” Sink said.

Obama and senior political advisor David Axelrod have lavishly praised Crist, and it’s likely they would be eager to help him win America’s biggest battleground state. Another big Crist fan: Bill Clinton, whose wife may be keen on having a Democrat lead Florida heading into 2016.

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Huge Wave of Google App Updates Hits iOS, Android

Google just brought iPhone and Android phone users a holiday gift. Google Maps has returned to the iPhone, this time in the form of its own separate app, while Google Currents — the company’s Flipboard-style online magazine app for Android — received a substantial update as well.

Besides the two big updates, about a half-dozen other apps for Android and Google TV received bug fixes and new features, according to Android Police blogger Ryan Whitwam. Here’s a look at what to expect, and where the rough edges still lay.

Google Maps is back

It was technically never there to begin with; the iPhone simply had a “Maps” app included, which used Google Maps’ data. But a few months ago, Apple switched from using Google’s map data to its own, which caused no end of problems as Apple’s data was incorrect much more often. These problems were sometimes hilarious, but in at least one case they were dangerous, as several motorists had to be rescued after becoming stranded inside an Australian national park (where Apple’s maps said the town they were trying to get to was).

Google Maps has also received a thumbs-down from the Victoria police in Australia, but is regarded as more reliable overall. It’s a completely new app this time, and while it has at least one “Android-ism” according to tech expert John Gruber (an Ice Cream Sandwich-style menu button), it’s reported to work well and doesn’t show ads like the YouTube app does.

It does, however, keep asking you to log in to your Google account so that it can track your location data.

Google Currents has a new look and new features

The update to digital magazine app Google Currents brings its features more in line with Google Reader, the tech giant’s online newsreader app which can monitor almost any website for updates. Like Google Reader, Currents can now “star” stories to put them in a separate list, can show which stories you’ve already read, and has a widget to put on your Android home screen. Other added features include new ways to scan editions and stories, and filter out sections you aren’t interested in.

Bugfixes and updates for other Google apps

Google Earth and Google Drive received miscellaneous bugfixes “and other improvements,” while Google Offers (a Groupon competitor) now features a “Greatly improved purchase experience.”

The Google Search app received a slew of additions to its Siri-like Google Now feature, including new cards to help while you are out and about and new voice actions (like asking it to tell you what song is playing nearby). The Field Trip augmented reality app now uses less battery life, and lets you “save cards” and favorite places you visit, as well as report incorrect data to Google. Finally, Google TV Search and PrimeTime for Google TV both received performance and stability updates.

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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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

As morning turned to afternoon on Friday, further details continued to emerge from Newtown, CT, a tight-knit community shaken by a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the lives of innocent students and teachers, in addition to the gunman, reportedly identified as Adam Lanza.

RELATED: President Fights Tears as He Addresses Nation

As President Barack Obama touched on in his tear-jerking press conference, this is not the first time the nation has witnessed a tragedy of this kind. The recent mass shooting at an Aurora, CO movie theater is just one instance of such violence. Columbine High School and Virginia Tech also resonate as prime examples.

Hollywood's biggest stars were quick to react to the news on Twitter and made an outcry for stricter gun control regulations.

Watch the video for ET's complete coverage of today's biggest headline.

RELATED: Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

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Domino's founder sues federal government over mandatory contraception coverage in Obamacare

DETROIT — The founder of Domino's Pizza is suing the federal government over mandatory contraception coverage in the health care law.

Tom Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, says contraception isn't health care but a "gravely immoral" practice.

He filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court. It also lists as a plaintiff Domino's Farms, a Michigan office park complex that Monaghan owns.

Monaghan offers health insurance that excludes contraception and abortion for employees. The new federal law requires employers to offer insurance including contraception coverage or risk fines.

AP

Domino's pizza founder Tom Monaghan in 1996

Monaghan says the law violates his rights, and is asking a judge to strike down the mandate. There are similar lawsuits pending nationwide.

A message left Saturday for Monaghan's attorney, Richard Thompson, was not immediately returned.

The government says the contraception mandate benefits women.

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

Entrepreneurs from around the world took the stage during this packed week of entrepreneurship events in Miami: Florida International University’s Americas Venture Capital Conference (known as AVCC), HackDay, Wayra’s Global DemoDay and Endeavor’s International Selection Panel.

The events, all part of the first Innovate MIA week, also put the spotlight on Miami as it continues to try to develop into a technology hub for the Americas.

“While I like art, I absolutely love what is happening today... The time has come to become a tech hub in Miami,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, who kicked off the venture capital conference on Thursday. He told the audience of 450 investors and entrepreneurs about the county’s $1 million investment in the Launch Pad Tech Accelerator in downtown Miami.

“I have no doubt that this gathering today will produce new ideas and new business ventures that will put our community on a fast track to becoming a center for innovative, tech-driven entrepreneurship,” Gimenez said.

Brad Feld, an early-stage investor and a founder of TechStars, cautioned that won’t happen overnight. Building a startup community can take five, 10, even 15 years, and those leading the effort, who should be entrepreneurs themselves, need to take the long-term view, he told the audience via video. “You can create very powerful entrepreneurial ecosystems in any city... I’ve spent some time in Miami, I think you are off to a great start.”

Throughout the two-day AVCC at the JW Brickell Marriott, as well as the Endeavor and Wayra events, entrepreneurs from around the world pitched their companies, hoping to persuade investors to part with some of their green.

And in some cases, the entrepreneurs could win money, too. During the venture capital conference, 29 companies —including eight from South Florida such as itMD, which connects doctors, patients and imaging facilities to facilitate easy access of records — competed for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes through short “elevator’’ pitches. Each took questions from the judges, then demoed their products or services in the conference “Hot Zone,” a room adjoining the ballroom. Some companies like oLyfe, a platform to organize what people share online, are hoping to raise funds for expansion into Latin America. Others like Ideame, a trilingual crowdfunding platform, were laser focused on pan-Latin American opportunities.

Winning the grand prize of $15,000 in cash and art was Trapezoid Digital Security of Miami, which provides hardware-based security solutions for enterprise and cloud environments. Fotopigeon of Tampa, a photo-sharing and printing service targeting the military and prison niches, scored two prizes.

The conference offered opportunities to hear formal presentations on current trends — among them the surge of start-ups in Brazil; the importance of mobile apps and overheated company valuations — and informal opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs.

Speakers included Gaston Legorburu of SapientNitro, Albert Santalo of CareCloud and Juan Diego Calle of .Co Internet, all South Florida entrepreneurs. Jerry Haar, executive director of FIU’s Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center, which produced the conference with a host of sponsors, said the organizers worked hard to make the conference relevant to both the local and Latin American audience, with panels on funding and recruiting for startups, for instance.

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Gov. Scott calls for bids to build transparency web site

TALLAHASSEE --
A budget tracking web site paid for by Florida taxpayers but never made public will remain on the shelf as Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he will seek bids to create a public budget watchdog site and the vendors of the existing system can get in line with everyone else.

“We have decided to begin a competitive procurement process to contract with a company that best demonstrates their ability to publish web-based, user-friendly budget data at the lowest cost to taxpayers,’’ said Melissa Sellers, communications director for the governor.

The Florida Senate paid $5 million to Spider Data Services to develop Transparency 2.0 for use by the Senate and its staff to monitor the budget, state contracts and personnel services. Although the system was ready to launch in November 2011, it was never unveiled.

A Herald/Times review of Transparency 2.0 shows that, unlike other transparency web sites maintained by the legislature, the governor’s office or the chief financial officer, Transparency 2.0 allows for comprehensive and easy data searching for every line item in the budget. The system supplies planning and budget documents, and audit reports as well as contract information and links to personnel expenses.

It also shows which contracts were inserted into the budget by legislative leadership, offers a comprehensive look at billions of dollars in outside contracts and allows for the public to track budget data that today is controlled by agency and legislative staff.

The governor’s office has not ruled out the possibility that Transparency 2.0 may be the platform for the governor’s web site because Spider Data Services will be allowed to compete with other bidders, Sellers said. The bid process will be open to the public “while also ensuring we save as much taxpayer money as possible” and will begin in the new year, she said. There is no date for its scheduled completion.

State law requires that the governor’s office create a budget tracking web site and it already maintains a modest system called TransparencyFlorida.gov. But the system has its flaws, including listing 27,922 contracts as “confidential” when a Herald/Times review found that many of those contracts are available to the public through a public records request.

Two government watchdog groups, Integrity Florida and the First Amendment Foundation, have called on Scott to take advantage of the Senate’s investment and make Transparency 2.0 the platform for public access.

Dan Krassner of Integrity Florida said he hoped Scott would reconsider his decision to not give the public access to a system, even as he is seeking new bids.

“It’s disappointing that Floridians will not have access to the powerful budget tracking website that was built with $5 million in public money,’’ he said. “This is a victory for the Tallahassee insiders who will continue to know exactly how government spends our money while Floridians are left in the dark.’’

In 2011, the Senate signed a contract with Spider Data System to develop a budget transparency web site for use by the Senate and its staff to monitor the budget, state contracts and personnel services. Although the system was ready to launch in November 2011, it was never unveiled.

The Senate contract was signed by the former chief of staff Steve MacNamara, who later become the governor’s chief of staff. Before MacNamara left the governor’s office, the Senate signed memorandum of understanding transferring management of Transparency 2.0 to the governor but, uneasy about the way the contract was handled, MacNamara’s successor, Adam Hollingsworth, refused to sign the agreement.

Legislators included $2.5 million in the 2012-13 budget to pay for increasing transparency of government budgets and contracts but Scott has not tapped that money.

Bad blood remains between the state and the owners of Spider Data Systems, Anna Mattson and Sherri Taylor. The two women successfully won a $500,000 settlement against the state in 2008 after the House broke a contract with them to develop a web-based budget and the governor’s office developed a web-based budget that was similar to the functions of their design.

Now, Scott’s legal counsel has advised the governor’s budget staff not to sign onto the Transparency 2.0 system — to assess how well it works — because they fear they could be sued for intellectual property theft.

Scott’s office will start accepting bids for the new web site after the first of the year. Meanwhile, Sen. Don Gaetz has assigned his staff to also look at creating a public web site for legislative review.

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Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

There was breaking news this morning out of Newtown, Connecticut when at least one gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School. CBS News is reporting that a minimum of 27 people were killed in this massacre, including an estimated 18 young children.

Lt. J. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police held a press conference to assure concerned citizens that "the scene is secure" and "the shooter is deceased inside the building." Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza has reportedly emerged as the gunman. Brother Ryan, 24, had previously been named as the suspect, but sources are now telling the Associated Press that after being questioned by police it was determined that he was not involved. Their mother was a teacher at the school and is presumed to be one of the fatalities. An additional investigation is ongoing at another location, where one more victim was allegedly killed. The two crime scenes are thought to be linked. President Obama has been briefed on the horrific situation and offered his condolences to the victims and community. Three additional victims are being treated at Danbury Hospital. The hospital released a statement reading, "Our hearts and prayers are extended to everyone involved in this terrible tragedy."

As word spread about the tragedy, Twitter exploded with reactions from celebrities, many of them parents themselves.

Alyssa Milano: What the f*** is wrong with people?

Hilary Duff: Oh my.I am shocked.Heartbroken.Devastating news about this elementary school shooting. What is wrong w/ people?Praying hard 4 these family's

Mandy Moore: Absolutely devastating news this morning. There are no words.Thoughts, prayers and love to all in #Newtown.

Lisa Ling: Why are we still not seriously talking about gun control? Bless the families of those lost in Conn. My God.

Mia Farrow: #PrayForNewtown. Gun control is no longer debatable- it's not a 'conversation'- It's a moral mandate. '

Maria Shriver: My heart is breaking as this story unfolds. Let's start a #circleofprayer for the children and their families. Just yesterday, I wrote about the joy of becoming a mother. Right now so many mothers and fathers are in indescribable pain. Please say a prayer for the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown...

Russell Simmons: prayers for the children, families and faculty of Sandy Hook Elementary School and the people of Newtown. my heart is broken.

Courteney Cox: Praying for Sandy Hook

Ali Fedotowsky: The shooting at Sandy Hook elementary is so heartbreaking. Children? It just doesn't make any sense. My heart goes out to the families.

Steve Carell: Pray for Sandy Hook, Newtown CT.

Bethenny Frankel: Oh my goodness. There has been a shooting at a school. I had no idea. This is so tragic. Poor babies!

Maksim Chmerkovskiy: University, high school, movie theater, and now ELEMENTARY school?!? What's next Kindergarten? WTF is wrong with people?!? I hate the "my heart is with" this and "my prayers go out" that... We ALL need to get fucking angry and DO something more than 'feel sad'....to unload a weapon on small children!!!!

Piers Morgan: I can't bear this. It's just beyond comprehension that anyone would do this in an elementary school. Those poor children. Don't just mourn these poor dead children America - get angry and do something to stop these senseless shootings happening.

Hilaria Baldwin: These shootings need to stop what do we do? I cannot help but think back to where I was when people committed these heinous acts. Why do they have to be so cruel, sick, and heartless? Guns bring nothing but pain and heartbreak. Violent video games foster rage and troubled imaginations. Why are we so enamored with violence? My thoughts and prayers are with you all in Sandy Hook. Whether you are a victim of violence, trauma or loss, I am sending my love & support

Vinny Guadagnino: Praying for the Victims in the Connecticut school shooting. This is happening too much. 18 children dead

Randy Jackson: Thoughts and prayers go out to those in Connecticut

Chris Cuomo: #Newtown kids as young as grade k may have been involved. Kids told to close eyes while running out. Pray for the families. #Newton story not abt the #'s. The magnitude is so great because so many kids involved. Killing kids is the worst result of violence.

Sophia Bush: My heart aches for Connecticut ....

Chad Johnson: Just seeing my news feed on the Connecticut shooting, what is going on, prayers to the families and students involved.

Kyle Richards: Omg. Just hearing about the school shooting. In shock. So incredibly sad.

Gilles Marini: Enough f***ing violence. Enough. How could a man killed anyone? Even more a child. I'm crushed! #Connecticut elementary school

Jenna Ushkowitz: My heart goes out to all the Families and children affected by the CT shooting. When will the violence end?

Kevin Spacey: Just heard about the shooting in Connecticut. My thoughts go out to all who are dealing with this sad news.

Adrienne Maloof: Terrible terrible news about the shooting in Connecticut. Sending thoughts and prayers to everyone involved....

Kristin Cavallari: The fact that there was a shooting at an ELEMENTARY school makes me sick. My thoughts go out to all the families

Martina Navratilova: There is no proper time to talk gun control except now!

Holly Robinson Peete: I'm following #SandyHookElementary shooting reports like it's MY child's school #parentsworstnightmare…

Lisa Rinna: Horrible news I just heard about the shooting in CT at an elementary school how can we stop this violence?!

Sherri Shepherd: ABC is reporting the shooter was 24 armed w 4 weapons wearing a bullet proof vest.this makes no sense. @ an elementary school? #Sandyhook

Michael Urie: GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION NOW. #enough

Albie Manzo: Absolutely heartbreaking story coming out of CT, I will never understand how someone could do such a horrible thing.

Teresa Giudice: On days like this, we should hug our children just a little bit tighter.

Marlee Matlin: #PrayForNewtown Pray for the children teachers and families. Pray for some sense out of this madness. I am numb as the numbers of the dead - children and adults - keep ticking up. #PrayForNewtown

Christina Applegate: There are just no words. Only sorrow. We are all shedding tears today for those families.

Karina Smirnoff: We need to pray for all the families affected by the Newtown, CT school shooting. Absolutely devastating....

Hoda Kotb: #prayfornewtown

Brandi Glanville: I can not believe this school shooting, what is wrong with people!!!! My heart is breakking for the kids and families.

Ashley Hebert: My heart is broken for these children/families in Newton. This is unimaginable.

Caroline Manzo: school shooting in Connecticut is heartbreaking - poor little babies - may God be with them all

Kristin Chenoweth: Well im hearing about this shooting in CT. Praying. Sending prayers.

DJ Pauly D: My Prayers Go Out To Everyone Affected By This Horrible Shooting In Connecticut

Melissa Joan Hart: How could someone be so evil as to kill innocent children at school? God Bless and watch over those families and children that witnessed it!

KhloéKardashianOdom: To harm children who are defenseless is truly disgusting. I'm in disbelief. #PrayforNewtown my heart truly goes out to EVERYONE affected

Julie Benz: Please pray for the families and victims of the horrible tragedy in CT.

Lisa Gastineau: How could ANYONE harm KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN!! Beyond insane-saddest thing I've ever heard #pain #prayers

Justin Bieber: heard about what happened in CT, my prayers go out to all those suffering in this tragedy. it'ss just wrong. Everyone please pray for them. #PRAYforCT

Jada Pinkett Smith: We have lost innocent lives to madness in Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary today. My condolences to the entire community. Please join me in a three day fast in honor of the dead. Let us reflect upon what we can change in our homes and in our relationships with others to help bring an end to these kinds of atrocities in our communities. Life is about the quality in which we treat ourselves and...others.May love keep you ALL safe.

Captain Mark Kelly (husband of Gabrielle Giffords): I just woke up in my hotel room in Beijing, China to learn that another mass shooting has taken place - this time at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in CT. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the entire community of Newtown, CT. I just spoke to Gabby, and she sends her prayers from Tucson. As we mourn, we must sound a call for our leaders to stand up and do what is right. This time our response must consist of more than regret, sorrow, and condolence. The children of Sandy Hook Elementary School and all victims of gun violence deserve leaders who have the courage to participate in a meaningful discussion about our gun laws - and how they can be reformed and better enforced to prevent gun violence and death in America. This can no longer wait.

Oprah Winfrey: Dear Lord.. Help us to understand as we Stand with these families. Heal our broken hearts. #PrayForNewton

Bruce Jenner: My heart goes out to all those directly and indirectly affected by this senseless tragedy at a place that I hold very near and dear to my heart. I have the fondest memories of this beautiful town that I grew up in. As a father, I can hardly imagine what the community is going through. My prayers and condolences are with them all.

Alicia Keys: My heart is so heavy right now as I think of these innocent children, teachers, their families and community.

PHOTOS: Families Embrace Outside Sandy Hook Elementary School After Shooting

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SHOCKING AUDIO: Gunman's rampage took only minutes, cop radio calls reveal

AFP/Getty Images

State Police inspect the area near Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Judging by the radio calls, it took only a few minutes for a gunman to snuff out the lives of 20 Newtown school children and six adults.

The first word of the horrifying Newtown school shooting went out over the town’s police radio at 9:36 this morning.

Two minutes later, a dispatcher reported the gunshots had stopped.

UP TO 27 PEOPLE SHOT DEAD AT SCHOOL

“Sandy Hook School. Caller is indicating she thinks there’s someone shooting in the building,” a Newtown dispatcher radioed in the town’s first report of the killings.

Less than a minute later, the dispatcher radioed:

“Units responding to the Sandy Hook School. The front glass has been broken in front of the school They are unsure why ...

“All units, the individual I have on the phone said he is continuing to hear what he believes to be gunfire."

Amid the confusing situation, officers can be heard reporting a possible second shooter headed for the rear of the school.

“The shooting appears to have stopped,” the dispatcher radioed at 9:38 a.m. “There is silence at this time. The school is in lockdown.”

Moments later, an officer apparently at the scene is heard saying: “They’re coming at me through this wood.”

“This is it,” said another.

And after that, at 9:46 a.m., as police searched the school, someone who could not hide the emotion in his voice radioed these haunting words: “I’ve got bodies here. Need ambulances.”

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Gasoline prices soon to hit low point for 2012

Gas prices will soon drop to their lowest level of the year.

By Monday, the national average should fall below the $3.28 a gallon that drivers paid on Jan. 1, according to analysts. The drop is a gift for those hitting the road during what is expected to be the busiest Christmas travel season in six years.

Still, it’s more like a stocking stuffer. That’s because for the second straight year, Americans will spend a record amount on gasoline. The government estimates that gas averaged $3.63 a gallon this year, 10 cents above the record set a year ago.

Drivers can only hope that forecasts for lower prices next year come true.

A combination of high oil prices and supply shortages caused by refinery and pipeline problems kept gas prices elevated for most of the year. The national average hit a high of $3.94 a gallon in early April and was around $3.87 in September after Hurricane Isaac disrupted supplies from the Gulf Coast.

Prices in most areas have fallen since then as supplies got replenished and refiners switched to cheaper winter blends of fuel. However, New York and New Jersey saw temporary spikes in November due to Superstorm Sandy. At $3.77 a gallon, New York’s average price is the second-highest in the nation, behind Hawaii’s $4, according to auto club AAA.

Californians continue to pay some of the highest gas prices in the U.S. But they’re likely relieved to be spending an average of $3.59 a gallon just two months after a refinery fire and pipeline shutdown sent prices at the corner station soaring close to $5.

The nation’s lowest prices are found mostly in the lower Midwest and parts of the South. Missouri is closest to cracking the $3 level, with its average price of $3.01. Oklahoma, South Carolina and four other states show an average of $3.10 a gallon or less.

Florida’s average price for a gallon of regular was $3.29 Friday, almost flat with the price one year ago. In Miami, the price was just shy of $3.37, two cents higher than a year ago. In Fort Lauderdale, the price was slight less than $3.38, almost three cents higher than a year ago.

AAA says 93.3 million people will travel at least 50 miles between Dec. 22 and Jan. 1, the most since 2006. So, the falling price of gas will provide a little relief to motorists, who’ve been digging deep for gas money all year. The average driver will pay a little less than $2,700 for 744 gallons of gasoline this year, which will be a record, according to data from Oil Prices Information Service.

Americans’ fuel bill ran up even as they used the least amount of gas in more than a decade. The slower U.S. economy and an increase in fuel efficient cars helped cut gasoline consumption, which government data show peaked in 2007. Consumption is expected to be about 8.73 million barrels per day this year, which would be the lowest level since 2001.

Prices should be cheaper next year, forecasters say.

Barring unexpected events like hurricanes or a conflict that disrupts oil supplies from the Middle East, OPIS chief oil analyst Tom Kloza said the nationwide price for gas should stay below $4 per gallon in 2013. The government is predicting $3.43 a gallon for next year, which would be the lowest price since 2010 when gas averaged $2.78 a gallon.

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Citizens to postpone action on controversial loan program

TALLAHASSEE --
Citizens Property Insurance Corp will shelve a controversial $350 million loan program while it gathers data and looks at more options to reduce its number of policies.

Citizens Chief Financial Officer Sharon Binnun told a Citizens’ panel Thursday that recent success in other depopulation efforts and uncertainty over the long-term success of those efforts make it wise to take a longer look at a recent proposal to provide low-interest loans to companies willing to take riskier policies off the company’s books.

A handful of companies have already agreed to take out nearly 300,000 less risky policies from the state-backed insurer without the financial incentives.

Company officials say, however, that the surplus loan program should be revisited next summer, rather than scrapped entirely.

“It would be prudent for us as an organization to … come next summer take all the things we learned and see where we stand,” Binnun said.

Earlier this year, officials drew criticism after they proposed an effort to use $350 million in surplus funds to provide 20-year loans to companies that would take Citizens policies and keep them for at least 10 years.

Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford was among a group of lawmakers that urged caution and further review.

Contrary to initial estimates, Citizens President Barry Gilway said Thursday the loan program as now structured is unlikely to entice many private carriers to take advantage of the loans.

Outside investment advisors are reviewing the loan program and are expected to make recommendations early next year. Gilway, who took over in June and presented the loan program shortly after his arrival, said discussions with potential companies indicate that changes need to be made.

“I seriously doubt even if the surplus note program would proceed that we would have any real takers that meet the financial requirements that we believe would be necessary,” Gilway said.

Sean Shaw, a former Florida insurance consumer advocate who now works with a Tampa law firm that represents policyholders in lawsuits, applauded the decision, saying the proposal had not been fully vetted by the Legislature.

“The surplus lines program seems to be off the table, and that’s great news,” Shaw said in a statement.

The full Citizens Board of Governors is expected to vote on the proposal Friday.

The board is also expected to hear a proposal to set up a clearinghouse at Citizens to provide customers with more information upfront on policy options.

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iPhone 5 hits China as Apple market share slips

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The China release of its iPhone 5 on Friday should win Apple Inc some respite from a recent slide in its share of what is likely already the world’s biggest smartphone market, but its longer-term hopes may depend on new technology being tested by China‘s top telecoms carrier.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has been in talks about a tie-up with China Mobile for four years. A deal with China’s biggest carrier is seen as crucial to improve Apple’s distribution in a market of 290 million users – which is forecast to double this year.

China is Apple’s second-largest and fastest-growing market – it brings in around 15 percent of total revenue – but the company’s failure to strike a deal with China Mobile means it is missing out on a large number of phone users. As the China pie grows, Apple’s sales increase, but without China Mobile, it’s losing ground at a faster rate compared to other brands.

“In absolute terms, this (iPhone 5) launch will certainly result in strong sales for Apple in China. However, in relative terms, I don’t believe it will move the needle enough in market share,” said Shiv Putcha, a Mumbai-based analyst at Ovum, a global technology consultant.

China Mobile and Apple initially said they were separated only by a technical issue – as the Chinese carrier runs a different 3G network from most of the world – but that has evolved into a broader and more complex issue of revenue-sharing.

“China Mobile and Apple still have to solve many issues, such as the business model, articles of cooperation and revenue division, but I believe we will reach an agreement eventually,” China Mobile CEO Li Yue was reported by Chinese media as saying in Guangzhou last week.

Apple China declined to comment. China Mobile said it had no update to the Apple discussions.

STRONG PRE-ORDERS

Apple’s ranking in China’s smartphone market slipped to sixth in July-September, according to research firm IDC, [ID:nL4N09G1QK] but investors, primed to look to China product launches for an uptick in Apple’s quarterly sales, have good headline numbers to digest – more than 300,000 iPhones pre-ordered on one carrier alone. But it’s the lack of a deal with the No.1 carrier that prevents those numbers being stronger.

The iPhone is currently sold through Apple’s seven stores, resellers and through China Unicom and China Telecom – which together have fewer than half the mobile subscribers of bigger rival China Mobile.

“Apple’s market share declined because of the transition between the iPhone 4S and 5. Their market share will recover (with the iPhone 5), but if you don’t have China Mobile, the significant market share gains will be very difficult,” said Huang Leping, an analyst at Nomura in Hong Kong.

TD-LTE: STILL DISTANT

Cutting a deal with a Chinese state-owned carrier may be less optimal than the deals Apple is used to in other markets, and analysts note that China Mobile wouldn’t necessarily open the flood gates for Apple.

Ovum’s Putcha believes Apple and China Mobile will eventually strike a deal – though this would be for an iPhone running on China Mobile’s next-generation network rather than its current 3G network.

Of China Mobile’s 704 million subscribers, only 79 million are on its 3G network, and Apple has been reluctant to sign up to China Mobile’s under-utilized, homegrown TD-SCDMA technology. “Apple likely doesn’t see the return-on-investment in extending themselves for TD-SCDMA,” Putcha said.

China Mobile is currently trialling its next-generation network, TD-LTE, which could be of more interest to Apple, but full-scale commercial use – and an iPhone tie-up – could still be years away.

ANDROID THREAT

Meanwhile, rivals are circling, eating away at Apple’s smartphone market share. Samsung Electronics, Lenovo Group and little-known Chinese brand Coolpad held the top three slots in the third quarter, according to IDC.

All three have relationships with China Mobile and offer smartphone models at different price points. Apple competes exclusively at the high-end, and even there, rivals are rolling out models with China Mobile. Last week, Nokia said it planned to release its latest Lumia smartphone with China’s top carrier, which is also expected to launch Research in Motion’s new Blackberry 10, analysts predict.

“The threat will still come more from the Android camp where they have many vendors already working with China Mobile and offering high-end phones,” said TZ Wong, a Singapore-based IDC analyst.

While these smartphones don’t generate the buzz of a new iPhone, Chinese buyers are not known for their brand loyalty, and this could siphon away users considering an Apple upgrade.

“I’ve used a Blackberry, Android and iOS and, personally, I want to try the Windows 8,” said Andy Huang, a 37-year-old fund manager, who owns most iPad models, an iPhone 4 and a 4S. “I think the Windows 8 is very innovative.”

With a China Mobile deal looking some way off, Apple could always boost market share by offering cheaper models – the basic iPhone 5 will cost 5288 yuan ($ 850) without a contract – though this appears an unlikely route for a high-end brand.

“If they want to expand market share, probably the only way to do it here dramatically would be to put out a lower cost phone,” said Michael Clendenin, managing director at RedTech Advisors. “It’s really uncertain if they’d decide to go that route … Apple’s a mystery in that regard.”

($ 1 = 6.2518 Chinese yuan)

(Additional reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom and Jane Lee; Editing by Kazunori Takada and Ian Geoghegan)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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'Star Trek' Stars Take on Warp Speed Round

How well do the stars of Star Trek Into Darkness know their source material? We put Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Alice Eve, Benedict Cumberbatch and director J.J. Abrams to the test by throwing a little unexpected Trek trivia their way in a fun "Warp Speed Round." Watch the video!

One Step Closer to 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Soaring into theaters and IMAX 3D on May 17, 2013, Star Trek Into Darkness finds the Enterprise crew called back to Earth to battle an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization. Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction, and our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death.

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Frail-looking Anthony Marshall appears in court for appellate hearing

Daniel Shapiro

Brooke Astor's son Anthony Marshall and his wife Charlene leave court today.

A frail, pale, weary-looking Anthony Marshall was rolled in his wheelchair into the audience of the Manhattan Appellate Division today -- the unofficial Exhibit A in arguments that he really oughtn't go to jail for swindling millions from his famous, white-gloved philanthropist mother, Brooke Astor.

"I can't imagine the purpose of imprisoning a man who is so ill!" Marshall's lawyer, John Cuti, told the panel of five judges, waving his arm to indicate Marshall, who sat in his chair besides his wife, Charlene.

Both the patrician husband and the portly wife -- infamously dubbed "Miss Piggy" by one of Astor's nurses -- wore appropriately sad expressions for the judges. Marshall, a WWII veteran who earned a Purple Heart and fought at Iwo Jima, is at risk from diverticulitis attacks, falls and heart problems, his lawyers have argued.

"This is a man who is falling down and hitting his head into a wall," Marshall's lawyer thundered, recalling a header the old man had taken in a courthouse men's room during his '09 swindle trial, at which he was convicted of stealing $2 million from Astor and trying to plunder more than $60 million more.

"And having a stroke while he's on trial," Cuti added -- a reference to a mini-stroke Marshall suffered. "Do you want to send this man to prison so he dies there?"

Marshall and his co-defendant crooked estates lawyer, Francis Morrissey, have been free pending appeal since both were sentenced in December, 2009 to one-to-three years prison.

Two of the judges -- associate justices Rosalyn Richter and Darcel Clark -- asked a lawyer for the Manhattan DA's office, Gina Mignola, what purpose would be served by putting Marshall in jail, given his age and health.

"So society will understand that we here will defend our elderly," Mignola said -- referring the the Alzheimer's afflicted Astor, who was 105 when she died in 2007.

"All he is saying is, 'Hey, I'm old. And my health isn't good," the lawyer, Mignola told the judges, noting that Marshall has shown no remorse and only paid back $12 million to his mother's estate when directed to by a Surrogate judge in Westchester.

The appellate panel did not indicate when they will rule on Marshall's and Morrissey's arguments on several grounds to dismiss the verdicts -- including insufficiency of evidence, that a holdout juror was pressured, and that Astor was competent in giving her son the money.

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Florida leads nation in foreclosure activity

Florida led the nation in foreclosure activity for the third month running in November, a dubious distinction that will likely dampen the momentum of the real estate recovery in the coming year, according to RealtyTrac.

Even as foreclosure activity decreased nationally, foreclosure filings in Florida jumped 20 percent in November from a year earlier and rose 3 percent from October, the data firm based in Irvine, Calif., said.

Among the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates, seven are in Florida, the firm said. The metro area covering Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach ranked No. 5 among cities, with one in every 260 residences logging some sort of foreclosure activity, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, RealtyTrac said.

The pickup in Florida’s foreclosure activity has emerged since the major settlement last spring of the robo-signing cases.

After 49 state attorneys general filed suit in 2010 against five big mortgage banks over egregious foreclosure procedures implemented amid an avalanche of soured mortgages, foreclosure activity slowed dramatically. With the massive settlement approved in April, lenders now have adapted to the ground rules and have a clearer path forward in pressing foreclosure cases, said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.

“This is injecting a little reality into the Florida housing market,” Blomquist said of the rising foreclosures. “I don’t think this will crater housing prices, by any means. In markets that are very strong, it may not lower prices at all. It will definitely dampen things. It’ll be a drag on the market.”

One in every 304 Florida residences had some sort of foreclosure filing in November, more than twice the national average, RealtyTrac said.

The rising foreclosure activity in Florida comes as foreclosure activity nationwide fell 3 percent in November from October and plunged 19 percent from November 2011, the firm said. Foreclosure starts hit a 71-month low nationwide.

But in Florida, which is among the states where foreclosures are handled in more time-consuming proceedings in the courts rather than administratively, “we’re seeing a rise in activity across the board,” Blomquist said.

In November in Florida, foreclosure starts rose 7 percent year over year, scheduled auctions jumped 51 percent and bank repossessions rose 15 percent.

Behind Florida, the states ranking highest in foreclosure activity in November were Nevada, Illinois, California and South Carolina, the firm said.

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PSC takes up pivotal case allowing FPL to raise rates through 2016

TALLAHASSEE --
Florida utility regulators on Thursday will consider one of the most pivotal cases of their term — whether to approve a base rate increase of more than $543 million for Florida Power & Light without the consent of the office that represents consumers.

The proposed settlement, which would mean a $1 increase for average customers next year with additional increases over the next four years, would allow the company to automatically raise rates without the approval of the Public Service Commission until 2016.

The proposal has the backing of the state’s largest commercial power users, who will benefit from the deal. But it is vigorously opposed by the Office of Public Counsel, the state agency charged with representing most consumers in utility rate cases.

Depending on how the PSC rules, the case “has the potential to change the way cases proceed in the future and, we think, not in a positive way,” said J.R. Kelly, the state’s public counsel.

“This has been a very thorough process and we think that the settlement is really the right path forward that benefits all of our customers and effectively locks in low rates while helping us deliver strong service for at least four more years,’’ said Mark Bubriski, FPL spokesman.

FPL side-stepped the public counsel when it entered into its agreement with Florida Industrial Power Users Group, the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association and the Federal Executive Agencies and announced a settlement to the rate case scheduled to begin in August. The groups represent about a half of one percent of FPL’s 4.6 million customers.

The Office of Public Counsel, which is backed by other groups such as the Florida Retail Federation, refused to sign on, saying the settlement was not in the public interest because, they argued, FPL’s base rates should decrease by as much as $253 million.

The PSC went ahead with hearings on the rate case, but despite objections from the public counsel, agreed to consider the settlement during a special hearing this month.

If the five-member PSC rejects the settlement, the focus reverts back to FPL’s original proposal — a plan to increase base rates $690.4 million or 16 percent, which amounts to $7.04 a month for typical customers — and regulators would decide whether or not to approve their request during a Jan. 23 hearing.

If the PSC approves the settlement, the base rates will climb according a yet-to-be-determined amount over the next four years as three new power plants come into service. If the settlement goes forward, Kelly said, the influence of the public counsel could be forever muted.

“If they approve this settlement, then the concern we have is then what is going to be the function of the public counsel’s office,’’ he said. “It could open the door to every utility out there just simply bypassing our office and entering into any kind of self-serving settlement with any other party that represents that .5 percent, 1 percent or 2 percent of their customers, and it doesn’t matter what the rest of the customers think.”

The settlement calls for giving FPL the ability to collect $378 million more from customer base rates, starting in January, and another $165.3 million more to pay for its Cape Canaveral plant starting in June. The cost to customers: no increase in January and $1 more a month in June for the customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month.

The settlement also stretches four years into the future, allowing the base rate to rise two more times without PSC approval.

Under the plan, rates would increase again in 2014, enough to pay for $236 million in annual costs to pay for the modernized Riviera Beach plant, and again in 2016, to pay for $217.9 million when the company’s new Port Everglades plant comes into service.

PSC Chairman Ronald Brisé, a former state representative from Miami, is considered the swing vote on the issue. Commissioners Lisa Edgar and Art Graham will likely side with FPL and vote to approve the settlement, while Commissioners Eduardo Balbis and Julie Brown are expected to vote against it.

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‘The Hobbit’: Like One Bad Video Game

Perhaps the most exciting thing about Peter Jackson‘s landmark, blockbuster Lord of the Rings films was that they made fans, through a combination of stunning landscapes and intricate special effects and soaring music and dramatic spectacle, feel as though we were seeing an almost impossible elevation of the potential size and scope of movies. Here was a rich, dense, sprawling series of films that thundered like myths, that were breathtaking in their realization of some pretty huge ambitions. Sure, they were massive corporate projects that earned lots of people millions of dollars, but to the regular moviegoer they were feats that proved the majesty of the movies, the potential to tell enthralling stories that also played like art. And so it’s hugely disappointing, if not all that surprising, that Jackson’s first foray back into the land of Middle Earth, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is such a sullenly, basely commercial and junky affair, a movie that feels not crafted with Jackson’s seemingly divine inspiration but by the hands of studio executives. Perhaps the reason that Warner Bros. is forgoing the usual console video-game tie-ins for simple mobile games is because the damn movie already looks like a video game, and not a very fun one at that.

RELATED: ‘The Hobbit’ Trailer Needs to Get Out of the Shire

The Lord of the Rings series succeeded aesthetically because it was such an elegant, painting-like wonder to behold. The textures and palettes all had the look of a particularly vibrant illustrated story book, the kind of immersive vision that exists somewhere between imagination and the real world. For The Hobbit, though, Jackson chose to film at a high frame rate and with Real 3D technology in mind — because 3D movies are doing well these days and, hell, doesn’t hurt that the tickets cost more — but the results are frequently hideous. Those among us who have bought shiny new flatscreen TVs over the past few years are likely familiar with the dreaded “Soap Opera Effect,” which turns what should be stunning, glossy images into cheap-looking messes, all strange movement and lighting, like any network soap or cheap British show. (Think Children of Men looking like Torchwood.) It’s the problem of technology over-thinking or over-performing, and it is on startling, gruesome display in The Hobbit. When you’re wearing the 3D glasses (and admittedly sitting a little off to the side), this hugely expensive movie looks like it was shot on a nice handheld digital camera on the cheap. Actors stand in strange contrast to the digital backgrounds behind them, motion looks too slick or unnatural. Gone are the somber vistas and rugged terrain, replaced by eye-aching shine and plastic-y smoothness. The most special effects-heavy sequences look very much like the non-playable parts of modern video games — the exposition bits that can amp up the graphics a bit because they don’t have to worry about the randomness of play, the stuff you see in the commercials, right before the “rated T for teen” part. I don’t know if I just had a bad projector or what, but I spent the bulk of this long movie distracted by how dreadful everything looked. With a few small exceptions — The Shire glows with lovely green, a mountain cave fight/chase sequence is bracingly rich — this is a dismally unattractive movie, featuring too many shots that I’m sure were lovely at some point but are too often ruined and chintzified by the terrible technology monster.

RELATED: Jon Hamm Has a Roger Clemens Story; Here Come the 007 Novelty Themes

So on its aesthetic merits, The Hobbit comes up more than short. The trouble is, it’s not rescued by many narrative successes. Jackson has taken largely from the first third of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s novel — about an expedition to reclaim a lost dwarf kingdom from a dragon — but he’s also added in some elements found in appendices detailing an expanded universe that Tolkien included in an edition of The Lord of the Rings. This is partly to flesh out the story as Jackson believes Tolkien meant it to be, but it’s also meant to satisfy the needs of a supersize film trilogy based on one mere book. And so we get several pointless and uninteresting diversions, mostly about dwarves and their bitter enemies the orcs, that read exactly like the filler they are. Jackson is trying to flesh out dwarf mythology, because we spend so much of our time with these little guys, but it feels tediously synthetic, as if there are two movies competing for attention with neither one getting its due. We go to the goblin caves of The Hobbit and then, upon deliverance from that dark place, are thrust right into some kind of honor-and-revenge-based conflict with a snarling, giant, one-armed orc. It’s all very crowded and strangely hurried for a movie that, all told, takes its sweet time.

RELATED: No One Likes Peter Jackson’s New ‘Hobbit’ Footage

I suspect that another of Jackson’s reasons for including all this extra dramatic battling is that, on its own, The Hobbit is something of a children’s book. We’ve got wacky, food-crazed dwarves, a mean old dragon, and a funny little guy to take us along on the journey. Jackson doesn’t deny his movie the kiddie flourishes — there’s snot humor and butt jokes and lots of other goofy stuff involving some trolls, plus two little musical numbers involving all the dwarves — but he then tries to complement them with the big, booming faith and honor stuff and it never properly congeals. One moment we’re on a sprightly children’s adventure, the next we’re talking in big fashion about all that warlike serious business. It’s a discordant mix, and I’d imagine it will leave both kids and adults out in the cold.

RELATED: All the Comic-Con News That Matters

The film is not without its bright spots, rare as they may be. Ian McKellen is a feisty, spirited, mysterious Gandalf as ever before, and Martin Freeman nicely and genially projects everyday hobbit-ness, even if he’s a tad underused in the film. (Yeah, in the movie called The Hobbit, there’s barely any time to focus on the darn Hobbit.) Cate Blanchett turns up once more as the ethereal elf Galadriel, lending the movie a cool classiness and a welcome dose of feminine energy. And, of course, we’re back, for one mesmerizing scene, with our beloved Gollum, so winningly and creepily played by Andy Serkis, and here yet another marvel of computer innovation. In some ways Gollum’s innate cartoonishness works better now than it did in the original trilogy, which is probably the only time that can be said of this movie. There are one or two moments in Gollum’s pivotal scene where he’s given a bit too much modern humor to play, but all told he’s the most welcome sight in the film. Maybe that’s just the newfound purist in me, yearning for the old days, but I suspect it has more to do with Gollum being the only genuinely realized character we’ve so far encountered in this new trio of films. Everyone else is a snoozy lesser version of someone else, especially the ridiculous bloodthirsty orc leader, who snarls and growls like something out of the Underworld movies. Sometimes, in the jumble of the The Hobbit‘s many cluttered and dull action scenes, the frantic blur looks like any sequence from one of those schlocky ’00s B-movies; all roughly hewn CGI clashing around nonsensically, with this orc fellow leading the charge.

RELATED: ‘The Hobbit’ Might Be Three Movies Now?

Despite all the technical advancements, if we can call them that, most moments in The Hobbit feel like Peter Jackson is sadly trying to make all those familiar LOTR elements work for him once more, without ever really being able to reignite the old flame. The supposedly awe-inducing visit to the elf city of Rivendell is a ho-hum experience in this new frame-rate-ruined world. A silly battle sequence involving a wizard, a silly Radagast the Brown, riding around pell-mell on a rabbit-drawn sled looks like an interstitial from late-era Super Mario. Even Elijah Wood, appearing briefly as Frodo, looks strange — a pale ghost of himself, as if stitched in from another movie by some forlorn and desperate hand. The film is inevitably resonant with memories of the original trilogy, and little about it can hold up to the comparison. There’s too much effort in the wrong places — action instead of story, technical tricks instead of actual design — and the constant rhythm of arbitrary event after arbitrary event becomes tiresome well before the film’s two hours and forty minutes have lurched to a halt. I’m sure there are kids who will like this wan, distracted effort — they might not yet have anything else to compare it to, depending on their age — but as a human who remembers what came before, I’m afraid The Hobbit left me nothing but frustrated, sad, and tired. Frustrated that these big-budget visionaries seem to consistently feel they have to taint their earlier masterpieces with techno-junk followups, sad that once magical lands now flicker cheap and garish in my head, and tired at the prospect of two more of these things. I exited the theater trying to remind myself that Attack of the Clones was way better than Phantom Menace and that Revenge of the Sith was better still. I then realized how depressing it was that I was making that comparison. Oh, Middle Earth. What has become of you?

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Ginnifer Goodwin's Ethereal Emmy Magazine Shoot

As the star of ABC's Once Upon a Time, Ginnifer Goodwin knows a thing or two about the fantastical, so it's only fitting that she would captivate readers and fans in a surreal cover shoot for Emmy magazine.

RELATED: Once Upon A Time Gets Really Dark

In the pages of the issue, Goodwin explained why her role as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard was a match made in heaven.

"I felt like I had summoned it into being because I had always wanted it so badly," Goodwin gushed before going on to admit, "Fantasy is my go-to genre as an audience member. This is my Harry Potter."

Download the complete digital issue beginning tomorrow, Thursday, December 13. The print edition is available now.

Click here to see more photos from the shoot.

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2-year-old Bronx toddler saved by Good Samaritan after wandering into traffic

An adorable 2-year-old Bronx girl dodged death today after wandering alone out of her home and walking into a traffic-heavy street — where she was scooped up by a quick-thinking Good Samaritan.

“As a father, this is nuts!” fumed Pepsi deliveryman Martin Rodriguez, 32, who spotted Samira Dawson teetering barefoot across busy White Plains Road in Parkchester wearing just a onesie and diaper. “I have a little girl the same age and it crushed me to see this.”

At 9:10 a.m. today, Samira somehow escaped her family’s apartment on Guerlain Street undetected, walked outside and strolled across White Plains Road.

“She was at the double line in the middle of the street!” Rodriguez said.

“She dropped her little bookbag in the middle of the street, and that’s all she was worried about.”

Then, “A lady grabbed her,” Rodriguez said. The unidentified woman gave Samira to a Parkchester public safety sergeant, who called cops.

“She appeared like a bubbly child,” said Police Officer Harry Kwan, who draped his coat around Samira. “She appeared nervous but obviously enjoyed being held.”

Samira’s worried-looking brother, Davante Valentine, 20, showed up at the scene at 9:39 a.m.

“I don’t know what happened,” Valentine told The Post. “All I know is I was sleeping and my [18-year-old brother] was supposed to be watching her and he left the house without telling me.”

His and Samira’s mom Ingrid Dawson — who told cops she had gone to the pharmacy that morning — showed up just before 10 a.m. and yelled, “Oh my God!” after seeing her daughter.

“You were supposed to be watching her!” Dawson, 38, snapped at Valentine.

Both police and child-protective services workers are probing the incident. No charges had been filed as of last night.

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Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

Miami-based Lennar Corp. has gotten approval on $1.7 billion in loans from China Development Bank to fund the development and construction of two major projects in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The contract, set to close by Dec. 31 subject to various conditions, would mark the first U.S. loan by the big state-owned Chinese bank. One condition — tagged the “Chinese component”— is that China Railway Construction Corp. be included as a general contracting partner in the project, the person said.

Closing by year’s end is crucial because of new tax rules set to take effect, the person added.

The agreement, first reported in The Wall Street Journal, would provide funding for the first six years of what is envisioned to be a 20-year project.

The loan agreement, reached Dec. 7 after Lennar officials met in China with bank officials, provides for $1 billion in financing to a partnership led by Lennar to redevelop Hunters Point Shipyard-Candlestick Point, a site in southeast San Francisco spanning more than 700 acres, the person said. Plans for the mixed-use community call for nearly 12,000 residential units on the site. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.

Under the pact, the Chinese bank would provide another $700 million to a partnership of Lennar, Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany, a real estate investment and development firm, to redevelop Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Islands in San Francisco Bay. Some 8,000 units of housing are planned for the mixed-use project on 535 acres. The U.S. Navy is set to turn over the first parcel of land to the development company in late 2013.

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Slated for execution, ex-Sweetwater cop enjoys Cuban-style last meal

STARKE --
Hours before he was set to be executed by lethal injection, ex-Sweetwater cop Manuel Pardo visited with eight relatives and friends and enjoyed a Cuban-style last meal.

Pardo, who murdered nine people during a series of robberies in Miami-Dade in 1986, is to be executed at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison, just north of Gainesville.

Pardo, who brashly urged jurors to recommend the death penalty over two decades ago, is expected to issue a written statement to the press before he is put to death.

His last-minute appeal to stay the execution was denied late Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

With less than an hour before his scheduled death, an unlikely intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court is his only hope for life in prison. On Monday, a Jacksonville federal judge declined to halt the execution.

According to a corrections spokeswoman, Pardo’s last meal Tuesday morning was roasted pork chunks, white rice and red beans, fried plantains with tomato and avocado, topped with olive oil. He finished off the meal with pumpkin pie and Cuban coffee. It was cooked in the prison kitchen and cost under $40.

He also met with a prison chaplain and retired Catholic bishop John Snyder, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Ann Howard.

“After visiting with family and friends, it’s best to describe him as calm,” Howard said.

Pardo and a cohort killed nine people in 1986, mostly ripping off drug dealers. Pardo also killed two women who had crossed him, and another woman who happened to be with a drug dealer he targeted.

At a 1988 trial in Miami-Dade, he admitted to the murders, saying he was ridding the streets of the “scum of the earth.”

“I’m not a criminal. I’m a soldier. As a soldier, I ask to be given the death penalty. I accomplished my mission,” he told jurors then, asking for a “glorious ending.”

A lawyer for Pardo — a former Florida highway patrolman, Boy Scout leader and decorated Navy veteran — argued he was insane at the time of the crimes. A jury rejected the claims and he was sentenced to death for all nine murders.

Over the next two decades, Pardo’s lawyers have insisted that he had been incompetent to stand trial because of a thyroid disorder that ravaged his mind.

Pardo’s lawyers also claim they had been denied all the public records on the state’s method of lethal injection, which they say is “cruel and unusual” punishment. After Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant in October, a Miami-Dade judge denied the appeals. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the judge’s decision.

In Monday’s order, U.S. Judge Timothy Corrigan said the claims were filed too late and that the state’s method of execution, which includes the injection of three drugs, has already been examined by the Florida Supreme Court and a federal appeals court.

Also on Tuesday, the Archdiocese of Miami planned a 6 p.m. vigil for Pardo at St. Mary Cathedral, 7525 NW 2nd Ave. The church opposes the death penalty.

In a press release acknowledging the severity of Pardo’s crimes, Archbishop Thomas Wenski said: “Recourse to the death penalty is both cruel and unnecessary. Modern society has the means of protecting itself. We do not make the case that killing is wrong by killing.”

For updates throughout the day, follow David Ovalle on Twitter at @davidovalle305.

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Jamie Foxx Dishes on Leonardo DiCaprio

It's an ET exclusive!

On Wednesday Oscar-winner and Django Unchained star Jamie Foxx sits down with Nancy O'Dell to talk about his new film and open up about his interesting on-set relationship with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Video: Oscars Flashback '05: Jamie Foxx Wins for 'Ray'

Also tomorrow, Anne Hathaway's style evolution and an update on Kate Middleton's health. Plus, we unveil a mystery Hollywood bride ready to walk down the aisle.

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OWS partiers cop plea deals for destructive bash

Four Occupy Wall Street protesters collared for breaking into a vacant Williamsburg building and throwing a destructive party copped plea deals in Brooklyn Supreme Court today that land them 105 hours of community service and $500 in restitution.

The four radicals could have faced seven years in prison for their role in the illegal bash, which injured three responding police officers.

Zachary Dempster, 32, Robert Nilon, 26, Emma Engle, 21, and Matthew Whitely, 25, had been charged with riot, assault, and resisting arrest but so long as they stay out of trouble for six months, all felony charges will be dropped.

“I hope that they continue what some call ‘the good fight,’ but in a less violent manner,” said Assistant District Attorney Lewis Lieberman.

The suspects' lawyer, Martin Stolar, said of the deal, “It represents a compromise. The DA and the police did not want to take the risk of the defendants getting acquitted, and the defendants didn’t want to take the risk of getting a felony."

Nilon, who was accompanied to court by a pretty gal pal and also has a pending assault charge in Pennsylvania, said, “I’m glad to have this over.''

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Brisker growth ahead in Latin America, Caribbean

Despite global economic uncertainties, Latin American and Caribbean economies are expected to show an uptick in 2013, according to a report released Tuesday by the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Next year, regional economies will grow by an estimated 3.8 percent, compared to 3.1 percent — the figure projected for 2012, said Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of ECLAC, which is based in Santiago, Chile.

Despite the more positive outlook, the report said the region’s economic performance will still depend on possible recession in Europe, the strength of economic growth in China, the impact of modest growth in the United States and other world economic trends.

Among the Latin American countries projected to have growth rates of four percent or higher are: Brazil (4 percent), Bolivia (5 percent), Chile (4.8 percent), Colombia (4.5 percent), Nicaragua (4.5 percent), Panama (7.5 percent), Paraguay (8.5 percent), Peru (6 percent), and Uruguay (4 percent).

“[Next year] may not be the great year that we all want but it will be a good year for Colombia,’’ said Alvaro Moreno, a researcher at Colombia’s Private Competiveness Council. Revaluing the Colombian peso has proved difficult, he said, and trade in Colombia’s non-traditional exports also has been declining but oil and mining exports will contribute to growth.

Buoyant consumption levels in a number of regional economies as well as commodity prices that aren’t expected to fall significantly despite global uncertainly are contributing to regional growth.

But Bárcena warned: “The challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean is to increase and stabilize investment growth, and not to depend exclusively on consumption as a means to drive structural change with equality, to incorporate technical progress and deliver sustainable growth.’’

Among other large economies in Latin America, Mexico is expected to grow by 3.5 percent; Argentina, 3.9 percent, and Venezuela, 2 percent. The Cuban economy, with growth forecast at 3.5 percent in 2013, is expected to do slightly better than it did in 2012.

Combined Argentina and Brazil — South Florida’s most important trading partner — account for about 41.5 percent of regional gross domestic product.

While the Argentine economy is expected to improve on a 2012 growth rate of 2.2 percent, some analysts aren’t very bullish on its prospects. “Argentina has been gradually isolating itself over a number of years,’’ said Jonathan Heath, chief economist at Health & Associates in Mexico City.

“Argentina has been faking its inflation rate for a number of years and everyone knows that,’’ he said during a recent conference in Miami on Latin America’s 2013 economic forecast.

Tiny, land-locked Paraguay is expected to have the strongest economic growth in South America at 8.5 percent in 2013 but it is coming off a 1.8 percent contraction in 2012.

The news is not as encouraging in the Caribbean where growth is expected to average 2 percent next year but that is still better than this year’s projected growth rate of 1.1 percent.

The economies of many Caribbean nations remain fragile and the GDP of Jamaica is expected to grow a mere .1 percent in 2013. Sluggish growth also is expected in Barbados (1 percent), Dominica (1.7 percent), Grenada (1.2 percent), St. Kitts and Nevis (1.8 percent), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1.5 percent), St. Lucia (1.9 percent) and Trinidad and Tobago (2.5 percent).

Haiti with 6 percent growth is forecast to have the most vibrant growth in the Caribbean but it is coming off a devastating earthquake in 2010 when its economy shrank by 5.4 percent. Guyana (4.9 percent) and Suriname (4.7 percent) are the only Caribbean countries whose economic growth rates are expected to top 4 percent next year.

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Third person dies from injuries in bus crash at Miami International Airport

The bus that rammed into an overpass at Miami International Airport has claimed a third life.

The crash happened a few minutes before 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 1. The bus carried members of a Jehovah’s Witness congregation on their way to the annual general assembly meeting in West Palm Beach.

The driver, Ramon Ferreiro, 47, took a wrong turn on Le Jeune Road. He sped past multiple signs warning of the low clearance at the airport’s arrival concourse, smashing the 11-foot-tall bus into an overpass.

After the crash, one person died at the scene. A second person died the same day after being taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

On Monday, a Jackson spokeswoman announced that another person, who had been in critical condition since the crash, had died. Miami-Dade police identified her as Gliceria Emerida Garcia, 75, of Miami-Dade County.

Jackson spokeswoman Lidia Amoretti said two people remained in the hospital from the crash. Both were listed in good condition. The other nine people admitted to Jackson after the crash have been released, she said.

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Behind the New Modern Seinfeld Twitter Account, Which Is Not About Nothing

Seinfeld has never left our pop culture lexicon. Just recently we’ve seen it referenced in the presidential race and in Game of Thrones parodies. But what would the seminal “show about nothing” be like if its characters could use cell phones or Facebook? The @SeinfeldToday Twitter account, which popped up Sunday evening, ventures to propose of-the-moment plots for a modern Seinfeld. For example:  

Kramer is under investigation for heavy torrenting. Jerry’s new girlfriend writes an extremely graphic blog. George discovers Banh Mi.

— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) December 10, 2012

The man behind the account, BuzzFeed’s sports editor Jack Moore, started tweeting out scenarios with his friend, comedian Josh Gondelman, and then decided that the joke merited its own account. Moore is a Seinfeld fanatic himself: “I’m pretty much constantly watching episodes in the background while I’m doing anything,” he told us in an email. “I have a thumb drive with the whole series on it that I keep in my bag pretty much all the time.” 

RELATED: Rich Folks, Saggy Pants, and the Vast Manatee Conspiracy

So far, the modern-day episode summaries ring true, despite warnings from Gawker last year that classic episodes wouldn’t have worked if the characters just had the use of newfangled technology. “It would be different but not as different as everyone acts like,” Moore wrote to us. “People always say that ‘if they had cell phones Seinfeld couldn’t exist,’ which is true for a certain type of Seinfeld episode, but not as a general rule (which I think the account shows).” 

RELATED: Jon Huntsman Finds His Voice by Sounding Like a Dad on Twitter

The account makes it obvious that Internet apps and 2012 trends would create the same awkward situations that Seinfeld thrived on. For example: 

Kramer uses grinder to meet new friends, doesn’t know it’s a gay hook-up app. Jerry refuses to admit he cried on @wtfpod.

— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) December 10, 2012

Elaine has a bad waiter at a nice restaurant, her negative Yelp review goes viral, she gets banned. Kramer accidentally joins the Tea Party.

— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) December 10, 2012

George thinks his GF is faking a gluten-intolerance, feeds her real cookies, sending her to the ER. Autocorrect ruins Jerry’s relationship.

— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) December 10, 2012

We kind of really want to see some of these made, actually. Reunion special? 

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Fourth accuser sues Kevin Clash: Elmo's puppeteer had sensitive 'medical condition'

Elmo have hard problem.

The fourth man to accuse “Sesame Street’’ puppeteer Kevin Clash of inappropriate sexual contact says the older man couldn’t get it up when the two were getting it on in Clash’s New York City pad around 1995, according the alleged victim’s civil lawsuit filed today in Manhattan Federal Court.

At the time, Clash, then 35, blamed his penis problems on an unspecified “medical condition,” the lawsuit said.

The accuser, who is now in his 30s, said he was around 16 when he met Clash walking on a Miami beach and that the pair kept in touch over the phone.

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Kevin Clash, the former puppeteer for the Elmo character on the long-running children's television show Sesame Street.

After learning that the accuser had problems at home and wanted to run away, Clash, the squeaky voice of Elmo, promised to “be a dad” to him and lured him to the city “with promises to pay for his plane ticket ... and give him cash and a free place to stay,” the lawsuit said. The accuser was allegedly sexually abused after visiting Clash.

A previous accuser who says he was also 16 when he and Clash hooked up also had written in a memoir, “The game we played was father and son.”

Clash’s latest accuser remained unnamed in the suit. His lawyer is also representing two other accusers.

Clash’s rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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AutoNation: Back in the fast lane with expansion, higher sales

Despite an agonizingly slow economic recovery, the country’s largest auto retailer, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, is thriving again as demand for vehicles expands.

The company, one of Florida’s largest, is posting increasingly strong profits and revenues. Just last week, in a sign of confidence, Autonation announced a major acquisition — buying six large auto stores in Texas — that will add about 700 employees to its national payroll of 19,400.

In announcing the deal Tuesday, which is expected to provide AutoNation with $575 million in additional revenues next year, the company’s CEO and chairman, Mike Jackson, expressed optimism about the prospects for continued growth in vehicle sales.

“You want to know what I’m thinking, look at what I do,” Jackson told viewers on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

No information was released on the cost of the transactions, but in recent years auto dealerships sometimes sold for three to five times revenue, which would represent a significant investment for the company.

Tough times

To be sure, AutoNation has struggled through some tough times. It was battered by the Great Recession, which depressed sales and pushed the company into a $1.2 billion loss four years ago. As sales began to improve in 2010 and 2011, it was blindsided by a shortage of Japanese-made cars last year after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 shut down Japanese manufacturers of some essential components.

Since then, however, AutoNation has rebounded. Unit sales, revenues and profits all performed well in the first three quarters of this year, and the company expects new vehicle sales to continue their recovery nationwide, rising to the mid-14 million units this year, up from about 12.7 million in 2011. In the third quarter of 2012, AutoNation’s new car unit sales grew by 21 percent over the same period in 2011, doing better than an estimated 15 percent increase industry wide. November’s sales of new vehicles increased by 21 percent over November 2011 .

The big dealerships acquired sell Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Chrysler products in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. They are expected to sell 14,000 new and used autos this year, and will add substantially to AutoNation’s future sales.

“We are in the right industry at the right time,” Jackson said during an interview. “The recovery in new vehicle sales is being driven by replacement demand,” added Jackson, who has 42 years of experience in the auto business. “The average age of the light vehicle fleet in the country has increased to 11 years, and even though cars and trucks last longer today, they can’t go on forever. About 12 to 13 million vehicles are scrapped every year and need to be replaced.”

Other factors are contributing to stronger demand for vehicles. “The population is growing, interest rates are low, there is ample credit available and manufacturers are producing a wide range of new models that offer attractive styling, power and greatly improved gas mileage,” said Jackson, who took over as AutoNation’s CEO in 1999. “Auto financing is more available than it has been in recent years. A little known fact is that people are more likely to default on a mortgage than on a vehicle loan.”

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U-Haul chase suspect appears in Miami-Dade court on Sunday

The suspect arrested in connection with Friday’s chase through the streets of Miami-Dade in a rental U-Haul truck appeared in front of judge Sunday morning.

Darrell Conyers, 45, made his first appearance in bond court.

Conyers faces a number of charges including grand theft, fraud and resisting arrest with violence.

During the hearing, the judge noted that the only charge before her was driving with a suspended license. For that she set bond at $2,000. Conyers will return to bond court at a later time for the additional charges.

Conyers was scheduled to appear in court on Saturday but was unable to do so because he was still in the hospital being treated for injuries he sustained at the end of the chase which apparently started as an attempted robbery at a tool shop on South Dixie Highway.

For 45-minutes the U-Haul truck weaved in and out of city streets, jumping on and off the Palmetto Expressway and headed in different directions along Southwest Eighth Street and Flagler Street.

The chase finally came to an end 12:45 p.m. next to Miami Senior High in Little Havana on Flagler Street and 26th Avenue.

When officers moved in to apprehend the driver, an unidentified Miami-Dade Police officer was injured when he was pinned between the U-Haul truck and a police vehicle. He was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was treated for a broken leg.

Another Miami officer cut his hand from broken glass. Police say that happened when officers had to break the glass on the U-Haul truck to get the suspect out of it.

Police said Conyers has had previous run-ins with the law and has convictions for firearm violations, fleeing police and carjacking.

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Skyfall Regains its Lead Over Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2 lost its traction this weekend at the box office, dropping to the number three spot after three weeks at the top.

Skyfall, the latest James Bond flick starring Daniel Craig, emerged triumphant for its fifth weekend in US theaters with an estimated $11 million earned between Friday and Sunday.

Related: 'Skyfall' Wins Box Office, Sets Franchise Record

Not far behind, Rise of the Guardians brought in $10.5 million to secure its place in second with The Twilight Saga finale coming in at a close third with $9.2 million.

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln nabbed the number four spot with $9.1 million. Life of Pi rounds out the top five with $8.3 million.

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No apparent survivors: Singer Jenni Rivera believed dead in plane crash

MEXICO — Authorities in Mexico say the wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying singing superstar Jenni Rivera has been found and there are no apparent survivors.

Transportation and communication minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza tells Mexican television that the plane was found in Nuevo Leon state without survivors.

The minister said that "everything points toward it being the plane" that carried the Mexican-American singer and six others.

The U.S.-registered Learjet 25 went missing early Sunday after taking off from the city of Monterrey.

Jorge Domene, spokesman for Nuevo Leon's government, said the plane left Monterrey about 3:30 a.m. after a concert there and aviation authorities lost contact with the craft about 10 minutes later. It had been scheduled to arrive in Toluca, outside Mexico City, about an hour later.

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MISSING: Singer Jenni Rivera, not heard from since plane disappeared.

Rivera, 43, who was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and is one of the biggest stars of the Mexican regional music known as grupero music, which is influenced by the norteno, cumbia and ranchera styles.

The so-called Diva of the Banda recently won two Billboard Mexican Music Awards: Female Artist of the Year and Banda Album of the Year for "Joyas prestadas: Banda." Her famous songs include "La Gran Senora" and "De Contrabando."

The singer, businesswoman and actress appeared in the movie Filly Brown, as the incarcerated mother of Filly Brown, and has her own reality shows including "I Love Jenni" and "Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis and Raq-C" and her daughter's "Chiquis 'n Control."

Rivera had given a concert before thousands of fans in Monterrey on Saturday night. After the concert she gave a press conference during which she spoke of her emotional state following her recent divorce from baseball player Esteban Loaiza.

"I can't get caught up in the negative because that destroys you. Perhaps trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the best I can do. I am a woman like any other and ugly things happen to me like any other women," she said Saturday night. "The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up."

The mother and grandmother had announced in October that she was divorcing Loaiza after two years of marriage. It was her third marriage.

Rivera is the sister of Mexican singer Lupillo Rivera.

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the martial arts-inspired program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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