Miami Beach builder Robert Turchin looks back — and ahead

If former Miami Beach vice mayor Robert Turchin had been a Miami decision maker during the recent vote that decided the fate of The Miami Herald building, he would probably have voted with the ‘nays’ allowing its demolition. “There’s nothing special about it,” says the 90-year-old Turchin as he cruises Collins Avenue between 63rd and 48th streets, a strip dense with buildings...

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Everglades activists hope to maintain progress

The last few years have been good for Everglades restoration.After a decade of delay, there have been a string of ground-breakings and dedications, most recently Friday for a pump station in deep South Miami-Dade that will send more freshwater to both parched Everglades National Park and a too-salty swath of Florida Bay. Next month, a ribbon-cutting is scheduled for a new...

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Canada natives block Harper’s office, threaten unrest

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Aboriginal protesters blocked the main entrance to a building where Canada’s prime minister was preparing to meet some native leaders on Friday, highlighting a deep divide within the country’s First Nations on how to push Ottawa to heed their demands.The noisy blockade, which lasted about an hour, ended just before Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his aides met with about 20 native...

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'Jurassic Park 4' to Eat Audiences Summer 2014

Welcome to Jurassic Park – again! The long-in-the-works fourth entry in the blockbuster dino franchise has finally gotten the green light, with Universal Studios announcing that Jurassic Park 4 will arrive on June 13, 2014.Video: The Lost 'Jurassic Park' Footage Universal tweeted the news on Friday afternoon, saying: "Breaking News! Jurassic Park 4 is coming June 13, 2014! What do you hope to see...

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Suspect in city's first 2013 murder caught in Ohio

Police have nabbed a suspect wanted for New York City's first murder this year in Ohio, law-enforcement sources said today.Raymond Mayrant, 25, will be extradited back to New York for the murder of a Bronx school crossing guard, sources said.Mayrant was dating her daughter, and allegedly shot them both in a confrontation at a Soundview apartment on Jan. 3.Elzina Brown, 59, was shot in the chest, while...

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What the week’s big mortgage moves mean for consumers

This week brought three big developments to the nation’s beleaguered mortgage landscape. For consumers, the complex moves have been mostly mystifying, but experts say they all aim at turning the page.“There is a strong desire to put behind us all this period of time — the aftermath of the darkest period in American finance. All these things [announced this week] are intended...

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Sen. Bill Nelson is going python hunting

Sen. Bill Nelson has taken some ribbing for his focus on Pythons in the Everglades. But the problem is real. So little surprise the 70-year-old Democrat will participate in Florida’s first snake hunt, which begins Saturday and offers cash prizes.Nelson will go out Thursday with a rancher in Davie.“He’s had a hand in drawing attention to the problem and it has, in fact, proven...

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A Tale of 2 Strategies: The Twitter Genius of Chuck Grassley and Cory Booker

If you’re on Twitter and not following Sen. Chuck Grassley, you’re not using Twitter correctly.The Iowa Republican is known for his colorful and personal Twitter feed. Take a gander: He personally tweets about everything from the History Channel to “Obamacare” to an incident in which he hit a deer with his car  (“assume dead”). Grassley’s tweets take us along for a ride, one that’s often...

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Rob Marciano's ET Initiation

This week marked the beginning of Rob Marciano's post as co-anchor of ET, and he hit the ground running.Rob kicked off the week with his first big get -- a sit-down with the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.VIDEO: Arnold Talks Movies and Gun ControlLast night, the former CNN weatherman was late to bed but early to rise, as he smoozed with celebs backstage at Wednesday's People's Choice Awards...

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First alleged thug in fatal parka mugging arraigned on murder, weapon possession charges

The first alleged thug busted in a senseless fatal parka mugging is claiming all he did was supply the gun."I saw the guy shoot the kid," Timothy Montalvo, 16, said of the January 4 fatal shooting of Raphael Ward in front of a church at 49 Columbia Street. Ward, who is also 16, resisted demands to relinquish the $600 parka, and paid with his life, cops...

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