Ban on demanding Facebook passwords among new 2013 state laws

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Employers in California and Illinois will be prohibited from demanding access to workers’ password-protected social networking accounts and teachers in Oregon will be required to report suspected student bullies thanks to new laws taking effect in 2013.

In all, more than 400 measures were enacted at the state level during 2012 and will become law in the new year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Some of the statutes, which deal with everything from consumer protection to gun control and healthcare, take effect at the stroke of midnight. Others will not kick in until later in the year.

The raft of measures includes a new abortion restriction in New Hampshire, public-employee pension reform in California and Alabama, same-sex marriage in Maryland, and a requirement that private insurers in Alaska cover autism in kids and young adults, NCSL said.

In New Hampshire, a rarely used form of late-term abortion will become illegal except to save the life of the mother – and even then only if two doctors from separate hospitals certify the procedure is medically necessary.

John Lynch, the state’s outgoing Democratic governor, had vetoed the measure, saying it would threaten the lives of women in rural areas. But the state’s Republican-controlled legislature later overrode him.

In California and Illinois, laws that take effect at 12:01 a.m. local time will make it illegal for bosses to request social networking passwords or non-public online account information from their employees or job applicants.

Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed a similar measure into law earlier this month that took effect immediately. The Michigan law also penalizes educational institutions for dismissing or failing to admit a student who does not provide passwords and other account information used to access private internet and email accounts, including social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

But workers and job seekers in all three states will still need to be careful what they post online: Employers may continue to use publicly available social networking information. So inappropriate pictures, tweets and other social media indiscretions can still come back to haunt them.

Gun violence – in places where it’s all too common, such as Chicago, and in places where it’s unexpected, such as Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut – was big news in 2012. But only a handful of new state firearms laws are set to take effect in 2013.

In Michigan, the definition of a “pistol” under the law will now include any firearm less than 26 inches in length. The new definition encompasses some rifles with folding stocks and will make the weapons subject to the same restrictions as pistols.

In Illinois, certain guns currently regulated by state law, including paintball guns, will be excluded from the definition of a firearm and participants in military re-enactments will be exempt from some weapons laws.

Another big story in 2012 was the effort by lawmakers in a number of cash-strapped states to put their public employee pension funds on a sounder financial footing.

In California and Alabama, reforms designed to begin to address the unfunded liabilities of those retirement systems will take effect in 2013.

Among the other new laws on the books in 2013:

* In California, prison workers and peace officers will now be prohibited from having sex with inmates and prisoners in transport.

* In Illinois, sex offenders will be prohibited from distributing candy on Halloween, or playing Santa or the Easter Bunny.

* In Oregon, employers won’t be allowed to advertise a job vacancy if they won’t consider applicants who are currently out of work.

* In Kentucky, residents will be prohibited from releasing feral or wild hogs back into the wild and Illinois will ban the possession and sale of shark fins.

* And in Florida, the term “motor vehicle” will no longer apply to the specialized all-terrain vehicles with over-sized tires known as “swamp buggies” that are popular in some parts of the state.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Greg McCune and Nick Zieminski)

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Somber farewell for man pushed to his death in subway

Friends of the hardworking, humble immigrant shoved to his death last week in front of the 7 train by a Muslim-hating madwoman today gathered for an emotional farewell in Queens at the Coppola-Migliore funeral home in Flushing.

Sunando Sen, 36, was remember as a man of “quiet strength” by Lorcan Otway, a lawyer and longtime friend, who noted that Sen years ago left Bangladesh to escape oppression, and was involved in human rights issues here, helping Hindus.

Sen’s mentally ill alleged killer, Erika Menendez, 31, has told cops she pushed Sen because she hates Muslims and Hindus.

Matthew McDermott

Farewell for subway push victim Sunando Sen.

“He didn’t have a hateful bone in his body,” Otway said of Sen. “He approached everything with a calmness. The remarkable man he was should teach us a lesson. I wish people could know the greater loss to the community.”

Sen’s body, wrapped in cloth and covered with flowers, lay in a blue-grey casket. Sarker and others recited traditional prayers, chanted and burned incense. They put bananas and rice in his casket, followed by yogurt and milk – a sendoff ritual meant to give Sen what he needs as he travels into the next world, friends said.

Sen had no family here, and his parents in India have died. But he fashioned a family from the friends he made in New York, said Bidyut Sarker Sen’s boss at the Manhattan print shop where he’d worked for 15 years.

"I feel like I lost a family member. The neighborhood, the shop, was his family,” said Sarker, who helped pay for Sen’s burial. “Customers are coming in and crying. "

Sen, whom friends said had recently opened his own printing shop on Amsterdam Avenue, was “a gentleman” and exceptionally smart. He got a scholarship to New York University and earned a master’s degree in economics, and was trying for a PhD at Columbia before dropping out because he couldn’t afford it, friends said.

Sen taught himself graphic design, Sarker said, and was “extraordinarily talented,” Otway noted.

“He was working well below his education,” Otway said.

Sen’s body was cremated at a cemetery after the ceremony.

Meanwhile yesterday, police said they were called by Erika Menendez’s family members at least five times prior to last Thursday’s train-shoving because Menendez had gone off her prescribed meds.

Menendez is being held without bail. She has replaced her court-appointed lawyer Queens lawyer Joseph DeFelice. He did not return calls.

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Florida colleges a bargain, says Kiplinger

Though Florida’s in-state tuition costs more than double what it did only a decade ago, many of the state’s public universities are still a good value, according to the latest annual “Best Values in Public Colleges” list compiled by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Florida schools have long fared well in the magazine’s rankings, with this year being no exception. Six of Florida’s 12 state schools made the top 100, with two — the University of Florida and New College of Florida in Sarasota — keeping their place in the top 10, though both schools slipped slightly from their spots a year ago.

UF landed at No. 3 in this year’s rankings, down from No. 2 last year. New College, meanwhile, slipped two spots from No. 5 to No. 7.

In the case of both schools, Kiplinger’s praised what it described as a combination of strong academics and relative affordability. Though Florida’s price of tuition keeps rising, it is still among the lowest in the country — 40th out of 50 states, according to the College Board.

Kiplinger’s also noted UF’s strong retention rate.

“Students stick around, with only 5 percent leaving after freshman year,” the magazine wrote. “And although Florida is a big school — with 16 colleges, more than 150 research centers and institutes, and the largest undergraduate enrollment in our top 10 — it’s still selective, with a 43 percent admittance rate.”

New College is the complete opposite of UF in terms of size (it enrolls less than 850 students) but Kiplinger’s found it also offers “solid academics” along with the lowest total cost of attendance — $16,181 — of any of the top 10 schools. That figure combines the $6,783 annual tuition and fees with other college expenses such as room and board.

Lower in the Kiplinger’s rankings, four other Florida schools were also recognized. Florida State University came in at No. 26, the University of Central Florida landed at No. 42, the University of South Florida was No. 57 and the University of North Florida was No. 64.

Braulio Colón, executive director of the Florida College Access Network, said Florida families looking for a tuition bargain shouldn’t limit their search to state universities. Florida’s community colleges, Colón said, are high-quality, cost about half as much as state universities, and boast a guaranteed-transfer agreement that is the envy of many other parts of the country. Students who earn an associate in arts degree from a Florida community college are guaranteed admission to a state university, though it may not be to the student’s preferred school.

Long term, Colón said, Florida must overhaul its student financial aid system if it wants to maintain college affordability. The state’s largest college aid program is Bright Futures scholarships — some of which are awarded to affluent families who could afford to pay for college on their own. Helping students with demonstrated need must become more of a priority, Colón said, or college costs could eventually spiral out of reach for some families.

“We are at a turning point, right now, as a state,” Colón said.

To see the Kiplinger list go to: http://www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/

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As 500th anniversary nears, cities vie for title of Ponce de Leon’s landing spot

ST. AUGUSTINE --
— Where did that most ambitious conquistador, Juan Ponce de Leon, wade ashore five centuries ago and name his prize "La Florida?" Inquiring minds all over our state would like to know, the sooner the better, for planning purposes.

With the big day approaching — the anniversary arrives on April 3, 2013 — what east-coast beach city gets to shoot off the fireworks? If King Juan Carlos I of Spain graces us with a visit, where will he and Gov. Rick Scott shake hands? This being Florida, where communities joust like 16th-century knights for tourist dollars, it’s important.

In a perfect world, someone would step forward, bow gallantly and unroll Ponce’s original log and answer all questions. Alas, the log has been lost to historians since before Shakespeare’s time.

Grab your sharpest rapier and don your shiniest armor. Load the blunderbuss and polish the shield. In a tale fit for the Bard, brace yourself for the Ponce wars.

For our purposes, think of the northeast Florida city of St. Augustine as the Capulets. Melbourne Beach, a few hours south, can serve as the Montagues.

Without evidence everyone can accept as gospel, folks from both cities can claim Ponce celebration rights.

Cities all over Florida have streets, schools and springs named after Ponce. But no place has celebrated the Spaniard as long as St. Augustine. Founded in 1565 by another famous conquistador, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, it’s North America’s oldest continuously inhabited city. In 2011, its reputation for Spanish colonial heritage brought in $669 million in tourism.

It’s always been mad about the mysterious dude who accompanied Christopher Columbus to the Indies on his 1493 voyage, battled natives, found gold, got filthy rich, became Puerto Rico’s first governor, lost his job, but somehow stayed in the good graces of Spain’s King Ferdinand I, who encouraged Ponce to do some more exploring.

He named the island he thought he had encountered "La Florida" because it was a verdant place. It was also around Easter, the feast of flowers in Spain.

St. Augustine’s best known tourist attraction, and one of Florida’s oldest, is named for the spring supposedly sought by Ponce, the Fountain of Youth. Florida’s first grand hotel, the Ponce de Leon, built by Standard Oil magnate Henry Flagler in 1888, is now part of the Flagler College campus. Finally, no town in North America boasts as many Ponce statues, three at the present, with another to be unveiled in April.

St. Augustine will be celebrating Viva 500 all year. But on anniversary day it will hold a re-enactment and a ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica. Santiago Baeza Benavides — the mayor of Ponce’s hometown in Spain — is bringing a replica of the font in which the conquistador was baptized in 1474.

Take that, Melbourne Beach.

About a year ago, a publicist for the St. Johns County Visitor and Convention Bureau headed for New York to drum up some national media buzz. On her "come to St. Augustine in 2013" visits with newspaper and magazine travel editors, Barbara Golden brought a secret weapon.

Ponce de Leon.

His real name is Chad Light. A doctoral history student at the University of Florida, he works at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine. In addition to serious history pursuits, he entertains tourists by playing Ponce in re-enactments. He’s 46, muscular and swash-buckling handsome, with a Spaniard’s dark hair and eyes. He dresses like Ponce and answers visitor questions as Ponce in Spanish-inflected English. For the record, he also speaks perfect Castilian Spanish, thank you.

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Skyfall Passes One Billion Mark at Box Office

Skyfall is not only the highest grossing Bond film of all-time, it has just become the 14th film ever to earn more than one billion dollars at the box office.

RELATED - 12 Best Movies of 2012

The 23rd Bond film crossed this milestone on December 30, with Sony vice chairman Jeff Blake saying, "To see a film connect with audiences is always gratifying, but the success of this film is nothing short of extraordinary. After 50 years of entertaining audiences all over the world, Skyfall is the most successful James Bond film of all time."

VIDEO - Daniel Craig Talks Skyfall & Showing Skin

Skyfall is the third film released in 2012 to earn more than one billion dollars; The Avengers ($1.51 billion) and The Dark Knight Rises ($1.08 billion) crossed the magic mark earlier this year.

Avatar remains the highest grossing film of all-time, with $2.7 billion, while James Cameron also holds the second spot as well thanks to Titanic's $2.1 billion. The Avengers swooped up third, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 worked its magic in fourth ($1.3 billion) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1.3 billion) rounds out the top 5. Here are the remaining films to have crossed the billion dollar mark:

6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.119 billion)

7. The Dark Knight Rises ($1.081 billion)

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.066 billion)

9. Toy Story 3 ($1.063 billion)

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($1.043 billion)

11. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace ($1.027 billion)

12. Alice in Wonderland ($1.024 billion)

13. The Dark Knight ($1.004 billion)

14. Skyfall ($1.000 billion)

Skyfall is expected to surpass several higher earning films as it has yet to open in China yet.

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MetroNorth train hits car, halting Connecticut service

REDDING, Conn. — Metro North train service has been suspended on the Danbury line following a train accident involving a car.

A Metro North spokesman said the train struck a car in Redding on Sunday afternoon. The train had no passengers and there was no information about whether there were injuries involving the car.

Bus service will ferry passengers between Danbury and South Norwalk.

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Week brings startup launches, social media advice for 2013

Jared Kleinert, a South Florida entrepreneur, plans to soon launch Synergist, a platform that allow social entrepreneurs to meet potential co-founders online, collaborate and crowdfund their new projects. He also just launched AliveNDead, a blog about risk-taking, and he interns for a Silicon Valley startup.

And when he’s not doing all that, he’s going to class — he’s a junior at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton.

Lester Mapp is CEO and founder of the new Miami-based startup called designed by m. His team has just designed a sleek, ultra-thin aluminum iPhone bumper and launched the project on Kickstarter. After just a few days, Mapp is already more than a third of the way to his $20,000 fund-raising goal.

Read about both these entrepreneurs on The Starting Gate blog, where there’s also a post on the most pressing issues facing small businesses in the coming year — taxes, healthcare, lending and a skilled worker shortage, for starters.

And as you are ringing in the New Year, you may be resolving to beef up your business’ social media strategy. Susan Linning's guest post offers five top tips for boosting your social media effectiveness. Among them: Go beyond retweets and make your posts original, fun and personal (but not too personal.) Use visuals, too. Find this and other news, views and tools for entrepreneurs on the blog, which is at the bottom of MiamiHerald.com /business.

Follow me on Twitter @ndahlberg and Happy New Year to all.

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Gen. Schwarzkopf’s generosity remembered in Tampa

TAMPA --
To the nation, he was a war hero. To the Tampa Bay community, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was a hero for local charities.

The retired Desert Storm commander died at the age of 78 in Tampa, where he was involved in causes ranging from sick and orphaned children to prostate cancer awareness. Friends said he frequently attended fundraisers as a celebrity guest, which allowed charities to raise much-needed funds.

John Osterweil, a Tampa resident who supports the military through various charities, got to know Schwarzkopf in 1989 when their sons became friends. Over the years, Osterweil and Schwarzkopf attended football games together, played tennis and attended charity events around the city.

Once, when Osterweil’s wife was in charge of fundraising for the Tampa Museum of Art, Schwarzkopf agreed to be a guest celebrity at a $1,000-a-plate dinner. The museum raised $50,000 that night, Osterweil said.

"By his presence alone, organizations were able to raise sizable chunks of money," he said. "He was very gracious about that, very willing."

Schwarzkopf spent much of his time working on children’s causes including the Ronald McDonald House and The Children’s Home in Tampa, which provides family support services and aids in foster care adoptions.

He and the late actor Paul Newman co-founded Camp Boggy Creek in Central Florida, a summer campground for kids with life-threatening illnesses.

"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I’m very proud of that," he once told The Associated Press. "But I’ve always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I’d like to think I’m a caring human being. ... It’s nice to feel that you have a purpose."

An avid fisherman, hunter and skeet shooter, Schwarzkopf also served on the board of the Nature Conservancy.

Schwarzkopf and his wife also owned a home in Telluride, Colo., where he was on the board of directors for the Telluride Foundation, a group that raises money for local charities.

He was also active in raising awareness about prostate cancer as a national spokesman for the cause; in 1994, he was diagnosed with the affliction and was successfully treated.

Gen. Schwarzkopf stepped down as CentComm commander in 1991, and remained in Tampa for retirement, initially renting a home in the Cheval community.

"The people of Tampa have made me and my family feel right at home the moment we moved here," he said then.

Sports — specifically, skeet shooting — played a major role in the retired general’s social life.

For years, the Gen. Schwarzkopf Cup sporting clays tournament was held in his honor to support the Children’s Home. It has raised more than $1 million, said Merrill Stewart, director of development at the nonprofit that supports abused and neglected children in Tampa Bay.

Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco met Gen. Schwarzkopf at a skeet shooting event and they became fast friends. Greco used to tease the retired general about the time they went to the Super Bowl in Miami and billionaire Wayne Huizenga’s mother mistook him for TV personality Williard Scott.

Greco remained friends with Gen. Schwarzkopf after his retirement from the military and was his neighbor when the general settled in Harbour Island.

"It was very difficult to watch a strong, wonderful man not be in good health. He was a great American and a great sportsman," Greco said.

Gen. Schwarzkopf didn’t retire from public life when he hung up his stars, and he gave his time to charities across the area, said Tampa developer Al Austin, who was a friend.

Austin discovered he had prostate cancer in March 2002 — a few years after Gen. Schwarzkopf had his own battle with the disease. The general had become an advocate for research and promoting early detection.

"He gave me advice before my surgery," Austin recalled. "He just did so many great things."

Bob Graham, the former Florida governor and U.S. senator, said he trusted Gen. Schwarzkopf so much he wanted to hand over relief operations to him after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Often people who remember Gen. Schwarzkopf recall what it was like to be with him.

"He just sucked all the air out of the room," said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Tampa Bay Times staff writers Robbyn Mitchell and Amy Scherzer contributed to this report.

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Matthew McConaughey Welcomes Baby No. 3

Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves have another reason to celebrate this holiday season -- they welcomed a new baby into the family!

A source tells ET the Magic Mike star was present for the baby's birth Friday at a hospital in Austin, TX. Specific details were not immediately available.

RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Wedding Details!

McConaughey proposed to his 30-year-old Brazilian model/handbag designer girlfriend on Christmas Day 2011, and they got married during a ceremony in Texas last June.

The couple began dating in 2006 and have two other children together, daughter Vida, who is almost three, and four-year old Levi.

RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Weighs In On His Dramatic Weight Loss

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NYPD recruits sworn in at graduation ceremony

They came from all corners of the globe to join their brothers in blue.

The NYPD recruits sworn in at a graduation ceremony in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center today were born in countries like Nigeria, South Korea, China, Albania, Pakistan, and Somalia — and speak 59 languages.

Others came from less exotic locales like Brooklyn and Queens.

The new class of 1,159 cops was made up of 16 percent women. The racial breakdown is 53 percent white, 25 percent Hispanic, 12 percent black and 9 percent Asian.

Nearly all of them — 99 percent — have a college degree.

Police union president Patrick Lynch and his son, Patrick, at today's NYPD graduation ceremony.

One graduate from Rockland County wore the shield of her father, who was killed trying to help people escape from the World Trade Center on 9-11.

Erin Coughlin, 27, was proud to honor the memory of Sgt. John Coughlin, who had served in the elite Emergency Services Unit.

“It’s an absolute honor. It was surreal — I knew he was looking down on me,” said Coughlin, 27, beaming. “I took the same oath he did. I held it together until we had to salute.”

Her mother Patty was also moved. “I’m glad she got his shield,” she said. “It’s amazing that I was at the graduation for him, and now her.”

The graduating class included the son of police union president Patrick Lynch. “It’s something I always looked forward to,” said 21-year-old Patrick Lynch.

His father said he was “extremely proud” to see the shield on his son’s chest.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly praised Lynch and three other cops during the graduation for making a good collar in Queens while driving home from the police academy in September.

The four spotted a young man beating up another man in Bayside on Sept. 13, and intervened to stop the attack.

Lynch was one of many new cops who has the NYPD in his blood.

“Growing up, I had a lot to look up to,” said Officer Adam Torres, 25, whose father Felix Torres, 46, is retired.

“For many of you, this moment was a long time coming,” said Kelly. “Some of you dreamed of wearing this uniform from the time you were children.”

Kelly also hailed the recruits’ life-saving work during Hurricane Sandy.

Newly minted officer John Lattanzio was praised for walking through waist-deep water to rescue people in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn — carrying one person out on his shoulders — even though his own home was flooded.

The new rookies will protect half a million visitors to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

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