Chocolate lovers take part in the annual festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

If you haven’t had your fill of chocolate yet, might be time to head out to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.Large crowds gathered Saturday for samples of the sweet treats, chef demonstrations and even a Chocowalk at the seventh annual International Chocolate Festival.Besides edible treats, the event – which lasts until Sunday at 4:30 p.m. – offered lectures about cacao...

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Smartphone 4Q sales rise 36 pct led by Samsung

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Smartphone shipments rose 36 percent worldwide in the fourth quarter as the sleek devices supplanted personal computers and other gadgets on holiday shopping lists, according to a report released Friday.The findings from the research firm International Data Corp. are the latest sign of the technology upheaval being wrought by the growing popularity of smartphones that can perform...

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

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

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3 Conn. cops accused of brutality after YouTube vid shows them beating stunned suspect (VIDEO)

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The police chief in Connecticut's largest city has pulled three officers off the streets after a video was posted online showing them kicking and stomping on a man they had already subdued with a stun gun.In the video, a stun gun is heard being fired and a man falls to the ground at a park. Two officers stand over the motionless man...

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Fed aims for a 6.5% jobless rate

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

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Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz considering bid for governor.

Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz looks ready to run for governor and has spent the past three weeks lining up support from strategists, financiers and elected officials.Diaz, who hasn’t returned calls from The Miami Herald for three weeks about his plans, finally returned a text message on Friday and said he wasn’t ready to speak about the matter, in part because he was attending...

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Yandex says new mobile app is blocked by Facebook

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian internet company Yandex said on Friday its new experimental application to search on social networking sites from mobile devices was blocked by Facebook.The Wonder app is a recommendation tool for devices using Apple’s iOS software that allows U.S. users of social networks to retrieve information from these sites by voice or by typing questions.The application was released...

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Julianne Hough Talks Her Changing Style

The always stylish Julianne Hough is launching her own shoe collection with Sole Society in February, and in a candid new interview with ET, the multi-talented star dishes on her own evolving style -- which has obviously gone through a drastic transformation since she burst onto the scene on Dancing with the Stars."My style has completely evolved from when I was first on Dancing with the Stars," the...

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Tina Turner on her way to Swiss citizenship

GENEVA — Tina Turner is on her way to becoming a Swiss citizen.The American rock diva has lived in the Zurich suburb of Kuesnacht since the mid-1990s. The local Zuerichsee-Zeitung newspaper said on its Web site the local council announced its decision to grant the 73-year-old Turner citizenship in an official notice published in Friday's edition.The decision still requires formal approval from state...

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Economist: Euro crisis could erupt again this year

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

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Kansas to retire jersey of Miami Heat starter Mario Chalmers

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Miami Heat starter and former Kansas star Mario Chalmers, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer helped the Jayhawks win the 2008 national title, will have his jersey retired next month.Chalmers was the MVP of the Final Four when the Jayhawks beat Memphis for the national championship. But it was his 3-pointer from the top of the key to force overtime that became...

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Microsoft profit dips on lower Xbox holiday sales

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp reported a dip in fiscal second-quarter profit on Thursday, as weaker sales of its Xbox game system in the holiday quarter offset a solid start for its new Windows 8 operating system.The world’s largest software company reported profit of $ 6.4 billion, or 76 cents per share, compared to $ 6.6 billion, or 78 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.Overall sales...

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How Here Comes Honey Boo Boo's Mama June and Sugar Bear Met

Mama June and Sugar Bear -- a.k.a. Honey Boo Boo's parents -- are going on almost nine years together, and in this brand new TLC clip, Mama June explains just how the two fell in love.While for Sugar Bear it was "love at first sight," for her it was more lust at first sight!Pics: 5 Reality Star Couples Going Strong "Was it love at first sight? No," she admits. "Was it bed at first sight? Maybe. You...

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Te'o tells Couric 'pain' and 'sorrow' was real

APNotre Dame golden boy Manti Te’o appeared in an emotionally-driven interview with Katie Couric today, telling her that the feelings he had for what turned out to be a fake, online girlfriend were real and reiterated he had nothing to do with the hoax.The All-American linebacker said he was truly sorrowful and pained.He said he sustained tall tales about...

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City National Bank reports record earnings

City National Bank of Florida on Thursday reported record earnings for 2012, owing in large part to a one-time $136 million tax credit.The Miami-based bank reported fourth quarter net income of $158 million, up from $4.3 million during the same quarter of 2011. For the full year, City National earned $190.2 million, compared to $34.4 million for 2011.The bank said it received...

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Wild West event to raise money for Boys & Girls Clubs

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County will host a Wild West-themed fundraising event featuring country artist Amber Leigh and Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys” at 6 p.m. March 23.This will be the 17th year for the fundraiser, called Ranch Roam, which is sponsored by DEX Imaging and benefits The Boys & Girls club of Broward County. Guests will spend time on “Alligator”...

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Racy Victorian divorces online at genealogy website

LONDON (Reuters) – The original Mrs Robinson’s diary and scandalous suggestions about a former heir to the British throne are all part of the latest ancestral revelations to go online.British genealogical website Ancestry.co.uk said on Tuesday it has put the transcripts of thousands of Victorian divorce proceedings online, which reveal the racy details of an era that most modern Britons consider to...

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Country Singer Chely Wright and Wife Lauren Blitzer Announce Baby News

Country singer Chely Wright and her wife, Lauren Blitzer-Wright, announced on Wednesday that they are expecting twins!  The news was revealed by the couple on the web show Gwissues, hosted by famed publicist Howard Bragman. "Coming to you live this summer, probably sometime in June," Lauren said about the babies, which will be carried by Chely. PHOTOS: Country Stars Go Glam at CMA Awards "They're...

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Bus vandals deflate tires Brooklyn; cops trying to determine if attack is strike-related

Saboteurs stabbed holes in tires of two school buses and deflated tires on 10 others idled by school bus drivers’ strike, authorities and bus company employees said today.In all, 18 tires were flattened on a dozen buses, said employees of Reliant Transportation’s lot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.Police are trying to determine if the vandalism reported this morning...

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Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

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

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Dania Beach man dies after acting ‘bizarrely’

Shortly after stabbing a window with a knife and subsequently being arrested at a Pompano Beach gas station early Monday, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at Broward Health North.Officers responded to a 911 call around 3:30 a.m. that a man was acting “bizarrely” at the BP Gas Station on East Sample Road. The man, the caller said, was stabbing the front window, according...

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BlackBerry Z10 Looks Like iPhone 5, Takes on Siri

RIM is set to announce the first devices running its new BlackBerry 10 operating system at an event on January 30. A lucky few, however, have already gotten their hands on what looks to be the new hardware, including German site TelekomPresse.[More from Mashable: Watch These iPhone Knockoffs Get Bulldozed]The site has the BlackBerry Z10, a touchscreen device with a similar look to some of the other...

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'Olympus Has Fallen' Trailer

The White House is a major target at the movies this year, with no less than two action films featuring a serious breach of security – and only one man that can protect the president. In addition to Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum's White House Down (in theaters this June), the first film out of the gate is Olympus Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman. Watch the intense...

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Girl critical after being hit by B'klyn bus

A 12-year-old girl was struck by a bus this afternoon in Brooklyn and is in critical condition, authorities said. The girl was at the corner of East Seventh Street and Avenue O in Midwood when she was struck around 2:50 p.m., fire officials said. The victim was taken in critical condition to Maimonides Hospital, according to police. The driver remained...

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South Florida housing recovery on track

South Florida’s housing recovery remained on track last month.Sales of existing single-family homes in Miami-Dade County jumped 16.4 percent in December 2012 from a year earlier, making 2012 a record year for sales, the Miami Association of Realtors said.In Miami-Dade, the median price for a single-family home jumped 18.9 percent to $214,060 while that of an existing condominium...

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Gov. Rick Scott's ex-dog Reagan bit mansion employee, records show

TALLAHASSEE -- Reagan, the now famous dog that once belonged to Gov. Rick Scott, was banished from the Governor’s Mansion after biting an employee who moved his water bowl.“The governor and first lady love dogs and they had to make a hard decision when it was clear that Reagan was very anxious around lots of different people,’’ Scott spokeswoman Melissa Sellers said.The dog...

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Putin orders Russian computers to be protected after spy attacks

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian authorities to protect state computers from hacking attacks, the Kremlin said on Monday, after an Internet security firm said a spy network had infiltrated government and embassy computers across the former Soviet bloc.Dubbed Red October, the network used phishing attacks – or unsolicited emails to intended targets – to infect the computers...

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Chris Hardwick Mandroid Nerdist Interview

Chris Hardwick is kind of like a Nerd Ambassador – he brings enthusiasm and excitement to every topic he covers, whether it's as host of AMC's The Talking Dead (the live discussion follow-up show to The Walking Dead); in his Nerdist.com podcast, where he asks the questions that everyone really wants to hear to such stars as Tom Hanks, Timothy Olyphant or Walking star Andrew Lincoln; or during his...

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UK's Prince Harry returns from Afghanistan

Getty ImagesIn this image released on January 21, 2013, Prince Harry, makes early morning checks as he sits on an Apache helicopter at the British controlled flight-line at Camp Bastion in AfghanistanLONDON — Capt. Wales is coming home to be Prince Harry once again.The Ministry of Defense revealed Monday that the 28-year-old prince is returning from a 20-week...

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Series for Miami’s emerging art collectors begins Thursday

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

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Few blacks appoint to judgeships by Gov. Rick Scott

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

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Notre Dame football star says he was not in on hoax – ESPN

(Reuters) – Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o has denied ever being in on an elaborate hoax, telling ESPN he had believed his relationship with a woman who turned out to be an online fabrication was real.The tragic story of his girlfriend and her injuries from a car accident and death from leukemia was one of the most widely recounted U.S. sports stories last year as Notre Dame made a drive toward...

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Barbara Walters Recovering After Fall

Barbara Walters has been hospitalized after taking a tumble on Saturday night in Washington, D.C., but a rep tells ET that the 83-year-old newswoman looks to be recovering well."Barbara Walters fell on a stair last evening while visiting the British Ambassador's residence and the fall left her with a cut on her forehead," the rep confirmed to ET. "Out of an abundance of caution, she went to the hospital...

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Man critically hurt in Brooklyn lab fire

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

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Investors await word from Apple

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

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