Walk held in honor of Trayvon Martin attracts hundreds including actor Jamie Foxx

Saturday was a day of remembrance for Trayvon Martin, as about a thousand people -- including actor Jamie Foxx -- united with the late teen’s family to march, pray, listen to music and hear inspirational messages, while pressing for justice in his killing.

The Trayvon Martin Foundation sponsored the “I am Trayvon Day of Remembrance Community Peace Walk,” to honor the unarmed, Miami Gardens teen fatally shot in Sanford on Feb. 26 of last year by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

“We’re here to let the community, and particularly teenagers, know that they have the right to walk in peace without being followed, without being harmed and without being killed,” Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, told The Miami Herald at the start of the event at Ives Estate Park at 20901 NE 16th Ave. in north Miami-Dade. She said the walk would be held annually.

Fulton, Trayvon’s father Tracy and brother Jahvaris held up a huge banner and marched through the park as the crowd trailed them, chanting “I am Trayvon Martin.” Many wore t-shirts emblazoned with Trayvon’s picture, as the line snaked toward a bandshell.

Last Tuesday would have been Trayvon Martin’s 18th birthday, and a series of activities have been planned all week in his honor, including a dinner Sunday night.

“This is not an event, this is a movement,” Reverand Jamal-Harrison Bryant from the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore told supporters at the bandshell. The goal, he said, was “justice for all people.”

The shooting of black, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, an Hispanic, sparked widespread outrage, and led to protests and rallies nationwide, as well as ongoing controversy over Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

Prosecutors say Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder, profiled the teen, who was wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman said he fired in self defense. He is out on bond. Trial is scheduled to begin June 10.

“We did not come here today to grieve. We came to be energized and recharged,” Bryant told the crowd. “We came to make a commitment to Tracy [Martin] and Sybrina [Fulton] that we are not going to rest until we see justice for their son. Trayvon Martin has become all of our sons and our brother.”

Foxx, an Academy Award winning actor, wore a red t-shirt with Trayvon Martin’s picture at the center, and said he came in support, because he is a father.

“Every once in a while, something comes around that touches you like nothing else,” Foxx said, of Trayvon Martin’s slaying.

“I wasn’t going to miss this day, and I’m not going to miss a day in the future when we can step out and remember Trayvon,” he said.

Trayvon’s parents expressed gratitude for Foxx’s appearance, as well as for the crowd’s support.

“We’re not going to stop fighting. We are going to fight for our kid. We are going to fight for your kids,” Fulton said. “It’s not just about us; it’s about all our kids.”

Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan also took the stage, saying Trayvon’s parents “give a new definition to Stand your Ground: to stand for your children and to be committed to your children and to be committed to your community.”

Gospel singers, mime dancers and others performed, as the day unfolded with celebration, tinged with sadness and reproach.

“It’s a great event to keep the awareness, to keep the fight alive for Trayvon Martin and his family,” said Martin Maultsby, 40, who lives in Miami Gardens and is the director of the Florida Youth Football League. “Any time you can come out to support your cause, it lets the family know they are not in this fight by themselves.”

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Dwayne Johnson 'Snitch' Clip

Dwayne Johnson is forced to drive for a ruthless drug cartel in the gritty action-thriller Snitch, and we have a first look at a killer, crash-bang clip from the movie!

Pics: Stars on Set

In theaters February 22, Snitch finds Johnson as a concerned father faced with a dramatic choice after his teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime. With his boy facing a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, the desperate and determined Johnson makes a deal with the U.S. attorney to work as an undercover informant and infiltrate a dangerous drug cartel (whose key player is played by Benjamin Bratt). Willing to risk everything to free his son, can Johnson make it out alive?

Video: Watch the 'Snitch' Trailer

Based on a true story, Snitch also stars Susan Sarandon and Barry Pepper and is directed by former stunt master Ric Roman Waugh.

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Alcohol abuse! Maker's Mark cutting alcohol in its bourbon to meet high demand

The distillery behind Maker’s Mark bourbon is reducing the amount of alcohol in its bottles by 3 percent to meet a rise in global demand, company officials said today.

“Lately we’ve been hearing from many of you that you’ve been having difficulty finding Maker’s Mark in your local stores,” Maker’s Mark executives Rob Samuels and Bill Samuels Jr. wrote in a joint email to clients.

“Fact is, demand for our bourbon is exceeding our ability to make it, which means we’re running very low on supply.”

The bourbon brand — which famously used the slogan “It tastes expensive... and is” in the ‘60s and ‘70s — looked at “all possible solutions” and “worked carefully” to reduce the alcohol by volume of the beverage by 3 percent.

Maker’s Mark is distilled to 45 percent alcohol by volume — or 90 proof — and, after the change, would go down to about 44 percent ABV or 88 proof, according to Quartz.

“This will enable us to maintain the same taste profile and increase our limited supply so there is enough Maker’s Mark to go around, while we continue to expand the distillery and increase our production capacity,” the Maker’s Mark executives said.

It is unclear when the watered-down beverages will hit the market.

A spokesman for Maker’s Mark did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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Hedge funds deserve a (close) look

When constructing a new house, you need to begin with a solid foundation. Otherwise, your home will always be a bit shaky and prone to collapse in a storm. That same principle applies when you start investing. Rather than taking a random approach – like buying a "hot" stock or keeping your money "safe" in a low-earning savings account – you need to start with a solid foundation. In the investing world, that means developing an investment plan and perhaps an investment policy – two basic tools that can help you build a solid financial "home."

First, let's look at an investment plan, which is often prepared with the help of a financial advisor. The plan typically has three basic elements: your goals, your risk tolerance and your desired return.

Usually, your financial goals will be closely aligned with your personal objectives in life. Perhaps you want to have $2 million in assets to support a comfortable retirement. Or you might be aiming to save $150,000 for a bigger house for a growing family or $100,000 to put your son or daughter through college. If you already have accumulated a large nest egg, you might focus on how best to pass your investments on to your children or grandchildren.

Having a clear goal in life – and in your investment plan – may be one of the essentials in building wealth. Rather than spending every dollar from your paycheck, you can start putting away some of that incoming money to prepare for the future.

Next, you should consider both your tolerance for risk and your desired return on your investments. Some people are willing to make higher-risk investments, while others prefer to sleep soundly at night knowing their investments are comparatively more secure. After all, assets like stocks and commodities are usually more volatile than bonds or other fixed income instruments, and rise or fall more steeply from day to day.

However, many of the more volatile assets can also generate higher returns over the long term. That's an important consideration because inflation can reduce the purchasing power of the dollars you stash away in money market accounts or other low-earning securities.

That's why a solid investment plan usually incorporates a diversified mix of assets, including stocks, bonds, cash-like securities, and possibly real estate, commodities, hedge funds and managed futures. Building a diverse portfolio reduces the risks associated with putting all your eggs in one basket

with the potential to generate positive returns over the years and keep you moving steadily toward your goals.

Now, let's look at your investment policy. This is a written statement designed to guide both you and your financial advisor when making financial decisions. It can help you balance investment issues related to risk and reward, perhaps ruling out certain assets as "too risky."

At the same time, developing an investment policy helps you reality-test your financial goals and current savings and investment plans. For example, you might be overly optimistic and expect a 12 percent annual return on your portfolio. Or you might be overly pessimistic, not realizing how your investments will grow with even a 5 percent annual return.

An investment policy can also clarify the roles of your financial advisors, as well as your own decisions. In that regard, it can help you avoid making investment mistakes based on emotions like fear or greed. In other words, it helps you maintain a disciplined steady course toward your goals, regardless of market ups and downs.

Finally, the investment plan and policy can provide tangible evidence of your financial progress. Your advisor can send you quarterly and annual statements(as well as discuss in person)that clearly show whether your portfolio has grown or declined, and where the changes occurred. This is information you need to know in order to make good decisions about your financial future.

So, consider your financial plan and policy as a road map. You may not yet be close to your goals, but at least you know you're on the right path!

•  Benefit amount. This is the maximum payment you would receive from the policy, such as $100,000, $500,000 or $1 million. Since five years of care in a nursing home or memory disorders unit could easily total $500,000 or more, a larger benefit amount is usually preferable, provided you can afford the premiums.

•  Benefit period. This is the maximum number of years that the coverage remains in effect. That might be five years, 10 years or the rest of your life.

•  Elimination period. Like a deductible amount in a life insurance policy, the elimination period specifies how long you would pay the cost of care before the policy kicks in. Typically periods are 30, 60 or 90 days.

Andrew Menachem, CIMA, CWS is a wealth advisor at the Menachem Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Miami and Aventura and teaches at the University of Miami.

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Poll: Floridians favor Medicaid expansion

TALLAHASSEE --
The vast majority of Floridians want lawmakers to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, according to a new survey sponsored by the Florida Hospital Association and conducted by a Republican-leaning pollster.

Of 600 voters polled, 62 percent said the state should take the money and use it to reduce the number of uninsured Floridians. Nearly half of respondents, 49 percent, said they felt strongly about accepting the money. The survey was conducted Jan. 15-17 by Public Opinion Strategies and has a 4 percentage point margin of error.

The Senate's Select Committee on the Affordable Care Act will discuss Medicaid expansion during a meeting Monday. Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said he isn't swayed by polls because the feedback he receives directly from constituents is a mixed bag.

"I'm out talking to voters and to the people that I represent to ask them what they think, and that does persuade me," Negron said.

Hospitals generally support the Medicaid expansion, as well as the wider health care law, because more people would have insurance and therefore be able to pay for the services they receive. However, Florida legislators and Gov. Rick Scott have said they are worried about the long term costs of adding 1 million people to the Medicaid rolls.

They are not alone.

So far, only six states led by Republican governors have indicated that they will participate in the Medicaid expansion. This week, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Michigan Gov. John Snyder said they would like to accept the federal funding.

In addition to releasing the poll Friday, the Florida Hospital Association announced the launch of "The Florida Remedy," a campaign it is leading to influence lawmakers to support the Medicaid expansion.

"Floridians believe that everyone should have access to high quality, affordable health care, and this is a remedy the vast majority of voters support," Florida Hospital Association President Bruce Rueben said in a news release.

Under the Florida Remedy campaign, the state is urged to support the expansion now but vow to pull back if the federal government ever withdraws financial support. The campaign also ties the expansion debate into Florida's proposal to privatize Medicaid, which is awaiting federal approval.

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Christina Applegate Leaving Up All Night Sitcom

Due to creative differences, Up All Night star Christina Applegate has announced her plans to leave the NBC sitcom.

Pics: Star Sightings

"It's been a great experience working on Up All Night, but the show has taken a different creative direction and I decided it was best for me to move on to other endeavors," Applegate tells Deadline. "Working with Lorne Michaels has been a dream come true and I am grateful he brought me into his TV family. I will miss the cast, producers and crew, and wish them the best always."

Applegate's departure is believed to be linked to the show's plans to switch from multi-camera to single-cam filming format and begin taping in front of a live studio audience.

Related: Christina Applegate Wants 'One More' Baby

Up All Night, also starring Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett, just wrapped it's second season.

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Wait for 'killer nanny' pysch tests; she's accused of murdering 2 kids

Court-appointed shrinks are still puzzling over the trial fitness of accused killer nanny Yoselyn Ortega, charged with the heinous bathtub slashing deaths of two young Upper West Side children under her care.

The court-appointed psychologists need more medical records before they can determine if Ortega is mentally fit for trial, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro said during a brief hearing today.

Ortega -- who had slashed herself in the throat after allegedly slaughtering Lucia and Leo Krim, ages 6 and 2 respectively -- remains held without bail at the prison ward of Elmhurst Hospital until the shrinks can determine if she is able to assist in her own defense and understand the charges against her, the judge said.

“Apparently the doctors are requesting more medical records before they can make their finding of fitness,” the judge said, setting Ortega's next court date for March 8.

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Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum, Feb. 21 at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.

Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba. Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene.

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Mark Slaughter, CEO, Cohealo.com

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.

Moderator: Melissa Krinzman, founder and managing director, Venture Architects

Panelists:

•  Marjorie Weber, chairman, SCORE of Miami-Dade

•  Cornell Crews, Jr., program director, Partners for Self Employment

•  Darius G. Nevin, co-founder, G3 Capital Partners, a mid-market and early-stage investment company

•  Boris Hirmas Said, chairman of the board, Tres Mares S.A. (Santiago, Chile) and entrepreneur in

residence at the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center

1 p.m. Lunch session - Polish your Pitch, Brighten Your Personal Brand

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make short pitches about their businesses and themselves. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation.

Coaches: Melissa Krinzman of Venture Architects and Michelle Villalobos of Mivista Consulting

advise audience volunteers on how to best pitch themselves and their products.

Box lunch provided by Bill Hansen Catering

All speakers confirmed unless otherwise noted. Agenda is subject to change without notice .

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Murder charge dropped in Miami Gardens self-defense case

Prosecutors on Thursday dropped a murder charge against a man who claimed self-defense in fatally shooting an armed teen during a June 2010 brawl in Miami Gardens.

Travis Cooper, 28, had been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Gregory Gant, 16.

The men were part of two groups of fighting men. Cooper claimed Gant pistol-whipped a friend of his, then “pointed the gun in his direction.”

Cooper, a security guard who had a concealed weapons permit, shot and killed Gant. He later called police.

“It’s a relief. They charged me with second-degree murder for no reason,” Cooper said Thursday, flanked by lawyers Andrew Rier and Jonathan Jordan.

Prosecutors decided they could not defend a request for immunity filed under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which gave judges greater leeway to throw out criminal cases.

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Heidi Klum Fashion Week amfAR Kickoff Party

Fashion Week kicked off Wednesday night in New York at a black-tie gala in support of amfAR's efforts to end the AIDS epidemic, and ET was there! Watch the highlights as the stars share their fashion enthusiasm and remember where they were one year ago when Whitney Houston unexpectedly passed away before the Grammys…

Pics: Who Wore What

Held at Cipriani Wall Street, the event honored the Chairman of the Board of amfAR, designer Kenneth Cole, legendary performer and amfAR Ambassador Janet Jackson, and supermodel Heidi Klum. The night also featured performances by CeeLo Green, Santigold and others.

Video: Heidi Klum Dances of Leno's Desk

Since 1998, the amfAR New York Gala has become one of New York City's most successful and high-profile AIDS benefits and has raised nearly $13 million to date for essential AIDS research, prevention, and education. For more on amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, go to www.amfar.org.

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US survivors of Algerian hostage crisis plagued by nightmares, guilt

Mark Cobb was so close to the terrorists, he could hear their footsteps. Steve Wysocki escaped after hearing his boss taken hostage next door. Nick Frazier was on a bus that al Qaeda-linked militants sprayed with hundreds of bullets.

Although the three Americans escaped the harrowing attack on a petrol plant in Algeria with their lives, they are still racked with guilt, plagued with nightmares and haunted by memories of their ordeal and the co-workers they left behind.

Cobb, Wysocki and Frazier described the attack -- in which 37 workers died -- to Charlie Rose in an extensive 60 Minutes interview which airs Sunday.

AP

Algerian soldiers stand guard at the gas plant in Ain Amenas, seen in background.

Cobb, who is a manager at Ain Amenas field in the Sahara, described how he hid under a pile of maps in a locked room with several co-workers after gunfire broke out on January 16.

“If they started poking at the maps with an AK-47 or peeling maps off the top…I knew it was over,” Cobb told Rose.

“I heard them kick open the front door. That’s I guess at the point, in all honesty that I felt pure terror… I elected to begin to make my calls to my family and say my goodbyes.”

Cobb’s door was one of two the militants failed to kick in and he eventually escaped to a nearby Algerian Army base through a hole in the fence.

“The nightmares for me are all the same thing,” Cobb said. “It’s the sound of those footsteps as they came down that hallway towards that door.”

Oil and gas expert Wysocki also escaped through the fence, but not before hearing the terrorists find his boss, Gordon Rowan, who did not survive.

“I’m like ‘Why couldn’t I have done something to help? And…(I) feel guilty that I was paralyzed with fear and not do(ing) anything,” Wysocki told Rose. “I’m especially guilty because they lost their lives and I didn’t.”

BP petrol engineer Frazier described how his bus was peppered with hundreds of bullets before Algerian army soldiers rushed to the rescue, resulting in a 30-minute gun battle.

“They saved our lives,” said Frazier. “They returned…heavy, heavy gunfire…they stood by the bus and shot back and kept the terrorists from getting onto the bus.”

Rowan and gas workers Frederick Buttaccio and Victor Lovelady were the three Americans who died during the standoff, which ended when Algerian special-forces stormed the facility, freeing 685 Algerians and 107 foreigners. More than 30 militants died during the attack.

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Miami startup that turns text to video receives $1 million in seed funding

Guide, a new technology startup based in Miami, announced Tuesday it has closed a $1 million round of seed funding from investors including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Sapient Corp., MTV founder Bob Pitman, actor and producer Omar Epps, and early Google employee Steve Schimmel. The Knight Foundation is supporting Guide through its new early-stage venture fund, the Knight Enterprise Fund.

Led by CEO and founder Freddie Laker and COO Leslie Bradshaw, Guide’s team of seven is focused on turning online news, social streams and blogs into video for users who may be cooking, exercising, commuting or getting ready in the morning. The free application offers consumers a selection of about 20 “anchors” — including a dog, a robot and an anime character — that will read the article and present the accompanying photos, pull-out information and video clips in its video presentation. Revenue drivers for Guide could include in-app purchases, advertising-based anchors and customizations from publishers, said Laker, a former vice president at SapientNitro.

Laker and his team plan to launch a public beta next month, which they plan to do with a splash at the huge technology conference South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.

Read more about Guide here on the Starting Gate blog. Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg

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Judge orders state to release emails in suit over Gov. Scott's plan for Tallahassee park

TALLAHASSEE --
Some governors left bronze statues behind. Others contributed a library or a sun room to the Governors’ Mansion.

Gov. Rick Scott envisions a legacy that would create Governor’s Park, across a six block by three and a half block area in downtown Tallahassee.

The boundaries of the proposal are contained in a memo and maps that state officials attempted to withhold from disclosure in a lawsuit filed by Tallahassee lawyer Steve Andrews as part of a fight over land that once belonged to Gov. LeRoy Collins.

Citing Florida’s public records law, a judge ordered release of documents that outline the park plan after reviewing 120 records that the Department of Environmental Protection tried to shield from public view.

"After conducting an in camera inspection of 120 emails, the court finds that 105 emails were public records … and improperly withheld from the plaintiff after a public records request,’’ Circuit Judge John Cooper wrote in his Jan. 29 order.

Andrews sought the records after filing a lawsuit against Scott and 15 other officials involved in the state’s attempt to block him from buying land where his office is located. The land in question is owned by the Collins estate and fronts Monroe Street, the north-south thoroughfare through the heart of the capital city.

The proposed park would surround the Governor’s Mansion and an adjacent site known as The Grove, the ancestral home of territorial Gov. Richard Keith Call and the final home of the Collins family.

The state bought the Collins home in 1985 with plans to create a museum and visitors center. Maps included in the email released Wednesday indicate that the park would include both mansions and about 120 additional lots now in private ownership in an area between Monroe and Bronough streets.

Andrews signed a contract to buy his office building for $580,000 after then-Secretary of State Kurt Browning signed a letter rejecting the state’s right of first refusal to buy the property. Scott’s office objected at the last minute, and Scott and the Cabinet voted to buy it a year ago in spite of the contract between Andrews and the Collins estate.

The lawsuit grinds on, with more than a dozen lawyers representing various state agencies and a separate lawsuit filed by Scott and the Cabinet against John Aurell, Collins’ son-in-law and executor of the Collins estate. The judge has rejected state accusations of fraud and breach of contract against Aurell, calling them without merit.

Andrews said the state will spend some $10-million if it proceeds with the park plan as outlined.

"It’s a lot of money when you think that Governor Collins’ legacy is that he was the first southern governor to advocate publicly for the passage of civil rights legislation,’’ Andrews said. "Even Gov. Charlie Crist refused to do repairs and paint the Governor’s Mansion because so many people in the state were losing their homes to foreclosure.’’

A spokeswoman for Scott did not respond to questions about the cost of the plan or explain why the records were withheld from public view.

The tradition of governors enhancing the mansion is longstanding. Some redecorated; others added a pool, tennis courts, fencing and a garage, often at state expense.

Since Gov. Bob Graham’s wife Adele created a private foundation, additions have mostly been paid for with private donations. The Grahams built a large sun room on the north side of the mansion.

Former Gov. Bob Martinez raised money for a bronze manatee sculpture on mansion grounds, and former Gov. Lawton Chiles left a large bronze sculpture of children walking on a log. Former Gov. Jeb Bush used his fundraising ability to add a library.

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Will Smith Explains Why Willow Smith Dropped Out of 'Annie'

Will Smith explains why daughter Willow has dropped out of the big-screen Annie reboot, telling the audience of Real Talk with Sister Souljah and Will Smith at Philly's Temple University that his high-profile daughter really wants to act her age.

Pics: Stars and Their Cute Kids

Will told the audience, "Willow was supposed to be doing Annie, we got Jay-Z to do the movie, got the studio to come in and Willow had such a difficult time on tour with Whip My Hair and she said, 'You know Daddy, I don't think so,' and I said, 'Baby, hold up!' I said, 'No, no, no, listen, you'll be in New York with all of your friends and Beyoncé will be there. You will be singing and dancing,' and she looked at me and said, 'Daddy, I have a better idea, how about I just be 12.'

The Smith clan has been in creative career overdrive, with 2010 alone packed with the release of Whip My Hair, The Karate Kid, Hawthorne and the Nobel Concert when Barack Obama won his Nobel Peace Prize. This summer, Will's sci-fi movie with son Jaden, After Earth, hits theaters.

"Don't be clapping yet, that wears you out," explains Will. "The thing that had become very clear to me is the danger of a material world and focusing so hard on coming up with money or a house or a job. You focus so hard on those things, and sometimes you can lose focus on why you are doing it in the first place. The only reason to do any of that is to have love."

Video: Will & Jaden Smith Survive 'After Earth'

He continued, "I'm really learning through Willow the necessity that we have to snap ourselves back and refocus on the emotional needs of the people that we love. Someone's emotional needs can be very, very different from your dreams and what you think they should be doing and where they are supposed to be."

So it looks like Willow will slow things down a bit for now and just focus on being a kid. Lesson learned, Will, lesson learned.

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Woman fighting for life after Hamilton Heights car crash

A woman is fighting for her life after being involved in a serious car accident today in Hamilton Heights, authorities said.

A van and car collided on Broadway and West 135th Street at 2:15 p.m. -- critically injuring one passenger, police said.

“I heard a bang. I turned around as the car was still traveling,” said mailman Clairmonte Coppin, 41.

“I ran over and me and a few guys tried to push the vehicle back.”

The van crushed the smaller car into the window of a pharmacy, pinning the passengers inside, witnesses said.

“The van hit the red car and drove it up onto the sidewalk, I thought it was going to go through the pharmacy. It was a big bang and then there was glass from the red car exploding from the impact,” Anna Polanco, 22.

Two people were rushed to St. Lukes Hospital -- one in cardiac arrest, the FDNY said.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

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Miami startup that turns text to video receives $1 million in seed funding

Guide, a new technology startup based in Miami, announced Tuesday it has closed a $1 million round of seed funding from investors including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Sapient Corp., MTV founder Bob Pitman, actor and producer Omar Epps, and early Google employee Steve Schimmel. The Knight Foundation is supporting Guide through its new early-stage venture fund, the Knight Enterprise Fund.

Led by CEO and founder Freddie Laker and COO Leslie Bradshaw, Guide’s team of seven is focused on turning online news, social streams and blogs into video for users who may be cooking, exercising, commuting or getting ready in the morning. The free application offers consumers a selection of about 20 “anchors” — including a dog, a robot and an anime character — that will read the article and present the accompanying photos, pull-out information and video clips in its video presentation. Revenue drivers for Guide could include in-app purchases, advertising-based anchors and customizations from publishers, said Laker, a former vice president at SapientNitro.

Laker and his team plan to launch a public beta next month, which they plan to do with a splash at the huge technology conference South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.

Read more about Guide here on the Starting Gate blog. Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg

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Jackson Health System, Kendall Regional battle over trauma

Kendall Regional Medical Center lost one battle in the trauma wars Tuesday at the Miami-Dade County Commission, but has launched a new attack in Tallahassee, asking state regulators to reject a Jackson Health System request that Kendall maintains would force it to close its trauma center.

With about 100 supporters packing commission chambers wearing red T-shirts saying “Kendall Trauma Saves Lives,” Commissioner Javier Souto asked his colleagues to reconsider a Jan. 23 resolution, passed 10-0, authorizing Jackson to take legal action to protect its trauma programs.

Jackson has been complaining that its Ryder Trauma Center has been losing about $28 million a year since the state allowed Kendall Regional to open a second Dade trauma unit in November 2011. State regulators meanwhile have delayed granting licenses for trauma centers at Jackson North and Jackson South hospitals.

Souto said his office had been bombarded by 4,000 emails complaining that the commission had acted hastily in granting Jackson legal approval. “A big chunk of people are very offended.”

Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz said many of the “thousands” of emails he received quoted a Kendall executive as saying that the commission resolution was intended to “force Kendall to close its trauma center.”

“That’s a lie,” Diaz said. The commission simply gave Jackson an ability “to defend itself.”

The motion to reconsider died on a 6-6 vote.

Mark McKenney, medical director of the Kendall center, issued a statement calling the commission vote “a shame.” During his center’s first 15 months, “we have seen more than 2,550 trauma patients. ... Kendall Regional is dedicated to providing care to a community of 2.5 million people that, as the seventh most populated county in the U.S., has been greatly underserved. The facts are clear about the need for trauma services, and we will continue to fight to provide these vital medical services.”

Meanwhile, the fight at the state level continues. In early January, Jackson asked Department of Health officials for an administrative hearing because the department had not granted trauma licenses for its North and South community hospitals. That filing stated that state courts had ruled invalid the state regulations used to grant provisional licenses to Kendall and Ocala hospitals.

The Jackson petition maintained that “the ultimate facts that will be established at a hearing” would show that “all provisional licenses issued under the invalid trauma need rule should be revoked.”

On Monday, the Kendall and Ocala hospitals filed their own motions in the case, asking that Jackson’s petitions be dismissed because it “had no right” to request that the licenses of other centers be rejected. If those motions were rejected, the HCA facilities asked that they be allowed to intervene in the Jackson proceedings.

Also on Monday, Jackson Chief Executive Carlos Migoya sent an email to county and state political leaders saying that the trauma filings were “highly technical. It is vital to understand that Jackson has not initiated any legal action against any other hospital, hospital system or trauma center in this issue.” Its state petition was for an administrative hearing on the matter, not a lawsuit against rivals.

On Tuesday Jackson spokesman Edwin O’Dell said, “We are limited as to what we can say during these complex regulatory proceedings.” But he noted that Health suspended Jackson’s trauma applications while approving others. “We seek a level playing field on which our community’s taxpayer-owned hospital system is treated fairly and can compete fairly. We have all invested so much to build Ryder Trauma Center’s world-class program, and we must protect our legal opportunities to mirror that service at other Jackson facilities.”

State regulators are now working to come up with a trauma regulation that will pass muster in the courts as being fair to all parties. Health officials have been insisting that Miami-Dade, with 2.5 million people, needs several trauma centers.

On Tuesday, an advisory committee from the American College of Surgeons told Florida Health officials about steps they could take to come up with fair trauma regulations. The group’s final report will be finished in about eight weeks.

Jackson officials maintain that, with helicopter transport, its Level 1 trauma center is just minutes away from any place in the county and that it has a highly experienced trauma staff always on duty, while Kendall Regional, a Level 2 center, has to call in specialists to treat complex cases.

Herald staff writer Patricia Mazzei and Tampa Bay Times reporter Tia Mitchell contributed to this article.

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Twilight Star Nikki Reed Kisses and Tells

Gillette is conducting a social experiment to settle the debate over what's more kissable -- stubble or shaven -- and the conversation is drawing attention from celebrities like Twilight star Nikki Reed.

PICS: Hottest Bachelors

For Nikki, who is married to bearded rocker Paul McDonald, the guy should commit one way or the other.

"I like to go for either totally clean shaven or a real full-on beard," said Nikki, who helped launched Gillette's Kiss & Tell tour in New York City. "I think stubble kind of kills the kiss."

Singer Keri Hilson, who joined the tour in Los Angeles, had a different take: "I think we're going to find that most women today prefer a smoothly shaven face."

We'll be announcing the results on Valentine's Day from Gillette's Kiss & Tell event in NYC. CLICK HERE to cast your vote.

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MTA execs get big checks

It’s payday for MTA big shots!

The transit agency — which constantly socks riders with fare hikes, the latest coming in March — handed four MTA execs checks totalling $253,000 right before Joe Lhota left the agency to run for mayor.

The checks were cut on Lhota’s last day on the job, Dec. 31.

The execs include Metro-North boss Howard Permut, Michael Horodniceanu, the head of mega-projects like Second Avenue Subway, LIRR head Helena Williams, and MTA Bus President Joseph Smith.

Permut, who earns $243,000 a year, received a $98,000 check; Horodniceanu makes $262,000 a year and saw a $61,000 lump-sum check; Williams makes $243,000 and took home a check for $56,000 and Smith was cut a check for $38,000 for unusued vacation and sick time.

Lhota said he was honoring contracts that all three had signed between four and five years ago that called for raises between 3 and 6 percent.

The execs had agreed to forgo the raises for a few years at the request of past MTA chiefs. They weren’t willing to continue the practice and at least one was threatening to sue, sources told the Post.

“A contract is a contract is a contract. It’s as simple as that,” Lhota told the Post. “I inherited those contracts. They were never declining raises, they were only deferring them.”

Lhota said he refused to pay interest on the deferred payments, but agreed to cut the checks for what they were owed after consulting attorneys.

The deferments began under former MTA chief Elliot Sander in 2007 as the agency was begging the Legislature for a bailout to help it close its budget gap and avoid service cuts.

“The MTA is keeping its word,” MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said. “They were asked not accept the raises at the time but not to permanently forgo them.”

MTA managers are now in their fourth year without a raise, while their unionized underlings have gotten annual bumps for the past three years.

In 2011, the Transport Workers Union snagged a 3 percent pay hike for its workers on top of 2.5 percent pay hikes in 2009 and 2010.

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CMZ Group says former official left before SEC suit

Fred Davis Clark, Jr. — a Cayman Islands man who was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Jan. 30 by the Securities and Exchange Commission — sold his ownership interest and resigned his posts at a separate Cayman Islands business a day before the SEC suit was filed, according to a spokeswoman for the firm, CMZ Group Ltd.

CMZ Group Ltd., a Cayman Islands company that includes a Caribbean pawn shop network among other ventures, said in a statement that Clark “is no longer affiliated with our company, and, in fact, separated from the company before (Jan. 29) the U.S. SEC complaint was filed (Jan. 30th.)’’

The SEC had identified Clark, 54, as “co-chairman of CMZ’’ in a complaint that accused him and four other former real estate executives at the defunct Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas of defrauding nearly 1,400 investors of more than $300 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme between 2004 and 2007.

“We put in our complaint the most current information available,’’ Eric Bustillo, director of the SEC’s Miami regional office, said Tuesday. The SEC complaint is pending in U.S. District Court in Miami. A hearing hasn’t been set.

According to the SEC suit, Clark operated Cay Clubs Resorts from his home in Key Largo and moved to the Cayman Islands after the real-estate investment business closed, leaving investors hanging.

Jeffrey L. Cox, a Boca Raton attorney for Clark, declined to comment Tuesday.

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Driver killed when car hits home in Opa-locka

A man was killed Monday after he lost control of his car around a curve and smashed into an Opa-locka house.

According to police, the man, identified as Julian Lamar Mitchell, 37, was speeding west on Northwest 135th Street when he hit the curb, struck a utility pole and crashed into a home in the 1800 block of Northwest 135th Street.

Mitchell was ejected and the car caught fire. His passenger, who was not identified, was not injured.

Homeowner Alan Burrows told Miami Herald news partner CBS4 that he and his neighbors tried to help the men in the car.

“I had just gone to bed. I heard a loud crash, right against the house, opened up the door to see what was going on and I couldn’t open the door,” he said.

“The car crashed. There was guy on the ground and another guy on the ground. We tried to help to help them. Our neighbors came out and they had the guys who were in the car,” Burrows said. “The [power] line was down, jumping around and there was fire and smoke. Chaos.”

No one in the house was injured.

The Miami-Dade Police Department’s traffic homicide unit is investigating the crash.

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Second-generation iPad mini could pack a display with 324 pixels per inch

Apple (AAPL) may be about to make up for delivering a disappointingly low resolution for its first-generation iPad mini display. BrightWire reports that supply chain sources have told Chinese website My Drivers that the next-generation iPad mini will indeed feature a 7.9-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, or 324 pixels per inch. For comparison, consider that the original iPad mini delivered a resolution of just 163 pixels per inch, less than both the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle Fire HD and the Google (GOOG) Nexus 7, which both featured displays with resolutions of 216 pixels per inch. BrightWire’s report also backs up earlier rumors we’ve heard about Apple choosing AU Optronics to make an HD Retina display for its next-generation iPad mini.

[More from BGR: iOS 6.1 untethered jailbreak now available for download, compatible with iPhone 5 and iPad mini]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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The Following Exclusive Clip The Poets Fire

While the body count is already into double digits, the world has only begun to see the extent of Joe Carroll's plan, and on tonight's all-new episode of The Following, another one or two (hundred) bite the dust!

RELATED - How Kevin Williamson's Abandoned Scream 3 Script Became The Following

In The Poet's Fire, fans of Fox's fearsome Following will not only have tons of present day chills wriggling up their spine, but also get a huge clue to the history Joe and Ryan Hardy share thanks to some very unexpected flashbacks.

RELATED - The Following Star Talks Defying Fan's Expectations

ETonline scored an exclusive clip from tonight's all-new episode that begins to peel back the layers ... but you'll have to tune in tonight at 9 p.m. on Fox for the full flaying!

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Carroll Gardens food scene stays true to Italian roots

Pass the “macaroni and gravy” — Carroll Gardens is beefing up its famous Italian flavor.

In less than a year, three new Italian food joints have popped up within two blocks of each other along Smith Street in the former mob-family-enclave turned trendy Brooklyn hood.

The opening of Claudine’s, Arthur on Smith and Ciro’s leave the Smith Street strip with eight restaurants dishing out homemade pastas, specialty pizzas and other Italian eats within a mere six blocks of each other, from Third Place to DeGraw Street.

“We’re getting more of the new, younger, health-conscious Carroll Gardens crowd by offering a menu with a modern flair and cooking with organic vegetables and other high-end products,” said Joseph Isidori, a third-generation chef who opened regularly-packed Arthur on Smith in memory of his late father.

Paul Martinka

Arthur on Smith, owned by Joe Isidori, is one of several new Italian restaurants in the Carroll Gardens/ Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn.

The Bronx native said he “did research” and specifically chose Carroll Gardens “because its strong Italian roots stretch back” over a century to when the area was known as “South Brooklyn” and both Italian and Irish immigrants moved there to be close to work at the Red Hook docks.

Maria Pagano, president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, said the recent rise in Italian restaurants is ironic coming as the number of Italian-Americans living there continues to dwindle.

“This shows a real shift in culture,” Pagano said. “Italian-American families traditionally don’t go out for dinner every night, but many of these new restaurants serve lunch and dinner all week. “

Unlike households headed by members of the “Five Families” or exclusive male Italian “social” clubs who still eat at home as a family, many of the neighborhood’s younger couples both work, so they go out to eat regularly, residents say.

Carroll Gardens has another 16 Italian restaurants, pizzerias, delis and bakeries along Court Street and another three on Henry Street. And there are dozens of others just blocks from its borders, including legends like 109-year-old Ferdinando’s Focacceria and 107-year-old Monte’s Venetian Room.

But Stephanie Mandelli, co-owner of Claudine’s, and other newcomers say they aren’t worried about competing with old-school eateries.

“What’s sets us apart is our authenticity,” said Mandelli, who moved back to her native Carroll Gardens to serve meals out of the same storefront where her grandfather once ran a popular barbershop up until 1975.

“Our place is Italian as they come. When you come in, you feel like you’re sitting in a living room in Northern Italy.”

Seeing the neighborhood was shifting tastes, Marco Chirico, whose family has run Marco Polo Ristorante on Court Street since 1983, last year renovated the joint that’s long been popular with judges, pols and “made guys” — even updating its menu to attract a new breed of health-conscious customers.

He also opened the trendy Enoteca next door in 2009, which, like many of the new competing eateries, offers an extensive beer and wine bar while also popping out gourmet pizza and panini from a wood-burning oven.

“The new restaurants [like Enoteca] are now smaller, more intimate, and offer smaller portions because more people are watching their nutrition,” he said.

But while Chirico thinks the hood is strong enough to support so many Italian eateries, Pagano, has doubts.

“It just seems like there’s so many for all of them to do well,” said Pagano. “And there’s also so many other choices than Italian in the neighborhood.”

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Bright spots in Latin America despite global economic uncertainty

There are bright spots as Latin American and Caribbean economies begin the year but the uncertain health of the U.S. economy, the lingering financial crisis in Europe and more sluggish growth in China are casting shadows over the region.

A decade ago, dim prospects in those major markets would have delivered a knock-out punch in the region, but this year Latin American and Caribbean economies are expected to grow by 3.5 percent and average 3.9 percent growth in 2014 and 2015, according to a World Bank forecast. The United Nations’ Economic Commission has a slightly more sanguine forecast of 3.8 percent growth in 2013.

Both are better than the 2.4 percent growth the World Bank is forecasting for the global economy and the mere 1.3 percent increase it is predicting for high-income countries.

The U.S. economy grew by 2.2 percent in 2012. But the economy shrank 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2013 also could be sluggish..

“That creates a soggy start for 2013 in Latin America,’’ said David Malpass, president of Encima Global, a New York economic consulting and research firm.

With a recession in Japan, even slower growth expected in Europe than in the United States, and questions about whether the dip in the Chinese economy has bottomed out and whether the United States will be making sharp cuts in defense spending and other federal programs come March 1, Latin American and Caribbean nations can’t really depend on the industrialized world to spur growth.

The region must look inward and undertake structural reforms that will allow growth from domestic factors, said Malpass, who was in Miami in January for an event organized by the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy.

Panama’s $5.25 billion investment in expansion of the Panama Canal is an example of the inward focus that will pay off down the road, said Malpass. By 2015, Panama plans to have completed two new sets of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal and the deepening and widening of existing channels to accommodate the so-called Post-Panamax ships too big to traverse the current locks.

“It’s a difficult period but a period where developing countries are growing solidly but not as quickly as they might otherwise want to,’’ said Andrew Burns, the lead author of the World Bank’s annual Global Economic Trends report.

That means they should focus on investment in infrastructure and healthcare, structural policies, regulatory reforms and improvements in governance that will pay future dividends down the road, Burns said.

Such economic reforms, plus high commodity prices enjoyed by countries with fertile fields and mineral wealth, helped the region move beyond the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 far more quickly than it did when it was so dependent on economic cycles in the rest of the world.

Economic growth slowed in Latin America and the Caribbean from 4.3 percent in 2011 to an estimated 3 percent but that was still better than the 1.3 percent growth high-income countries managed in 2012, according to The World Bank.

China will continue to play a major role in Latin America and the Caribbean this year but whether the slowdown in China has reached its low point is subject to debate. But it’s relative. Slow growth in China would be brisk growth elsewhere. China says its gross domestic product grew 7.8 percent in 2012, the most tepid growth in 13 years and a comedown from 9.3 percent growth in 2011.

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Sex, the FBI and shady characters: Menendez saga a Florida whodunit

Peter Williams could remain silent no longer.

“My duty as a US citizen obligates me to report what I consider to be a grave violation of the most fundamental codes of conduct that a politician of my country must follow. I have first hand information regarding the reiterated participation of Senator Robert Menendez in inappropriate sexual activities with young prostitutes while on vacations in the Dominican Republic.”

That’s the opening line of his email, written 1:02 p.m. Monday April 09, 2012. A torrent followed with increasingly wild, tough-to-prove allegations.

They all started to come to light Tuesday and Wednesday when the FBI raided the South Florida offices of Menendez’s friend and donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, accused in the emails of flying the New Jersey Democrat to the Dominican Republic for the trysts.

Menendez called the claims “fallacious allegations.”

The story has all the makings of a Florida political whodunit: shady donors and operatives and politicians ducking for cover.

It all reads like a mix of true crime, pulp fiction, pornography and a textbook political dirty trick.

Peter Williams is likely a pseudonym. His email account seems dormant. He never delivered the promised testimony, witnesses, photos and videos.

His writing was descriptive, giving the first and last names of some hookers, their phone numbers and addresses. He described one’s “pointy nose” and “big and exciting mouth” who works for a pimp named “Chocolate.”

Another is called “The Honey.” A third: “Minerva.” Two, a Russian and Brazilian, live in Miami.

Miami Herald reporters this week hopped on the cold trail laid out months ago by Williams and determined that some of the women likely existed. An FBI agent said in an email last year that he could “confirm” some of Williams’ info.

But there’s no good evidence right now that the prostitutes were underage or consorted with Menendez. They can’t be found. Prostitution, incidentally, is legal in the Dominican Republic. Underage prostitution isn’t. And U.S. citizens who engage in child-prostitution overseas face long prison sentences here.

Whatever his name is, Williams was right about one thing: Menendez did initially fly for free on Melgen’s CL-600 Challenger jet.

Only after the FBI raid did Menendez publicly admit that he didn’t pay for two of the trips in 2010. So he reimbursed Melgen $58,500 thereby undercutting a looming Senate ethics investigation.

Menendez’s office said he paid Jan. 4. No copy of the cancelled check was provided. It accounts for anywhere from 86 percent to 34 percent of Menendez’s reported savings and checking accounts.

It’s probably one of the few times that money flowed from Menendez to Melgen.

Since 1992, Melgen, his family and his company Vitreo-Retinal Consultants have contributed $1.14 million to various political candidates and committees.

Menendez’s campaign efforts received 53 percent of that money directly or indirectly, with the lion’s share coming in the last election from Vitreo-Retinal Consultants which funneled the money through a Democratic political action committee, Majority PAC. Previously, The Herald reported a much lower figure for Melgen’s contributions that didn’t include the money from Vitreo-Retinal.

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BlackBerry searching high and low in India, Indonesia

NEW DELHI/JAKARTA (Reuters) – Research in Motion Ltd must chart a tough course in its two key emerging markets of India and Indonesia: quickly launch cheaper handsets to woo lower-end subscribers while restoring its tattered brand among the countries’ status-conscious.

The company, which is rebranding itself BlackBerry after its best-known smartphone, has won millions of followers in these two Asian countries, mostly by selling cheaper handsets and offering service packages as low as $ 2 a month. So it’s unlikely that the Z10 model introduced last week, which operators in India expect to sell for around $ 750, will appeal to the users it must reach if it is to build market share.

“It’s clear that not only are India and Indonesia among the largest markets but in terms of future smartphone growth, they’re amongst the ones with the most potential,” said Melissa Chau, senior research manager at technology research group IDC in Singapore. “But the two devices that have been launched are not well aligned to the needs of these two markets.”

While the company does not break down its sales by country, data from IDC shows that Indonesia was BlackBerry’s biggest market outside the United States and Britain last year, while India was ninth.

ABI Research said that BlackBerry accounted for nearly half of Indonesia’s smartphone shipments in 2012. Compare this with a global share of just 5.3 percent. In India, the world’s second-largest mobile phone market, BlackBerry ranks third after Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Nokia.

In both countries, young people are drawn by low-cost handsets allowing them to communicate for free on the BlackBerry Messaging Service (BBM). Almost all carriers offer services for the device. Indonesia’s XL Axiata Tbk PT, for example, saw a 45 percent jump in BlackBerry subscribers last financial year after offering packages for as little as 20 cents per day.

But this picture is changing rapidly.

The rise of messaging services such as WhatsApp that are not confined to any single operating system and the proliferation of cheap Android devices have diluted the BlackBerry’s appeal.

Mickey Nayoan, a 32-year old product designer in Jakarta, swapped his BlackBerry for a Samsung phone six months ago and isn’t missing it.

“I survived without BlackBerry because there’s WhatsApp,” he said. “More and more people use it and so I don’t need BBM anymore.”

At the same time, higher-end users have deserted what is increasingly seen as a low-end brand.

“When they came up with the cheaper versions, that took the allure off the brand for many Indonesians who are very status-conscious,” said Ong Hock Chuan, a Jakarta-based communications consultant.

ANDROID MAKES INROADS

While BlackBerry remained the number one smartphone brand in Indonesia in the second quarter of last year, the most recent period for which rankings were available, Android overtook it as the most popular operating system, according to IDC.

IDC said when it released the data last September that this was partly because of delays in the launch of the BlackBerry 10. The Z10 is likely to launch in the second half of February in India and in late March in Indonesia.

Data from StatCounter, a website which estimates mobile web traffic, shows BlackBerry’s share in Indonesia falling from about 20 percent in 2011 to about 5 percent last year.

On the other hand, carriers and users say, glitches with BlackBerry services and a perception that the brand has lost some of its luster mean that it will be hard to sell the Z10 and a keyboard model, the Q10, even to better-off users.

“It really depends on how BlackBerry 10 performs. If it can fix problems of previous BlackBerry (services) it could succeed in the market,” said Hasnul Suhaimi, CEO of Indonesia’s XL Axiata. But for now, he said, “it will just be about people swapping out existing devices.”

To reverse this, BlackBerry must announce cheaper devices quickly, analysts say. BlackBerry launched handsets designed on its old platform for just such users in India and Indonesia last year.

“The Z10… is obviously a high-end product and India is not a market at that price point,” said Anshul Gupta, an industry analyst at technology advisory firm Gartner in Mumbai. “We don’t know exactly what will be coming here, but I would expect them to launch different models in India which would give them more traction.”

(Additional reporting by Henry Foy in Mumbai and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore; Writing by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Emily Kaiser)

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Justin Timberlake Performs New Music 20 20 Experience

Justin Timberlake hit the stage to perform new music for the first time in ages on February 2 and much to the crowd's delight, JT proved the long wait was well worth it.

RELATED - Justin & Jessica's Long Road to The Altar 

At DIRECTV's Super Saturday Night party in New Orleans, La, Timberlake not only performed his latest single, Suit & Tie (complete with Jay-Z cameo), but he debuted two new songs: Little Pusher Love Girl and Bad Girl.

VIDEO - Watch Justin's Suit & Tie Lyric Video

Both tracks are slated to be on Timberlake's forthcoming third solo album, The 20/20 Experience, hitting stores on March 19.

Watch all JT's performances below!

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Deadly deserts

Ralph Peters

Violence in Allah’s name in northern Africa won’t end in my lifetime — and probably not in yours. The core question is: To what extent can the savagery be contained?

From the Atlantic coastline to the Suez Canal, struggling governments, impoverished populations and frankly backward societies struggle to find paths to modernization and to compete in a ruthless global economy. Religious fanatics for whom progress is a betrayal of faith hope to block development.

Still, if the only conflict was between Islamist terrorists and those who want civilized lives, the situation could be managed over time. But that struggle forms only one level in a layer cake of clashing visions and outright civil wars bedeviling a vast region. Much larger than Europe, the zone of contention encompasses the Maghreb, the countries touching the Mediterranean, and the Sahel, the bitterly poor states stretching down across desert wastes to the African savannah.

AFP/Getty Images

Figthers of the Islamic group Ansar Dine

The Sahel is the front line not only between the world of Islam and Christian-animist cultures in Africa’s heart, but between Arabs and light-skinned tribes in the north, and blacks to the south. No area in the world so explicitly illustrates the late, great Samuel Huntington’s concept of “the clash of civilizations.”

If racial and religious differences were not challenge enough, in the Maghreb the factions and interest groups are still more complicated. We view Egypt as locked in a contest between Islamists and “our guys,” Egyptians seeking new freedoms. But Egypt’s identity struggle is far more complex, involving social liberals, moderate Muslims, stern conservative Muslims (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) and outright fanatics. The military forms another constituency, while the business community defends its selfish interests. Then there are the supporters of the old Mubarak regime, the masses of educated-but-unemployed youth and the bitterly poor peasants.

Atop all that there’s the question of whether the values cherished by Arab societies can adapt to a globalized world.

The path to Egypt’s future will not be smooth — yet Egypt’s chances are better than those of many of its neighbors. Consider a few key countries in the region:

Mali

Viva la France! (Never thought I’d write that in The Post.) Contrary to a lot of media nonsense, the effective French intervention in Mali demonstrates that not every military response to Islamist terror has to become another Afghanistan: The French are welcome.

As extremists invariably do, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its allies rapidly alienated their fellow Muslims — after hijacking a local uprising. The local version of Islam is far more humane and tolerant than the Wahhabi cult imposed by Islamist fanatics. To the foreign extremists, the Malian love of Sufi mysticism, ancient shrines and their own centuries of religious scholarship are all hateful — as is the Malian genius for music that’s pleased listeners around the world.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Hollywood cardiologist’s ties with St. Jude sales rep raises red flags

Mark Sabbota, a Hollywood cardiologist, regularly implants $5,000 pacemakers in patients at Memorial hospitals in South Broward — generating, last year alone, more than a half-million dollars in sales for a manufacturer called St. Jude Medical.

Sabbota, public records show, also happens to be partners with a St. Jude sales rep in two corporations that run frozen yogurt shops.

What’s yogurt got to do with healthcare?

Perhaps nothing. Perhaps a lot. The question is connected to an on-going lobbying battle in Washington over a pending disclosure policy intended to more clearly reveal financial ties between physicians and the healthcare industry — often-murky relationships that have produced a long history of whistle-blower lawsuits, federal investigations and fines.

Sabbota, in a brief interview, adamantly denied any conflict of interest. “There has been no wrongdoing at all,” he said.

Memorial spokeswoman Kerting Baldwin also said the hospital saw no problem with the yogurt arrangement. As a “community” doctor, not a staff employee, Baldwin said Sabbota can select from a list of pacemakers approved by the hospital but has no say over what companies made the list.

“As for why he prefers to use St. Jude, I won’t speak for him,’’ she said. “You’d have to ask him that.”

But several medical ethics experts said such relationships fall in a gray area. They raise what Kenneth Goodman, bioethics director at the University of Miami, called “red flags” about whether the doctor’s motivation in choosing a device “is something other than the best interests of the patient.”

“Maybe it’s just a good business arrangement that has nothing to do with the devices he chooses,” said Charles D. Rosen, a California physician who is co-founder of the Association for Medical Ethics. “But the issue is public disclosure and transparency. You as a patient should have the right to know about a doctor’s financial relationships with companies.”

Concerns about the relationship between doctors and healthcare companies have been simmering for years. Americans are so suspicious of doctors’ connections that, in a 2008 Pew Charitable Trusts survey, 86 percent of patients said doctors should not be allowed to get free dinners from drug makers and 70 percent said doctors shouldn’t even be allowed to get free notepads and pens.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act includes a provision intended to address some aspects of these often-cozy relationships. Starting Jan. 1, healthcare companies were supposed to publicly post how much they were paying doctors. But that provision has been held up in the White House by intense lobbying.

“I don’t know why the hold-up, except the intense opposition of the industry,” Rosen said. His group, including members of the Harvard Medical School and Cleveland Clinic, wrote a letter to the Obama administration last month protesting the delay.

The group complains that the healthcare industry is trying to soften the rules so that foreign subsidiaries and doctors engaged in clinical trials wouldn’t have to reveal payments. But even if the disclosure rules are implemented, a side deal like Sabbota’s yogurt company would not have to be revealed under the new law, Rosen said.

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