Driver in Rickenbacker Causeway cyclist death to be sentenced

A motorist who killed cyclist Aaron Cohen in a hit-and-run crash on the Rickenbacker Causeway will learn his fate Wednesday.

A Miami-Dade judge on Wednesday afternoon will sentence Michele Traverso, 26, who earlier pleaded guilty for the crash that killed Cohen last February.

The fatality, and a similar hit-and-run wreck in 2010, has renewed calls for increased safety for cyclists and joggers on the popular causeway. Fellow cyclists staged a memorial ride and erected a billboard overlooking Interstate 95 in Cohen’s honor.

Members of Miami’s avid cycling community are expected to be on hand for the 1 p.m. sentencing.

Traverso, driving on a suspended license, struck Cohen and cycling partner Enda Walsh as the two rode in the northbound lanes near the crest of the bridge. Traverso surrendered to police 18 hours after the crash.

Though there were reports of Traverso drinking in Coconut Grove that night, investigators could not prove that his blood alcohol content level was above the legal limit because of the delay in turning himself in.

Traverso pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, leaving the scene of an accident with great bodily harm, and driving with a suspended license. He also pleaded guilty to earlier cocaine possession charge.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas could sentence him to as little as 22.8 months in prison, and as much as 35 years behind bars.

In May, Thomas told Cohen’s widow, Patricia Cohen, that he would be unlikely to deliver the maximum sentence, although he could consider “20 or 25 years” after hearing from her and Traverso’s own family at a possible sentencing.

The Cohen family is suing Traverso and his father, who owned the car.

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SAG Awards Flashback: Marion Cotillard 2008

Prior to 2007, Marion Cotillard had a prevalent film career in France for over a decade. Then, she portrayed French music icon Edith Piaf in La Vie en rose. The film got her recognition from critics around the world, and led to incredible avail the ensuing awards season. It was a dream come true for her.

In 2008, the French actress was nominated at every major awards show on the circuit from the Critics' Choice Awards to the Oscars. In that pile of nominations was a SAG Awards nomination for Best Actress.

VIDEO: Marion Cotillard Lifetime Achievement Honor at 37

"When I was a little girl, I used to watch a lot of American movies, so they really inspired me; they really gave me the desire to be an actress," she says to ET's former co-host Mark Steines on the red carpet. "To be here, to have a nomination amongst those amazing actresses, it is something huge for me."

While Cotillard was basking in a moment in her life that she had probably awaited since she was a young girl, there was a dark cloud hanging over that year's ceremony due to the ongoing Writers Guild strike and pending SAG negotiations that were trending towards a strike.

RELATED: Five Things You Don't Know About Marion Cotillard

That cloud wouldn't rain on Cotillard's parade, though.

"It's the first time for me that I live all this, so I'm enjoying every single minute of it," she says. "I'm not disappointed by how it would have been [without it]."

After winning a Golden Globe a few weeks prior, that twinkle in her eye also suggests that she may have had a premonition that she would be leaving the show with some hardware that night; however, she surprisingly did not.

VIDEO: SAGs Flashback '03: Day-Lewis Meets His Celeb Fan

Nevertheless, she would go on to win an Academy Award shortly after. More importantly, she went on every filmmaker's radar, and soon landed a role in a major American film, Public Enemies.

Five years later, Cotillard is up for her fourth SAG nomination, this time for the French film Rust and Bone. Now that she's come full-circle, perhaps she'll leave this year's show with that heavy trophy in her hand.

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Leaked BlackBerry 10 sales manual reveals new images and details

The buzz continues to mount leading up to the January 30th unveiling of Research In Motions’s (RIMM) next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform, but we’re not sure how much is left to learn. Many BlackBerry 10 features have already been announced, we’ve seen RIM’s first two next-generation handsets — the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry X10 — a number times, and now Rogers’ internal sales manual for BlackBerry 10 devices has leaked thanks to CrackBerry. The manual is packed full of images and it also confirms some specs reported a few months ago, and the full document is embedded at the source link below. RIM’s next-generation operating system and handsets will be unveiled during a press conference on January 30th, and BGR will be on hand reporting live.

[More from BGR: Dell’s bold plan to reinvent itself: A USB-sized PC that gives access to Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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Lhota, Quinn front-runners to win party nods for mayor: poll

Republican Joe Lhota and Democratic Council Speaker Christine Quinn are the front-runners to win their party’s respective nominations for mayor, according to a new poll released today.

Lhota, the former MTA chairman and top deputy to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, grabs 23 percent of the GOP primary vote, the Quinnipiac University survey found. Supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis receives 9 percent, followed by Tom Allon with 5 percent, ex-Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion with 3 percent and Doe Fund founder George McDonald with 2 percent.

But the race is still wide open because of a majority of GOP voters are still undecided or don’t know the candidates.

RUNNING FOR MAYOR: Republican Joe Lhota, right, and Democratic Council Speaker Christine Quinn, left.

On the Democratic side, Quinn holds a comfortable with 35 percent of the vote. Public Advocate Bill deBlasio garners 11 percent, former city Comptroller Bill Thompson gets 10 percent and current city Comptroller John Liu, 9 percent.

But the poll shows that Lhota – or any other Republican – faces an uphill climb in heavily Democratic New York City, despite nearly 20 years of non-Democrats Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg running City Hall.

All the Democratic candidates trounce Lhota in head-to-head matchups by better than three-to-one.

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Miami Dolphins bill would bring state money to aging stadiums

A bill drafted by the Miami Dolphins would give Florida sports teams $3 million a year in state money to improve older stadiums, provided the owner pays for at least half the cost of a major renovation.

Under the law, the stadium would need to be 20 years old and the team willing to put in at least $125 million for a $250 million renovation. That’s less than the $400 million redo of Sun Life Stadium that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross proposed this week, which he hopes will win state approval thanks to his offer to fund at least $200 million of the effort to modernize the 1987 facility.

Miami-Dade and Florida would fund the rest through a mix of county hotel taxes and state general funds set aside for stadiums. Sun Life currently receives $2 million a year through the program, and the Dolphins want to create a new category that would give them an additional $3 million.

While the Miami Marlins and Miami Heat both play in stadiums subsidized by county hotel taxes, the Dolphins receive no local dollars. The bill would change that by allowing Miami-Dade to increase the tax charged at mainland hotels to 7 percent from 6 percent, and eliminate the current rule that limits the money to publicly owned stadiums. Sun Life Stadium, in Miami Gardens, is privately owned but sits on county land.

The bill pits enthusiasm for one of Florida’s most popular sports teams against a lean budget climate and lingering backlash against the 2009 deal that had Miami and Miami-Dade borrow about $485 million to build a new ballpark for the Marlins. Ross also must navigate a Republican-led Legislature that has twice rebuffed his requests for public dollars.

“I would be surprised if that bill even got a hearing in committee,” said Mike Fasano, a Republican representative from the Tampa area and a critic of tax-funded sports deals. “I’m a big Dolphin fan, and have been for years. But with all due respect, we’ve got people who are struggling throughout this state right now . .. The last thing we should be doing is giving a professional sports team or facility additional tax dollars.”

While the bill would open up the $3 million subsidy to other the teams, the Dolphins see it as unlikely that another owner would be willing to put up as much money for renovations as Ross, a billionaire real estate developer.

If the bill were enacted today, any stadium opened before 1993 would be eligible for the money, provided it could show the proposed renovation would generate an additional $3 million in sales taxes.

Ross and his backers are pitching the renovation as a boon to tourism, with Sun Life a magnet for the Super Bowl, national college football games and other major events. The National Football League is considering South Florida and San Francisco for the 2016 Super Bowl, and the Dolphins say approval of renovation funding is crucial to winning the bid.

Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, who sponsored the Senate bill, said the funding makes sense because when Sun Life hosts a Super Bowl, the entire state benefits from both tourism dollars and publicity.

“It’s a small price to pay for economic development, and for all the shine we get from major sporting events,” said Braynon, whose district includes Sun Life. Rep. Eduardo “Eddy” Gonzalez, R-Hialeah, is the sponsor on the House side.

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Wedgie-spree at Florida theater lands prankster in jail

Authorities say that Charles Ross is known to go around Manatee County and create situations in order to harass and annoy people while filming their reaction for You Tube.

Last weekend, Ross, 18, of Bradenton, ended up in jail after police say he went on a wedgie spree at a theater.

Deputies say Ross was at Royal Palm Theater Sunday night with a friend and began grabbing people by their pants and pulling them up hard, causing discomfort.

A victim told deputies that Ross pulled up his pants, wedgie-style, and then asked the victim if he wanted to hit him, all while his friend was filming, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

One victim decided to press charges but others were too embarrassed, deputies said.

The deputy took the camera as evidence and both Ross and his friend were removed from the theater and told they would be arrested if they come back, according to the report.

Ross was booked into the Manatee County Jail on battery charges and was released Monday on a $750 bond.

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Tata Consultancy says demand in U.S. strong across segments

MUMBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) – India’s top software services provider Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) said demand in the key U.S. market is strong across its business segments, with regional banks stepping up spending on technology.

The Mumbai-based company said on Monday that profit jumped 23 percent in the quarter ended December, beating analysts‘ expectations. TCS also gave an upbeat growth outlook, sending its shares up the most in more than eight months and prompting analyst upgrades on the stock.

Economic uncertainty in the United States had fuelled investor worry that clients may keep their IT budgets tight and postpone decision-making on technology spending.

“The U.S. is still a growth market,” Chief Financial Officer S Mahalingam told Reuters in an interview at his Mumbai office on Tuesday. “If it sneezes then we have got a big problem. (But) the demand is very good across all segments.”

The United States accounts for about half of TCS’ revenue, compared with more than 60 percent overall for India’s $ 100 billion outsourcing industry.

Banks, insurers and other financial services clients usually account for more than a third of the revenue at companies such as TCS’ rival Infosys Ltd , where better-than-expected results on Friday and an increased revenue outlook powered a 20 percent rise in its shares over two sessions.

“(The) U.S. economy has regional banks as well, and they are starting to spend. So there is growth,” Mahalingam said.

While Monday’s results prompted analysts from HSBC and CLSA to increase their ratings on TCS stock, some analysts said volume growth was not especially impressive.

Volumes, or billable hours, rose 1.25 percent on a sequential basis, while revenue in dollar terms increased 3.3 percent over the September quarter.

“The key disappointment was soft volume growth of 1.25 percent quarter-on-quarter. However, we remain assured by management’s optimistic outlook on FY14 growth,” Nomura analysts wrote in a note to clients.

(Editing by Tony Munroe and Ryan Woo)

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Oprah Calls Lance Armstrong Confession 'Riveting'

Oprah Winfrey confirmed on Tuesday that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong reverses years of denials and confesses in a new interview that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career.

Appearing Tuesday on CBS This Morning, Oprah described the interview as one of the biggest and most intense she's ever done. "It was surprising to me. I would say that for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized by some of his answers," she said. 

RELATED: Lance Armstrong Tells Oprah He Doped

She added that while she was "satisfied and riveted" by Armstrong's answers, he "did not come clean in the manner that I expected." Oprah, who did not provide specifics from the interview, said that Armstrong was obviously well prepared going into the interview, which took place on Monday in Austin, Texas. "He brought it. He really did," she said.

When asked by host Charlie Rose if she felt Armstrong was "contrite," Oprah said she would describe him as "forthcoming" during the interview, which will air over two nights beginning Thursday at 9 p.m. during a special edition of Oprah's Next Chapter on OWN.

A report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency led to the 41-year-old Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year, but Armstrong has until now vehemently maintained his innocence.

RELATED: Armstrong To Be Stripped of Tour De France Titles 

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Kelly to announce measures to tackle prescription drug problem in NYC

AP

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The NYPD will start tackling prescription drug abuse with GPS tracked prescription bottles.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will unveil a four part process to combating prescription drug abuse in New York City when he speaks at the Clinton Health Matters Conference later today in California.

“We’re also distributing so-called ‘bait bottles’ containing placebo Oxycodone pills to be placed on pharmacy shelves,” Kelly said according to planned remarks.

These bottles will be equipped with a GPS tracking device that the police can use to follow the bottle and possibly locate “stash locations.”

“The NYPD knows firsthand the destructive power of addiction to Oxycontin,” Kelly said.

One of the department’s own retired officers became addicted to pills after an injury on the job and started robbing pharmacies at gunpoint.

Kelly hopes the “bait bottles” combined with educating students at the high school and college levels about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, enhanced training for police officers and the development of a new task force will cut down on prescription drug abuse.

“We’ve established a tactical drug diversion task force together with the Drug Enforcement Administration,” Kelly said.

“Our partnership with the DEA also gives us access to its vast, national database which tracks the distribution of controlled substances.”

In addition to those measures, Kelly will also announce a citywide education program for young people as well as building a database of every licensed pharmacist in the area under "Operation Safety Cap."

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Global entrepreneurship nonprofit Endeavor coming to Miami

Flawless execution helped propel Argentine Marcos Galperin’s e-auction site, Mercado Libre, above the competition to become a $3.8 billion company. Some 50,000 small businesses now use it to market their wares.

Leila Velez and Heloísa Helena Assis, cousins who grew up in the slums of Rio, started with one product and one salon. Today their company, Beleza Natural, operates 24 salons that bring in $75 million in revenues, employs 1,500 people and has an eye on U.S expansion.

Both were powered, in part, by Endeavor, a global nonprofit that selects, mentors, supports and accelerates high-impact entrepreneurs in metropolitan areas of 16 countries — and, soon, in Miami.

Endeavor and its local supporter, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, announced Tuesday that Knight is providing Endeavor with $2 million in grant funding over five years for Endeavor’s first U.S. expansion. Endeavor’s Miami office could ultimately service dozens of local entrepreneurs, but first a local board needs to be assembled, a managing director hired and offices set up.

Beginning late this year, South Florida’s innovators will be able to apply to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs, connecting them to a global network of mentors and advisors who can help grow their ventures. “We think this is a cornerstone of making Miami more of a place where ideas are built,” said Matt Haggman, Miami program director for the Knight Foundation, which has made entrepreneurship a key focus of its Miami program.

The announcement is an important milestone in Miami’s efforts to accelerate an entrepreneurial ecosystem, which has been gaining momentum, said Haggman, who led the effort for Knight, its largest investment in entrepreneurship to date. Accelerators, incubators and co-working spaces have been opening up, including Launch Pad Tech, which is receiving $1.5 million in public funding and opens for its first class next week. Last month, the first ever Innovate MIA week attracted hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and other supporters to a packed schedule of daily events, which included the Americas Venture Capital Conference and Endeavor’s International Selection Panel.

“Miami is almost the perfect seeding ground for Endeavor,” said Peter Kellner, co-founder of Endeavor and now an Endeavor board member, an investor and South Florida resident who began discussing the project with Haggman in the spring. “There are commitments from large institutions like Knight, FIU, UM, there is capital, there are people that are interested in making things happen, there are already clusters of activity like accelerators and incubators. That’s where Endeavor thrives.”

Endeavor selects and works primarily with companies from a wide range of industries that are already earning $500,000 to $15 million in annual revenue and ready for the next stage: explosive growth.

“While the vast majority of small businesses employ two or three people, Endeavor businesses employ an average of 237,” said Endeavor co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg.

Launched in 1998 and headquartered in New York City, Endeavor now operates throughout Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia and supports more than 750 entrepreneurs who are chosen in a rigorous selection process.

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