Playing the butt-kicking, arrow-shooting hero of “The Hunger Games” has certainly paid off! Jennifer Lawrence, known to fans as Katniss Everdeen, flaunts her toned bikini bod while surfing in Hawaii. The star, 22, was taking a break ahead of filming for the franchise’s sequel, “Catching Fire.”
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Jennifer Lawrence
5:45 AM Aventura Mall Macy's was open but the entrance to the mall from the department store was closed. The mall opens at 6. Customers could not get into the Mall from Macy’s before 6 and had to walk outside to one of the mall entrances. An employee and a security guard said that was a mistake. Cars started backing up on the mall perimeter road, but plenty of parking spaces were still available. Around the corner from the mall, three Aventura police cars, lights flashing, were stationed next to a sign warning drivers to wear a seatbelt or face a ticket.
3:20 AM Dadeland Mall Most shoppers are standing in line for coffee at Starbucks, eating Bourbon chicken from Kelly’s Cajun Grill, munching on a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s or taking a cat nap. Those leaving are carrying bags from Macy’s, the Disney Store,
Bath and Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret.
Maria Prado, the mall manager, said she is "very impressed" with the Black Friday turnout.
"This is a critical day for retail," Prado said, of Kendall. "We are in this business to cater to what shoppers want."
2 AM, Dadeland Mall The mall is still packed with people. Many of them are gathered in the Disney Store, Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works and Macy’s. The Apple store, which had a line of nearly 150 shoppers waiting for the door to open at midnight, now only has a line of about 25 shoppers. Instead of opening at midnight, Apple is opening at 6 a.m.
At Victoria’s Secret, the security guard fell asleep standing while nearly 100 shoppers were making purchases. Husbands and infants slept outside of the store on brown couches.
12:30 AM, Dadeland Mall All retail stores were expected to open at midnight. But as of 12:30 a.m., neither the Apple store nor jewelry stores Tous or Mayors were open. Nearly 150 people were waiting outside of Apple.
According to Guest Services, stores that were not open by midnight would be fined.
Meanwhile, the rest of the mall buzzed with eager families and couples. Many shoppers were already sporting bags from Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Express and Abercrombie & Fitch.
12:06 AM, Dadeland Mall Dadeland Mall officially opened at 12 a.m., and by 12:06 a.m. a group of young girls were already walking out of the mall with Victoria’s Secret bags in hand.
As the doors opened at Abercrombie & Fitch, people shouted to get in. Some yelled "Hallelujah" as others tried to push their way through.
Friday, midnight, Sawgrass Mills After a moderate start, the pace picked up at Sawgrass Mills. By midnight the mall was packed. Human traffic jams made walking through corridors challenging. Parking lot spaces were gone by 11 p.m., and people were being sent to the BB&T center and shuttled over to the mall. Food courts were doing brisk business as shoppers grabbed a quick bite to refuel.
11:45 PM, Dolphin Mall, Gaspar Ferreiro headed to the mall Thanksgiving night to shop, and to sell. Waiting in line at the Swaroski jewelry store, the Georgia resident had a promotion of his own to offer. A sign hand-written in marker and hanging from a string on his back read: “FOR SALE WII DELUXE FOR $465.”
The hot new Nintendo video-game system sells for about $350. Ferreiro bought four when they went on sale this month, and he’s giving one to his kids. Now he’s reselling the rest at a mark-up to help pay for the one he kept. “If I make $70 [on each], that’s fine,’’ he said. “No need to take advantage of anybody.”
Thursday is Thanksgiving. Here is a list of what’s open and closed for the holiday on Thursday and Friday.
Federal offices: Closed Thursday
State offices: Closed Thursday and Friday
Miami-Dade and Broward county offices: Closed Thursday and Friday
Miami-Dade and Broward courts: Closed Thursday and Friday
Public schools: Closed Thursday and Friday
Post offices: Closed Thursday
Stock markets: Closed Thursday, closing early Friday
Banks: Closed Thursday
Tri-Rail: Will run a weekend schedule Thursday
Miami-Dade and Broward transit: Will run a Sunday schedule on Thursday
Garbage collection: Normal schedule in most cities
Malls: Closed Thursday, many opening very early Friday
A fund set up to support Brooklyn's recovery from Hurricane Sandy has awarded its first round of grants totaling $250,000 to 26 neighborhood organizations.
Launched by the Brooklyn Community Foundation with support from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President, the Brooklyn Recovery Fund raised $1.5 million in less than three weeks, with support from a variety of donors – including $300,000 in founding contributions from Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets and Forest City Ratner – as well as other corporations, foundations and hundreds of individual contributions.
The 26 community nonprofits getting the grants serve neighborhoods most affected by the storm, such as Brighton Beach, Canarsie, Coney Island, DUMBO, Gerritsen Beach, Red Hook and Williamsburg.
These first-round grants focus on basic services – providing emergency food, home visits to seniors and the disabled, cash assistance, benefits counseling, volunteer coordination, making spaces usable for services, and similar high priority activities. This follows an earlier $25,000 grant to Gerritsen Beach Cares, which is using its grant to coordinate work by local electricians to expedite the restoration power to high priority occupied homes in which seniors, the disabled and families with small children live.
"The suffering in the aftermath of the storm demanded that we act strongly and swiftly to raise money and get it out to local nonprofit organizations who immediately stepped forward to help residents of their communities with food, shelter, supplies, clean-up, health care, and warmth," said Marilyn Gelber, president of the Brooklyn Community Foundation.
“People across Brooklyn have opened their wallets since the storm, and now that money is making a difference in so many coastal communities across the borough,” said Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
Don’t want to brave the Black Friday craziness? You can get a head start on your holiday shopping, snag some deals and support local merchants by participating in Small Business Saturday.
Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is focused on promoting small business owners nationwide. Since it was started in 2010 by American Express, the promotional effort has grown into a national movement involving thousands of businesses, chambers of commerce and economic development organizations. According to American Express, last year more than 100 million people nationwide participated.
“The one thing businesses have told us over and over again is that they need more customers. So we thought it would be great to create a day in the holiday weekend that focuses just on the small business and shopping locally in communities around the country,” said Mary Ann Fitzmaurice Reilly, senior vice president at American Express Open.. “That’s how Small Business Saturday got its start.”
Organizations such as the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and Coral Gables Chamber have turned Small Business Saturday into a communitywide event.
“We decided to participate because in Coral Gables we support our small businesses,” said Mark Trowbridge, president and CEO of the chamber that is participating for the second year. “Coral Gables is an economic engine and our small businesses help to drive that engine.”
American Express cardholders who sign up at shopsmall.com will get a $25 credit on their bill if they make a purchase from a participating business on Small Business Saturday. Participating businesses get free marketing support from American Express via a toolkit on its website.
On Saturday, the Coral Gables Chamber, along with American Express, the Village of Merrick Park and Books & Books will host a day of activities, including a $100 Startup Competition, inspired by the best-selling book by Chris Guillebeau. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to bring their most innovative ideas for a business that can be launched with just $100 (register at http://100dollarstartup.co). Finalists will pitch their startup ideas to the public at the 4 p.m. event, held at Books & Books in Coral Gables; a panel of judges will select the winners.
More than 30 Coral Gables merchants will take part in the day; many will feature discounts. At Klara Chavarria Contemporary Art, for instance, patrons can take advantage of free delivery and installation of any artwork purchased Saturday.
The free toolkit has proven an invaluable resource to business people like Michael Nucci, the marketing associate for Fort Lauderdale-based Bluewater Books and Charts, which sells nautical books to recreational cruisers. “We decided to participate last year and again this year because we thought it would give us an advantage on the sale season,” said Nucci, who will be offering a 15 percent discount on most items he sells on Small Business Saturday. “We got started and used the toolkit to get free posters made and to send out e-mail and social media promotions to attract customers. It’s a great thing for small businesses in this economy.”
In Kendall, the Recycled Closet, a consignment shop for teens, is offering 20 percent off its already discounted clothing. “I’m so glad to see American Express and communities around the nation working to help by dedicating a day to the small business owner,” said owner Jennifer Kaloti.
In Miami Beach, small businesses are embracing Small Business Saturday, said Ana Cecilia Velasco, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. “As we are a tourist destination and get heavy traffic specifically for shopping during this time, it is a natural for us to highlight the event. Small Business Saturday makes sense to us as well because Miami Beach is known for its boutique shops.”
To survive the craziness of the season, consumers may want to treat themselves, too. At Pure Therapy, in the W Hotel on South Beach, customers get a $25 gift card with purchases of $100 or more and items from local designers will be 10 percent off on Saturday. In Bal Harbour, Gee Beauty, one of the only independently owned small businesses in the Bal Harbour Shops, will treat customers to a complimentary Gee Beauty Brow shaping with a purchase of $100 or more.
The cost of fixing the damage caused by flooding at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year has crept up to $4.35 million, though county officials say that could still go up as the final bill is tallied.
County commissioners authorized up to $5 million for repairs at the county-owned center, which is run by the Performing Arts Center Trust.
In a memo, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the major construction work needed for the repairs was finished in time for the center’s new season to start in October.
The total cost is offset by a partial payment of $250,000 to the trust for a business income interruption insurance claim; the memo said efforts are being made to get more money from insurers. And a forensic engineer is finishing an investigation into what caused the extensive flooding, which Gimenez said could prompt additional action by the county and trust.
Prepaid wireless carrier Republic Wireless has been offering its $ 19 per month, unlimited everything, prepaid smartphone plan since about this time last year. At the time, though, there were a few catches; you had to buy a very low-end smartphone from them, you had to use its Hybrid Calling technology for most of your calls, and you could only get in if you were lucky enough to be accepted to an exclusive “beta wave.”
Since then, Republic Wireless has upgraded to the slightly more modern Motorola Defy XT as its flagship smartphone model, and has changed to allow unlimited calling, texting, and data over Sprint’s nationwide network, for the same $ 19/month price. Now the North Carolina-based startup is dropping its last restriction; the doors are open for anyone to preorder up to four Defy XT phones, “and they’ll begin shipping in mid-December.”
The phone
The Motorola Defy XT is designed to be dustproof and waterproof, with rubber bumpers covering each port and an unlocking switch keeping the back cover sealed. Its specs are decidedly last year’s; powered by a 1 GHz, single-core processor, it often shows Kindle Fire-style lag when swiping between home screens on its 3.7 inch display. It runs 2010′s Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with no OS upgrades announced, and it doesn’t have much room to store games and apps, although it comes with a 2 GB microSD card.
The service
Republic Wireless’ low monthly fee is partly made possible by its Hybrid Calling technology, which is basically an app that loads on startup and lets you make calls and send texts over Wi-Fi. Call quality is generally good, although it depends on how good your Wi-Fi connection is and how many people are streaming video over it while you’re trying to make your call. You can switch off Hybrid Calling by disabling Wi-Fi, if you want to make calls over Sprint’s network instead; this happens automatically if your Wi-Fi signal drops, which has the effect of hanging up your call.
The support
“Here at Republic,” its Support page explains, “we believe in helping each other out as much as possible.” What this translates to is that there’s no number to call for questions or tech support. Instead, customers are directed to a community wiki and forums, for answers to their issues. If all else fails, you can contact Republic using an online form, and receive a response within 24 hours.
The price
It costs close to $ 300 to begin using Republic Wireless’ service; $ 249 for the phone, a $ 10 startup fee, and $ 19 for your first monthly fee, before any applicable taxes. That $ 19 is charged once your phone ships, and if Republic’s difficulty keeping up with orders for its first beta waves is any indication, just because the phones “begin shipping in mid-December” doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s when you’ll get yours.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum! After watching the newest trailer for Jack the Giant Slayer, this latest retelling of the famous children's fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk may only be suitable for adults given the intense action and seriously scary giants.
In the movie, peace is threatened when Jack the young farmer leads an expedition into the giants' kingdom in hopes of rescuing a kidnapped princess.
Starring Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Eleanor Tomlinson, Bill Nighy and Nicholas Hoult (Jennifer Lawrence's boyfriend), the latest movie trailer is filled with clever jokes, jumping off beanstalks and giant fights.
Unfortunately, the movie's release date has been bumped back to March 1, 2013.
What's your take of the tale? Play movie critic in the comments.
REUTERS
Israeli police survey the scene after a bomb destroyed this bus in Tel Aviv, wounding 10.
JERUSALEM — A bomb ripped through an Israeli bus near the nation's military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, wounding at least 10 people, Israeli officials said.
The blast came amid a weeklong Israeli offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza that has killed more than 130 Palestinians. Militant rocket fire into Israel has killed five Israelis.
The bus exploded about noon on one of the coastal city's busiest arteries, near the Tel Aviv museum and across from an entrance to the Kirya, Israel's national defense headquarters.
The bus was charred and blackened, its side windows blown out and its glass scattered on the asphalt.
An Israeli driver who witnessed the explosion told Army Radio the bus was "completely charred inside." Another witness said there were few passengers on the bus when it exploded.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were investigating whether the bomb had been planted and left on the bus or whether it was the work of a suicide bomber.
Of the 10 wounded, three people were moderately to seriously hurt, Rosenfeld said.
Every year we roll out our fall list of the products getting the most attention from readers, and every year it ends up being a list dominated by phones. But not this year. No, this time you guys are spicing things up with a surprising mix of products. Here’s what’s getting your attention right now.
Sony Vaio Tap 20
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)
The good: By slapping a battery inside a 20-inch touch-screen all-in-one, the company has given birth to a new PC category with great potential in tech-savvy homes.
The bad: The touch screen has some frustrating drag, and Sony made a few missteps among some otherwise reasonable sacrifices for portability and price.
The cost: $999.99
The bottom line: A compelling experiment in tablet-desktop hybridization, the Sony Vaio Tap 20 is a great fit for home tech enthusiasts willing to try something new.
Toshiba Portege Z935-P300
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)
The good: This Toshiba product has very good features, performance and battery life for its price and is very thin and very light.
The bad: The keyboard may be too small for some users and the laptop doesn’t feel particularly sturdy, especially the lid and display.
The cost: $779.99 to $876
The bottom line: The Toshiba Portege Z935-P300 is an excellent ultrabook value if you can overlook its few design shortcomings.
Apple iPad Mini
Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The ultrathin and light design makes it seem far more intimate and booklike than the larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna and general functionality offer a full iPad experience. The screen’s dimensions elegantly display larger-format magazines and apps.
The bad: It costs too much, especially considering the lower resolution of its 7.9-inch display, which isn’t a Retina Display. The A5 processor isn’t as robust as the one in the fourth-gen iPad and iPhone 5. Typing on the smaller screen is not quite as comfy.
The cost: $329.99 to $549.99
The bottom line: If you want the full, polished Apple tablet experience in a smaller package, the iPad Mini is worth the premium price. Otherwise, good alternatives are available for less money.
Apple iPhone 5
Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, free turn-by-turn navigation, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and featherlight.
The bad: Apple Maps feels unfinished and buggy; Sprint and Verizon models can’t use voice and data simultaneously; the smaller connector renders current accessories unusable without an adapter; there’s no NFC; and the screen size pales in comparison with jumbo Android models.
The cost: $199.99
The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It’s absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe.
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