Florida-bound jet veers off runway at LI airport

A Southwest Airlines jet bound for Tampa, Fla., has veered off the runway and gotten stuck in mud at an airport on New York's Long Island.

Officials say there were no injuries to the 135 people on board Flight 4695 during the mishap Thursday morning at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.

The plane's front nose got stuck in the mud after it went off the runway around 7 a.m.

Passengers were taken off the plane. It isn't immediately clear whether they were put on another flight.

Dallas-based Southwest hasn't immediately responded to phone and email requests for comment.




Victor Alcorn



Southwest Flight 4695 veered off the runway this morning and into the mud.



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Deadline to apply for free foreclosure case reviews is Monday




















Florida residents who believe they suffered from shoddy foreclosure practices have through Monday to apply for a free case review that could net them up to $125,000 if wrongdoing is found.

The program, which is overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, began in November 2011 with an estimated 4 million eligibility letters mailed nationwide.

As of late September, just 3.8 percent of Floridians who were sent letters about their eligibility for the review have applied.





Cases are eligible for review if the foreclosure was on a primary residence in some stage of foreclosure during 2009 and 2010. The foreclosure had to have been handled by one of 24 banks or mortgage servicers named in consent orders crafted in response to findings of foreclosure deficiencies. The affected servicers can be found at independentforeclosurereview.com.

Problems contacting borrowers who may have been evicted from foreclosed homes, as well as borrower fatigue in applying for aid programs probably contributed to the limited response, some foreclosure defense attorneys said.

“A lot of these homeowners have been promised a lot of things in the past that were never fulfilled,” said attorney Ron Kaniuk, of Sachs Sax Caplan in Boca Raton. “It’s the law of diminishing returns. Once you are disappointed a few times, you stop filling stuff out.”

The Independent Foreclosure Review is separate from the $25 billion attorneys general settlement reached in February.

Nationwide, the return rate of borrowers responding to eligibility letters was about 5.3 percent through Sept. 27. Since then, an additional 121,677 borrowers have applied nationwide, said Bryan Hubbard, a spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The original deadline to apply for the review was April 30. It was pushed back to July 31 and then Dec. 31.

Reviewers are looking for several problems including failure to put a homeowner on a permanent loan modification after he or she successfully completed a trial period, foreclosing on a borrower while he or she was current on payments under a loan modification, and not providing a borrower with proper notification during a foreclosure.

Remediation to borrowers can include credit fixes, reimbursement of improperly charged fees, and lump-sum payments of between $500 and $125,000.

For more information about the Independent Foreclosure Review, call 1-888-952-9105.





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Apps to help achieve New Year’s resolutions






(Reuters) – Whether it is improving health or managing finances better, about 87 percent of Americans will make resolutions for 2013 and there are plenty of apps to help them achieve their goals.


Nearly half of New Year’s resolutions are about setting health-related goals, which is the most popular category, according to a recent survey by online broker TD Ameritrade.






Rather than jumping into a rigorous fitness routine, a new app called 5K Runner suggests it might be better to ease into things slowly and focus on building sustainable habits. The iPhone app helps couch potatoes ramp up their running distance to 5 km over the course of eight weeks.


“You’re slowly building this routine into your daily life with a lot of success and after eight weeks you’re literally running 5K, which is pretty big if (initially) you’re not running at all,” said David-Michel Davies, the executive director of The Webby Awards, an annual ceremony honoring Internet companies.


The app guides runners through each run, alternating periods of running and walking for 35 minutes.


Davies also recommends Nike+ Running and RunKeeper, two popular and free fitness apps, which use GPS to track distance traveled, speed and calories burned. Both apps are available for iOS and Android devices.


Diet is another component of good health and a focus of many apps. Fooducate is an iPhone and Android app that helps shoppers make healthier purchases at the supermarket by allowing them to scan the barcodes of products and get insight into how healthy the product is.


Their database, which contains over 200,000 products, displays a grade for the product and information on its contents. It can show whether there are hidden additives or the probability of containing genetically modified ingredients.


“There are a lot of healthy people out there who unknowingly buy products that have an inordinate amount of salt in them,” Davies said.


DietBet is an app for people with a competitive streak. Available for iPhone and on the Web, it allows its users to join in a four-week weight loss challenge to lose 4 percent of weight. Everyone bets money, which goes into a fund, and submits proof of weight lost. People who meet the challenge split the money.


“It comes back again to how people get motivated,” Davies said. “Gamification is something that technology has really enabled and for some people it really works.”


To stay on top of finances, Davies recommends Mint, which provides a visual view of all financial accounts and is available for iOS, Android and on the Web.


(Reporting by Natasha Baker in Toronto; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Eric Beech)


Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Dan Stevens Leaves Downton Abbey


SPOILER ALERT - We'll be discussing the Downton Abbey Season Three Christmas Special, which aired in England last night, but has yet to begin airing in America, so if you want to stay spoiler free, click here!

Rumors of a major cast member exiting Downton Abbey during its third season have been swirling for months; although much of the early speculation was aimed at Dame Maggie Smith. Last night, the world learned that The Grimm Reaper was in fact coming to Downton and which fan favorite it was taking too soon.


RELATED - 12 Best TV Shows of 2012

Sadly, Matthew Crawley (played by Dan Stevens) died behind the wheel of his car in the closing moments of last night's Downton Abbey Christmas Special, capping off a particularly tumultuous season for the honorable chap.

Speaking with The Telegraph's Sarah Crompton, Stevens called the entire situation "very odd," but it turns out Stevens was the one who asked Downton creator Julian Fellowes to kill off this much-beloved character.


RELATED - 12 Best Everything of 2012

"We were always optioned for three years," he explains. "And when that came up it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take stock, to take a moment. From a personal point of view, I wanted a chance to do other things. It is a very monopolizing job. So there is a strange sense of liberation at the same time as great sadness because I am very, very fond of the show and always will be."


VIDEO - Downton Cast Talks Shirley MacLaine

Luckily Americans still have 8 episodes to spend with Mr. Crawley, and Mr. Stevens, as Downton Abbey kicks off its third season on PBS Masterpiece on January 6. And if you want to read the rest of The Telegraph's interview with Dan Stevens, click here.

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He just couldn't wait! Baby born in Holland Tunnel








REUTERS



It was a morning commute miracle.

A New Jersey woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy in the Holland Tunnel this morning, authorities said.

The couple, from Lodi, NJ, were almost through the tunnel around 7 a.m. when they realized the baby wasn’t going to wait.

The frantic father pulled the car over and ran out to get help.

Veteran Port Authority officer George McCann and his partner Jean Bernard rushed to the car and found that the baby's head was already coming out, said a spokesman for the Port Authority.

McCann helped guide the baby’s shoulders out and delivered the boy.



“He tapped the baby on the arm and he opened his eyes,” the spokesman said.

McCann then created an “oxygen tent” around the baby to protect him from the dangerous car fumes, the spokesman said.

Both mom and baby were taken to New York Downtown Hospital in stable condition, said a spokesman for the FDNY.










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Miami: We’re still busiest cruise port




















Florida’s ports are steaming bow-to-bow in the race to be the world’s businest cruise ship port.

Though some publications have reported Port Canaveral in the lead with 3,761,056 million for its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, PortMiami officials Monday said they had hosted 3,774,452 passengers during the same period, putting it slightly ahead. Fort Lauderdale’s PortEverglades reported 3,689,000 passengers for the period, putting it slightly behind the others in third place.

“We’re all very close,’’ said Paula Musto, PortMiami spokeswoman.





PortMiami has slipped below its previous high of 4 million plus passengers because of changing ship deployments, she said. That number is expected to again cruise past 4 million in 2013 as several new ships homeport in Miami.

Jane Wooldridge





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Memorial set for Ex-Florida governor candidate




















A memorial service for Bill McBride, the Florida Democrat who defeated Janet Reno for the party’s gubernatorial nomination in 2002 but lost to Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, will be held later this week in Tampa.

The service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at the Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church.

McBride suffered a fatal heart attack Saturday while visiting with family in Mount Airy, N.C. He was 67.





McBride defeated Reno, who was U.S. attorney general under President Bill Clinton, in the Democratic primary to run against Bush. Before entering politics, he was managing partner at the prestigious Holland & Knight law firm.

McBride’s wife, Alex Sink, was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2010, losing to now-Gov. Rick Scott. The couple lived outside of Tampa.





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Odd Couple star Jack Klugman Dies on December 24

Jack Klugman died in his Northridge, CA home, with wife Peggy by his side, on December 24 at the age of 90, according to his son.

"He had a great life and he enjoyed every moment of it, and he would encourage others to do the same," son Adam Klugman said of the beloved star of The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E.

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Two pet pooches pilfered








Two adorable dogs were stolen from their masters in separate incidents — with one still missing, leaving his 7-year-old owner heartbroken for Christmas.

Marley (pictured), little Mia Bendrat’s Cavalier King Charles spaniel, was stolen from in front of a Washington Heights grocery store yesterday morning.

“He’s the Grinch that stole Christmas,” Mia said of the coldhearted thief who swiped Marley, which was tied to a pole in front of La Rosa Fine Foods on Broadway.

“When my mom told me the dog was lost, I started to cry. He’s my only dog,” she said of the pet she got for Christmas two years ago from her grandmother.




Mia, and her mother, Angie Estrade, put up 150 fliers around their neighborhood in hopes of finding Marley.

“Who would do this on Christmas Eve?” Estrada fumed.

In an another puppy pilfering, thieves in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, home invasion stole a 6-month-old Yorkshire terrier-Maltese, stuffed her in a bag and tossed it down a trash chute, sources said.

The dog was later rescued after the super heard her barking.

“Getting the dog back was a Christmas gift,’’ said her relieved owner, who asked that his name not be printed.

The 22-year-old man said two masked men, armed with pistols and a hammer, knocked on his door and forced their way into his home at around 3:10 a.m. Dec. 15.

Jennett Leandre, 23, was arrested and charged with assault, robbery, burglary and menacing.










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Miami: We’re still busiest cruise port




















Florida’s ports are steaming bow-to-bow in the race to be the world’s businest cruise ship port.

Though some publications have reported Port Canaveral in the lead with 3,761,056 million for its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, PortMiami officials Monday said they had hosted 3,774,452 passengers during the same period, putting it slightly ahead. Fort Lauderdale’s PortEverglades reported 3,689,000 passengers for the period, putting it slightly behind the others in third place.

“We’re all very close,’’ said Paula Musto, PortMiami spokeswoman.





PortMiami has slipped below its previous high of 4 million plus passengers because of changing ship deployments, she said. That number is expected to again cruise past 4 million in 2013 as several new ships homeport in Miami.

Jane Wooldridge





Read More..