Cool weather will continue Saturday in South Florida with breezy conditions and low temperatures dipping below 70. Highs will be in the mid-70s.
On Sunday, forecasters expect the start of a warming trend, with highs near 80 and a low of about 70.
Monday will bring more breezes and partly sunny skies, with a high of 79 degrees and a 20 percent chance of rain after 8 a.m.
For up-to-date forecasts and maps, click here.
Today in books and publishing: Philip Roth confirms his retirement; Amazon‘s mysteriously vanishing buy buttons; Kobo expands to Italy, Kindle considers China; cities in literature.
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Philip Roth wraps it up. One of America’s most celebrated living novelists has been hinting at retirement for a while now. But he didn’t choose to make a big announcement in a prominent stateside literary organ like The New York Review of Books. He chose instead to let it out in interviews with the foreign press over recent weeks. Last month he told Nelly Kaprièlian of French magazine Les Inrockuptibles that he hasn’t written new material in three years, and doesn’t plan to write any new novels. “To tell you the truth, I’m done,” he said frankly, “Nemesis will be my last book … Enough is enough! I no longer feel this fanaticism to write that I have experienced in my life.” He said the same thing in an interview with Italian magazine La Repubblica earlier this month. His publisher Houghton Mifflin confirmed that Roth is entering retirement. It looks the 74-year-old writer will have plenty of time to go over his life story and thoughts on literature with his new biographer, Blake Bailey. [Salon]
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Where did Amazon‘s buy buttons go? Late last night, customers looking to replenish their Kindles with fresh e-books were probably quite frustrated. No matter how hard anyone clicked, there was no way to purchase e-books from Penguin, Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and HarperCollins through Amazon. A company spokesperson later confirmed that it was just a technical slip-up, and buy buttons were quickly restored. But given Amazon’s propensity to punish publishers that don’t bend to its will with disabled buy buttons, this brief black-out set off a minor panic in publishing land. Why were only Big Six publishers affected? Did it have anything to do with the ongoing agency pricing legal battles or the Penguin Random House merger? Though it seems to have been nothing more serious than a technical goof, it’s a stark reminder that Amazon has the ability—as well as the leverage—to shut down publishers’ most important connection with consumers at the click of a mouse. [New York Observer]
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E-reading takes a global turn. E-books may be taking firm holds in the U.S., but they have a long way to go before they became the global format of choice for readers. Italy may be going in an increasingly digital direction soon, with the country’s largest bookseller Mondadori Group partnering with Kobo to stock Touch e-readers in its hundreds of stores. 34,000 e-books will be available for Italian readers. China is another largely untapped market, one that Amazon is eyeing enviously. ZDNet’s Liau Yun Qing reports that Kindles may become available there as early as this month. “If Amazon brings its e-reader to China, it will face competition from Chinese e-commerce player Dangdang which launched its e-reader in July at a retail price of 599 yuan (US$ 79),” she writes. “In comparison, the cheapest Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, which includes “Special Offers”, retails at US$ 119 in the United States.” [ZDNet]
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Cities in literature. Mark Binelli’s new book Detroit City Is the Place to Be is all about the Motor City—its ascent during America’s industrial golden age, and its struggle to redefine itself. Given his obsession with the urban, Publishers Weekly decided to tap Binelli for a list of his favorite books that take specific cities as a central theme. It’s more interesting than most lists on this subject might have been. For instance, he shines a light on Joan Didion not for her classic takes on San Francisco or New York, but for her book Miami. And his favorite books to take on New York—Ben Katchor’s The Jew of New York and Joseph Mitchell’s Up in the Old Hotel—are refreshing inclusions. His favorite book about Detroit, Elmore Leonard’s City Primeval, is also a bit surprising. [Publishers Weekly]
Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News
What had ET readers buzzing this week?
1. It's Brad vs. Zombies in World War Z
Zombie attack!!! Brad Pitt plays a family man and United Nations employee who faces a deadly zombie pandemic in World War Z -- we gave you an exclusive first look and now we've got the intense trailer!
Just when you thought that the zombie genre may be starting to generate less screams and more Zzzz's, World War Z arrives with an adrenaline shot in the arm for the genre -- complete with insane special effects and a claustrophobic urgency and realism not seen since the introduction of those "speed zombies" in 28 Days Later.
Directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), World War Z invades theaters June 21, 2013.
2. Oprah Reveals Her 2012 'Favorite Things'
It's officially the holiday season!
Oprah just revealed her "Favorite Things" for 2012, which includes such items as a $1,800 Jetson E-Bike, a $192 hand-picked Tom Ford lipstick palette and a $238 Lafco soap set.
"This luxuriously oversize, deliciously scented soap is my new go-to gift. I even brought a set to Mr. and Mrs. Colbert when I interviewed Stephen for Next Chapter," she says about the pricey soap set.
But of course if you don't have the income of Oprah, you can pick up O's December issue to learn how you can win all 49 of Oprah's favorite things, which hits newsstands November 6.
"Oprah's Favorite Things" is also getting its own two-hour, prime time special airing Nov. 18 on OWN. The special will surprise unsuspecting military spouses with items from the media mogul's exclusive must-have gift selections for the holiday season, and for the first time, viewers of Oprah's Favorite Things: 2012 will have the opportunity to watch and win select items featured in each segment of the show.
3. Brooke Burke-Charvet Reveals Cancer Diagnosis
Brooke Burke-Charvet released a video online Thursday to announce that she was recently diagnosed with a cancerous growth on her thyroid gland. In the video posted on her Modern Mom blog, the 41-year-old actress and TV host explained that a nodule was discovered on her thyroid and after a series of tests over the last few months, it was eventually determined to be cancerous and her thyroid will have to be removed.
"Which means that I'm going to have a nice big scar right her across my neck," Brooke said. "And I don't get to just walk around and pretend like nothing happened or not follow up or not share it, because it's going to be pretty much dead center."
Brooke said the discovery -- which originated from a regular physical -- came as a complete shock because she's otherwise healthy. "As crazy as it is, my head is in the right place, and it's going to be good," she said, adding that the doctors consider this a form of "good cancer" compared to many others and the prognosis is good. "I'm just going to make a positive out of this negative thing."
She said the surgery has been scheduled and she promised to keep her fans updated through her blog. "Now I'm ready to deal with it and I'm going to be fine. And I feel really, really strong."
Speaking on Thursday's episode of The Talk, Brooke's co-host on Dancing with the Stars, Tom Bergeron, commented on her cancer diagnosis. "My love and support are with you -- we are all there with her," he said. Bergeron added that he personally has a very positive outlook. "I've known about this for a few months. I have had experience with this in my family. You never want to hear the word cancer. But thyroid cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. It has an incredibly high success rate."
4. Kirstie on Secret Relationship with Swayze
Kirstie Alley reveals to ET's Chris Jacobs intimate details about what she says was a powerful attraction and hidden relationship with her North and South co-star, Patrick Swayze. Although both stars were married during filming of the mini-series, Alley tells Jacobs when she first saw Swayze, they had an intense attraction and she tried to avoid "going down that road," but they ultimately fell in love.
"Both of us were married. We did not have an affair. But again, I think what I did was worse. Because I think when you fall in love with someone when you're married, you jeopardize your own marriage and their marriage. It's doubly bad," said Alley.
Alley goes on to say that although she's friends with Patrick's wife, Lisa Niemi, who asked Alley to speak at Swayze's funeral, she is uncertain if Lisa is aware of their relationship.
5. One Direction & Drew Brees Play Catch - Exclusive
One Direction and Drew Brees teamed up last month to film an adorable Pepsi spot and during Thursday night's episode of The X Factor, the band will not only perform their newest singles, Live While We're Young and Little Things, but also reveal an alternate ending to the ad!
For those who missed the spot, the original ended with Drew Brees sacrificing his last can of Pepsi in order to become an unofficial member of One Direction. But, according to Angelique Krembs, VP Marketing for Pepsi, they also wanted to show fans what would happen if Drew won the last can of Pepsi. "Our latest Live For Now spot has received an enormous amount of buzz and online excitement," Krembs said. "And of course everyone wants to see the boys from 1D suit up in football gear and have some fun."
While you have to wait until Thursday to see the entire surprise ending to Pepsi's Live For Now television commercial, ETonline scored an exclusive sneak peek of One Direction tossing the pigskin around with Brees!
Tune in to The X Factor on November 8 at 8 p.m. to see the alternate ending!
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — President Barack Obama was declared the winner of Florida's 29 electoral votes Saturday, ending a four-day count with a razor-thin margin that narrowly avoided an automatic recount that would have brought back memories of 2000.
No matter the outcome, Obama had already clinched re-election and now has 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
The Florida Secretary of State's Office said that with almost 100 percent of the vote counted, Obama led Republican challenger Mitt Romney 50 percent to 49.1 percent, a difference of about 74,000 votes. That was over the half-percent margin where a computer recount would have been automatically ordered unless Romney had waived it.
AFP/Getty Images
President Obama
There is a Nov. 16 deadline for overseas and military ballots, but under Florida law, recounts are based on Saturday's results. Only a handful of overseas and military ballots are believed to remain outstanding.
It's normal for election supervisors in Florida and other states to spend days after any election counting absentee, provisional, military and overseas ballots. Usually, though, the election has already been called on election night or soon after because the winner's margin is beyond reach.
But on election night this year, it was difficult for officials — and the media — to call the presidential race here, in part because the margin was so close and the voting stretched into the evening.
In Miami-Dade, for instance, so many people were in line at 7 p.m. in certain precincts that some people didn't vote until after midnight.
The hours-long wait at the polls in some areas, a lengthy ballot and the fact that Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend early voting hours has led some to criticize Florida's voting process. Some officials have vowed to investigate why there were problems at the polls and how that led to a lengthy vote count.
If there had been a recount, it would not be as difficult as the lengthy one in 2000. The state no longer uses punch-card ballots, which became known for their hanging chads. All 67 counties now use optical scan ballots where voters mark their selections manually.
Republican George W. Bush won the 2000 contest after the Supreme Court declared him the winner over Democrat Al Gore by a scant 537 votes.
The win gave Obama victories in eight of the nine swing states, losing only North Carolina. In addition to Florida, he won Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada.
Terra Group expects to break ground soon on a major mixed-use development in Doral, including 300 single-family homes and a grocery-anchored shopping center.
Separately, the Miami developer said it recently acquired four parcels on the edge of Miami’s Midtown/Design District near 36th Street and Biscayne Boulevard through Terra Skylar Investments, a new venture formed with partners Avra Jain and Joseph Del Vecchio, giving it a foothold in a rapidly emerging hotspot.
The Doral Commons project — which will span more than 90 acres between Northwest 97th Avenue and Northwest 107th Avenue on the north side of 74th Street — will be the first project to break with the Mediterranean-style architecture for which the city is known.
“We’re going to be doing modern architecture for the first time in the city of Doral. We plan to have clean lines with a lot of glass. It will be very interesting architecture,” said David Martin, Terra’s president and chief operating officer.
The 3,000- to 4,000-square-foot homes planned for two gated communities will start in the $600,000s, with larger homes in the $1 million range.
Pascual, Perez, Kiliddjian & Associates will be the architect for the Doral project, Martin said.
Terra closed on the purchase of the Doral land from Flagler Development about two weeks ago.
Terra currently has three residential projects under way in Doral: Doral Cay, Vintage and Las Ramblas.
“The problem with Doral is the scarcity of land,” Martin said. “This is our last opportunity to develop something in Doral, and we want to do something design driven.”
He said the homes will feature more garage, storage and closet space than the standard fare.
On the retail side, the Doral project will include a 150,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center featuring a supermarket and other retail, such as food and beverage, fashion along with some space for banks, Terra said. Courtelis Co. will handle leasing.
Meanwhile near the Midtown/Design District neighborhood, which is in the midst of major development plans, Terra Skylar acquired a 50,000-square-foot office building at 3550 Biscayne Boulevard and several nearby parcels.
For now, Martin said the plan is to maintain the office building with its current tenants. Metro One is handling the leasing. Plans for the undeveloped lots are still in the making but will probably include residential, retail or hospitality, Martin said.
“It’s really a key piece of that neighborhood,” said Martin, who described the area as “where Miami’s creative class of tomorrow wants to live, work and play.”
A South Miami-Dade store clerk who hit a customer with a crowbar, killing him, pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and will serve seven years in prison.
Ragheb Sulaiman, 26, was initially charged with second-degree murder in November 2010 after police said he hit Akil LaRue Oliver at the Quick Shop Food Store, 9720 SW 168th St.
Oliver’s family agreed to the plea deal in a case that had roiled the West Perrine neighborhood. At an emotional hearing Friday, Sulaiman apologized to Oliver’s family, and both families hugged afterward.
“A just resolution to a true human tragedy,” said Sulaiman’s attorney, Richard Sharpstein. “The forgiveness and reconciliation expressed between the families begins closure to an event that unnecessarily divided the community.”
Oliver, angered because he thought the store owner ``owed him a small amount of money,’’ hurled racial insults and expletives at the store clerks, according to an arrest affidavit.
Store customers, including an off-duty Miami-Dade corrections officer, tried to calm Oliver down. Still angry, he left the store.
But Oliver later came back, continuing to yell at the clerks. Sulaiman’s brother, Nabil Sulaiman, hit Oliver with a bottle, according to police.
As Oliver tried to defend himself, Ragheb Sulaiman picked up a crowbar, smashing it onto Oliver’s on the head, the arrest report said. Oliver died at the store. Store surveillance cameras captured part of the fight.
Nabil Sulaiman, charged with aggravated battery, fled the country and is considered a fugitive.
It seems all is forgiven between Paul McCartney, 70, and Yoko Ono, 79, as the two will be collaborating on a new music project ... sorta.
The Beatles icon and the woman thought to have broken up the band are both singing on a new soundtrack for comedy director Judd Apatow's movie This Is 40. Ono performs a track titled I'm Your Angel, while McCartney will sing Lunch Box Old Sox, The Huffington Post reports.
RELATED: How Paul McCartney Really Feels About Yoko Ono
News of this project comes just one week after McCartney revealed in an interview that Ono, wife to the late John Lennon, wasn't the reason The Beatles broke up. "She certainly didn't break the group up, the group was breaking up," McCartney tells David Frost in an interview to air on British television (via the Los Angeles Times) in conjunction with The Beatles' 50th anniversary this year. "I don't think you can blame her for anything."
McCartney's full interview will air Nov. 9 on Frost's program on the Al Jazeera English TV channel, while This Is 40 hits theaters Dec. 21 and the soundtrack will be released Dec. 11.
Rockaways residents — stranded without a subway since Sandy struck nearly two weeks ago — are getting a new ferry service to and from Manhattan that will begin on Monday, Mayor Bloomberg announced.
Trips will cost $2 each way.
The ferries will make eight morning rush hour trips from Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in the Rockaways to Manhattan starting at 5:45 am.
For the evening rush, the ferry will run five trips to the Rockaways from Pier 11/Wall Street terminal in Lower Manhattan.
Those that use the service — which will be operated by Seastruck — will also be eligible for free transfers to and from the East 34th Street Midtown ferry terminal.
“Ferry service is one of the many ways the City is helping these New Yorkers begin the enormous work of recovery from Hurricane Sandy.”,” said Mayor Bloomberg.
The city’s Economic Development Corporation installed a temporary ferry landing in the Rockaways to transport people.
“Since the storm hit, we’ve been working to ensure that New York City is able to get back to business as soon as possible,” said New York City President Seth W. Pinsky.
“Until the reopening of subway service to the rest of the City is restored from the Rockaways, this temporary option will assist thousands of New Yorkers most impacted by this storm, allowing our City and our economy to take another step on the road to recovery.”
jennifer.fermino@nypost.com
Buying a foreclosed home is no longer the big bargain it used to be.
In South Florida, the discount for foreclosures narrowed to 2.9 percent below a comparable non-distressed home in September from 6.8 percent a year earlier, according to Zillow.
The foreclosure discount for the tri-county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties peaked in August 2008, when bank-owned homes fetched 22.7 percent less than non-distressed homes, the Seattle-based real-estate information firm said.
Nationwide, the foreclosure discount was 7.7 percent in September, down from 9.1 percent a year earlier, Zillow said. The widest gap nationally between foreclosed and non-distressed sales was 23.7 percent in September 2009.
“The smallest foreclosure discount is found in places where competition for homes is so high, people there are willing to pay the same amount for a foreclosure re-sale that they would for a non-distressed home simply to take advantage of historic affordability,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist.
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