Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”

Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.

Four months later, as the “mompreneur” was leaving her Biscayne Park home to pick up her kids from school, she got a call from the show asking her to pitch on the spot. Driving with her phone on her shoulder, she told the Bibbitec story.

Shark Tank bit. After a few more back and forths, her segment was filmed last summer.

Friday night, Taylor is scheduled to be on the show pitching Bibbitec’s main product, “The Ultimate Bib,” a patented generously sized, stain-resistant and fast-drying child’s bib made in the USA — Hialeah, to be exact. Bibbitec’s $30 bib can be a burp cloth, changing pad, breast feeding shield, full body bib, place mat, art smock and more, Taylor says.

We won’t be getting any details on what happens Friday night when she and her husband, Stephen Taylor, get into the tank with Daymond John, Mark Cuban and the other celebrity sharks; Taylor has been contractually sworn to secrecy. But whatever the outcome, she believes it will be worth it for the marketing pop.

Taylor was inspired to create her bib after a long and very messy plane ride with her two young sons and started Bibbitec in 2008. She and her team — her husband is CFO, her sister, Heather McCabe, handles sales and marketing, her uncle, Richard Page, is in charge of production, and her aunt, Marcia Kreitman, advises on design — have expanded the line to include The Ultimate Smock for older children and the Ultimate Mini for babies. Coming soon: a smock for adults.

Taylor already got a taste of what a national TV show appearance can do for sales. In September, Bibbitec’s sales jumped 40 percent after she was on an ABC World News "Made in America" segment. “Within 30 seconds, we started getting sales from all over the country and they didn’t even mention our name on the air,” Taylor says. She said that confirmed her belief that a Shark Tank appearance would be worth it.

Plus, Taylor has been hooked on Shark Tank since the first time she watched it in 2008 as she was developing her product. Trained in theater, she admits she didn’t know much about business and learned from the show. She would practice how she would answer the questions.

“I’m all about empowering women who are sitting on the couch watching, because that’s what I was four years ago,” says Taylor. “All I wanted to do was to be on Shark Tank because I believed if I got on Shark Tank the world will see what I am trying to do and that’s all I need. I know it’s a great product.”

Will that theater training come in handy Friday night? Stay tuned. Shark Tank airs at 9 p.m. on ABC and Taylor hopes viewers will join in on Twitter using the hashtag #sharkbib.

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Mom arrested after toddler found wandering Miami Gardens streets alone

A Miami Gardens woman is being held in jail after police found her toddler son wandering alone outside.

Mathieu Anice, 28, was arrested Tuesday night after she told police she was not aware her 2-year-old was found on the streets, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS4. Police were tipped off after getting several calls from people who noticed the toddler.

“After a while they asked questions in the neighborhood and they came to a house where they pointed where the child lives,” said Miami Gardens Police Capt. Ralph Suarez told CBS4.

“The units brought the kid to the house and it was at that point she realized the child was missing.”

Officers located Anice in the 3400 block of 177th Terrace. According to the station, Anice was arrested in March 2012 on felony child neglect charges.

Anice is being held on $5,000 bond. Her son and other children in the home have been removed by the state.

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California police probe stunts that shut down freeways

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The California Highway Patrol is investigating two apparently unrelated stunts that jammed freeways over the weekend, including one involving hundreds of motorcyclists celebrating a marriage proposal that inconvenienced motorists east of Los Angeles.

Both events created a flurry of viral Internet videos, fueling concerns about a repeat performance by copycats.

On Interstate 10 east of Los Angeles on Sunday, up to 300 bikers stopped traffic so that one of them could propose to his girlfriend, said Officer Vince Ramirez, a Los Angeles-area spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

Video that surfaced online of the stunt showed some bikers creating a wall of smoke by spinning their tires against the concrete. In the middle of the gathering, pink smoke could be seen wafting into the air.

As they exited the freeway, several bikers were later ticketed for reckless riding unrelated to their possible role in the freeway shutdown, Ramirez said.

He said officers were working with the Los Angeles County District Attorney‘s office to prepare additional charges against some of the bikers.

The stunt did not cause any injuries or collisions, he said.

In Oakland on Saturday, traffic ground to a halt on Interstate 880 near the city’s sports coliseum, as several sports cars did doughnuts, spinning around and filling the air with tire smoke, officials said. Stunned motorists exited their cars and watched.

Several motorists caught in the sudden traffic jam were frightened or angry, according to recordings of calls to authorities released on Tuesday.

“I can’t believe this – I have three kids in the car,” one caller told an Oakland-area dispatcher. “It scares the hell out of me.”

Authorities have not found or identified any of the drivers, said California Highway Patrol Sergeant Diana McDermott.

California Highway Patrol officers said they feared the weekend events’ popularity on social media websites could start a dangerous trend. So far, such stunts have been rare, they said.

“That’s why the investigation is expanding,” Ramirez said.

“If there are any criminal charges that can be filed as a result of this incident, they will be filed,” he said.

(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis, Tom Brown and Eric Walsh)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Katie Featherston Paranormal Activity 4 Interview

Paranormal Activity 4 is out on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack this week for edge-of-your-seat at-home consumption, and the film features the menacing return of Katie Featherston to the groundbreaking horror franchise, who talks to ETonline about the secret recipe to the long-running franchise, what truly scares her – and how she really wants to do comedy!

Pics: 13 Must-See Movies of 2013

ETonline: Four films and counting... What's the secret to the success of the Paranormal Activity franchise? Why do people subject themselves to such entertaining torture again and again and again?

Katie Featherston: "I think people enjoy being scared, and I think that one thing that this franchise does, and that started with [series creator] Oren Peli, is that it's about the audience's imagination. It's about building up to a scare and not about shock value. Not that there aren't really shocking, wonderful scares, but there's a great build-up and there's a lot of imagination that is required of an audience member to go into that zone and into that world, and I think audiences enjoy that, and they like being challenged."

ETonline: What scares Katie? Does this type of movie scare you?

Katie Featherston: "Yeah. I haven't tried in a long time, but I can't watch [the Paranormal Activity movies] by myself. I remember somebody sent me a link to some kind of supposedly real found-footage – I was watching on my computer for just a couple minutes and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, no, I have to turn it off.' It was very similar to our stuff, except supposedly it was real. I didn't really think it was real, but I got so creeped out, I was in my house alone, it was the middle of the day, and I was still scared! It's not particularly scary for the most part making [our movies] because we just have so much fun working on these, but I am an avid horror film fan and I definitely get scared."

ETonline: How was the Paranormal Activity 4 shoot compared to previous installments?

Katie Featherston: "We've been really lucky to have the same crew, and for the most part the same kind of core group of people come back year after year, and now it's kind of like this fun summer camp where we go and we film this scary movie, but while we're making it we're having a ton of fun – and then it comes out and everybody else gets really scared."

Related: Some 'Paranormal' Tea with Toby

ETonline: Working with Catfish creators Henry Joost and Ariel Schuman, did you share any Catfish-style tales on set?

Katie Featherston: "I have friends that I have made through Twitter or things like that, but they're all verified as real people – I've either seen them perform, or we're mutual fans of each other, something like that. I don't have any authentic, Catfish-worthy stories. I have a lot of good people in my actual life, but I will say that it's a strange time that we live in -- it's easy to make friends and to make connections through social media, and if you're a good-hearted person, sometimes you can just assume people are who they say they are, and that isn't always the case, which is why Catfish is successful."

ETonline: You're now four deep into Paranormal Activity land. How has this film series changed your life?

Katie Featherston: "Oh, jeez (laughs). It's a huge blessing on so many fronts, professionally of course, and it's one of those things that I feel even though we're four movies in and it's been four or five years, it still feels sort of outside of me. … Personally, to have people recognize your work is amazing and we have great fans. I love meeting fans and talking to them, and that happens quite a bit now, which is really cool. … I'm at that great level where fans will stop and say hi, which I love, but the paparazzi don't care, which is incredible."

ETonline: That's the ultimate Hollywood sweet spot that you've found.

Katie Featherston: I know! I feel like I've got to enjoy it while I'm in this good little spot.

Video: A Look at 'Paranormal Activity: The Chronology'

ETonline: Are you making efforts to pursue projects outside of the supernatural thriller genre?

Katie Featherston: "In order to not just play just a demon for the rest of my career? Yeah, I think that would be smart (laughs). What I want to do is comedy. There's a lot of things I want to do, but that's next on my list of things I want to work towards. Pilot season's kicked in, and hopefully good things will come out of that. … I'm really excited about it. It would be a really fun way to spread my wings."

ETonline: Can you see yourself doing more Paranormal Activity movies?

Katie Featherston: "Sure. The thing that's great about the guys in charge of it, they are really respectful of the franchise. Just like in the third one, they didn't put me in there just to have me in there. They made it believable and reasonable and plausible, and so I know that if they want me to be in it, then there will be a good reason. I trust that if they ask me back, I would happily be a part of this. This has become a franchise, but it's also – this sounds kind of cheesy – kind of a family. We come back every summer and do these films and I've made lifelong friends out of it."

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Time Inc. to cut 500 jobs or 6 percent of staff

Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang said she is in the process of slashing 500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its global staff of 8,000, as the publisher wrestles with slumping print advertising.

The layoffs are part of Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes’ mandate to shave $100 million in costs from the hard-pressed publishing subsidiary. The problem for Time Inc. and other publishers is that digital revenue—while growing rapidly—isn’t enough to offset the erosion of print ad dollars.

The company, which is home to venerable weeklies such as Time, People and Sports Illustrated, has had bigger cutbacks in terms of absolute numbers, but this latest round is the largest on a percentage basis. The Post first reported earlier this month that Time Inc. would shed between 500 and 700 jobs.

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Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang

“With the significant and ongoing changes in our industry, we must continue to transform out company into one that is leaner, more nimble and more innately multi-platform,” said Lang, who joined Time over a year ago from digital ad firm Digitas, where she was the CEO.

“To make this change, we need to operate as smartly and efficiently as possible to create room for critical investments and new initiatives. These reductions are part of this important transformation process.”

Insiders said that less than half the cuts will be at Time Inc.’s New York headquarters.

The cutbacks will also hit London-based subsidiary IPC and the back-shop operation in Tampa, Fla., where a sizable staff that falls under the consumer marketing division is responsible for handling subscription-renewal efforts.

The consumer marketing unit has been without an operating head for close to a year.

Some in the rank-and-file gripe that the cutbacks are taking place in the absence of any clear direction forward for the company.

“This is just cutting for the sake of cutting,” said one high ranking insider.

“We need to do it, I guess,” said another insider. “But people want to know what is going on. We need a global road show — and it should start inside.”

kkelly@nypost.com

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Tablets take their screen tests

Screen quality is critical to a great tablet, and in 2012 we saw the quality of tablet screens advance in leaps and bounds, especially in terms of clarity. Here are our favorites.

Barnes & Noble Nook HD

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: A light, comfortable design with a sharp screen and a well-implemented user profiles feature. Books, videos and magazines look great and the microSD slot takes some of the sting out of the lack of internal storage.

The bad: App, movie, TV show and game options are thin and there’s no native music service. It’s missing some typical tablet features and 8GB is low for the price. Fingerprints easily sully the screen.

The cost: $199

The bottom line: The Barnes & Noble Nook HD can’t match competing tablets in media library breadth, but as long as you’re not looking for bells and whistles, its sharp screen and comfortable body make it an ideal tablet choice for books and magazines.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: High-resolution screen rivals the new iPad’s display in sharpness and clarity. Also, apps launch quickly, GPS works well and its rear camera is the best we’ve seen on any Android tablet. The tablet’s body has the same great thin and light design as the Prime.

The bad: So far, not enough Android apps take advantage of the TF700’s higher pixel count. Also, its battery life isn’t as good as the Prime’s.

The cost: $479.88 to $590.37

The bottom line: The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is one of the fastest Android tablets out there, combining an already proven design with a better camera, a faster processor, and a beautiful screen.

Google Nexus 10

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: A beautifully sharp screen is light, durable and has the fastest processor of any Android tablet. Photo Sphere is an incredibly cool concept. Google’s content ecosystem is only getting better.

The bad: The included charger isn’t fast enough to power the battery while playing a game; even while idle, it charges painfully slowly. There’s no storage expansion option, and apps that take full advantage of the screen are currently few and far between. Navigation isn’t quite as smooth as on the Nexus 7.

The cost: $399

The bottom line: The Nexus 10’s superior design and swift performance make it one of the best Android tablets to date. We expect post-launch updates from Google to make it even better.

Apple iPad (fourth generation)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: A6X processor adds extra system speed and graphics power. Improved worldwide cellular compatibility makes the LTE model a more appealing proposition. And the iOS App Store remains best in class, with the widest selection.

The bad: The fourth-gen iPad is otherwise identical to its recent predecessor — same size, weight and Retina Display screen. It’s heavy to hold in one hand, and most older accessories won’t work without investing in a pricey Lightning adapter.

The cost: $499 to $539.99

The bottom line: The latest iPad adds several tweaks and improvements to secure its position at the top of the tablet heap. It’s better all around, but third-gen owners don’t need to upgrade.

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Study: Medicaid expansion may save state money

Florida would save money over the next decade — not lose billions as Gov. Rick Scott has argued — by accepting Medicaid expansion under federal healthcare reforms, according to a detailed economic study.

Miami-Dade legislators and healthcare industry leaders, getting together on Monday, heard about the report by Georgetown University — the most positive yet on a highly debated provision of what is often called Obamacare.

Jack Hoadley, a senior researcher with the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, said the study was the first to calculate spin-off savings in other state programs if Florida accepted the expansion, which over the next 10 years could bring $26 billion in federal funds to provide insurance to an estimated 815,000 to 1.3 million Florida residents who are now uninsured.

In Miami-Dade, expansion would cover an additional 150,000 to 225,000, according to the Georgetown projections. That reduction in the uninsured would bring huge relief to the county’s hospitals, which by federal law must treat anyone who comes to the emergency room, regardless of ability to pay.

The top-level meeting, at the United Way of Miami-Dade headquarters, was convened by United Way, Health Council of South Florida and Health Foundation of South Florida.

At the very least, the Georgetown findings and other recent analyses have some critics reconsidering opposition to the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act.

State Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, who previously was an “absolute no” vote against Medicaid expansion, said after the meeting that he was now “open to the thought” that expansion makes sense.

State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez, R-Hialeah, said he was still concerned about the debt-ridden feds’ ability to fund Medicaid over the long term, but “we are looking at all the options.”

Estimates about the real costs of expansion have varied wildly based on the law, which requires the federal government to pay all costs of the expansion for the first three years. Starting in 2017, the state will start paying a small share, which will reach 10 percent of the expansion costs for 2020 and beyond.

Gov. Scott, who has long been critical of Obamacare, contended in December that expansion would cost Florida taxpayers more than $26 billion over 10 years. Opponents and healthcare experts criticized that estimate as way too high, and earlier this month the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration gave a much lower estimate of $3 billion for the decade.

That was lower even than a report by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, a Washington research group, which in November estimated that expansion would cover an additional 1.2 million residents at a cost to the state of $5.4 billion over 10 years.

Georgetown’s Hoadley said Monday that the Kaiser study used only rough data for all 50 states, while the Georgetown study, funded by two Florida nonprofit foundations, looked in detail at how Medicaid expansion would save money in other areas. The Georgetown study found that the state would have to spend less for safety-net hospitals such as Jackson Health System, mental-health and substance-abuse programs and the medically needy program.

Hoadley said the savings calculations were “a very cautious estimate.”

The Georgetown report projected that the state would save $300 million in 2014, the first year of Medicaid expansion, and $100 million in 2020, when the state would be paying for 10 percent of the expansion costs.

The Georgetown study found that expansion was especially important in Florida, where almost one in three — 30 percent — of nonelderly adults are uninsured, compared to 18 percent nationwide.

In South Florida, the figures are even higher for uninsured non-elderly adults: 57 percent in Hialeah, 50 percent in the city of Miami, 48.5 percent in Deerfield Beach and 31.2 percent in Kendall.

Hospitals strongly support the expansion. On Monday, Phillis Oeters, an executive with Baptist Health South Florida, told legislators that hospitals have already seen their Medicare and Medicaid payments reduced greatly in other areas.

“Enough is enough,” she said. “Hospitals can’t take it anymore.”

A study done for the Florida Hospital Association estimated that the infusion of federal funds from Obamacare would add 56,000 jobs to the state.

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China may consider ending its decade-long ban on video game consoles

Shares of Sony (SNE) and Nintendo (NTDOY) surged on Monday following a report from China’s official newspaper that claimed the country is considering the lift of a decade-long ban on video game consoles. An unnamed source told the China Daily newspaper that the Ministry of Culture is “reviewing the policy,” and has conducted surveys and held discussions with other ministries on the possibility of lifting the ban. An official at the ministry’s cultural market department denied the report in a statement to Reuters, however, claiming it “is not considering lifting the ban.”

[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 debuts on Wednesday – strap in for a wild ride]

China banned the sale of video game consoles in 2000 to safeguard children’s mental and physical development. In order for the ban to be lifted, the seven different ministries who issued the ruling must all agree to reverse it.

[More from BGR: Apple releases iOS 6.1 to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users]

Shares of Sony’s stock were up more than 8% in Tokyo on Monday, while Nintendo gained 3.5% on a weaker Nikkei index.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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Mary J. Blige Talks Beyonce Super Bowl Performance

Mary J. Blige was one of the performers at Friday's Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, where the topic quickly turned to Beyonce's highly anticipated Super Bowl performance this Sunday.

Mary, who herself performed at the Super Bowl in 2001 alongside 'N Sync, Britney Spears and Nelly for one of the most memorable halftime shows ever, has nothing but high hopes for Beyonce's big performance.

Pics: Inside Beyonce's Super Bowl Rehearsals!

"I don't need to give Beyonce any advice, she's going to do her thing," she tells The Trend on Zappos Couture. "Beyonce's amazing and she's gonna do what she does."

However, Mary does admit that there's nothing quite like performing at the Super Bowl.

"[It's different] because there's millions and millions of people watching you on television, and in the arena. I mean it's crazy. The energy's crazy," she remembers about the experience.

Video: Alicia Keys Dishes on Her Super Bowl Surprise

Beyonce was also on the mind of her fellow performer Michael Bolton, who defended her vigorously in light of the lip-sync controversy surrounding her inauguration performance.

"The Beyonce thing ... Nobody should judge this because you don't know any of the conditions that took place and what transpired leading up to it," he says. "And at these kinds of events, people don't know what hearing is on stage, let alone singing in front of tens of millions of people around the world. What I heard is, there was no time for rehearsal and I thought she was phenomenal. And I know that was her voice. And I couldn't tell you right now -- and I still couldn't tell you -- whether she was live or not. If that was lip-syncing, that would be the best lip-syncing I've ever seen."

Click the video to hear Mary's thoughts on Beyonce and the Super Bowl.

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Herbalife preps online counterattack against Ackman

Bill Ackman has gotten under Herbalife’s skin.

The nutritional supplements company that Ackman dissed as a “pyramid scheme” has purchased three domain names related to the hedge fund tycoon.

Herbalife has owned “therealbillackman.com,” “billackman.net” and “therealackman.net” since Jan. 18, according to Go Daddy’s database of registered domain names. So far, the sites are inactive.

The domain names appear to be part of a bigger Internet and social media campaign kicked off after Ackman’s paid search engine ad “factsaboutherbalife.com” topped Google’s search rankings about the company.

REUTERS

Bill Ackman

That Web site details Ackman’s case against the company. The hedge fund honcho announced Dec. 19 that he made a $1 billion short bet against the company because he thinks it’s a pyramid scheme that will be shut down by regulators. Herbalife has called his claims “bogus.”

Not wanting the top search result to be what analyst Tim Ramey calls a “slam Web site,” Herbalife likely paid up to have its own search engine ad top Ackman’s.

“I’m sure they’re getting lots of creative advice on how to control the message,” said Ramey of DA Davidson. Herbalife has also been posting paid announcements on Twitter.

Herbalife’s shares are down 54 cents, or 1.35 percent, at $39.48.

Neither Herbalife nor Ackman could be reached for comment.

mcelarier@nypost.com

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