UM student documents the emotional growth of young dancers as they prepare for Nutcracker performance

University of Miami visual journalism student Monica Herndon spent several months photographing the advanced ballet students of the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet/Miami Conservatory in preparation for their annual Nutcracker held in conjunction with the New World School of the Arts. The young dancers spent hours in class and rehearsal each week. They do not even reach the advanced...

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NORAD Santa trackers draw record number of phone calls, social media followers

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – NORAD says it drew a record number of phone calls and social media followers during its NORAD Tracks Santa operation on Christmas Eve.The North American Aerospace Defence Command said Friday volunteers answered more than 114,000 calls, up 12,000 from 2011.NORAD’s Santa Facebook page had more than 1.2 million followers, up from about 1 million last year. More than 129,000...

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Best of 2012 Lists Movies TV Fashion Scandal

ETonline has spent the last week showing love to the Best of 2012 -- from film to television to fashion and celeb scandals, we reviewed and ranked the last 365 days, bringing you only the best!In case you missed any of our Year End Roundups, they're all available below!12 Most Exciting Stars of 201212 Best TV Shows of 201212 Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 201212 Most Gorgeous Gowns of 201212 Best Movies...

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Bronx mom in Newtown 'scam' also solicited funds claiming they were for Hurricane Sandy relief

MyFOXCTAlleged scammer Nouel Alba leaves Hartford Ct. Federal court after making $50K bail.The Bronx mom accused of posing as the aunt of Newtown massacre victim Noah Pozner to collect bogus charity donations also solicited funds she claimed were for Hurricane Sandy relief, The Post found. Nouel Alba -- out on $50,000 bond in the alleged Sandy Hook Elementary...

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New rule puts cloak of privacy on children’s apps

WASHINGTON -- Unbeknown to the lucky children who unwrapped tablets or smartphones this holiday season, new rules issued in Washington to protect their privacy on those devices could have profound implications for the future of the Internet and mobile apps. The Federal Trade Commission recently updated the 14-year-old Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule, or COPPA,...

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Nonprofit with state contracts pays its top exec $1.2M

TALLAHASSEE -- A nonprofit company that holds two dozen state contracts to care for troubled juveniles in Florida pays its chief executive more than $1.2 million a year in salary and benefits, most of it courtesy of taxpayers.Outraged, the state Department of Juvenile Justice says the money paid to William Schossler is excessive and should be spent to help kids. The state...

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iOS apps see Christmas sales spike shrink in 2012

Distimo just released its statistics on Christmas Day app downloads and revenue growth… and the download spike is far smaller than it was last year. Back in 2011, Christmas Day iOS app download volume spiked 230% above the December average. This year, the increase was just 87% — far below industry expectations. The revenue spike came in at 70%.[More from BGR: Google names 12 best Android apps...

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Crawling All Over Pattinson's Face in 'Cosmopolis'

Twilight vamp Robert Pattinson plays a bloodsucker of an altogether different kind – the Wall Street kind – in his new movie Cosmopolis, on Blu-ray and DVD New Year's Day, and the film's director David Cronenberg tells ETonline that he was actually quite impressed with what Rob brought to the table, and that after the baggage of casting -- once you get to that point when you're on set and cameras...

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UFT won't sign new teacher evaluation agreement without wage increase guarantee, city officials claim

The teachers’ union has refused to sign a long-awaited agreement with the city on a new teacher evaluation system unless it gets a guarantee of wage increases in the next contract, Department of Education officials charged today.They claim the union also sought to derail talks on the rating system, which started in April, by mandating that the city confirm...

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Royal Caribbean orders third Oasis-Class vessel

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced Thursday that it has contracted with STX France to build a third Oasis-class vessel for delivery in mid-2016. In October, the cruise line announced it planned another sister ship to the successful Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.The contract, subject to financing and other conditions, includes the transfer of Pullmantur’s Atlantic...

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