US retail sales up 0.3 percent in November

WASHINGTON — Americans spent more online in November to the start of the holiday season and began to replace cars and rebuild in the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy.

US retail sales rose 0.3 percent in November from October, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That offset a 0.3 percent decline in October from September.

The figures were much stronger after factoring out gas prices, which have fallen sharply in recent months. When excluding gas station sales, retail sales increased a solid 0.8 percent.

The gains were widespread, although much of the strength reflected a rebound from the storm. Auto sales jumped 1.5 percent, as many people sought to replace damaged vehicles. Sales at home improvement stores increased 1.6 percent.

REUTERS

A crowd of shoppers browse at Target on Thanksgiving.

There was also an indication that many Americans began shopping for the holidays, most likely taking advantage of promotions during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. Electronic and appliance sales rose 2.5 percent. Furniture sales increased 1 percent. And sales that reflect online shopping surged 3 percent — the biggest gain for that category in 13 months.

Still, there were also troubling signs for the holiday shopping season: Department stores sales dropped 0.8 percent. And sales at general merchandise stores, a broader category that includes Wal-Mart and Target, fell 0.9 percent.

Some economists worry that consumers might scale back on holiday shopping if they are concerned about the "fiscal cliff." That's the name for tax hikes and spending cuts that are scheduled to go into effect next year if Congress and President Barack Obama cannot reach a deal to avert them.

The retail sales report is the government's first look at consumer spending. Consumer spending is important because it drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

The economy grew at a solid 2.7 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. But the gains were mostly because businesses stepped up restocking, which drove more factory production.

Consumer spending actually slowed over the summer from the previous quarter. And many economists worry that consumers have remained cautious in the final three months of the year, because of the storm and their fears about higher taxes next year. That should keep growth below an annual rate of 2 percent in the October-December quarter, they say.

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Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

Miami-based Lennar Corp. has gotten approval on $1.7 billion in loans from China Development Bank to fund the development and construction of two major projects in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The contract, set to close by Dec. 31 subject to various conditions, would mark the first U.S. loan by the big state-owned Chinese bank. One condition — tagged the “Chinese component”— is that China Railway Construction Corp. be included as a general contracting partner in the project, the person said.

Closing by year’s end is crucial because of new tax rules set to take effect, the person added.

The agreement, first reported in The Wall Street Journal, would provide funding for the first six years of what is envisioned to be a 20-year project.

The loan agreement, reached Dec. 7 after Lennar officials met in China with bank officials, provides for $1 billion in financing to a partnership led by Lennar to redevelop Hunters Point Shipyard-Candlestick Point, a site in southeast San Francisco spanning more than 700 acres, the person said. Plans for the mixed-use community call for nearly 12,000 residential units on the site. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.

Under the pact, the Chinese bank would provide another $700 million to a partnership of Lennar, Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany, a real estate investment and development firm, to redevelop Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Islands in San Francisco Bay. Some 8,000 units of housing are planned for the mixed-use project on 535 acres. The U.S. Navy is set to turn over the first parcel of land to the development company in late 2013.

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Fla. board to select education chief

One finalist for Florida education commissioner conceded Tuesday that he can be caustic at times, while another said he resigned as Illinois’ top school official because of the political climate under a governor who later went to prison.

The remaining finalist acknowledged the federal No Child Left Behind Act that he helped draft and promote as a congressional staffer and U.S. Department of Education official was a compromise that needs to be revised.

The State Board of Education interviewed all three candidates in Tampa, where the panel is scheduled to make a decision Wednesday.

The finalists are outgoing Indiana School Superintendent Tony Bennett, Murray State University President Randy Dunn, who previously had been superintendent in Illinois, and Arlington, Va., consultant Charles Hokanson, who had been a deputy assistant U.S. secretary of education in President George W. Bush’s administration.

The new commissioner will replace Gerard Robinson who resigned in August after only about a year on the job. He cited separation from his family in Virginia where he previously had been secretary of education.

Bennett, a Republican who lost a bid for re-election last month, said if he has a fault it is being passionate, focused and looking to the end result as the only thing that matters when he was asked about his strengths and weaknesses.

"I do forget that the interpersonal touch, the human touch is so vitally important," Bennett said. "And I would tell you that probably some of my sharpest critics would tell you that sometimes I come off a little impersonal, that I can be a little caustic, and that’s not because I’m a mean spirited person."

Bennett said his strong suit is carrying out polices that are best for children. In Indiana those were similar to many that fellow Republicans, starting with former Gov. Jeb Bush, have instituted in Florida such as school grading and accountability and teacher evaluation programs.

Dunn said he took a sabbatical from his position as chairman of the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education at Southern Illinois University to serve as superintendent on an interim basis. He said he found that job so rewarding that he agreed to stay on permanently but resigned in 2006 to accept the presidency at Murray State in neighboring Kentucky.

"One of the things that was particularly challenging in Illinois at the time was the political climate," Dunn said. "It was not a good environment politically to be working in."

Dunn was referring to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who years later was removed from office and imprisoned on multiple corruption charges including trying to sell President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

Hokanson, a lawyer and policy specialist rather than educator, worked on No Child Left Behind while a staffer for now-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"There are amazing strengths to that piece of legislation," Hokanson said. "It was the first time that the federal government was able to really put in some levels of accountability for the billions of federal dollars that they had been spending for decades and not seeing results."

Hokanson, however, blamed Congress and Obama for failing to make needed changes in the law that is well past its planned renewal date.

Bennett and Dunn both stressed that they see the commissioner’s role as implementing rather than setting policy, which they said is the job of the board, Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott.

In Tallahassee, Scott said he wants a commissioner who would carry out his agenda including adequate funding, accountability, treating teachers right and not teaching to standardized tests.

"I want someone who I can work with who believes in what I’m doing," Scott said.

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Here’s the Pope’s First Tweet

The long wait is over and we’ve finally got the first words of Twitter wisdom from Pope Benedict XVI. 

Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.

— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

Ok, so not that funny, but it was all spelled right and we got blessed by a pope, so that’s a good start. And the Pope did actually send the message himself. Pope Benedict appeared on Wednesday morning for his regular weekly address in front of throngs of media and worshipers, and personally hit the tweet button himself on his iPad. Vatican officials say that before the end of the day he will be answering three questions that were submitted to the #askpontifex hashtag earlier this month. Here’s the first of those:

How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?

— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

By speaking with Jesus in prayer, listening to what he tells you in the Gospel and looking for him in those in need

— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

He actually tweeted in Italian first and his other language accounts weren’t far behind. Follow @Pontifex for more 140 character sermons.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Officials bust 41 members of violent B'klyn street gang

Forty-one members of a violent, highly organized Brooklyn street gang have been busted for murder, conspiracy, robbery and a host of other crimes, prosecutors said today.

"They formed alliances with other gangs and used social media to brag about their crimes," a rep for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes said.

"Leaders would collect money from their members at weekly meetings to fund their illegal operations, housing, bail and the commissary at Rikers Island."

The gang ran its operation out of Bushwick.

The District Attorney's office will release more details at a news conference later today.

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The first wave of Windows 8 PCs

We’ve been benchmarking and field-testing new Windows 8 systems, including all-in-one desktops, traditional clamshell laptops and convertible laptops with displays that flip or twist around to form tabletlike devices.

Dell XPS One 27

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: Boasts the highest-display resolution among Windows 8 all-in-ones, and at an aggressive price.

The bad: A new adjustable display support arm is welcome, but stops short of reclining a full 90 degrees.

The cost: $1,999.99 to $2,099

The bottom line: Updated with a touch screen, a new stand and up-to-date components, the Dell XPS One 27 leads the inaugural class of Windows 8 PCs.

HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: An attractive ultrabook with a respectable mix of components for its price, a responsive touch screen and a backlit keyboard.

The bad: It isn’t very configurable, so you can’t make it too much more powerful than it already is. It’s on the heavy side for an “ultrabook” (if you consider 4.5 pounds heavy). Its touch pad is jumpy at default settings.

The cost: $799.99 to $974.98

The bottom line: The HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 is a good gateway to the Windows 8 experience with a responsive touch screen in a traditional laptop body.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: Looks as good as any 13-inch ultrabook, with the added attraction of a 360-degree screen and a laptop body that can fold into a tent, stand or slate.

The bad: Tablet mode leaves the keyboard exposed, and the Yoga 13 costs more than standard ultrabooks with similar components.

The cost: $1,099

The bottom line: The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a convertible touch-screen laptop/tablet that most importantly doesn’t compromise the traditional laptop experience.

Microsoft Surface RT

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: Interface is innovative, elegant, powerful, and versatile. The tablet feels strong and well-built, includes Office 2013 and offers rich video and music services. Its keyboard cover accessories are the best ways to type on a tablet, period.

The bad: The tablet has sluggish performance, its Windows Store is a ghost town, Metro requires some practice to get the hang of and the desktop interface feels clunky and useless.

The cost: $499 to $599

The bottom line: If you’re an early adopter willing to forget everything you know about navigating a computer, the Surface tablet could replace your laptop. Everyone else: wait for more apps.

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South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON --
Don’t expect South Florida’s congressional delegation to stray too far from party lines when it comes to dancing on the edge of the fiscal cliff, the end-of-the-year spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect if Congress and the president don’t address them.

Democrats are firmly with President Barack Obama, whose proposal seeks to raise $600 billion over a decade by eliminating tax deductions and $960 billion over the same period by raising tax rates for the top 2 percent of income earners. Many Democrats sounded as though the highly charged presidential campaign was still under way.

Republicans are just as committed to their party.

There’s been "no evidence thus far" that Republicans are truly interested in the middle class, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Weston, who the president just asked again to head the Democratic National Committee.

"We need to continue to focus on rebuilding our economy from the middle class out," she said during an appearance on MSNBC.

"President Obama talked eloquently and passionately during the campaign about making sure that we can get a handle on this deficit, that we can rebuild our economy from the middle class out, that we can focus on creating jobs and getting the economy turned around," she added.

Equally firm: South Florida Democratic Reps. Alcee Hastings, of Miramar and Frederica Wilson, of Miami. Both are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which released a statement of principles this week calling for the Bush-era tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans.

Social Security should be completely off the table, the caucus warned, and it said it would oppose any plans that change the eligibility for Medicare or cut Medicaid, the statement said.

Some Democrats made conciliatory moves, however. Sen. Bill Nelson said that during his campaign, voters told him they want consensus and an end to partisan gridlock.

"They want bipartisanship," he said in a video message. "They want to stop the ideological rigidity."

It’s the only way to rebuild the economy and reduce the federal deficit, while preserving Social Security and Medicare, he said. He called on people of both political parties "to reach across the aisle and work together so America doesn’t go over the cliff."

That’s unlikely to come from his Republican counterpart, Sen. Marco Rubio, who along with former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was featured in a speech this week in Washington.

Rubio blamed the "complicated and uncertain tax code" for "hindering the creation of middle-class jobs." He gave no hint he would be interested in supporting the president’s tax proposal on the wealthiest Americans.

"You can’t open or grow a business if your taxes are too high or too uncertain. And that’s why I personally oppose the president’s plan to raise taxes," Rubio said. "This isn’t about a pledge. It isn’t about protecting millionaires and billionaires. For me, it’s about the fact that the tax increases he wants would fail to make even a small dent in the debt but it would hurt middle-class businesses and the people who work for them."

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Miami, was one of the few Republicans from South Florida to suggest she’d be open to tax reform, saying there needs to be a review of the tax code "to remove special interest tax loopholes used by the wealthy."

But she warned that the country’s debt exists "not because tax rates are too low, but because government spends too much."

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, also of Miami, said he was less optimistic about a resolution now than he was right after the election.

He said he feels as though Republicans have moved closer to the president without getting credit for it.

"I’m very disappointed with the president’s response," he said in an interview.

"The speaker put forward a proposal, and whether you agree with it or not, there are a couple of things beyond debate: He’s gotten closer to the president’s position."

Even those on their way out of Congress made no move to cross party lines. Republican Rep. Allen West, of Plantation, who was ousted by Democrat Patrick Murphy, warned constituents in a letter that he didn’t think there was a true plan to reduce spending.

Rep. David Rivera, a Republican who lost his re-election bid and who will be replaced by Democrat Joe Garcia, did not respond to a request for comment.

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WATCH: Roof collapses during live TV interview after Ala. tornado

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A man who survived a tornado with his family got a second shock when his roof caved in on live TV.

Homeowner Clint Thornton told WBRC-TV that he was about to leave for work when he saw a funnel cloud.

"I turned the key to go out the door. I could see the funnel and all kinds of debris. It was heading right toward our house," said Thornton.

Thornton was able to get to safety into a closet with his wife, where he said they started praying.

Thornton, who was uninjured, was describing how his family hid from the storm with WIAT when yelling was heard from inside the home and pieces of the living room ceiling began raining down on family members.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that storm damage Monday morning in Birmingham was caused by a tornado with maximum winds estimated at 90 mph.

The tornado was part of a system of rain and thunder storms that hit Alabama on Monday. National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Westland said the line of severe storms was cause by a cold front that moved into the state. Highs in the state were mostly in the 70s, but were expected to plummet into the low 50s Tuesday.

Tornadoes are most common in Alabama in the spring. But Westland said it is not uncommon for tornadoes to form in November and December, which he called the state's secondary tornado season.

With AP

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AutoNation: Back in the fast lane with expansion, higher sales

Despite an agonizingly slow economic recovery, the country’s largest auto retailer, Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, is thriving again as demand for vehicles expands.

The company, one of Florida’s largest, is posting increasingly strong profits and revenues. Just last week, in a sign of confidence, Autonation announced a major acquisition — buying six large auto stores in Texas — that will add about 700 employees to its national payroll of 19,400.

In announcing the deal Tuesday, which is expected to provide AutoNation with $575 million in additional revenues next year, the company’s CEO and chairman, Mike Jackson, expressed optimism about the prospects for continued growth in vehicle sales.

“You want to know what I’m thinking, look at what I do,” Jackson told viewers on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.

No information was released on the cost of the transactions, but in recent years auto dealerships sometimes sold for three to five times revenue, which would represent a significant investment for the company.

Tough times

To be sure, AutoNation has struggled through some tough times. It was battered by the Great Recession, which depressed sales and pushed the company into a $1.2 billion loss four years ago. As sales began to improve in 2010 and 2011, it was blindsided by a shortage of Japanese-made cars last year after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 shut down Japanese manufacturers of some essential components.

Since then, however, AutoNation has rebounded. Unit sales, revenues and profits all performed well in the first three quarters of this year, and the company expects new vehicle sales to continue their recovery nationwide, rising to the mid-14 million units this year, up from about 12.7 million in 2011. In the third quarter of 2012, AutoNation’s new car unit sales grew by 21 percent over the same period in 2011, doing better than an estimated 15 percent increase industry wide. November’s sales of new vehicles increased by 21 percent over November 2011 .

The big dealerships acquired sell Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Chrysler products in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. They are expected to sell 14,000 new and used autos this year, and will add substantially to AutoNation’s future sales.

“We are in the right industry at the right time,” Jackson said during an interview. “The recovery in new vehicle sales is being driven by replacement demand,” added Jackson, who has 42 years of experience in the auto business. “The average age of the light vehicle fleet in the country has increased to 11 years, and even though cars and trucks last longer today, they can’t go on forever. About 12 to 13 million vehicles are scrapped every year and need to be replaced.”

Other factors are contributing to stronger demand for vehicles. “The population is growing, interest rates are low, there is ample credit available and manufacturers are producing a wide range of new models that offer attractive styling, power and greatly improved gas mileage,” said Jackson, who took over as AutoNation’s CEO in 1999. “Auto financing is more available than it has been in recent years. A little known fact is that people are more likely to default on a mortgage than on a vehicle loan.”

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Tower Theater remains an asset for Little Havana

More than 20 years ago, when the city of Miami bought an historic but abandoned theater on Southwest Eighth Street, city leaders expressed their hope that the investment would help revitalize Little Havana.

The troubled neighborhood that’s considered the symbolic heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community couldn’t afford to wait to see if “something will fall from the sky and drop in the middle of Eight Street,” then Commissioner Miriam Alonso implored during a 1991 meeting. “The time for that area is now”.

After spending some $3 million to purchase and restore the Tower Theater, the city in 2002 handed the management duties to Miami-Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College), which committed to showing films and cultural events at affordable prices.

Today, many consider the Tower Theater the beacon on Southwest Eight Street that attracts lovers of international film, including many Cuban immigrants who once lived in the neighborhood but now own homes in the suburbs and tourists who are unfamiliar with Miami’s cubaneo.

“The relationship with Miami Dade College has been one of this neighborhood’s success stories,” said Pablo Cantón, who retired this summer from his longtime post as administrator of the city’s Neighborhood Enhancement Team in Little Havana. “The theater has helped local businesses because when people come to see movies they also go across the street to buy dinner. And you have people who haven’t set foot in Little Havana in years who are now returning to watch a movie.”

Nearly 50,000 people attended films at the theater last year, said MDC spokesman Alejandro Ríos. It is also a principle venue for MDC’s Miami International Film Festival and has been the site of several major educational events, including the world premier of the documentary Oscar’s Cuba, about the famed Cuban dissident Oscar Elias Biscet.

“It can certainly be argued that the Tower Theater has been at the core of the Calle Ocho’s cultural renaissance,” he said. “It has brought new audiences into the city and the college. It has been visited by major actors, governmental leaders and thinkers with international acclaim.”

But the past decade of use has started to wear on the theater, built in 1926. This summer, city officials discovered that the roof had some water damage. Meanwhile, MDC President Eduardo Padrón presented a list of possible improvements to the theater, from replacing its four heating and air conditioning units to rebuilding the stage area to attract better live acts.

Currently, the college manages the theater on what’s essentially a month-to-month contract. The original five-year contract, which was renewed in 2007, expired in May. Padrón was out of the country last week and could not be reached for comment. Ríos did not respond directly to questions about the contract but said that the infrastructure improvements could cost some $700,000.

The city can’t afford to pay for repairs out of its general fund, so earlier this year, officials considered deeding the property to MDC with the understanding that the college would then finance the capital improvements.

“We considered that option with the clause that if they stopped maintaining the building or using it as a theater, the property would revert to the city,” said Henry Torre, director of public facilities. “The intent was to keep it open as a community center that services the residents of Little Havana.”

City administrators never brought the plan before the commission after learning that district commissioner, Frank Carollo, was opposed. “This has nothing to do with the college, which has a great reputation in this community,” he said. “It has to do with the fact that the city has given away so many other properties to other municipalities or government agencies, and I don’t think it’s necessary in this case.”

Instead, Carollo has proposed using a portion of federal Community Block Development Grantfunds designated for his district to pay for the capital improvements. A plan to pass the funds to the college will be presented at the commission’s first meeting in January, said George Mensah, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department. As the owner, the city must agree to all the work performed, Mensah assured.

Bill Fuller, a Little Havana developer, said it makes sense that the city hold on to the property. “The folks at Miami Dade College have been great stewards of the theater, but it’s a city asset, not a college asset,” said Fuller, who owns several properties along Southwest Eighth Street. “The Tower Theater is the centerpiece of the entire neighborhood and any community would be blessed to be able to preserve its local theater.”

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