Miami startup that turns text to video receives $1 million in seed funding

Guide, a new technology startup based in Miami, announced Tuesday it has closed a $1 million round of seed investment from investors including Knight Foundation, Sapient Corp., MTV founder Bob Pitman, actor and producer Omar Epps, and early Google employee Steve Schimmel. Knight is supporting Guide through its new early-stage venture fund, the Knight Enterprise Fund.

Led by CEO and founder Freddie Laker, Guide’s team of seven is focused on turning online news, social streams and blogs into video for users who may be cooking, exercising, commuting or getting ready in the morning. The application offers consumers a selection of about 20 “anchors” — including a dog, a robot and an anime character — that will read the article and present the accompanying photos, pull-out information and video clips in its video presentation.The basic application will be free for the consumer. Revenue drivers for Guide could include in-app purchases, advertising-based anchors and customizations from publishers, said Laker, a former vice president at SapientNitro.

Laker and his team plan to launch a public beta next month, which they plan to do with a splash at the huge technology conference South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.

Read more about Guide here on the Starting Gate blog.

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Woman gets 30-days in jail for giving the finger to a Miami-Dade judge

A woman facing a drug possession charge was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Monday for giving the finger to a Miami-Dade judge, NBC6 is reporting.

Penelope Soto, 18, had been arrested for possession of Xanax and was brought before Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat Monday, where she was asked about her assets during a video court hearing, the station said.

During an exchange the judge felt was disrespectful, Soto flipped Rodriguez-Chomat her middle finger and blurted out: "[expletive] you" as she walked away from the camera.

The judge demanded she return to the podium and sentenced her to 30-days in jail for contempt of court

It all began when Soto, sporting orange jail jumpsuit, appeared to make light of the proceedings, laughing when she was asked how much her jewelry was worth.

"It's not a joke, you know, we're not in a club now," Rodriguez-Chomat told her. "We are not in a club, be serious about it."

"I'm serious about it, you just made me laugh," Soto replied. "You just made me laugh, I apologize. It's worth a lot of money."

"Like what?" the judge asked.

"Like Rick Ross. It's worth money," she said.

The judge, not understanding the odd reference to the South Florida rapper who made news last week when his car was fired at on Las Olas Boulevard, asked Soto if she's taken any drugs in the past 24 hours.

"Actually, no," she replied.

Rodriguez-Chomat set her bond at $5,000 and said "bye, bye," and Soto laughed and replied " Adios."

Annoyed, Rodriguez-Chomat summoned her back and reset her bond at $10,000, shocking Soto.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"I am serious. Adios," he replied.

To watch the video of the exchange on the NBC6 website, click here.

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Nancy O'Dell Makes Oscar Nominee and Les Miserables Star Hugh Jackman Blush

Hugh Jackman has been known to induce swooning at the removal of his shirt, but the Oscar nominee tells our Nancy O'Dell that he's far from runway ready, even blushing at the mere suggestion.

PICS: Hot Looks of the Oscar Luncheon

Nancy caught up with the Les Miserables star after the Motion Picture Academy's Nominees Luncheon, where he named Tom Ford as the designer he'll be wearing on the Oscars red carpet.

"I'm one of those guys who when people say, 'Sir, would you like to taste the wine?' I say, 'Oh, it's amazing!' and it could be six dollars," said Hugh, fashioning himself as a man of simpler tastes. "And I'm kind of the same with tuxedoes, but with Tom -- I just know him as a person and everything I wear of his feels good."

Nancy was quick to point out Hugh's model physique that probably doesn't hurt in helping make the clothes look good.

"Way too much hair on my body for a runway," Hugh nervously joked while blushing. "They're all hairless."

During today's Oscar luncheon, Hugh congregated with other nominees, which included newcomer Quvenzahane Wallis, Anne Hathaway, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Denzel Washington, Jessica Chastain, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix and more.

VIDEO: Fielding Fashion & Fun Times at Oscars Luncheon

Hugh described the event as "amazing."

"This is one I'll always remember," said Hugh. "You take in the history of it and you take in the enormity of the moment and everyone is standing there and squishing in, and it kind of felt like being back at school all at the same time."

Click the video to see Hugh's quick one-on-one with an inquisitive fan.

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NYPD releases stop-frisk numbers: Most used in Brooklyn & Queens, nearly all stopped are black or Hispanic

The NYPD for the first time publicly released a report last night on its controversial stop-and-frisk procedure that breaks down by city precinct — and by race — those targeted.

The figures, all from 2011, show that the precinct with the most stops by sheer numbers was Brooklyn’s 75th, which includes East New York and Cypress Hills.

More than 31,000 people were stopped, 97 percent of them either black or Hispanic.

The 73 Precinct, covering Brownsville in Brooklyn, was the next highest with 25,167 stops. About 98 percent involved minorities.

In Queens, the 115th Precinct — which includes East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights — ranked third with 18,156 stops. Nearly 93 percent of those involved minorities, the figures show.

The 40th Precinct in The Bronx, which covers Mott Haven and Melrose, racked up the next highest number — 17,690 — with 98.5 percent of them involving minorities.

And at No. 5 was the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where there were 17,566 stops, with 88.6 percent involving minorities.

The New York Civil Liberties Union had fought for release of the stats last year.

After getting them, the civil-rights group published the figures on their Web site in May, saying they show a pattern of racial profiling — a charge that the NYPD denies.

The Police Department said it had no comment on why it was releasing the figures itself now.

As has been reported, the statistics show that overall, nearly 90 percent of those targeted by NYPD stop-and-frisks in the city in 2011 were either black or Hispanic.

Meanwhile, blacks and Hispanics together make up less than 53 percent of the population.

A total 685,724 people — 8.6 percent of the city’s population — were detained by cops for “reasonable suspicion.”

That was the highest number since the NYPD started recording stop-and-frisk figures in 2002.

Of that number, 9 percent also were white, and 4 percent were Asian, the figures showed.

The No. 1 reason for stop-and-frisks that year was possible weapons possession, the report said.

The statistics did not say how many of those stops resulted in arrests.

natasha.velez@nypost.com

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Skyscanner.com opening Miami office

One of Kayak and Expedia’s international rivals in the online-travel business is opening up a Miami office in a bid to capture a larger share of the North American market.

Skyscanner, the No. 1 travel site in Europe, picked Miami to open its first U.S. office, according to a company press release. A spokesman said the company plans to put 10 executives in the Miami office, and that the hunt is on for a specific location.

While big in Europe and Asia, Skyscanner.com has a low profile in the Americas. Skyscanner said it selected Miami as its first U.S. location given the city’s ties to South America.

DOUGLAS HANKS

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Ex-Broward deputy charged with trying to strangle wife

Former Broward sheriff’s Deputy Maury Hernandez, who made headlines more than five years ago when he was shot in the head during a traffic stop and made a near-miraculous recovery, was arrested Sunday night for allegedly trying to strangle his wife.

Miami-Dade police charged Hernandez with battery and domestic violence. His wife, Ivonne Linen, is a Miami-Dade police officer.

According to Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4, Hernandez was held at a pretrial detention center in downtown Miami then released on bail.

Attempts to contact Hernandez were unsuccessful.

The 33-year-old former BSO deputy was shot in the back of the head on Aug. 8, 2007, while on duty. David Maldonado, a motorcyclist, was stopped by Hernandez for speeding through several red lights on Pembroke Road. He shot Hernandez, who fell into a coma and gradually recovered.

Maldonado was convicted of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and sentenced to life in prison.

Hernandez sued the Florida Department of Corrections for negligence two years later, claiming the department did not follow up on Maldonado’s explanation for possessing a gun. Maldonado, an ex-con with a lengthy criminal record, had said the gun was for work-related purposes.

In January 2012, Hernandez shot a homeless man in Miami Lakes. The man allegedly tried to assault Hernandez’s family at a shopping center on 16403 NW 67th Ave. The retired officer fired his registered gun several times at the man, who was wandering the area asking for money, and approached Hernandez, his then-fiancée and their children.

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SUPER BOWL WATCH: Brotherly advice, Twitter buzz

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Around the Super Bowl and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the game:

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BROTHERLY ADVICE: AARON RODGERS

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh are hardly the only high-profile siblings who’ve squared off in their arena of expertise. The AP is asking some others who can relate how to handle going against a family member in the Super Bowl.

As the middle of three brothers, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers knows a thing or two about high-stakes competitions with siblings. It wouldn’t matter if he was facing one of his brothers in the backyard or the sport’s biggest stage.

“I’d want to beat them pretty bad,” the 2011 NFL MVP said. “I really would.”

Less than two years separates Rodgers and his older brother, Luke, now on Fuel TV’s “Clean Break,” and the two are “very competitive.”

“My older brother and I had a lot of great matchups, great one-on-one games. We competed a lot in sports,” Rodgers said.

There’s still a chance Rodgers could wind up facing one of his brothers on the field, maybe even at the Super Bowl. Jordan Rodgers led Vanderbilt to its first nine-win record since 1915 last season and is now preparing for the NFL draft.

“I hope so,” Rodgers said of the prospects of a “Rodgers Bowl.” ”And I hope we would win if that ever happened.”

— Nancy Armour — http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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TWITTER BUZZ BUILDING

Americans on Twitter are already buzzing about the Super Bowl with about 6 hours until the game kicks off.

Four terms related to the game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are trending in the United States: “Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” ”49ers,” ”Beyonce” and “Ray Lewis.”

None, however, are trending worldwide yet.

— Oskar Garcia — http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

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GUN AD

Washington lawmakers watching the Super Bowl in the beltway are getting a 30-second visit from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of more than 900 mayors in 48 states, paid six figures for the local spot, according to a Bloomberg spokesman.

The ad calls on lawmakers to pass rules requiring background checks on guns. It is narrated by children with “America the Beautiful” playing in the background.

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QUICKQUOTE: ANDREW LUCK

Andrew Luck has high praise for San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, his old coach at Stanford. Even if he did pick an unusual way to express it.

“I always enjoyed playing under coach Harbaugh. He always brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” the Indianapolis Colts quarterback said. “He was the type of guy you’d want in an alley fight with you. You could tell he wanted to win just as bad as the next guy.”

— Nancy Armour — http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

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EDITOR’S NOTE — “Super Bowl Watch” shows you the Super Bowl and the events surrounding the game through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across New Orleans and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Warm Bodies Tops Weekend Box Office

Audiences embraced Warm Bodies for its debut, making it the weekend's highest grosser at the box office.

RELATED: New on Blu-ray & DVD

The zombie rom-com (starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and John Malkovich) dug up $20 million, beating out Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which placed second with $9.4 million.

Academy Award Best Picture nominee Silver Linings Playbook trailed close behind with $8.1 million despite entering its 12th week in theaters. Fellow Best Picture nominees Zero Dark Thirty ($5.3 million), Django Unchained ($3 million), Les Miserables ($2.44 million) and Lincoln ($2.41 million) also made the top 10.

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The good, the ads & the ugly

Some of the biggest scores and worst fumbles made during last night’s Super Bowl were made by advertisers.

At a record $3.8 million for each 30-second spot, companies strived for buzz and attention.

Mercedes-Benz wound up on both the winning and losing sides last night, experts said.

In the winner, the carmaker tapped Willem Dafoe as the devil offering to give a man a car in return for his soul — only to be rejected when the guy learned he could buy it for $30,000.

The company’s losing ad teased viewers by implying it would show supermodel Kate Upton getting sudsy while washing a Mercedes — but ended with highschool football players doing the job.

Old folks can party hard — and down late-night tacos — like anyone else! The funny, raucous spot showed seniors out on the town, dancing, getting tattoos, getting freaky in a bathroom and eating at Taco Bell.

Taco Bell found the marketing end zone with senior citizens going crazy.

Perennial Super Bowl ad star GoDaddy.com grossed out experts with stunner Bar Refaeli giving a very wet kiss to a nerd.

Budweiser and Jeep both scored emotional points, using a baby Clydesdale and military families, respectively.

The Post’s panel of experts included Richard Kirshenbaum, CEO of NSG/SWAT; George Belch, chairman of the marketing department at San Diego State University; Timothy Calkins, marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management; and Barbara Lippert, Mediapost.com editorat-large.

—Additional reporting by Claire Atkinson

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Bright spots in Latin America despite global economic uncertainty

There are bright spots as Latin American and Caribbean economies begin the year but the uncertain health of the U.S. economy, the lingering financial crisis in Europe and more sluggish growth in China are casting shadows over the region.

A decade ago, dim prospects in those major markets would have delivered a knock-out punch in the region, but this year Latin American and Caribbean economies are expected to grow by 3.5 percent and average 3.9 percent growth in 2014 and 2015, according to a World Bank forecast. The United Nations’ Economic Commission has a slightly more sanguine forecast of 3.8 percent growth in 2013.

Both are better than the 2.4 percent growth the World Bank is forecasting for the global economy and the mere 1.3 percent increase it is predicting for high-income countries.

The U.S. economy grew by 2.2 percent in 2012. But the economy shrank 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2013 also could be sluggish..

“That creates a soggy start for 2013 in Latin America,’’ said David Malpass, president of Encima Global, a New York economic consulting and research firm.

With a recession in Japan, even slower growth expected in Europe than in the United States, and questions about whether the dip in the Chinese economy has bottomed out and whether the United States will be making sharp cuts in defense spending and other federal programs come March 1, Latin American and Caribbean nations can’t really depend on the industrialized world to spur growth.

The region must look inward and undertake structural reforms that will allow growth from domestic factors, said Malpass, who was in Miami in January for an event organized by the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy.

Panama’s $5.25 billion investment in expansion of the Panama Canal is an example of the inward focus that will pay off down the road, said Malpass. By 2015, Panama plans to have completed two new sets of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal and the deepening and widening of existing channels to accommodate the so-called Post-Panamax ships too big to traverse the current locks.

“It’s a difficult period but a period where developing countries are growing solidly but not as quickly as they might otherwise want to,’’ said Andrew Burns, the lead author of the World Bank’s annual Global Economic Trends report.

That means they should focus on investment in infrastructure and healthcare, structural policies, regulatory reforms and improvements in governance that will pay future dividends down the road, Burns said.

Such economic reforms, plus high commodity prices enjoyed by countries with fertile fields and mineral wealth, helped the region move beyond the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 far more quickly than it did when it was so dependent on economic cycles in the rest of the world.

Economic growth slowed in Latin America and the Caribbean from 4.3 percent in 2011 to an estimated 3 percent but that was still better than the 1.3 percent growth high-income countries managed in 2012, according to The World Bank.

China will continue to play a major role in Latin America and the Caribbean this year but whether the slowdown in China has reached its low point is subject to debate. But it’s relative. Slow growth in China would be brisk growth elsewhere. China says its gross domestic product grew 7.8 percent in 2012, the most tepid growth in 13 years and a comedown from 9.3 percent growth in 2011.

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