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WATCH releases 2015 '10 Worst Toys' list

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World Against Toys Causing Harm has released its annual 10 Worst Toys list. Take a look at what made the list this year.


Jose Fernandez addresses trade rumors

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Jose Fernandez said he plans to return to the Marlins next season.

Hatzel Vela speaks to Cuban migrants stuck in Costa Rica

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Dozens of Cuban migrants are stuck in Costa Rica, waiting to cross the border into Nicaragua to continue their journey to the U.S.

Florida escapes with OT win against FAU

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Treon Harris' 13-yard touchdown pass to Jake McGee in overtime allowed No. 8 Florida to avoid a huge upset and turn back Florida Atlantic 20-14 on Saturday.

The Gators (10-1, No. 8 CFP) were favored by more than 30 points, but were sluggish the whole game. In OT, Florida scored on its third play but the extra point attempt was blocked.

Florida Atlantic (2-9) had a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. A sack and three incompletions in the end zone ended the Owls' upset bid.

The shaky win enabled Jim McElwain to become the first Florida coach to win 10 games in his first season with the school.

The two teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half. Florida scored twice in the third quarter to take a 14-0 lead. The Owls answered with a late score in the period and then tied the game when Ocie Rose recovered a fumble in the end zone with just over eight minutes left in regulation.

Canes beat Georgia Tech 38-21

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Mark Walton ran for two touchdowns and caught a pass for another, Miami forced four turnovers and the Hurricanes rolled past Georgia Tech 38-21 on Saturday.

Jermaine Grace fell on a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, and Brad Kaaya passed for 300 yards for Miami (7-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). The game was delayed for 28 minutes in the third quarter because lightning was detected in the area.

Michael Badgley kicked a 57-yard field goal for Miami, tying a school record.

Broderick Snoddy, Clinton Lynch and Matthew Jordan had rushing scores for Georgia Tech (3-8, 1-7), which lost starting quarterback Justin Thomas to injury in the first quarter. Snoddy's touchdown gave the Yellow Jackets a 7-0 lead, and then Miami scored the next 31 points.

In Cuba, searching for a lost past in Marcané

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Visiting their parents' childhood home is part of the journey of every Cuban-American returning to the island. It was also the desire of Felipe Lozano, who has lived in Cuba all of his life.

Singer Gloria Estefan and songwriter Fabio Alonso Salgado tapped into Cuban exiles' perception of home in their song "Mi Tierra," Spanish for my homeland. The lyrics include the words "melancholia" and "nostalgia."

For Lozano, the song "Chan Chan" was the most appropriate for the search. It's the signature track of the Buena Vista Social Club. The music legends recently played it at the White House.

The song's lyrics mention four towns in the Cuban province of Holguin: "From Alto Cedro, I go towards Marcané. I get to Cueto, head for Mayarí."

Lozano was looking for a home in the small town of Marcané at Loynaz Hechevarria.  For some, the journey back to the childhood home is a way to re-experience feelings. Curious Cuban-Americans seem to be returning in an attempt to understand their parents and grandparents torturous nostalgia, after years of not being able to return home.

PERSONAL STORY: Searching for a lost past in Santa Lucia, now Rafael Freyre

Although for some making the pilgrimage back home, can mean a sense of closure, for others the experience may evoke a visceral reaction. The journey can be risky and unpredictable.

Some of Fidel Castro's first changes in public policy focused on prohibiting the selling or buying of residential real estate, which restricted mobility. But Cubans still swapped homes under the table without being able to update a property title. Some Cuban-Americans have gotten lucky and have been able to find relatives they had never even known of.

PERSONAL STORY: Searching for a lost past in Cienfuegos

Raul Castro changed that in 2011, when Cubans were allowed to update titles, and own both a primary residence and a vacation home. Cuba's housing stock consists of 3.9 million residential units, 85 percent of which are privately owned, according to Brookings, a non-profit research institution. But since both buyers and sellers of real estate have to pay a four percent tax, informal exchanges are still happening.

Lozano grew up poor, he said. He was one of nine children. His sister Maria Lacamoire left Cuba in 1957. His niece Michelle Lacamoire was born in the United States and is a producer for Miami's ABC News affiliate Local 10 News. He was the devoted guide who helped make the month-long Historic Access: Cuba Coast to Coast journey possible.

When Lozano arrived at the house, where he and Lacamoire's mom grew up in Marcané. He was immediately in tears. His first thought, he said, was his mother Maria Lozano. He got down under a door frame and started to sob. That was where she would tie him down, so he would not disappear for the day, he said.

The visit triggered overwhelming feelings of grief for Lozano. Lacamoire's eyes filled with tears. The home has an immediate influence of self-definition. Lozano reverted back to the little boy he was when he lived there. And then, as if attempting to find resolution, he said, "My mischief didn't mean that I wasn't good to her."

Interative Graphic: A pilgrimage back home

________________________________________ Follow Local 10 News Producer Michelle Lacamoire on Twitter @Michi421

Former Tampa police informant gets 12 years for fraud

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A Tampa woman has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit stolen identity tax refund fraud, partially through access given by her friends to police databases.

The Tampa Tribune reports U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich told 33-year-old Rita Girven she was a "loser" during a sentencing hearing in federal court Friday.

Girven was ordered to pay nearly $2.4 million in restitution for her role in a scheme that used the identities of 508 victims to file bogus tax returns and trick the IRS into sending out fraudulent refunds.

Three of Girven's Tampa Police department friends have been indicted and are awaiting prosecution on charges they were part of Girven's tax fraud conspiracy. All three have pleaded not guilty.

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Information from: The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, http://www.tampatrib.com

Florida man serving life sentence for murder freed after 20 years

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A man serving who was sentenced to life in prison as a teenager is now a free man after 20 years.

A judge sentenced Edward Francis on Friday to time served for the 1996 murder plus five years probation.

Francis, 37, told the judge he believed that if you commit a crime, you deserve to be punished for it. He had previously written a detailed letter to prosecutors describing not only his involvement in the 1996 shooting of a fellow gang member, but other crimes that Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton said they weren't even aware of, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The prosecutor said he was impressed by Francis' humility.

Earlier this year, a Florida Supreme Court decision made some juveniles sentenced to life in prison without parole eligible for a new sentence.


'Knockout' attack video released

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The U.S. Justice Department has released cellphone video of a so-called "knockout game" attack that resulted in a federal hate crime conviction.

Conrad Alvin Barrett, 29, of Katy, Texas, was sentenced to almost six years in jail last month after pleading guilty to taking part in the bizarre game where an assailant aims to knock out an unsuspecting victim with one punch.

On Friday, officials released Barrett's video which shows him narrating and then attacking an elderly African-American man.

Roy Coleman, 81, suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days after the November 2013 incident.

In his own cellphone video, Barrett is heard talking about the attack. "The plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?" On the video, Barrett says he's "completely unable" to hit defenseless people, but then the car stops.

The video shows Barrett getting out of his car and asking Coleman "Hey how's it going?" then hitting him to the ground. As he drives away, Barrett is heard laughing and saying "Knockout ... knockout baby."

"When I first saw the video, I was devastated ... It broke my heart to see someone hit my father," Donna McNeal, Colman's daughter told CNN affiliate KPRC.

She told the affiliate the incident brought back painful memories of racism that her farther endured as a child. She said "It goes way back emotionally. I think he's broken."

Barrett also faces three years supervised release and has been ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

American slain in Israel helping soldiers

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Like a handful of other American Jews in their late teens, Ezra Schwartz went to Israel after high school graduation.

Schwartz had been accepted to college in the United States but decided to spend a gap year in Israel at a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution where students study religious texts.

The 18-year-old was volunteering in the West Bank on Thursday, delivering food to Israeli soldiers, when he was killed.

"That was just the kind of kid he was -- making sure the people around him were taken care of," his longtime camp counselor, DJ Niedober, told CNN.

At a crowded intersection in Gush Etzion, an unidentified gunman fired shots from his vehicle and rammed pedestrians at a busy intersection in, killing three people, including Schwartz.

Israel Defense Forces said that the attacker was Palestinian. Police have issued a gag order barring the media from reporting any details of the investigation and anything that could identify the suspect.

"Ezra came to Israel not only to study but also to be a part of the vibrant Israeli experience," Natan Sharansky, the chairman of the executive for the Jewish Agency for Israel, said in a statement. "This makes his death even more tragic."

Schwartz, who was from the Boston suburb of Sharon, loved sports and was a very active, energetic kid, Niedober said.

"The only thing he really cared about was having fun, you know, and having a good time -- and making sure the people around him were having a good time," he said. "We knew he could do great things, and he was just starting to."

William Barry, who calls Schwartz one of his best friends, met him at summer camp when he was 10 years old.

He told CNN in an email that Schwartz was one of the "most loving, caring and fun-loving people" he knew.

"He lit up every room he entered and knew how to make anyone smile no matter how upset they were," Barry said. "Ezra leaves this world as a kind, caring brother, friend and role model to many, but his lasting memories and love will never be forgotten."

Schwartz went to high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, and graduated this year.

"The whole school went into shock," Lori Kipnes, a teacher at his alma mater -- the Maimonides School -- told CNN affiliate WCVB.

"We watched him grow," said his rabbi, Meir Sendor. "It's devastating. It's heartbreaking."

The funeral for Schwartz will be held Sunday in Sharon.

Boca Raton woman dies in I-95 accident

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A Boca Raton woman was killed in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 95 in Deerfield Beach Friday night.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Tichy Hanna, 44, was driving a 2005 Kia Sorento.

She lost control of the vehicle in the southbound lanes on I-95 just south of the Hilsboro Bouelevard exit.

FHP reports that the vehicle spun out of control and overturned at least twice before crashing.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10

Shots fired at football game near Miami-Dade College North Campus

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Shots were fired into the air outside Traz Powell Stadium during a playoff football game between Miami Carol City and Miami Central Senior high schools Friday night, Miami-Dade school police confirmed. Three people are now in custody.

It happened near the Miami-Dade College North Campus at Northwest 117th Street and Northwest 27th Avenue.

A Local 10 News employee who was at the game said everyone in the stands was running and witnessed football players on the field ducking to the ground.

Police said no one was injured. 18-year-old Laricio Walker, 18-year-old Kaion Lynch and 19-year-old Mark Trimle are all in custody now.

The investigation continues.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10

PHOTOS: Incident at football game

On this day: November 22

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A notorious pirate is captured and killed, RCA Victor buys Elvis' contract from Sun Records, the nation mourns a president, The Beatles release "The White Album," and "Toy Story" premieres, all on this day.

CDTC helps those in need this holiday season

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The Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (CDTC) is a not-for-profit organization that serves more than 10,000 children with special healthcare needs in Broward County annually. As a facility of Broward Health, CDTC’s mission is to promote the optimal health and well-being of children with special healthcare needs by providing comprehensive prevention, intervention and treatment services within a medical home environment. CDTC is a nationally recognized center of excellence offering a unique system of care for infants, children and youth with chronic illnesses, disabilities and developmental delays. For more information, please visit childrensdiagnostic.org

UF's new HiPerGator 2.0 supercomputer named most powerful in southeast U.S.; 114th worldwide

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Florida's fastest supercomputer can process every federal income tax return in the country in less than a second.

The University of Florida says the Dell-built "HiPerGator 2.0" is ranked as the most powerful in the Southeastern U.S. and No. 114 worldwide.

The school says the machine can store 20 billion photographs, or twice the amount currently stored on Facebook worldwide.

But rather than store "selfies," UF says it is using the computer's power to fuel new and innovative research.

UF's vice president for research David Norton says HiPerGator will be used to help scientists tackle complex problems like climate change, poverty and disease.

Ph.D. candidate Caroline Storer, who studies forests and conservation, says the computer allows her to analyze one to 1 million DNA sequences easily.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10


Cowboys beat Dolphins 24-14

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Tony Romo pulled off his latest comeback victory, returning from a collarbone injury Sunday to throw for two scores, and the Dallas Cowboys won for the first time since he was hurt in Week 2, beating the Miami Dolphins 24-14.

The Cowboys (3-7) snapped a seven-game losing streak, their longest in a single season since 1989. The Dolphins (4-6) increased the likelihood they'll miss the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.

Romo went 18 for 28 for 227 yards, and overcame two interceptions by throwing touchdown passes of 31 yards to Terrance Williams and 16 yards to Dez Bryant.

Dallas linebacker Rolando McClain scored the game's first points and his first career touchdown on a 12-yard interception return. Miami had the ball for only 21 minutes.

Miami Lakes mayor continues fight for $3.2M legal fees after corruption acquittal, court fight

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The mayor of Miami Lakes is continuing his battle for $3.2 million in legal fees after he was acquitted of federal corruption charges and a lengthy court fight with the city.

A Miami-Dade judge recently refused the city's attempts to dismiss Michael Pizzi's lawsuits seeking to recover the fees. That means Miami Lakes now must file a legal response in the Pizzi case.

Pizzi was reinstated as mayor of the Miami suburb in April, after a state appeals court agreed he should serve out his term through November 2016.

Pizzi was suspended from office by Gov. Rick Scott after his August 2013 arrest in an FBI corruption investigation. After a jury acquitted him, Scott lifted the suspension but the town fought unsuccessfully in court to keep Pizzi out of office.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10

Plane diverted as passengers act 'unruly'

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A Southwest Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Los Angeles was diverted to Kansas City on Sunday morning because of suspicious behavior by some passengers, according to Kansas City airport officials.

"We are characterizing (the behavior) as unruly," airport spokesman Joe McBride told CNN in a statement.

Several passengers did not follow "crew instruction upon takeoff and continued to exhibit suspicious behavior inflight," according to Southwest Airlines.

The passengers were taken off the plane and questioned by law enforcement, according to the FBI.

All other passengers deplaned as police dogs searched the plane as a safety measure, McBride said.

The passengers reboarded and Flight 5929 continued to Los Angeles.

After questioning, the three "unruly" passengers were rebooked on a later flight.

Their nationality has not been released.

Deerfield Beach rehab facility evacuated after small fire breaks out

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About 100 residents of a South Florida rehabilitation facility were forced to evacuate after a small fire broke out.

Broward Sheriff Fire-Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the fire started Sunday morning in an air conditioning unit at the Deerfield Beach Health & Rehabilitation Center.

The Sun Sentinel reports the fire was quickly extinguished and the residents were allowed back in the building about two hours later after officials tested the air quality.

No injuries were reported.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10

Florida couple charged after medical examiner says infant died from dehydration

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Florida parents are facing aggravated manslaughter charges after authorities say their 8-week-old daughter died from dehydration.

A medical examiner's report revealed baby Ashley died in August. Authorities said they didn't observe any signs of trauma, but said she appeared to be malnourished and had a rash.

The couple, Mark Waters, 22, and Megan Betkiewicus, 26, said they fed the baby formula daily. Polk County Sheriff's deputies found several bottles of formula, but said the home had no running water.

The report said the couple's other child was also examined by child welfare officials in August and had severe diaper rash due to physical neglect.

No other details about that child were released.

The Ledger reports the couple was arrested Friday and also charged with child neglect. The baby's grandmother, who also lived at the home, was charged with failure to report child neglect.

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10

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