Mom warned ex-babysitter not to turn back on Adam Lanza: report

A former babysitter says he was told to never turn his back on crazed gunman Adam Lanza - even as a young child, according to a new report.

Ryan Kraft, who now lives in California, said he watched Lanza when he was only 9 or 10 and Kraft was a teen, CBS News reports.

Kraft said the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, warned him "to keep an eye on him at all times ... to never turn my back, or even to go to the bathroom or anything like that."

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Adam Lanza opened fire in two Sandy Hook Elementary classrooms and gunned down 20 first-graders and six educators before blowing his brains out with a single shot to the head.

Kraft said when he first heard about the shooting and that Lanza was involved, "I just couldn't think for a little while. I was shaking," according to the report.

Kraft says he remembers Lanza as quiet, very intelligent and introverted, noting, "Whenever we were doing something, whether it was building Legos, or playing video games, he was really focused on it. It was like he was in his own world."

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Boat sales jump 10% this year

More evidence that the U.S. economy is climbing out of the recession: Sales of new recreational powerboats are estimated to be up by 10 percent in 2012, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

“We are pleased to see the industry growing,” NMMA president Thom Dammrich said. “Our projection is the industry will grow in 2013 by another 5 to 10 percent.”

Dammrich said the level of growth depends on conditions like consumer confidence and the housing market — and sustained increases in Americans’ participation in outdoor recreation.

The 2012 projections represent the first signs of steady growth across the powerboat market since the economy hit bottom in 2008-09 and new boat production dropped 80 percent. Even now, Dammrich, said production and retail sales are only about half of what they were during the peak in 2007.

Fueling the growth in new boat sales are purchases in the 15- to 26-foot range, which make up 96 percent of the 12.4 million boats registered in the U.S., according to the NMMA. While the numbers are up in almost every segment of the industry, the toppers are pontoon boats.

“Twenty-five percent of all boats sold today are pontoon boats,” Dammrich said. “They’re a very versatile boat, very stable. They can be large and roomy. You can fish. You can swim. You can get the family out for the day.”

Dammrich said the only category that has not turned around is stern-drive inboards over 30 feet. Larger and more expensive than the typical family boat, these models are often purchased through home-equity loans, he said. Another factor is this year’s requirement that stern-drive inboard engines have catalytic converters, which increases the cost significantly.

In 2011, boating participation rose 10 percent to 83 million — the largest proportion of adults who went boating since 1997, according to the NMMA. Those boaters who liked the sport enough to buy their own watercraft found very few late-model, pre-owned boats for sale because of the drop in production during the recession.

“Those people are going to end up buying a new boat,” Dammrich said.

One of the key gauges of the industry’s recovery will be the Miami International Boat Show scheduled Feb. 14-18, where manufacturers traditionally unveil their latest innovations. More than 2,000 boats are expected to be displayed.

“I think there will be more new product than we’ve seen in a number of years,” Dammrich said.

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7-year-old in critical condition after accident

Police were investigating an accident involving a 7-year-old who was struck by a vehicle in a Lauderhill neighborhood late Saturday, Lauderhill Police spokesman Rick Rocco said.

The vehicle and its driver, who has not yet been identified, remained on scene after the incident near the intersection of Northwest 27th Court and 56th Avenue.

The child was transported to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition immediately after the incident, police said.

Details of the accident were not immediately available.

This post will be updated as we receive more information.

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The Surface might be even more overpriced than the iPad

Everyone knows that Apple (AAPL) gets away with charging a premium for its wares because its fans have shown they’re willing to pay more money for their favorite products than fans of, say, Samsung (005930) and Amazon (AMZN) are willing to pay. This practice has led to enormous gross margins for Apple products but has not spawned many imitators because few companies command the sort of loyalty that Apple does. But Microsoft (MSFT) apparently believes it can pull off the trick with its Surface tablet, which is actually priced higher relative to its component costs than Apple’s iPad.

[More from BGR: Has the iPhone peaked? Apple’s iPhone 4S seen outselling iPhone 5]

Fortune uses some data from IHS iSuppli to show that the 32GB Surface’s screen, processor, battery, RAM and storage cost $ 271, or $ 22 less than the same components of a 32GB version of the new iPad. What this means is that based solely on the cost of its components, the Surface would haul in a profit of $ 315 for every 32GB Surface sold while Apple would make $ 296 for every new iPad sold. This doesn’t take into account manufacturing and marketing costs, of course, so we can’t look at it as a definitive count of each tablet’s gross margin.

[More from BGR: Sony’s PlayStation 4 could lose to the next Xbox before it’s even released]

All the same, Microsoft’s belief that it can grab iPad-like margins for the Surface stands in stark contrast with Amazon and Google (GOOG), who are making little if any money selling the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7, respectively.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

As morning turned to afternoon on Friday, further details continued to emerge from Newtown, CT, a tight-knit community shaken by a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the lives of innocent students and teachers, in addition to the gunman, reportedly identified as Adam Lanza.

RELATED: President Fights Tears as He Addresses Nation

As President Barack Obama touched on in his tear-jerking press conference, this is not the first time the nation has witnessed a tragedy of this kind. The recent mass shooting at an Aurora, CO movie theater is just one instance of such violence. Columbine High School and Virginia Tech also resonate as prime examples.

Hollywood's biggest stars were quick to react to the news on Twitter and made an outcry for stricter gun control regulations.

Watch the video for ET's complete coverage of today's biggest headline.

RELATED: Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

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State education officials brace for test-score drop due to tougher standards

New York students are heading toward the testing cliff.

Kids in grades 3 to 8 will face much tougher questions on state math and English exams in April and May — and education officials expect scores to nose-dive.

“People are bracing for a major drop,” one official told The Post.

The tests will include complex math problems and reading passages — a third-grade sample features Tolstoy — to gauge whether students meet new national standards called Common Core.

SEE SAMPLE TEST QUESTIONS

New York agreed to adopt the higher standards several years ago when it won a $700 million grant in the federal Race to the Top contest.

Last month, Kentucky, the first of 46 states to test students on the standards, reported the number of elementary- and middle-school students rated “proficient” or higher fell at least 30 percent.

New York education officials fear similar, if not worse, results.

“Whenever you raise standards and change the tests, scores go down. We’re trying to be upfront about it,” said Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the state Board of Regents, which was briefed on the tests last week.

Board member Betty Rosa, a former Bronx superintendent, worries the tough tests will devastate poor and immigrant students learning English.

Member Kathleen Cashin, a former Brooklyn superintendent, called it “too much, too soon.”

Teachers, whose performance evaluations will be based 20 percent on how their students do, have not had enough training to teach the curriculum, she said.

One sample question asks third-graders to read a translated short story, “The Gray Hare,” by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. The fable includes the words “threshing floor,” “caftans” and “hoarfrost.”

“It’s absurd vocabulary for that age level and likely to throw even the best reader off,” said Jeff Nichols, a Manhattan father of a 9-year-old boy.

“Are we trying to make children feel inadequate?”

A sample eighth-grade reading test asks 13-year-olds to read a passage from the novel “Little Women.”

One question cites this sentence: “No persuasions or enticements could overcome her fear, till, the fact coming to Mr. Laurence’s ear in some mysterious way, he set about mending matters.”

It asks, “What effect does this sentence provide the reader as the story develops?”

Math items are also more mind-bending. The old third-grade tests required simple multiplication and division. The new tests ask students to fill in and reverse equations, identify fractions and calculate their equivalents, among other tasks.

The eighth-grade tests cover algebra and geometry with concepts such as negative exponents and scientific notation that retired Manhattan math teacher Steve Koss says are not usually taught until ninth, 10th and 11th grades.

“For lower-level and even average students, the test will be a major struggle,” Koss said.

CUNY education professor David Bloomfield said education leaders can blame only themselves.

“They are responsible for the lower standards that got us to this spot,” he said.

susan.edelman@nypost.com

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

Entrepreneurs from around the world took the stage during this packed week of entrepreneurship events in Miami: Florida International University’s Americas Venture Capital Conference (known as AVCC), HackDay, Wayra’s Global DemoDay and Endeavor’s International Selection Panel.

The events, all part of the first Innovate MIA week, also put the spotlight on Miami as it continues to try to develop into a technology hub for the Americas.

“While I like art, I absolutely love what is happening today... The time has come to become a tech hub in Miami,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, who kicked off the venture capital conference on Thursday. He told the audience of 450 investors and entrepreneurs about the county’s $1 million investment in the Launch Pad Tech Accelerator in downtown Miami.

“I have no doubt that this gathering today will produce new ideas and new business ventures that will put our community on a fast track to becoming a center for innovative, tech-driven entrepreneurship,” Gimenez said.

Brad Feld, an early-stage investor and a founder of TechStars, cautioned that won’t happen overnight. Building a startup community can take five, 10, even 15 years, and those leading the effort, who should be entrepreneurs themselves, need to take the long-term view, he told the audience via video. “You can create very powerful entrepreneurial ecosystems in any city... I’ve spent some time in Miami, I think you are off to a great start.”

Throughout the two-day AVCC at the JW Brickell Marriott, as well as the Endeavor and Wayra events, entrepreneurs from around the world pitched their companies, hoping to persuade investors to part with some of their green.

And in some cases, the entrepreneurs could win money, too. During the venture capital conference, 29 companies —including eight from South Florida such as itMD, which connects doctors, patients and imaging facilities to facilitate easy access of records — competed for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes through short “elevator’’ pitches. Each took questions from the judges, then demoed their products or services in the conference “Hot Zone,” a room adjoining the ballroom. Some companies like oLyfe, a platform to organize what people share online, are hoping to raise funds for expansion into Latin America. Others like Ideame, a trilingual crowdfunding platform, were laser focused on pan-Latin American opportunities.

Winning the grand prize of $15,000 in cash and art was Trapezoid Digital Security of Miami, which provides hardware-based security solutions for enterprise and cloud environments. Fotopigeon of Tampa, a photo-sharing and printing service targeting the military and prison niches, scored two prizes.

The conference offered opportunities to hear formal presentations on current trends — among them the surge of start-ups in Brazil; the importance of mobile apps and overheated company valuations — and informal opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs.

Speakers included Gaston Legorburu of SapientNitro, Albert Santalo of CareCloud and Juan Diego Calle of .Co Internet, all South Florida entrepreneurs. Jerry Haar, executive director of FIU’s Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center, which produced the conference with a host of sponsors, said the organizers worked hard to make the conference relevant to both the local and Latin American audience, with panels on funding and recruiting for startups, for instance.

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Miami photographer sentenced to 10 years in child-porn case

A Miami-area photographer who secretly videotaped children while they changed clothes in his home studio was sentenced in federal court Friday to 10 years in prison.

Diego Tobias Matrajt, 37, pleaded guilty in September to distribution and possession of child pornography.

Last February, Matrajt distributed 10 images of child pornography to an undercover agent by using a peer-to-peer file sharing program, according to court records.

In April, FBI agents did a search of his home and computers, uncovering 26 video images of boys and girls changing clothes alone in a guest bedroom with their genitalia exposed, records show.

Matrajt admitted surreptitiously video recording children under the age of 12 as they changed clothes in the guest bedroom during photo shoots.

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Stars Tweet Over Gun Control Following Elementary School Shootings In Connecticut — Updated

Celebrities were outraged over the tragic elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, and many immediately turned to Twitter, to share their sadness.

And some even urged America’s leaders to address gun control.

PLAY IT NOW: Edward Norton Discusses Tragic Colorado Shootings

“Gun control is our only road to freedom. Freedom from the fear of senselessly losing children. I’m so saddened. WE NEED LAWS NOW,” “Parks and Recreation” actress Rashida Jones Tweeted.

Singer Michelle Branch also touched on the topic in her Tweet, writing, “Gun control people!!! My heart is breaking. As a parent this is my worst nightmare.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars We Lost In 2012

“Two and a Half Men’s” Holland Taylor wrote, “Just heard re CT shooting coming in from a walk… MY GOD. The “right” to carry concealed weapons … this has become a truly INSANE issue.”

Michael Raymond-James, who plays Neal Cassady on “Once Upon A Time,” also tackled gun control in his Tweet, writing, “Unfortunately, we have more access to assault weapons than we do to quality mental health care. That needs to change. #HowManyMoreTimes.”

Brit Piers Morgan wrote, “Why does any civilian in America need a weapon that can fire 100 rounds of ammunition at rapid speed? Give me ONE good reason?” and added, “#GunControl.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: General Hospital: Cast Photos & More

Filmmaker Michael Moore Tweeted, “The way to honor these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy.”

“General Hospital” actress Lisa LoCicero also Tweeted about gun control, in the wake of the tragedy, writing, “anyone still not ready for us to err on the side of losing some gun rights at this point, needs to leave the country.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Season 5

“Raising Hope” star Martha Plimpton Tweeted, “When can we talk about it? WHEN? Ever? Never? If not now, when we are staring it in the face, then WHEN? #GunControl.”

Motley Crue singer Vince Neil wrote, “Sad day today. Prayers to all the families. Gun Control!!!”

“True Blood” star Denis O’Hare Tweeted, “When do we get to seriously talk about gun control?”

“Malibu Country” actor Jai Rodriguez also Tweeted about gun control, writing, “Sick over what happened in the world this week. We need better gun laws. My heart goes out to all those affected by the horrors.”

Eric Benet Tweeted, “Half of the U.S. will say,”How dare u bring up gun control at a time like this?!” But the sane half will say,”How dare we not!?” pls RT”

Susan Sarandon wrote, “How much more suffering & loss will it take before we better regulate the sale of arms in our country? Let @NRA know how you feel.”

Jaime King wrote, “We do not have time to wait to tighten gun control- we cannot loose anymore innocent lives. I beg the government to stop F-ing around.”

Jason Biggs Tweeted, “Hey-I love guns. I’ve shot, killed, n eaten my own food-n grown cuz of the experience. But clearly, restrictions need to be put into place.”

Hill Harper ‏Tweeted, “Can we please re-institute the assault weapons ban & a ban on selling high load gun clips.”

Ginnifer Goodwin wrote, “I just emailed my representative & it was super easy. http://m.house.gov/ #guncontrol.”

“General Hospital” star Finola Hughes Tweeted, “I believe that ‘other day’ for debating gun laws is now.”

Mehcad Brook, from the USA series “Necessary Roughness” Tweeted, “Why do we go through more scrutiny getting a driver’s license bcuz cars CAN kill than we do obtaining a gun which ONLY kills?”

Other stars shared their deep sadness over the senseless deaths in Connecticut.

“God have mercy!!!! No one deserves this! Praying for the families of the victims of the Connecticut shooting!! What a Christmas it will be,” Rihanna wrote.

“Everyone reading this PLEASE get on your knees and PRAY for the sweet babies, families, and for everyone hurting in Connecticut right now,” Lady Antebellum singer Hillary Scott Tweeted.

“There have been 31 school shootings since Columbine, 14yrs ago. This time, kindergarteners. #NoWords,” Anika Noni Rose wrote.

Jennifer Hudson Tweeted, “Yal, we need to pray! This can’t keep happening . My mama always said ” if u think you’ve seen it all just keep on living.’”

Oprah Winfrey responded to Jennifer’s Tweet, writing, “@IAMJHUD for sure . Pray and take action.. Another WAKE UP for guns.”

Here’s more of what the stars had to say on Twitter:

Katie Couric: Shocked & saddened to hear this morning’s news… My heart goes out to the families of #SandyHook Elementary children, faculty, staff

Joy Behar: My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Sandy Hook Elementary.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy: I hate the “my heart is with” this and “my prayers go out” that… We ALL need to get f***ing angry and DO something more than ‘feel sad’…

Vivica A. Fox: Wow! It seems like we r gonna have to put metal detectors everywhere and armed guards! Seems like u can’t b safe anywhere!! WTH??

Jack Wagner: OMG prayers 4 those affected by the shooting in Connecticut…so sad

Ian Somerhalder: We are sad.Our hearts,thoughts&help are w/you.Im so sorry to all affected by this.So sorry.May all thelove in the world hug you in this time

Ralph Macchio: There are no words… Prayers #Connecticut

Rachel Dratch: Our weekly mass shootings aren’t happening in other countries. And this time, children? WHEN WILL OUR “LEADERS” PUT AN END TO THIS INSANITY?

Teresa Giudice: On days like this, we should hug our children just a little bit tighter.

Steve Levitan: My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims. I should have said that first, but I’m tired of these tragedies. #standuptothenra

Marlee Matlin: I am numb as the numbers of the dead – children and adults – keep ticking up. #PrayForNewtown

Christina Applegate: There are just no words. Only sorrow. We are all shedding tears today for those families.

Karina Smirnoff: We need to pray for all the families affected by the Newtown, CT school shooting. Absolutely devastating….

Kim Kardashian: These kids come to school to learn, never expecting this tragedy to happen. They didn’t deserve this. Praying for everyone involved!

Brandi Glanville: I can not believe this school shooting, what is wrong with people!!!! My heart is breakking for the kids and families.

Jackie Collins: My heart breaks for the Newtown community…for these families.

Damon Lindelof: I’m not “politicizing” squat. I’m heartbroken, angry, confused and scared and I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS KEEPS HAPPENING.

DJ Pauly D: My Prayers Go Out To Everyone Affected By This Horrible Shooting In Connecticut

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

As morning turned to afternoon on Friday, further details continued to emerge from Newtown, CT, a tight-knit community shaken by a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the lives of innocent students and teachers, in addition to the gunman, reportedly identified as Adam Lanza.

RELATED: President Fights Tears as He Addresses Nation

As President Barack Obama touched on in his tear-jerking press conference, this is not the first time the nation has witnessed a tragedy of this kind. The recent mass shooting at an Aurora, CO movie theater is just one instance of such violence. Columbine High School and Virginia Tech also resonate as prime examples.

Hollywood's biggest stars were quick to react to the news on Twitter and made an outcry for stricter gun control regulations.

Watch the video for ET's complete coverage of today's biggest headline.

RELATED: Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

Read More..