Miami-Dade police officer convicted in lewdness case

A Miami-Dade police officer, who routinely stopped women drivers without cause and engaged in lewd conversations, was convicted in federal court Friday.

Prabhainjana Dwivedi, a seven-year veteran, was found guilty on six of seven counts of depriving people of their civil rights. He was found not guilty on the seventh count involving an undercover police officer.

Following the ruling, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez immediately remanded Dwivedi back into custody pending sentencing scheduled for sometime in April, according to prosecutor Karen Gilbert. The trial began Monday.

Dwivedi faces up to a year in prison for each count.

A grand jury indicted Dwivedi after he was arrested by FBI agents Sept. 5 at Miami-Dade police headquarters.

Dwivedi, 33, was charged after an investigation into complaints filed for stops made in May and June of 2011 in which he detained “numerous women” for “unreasonable” length of time “without probable cause, reasonable suspicion or other lawful authority to conduct a stop,” a criminal complaint said.

None of the questionable stops were ever listed on his daily reports or called into dispatch.

According to the complaint, Dwivedi who worked overnight patrolling an area from Key Biscayne to Jackson Memorial Hospital, stopped a 24-year-old bartender who was driving from South Beach to Broward County on her way home from work at about 5:30 a.m. on June 25, 2011, in the area of the Golden Glades interchange.

The bartender, identified as M.F., was accused by Dwivedi of driving under the influence. Pleading her innocence, she requested to have a sobriety test performed. Her request was refused.

Noticing a child’s safety seat in the back seat, Dwivedi threatened M.F. that she would lose custody of her son if she were to be arrested on DUI charges, the criminal complaint said. Then the conversation turned sexual.

According to the complaint, Dwivedi, began to inquire about her surgically enhanced breasts and asked “if she had any scars or incisions from the surgery.”

Dwivedi then asked to see the scars. M.F. obeyed, lifting her shirt and exposing her breasts.

According to the complaint written by FBI special agent Susan Funk, “M.F. stated that Dwivedi did not touch her breast.”

, Dwivedi then allowed her to drive home, but said he would follow her to make sure she got safely home. Once at M.F.’s residence, Dwivedi said he was thirsty and asked for a glass of water. Once inside her home, he lingered for an hour speaking of his personal life.

In the end, Dwivedi left without ever reporting anything to dispatch or making any notes of the stop in his daily reports, the criminal complaint said.

A month earlier, Dwivedi made another questionable stop.

According to the complaint, Dwivedi stopped a19-year-old woman at 2:20 a.m. on May 27, 2011, on her way home from a nightclub with two friends. The woman, identified, as A.R., was informed the traffic stop was a result of a failure to turn on her headlights.

Dwivedi also claimed she was driving under the influence, but A.R. disputed the accusation.

A.R. was instructed to sit in the back seat of his marked cruiser and then Dwivedi “instructed A.R. to lower the zipper on the front of her dress down past her breasts to her mid-stomach” according to the complaint.

An hour and 20 minutes later, A.R. was on her way home without any citation and Dwivedi again made no mention or note of the stop, the complaint said.

Miami Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this report.

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State of Union to focus on economy

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will focus his State of the Union address on boosting job creation and economic growth at a time of high unemployment, underscoring the degree to which the economy could threaten his ability to pursue second-term priorities such as gun control, immigration policy and climate change.

Obama also may use Tuesday's prime-time address before a joint session of Congress to announce the next steps for concluding the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Obama's State of the Union marks his second high-profile speech to the nation in about three weeks, after his inaugural address Jan. 21 that opened his second term. White House aides see the two speeches as complementary, with Tuesday's address aimed at providing specifics to back up some of the Inauguration Day's lofty liberal rhetoric.

The president previewed the address during a meeting Thursday with House Democrats and said he would speak "about making sure that we're focused on job creation here in the United States of America." Obama said he would try to accomplish that by calling for improvements in education, boosting clean energy production, and reducing the deficit in ways that don't burden the middle class, the poor or the elderly.

While those priorities may be cheered by some Democrats, they're certain to be met with skepticism or outright opposition from many congressional Republicans, especially in the GOP-controlled House. The parties are at odds over ways to reduce the deficit. Republicans favor spending cuts; Obama prefers a combination of spending cuts and increasing tax revenue.

The president said he would address taxes and looming across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, in the speech. The White House and Congress have pushed back the automatic cuts once, and Obama wants to do it again in order to create an opening for a larger deficit reduction deal.

"I am prepared, eager and anxious to do a big deal, a big package that ends this governance by crisis where every two weeks or every two months or every six months we are threatening this hard-won recovery," he said last week.

The economy has rebounded significantly from the depths of the recession and has taken a back seat for Obama since he won re-election in November. He's instead focused on campaigns to overhaul the nation's patchwork immigration laws and enact stricter gun control measures following the massacre of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn., in December.

The president also raised expectations for action this year on climate change after devoting a significant amount of time to the issue in his address at the inauguration.

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IRS dealt a setback on tax preparer regulations

To help combat fraud by tax preparers, the Internal Revenue Service created the “Registered Tax Return Preparer” program. Then just before the tax season got under way, the agency was told by a federal judge that it doesn’t have the authority to regulate the hundreds of thousands of tax preparers covered under the program.

Although some tax-return preparers are licensed by their states or enrolled to practice before the IRS, many don’t have to pass a government or professionally mandated competency test to prepare a federal return. When the IRS issued its last “dirty dozen” tax scams, return preparer fraud was third on the list.

“Tax return preparers sometimes alter return information without their clients’ knowledge or consent in an attempt to obtain improperly inflated refunds or to divert refunds for their personal benefit,” wrote Nina E. Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, in her most recent report to Congress. “Often, the refunds are directed to an account in the preparer’s control.”

In other instances, preparers lure clients by promising large refunds even before reviewing their tax information.

The IRS program would have required any individual who is compensated for preparing or assisting in the preparation of a return to obtain a preparer tax identification number, pass a qualifying exam and complete annual continuing-education requirements.

Three independent tax preparers joined the Institute for Justice in challenging the IRS’ authority to create the program. Recently, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against the agency.

Said Dan Alban, the lead attorney on the case: “The licensing requirements harmed the ability of mom and pop operations to compete with big tax preparation firms. Two of the three plaintiffs would have been put out of business because of the cost of complying with the regulations.”

The ruling now means tax return preparers who would have been covered by the program are not required to complete competency testing or secure continuing education, the IRS said. However, all paid preparers are still required to have a preparer tax identification number.

There are tax professionals — attorneys, certified public accountants and enrolled agents — who were exempt from the program but are licensed by state or federal authorities and are subject to censure, suspension or disbarment from practice before the IRS in the event of wrongdoing. The ruling does not affect the regulatory requirements for these professionals.

Still hoping to continue with the regulatory program, the IRS asked the court to delay the ruling pending its appeal. The motion was denied.

“The IRS continues to have confidence in the scope of its authority to administer this program and is working with the Department of Justice to address all options, including a planned appeal,” the agency said in a statement.

In response to the lawsuit, the IRS said it has established 250 testing centers, that the program has cost more than $50 million to roll out, and nearly 100,000 preparers have registered to take the competency test.

When the IRS first announced the program, I was in favor of licensing preparers. Though many tax professionals do their jobs well, there are enough unscrupulous preparers to warrant some changes. Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, has recommended that Congress enact a federal registration, examination, certification and enforcement program for unenrolled tax-return preparers. “Creating a class of certified return preparers is a very positive step toward combating fraud,” she said in her report.

But perhaps Judge Boasberg has it right. He said his ruling doesn’t require the IRS to dismantle the registration scheme.

The IRS “may choose to retain the testing centers and some staff, as it is possible that some preparers may wish to take the exam or continuing education even if not required to,” Boasberg said in his decision. “Such voluntarily obtained credentials might distinguish them from other preparers.”

And some preparers might still take the exam in case his ruling is reversed on appeal, “just as the IRS may similarly decide it is financially more prudent not to shutter the centers in hopes of an appellate victory or congressional action,” Boasberg wrote.

“We have no opposition to preparers going through the program voluntarily,” Alban said. “If you are in the market looking for a new tax preparer, there could be value in selecting one with the registered tax return preparer certification. Keeping it voluntary allows consumers to decide what’s important rather than the IRS.”

I see great service to consumers in the IRS preparer program. So until things are settled, Boasberg offers a good compromise.

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Teen actress Bailee Madison to kick off children’s 5K in Broward

Teen actress Bailee Madison will be the official race starter for the I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation’s 6th annual 5K walk/run on Sunday. Madison, 13, has acted in Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” and the 2012 family comedy “Parental Guidance,” and is national youth spokesperson for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Childhood Cancer Foundation.

The I Care I Cure 5K race will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the BB&T Center, 2555 NW 136th Ave., Sunrise, and is open to adults and children. Post-race Family Fun Day activities organized by the I Care I Cure Foundation will last until 11 a.m.

Registration money will support research into gentler treatment options for childhood cancers.

Advance registration through icareicure.org is $25 for adults and $20 for children. Race day registration is an extra $10.

Registration includes a T-shirt, food and drinks, and access to Family Fun Day activities.

To learn more, call 800-807-8013.

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House of Lies Exclusive Clip Lisa Edelstein First Look

Lisa Edelstein became one of the most adored actors on television after spending seven years playing Dr. Cuddy on House. But for her latest small screen endeavor, Edelstein is trading one "House" for another as she guest stars on Showtime's sensational House of Lies, beginning February 17 -- and ETonline has your exclusive first look at her in action!

RELATED - 12 Actors You Didn't Know Were on The West Wing

On Lies, Edelstein plays Brynn, a smart and sexy political consultant whom comes up against The Pod. And as you can see from our first look video, Marty instantly takes a shine to the bold and brash brunette.

RELATED - Kristen Bell & Don Cheadle Talk House of Lies

But how brave will Marty be with his heart? Watch House of Lies every Sunday at 10 p.m. to find out!

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Brooklyn teacher's aide pleads guilty to producing child porn

A teacher’s aide pleaded guilty today to producing a homemade child porn film inside a New York City grammar school.

Taleek Brooks, who worked at PS 243 in Crown Heights, admitted that he had produced a video of a student entrusted to his care while the child was engaged in explicit sexual activity.

"I was responsible for the filming of a minor masturbating," Brooks told Brooklyn federal Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann.

Brooks, 42, also conceded that he sent digital files over the Internet via a file sharing Web site to an undercover FBI agent, saying the files included another pornographic video showing an adult sexually assaulting a child.

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Taleek Brooks.

He will face from 15 to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced this summer, according to a plea agreement with Brooklyn federal prosecutors.

Brooks was on the staff at the Brooklyn public school - also referred to as "The Weeksville School" - for nearly two decades until FBI agents arrested him early last year.

The feds discovered more than 1,000 digital files of children as young as 10 posing in explicit photos during a search of his house.

Those developments prompted an aggressive FBI probe and eventually led investigators to believe that Brooks was molesting school children entrusted to his care, after they found child porn videos on his computer hard drive that were filmed inside several classrooms.

Agents interviewed teachers, school staff, parents, and children, in an effort to determine the extent of Brooks' alleged damage.

City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott also visited the elementary school, and the school's principal called the molestation allegations “deeply troubling news."

The former school staffer is still awaiting trial in separate criminal case leveled by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, charging him with two counts of sexual contact with a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a minor.

Brooks, who earned $37,000 a year as a teacher's aide, was assigned to a small, special-education classroom with one teacher and 12 kids at the school.

A disquieting photograph posted on Brooks’ blog on the elementary school's Web site showed him dressed as the Easter Bunny and surrounded by young children in a playground.

The blog was taken down after his arrest.

mmaddux@nypost.com

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Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum, Feb. 21 at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.

Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba. Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene.

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Mark Slaughter, CEO, Cohealo.com

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.

Moderator: Melissa Krinzman, founder and managing director, Venture Architects

Panelists:

•  Marjorie Weber, chairman, SCORE of Miami-Dade

•  Cornell Crews, Jr., program director, Partners for Self Employment

•  Darius G. Nevin, co-founder, G3 Capital Partners, a mid-market and early-stage investment company

•  Boris Hirmas Said, chairman of the board, Tres Mares S.A. (Santiago, Chile) and entrepreneur in

residence at the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center

1 p.m. Lunch session - Polish your Pitch, Brighten Your Personal Brand

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make short pitches about their businesses and themselves. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation.

Coaches: Melissa Krinzman of Venture Architects and Michelle Villalobos of Mivista Consulting

advise audience volunteers on how to best pitch themselves and their products.

Box lunch provided by Bill Hansen Catering

All speakers confirmed unless otherwise noted. Agenda is subject to change without notice .

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Murder charge dropped in Miami Gardens self-defense case

Prosecutors on Thursday dropped a murder charge against a man who claimed self-defense in fatally shooting an armed teen during a June 2010 brawl in Miami Gardens.

Travis Cooper, 28, had been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Gregory Gant, 16.

The men were part of two groups of fighting men. Cooper claimed Gant pistol-whipped a friend of his, then “pointed the gun in his direction.”

Cooper, a security guard who had a concealed weapons permit, shot and killed Gant. He later called police.

“It’s a relief. They charged me with second-degree murder for no reason,” Cooper said Thursday, flanked by lawyers Andrew Rier and Jonathan Jordan.

Prosecutors decided they could not defend a request for immunity filed under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which gave judges greater leeway to throw out criminal cases.

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Pat Houston Says She will Be Attending Clive Davis' Grammy Party

Though Whitney Houston tragically passed away just hours before Clive Davis' Grammy party last year -- which she had planned on attending -- Whitney's sister-in-law Pat Houston tells ET that she and Whitney's brother Gary will in fact be attending Davis' annual Grammy party on February 9.

Pics: Remembering Whitney on Her Birthday

"You know what, we're actually going to California to support Clive, who was such an important part of Whitney’s life," Pat confirmed to ET during the unveiling of Madame Tussauds' four wax figures of the late singer in New York. "I mean, that was her industry father and he really, really was ... my husband and I -- Gary and I -- will definitely be there this weekend for the Grammy party to support Clive. Absolutely."

Video: Whitney Houston's Autopsy -- An Expert Weighs In

Davis' Grammy party will be held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, the very same hotel where Whitney died. The room where she passed away, No. 434, has since been taken out of circulation.

This year's party guest list includes Jennifer Hudson, Usher, David Guetta and more, but it is not known whether there will be a planned tribute regarding the one year anniversary of Whitney's death.

The 2013 Grammy Awards airs this Sunday, at 8 p.m. on CBS.

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Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano charged with illegal solicitation and expenditure of campaign funds

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's political opposition has submitted a criminal complaint to the state Attorney General and the Board of Elections - charging Mangano with illegal solicitation and expenditure of campaign funds.

Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs filed the complaint saying Mangano's campaign collected more than $70,000 in corporate contributions, many of which were made by firms doing business with Nassau County.

The complaint alleges that Deputy County Executive Rob Walker solicited the money through the Hicksville Republican Club. Jacobs says that Walker and Mangano violated campaign finance contribution limits by illegally contributing funds to support Mangano's reelection campaign.

Events included hosting a fundraiser in a $200,000 luxury box at Met Life Stadium and a golf fundraiser at Disney World. Jacobs said Mangano also had a September 2012 Bruce Springsteen fundraiser at MetLife Stadium.

"Mangano and Walker are enjoying their 'Glory Days' in a luxury suite purchased with a pile of illegal campaign cash," said Jacobs.

But Mangano's spokesman shot back: "The only campaign Jay Jacobs knows is one of mudslinging and slander," said Brian Nevin

"All campaign contributions were properly reported and the campaign will take the necessary steps to address any contributions that exceeded the cap."

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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 funding from investors including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Sapient Corp., MTV founder Bob Pitman, actor and producer Omar Epps, and early Google employee Steve Schimmel. The Knight Foundation is supporting Guide through its new early-stage venture fund, the Knight Enterprise Fund.

Led by CEO and founder Freddie Laker and COO Leslie Bradshaw, 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 free 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. 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. Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg

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Judge OK’s plan for gay man, lesbian couple to be legal parents of young daughter

A Miami-Dade circuit judge has approved a private adoption allowing three people — a gay man and a married lesbian couple — to be the legal parents of their 23-month-old daughter.

“We’re creating entirely new concepts of families. If you have two women seeking to be listed as Parent One and Parent Two, that does not exclude listing a man as father,” said Miami family lawyer Karyn J. Begin, who represented dad Massimiliano “Massimo” Gerina in a two-year paternity case involving lesbian friends who had his baby.

Maria Italiano and Cher Filippazzo, who married in Connecticut, and their attorney, Kenneth Kaplan, declined to be interviewed.

The women, according to Begin, are longtime partners who unsuccessfully attempted to become pregnant through professional fertility clinics.

Instead of giving up, they decided to try again at home and approached Gerina about fathering a child.

“They asked me,” Gerina said. “I was flattered by it. I thought what a great opportunity for me to have a baby.”

A single Bay Harbor Islands hair stylist, Gerina explained why he desires children: “It’s nature — the same reason a woman wants to be a mother.”

Gerina grew up Cagliari, Italy, where he never thought he could become a father. Eight years ago, though, he moved to South Florida and encountered many gay parents raising children.

“It’s not unusual here. Where I am from it’s unusual. I grew up with the mentality that it would never happen,” he said. “When I moved here, I saw gay couples, lesbian couples having families.”

On only a verbal agreement, Gerina gave the women his sperm and Italiano conceived. The lesbians planned for Filippazzo to later adopt the baby and they would both raise the child.

Florida law specifies that sperm donors have no legal rights in artificial inseminations. Thus the hitch: Gerina says he considered himself a parent, not simply a donor. The women, he claimed, “wanted a father for the baby, not just the sperm.”

Two weeks after insemination, Italiano learned she was pregnant. About seven months later, the women called Gerina and asked him to sign a contract.

“When they gave me the paper to sign that I had to give up all my rights to the baby, I didn’t,” he said.

Gerina began to ponder the legal consequences of siring a child. He hired Begin and presented the women with papers of his own.

“My papers said I would have parental rights, a visitation schedule,” he said. “They hated it. They said this wasn’t what they wanted. I said, ‘Now that you’re already pregnant, you should have thought about that before.’ ”

Their daughter, Emma, was born March 10, 2011. “The paternity lawsuit was filed right after the birth of the child,” Begin said.

The three parents feuded in court for nearly two years. A trial was set for Jan. 31, 2013.

A week before trial, Gerina, Italiano, Filippazzo and their attorneys settled the case privately.

Before posing for photos with the three parents and Emma, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Antonio Marin approved the settlement and the court adoption clerk submitted paperwork for Emma’s new birth certificate:

• Birth mother Italiano, a retail saleswoman, received “sole parental responsibility,” Begin said.

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Jennifer Lawrence's Long Lost Monk Appearance

Though she's already been nominated for two Academy Awards at just 22 years old, Jennifer Lawrence hasn't always had her pick of the best roles in Hollywood -- which she hilariously displayed by revealing to Conan O'Brien the major letdown she received earlier in her career when she thought she was getting a plum guest starring role on USA hit Monk.

"For the Monk episode there was Emily J. and Emily C. -- I thought I was going to play Emily C.," she explained during her guest appearance on Conan Tuesday night. "So this one girl that's in [my] church goes, 'I'm gonna be playing Emily J. on Monk,' and I go, 'Oh my God I'm going to play Emily C., this is great!'"

Pics: Fierce Fashions -- Hot Looks of the 2013 Oscar Luncheon

Only it turns out Jennifer didn't exactly get the part she was hoping for.

"[Turns] out I'm not playing that part -- I'm playing the mascot," she laughed. "And so everybody watched it after I told them that I'm going to have this great, huge part and I was just the mascot -- and I've never been back to church since."

Video: J-Law's Biggest Fashion Regret?

Check out the video to see Jennifer's under the radar Monk appearance, and for her priceless reaction to the unearthed clip.

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Divorced parents in legal battle over Autumn Pasquale's gravestone

Three months after a 12-year-old New Jersey girl was killed, her divorced parents are in a court battle over control of a memorial fund and headstone for the girl's grave.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday is the latest publicly visible fissure in the family after Autumn Pasquale's disappearance that, at first, united the couple and an entire community in a search for the girl, who went for a bike ride on Oct. 20 and was never seen alive again by her family.

Forty-eight hours after 200 enforcement officers and hundreds more volunteers began searching, the girl's body was found stuffed in a recycling bin several blocks from her home in the small town of Clayton, 25 miles south of Philadelphia.

AP

Autumn Pasquale, 12, of Clayton, NJ, was last seen alive while riding her bike on October 12, 2012.

Donations rolled in for a reward for an arrest in the case. After two teenage brothers were charged with murder, money came in for her funeral and other purposes. In all, donations totaled at least $100,000.

In the suit, the girl's mother, Jennifer Cornwell, says her ex-husband, Anthony Pasquale, took Cornwell's name off the memorial fund bank account that they had agreed to control together to pay for their daughter's funeral, legal expenses and help with the college education for their two surviving children. She also says her ex-husband has refused to consult her on what the girl's headstone should say.

Cornwell is asking a judge to split the memorial fund so that each parent can have partial control and to bar Pasquale from completing the headstone design without Cornwell's input.

About the only thing the lawyers for the parents agree on is how sad it is that the saga has come to this.

"It's just disappointing and curious," said Douglas Long, a lawyer for Pasquale. "That's about it."

"This is a very sad situation," said Robert Feltoon, the lawyer for Cornwell.

Court filings lay out acrimony between the girls' parents: Cornwell moved out in 2002 when her children were 4, 3, and 1 years old. Though the parents legally had joint custody, they spent most of their time living with their father. The couple were divorced in 2005, seven years after they married.

Cornwell says her ex-husband did not inform her that their middle daughter was missing until two hours after police were called on Oct. 20.

Pasquale says his ex-wife picked up items left at a funeral home by mourners without his permission. She contends he said it would be OK. He also says she was wrong to withhold money from a fundraiser from the fund. She says the money — a $15,500 check plus unspecified cash — is in a safe-deposit box where she placed it after learning she no longer had control of the bank account.

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Can’t find time for play? Try scheduling it

If your resolutions for 2013 include achieving a better work-life balance, your calendar holds the key to your success.

But, to pull off your goals, you’re going to need to turn the traditional way of thinking upside down.

Most people schedule their work commitments on their calendars and squeeze in family, friends and fun around it. Instead, schedule your work around your personal life, say Michelle Villalobos and Jessica Kizorek, speakers, personal branding consultants and co-creators of Make Them Beg, a professional self development program. For example, they suggest you block out gym time, reading for pleasure time, coaching your kid time and date night. Even a person with almost no flexibility in his or her work schedule can block out 15 minutes for a walk rather than eating lunch at their desks.

“You have to plan for play. Otherwise work expands and there’s no time for play,” Kizorek says. Today, it’s easy to stay a little later at the office or work through lunch because there’s always more to do. Using your calendar effectively can help you with boundaries.

Villalobos says once you put “play” into your schedule, it helps to get people who are important in your life to keep you committed. For example, she blocks out three hours twice a week on her calendar to paint. She has asked her boyfriend to help her stick to that schedule.

Realistically, there will be times when you have to reschedule a fun activity because of work demands. “At least you know what you missed so if you don’t do it, you move it to another day,” Villalobos says.

If you’re in a relationship, experts advise letting your partner participate in creating your calendar. A friend of mine sends his spouse an electronic invite to his poker night signaling that she has the night free to schedule her own fun activity.

Scheduling everything may seem rigid. “That’s the opposite,” Villalobos insists. “By putting things on your calendar, you can focus on what you need to do in the moment. It allows you to be far more present.”

With more people converting to electronic calendars or hovering between paper and online options, how we coordinate our schedules is in flux. But for balance, it’s often better to track personal and professional in one place.

Sharon Teitelbaum, a Boston-based work-life coach, says to calendar all important life events including birthdays. It may sound like common sense to calendar your son’s birthday, but people forget and schedule business travel, she has found. She also advises putting work events in your calendar as far in advance as possible and tasks that lead up to them. “You don’t want to agree to host a dinner party the weekend before a work retreat.”

For many busy people, the traditional way of scheduling needs to change from calendaring a due date to creating a timeline. If you have a big project you need to have completed by Feb. 15, Teitelbaum says break it into weekly tasks leading up to that date. “People vastly underestimate how long things take and the number of interruptions they have to contend with,” she says.

Julie Morgenstern, who created the Balanced Life Planner for Delray Beach-based specialty retailer Levenger, says that even on a daily basis people don’t plan realistically. “By bravely recognizing the limits of each day and how long each to-do on your list will take, we can see in advance what will or won’t fit into our calendar, and become more strategic,” she said.

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Dolphins get unanimous support for stadium tax deal in first Senate hearing

TALLAHASSEE --
The Miami Dolphins started off the legislative season 1-and-0 in their attempt to get lawmakers to approve a multi-million dollar deal to upgrade

Lawmakers in the Florida Senate Commerce Committee gave unanimous support to a bill that would clear the way for higher hotel bed taxes and a new sales tax rebate to help fund a $400 million renovation of the Fins’ digs.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, has cleared its first hurdle, but it still faces an uphill climb. There will be several more committee stops and the bill also has to clear the Florida House, where Braynon acknowledged that there’s still some heavy lifting to do.

“In the Senate, I don’t think that we’re going to have as many problems as we’re going to have in the House,” he said.

The bill would allow the Dolphins to collect an annual $3 million in sales tax rebates from the state for 30 years, as well as millions more in new bed taxes.

Several stakeholders came up to Tallahassee to support the bill at its first committee hearing, including Miami Gardens mayor Oliver Gilbert, SunLife stadium CEO Mike Dee and Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce President Bill Diggs.

All supporters pitched the same message: This tax deal is a smart economic move for the state, and would lead to Super Bowls, college championships and other major tourism events.

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Worn Out? Stars Step Out in Same Style

Jessica vs. Kim vs. Ashley

Jessica Chastain was perfectly put-together as usual at The Hollywood Reporter Nominees' Night 2013 in Beverly Hills, California on February 4, 2013, though there's a reason her black Givenchy peplum dress looks so familiar -- a pre-pregnant Kim Kardashian wore it to the Ryu Restaurant opening in April in New York City, and Ashley Greene beat them all to the punch, sporting the exact same dress all the way back in October of 2011 at The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Paris premiere.

Who looks best in the dress?

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Chris Brown likely faked community service: DA

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles prosecutors are asking a judge to order Chris Brown to redo his community service because of significant discrepancies in records submitted to a court.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray writes in a motion filed Tuesday that the records submitted by Richmond, Va., police to prove the R&B singer performed six-months of community labor are "at best sloppy documentation and at worst fraudulent reporting."

Brown was allowed to perform his community labor sentence for the 2009 beating of Rihanna in his home state of Virginia. Richmond police submitted paperwork last year indicating Brown had completed his sentence, but the logs showed the singer performing double shifts in the city and at a day care center where his mother once worked.

Splash News

Chris Brown is seen performing a hard day of his community service clearing weeds in Richmond, Virginia 2009. Los Angeles prosecutors are now casting doubt over the records of his work.

Richmond Police spokesman Gene Lepley had no immediate comment, and a phone message for Brown's attorney wasn't immediately returned.

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Cutting edge tech from Swiss Army

The Victorinox Swiss Army Jetsetter looks like a traditional pocket knife the company is famous for, but instead of the knife you get a pocket full of storage.

A foldout and detachable USB 2.0 flash drive is among the features in the mini tool kit, which includes a ball point pen, bottle opener, Phillips screwdriver, tweezers and scissors in the 16 GB model I tested out.

The detachable flash drive is Windows- and Mac-friendly, although it comes loaded with Mac-friendly security software to protect your data stored on the device.

It’s available in capacities of 8 GB black ($39.95), 16 GB red ($49.99) and 32 GB silver ($99.99). There are a few different features in each, with the 32 GB model having a LED mini light, for example.

Details: www.swissarmy.com

A great find

Kensington’s Proximo Fob and Tag Kit creates a wireless (Bluetooth) monitoring system between your keys, accessories and an iPhone (4S or 5) that will alert you if they are separated.

I tried the starter kit ($59.99), which includes a fob, tag, keyring and has a screen driver to open the hardware and insert the included CR2032 lithium coin batteries, along with a key ring.

The fob attaches to the key ring and after you have it linked with the free Kensington Proximo app, anytime the devices are separated an alarm sounds. If your phone is within range but you can’t find it, press a button.

It’s easy to think of this as a monitoring device for your expensive smartphone but it also works in reverse once everything is linked up. With your phone in your pocket or purse, it can alert you that you have left your keys behind.

can be placed in a computer bag or attached to anything (or anyone) that you want alarmed. But unlike the fob, it’s only one direction; the app will find it but you can’t use it to find your phone.

The Proximo App Dashboard tracks up to five items with a single fob and up to four tags. Additional tags cost $24.99 each.

If you get out of range between the devices, an app lets you tap a button to let you know where your device was last seen and even pulls up a map with a specific address.

Details: www.Kensington.com

Sound investment

RadioShack’s Auvio expanding Bluetooth speaker ($39.99) is as simple and useful as a gadget can be. Just twist open the speaker, pair it with your device via Bluetooth and you’ll be amazed at how much better the sound is than the built-in speaker on your smartphone or tablet.

A rechargeable battery is built in for up to eight hours of use and can be powered up in two hours with a USB charge using the included cable.

It is 2.5 inches in diameter, just over 3-inches tall when expanded and about 2.5 inches when closed.

Another choice, with a bigger size (2.8-by-6.5-by-2.9 inches) but much better sound is the brick-shaped Auvio Portable Speaker ($79.99).

Both speakers have aux-in ports to connect to non-Bluetooth devices.

Details: www.radioshack.com

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Help the homeless by sharing your skills

More than a decade ago, the Rev. Pedro A. Martinez, watched the struggles of the homeless in Miami Beach. Then, he decide to do something about the problem. He designed and organized an outreach ministry to provide the homeless with much needed food, supportive services and community resources.

On Saturday the program called H.O.P.E. at Miami Beach Community Church, will begin its 11th year of reaching out to the chronically homeless in Miami Beach. The organization partners with the city of Miami Beach to have half-day events six times a year at the church, 1620 Drexel Ave., where the Rev. H.E. "Hunter" Thompson is the senior pastor.

During one of the events, it is not uncommon for individuals to receive a hot meal, clothes, shoes, hygiene products, a haircut, foot care, glasses, and referrals to agencies specializing in assisting the homeless. "Providing support and encouragement to the hungry and homeless is an important ministry, and we are pleased to partner with H.O.P.E. in Miami Beach," Thompson said.

Martinez said, "We seek to provide immediate assistance, while complementing the work of other churches and social-service agencies.”

In addition to the event on Feb. 9, five other events will be on April 13, June 8, Aug, 10, Oct. 12, and Dec. 7. All events are from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and all who are in need are welcome. However, the priority is serving the homeless.

Although H.O.P.E. receives donations of clothing and food, Thompson said, "The help of professional specialists such as podiatrists, dentists, chiropractors, massage therapists and barbers/haircutters are needed to share their skills and expertise."

Said Martinez: "Providing food and clothing is just the beginning. The homeless need and deserve, access to basic care."

If you have a service that can be used to help the homeless, or for more information about H.O.P.E., please contact Martinez at 305-220-3467, or go to the website, hopeinmiamibeach.org.

For more information on the programs and services at Miami Beach Community Church, call Thompson at 305-538-4511 or visit the website, www.miamibeachcommunitychurch.com.

Temple to honor leaders

Temple Beth Tov-Ahavat Shalom in West Miami will present "The Grand Celebration" at 4 p.m. Sunday to honor four of its leaders — Rabbi Manuel Armon, Cantor Irving "Babe" Resnick, and Frances and Milton Miller.

Born in Buenos Aires, the center of one of the largest and most influential Jewish communities in Latin America, Rabbi Armon studied at the Buenos Aires Hebrew Teachers Seminary, and was later granted a scholarship to pursue rabbinical studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he earned a masters degree in Hebrew Literature and became the first Latin American to be ordained a rabbi. He later graduated from Columbia University in New York, and from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. While at the University of Jerusalem, he served as the secretary of the Institute of Jewish Studies. He also taught Bible and Talmud at various schools in Israel.

Armon later moved to the United States and served as various pulpits as a rabbi. For the past 15 years, Armon has served as the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Tov-Ahavat Shalom. He is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly of the International Association of Conservative Rabbis, and the Greater Miami Rabbinical Association. The Rabbinical Assembly recently honored him for 50 years of service as a rabbi.

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Kuwait says backs free speech but must protect ruling emir

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait supports free speech but must act against illegal comments made about the Gulf state’s ruler, the government said on Monday, after a Twitter user was jailed for five years.

A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to prison on Sunday for insulting the emir on the social networking site, a rights lawyer and news websites said, in the latest prosecution for criticism of authorities via social media.

“Kuwait has a longstanding proud tradition of open debate and free speech,” the Ministry of Information, which regulates the media, said in a statement to Reuters addressing the case.

“We are a country led by the rule of law and our constitution holds our Emir to be inviolable. If our citizens wish to amend the constitution there is a straightforward legal way to do this, but we will not selectively enforce our laws.”

In recent months Kuwait has penalized several Twitter users for criticizing the emir, who is described as “immune and inviolable” in the constitution.

Kuwait allows the most dissent in the Gulf Arab region and boasts a lively press and critical political debate. But the U.S. ally and OPEC member has been clamping down on politically sensitive comments aired on the internet in recent months.

Twitter is extremely popular in the country of 3.7 million inhabitants and well-known figures can have hundreds of thousands of followers.

In January, a court sentenced two men in separate cases to jail time for insulting the emir on Twitter.

In June last year, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media.

Two months later, authorities detained a member of the ruling family over remarks on Twitter in which he accused authorities of corruption and called for political reform.

Kuwait has avoided the kind of mass unrest that has spread across the Arab region in the past two years but in 2012 tension escalated between authorities and opposition groups ahead of a parliamentary election.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Jennifer Lawrence Talks Hunger Games at Santa Barbara Film Festival

Jennifer Lawrence continues to see lots of love for her standout performance in Silver Linings Playbook. The star was honored at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Saturday, where she talked about how her life has changed since she found fame -- and revealed her reluctance to take on the lead in The Hunger Games franchise.

Pics: Stars on Set

"It's really rare in your life that saying yes to something will completely change your life," she said. "I was happy with my life and I just didn't know if I wanted it to change. I've always had this imaginary future in my mind where I would be just be a soccer mom that drove a minivan and my kids were normal and I kind of had the same family that I grew up in -- and that just didn't fit with talking on a giant franchise."

Related: Jennifer Dishes on 'Hunger Games' Sequel

Jennifer's Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell was on hand to present her with The Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Outstanding Performer of the Year Award for that indie hit. He told the audience that he agreed with his editor, who had seen the first footage from the shoot, and said of the 22-year-old star, "This one's been kissed by the angels."

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'Cannibal cop' pal indicted on kidnapping-conspiracy charge

An alleged co-conspirator in the notorious "cannibal cop" case has been indicted on a kidnapping-conspiracy charge, the feds announced today.

Michael Van Hise, an auto mechanic from New Jersey, is accused of using email to scheme with NYPD cop Gilberto Valle on Feb. 28 of last year "about kidnapping an identified woman (the 'Victim') in exchange for United States currency," according to his Manhattan federal court indictment.

Two days later, on March 1, Valle "was present on the block in Manhattan on which the Victim's apartment building is located," the indictment says.

'Cannibal Cop' Gilberto Valle

The feds have alleged that Valle, 28, was conducting surveillance of the woman, who lives on the Upper East Side and last week was referred to in court papers as "Ms. F."

Van Hise, 22, is one of three people with whom Valle allegedly plotted over the Internet to kidnap, rape, torture, cook and eat women.

Neither of the other two -- including someone who used the online nickname "Moody Blues" and claimed to be a butcher in India -- have been charged.

Valle contends that his all of his online writings were merely expressions of "dark" sexual fantasies, and lawyers for both him and Van Hise have accused the feds of arresting Van Hise to try and keep him from testifying on Valle's behalf.

Jury selection for Valle's trial is scheduled to begin Friday, with opening statements set for Feb. 25.

Both he and Van Hise face up to life in prison if convicted.

Van Hise's lawyers didn't immediately return a request for comment.

bruce.golding@nypost.com

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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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Details emerge about Boynton Beach man who killed two sons

BOYNTON BEACH (AP) The Boynton Beach man who killed two of his sons before killing himself had declined an invitation to a party hours earlier, saying he had to do “something important,” his roommate said on Sunday.

Police say Isidro Zavala killed his younger sons, 12-year-old Eduardo and 11-year-old Mario, early Saturday at his estranged wife's home.

According to police, Victoria Zavala was watching television when she heard a commotion just before 2 a.m. She found Isidro Zavala choking one of his sons, and she begged him to kill her and spare the boys.

Isidro Zavala told her that he would leave her alive to suffer their loss. She was not injured. Officers found both boys dead at the scene, and they found Zavala, dressed all in black, dead with self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the chest and head.

“This is an unusually brutal type of murder,” said Boynton Beach Police Chief Matthew Immler.

The Palm Beach Post reports the couple had filed for divorce in October after nearly 20 years of marriage. They were scheduled to go to court Tuesday for a mediation hearing.

Zavala's roommate said he last saw Zavala Friday evening at their house, less than a mile away from the crime scene. Mariano Batalla told the newspaper that Zavala said he couldn't attend a friend's birthday party because “he had to do something important.”

Batalla said he returned from the party around midnight and repeatedly tried to call Zavala, who never answered his phone. Zavala's truck remained parked in their driveway. Police woke Batalla around 5 a.m. and told him what happened.

“I feel so, so, so sad because he's my best friend,” Batalla said. “It's a big surprise for me. He don't tell me nothing about this.”

The Zavalas also have a 19-year-old son who does not live at his mother's house. Investigators found a note from Zavala to his oldest son in a bag at the crime scene.

In the note, Zavala told the 19-year-old that he was a good son and to take care of himself, Immler said. The bag also contained a second gun, extra ammunition, duct tape and cutting shears.

A second note was found at Isidro Zavala's home, but police did not release its contents.

Victoria Zavala had been licensed as a cosmetologist, and Isidro Zavala owned a landscaping company.

Children who live across the street say they last saw Mario several days ago when they were flying kites with another friend. They remembered him playing in their backyard or playing video games, and they could not understand why Mario's father would kill him.

Police said they had never visited the Zavalas' home. A spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families said the agency also had no previous history with the family.

Batalla said he knew Zavala as a gentle friend who made pork and rice dishes for special occasions and who walked to church every weekend. Batalla had recently been baptized, and he had encouraged Zavala to do the same.

“But he kept telling me, `No, not yet,“’ Batalla said. “He said he wanted to learn more before he got baptized.”

–––

Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, http://www.pbpost.com

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Kuwaiti gets five years for insulting ruler

KUWAIT (Reuters) – A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to five years in prison on Sunday for insulting the emir on Twitter, a rights lawyer and news websites said, in the latest prosecution for criticism of authorities via social media in the Gulf Arab state.

The court gave Kuwaiti Mohammad Eid al-Ajmi the maximum sentence for the comments, news websites al-Rai and alaan.cc reported.

In recent months Kuwait has penalized several Twitter users for criticizing the emir, who is described as “immune and inviolable” in the constitution.

“We call on the government to expand freedoms and adhere to the international (human rights) conventions it has signed,” said lawyer Mohammad al-Humaidi, director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, commenting on the case.

Courts in Kuwait generally do not comment to the media.

Amnesty International said in November Kuwait had increased restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

It urged Kuwait to ensure protection for users of social media, whether they supported or opposed the government, as long as they did not incite racial hatred or violence.

Kuwait, a U.S. ally and major oil producer, has been taking a firmer line on politically sensitive comments aired on the internet. Twitter is extremely popular in the country of 3.7 million.

In January, a court sentenced two men in separate cases to jail time for insulting the emir on Twitter.

In June 2012, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media.

Two months later, authorities detained Sheikh Meshaal al-Malik Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over remarks on Twitter in which he accused authorities of corruption and called for political reform.

The recent Twitter cases have been carried out under the state security law and penal code. Last year Kuwait passed new legislation aimed at regulating social media.

Public demonstrations and debates about local issues are common in a state that allows the most dissent in the Gulf, but Kuwait has avoided the kind of mass unrest that unseated four heads of Arab states in 2011.

But tensions intensified between authorities and opposition groups last year ahead of a parliamentary election deemed unfair by opposition politicians and activists.

The opposition movement said new voting rules introduced by Sheikh Sabah by emergency decree in October would skew the December 1 election in favor of pro-government candidates. The emir said the old voting system was flawed and that his changes were constitutional and necessary for Kuwait’s “security and stability”.

(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy, Writing by Sylvia Westall; editing by Sami Aboudi and Andrew Roche)

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Justin Timberlake Performs New Music 20 20 Experience

Justin Timberlake hit the stage to perform new music for the first time in ages on February 2 and much to the crowd's delight, JT proved the long wait was well worth it.

RELATED - Justin & Jessica's Long Road to The Altar 

At DIRECTV's Super Saturday Night party in New Orleans, La, Timberlake not only performed his latest single, Suit & Tie (complete with Jay-Z cameo), but he debuted two new songs: Little Pusher Love Girl and Bad Girl.

VIDEO - Watch Justin's Suit & Tie Lyric Video

Both tracks are slated to be on Timberlake's forthcoming third solo album, The 20/20 Experience, hitting stores on March 19.

Watch all JT's performances below!

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Deadly deserts

Ralph Peters

Violence in Allah’s name in northern Africa won’t end in my lifetime — and probably not in yours. The core question is: To what extent can the savagery be contained?

From the Atlantic coastline to the Suez Canal, struggling governments, impoverished populations and frankly backward societies struggle to find paths to modernization and to compete in a ruthless global economy. Religious fanatics for whom progress is a betrayal of faith hope to block development.

Still, if the only conflict was between Islamist terrorists and those who want civilized lives, the situation could be managed over time. But that struggle forms only one level in a layer cake of clashing visions and outright civil wars bedeviling a vast region. Much larger than Europe, the zone of contention encompasses the Maghreb, the countries touching the Mediterranean, and the Sahel, the bitterly poor states stretching down across desert wastes to the African savannah.

AFP/Getty Images

Figthers of the Islamic group Ansar Dine

The Sahel is the front line not only between the world of Islam and Christian-animist cultures in Africa’s heart, but between Arabs and light-skinned tribes in the north, and blacks to the south. No area in the world so explicitly illustrates the late, great Samuel Huntington’s concept of “the clash of civilizations.”

If racial and religious differences were not challenge enough, in the Maghreb the factions and interest groups are still more complicated. We view Egypt as locked in a contest between Islamists and “our guys,” Egyptians seeking new freedoms. But Egypt’s identity struggle is far more complex, involving social liberals, moderate Muslims, stern conservative Muslims (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) and outright fanatics. The military forms another constituency, while the business community defends its selfish interests. Then there are the supporters of the old Mubarak regime, the masses of educated-but-unemployed youth and the bitterly poor peasants.

Atop all that there’s the question of whether the values cherished by Arab societies can adapt to a globalized world.

The path to Egypt’s future will not be smooth — yet Egypt’s chances are better than those of many of its neighbors. Consider a few key countries in the region:

Mali

Viva la France! (Never thought I’d write that in The Post.) Contrary to a lot of media nonsense, the effective French intervention in Mali demonstrates that not every military response to Islamist terror has to become another Afghanistan: The French are welcome.

As extremists invariably do, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its allies rapidly alienated their fellow Muslims — after hijacking a local uprising. The local version of Islam is far more humane and tolerant than the Wahhabi cult imposed by Islamist fanatics. To the foreign extremists, the Malian love of Sufi mysticism, ancient shrines and their own centuries of religious scholarship are all hateful — as is the Malian genius for music that’s pleased listeners around the world.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Hollywood cardiologist’s ties with St. Jude sales rep raises red flags

Mark Sabbota, a Hollywood cardiologist, regularly implants $5,000 pacemakers in patients at Memorial hospitals in South Broward — generating, last year alone, more than a half-million dollars in sales for a manufacturer called St. Jude Medical.

Sabbota, public records show, also happens to be partners with a St. Jude sales rep in two corporations that run frozen yogurt shops.

What’s yogurt got to do with healthcare?

Perhaps nothing. Perhaps a lot. The question is connected to an on-going lobbying battle in Washington over a pending disclosure policy intended to more clearly reveal financial ties between physicians and the healthcare industry — often-murky relationships that have produced a long history of whistle-blower lawsuits, federal investigations and fines.

Sabbota, in a brief interview, adamantly denied any conflict of interest. “There has been no wrongdoing at all,” he said.

Memorial spokeswoman Kerting Baldwin also said the hospital saw no problem with the yogurt arrangement. As a “community” doctor, not a staff employee, Baldwin said Sabbota can select from a list of pacemakers approved by the hospital but has no say over what companies made the list.

“As for why he prefers to use St. Jude, I won’t speak for him,’’ she said. “You’d have to ask him that.”

But several medical ethics experts said such relationships fall in a gray area. They raise what Kenneth Goodman, bioethics director at the University of Miami, called “red flags” about whether the doctor’s motivation in choosing a device “is something other than the best interests of the patient.”

“Maybe it’s just a good business arrangement that has nothing to do with the devices he chooses,” said Charles D. Rosen, a California physician who is co-founder of the Association for Medical Ethics. “But the issue is public disclosure and transparency. You as a patient should have the right to know about a doctor’s financial relationships with companies.”

Concerns about the relationship between doctors and healthcare companies have been simmering for years. Americans are so suspicious of doctors’ connections that, in a 2008 Pew Charitable Trusts survey, 86 percent of patients said doctors should not be allowed to get free dinners from drug makers and 70 percent said doctors shouldn’t even be allowed to get free notepads and pens.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act includes a provision intended to address some aspects of these often-cozy relationships. Starting Jan. 1, healthcare companies were supposed to publicly post how much they were paying doctors. But that provision has been held up in the White House by intense lobbying.

“I don’t know why the hold-up, except the intense opposition of the industry,” Rosen said. His group, including members of the Harvard Medical School and Cleveland Clinic, wrote a letter to the Obama administration last month protesting the delay.

The group complains that the healthcare industry is trying to soften the rules so that foreign subsidiaries and doctors engaged in clinical trials wouldn’t have to reveal payments. But even if the disclosure rules are implemented, a side deal like Sabbota’s yogurt company would not have to be revealed under the new law, Rosen said.

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