Grammys Flashback: Backstreet Boys 1999

It's hard for many to imagine their lives without the Internet. It has changed the world, and at lightning speed. Therefore, it seems like ages ago when the medium through which we live our lives was viewed as a novelty. The Backstreet Boys take us back to that period in history.

While this flashback only rewinds the clock back fourteen years from the upcoming 2013 Grammys, listening to the way that Backstreet Boys' frontman Kevin Richardson talks about the Internet makes us realize how rapidly it's become an integral part of society.

VIDEO: New Kids On The Block & Backstreet Boys Spill Tour Secrets

"The Internet is a whole new generation. The Year 2000, the Internet, computers--I mean, it's a whole new means of communicating and getting in touch with people," Richardson said alongside his bandmates, who had been nominated for Best New Artist at that year's Grammys (the award went to Lauryn Hill).

Although nobody could have foreseen the adverse effect of the Internet on the music industry, the irony in Richardson's sure response of the Internet's ability to aid album sales is nevertheless a laughing point. Napster was launched a month after the Backstreet Boys released their next album, Millennium, and so set off a trending decline in album sales that lasted to the present day.

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However, the Internet only had a positive effect on Millennium, as the group would go on to sell a whopping 30 million copies worldwide of its U.S. sophomore album. As they looked towards the future as a band, Howie Dorough reveals his big hopes for The Backstreet Boys.

"Any time there's a similar formula [like] New Edition [or] New Kids on the Block, normally the odds are most of the times that most groups do split up, [but] our control of our careers [is] within our own destiny here," he says. "Right now we're all very happy as The Backstreet Boys and we plan on being around hopefully as long as The Eagles [and] The Beatles and hopefully doing several reunion tours and hopefully coming back here [in] several years."

VIDEO: Kevin Richardson is a Backstreet Boy Again

The band went on to earn five Grammy nominations for Millennium but never won a Grammy. Despite frontman Kevin Richardson leaving the group for a while, The Backstreet Boys have remained intact over the years and plan to release their eighth studio album in the coming years

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NY voters want legalized marijuana, stricter building codes post-Sandy

ALBANY - Legalize it.

Most New York voters favor legalizing marijuana, but by a slim 51-44 majority, according a new poll.

Quinnipiac University found the younger the voters, the higher they are on the idea, with 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds favoring legalization.

Meantime homeowners and businesses destroyed by Hurricane Sandy should rebuild to stricter building codes, according to 65 percent of voters - including 68 percent in the city and 67 percent on Long Island, the hardest hit regions.

Eight percent think destroyed structures shouldn't be rebuilt at all, the Dec. 5-10 telephone survey of 1,302 voters found.

While 74 percent say they're concerned about climate change and two thirds expect their community to be hit by a major storm in the next decade, only 45 percent think Sandy actually resulted from climate change. Half of voters didn't - including 83 percent of Republicans.

Voters are split on fracking - and on Gov. Cuomo's non-decision so far on the controversial issue.

The poll found 44 percent support drilling for natural gas upstate because of potential economic benefits while 42 percent are opposed for fear of environmental damage.

Most favor a tax on gas drilling companies (54-32 percent) and believe high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing will create jobs (78-15 percent), while half think the practice of fracturing shale with a pressurized chemical, water and sand mix to extract gas will damage the environment (50-17 percent).

On Cuomo, 26 percent say he's “carefully evaluating the issue" while 25 percent accuse him of “dragging his feet."

Four of every five voters favor raising the minimum wage (80-18), with strong support even among Republicans (61-38). And 43 percent even support an increase above the $8.50 an hour Cuomo and fellow Democrats have proposed.

Still, 49 percent think small businesses will reduce hiring if the minimum wage is raised to 44 percent who don't.

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Lennar to borrow $1.7 billion from Chinese bank

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Parents of students at Broward school warned of Legionnaires’ Disease exposure

Parents of students at Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach were being informed on Tuesday that their children may have been exposed to someone diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease, Broward School District officials said.

The person with Legionnaires’ Disease was not a student, district spokeswoman Nadine Drew said. They did not say if the infected person was a teacher.

Automated ‘robo-calls’ were made to the telephones of Olsen Middle School parents that explained how the district was working with the Broward Health Department

To read the entire Sun Sentinel story click here.

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Pope Benedict offers blessings with his first tweet

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – After weeks of anticipation, Pope Benedict sent his first tweet on Wednesday.

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

The tweet was sent when the 85-year-old pope tapped on a touch screen at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican before thousands of people.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella, editing by Paul Casciato)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Hugh Hefner's Fiancee Shows Off Engagement Ring

If the size of the diamond is any indication of Hugh Hefner's love for bride-to-be Crystal Harris, it's a safe bet to say that he's head over heels.

RELATED: Hugh Hefner Gets Marriage License?

Harris revealed her engagement ring on Tuesday, via her Twitter feed.

"My beautiful ring from [Hugh Hefner]," Crystal posted along with photos of the giant sparkler.

The couple is reportedly planning to wed on New Year's Eve.

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NKoreans celebrate launch of long-range rocket

PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Koreans danced in the streets of their capital Wednesday after the Pyongyang regime successfully fired a long-range rocket, defying international warnings and taking a big step forward in its quest to develop a nuclear-tipped missile.

The rocket launch will enhance the credentials of 20-something leader Kim Jong Un at home a year after he took power following the death of his father Kim Jong Il. It is also likely to bring fresh sanctions and other punishments from the U.S. and its allies, which were quick to condemn the launch as a test of technology for a missile that could attack the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang says it was merely a peaceful effort to put a satellite into orbit.

REUTERS

North Koreans dance to celebrate their country's rocket lauch in Pyongyang Wednesday.

The White House called it a "highly provocative act that threatens regional security."

Even China, North Korea's closest ally, expressed "regret" that North Korea went ahead with the launch "in spite of the extensive concerns of international community," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei.

The timing of the launch came as something of a surprise after Pyongyang had indicated technical problems might delay it. That it succeeded after several failed attempts was an even greater surprise.

"North Korea will now turn its attention to developing bigger rockets with heavier payloads," said Chae Yeon-seok, a rocket expert at South Korea's state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. "Its ultimate aim will be putting a nuclear warhead on the tip."

The Unha-3 rocket fired just before 10 a.m. local time, and was detected heading south by a South Korean destroyer patrolling the Yellow Sea. Japanese officials said the first rocket stage fell into the Yellow Sea west of the Korean Peninsula; a second stage fell into the Philippine Sea hundreds of miles farther south.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, later confirmed that "initial indications are that the missile deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit."

About an hour and a half after the launch, North Korea proclaimed it a success, prompting dancing in the streets of the capital. State media called it a "momentous event" in the country's scientific development.

It was a marked contrast to an attempted launch in April, which broke up soon after liftoff. The presence of dozens of foreign journalists invited into the country ahead of that attempt forced the government to make an unusual public admission of failure.

This time, Pyongyang waited, presumably long enough to know the satellite had successfully entered orbit, before making a public pronouncement.

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The first wave of Windows 8 PCs

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

Dell XPS One 27

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

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

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

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

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

HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

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

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

The cost: $799.99 to $974.98

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

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

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

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

The cost: $1,099

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

Microsoft Surface RT

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

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

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

The cost: $499 to $599

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

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South Florida pols sticking to party lines on fiscal cliff

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

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

Republicans are just as committed to their party.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Will and Jaden Smith Survive After Earth

Will Smith and his son Jaden haven't shared the big screen since 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness. Now the father-son duo pair up once more for M. Night Shyamalan's post-apocalyptic thriller After Earth, and we're showing you the new trailer.

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In the film, opening June 7, 2013, a father and son crash land on a now-abandoned Earth. While the father, General Cypher Raige lies dying after the accident, his 13-year-old son Kitai must play the soldier, searching for the rescue beacon -- their only chance to be saved.

Watch the video for more.

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