Jessica Simpson Talks Weight Watchers Weight Loss

The always candid Jessica Simpson is getting personal about her own weight loss journey for Weight Watchers' "I'm Only Human And I Did It" project, in which real women share how they were able to finally achieve their weight loss goals.

"I was happy to be pregnant. I was happy to be gaining weight and eating whatever I wanted," she admits in her own video for the inspiring project. "I was the girl that never asked the doctor how much she weighed. I stepped on the scale backwards because I was just gonna enjoy my pregnancy and have fun."

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But about one month after her daughter Maxwell was born, Jessica was faced with the startling realization of just how much weight she gained during her pregnancy at her first meeting with Weight Watchers.

"It was the first time I had to come face-to-face with the scale, and I looked at the scale, and I thought my life was completely over," she recalls about the first meeting, which was held at her house where she was surrounded by friends. "I was not expecting to see the number that I saw, because it's just never a number that I could fathom weighing -- but I did. ... I had a moment there where I was standing on the scale, and faced with a severe truth -- and I didn't know if I could do it. I really didn't know if it was gonna happen for me."

But Jessica ended up having nothing to worry about -- she lost over 50 pounds following the program.

"I'm seriously only human, just like you guys," she stresses "It is hard to lose weight but when I teamed up with Weight Watchers it actually wasn't as hard as I thought. It was just something that became a lifestyle."

Video: Jessica Simpson on Surpassing 50 Pound Weight Loss

Though she does share that with her second pregnancy, she's definitely doing things a lot differently.

"Now I'm pregnant again, and I'm looking at the scale, and I'm making the right decisions with what I'm eating," she says, clearly overjoyed. "I still have my desserts -- just not four of them."

Check out the video to hear some of the frustrations Jessica initially had losing the baby weight, and click here to watch and get inspired by other people's weight loss stories.

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Republican senators slam Chuck Hagel at confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON — Republican senators hammered former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel at his confirmation hearing Thursday on issues ranging from Israel and Iran to his support for a group that advocates the elimination of nuclear weapons. But with most Democrats in his corner, an unflustered Hagel seemed headed for approval as defense secretary.

Hagel, a former two-term senator from Nebraska, described his views as mainstream and closely aligned with those of President Barack Obama, the Democrat who nominated him. But several GOP members of the Armed Services Committee sought to portray him as radical and unsteady. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., called his ideas "extreme" and "far to the left" of Obama.

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Former US Senator Chuck Hagel appears at a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing considering his confirmation as Secretary of Defense.

Hagel said he believes America "must engage — not retreat — in the world," and insisted that his record is consistent on that point.

He pointed to Iran and its nuclear ambitions as an example of an urgent national security threat that should be addressed first by attempting to establish dialogue with Iranian rulers, although he said he would not rule out using military force.

"I think we're always on higher ground in every way — international law, domestic law, people of the world, people of the region to be with us on this — if we have ... gone through every possibility to resolve this in a responsible, peaceful way, rather than going to war," he said.

He pushed back on the notion — first raised by one of his harshest Republican critics, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma — that he favors a policy of appeasement.

"I think engagement is clearly in our interest," Hagel told Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who denounced the idea of negotiating with a "terrorist state."

"That's not negotiation," Hagel said. "Engagement is not appeasement. Engagement is not surrender."

His fiercest exchange came with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a fellow Vietnam veteran, onetime close friend and a vote that could carry considerable sway. Politics and Hagel's evolving opposition to the Iraq war caused a split between the two men that was on full display at the confirmation hearing.

McCain pressed Hagel on whether he was right or wrong about his opposition to President George W. Bush's decision to send an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq in 2007 at a point when the war seemed in danger of being lost. Hagel, who voted to authorize military force in Iraq, later opposed the conflict, comparing it to Vietnam and arguing that it shifted the focus from Afghanistan.

"Were you right? Were you correct in your assessment?" McCain asked.

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Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”

Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.

Four months later, as the “mompreneur” was leaving her Biscayne Park home to pick up her kids from school, she got a call from the show asking her to pitch on the spot. Driving with her phone on her shoulder, she told the Bibbitec story.

Shark Tank bit. After a few more back and forths, her segment was filmed last summer.

Friday night, Taylor is scheduled to be on the show pitching Bibbitec’s main product, “The Ultimate Bib,” a patented generously sized, stain-resistant and fast-drying child’s bib made in the USA — Hialeah, to be exact. Bibbitec’s $30 bib can be a burp cloth, changing pad, breast feeding shield, full body bib, place mat, art smock and more, Taylor says.

We won’t be getting any details on what happens Friday night when she and her husband, Stephen Taylor, get into the tank with Daymond John, Mark Cuban and the other celebrity sharks; Taylor has been contractually sworn to secrecy. But whatever the outcome, she believes it will be worth it for the marketing pop.

Taylor was inspired to create her bib after a long and very messy plane ride with her two young sons and started Bibbitec in 2008. She and her team — her husband is CFO, her sister, Heather McCabe, handles sales and marketing, her uncle, Richard Page, is in charge of production, and her aunt, Marcia Kreitman, advises on design — have expanded the line to include The Ultimate Smock for older children and the Ultimate Mini for babies. Coming soon: a smock for adults.

Taylor already got a taste of what a national TV show appearance can do for sales. In September, Bibbitec’s sales jumped 40 percent after she was on an ABC World News "Made in America" segment. “Within 30 seconds, we started getting sales from all over the country and they didn’t even mention our name on the air,” Taylor says. She said that confirmed her belief that a Shark Tank appearance would be worth it.

Plus, Taylor has been hooked on Shark Tank since the first time she watched it in 2008 as she was developing her product. Trained in theater, she admits she didn’t know much about business and learned from the show. She would practice how she would answer the questions.

“I’m all about empowering women who are sitting on the couch watching, because that’s what I was four years ago,” says Taylor. “All I wanted to do was to be on Shark Tank because I believed if I got on Shark Tank the world will see what I am trying to do and that’s all I need. I know it’s a great product.”

Will that theater training come in handy Friday night? Stay tuned. Shark Tank airs at 9 p.m. on ABC and Taylor hopes viewers will join in on Twitter using the hashtag #sharkbib.

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Miami police officer charged with sexual battery and kidnapping

On the same day Miami police announced the firing of an officer for shooting an unarmed motorist, the department said on Wednesday a second officer has been arrested and charged with armed kidnapping and sexual battery.

Police said detectives from the Internal Affairs Section culminated an investigation by arresting Officer Luis Hernandez, 27, a seven-year member of the department, on a warrant issued by a Miami-Dade judge.

According to the warrant, Hernandez is being charged with one count of armed kidnapping and one count of armed sexual battery by a law enforcement officer.

No details were released on the attack.

Hernandez is being held without bond.

Earlier Wednesday, the department fired Officer Reynaldo Goyos for the shooting to death of unarmed motorist Travis McNeil two years ago.

This article will be updated as more details become available.

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TSX closes lower as RIM, Fed decision weigh

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index closed lower on Wednesday, hurt by a fall in Research In Motion Ltd after it released its long-awaited BlackBerry 10 devices, and broad market weakness after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to leave its stimulus program intact.

The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> closed 36.12 points, or 0.28 percent, lower at 12,794.44. Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index declined.</.gsptse>

(Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Peter Galloway)

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Antonio Banderas Day of the Falcon Stars Exclusive Clip

Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto star in the stirring Arabian epic Day of the Falcon from veteran director Jean-Jacques Annaud, and in this ETonline exclusive behind-the-scenes clip the stars recall how they were caught up in a real-life revolution while shooting on location in Tunisia.

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While filming a story of rival kingdoms warring over oil and the two young lovers looking to bring their families together to end the violence, flashpoints of the Tunisian revolution that led to the ouster of the region's longtime president began to spark.

"The situation is getting worse and worse; they have seen some tanks over here," recalls Banderas of real life intruding on the fantasy of filmmaking. "At twenty to five, one of the producers got [on the set], screaming, 'Everybody out! Everybody out!' … It was a situation almost tragi-comic, because we were all in costumes just running around, turbans flying in the wind…"

"We could see plumes of smoke, we could see fires in the distance," says director Annaud.
Al Jazeera TV reported that the president had left the country and the army had taken control. Still, the production was determined to complete their film about upheaval in the Arab world, wrapping on time and on budget only days after the revolution changed the region.

"It's so apt for the film and for the moment," says Pinto. "We're talking about a revolution in the film as well, in a way -- growth, and a change, a shift. … It's very unique and very rare that people get to witness the making of history."

Related: Antonio Banderas' Secret to a Lasting Marriage

Also starring Mark Strong and Tahar Rahim, Day of the Falcon comes out on premium VOD on February 1 and in theaters on March 1.

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Ex-Sen. Huntley pleads guilty to mail fraud

Former New York state Sen. Shirley Huntley pleaded guilty today to mail fraud charges after admitting to embezzling more than $87,000 in taxpayer funds earmarked for a non-profit.

The Queens Democrat said that she used government grants for her charitable non-profit education organization, the Parents Information Network, to buy personal items and benefit family members.

Huntley admitted that she utilized "straw recipients" to help disguise her embezzlement scheme from the charity, which was founded to help parents understand issues related to the New York City school system.

Several large withdrawals of the money intended for the non-profit organization instead were slipped to some of Huntley's relatives, officials said.

"And did you know that was criminal conduct?" Brooklyn federal Judge Jack Weinstein asked at today's hearing.

"Yes, your honor, I did," the ex-lawmaker answered.

Huntley, who served in the state legislature from 2007 to 2012, admitted that she had committed felony mail fraud in furtherance of her embezzlement scheme.

"I'm guilty. I plead guilty," Huntley said.

The former legislator will face up to two years in prison under a plea agreement, and also must pay more than $87,000 in restitution to New York state to make up for the tax money she stole.

Huntley also promised to pay $1000 to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as restitution for a bribery scheme involving a cargo-handling operation at JFK Airport, officials said.

The embattled ex-legislator was initially indicted on Aug. 27 by the New York state Attorney General's Office on charges that she falsified documents to conceal the fact that her niece and an aide allegedly siphoned $30,000 from a sham charity she created.

But Brooklyn federal prosecutors assigned to an anti-corruption squad - working with a special team of FBI agents - quietly opened a mail fraud case against Huntley.

The ex-legislator did not speak to reporters and declined to answer questions as she left the Brooklyn federal courthouse this afternoon.

Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the former legislator had betrayed the public trust.

"Huntley’s experience and influence were supposed to be used for the benefit of her constituents. Instead, Huntley used her knowledge of the system to steal funds intended to help some of her neediest constituents, lining her own pockets at the expense of parents in need, and ultimately their children," Lynch said.

Huntley is also expected to plead guilty to felony evidence tampering charges stemming from the state corruption case against her that's still pending in Nassau County Supreme Court, a source said.

mmaddux@nypost.com

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Miami-Dade County is offering free tax preparation for low-income residents

Low-income residents can have their 2012 taxes prepared and filed electronically at select Miami-Dade Community Action and Human Services Department Centers, beginning on Feb. 4, through April 15, the county said. Individuals may also file their taxes online by visiting www.myfreetaxes.com/cahsdtax.

Tax preparation is available at the following Community Service Centers in Miami-Dade:

*Accion Community Service Center, 858 W. Flagler St., Miami, (305) 547-4892, on Mondays and Thursdays 8:30 a.m. -11a.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2 p.m. -4 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

*Joseph Caleb Center, 5400 NW 22nd Ave., Miami, (305) 636-2200; on Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., by appointment only.

*Frankie S. Rolle NSC, 3750 South Dixie Hwy, Miami, (305) 446-3311; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, by appointment only.

*Isaac A. Withers Community Service Center, 21300 S.W. 122nd Ave., Miami, (305) 233-2121; on Mondays and Thursdays 8:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2 p.m. 4 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. by appointment.

*Hialeah Community Service Center, 300 East 1st Ave., Hialeah, (305)884-4801; on Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m., by appointment only.

*Miami Gardens Neighborhood Center, 16405 NW 25th Ave. Miami, (305) 623-6500; on Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m., by appointment only.

Perrine Community Service Center, 17801 Homestead Ave., Homestead, (305) 254-5804; on Mondays and Thursdays 9 a.m. -12 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2 p.m.-4:00 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. by appointment.

For additional information call (786) 469-4600 or visit www.miamidade.gov/socialservices.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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Spokesman leaves state GOP after dodging questions about Gov. Rick Scott&#x2019;s dog

TALLAHASSEE --
Brian Burgess, the combative communications director for the Republican Party of Florida, is returning to the private sector less than five months after taking over as the party’s top communicator.

Burgess would not return emails or telephone calls, but was shown the door at the party after he did not answer questions from the Tampa Bay Times about a rescued Labrador retriever adopted by Gov. Rick Scott.

Scott publicly adopted the dog during the 2010 campaign and held a contest to name it — people chose Reagan — but Scott returned the dog shortly after taking office in 2011.

The resulting publicity outraged animal lovers across the state who accused Scott of adopting the dog as a campaign gimmick.

Burgess, 42, will be joining Brian Hughes, former spokesman for the party, at Meteoric Media Strategies, a private public relations business. Hughes and Burgess worked together in Scott’s office shortly after Scott was elected governor and during the 2010 campaign. Hughes announced the new partnership in a statement to the Florida Times-Union Tuesday shortly after the Times asked Burgess for comment on his dismissal from the party.

Hughes’ firm has consulting contracts with the Republican Party of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and other conservative groups. He has been paid more than $195,000 for campaign work since 2010, including $92,000 from the state party.

Burgess began working for the state party in September after 18 months working in the governor’s office. Burgess previously worked for a Washington public relations firm that handled communications for Scott’s gubernatorial campaign.

He has a history of clashing with reporters — in public and in private — and was once called “an aggressive knife-fighter” by a prominent Florida communications consultant.

“I really don’t miss some of you dips---s at all,” Burgess emailed a Kansas reporter in 2008, after he left to work with a conservative public relations firm in Virginia. “Have fun in your world of make-believe.”

As the governor’s top spokesman, Burgess publicly lambasted reporters for the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald when they asked Scott why he included $370 million in federal stimulus money in the state budget in 2011 after repeatedly attacking the stimulus package as wasteful government spending.

Burgess objected to the reporters asking the governor about it rather than talking to him first.

“You’re unprofessional and engage in ’gotcha’ journalism w/o fact-checking,” Burgess tweeted to Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo.

“You ducked the question for a 2nd time: Name 1 fact that was wrong,” Caputo replied.

In the case of Reagan, Burgess said he was working on answer to a reporter’s questions but never provided one.

Five days after Burgess and other Scott staffers refused to respond to questions about the dog, Scott answered questions about the puppy himself, saying he had returned the dog to a Naples dog groomer after it frightened mansion staff. Later his staff produced an incident report with details of a dog bite suffered by a mansion grounds keeper.

Although the Naples groomer will not respond to questions about Reagan’s fate, she reportedly told a Tampa television reporter that the dog has been renamed Pluto and is living on a horse ranch in South Florida.

Sometime after flying Reagan back to Naples Scott adopted a seven-year-old dog from a couple in New Jersey suffering from cancer.

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Survey shows strong consumer interest in BlackBerry 10, but few are willing to buy just yet

The good news for RIM (RIMM): Lots of people are interested in checking out its upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The bad news: Few are willing to commit to buying a BlackBerry 10 device at the moment. According to a new online survey of more than 1,100 Americans commissioned by mobile application specialist BiTE interactive and conducted by reputable pollster YouGov, 47% of Americans find “at least one of BlackBerry’s new features appealing,” although only around 13% say they’ll consider buying a BlackBerry 10 device.

[More from BGR: Apple’s 128GB iPad shows the world exactly what Apple does best]

[More from BGR: Apple unveils new 128GB iPad]

The survey found that the new Time Shift Camera, which lets users rapid-shoot multiple pictures of the same subject and then choose the best one from the bunch, was the most popular new BlackBerry feature, followed by BlackBerry 10′s new predictive keyboard. But as BiTE operations executive vice president Joseph Farrell notes, there’s a big difference between interest in new features and a commitment to spend money acquiring them. Farrell also thinks that RIM will still struggle to be relevant as long as app developers neglect BlackBerry in favor of iOS and Android.

“RIM’s much anticipated BB10 launch is a major, and much needed overhaul for the one-time smartphone leader and all indications are that it has, at very least succeeded in convincing Americans to give BlackBerry a second look,” he says. “However, it is clear that while all the new features can catch the interest of Android and iOS owners, the key chink in RIM’s armor remains its apps ecosystem. RIM has made great efforts to catch up with iOS and Android in this regard, but it, like Microsoft, is likely to find this far easier said than done.”

BiTE’s full press release is posted below.

BlackBerry 10 Captures Attention of One in Two Americans

But only one in eight will actually consider buying a BB10 device

Los Angeles, January 29, 2013 – Ahead of the launch of Research in Motion’s long-anticipated BlackBerry 10 operating system and two new smartphones this week, nearly one in two Americans online (47 percent) finds at least one of BlackBerry’s new features appealing.

Despite interest in the new features only one in eight Americans (13 percent) will consider buying a BB10 device, and only one in 100 plans to get one immediately. The findings are according to a report from BiTE interactive, the native mobile application specialist for Fortune 1000 brands, which commissioned YouGov to poll the views of a representative sample of 1,127 American adults online.

Time Shift Camera wins most American hearts, especially with Android owners

RIM’s Time Shift Camera is the most compelling new BB10 feature for 16 percent of Americans. The Time Shift Camera takes multiple shots of a subject in a single picture and lets you choose the best composite image. 46 percent more women than men identify it as the most attractive new feature of BB10, while it is most appealing for one in five (21 percent) 18-34 year olds. The same age group is also the most likely to find one of the BlackBerry 10’s features appealing (66 percent). RIM’s new predictive keyboard feature is the most compelling new feature for only six percent of Americans while only one in 100 picked the new ‘flow’ interface.

The new BB10 features appeal to more Android (65 percent) than iPhone owners (56 percent).

“RIM’s much anticipated BB10 launch is a major, and much needed overhaul for the one-time smartphone leader and all indications are that it has, at very least succeeded in convincing Americans to give BlackBerry a second look,” said Joseph Farrell, EVP Operations, BiTE interactive. “However, it is clear that while all the new features can catch the interest of Android and iOS owners, the key chink in RIM’s armor remains its apps ecosystem. RIM has made great efforts to catch up with iOS and Android in this regard, but it, like Microsoft, is likely to find this far easier said than done. A lot of eyes will be on the new BlackBerry World from day one, as its success is pivotal to that of the BB10 devices as viable mainstream consumer handsets.”

iPhone owners least likely to jump to BlackBerry

According to BiTE interactive’s report, iPhone owners are the least likely to buy into BB10. Only around one in 10 (11 percent) have any interest in owning one of RIM’s new phones compared with around one in five (21 percent) Android owners. Overall, almost one in two (44 percent) Americans definitely will not get a BB10 device while a further one in four (27 percent) say they will likely not get one.

Joseph Farrell added, “RIM’s challenge is compounded by the fact that Google and Apple have already built up huge mobile user bases who, for the most part, have invested lots of time and money learning and using their platform of choice. To switch to any new platform, even between the two, means a new investment of time and resources that many do not wish to spend, let alone taking a perceived risk on the new BB10 platform, no matter how impressive some of the new technology is.”

Research methodology

BiTE interactive commissioned YouGov to poll the views of a representative sample of 1,127 US adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between January 23-25, 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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