Mystery shrouds failure of Internet video link between Pakistani hotel, Miami terrorism trial

The mystery of who pulled the plug on the Internet connection linking witnesses testifying in Pakistan to a Miami terrorism trial remained unsolved Wednesday, stalling the high-profile proceeding until next Tuesday as the defense scrambles for an alternate solution.

A defense attorney for Miami imam Hafiz Khan, standing trial on charges of financially supporting the Pakistani Taliban, told a federal judge by phone that the Pakistan government’s foreign and interior ministries did not even know that the live video feed was cut off to Miami Tuesday morning.

A federal prosecutor said his office contacted an FBI legal attache in Islamabad, and the official checked in with several Pakistani government agencies and the staff at the hotel where the testimony was taken earlier this week. No one had a clue about the mysterious shutdown -- whether it was a technical glitch or the secret work of the Pakistan government.

Prosecutor John Shipley accused defense attorney Khurrum Wahid of trying to orchestrate the live testimony at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad “under the radar screen” of the Pakistan government -- an accusation strongly denied by Wahid.

U.S. District Judge Robert Scola, clearly exasperated by the high-tech failure 8,000 miles away, gave Wahid an ultimatum that must be met by Friday. Wahid could take the testimony of 10 remaining witnesses in a third country, such as a United Arab Emirate, as long as he could obtain travel visas for them and resume the depositions by next Tuesday. If not, the judge said, Wahid must abandon his alternate plan and return home over the holiday weekend to resume his defense in Miami.

“One way or the other, that’s the last accommodation I’m making,” Scola told Wahid by phone Wednesday morning.

A moment later, the judge told the 12 jurors: “We still don’t have any transmission from Pakistan. We are trying to make alternate arrangements.”

Perhaps the most befuddled in the bunch: Khan, 77, who is standing trial on charges of sending thousands of dollars to the Taliban terrorist organization, sworn enemies of the U.S. and Pakistan governments. Khan was the leader of the Flagler Mosque, 7350 NW Third St.

Despite safety concerns, the judge had allowed Khan’s defense attorney to travel to Pakistan to take live testimony from 11 witnesses so the defendant could receive a fair trial. Prosecutors opposed allowing the testimony, and refused to make the trip.

Everything seemed to be going well until about 11:20 a.m., or 9:20 p.m. Tuesday in Islamabad. The flat-screen televisions and video monitors in front of the judge, lawyers and jurors in Miami suddenly lost the signal and flashed “disconnected.”

Wahid explained to the judge by phone Tuesday that there was “absolutely no problem” until a prosecutor in Miami mentioned the name of the Serena Hotel, where the testimony was being taken, during cross-examination. He noted the hotel staff said “there were some intelligence operatives in the business center here, and they were taking pictures of us and our witnesses.”

Added Wahid: “I’ve been told by the hotel staff that it’s from outside the building and that ... the IP [Internet] address has been blacklisted by the Interior Ministry, I’m sorry, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.”

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Eliza Coupe Happy Endings Shanghai Calling Interview

Eliza Coupe is best known from bringing the funny thanks to her sublime sitcom Happy Endings and so wrong it's right webseries, Frenemies. But in her new movie, Shanghai Calling, Coupe proves her heart is as strong as her funny bone.

The fish out of water tale casts Coupe as Amanda, a relocation specialist who is tasked with helping Sam (played by Daniel Henney) acclimate to his new surroundings in Shanghai. But filming the movie on location in China led Coupe to wish she had an Amanda of her own.

In addition to opening up about this amazing moviemaking experience (as well as hooking ETonline up with an exclusive clip!), Coupe talks about the current season of Happy Endings and previews a couple fun surprises coming in the near future.

ETonline: Shanghai Calling actually filmed in China. Did that immersion help you step into the character's shoes?

Eliza Coupe: Yes, and I'm going to steal that from you because that's exactly how it felt. There's nothing like being on location and throwing yourself into the world you're representing. We were really there. My character was supposed to have been living there so she knew the language, but I had never been to China, so I felt more like Daniel's character -- which is funny because David's lived in Asia a lot, so he ended up teaching me a lot in our off-time. But I have to say, filming this movie was one of the best experiences of my life.

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ETonline: You speak very impressive Chinese in the movie -- did you have a pre-existing grasp on the language?

Coupe: Not even a little bit. In fact, I was coming from a French lesson when I got a call to read the script. Which is hilarious. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to roles. I mean, if someone told me I had to play King Lear right now, I'd be excited. That's just kind of the way I do things ... but I had no idea how hard Chinese is. I'm not a mathematical person, and it's a very mathematical language -- wrapping my mind around that was hard. And the tone is very important, if you get the tone wrong, you're not even saying a real word. I was practicing at least an hour a day and was in tears all the time, but it worked out. Well ... there was one scene that was entirely in Chinese and it was cut from the movie [laughs]. But the director assured me it had nothing to do with my grasp of the Chinese language.

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ETonline: The movie is all about acclimating to a new country, what was the biggest adjustment to life in China for you during production?

Coupe: It was so hot there. I lived in New York forever, so I'm very used to humidity. But it doesn't even compare to the humidity in Shanghai. I would step outside and immediately have to turn around again because I'd be drenched in sweat. I had short-shorts on the entire time. Well, they were jean cutoffs that basically looked like denim underwear -- I just pranced around in denim underwear the whole time. And my body is basically all limbs. My legs and arms are awkwardly long, so I looked like a big marionette walking around in China.

ETonline: I was a little disappointed to find out that you didn't tap Michael Fassbender to play the role of "Awesome Wang" in this movie. What happened?

Coupe: [sighs] You know, he won't talk to me. That's where that comes from. I tried, I really did -- I was outside his house and he wouldn't even read the script. But the cops have tapped into my phone, so if I talk about him too long, they're going to be here in five minutes, so...

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ETonline: Moving on then, I've been loving this season of Happy Endings. I think I've watched The Merry Prankster about 10 times. Great job making it rain on Damon, by the way.

Coupe: Thank you! Brad and Jane are completely unhinged this season and clearly need to go to some sort of sex addiction therapy. It was so funny because they only used such a tiny part of what we did. We went crazy. Like, crazy with that scene -- I hope they put it on the DVD because we did some crazy stuff. I don't know what was going on with me that day, but I was loving Damon in that outfit.

ETonline: Looking at what you have coming up, what are you excited for fans to see?

Coupe: Let me say, it's going to get crazy. Just buckle up. There's an episode where Brad and Jane throw a game night -- we wear matching tracksuits and have our own warm-up cheer ... it's a really intense episode. And in the episode we're filming right now, Penny writes a play and it's pretty much the worst play in the world but Derrick comes back to, of course, be in the play. That's a great episode.

ETonline: Right now ABC is, basically, burning off Happy Endings episodes. What's it like to still be filming the show that ABC is, once again, treating so badly?

Coupe: It's a running joke on set when we film something we all think is incredible that someone goes, "Oh man, that was so good -- it's too bad no one will ever see it." It's the same as every year, we just never know. The network and the studio love the show, and they have been very good to us. They have given us a chance and kept us around for three season. Do we wish there was more publicity? Yeah. But it's undeniable we're making a great show. I just wish we had more of a push, and I really hope we get a fourth season -- but that's not up to me.

Shanghai Calling opens February 12 on VOD and February 15 in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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Alleged Baldwin 'stalker' mulling plea deal in harassment case

Steven Hirsch

Genevieve Sabourin at Manhattan Criminal Court today.

He's having a baby, and maybe losing a stalker.

A plea deal is on the table for the shapely French Canadian blonde accused of sending creepy emails and texts to Alec Baldwin after a one-night-stand dinner date in 2010.

Genevieve Sabourin breezed in and out of Manhattan Criminal Court today for a tete-a-tete between her lawyers and prosecutors, and left hopeful that the misdemeanor stalking and harassment case would be resolved before a judge when the case is reconvened tomorrow morning.

"I'm totally innocent, since day one, and I've said it loud and clear," the perky model and actress told reporters as she left court. "So there's no reason for me being here after nearly a year."

Asked if the deal involved any jail time, her lawyer, Rick Pasecreta, said, "If that's the case something's very wrong with the system."

Sabourin had been arrested in April, 2012, after sending Baldwin a series of emails and text messages in which she told him she loved him, wanted to have his baby, and needed cash. Sabourin allegedly freaked out Baldwin's soon-to-be wife, Hilaria, by turning up at Baldwin's Manhattan apartment; Sabourin was arrested at Lincoln Center, having turned up in the audience of an event in which Baldwin was appearing.

Sabourin was arrested a second time, last November, for allegedly violating an order of protection by continuing to Tweet about Hilaria, Baldwin, and "my INJUSTICE," and having notifications of the Tweets forwarded to Hilaria's Twitter name and account.

Asked if she had anything to say about Hilaria's pregnancy, Sabourin started to answer, but was hushed by her lawyer. "Don't comment about them because they might arrest you again," he warned.

"We want to resolve this," the lawyer explained. "She's wanted to resolve this from the very beginning. She doesn't think she should have been a part of this from the very beginning. And for the last two months we're doing everything we can to try to resolve this."

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Jackson Health System board member resigns abruptly

Joaquin del Cueto, secretary of the Jackson Health System board, has resigned abruptly in what appears to be a union-inspired maneuver to put a new person on the board.

Del Cueto, a retired Miami-Dade firefighter who announced his resignation Monday, was the union-named representative to the seven-member Financial Recovery Board, which sunsets at the end of May.

He did not respond to phone calls and emails Tuesday, but Martha Baker, president of SEUI Local 1991, which represents Jackson’s nurses and other healthcare professionals, issued a statement saying del Cueto’s resignation “was a mutual decision reached by Mr. Del Cueto and the union leadership. We are grateful for his honorable service over the past five years.

“Andy Madtes, president of the South Florida AFL-CIO, is responsible for designating a replacement to fill this vacancy. Following consultation with the union leadership, Mr. Madtes will notify the Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners of a chosen replacement by the end of the week,” Baker’s statement said.

Madtes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Financial Recovery Board, created two years ago when Jackson was struggling with a deep financial crisis, has four members selected by Miami-Dade County Commissioners, one by the mayor, one by the head of the Miami-Dade legislative delegation and one selected by the AFL-CIO.

The process is beginning to select a new board that will take over in June. A new nine-member nominating committee, including one union representative, is scheduled to meet later this month. In essence, it will allow present board members to continue, with the committee selecting which members will serve staggered terms from one to three years.

Del Cueto, the most senior of present board members, often spoke out at meetings about how Jackson’s executives should pay attention to its talented labor force, and he consistently opposed management’s moves to explore out-sourcing services. He had been recently been appointed co-chair of the important strategy and growth committee, assigned to finding new sources of revenue to grow Jackson’s business.

Several sources in the gossipy healthcare community conjectured that his replacement will be Natacha Seijas, an ousted county commissioner who has been a strong union supporter.

“I’m not the one,” Seijas said Tuesday. She said she was on the board of the Penavler clinic, which was scheduled to meet Tuesday night to decide on a new contract with Jackson. “It would be a complete conflict for me to be on the Jackson board.”

Seijas praised del Cueto -- “he has my complete confidence.” She said Jackson Chief Executive Carlos Migoya “is doing a good job.”

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'Die Hard 2' Flashback: Bruce Willis Wanted to Kill Off His John McClane

Bruce Willis is back as veteran cop John McClane in his fifth go around with the Die Hard franchise – A Good Day to Die Hard, in theaters Valentine's Day – and we're flashing back to the set of 1990's Die Hard 2: Die Harder, where Bruce (sporting a lot more hair) declared that not only would he pass on future Die Hard sequels – he wanted to kill off his character!

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Asked if he would do another one, he replied, "Another Die Hard? I don't think so. I was trying to get them to kill me in this one. I wanted my character to be killed off in this one, but they wouldn't let me do it. … I don't know if there's anything to do. I mean, we're still trying to figure out how to make this one better than the first one. I don't think so, but who knows. Ask me a couple years from now."

Still, Bruce said that he had a blast making the movies, which would explain why he keeps coming back for more over 20 years later.

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"I enjoy this, this is fun; beats the hell out of working at a chemical factory," he said. "These films are just big, very expensive cartoons, but they're very entertaining as well, and we try to make them as scary and as thrilling and as much of a rollercoaster ride as we can."

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Brooklyn teen shot by cops was firing blanks at friend

The teenage gunman shot by police in Brooklyn yesterday was firing blanks, police said.

Gino Mercado, 16, and his cohort James Capeles, 22, were both arrested on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and attempted assault on a police officer after they were nabbed yesterday for shooting a gun loaded with blank cartridges, police said.

“Mercado is the one with a fully operational Ruger 22 caliber revolver, that we subsequently learned was using...blanks,” Browne said.

The two were on the roof of a building on Atlantic Avenue in Brownsville where Mercado was firing the gun around 9:35 p.m., police said.

Responding officers heard the shots when they were canvassing the area and went onto the roof of a nearby building, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

A 32-year-old sergeant and a 26-year-old officer, quickly spotted the men one building away and repeatedly asked the teen to drop the weapon, police said

Instead, Mercado turned toward the cops with the gun still in his hand and the cops opened fire.

"The sergeant sees Mercado turning with a gun in his hand towards the officers, Mercado tells police that he's turning to throw the gun down the hatch, that he's about to throw it away," Browne said.

The sergeant fired one shot and the officer fired twice -- all three bullets struck the victim -- once in his right shoulder, once in the left forearm and once in his right ankle, police said.

The gun and several shell casings were recovered in the backyard of the building, police said.

Capeles was taken into custody at the scene and Mercado was treated and released from Brookdale Hospital, police said.

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U.S. Century to OK details of new deal

U.S. Century Bank is expected to sign off on Monday on its letter of intent — the framework for a plan to recapitalize the bank.

Under the deal, a local group of investors, led by Jimmy Tate of Tate Capital and Sergio Rok of Rok Enterprises, will bring in fresh capital and wipe out the Doral bank’s bad loans, while allowing it to operate independently.

The investor group is expected to inject $50 million in capital into the bank, becoming majority owners. In addition, the group will pay about $90 million to buy certain loans, including all $98 million of U.S. Century’s non-performing loans, said U.S. Century President and Chief Executive Carlos J. Dávila. The deal would also provide for a negotiated amount to be paid to the federal government to repay U.S. Century’s $50.2 million in TARP funds.

A definitive agreement, based on the letter of intent, is expected next month. Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the deal could be completed by mid-year, Dávila said.

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Carnival ship fire quickly extinguished as ship wallows in Gulf awaiting tug

The Carnival Triumph, a Galveston, Texas-based passenger cruise ship with the theme “Great Cities Around the World,” might have been better off sitting at port, as a court initially ordered.

As of Monday morning the 14-year old ship was going nowhere, operating on emergency generator power after a fire Sunday in one of the diesel generators killed its propulsion. The fire was quickly put out by an automatic fire extinguishing system, and none of the 4,229 passengers or crew are said to be in any danger

All were waiting patiently as a giant tug boat trudged toward the Triumph, now operating under generator power, with the intention of hauling the 100,000 ton, 893-foot vessel to the nearest port in Progreso, Mexico. It is expected in port some time Wednesday afternoon. Carnival Cruise Lines headquarters are in Miami-Dade.

“The cause of the fire is still to be determined,” said Carnival spokesman Vance Guliksen. In a brief news release, Guliksen said “there were no casualties to guests or crew.”

He said all passengers will be flown back to the United States and will be fully refunded.. Carnival said it will cover any additional transportation expenses. Passengers will also receive a free future cruise.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, was on the scene transferring food and beverages.

According to Carnival, some basic auxiliary power has been restored, cabin toilets are working on part of the ship and some elevators are operational. The dining areas are serving hot coffee and limited hot food.

The $420 million Triumph made news early last year after the family of a German tourist killed in the Costa Concordia disaster in the Mediterranean filed a $10 million lawsuit against Carnival. A judge found the family had standing, and ordered the ship held at port in Galveston. The court later allowed the ship to move between ports until a hearing takes place.

The lawsuit contends that Carnival Cruise Lines is the corporate parent of the Costa Concordia.

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Perks of Being A Wallflower Deleted Scene Logan Lerman Interview

When I sat down with Nina Dobrev last September to talk about her role in Perks of Being a Wallflower, she lamented that the storyline that initially attracted her to the role of Candace ended up on the cutting-room floor.

The film was easily one of 2012's best movies, so while it didn't suffer for the loss, fans of the book will get to see many of those excised scenes now that the sensational coming-of-age film is coming to DVD on February 12! Included on the Special Edition DVD is Dobrev's favorite, which sees Candace and her brother, Charlie, return home after she secretly has an abortion.

In addition to exclusively scoring that deleted scene, ETonline sat down with star Logan Lerman, who delivers a painfully powerful performance in the film, to talk about Perks' impact, his favorite scene and what's next for this rapidly rising star.

ETonline: Perks really struck a chord with audiences -- what kinds of reactions have you been getting?

Logan Lerman: I had been kind of isolated working [on Darren Aronofsky's Noah] for the last few months, but when I got back to L.A., the number one place I heard the most feedback was while visiting friends at college. Students seemed to connect with the film in a way I didn't expect. It's heartwarming and has been so nice to see.

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ETonline: Did you have to imagine you had a strong connection with the script when you first read it?

Lerman: Yeah, it was just one of those reads where, and I don't think this has ever happened to me, after I read it, I just knew it was f*cking amazing. I gave it to my whole family to read because it was that good. They agreed it was amazing. It was the kind of script I wanted to read over and over again. I just loved that material. Then research mode kicked in and it became a different kind of reading.

ETonline: What kind of preparation did you do?

Lerman: I just read a lot of different things, but it was really nice to have Stephen [Chbosky, writer/director] around because he knew every detail about the project and every character. I could rely on him for all my answers; he was almost like my little actorly cheat sheet.

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ETonline: Was Charlie a hard character to step out of at the end of the day?

Lerman: I didn't really segue out of him during the shoot. I stayed within who he was for that period of time. It wasn't difficult to stay in him, but it wasn't comfortable either. It was awkward; it was like going back to being 15 years old, and I didn't want to relive that, I was so awkward back then too.

ETonline: Do you have a favorite scene?

Lerman: The whole movie was fun to make, but I loved when all the young cast was together [so] personally, my favorite is the Truth or Dare sequence. I love that scene. I love that awkward tension.

ETonline: You went from filming this very intimate movie to making two very large films -- The Percy Jackson sequel and Noah -- do you have a preference in terms of experience?

Lerman: I definitely want to stay away from doing the same thing twice. With Noah, it was really just my attraction to the director. I wanted to work with him so bad and it just happened to be this big, epic movie. There's a lot more bitching on a big film. A lot of hurry up and wait on a big movie like that. It's a much different process of making a movie.

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ETonline: Would you make a movie you didn't necessarily love to work with a director you do love?

Lerman: I guess so. Deep down if there was a great filmmaker making a movie with a character I didn't like, I'd probably still do it to work with that filmmaker. It really comes down to the collaboration at the end of the day. With Perks, it was a great character and a great script, but had a director I had no frame of reference for. But as soon as you sit down to talk about the movie with Steve, his passion comes through loudly, so I felt comfortable investing my career and trust in his hands.

ETonline: Stephen's mentioned the idea of a possible sequel -- to see where the kids end up later in life. Would you trust him to go back and play Charlie again?

Lerman: No [laughs]. I don't know if that's what I'm supposed to say -- I don't know if people want to hear me say that, but I can't imagine a sequel to this. What the f*ck could come out of Perks of Being a Wallflower 2? Now they're older but happily ever after doesn't really exist for the wallflower. No. I don't want to imagine that.

Perks of Being A Wallflower hits DVD on February 12, click here to pre-order.

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Medal of Honor bestowed upon Army Afghanistan hero

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has bestowed the Medal of Honor upon an Army veteran for his courageous leadership during a daylong firefight in Afghanistan.

Obama presented the medal to former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha on Monday in a White House ceremony attended by the military's top leaders and former Medal of Honor recipients.

Obama recounted in detail the dramatic 2009 battle at an outpost in the mountains near the Pakistan border where U.S. troops were far outnumbered. Romesha was peppered with shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade but fought through his wounds.

AP

President Obama bestows the Medal of Honor on retired Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha for conspicuous gallantry, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Guests at the ceremony wept as Obama read the names of eight Americans who died in the firefight. Obama says U.S. troops fight courageously for freedom, for their country and for their families, but also to keep their fellow troops safe.

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