Ryder CEO Greg Swienton retiring, COO getting promoted

Trucking giant Ryder will get a new CEO in two weeks, as the Miami-Dade company announces the retirement of Gregory Swienton and the promotion of current COO Robert Sanchez to the top job.

Ryder, which leases commercial trucks and manages supply operations for companies around the world, saw revenues and profits increase this year, but has also been cutting costs and selling part of its fleet to combat slowing sales. Swienton, 63, joined Ryder as president in 1999 and was promoted to CEO a year later. Sanchez, 47, will become the company’s fifth CEO since its founding in 1933 by a Miami Beach construction worker named Jim Ryder.

Sanchez becomes CEO on January 1, and Swienton will retain the title of chairman of the board until Ryder’s annual meeting in May, when that title will pass to Sanchez, too, the company said in a press release issued Monday morning.

A 19-year veteran at Ryder, Sanchez has served as head of the company’s largest division, global fleet management solutions, and as chief financial officer.

E. Follin Smith, an independent director on the board, said in a statement in the company press release: “We sincerely thank Greg Swienton for leading Ryder to an improved sustainable business model, significantly enhanced financial performance, and an organization-wide commitment to business integrity.”

Ryder stock dropped 1.5 percent Monday, to $48.81 a share.

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7-year-old in critical condition after accident

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

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

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

Details of the accident were not immediately available.

This post will be updated as we receive more information.

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8 Christmas Light Shows That Will Rock Your Stockings Off

1. A Christmas Rock Medley

This mind-blowing video comes from South Dakota. Its creator uses the show’s publicity to help raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: 63 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed]

The winter celebration of the evergreen tree is not a modern tradition — it extends back to pre-Christian times and to cultures all over the world.

Maybe your holiday tradition involves stringing thousands of lights across your property for a majestic arrangement. Or perhaps your family just tours the neighborhood to see everyone else’s exhibits. Either way, YouTube is here to provide some sensational seasonal light shows for your viewing and listening pleasure, from festive homes all across the country.

[More from Mashable: 10 Adorable Dog Outfits for the Holidays]

Enjoy these creative displays, and maybe draw a little inspiration for next year’s decorations. If you’re worried about complexity, learn to do it yourself.

Have you seen an unforgettable holiday display we forgot to include? In the spirit of giving, let us know about it in the comments section below.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

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

RELATED: President Fights Tears as He Addresses Nation

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

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

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

RELATED: Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

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Conn. gunman killed self when he heard first responders coming; senators reveal new gun-control proposals

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Connecticut's governor says the elementary school gunman committed suicide when he heard first responders coming.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Gov. Dannel Malloy said Adam Lanza shot himself as police entered Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Malloy's comments raise the possibility that Lanza had planned an even larger, more gruesome massacre.

Malloy also reiterated that Lanza shot his way into the locked school.

"He used a weapon to open up the glass and then walked in," he said. "He discharged to make an opening and then went through it, went to the first classroom, as you know, went to the second classroom."

Splash News

Adam Lanza in a 2008 school yearbook from Newtown High School

"We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and apparently at that, decided to take his own life," Malloy said.

Malloy offered no possible motive for the shooting and a law enforcement official has said police have found no letters or diaries left behind that could shed light on it.

Meanwhile, two senators are calling for a national commission to examine mass shootings in the United States, while a colleague says she's pushing to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons.

PHOTOS: SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING

REMEMBERING KIDS KILLED IN NEWTOWN MASSACRE

MORE ABOUT EMILIE PARKER, 6, KILLED IN SANDY HOOK SHOOTING

HEROIC TEACHERS MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR KIDS

The proposals are among the first to come from Congress in the wake of Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Conn. One of the most deadly school shootings in US history left 20 kids, all six or seven years old, and eight adults dead, including Adam Lanza and his mother, Nancy.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, tells "Fox News Sunday" that a national commission could be used to scrutinize the nation's gun laws, mental health system and the role that violent video games and movies might play in shootings.

Also on Fox, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., agreed and said it's the nation reflected in a "thoughtful way."

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that she'll revive her plan to ban new assault weapons.

President Obama will visit Newtown tonight to meet with families of the victims and speak at a vigil.

SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NURSE'S BRUSH WITH DEATH

OBAMA, GOP PRESSURED TO ACT ON GUN CONTROL

COLUMN: OUR CULTURE OF KILLING

WATCH: 'SNL' PAYS TRIBUTE TO CONN. SHOOTING VICTIMS

Yesterday, it was revealed that Adam's mother took her shy son to shooting ranges.

“She’d take them to the range a lot . . . Nancy was an enthusiast — so much so that she wanted to pass it on to her kids,” said her former landscaper and occasional drinking buddy Dan Holmes.

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Miami photographer sentenced to 10 years in child-porn case

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

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

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

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

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

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Riveting Details Emerge from CT School Rampage

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

RELATED: President Fights Tears as He Addresses Nation

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

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

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

RELATED: Celebs Tweet Reactions to CT School Shooting

Read More..

Victims in Connecticut massacre ID'd as police find 'very good evidence' that could help illuminate shooter's motives

The unhinged gunman who slaughtered 26 children and adults yesterday in a elementary school arrived with guns blazing — blasting his way into the building, according to Connecticut State police.

“He was not voluntarily let into the school at all,” Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said at a Saturday morning press conference outside Sandy Hook Elementary School, where Adam Lanza unleashed one of the worst massacres in US history before committing suicide.

“He forced his way into the school.”

THE POST'S COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE CONNECTICUT MASSACRE

AFP/Getty Images

Distraught relatives leave a Newtown fire station after hearing news of their loved ones from officials yesterday.

PHOTOS: SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING

RAW SOUNDS OF NEWTOWN TRAGEDY

Vance said investigators at the school, as well as a secondary crime scene — the home of Lanza’s mother, Nancy, who at one time worked at the school and was also found dead — have uncovered “very good evidence,” that will be able to “paint the how, and more importantly, the why.”

But the investigation won’t be completed for up to two days or longer, Vance cautioned.

“We have done everything we need to do to peel back the onion,” Vance said at the press conference, which was delayed over two hours.

As soon as investigators are done combing through every “crack and crevice” inside and outside the building, officials would release a list of all the names of the victims — 20 of whom are children, Vance said. He did say that all of the victims had been identified.

He said a trooper or an officer has been assigned to parents to help “maintain their solitude.”

Vance refused to name Lanza, 20, and said the shooter's name would be released at the same time as the victims.

The senseless killings touched families across the region and the world.

“The members of the NYC Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association join the nation and the world in sending our thoughts and prayers to all of those who lost a loved one in the senseless shooting at the Sandy Hook school, especially to our colleague Lt. James Giblin, whose nephew was lost to this tragedy,” said PBA president Patrick J. Lynch said.

“We will also keep the first responders, the police, EMS and everyone whose difficult job causes them to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy in our thoughts and we stand ready to offer any assistance we can give to help them get through this horrific event. We pray that we will never see another tragedy like this again.”

A crisis intervention team from Yale University is being set up to help stunned residents of bucolic Newtown—a close-knit community of about 27,000 that’s 60 miles northeast of New York City—cope with the tragedy.

gbuiso@nypost.com

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Miami in spotlight at AVCC, other entrepreneurship events

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read More..