Party animals, birds, fish, gators kick off Mascot Games for Central Florida’s New Hope for Kids

New Hope for Kids hosts the 21st annual Mascot Games at 12:30 p.m. Friday, July 25 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Jul...

Marine science

Sixth-grader’s science project on venomous lionfish spawns fierce fight over scientific credit

A former FIU biology student says he deserves credit for the media-hyped science project of a Loxahatchee s...

Miami-Dade County

Miami Dade School Board gives nod to a new school budget

The budget includes a slightly lower tax rate and funding for new initiatives such as digital textbooks.

The once homeless return to help clean Miami’s mean streets

Eugene Gordon knows the streets of downtown Miami very well.

City of Miami

Miami Commission sets tax cap, considers hiring more police

Commissioners will consider two budget proposals in September, one that pays for 20 more cops and one that ...

‘Suspicious’ fire damages vintage autos at Miami-Dade classic-car dealer warehouse

Ted and Robin Vernon are nationally known for their vast collection of vintage cars.

Miami-Dade Courts

Coconut Grove salon wants judge to shield identity of massage sexual assault victim

Prosecutors want to talk to client who emailed a Grove salon to complain about a massage therapist’s...

restaurants

An A-to-Z guide to Miami Spice 2014

Deadly fungus spreads in Everglades, killing trees

A fungus carried by an invasive beetle from southeast Asia is felling trees across the Everglades, and expe...

Historic Civil War battle sites have a mobile app

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta, one of the key conflicts of the Civil War, ...

Man, 80, says he shot burglar after pregnancy plea

An 80-year-old man who came home to find two burglars said he shot and killed one of them despite her pleas...

What Obama said then and now on super PACs

As President Barack Obama enthusiastically raises money for Democratic super PACs, he's embracing some of t...

Transcript shows concerns during Arizona execution

Pot may be legal, but homeowner agreements can ban

Pot may be legal in some states — but the neighbors don't have to like it.

APNewsBreak: Gun law based on flawed estimate

A law expanding background check requirements on Colorado gun sales has been in effect for about a year, an...

Cause sought for gunfight between patient, doctor

Authorities are attempting to determine why a patient fatally shot a caseworker at a suburban Philadelphia ...

Taliban kill 14 Shiites in Afghanistan road attack

An Afghan official says Taliban insurgents halted minibuses in western Afghanistan, identified 14 Shiite pa...

Philippine soldiers clash with militants; 5 dead

Philippine troops attacked a Muslim militant hideout on southern Basilan island, triggering a clash that ki...

Towering worry: Small holes cause big jitters

German airlines cancel more Tel Aviv flights

Germany's two largest airlines say they are not yet resuming flights to Israel even though the European Avi...

Australia readies 90 police for Ukraine crash site

Australia is close to finalizing a deal with Ukraine to send police and a small number of troops to secure ...

Hamas tunnel threat at center of war with Israel

A network of tunnels Palestinian militants have dug from Gaza to Israel — dubbed "lower Gaza" by the...

Surgeons in India remove 232 teeth from teen

Dental surgeons in India's largest city say they have removed 232 small "tooth-like structures" from the mo...

Ukraine reports overnight rebel attacks on border

The Ukrainian army on Friday claimed that soldiers came under artillery fire from the Russian side of the b...

Florida: Tarpon Springs Hippiefest set for Aug. 16

restaurants

An A-to-Z guide to Miami Spice 2014

HIV/AIDS FUNDRAISERS

Thirtieth anniversary White Party 2014 to be Nov. 29 at Perez Art Museum Miami

Carolyn Hax

Carolyn Hax: In-laws say the meanest things

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Abby

Dear Abby: Guest howls over dog’s attendance at wedding

Dear Abby: Is it acceptable to bring a teacup-sized dog to a wedding? The excuse was, “Well, the wed...

Seven-day menu planner

Plan your meals a week at a time or pick and choose your favorites. Each meal comes with a shopping list.

Ask Nancy

Ask Nancy: My mother won’t listen to her doctors

Q. My sister and I are constantly taking my 86-year-old mother to the doctor for her real and/or imagined p...

Cooking

A cut above: Sharp knives are a home cook’s greatest tool

HEAT NOTEBOOK

Miami Heat still non-committal on Michael Beasley, Greg Oden

Even with at least three roster spots to fill, the Heat continues to be non-committal with free agents Mich...

IN MY OPINION

Armando Salguero: Joe Philbin optimistic about Miami Dolphins despite skeptics

Joe Philbin welcomes a visitor with a warm smile and firm handshake and for the next 30 minutes enthusiasti...

Marlins 3, Braves 2

Miami Marlins come through against Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel

Jarrod Saltalamacchia got the game-winning hit, Henderson Alvarez had a strong outing and the Marlins beat ...

Miami Marlins notebook

Miami Marlins’ Jarrod Saltalamacchia struggling defensively

The season has turned into anything but a pleasant homecoming for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who is struggling ...

IN MY OPINION

Greg Cote: Michael Sam is a distraction to embrace, not avoid

It’s no surprise that Tony Dungy’s comments this week about Michael Sam — comments tha...

Miami Dolphins’ offensive line is new; time will tell if it’s improved

The Dolphins’ offensive line, which allowed 58 sacks last season, will have four new starters ȁ...

FIU Football

FIU football team is ahead of the game even before the season begins

Final red snapper of the season ready to be snapped up

Only one weekend remains open in this summer’s eight-day red snapper recreational mini-season in fe...

Celebrity birthdays on July 25

Actress Barbara Harris is 79. Singer-guitarist Bruce Woodley of The Seekers is 72. Supermodel Iman is 59. C...

Celebrity roundup

Kelsey Grammer a new dad, Cynthia Nixon shocked by past family violence, Selena Gomez has a new man

La vida local

Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union: Top secret wedding location

Alec Baldwin: Rather pay up than apologize over arrest

NEW YORK (AP) – Actor Alec Baldwin is not apologizing over an incident that led to a disorderly cond...

At the movies

Gabriel Iglesias rocks a slimmer physique ahead of ‘The Fluffy Movie’

“Fluffy! Fluffy!” That’s the chant you hear at one of comedian Gabriel Iglesias’...

The calendar

Tequila connoisseurs rejoice as Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar celebrates National Tequila Day at all f...

Celeb roundup

Bindi Irwin talks her late dad, the Crocodile Hunter

Coroner: Heroin overdose killed Peaches Geldof

LONDON (AP) – Model and TV personality Peaches Geldof died from a heroin overdose after relapsing fr...

Haiti

Borrowing from Hillary Clinton, Haiti Prime Minister raises profile

As an ongoing political stalemate in Haiti fuels an electoral crisis, many are focusing attention on Haitia...

Venezuela

Venezuela moves to close down Torre David, a 45-story ‘vertical slum’

The Venezuelan government is moving more than 4,400 squatters out of Torre David — the countryȁ...

International trade

Study: No Trans-Pacific Partnership would be a setback for U.S., Latin America

The U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim countries are negotiating the trade and investment pact but it’s expecte...

World Cup legacy

No World Cup boost for Brazilian president’s reelection bid

The recently held World Cup in Brazil boosted the country’s global image but didn’t do much t...

Cuba

Payá family launches new effort for plebiscite in Cuba

On the second anniversary of the death of Cuban opposition leader Oswaldo Payá, his daughter, Rosa Mar...

CUBA

Exile activist arrested in alleged fraud

A lawyer for “Tony” Calatayud says he was a victim of a fraud perpetrated by others.

Venezuela

Wife of imprisoned Venezuelan activist pleads for his release

The wife of political activist Leopoldo López, who has been in a Venezuelan jail since February, takes...

Panama Canal

Arbitration on Panama Canal dispute to begin in Miami

An arbitration tribunal sitting in Miami will hear the dispute, which has already delayed completion of a p...

Redistricting

Judge skeptical about changes to Florida congressional districts before election

A Leon County judge said he was unsure he could redraw the state’s congressional map before the elec...

Guantánamo detainee severed from 9/11 trial

The decision delivers another in a series of delays to the government’s effort to prosecute Ramzi Bi...

Politics

From secret Rick Scott deposition to Charlie Crist’s tie to Ponzi schemer, Florida governor’s race has more ‘mudslinging’

The Democrats are using a website to highlight a sealed deposition Rick Scott gave before running for gover...

Politics

Poll: Libertarian Adrian Wyllie helps Gov. Rick Scott catch Charlie Crist

Crist and Scott are essentially tied in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, in good part because Liberta...

Politics

Charlie Crist about to get millions in campaign subsidy

The former governor will get millions in campaign cash under the state’s public campaign financing p...

Politics

Miami congressional candidate highlights ‘Cuban’ rivals in flier

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall says he’s merely repeating what his opponents say on the campaign trail.

Politics

Gov. Scott had stake in pipeline firm whose $3 billion venture he and his appointees backed

Upon his election in 2010, Gov. Rick Scott’s transition team included a Florida Power & Light execut...

Politics

From ‘huckster’ riff to math dis, Florida CFO Jeff Atwater and N.Y. Gov. Cuomo have war of words

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is running a misleading ad campaign aimed at luring business to New York from Fl...

Bill Thompson co-starred on 'Wallace and Ladmo'

The man who played Wallace Snead on the "Wallace and Ladmo Show," a children's program that aired on Phoeni...

THOR HALVORSSEN, 71

Venezuelan executive, human-rights advocate Thor Halvorssen dies in South Florida

Thor Halvorssen, a Venezuelan telecom executive and human-rights leader, died on Sunday in North Miami. He ...

Veronica Timpson, 64

Charter bus entrepreneur, educator Veronica Timpson dies at 64

Edward Duffie, Sr., 77

From bank security guard to vice president, Edward Duffie Sr. dies at 77

Some names become a brand, and in the Edison area of Miami, Edward Duffie Sr. commanded attention, if not o...

Deaf educator and pioneer Robert Panara dies at 94

Robert Panara, who lost his hearing as a child and became a leading educator of the deaf and a pioneer of s...

Dan Borislow, magicJack inventor, dies at 52

Dan Borislow, the inventor of magicJack and a pioneer in developing phone calls over the Internet, died Mon...

Dan Borislow, magicJack inventor, dies at 52

Dan Borislow, the inventor of magicJack and a pioneer in developing phone calls over the Internet, died Mon...

Correction: Obit-Thomas Berger story

In a story July 22 about the death of author Thomas Berger, The Associated Press erroneously reported that ...

Norwegian Cruise Line giving away cruise in hunt

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is launching a social media scavenger hunt Friday — and giving awa...

Carnival Cruise Line huddles up with Dallas Cowboys

Carnival Cruise Lines announced a new teammate Thursday: the Dallas Cowboys.

Developers buy 6.2 acres along the Miami River, including Finnegan’s River, with plans to create Miami Riverwalk

New York real estate investors Chetrit Group and Miami developer Ari Pearl have bought 6.2 acres on three b...

SEC files charges against two South Florida men allegedly involved in a boiler room scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday announced a second round of charges against individuals,...

Royal Caribbean profits surge in second quarter

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises saw gains in second-quarter performance compared to the previous year a...

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS/INSIDE THE DEAL

Practical tips for growing small businesses into middle-market businesses

Fort Lauderdale

Bahia Mar sold, may be upgraded with more dining and shopping

The iconic resort between the Intracoastal Waterway and the beach has been purchased by a group of Miami in...

CRUISE INDUSTRY

Cruise hearing explores consumer protection issues

A Senate committee hearing Wednesday sought to emphasize the need for greater consumer protection for cruis...