THE ECONOMY

Poverty, Homelessness Rising Sharply Among Florida Students

An analysis of data on child poverty and subsidized lunches shows how much poorer Florida has become since the recession.

Henry Flagler, his town, and the fire

Did Henry Flagler have an explosive secret? Some in Palm Beach County say yes.

Haiti, through a photographer’s lens

A flicker of light in Haiti

Two years after an unprecedented and unimaginable natural disaster, Haiti still mourns its dead, struggles to rebuild, has had to cope with cholera and has seen international assistance fall victim to donor fatigue.

Republican primary

Where the GOP hopefuls stand on the issues

A look at where the 2012 Republican presidential candidates stand on a selection of key issues in Florida and nationwide.

CUBA

How church, Castros learned to coexist

Enrique López Oliva remembers the days when Cuban Catholics hung their religious icons in their grandmother’s rooms, hoping that Fidel Castro’s communist government would not dare punish an “abuelita.”

HELPING HONDURAS

The risks and rewards of helping Honduras

Pink. Yellow. Green. Blue.

To Our Readers

The dangers of being a Honduran whistleblower

Two weeks after Frances Robles returned from a reporting trip to Honduras, she received a phone call from a source.

How not to sign away your rights on a foreign cruise

By any measure, the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13 was a human tragedy. At least 11 passengers died and many others suffered serious injuries due to the careless and negligent actions of the captain — who now faces a host of criminal charges — and the crew.

Sheltering abandoned animals

Miami-Dade pet lovers push to consider tax to protect unwanted animals

Bucking anti-tax sentiment, animal advocates are petitioning on behalf of a levy to help treat unwanted pets more humanely.

When Miami-Dade was culture-war central

Thirty-five years ago, Dade passed a gay-rights law, helping fuel the culture wars that still rage, especially during primaries.

To Our Readers

Herald journalists dig for progress in Haiti, find it

Fourteen months since his last trip to Haiti, Jose Iglesias landed in Port-au-Prince last month with his video camera in hand, looking for the images that captured this chapter in the country’s post-quake recovery.

The war on terror

Why Obama hasn’t closed Guantánamo camps

The president is himself a prisoner, hemmed in by rules that make releasing captives nearly impossible. 1329180141

PolitiFact

Introducing the Lie of the Year

PolitiFact examines the Democrats’ claim that Republicans voted to end Medicare and finds it fictitious.

A quiz on 2011’s politics of the absurd

Was 2011 wacky, or what? See what you remember, and no fair peeking at the answers!

Tomorrow’s news today, courtesy of The Amazing Kreskin

If you are over a certain age, you probably remember The Amazing Kreskin. He was the affable, animated “mentalist” who performed entertaining feats on the Tonight Show during that program’s Johnny Carson heyday. His shtick (he is said to have guested a record 88 times) sometimes involves a deck of playing cards, reading someone’s thoughts and having the audience hide his performance fee.

POLITICS

Could Marco Rubio save the GOP ticket?

The Florida senator has vaulted to the top of the GOP’s list of potential vice presidential candidates, but does he have what it takes to win the swing states for the Republicans?

Faith, football and Tim Tebow

When Pam Tebow was counseled to abort her baby to save her own life, the doctor referred to him as a “mass of fetal tissue.”

Miami Gardens

Should coaches with troubled pasts be benched?

Should men with troubled pasts coach young kids? One city is taking a nuanced approach.

American captive of Cuba marks 2 years behind bars

For two years, Judy Gross has taken a quiet approach to trying to get her husband, Alan, freed from a Cuban jail. Now she’s speaking out.