LEGISLATURE

Lawmakers find way around lobby rules

Thirteen state House members have formed a charity that accepts donations from lobbyists. They say they're ...

Medicare won't let clients repay government, lawyers say

Attorney Stephen Bough's client owes Medicare several thousand dollars and is anxious to pay, if only B...

Obama plane emergency could have been a disaster

Skillful piloting may have prevented a disaster for President Barack Obama and his campaign last summer, a ...

Congress asked to probe troops extremist fringe

One of the country's main monitors of hate groups asked Congress Friday to investigate possible racial extr...

STATE UNIVERSITIES

Florida Atlantic University chief seeks top college post

FAU President Frank Brogan, a former Florida lieutenant governor, has applied to be the next state universi...

SENATE CAMPAIGN

Charlie Crist fundraising for Senate race leaves Marco Rubio behind

Gov. Charlie Crist's fundraising for his U.S. Senate campaign is leaving his Republican rival far behind.

AP sources: Burris won't run for full Senate term

House orders engraving of 'In God We Trust' motto

The national motto, "In God We Trust," will be engraved in the Capitol Visitor Center, responding to critic...

Sanford should resign, according to polls

Two recent polls reflect the public unhappiness with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. In one poll, 60 perc...

Study: Sotomayor tough on white-collar criminals

High court nominee Sonia Sotomayor typically handed out tougher prison sentences than her colleagues in the...

Conservative House Dems rebel on health care bill

Conservative Democrats in the House rebelled against their party leaders Thursday, raising concerns about t...

Analysis: Obama suggests sanctions for Iran

Obama broadens push for climate change pact

White House: Don't end stimulus efforts yet

The White House says it's not quite time for industrialized nations to pull the plug on economic stimulus e...

Obama hails historic US-Italian ties, friendship

President Barack Obama is praising historic American ties with Italy, saying the two countries are cooperat...

Congress won't try to keep Guantánamo detainees out of U.S. — for now

Congressional negotiators have agreed to drop an amendment to a defense approrpiations bill that would have...

Obama given some credit for Lebanon vote's moderate turn

Lebanon's pro-Western political parties turned their focus Monday toward crafting a stable coalition go...

Yet another review ordered of Afghan policy — fifth this year

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has given the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan 60 days to conduct anothe...

Crowd loved Obama's 'Irabac,' even when he got it wrong

One of the Cairo cafe questions debated in the days leading up to the speech was: Would Obama say "salaam" ...

First 100 days of first lady fashion

Obama urges patience, lower expectations on economy

President Barack Obama told Americans Tuesday to brace for "more job loss, more foreclosures, and more...

Obama rebuffs Texas' GOP senators on judicial nominees

With both of Texas' U.S. Senate seats held by Republicans, the White House on Wednesday said it has asked t...

The state cuts travel -- but not for everyone

Seeking to cut costs in hard times, the Legislature banned most out-of-state travel by state employees. But...

DRIVING

Florida's worst drivers will have to retake driving test

Rack up three crash-related tickets in three years and you'll be back behind the wheel -- for a driving tes...

PUBLIC MONEY

Audit: Top Florida officials spent $51K on plane commutes

In never-released findings, auditors concluded that top state officials spent thousands commuting to their ...

Investigator issues report on Sansom dealings

The special investigator hired by the Florida House of Representatives to investigate Rep. Ray Sansom's dea...

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ALEX SINK

Alex Sink orders her office to review her state-plane use

As questions continue about state-plane use by Cabinet officials, Alex Sink orders an internal review of he...

LEGISLATURE

Florida House panel to review Sansom case

Former House Speaker Ray Sansom faces possible sanctions after an investigator says he may have damaged con...

FLORIDA

Florida governor candidates defend use of state planes

Travel records show how Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum use st...

RAY SANSOM CASE

Document could be the key in Sansom case

Some seemingly cryptic information on a document could be crucial in the prosecution of Ray Sansom, former ...

RAY SANSOM CASE

U.S. takes up investigation of former Florida House speaker

Investigations into the dealings of former House Speaker Ray Sansom continue, despite his indictment.

STATE SENATE

Gov. Charlie Crist's veto was payback for lack of support, state Sen. Steve Oelrich says

A senator suspects Crist's veto of his student transportation bill was a form of retaliation.

GAMBLING

Seminoles balk at Florida's new casino legislation

The gambling legislation awaiting Gov. Charlie Crist's signature isn't likely to win the Seminole Tribe's c...

The state cuts travel -- but not for everyone

Seeking to cut costs in hard times, the Legislature banned most out-of-state travel by state employees. But...

DRIVING

Florida's worst drivers will have to retake driving test

Rack up three crash-related tickets in three years and you'll be back behind the wheel -- for a driving tes...

FLORIDA POLITICS

Attorney general candidate denies close ties to ex-con

Democratic attorney general candidate Dave Aronberg says he barely knows an ex-con who arranged a fundraise...

FLORIDA ENVIRONMENT

South Florida's killer pythons capture U.S. attention

Sen. Bill Nelson told a congressional panel that the Burmese python, a killer pet thriving in the Everglade...

MIAMI MAYORAL RACE

Joe Sanchez and Tomás Regalado offer starkly different visions in Miami mayoral race

Two veteran Miami city commissioners offer starkly divergent visions and styles as they seek to replace ter...

POLITICS

Joe Garcia nominated for federal energy post

The president tapped a longtime political presence in Dade to run a minority economic office.

MIAMI-DADE

Miami-Dade School Board pleased with budget draft

Members of the Miami-Dade School Board took a peek at the 2009-10 budget on Tuesday -- and many said they l...

CAMPAIGN 2010

Marco Rubio's fundraising numbers cast doubt on Senate bid, fellow Republicans say

Some fellow Republicans said that Marco Rubio's fundraising gap against Gov. Charlie Crist puts Rubio's Sen...

TALLAHASSEE

Gov. Charlie Crist's net worth held steady for 2008

Florida's governor listed of net worth of $466,000 for 2008, nearly the same as it was the year before.

CHILD WELFARE

Study: Florida's psych drug rules for foster kids ignored

A new state study found that child-welfare doctors and case workers aren't following the rules when it come...

PUBLIC MONEY

Audit: Top Florida officials spent $51K on plane commutes

In never-released findings, auditors concluded that top state officials spent thousands commuting to their ...

Senators back limit on tarmac strandings

Airline passengers could be stranded on tarmacs no longer than three hours under legislation introduced Tue...

Obama's surgeon general pick: a Catholic who backs abortion rights

President Barack Obama's nominee for surgeon general is a Catholic best known for founding an Alabama clini...

Abortion: White House says surgeon general pick is pro-choice

Regina Benjamin, Obama's nominee for surgeon general, sits on the board of the Catholic Hospital Associ...

A look at the House Democrats' health bill

Details on the health care overhaul bill introduced Tuesday by Democrats in the House:

McCain backs Obama on F-22 cuts, but advocates vow fight

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, in an uncommon alliance with the Obama administration, is squaring off against...

House Democrats propose surtax on rich to pay for health care

Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled a 1,000-page-plus health care-overhaul bill Tuesday that...

McCain backs Obama on F-22 cuts, but advocates vow fight

Arizona Sen. John McCain, in an uncommon alliance with the Obama administration, is squaring off against fe...

Temperament of nominee called into question

Sonia Sotomayor kept her cool Tuesday, even when she was being portrayed at her Supreme Court confirmation ...

House Democrats propose surtax on rich to pay for health care

Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled a 1,000-page-plus health care-overhaul bill Tuesday that...

Mays: So proud when Obama elected that he cried

Baseball legend Willie Mays says he was so proud the night Barack Obama was elected president that he "crie...

Colors could disappear from terror alert system

The Obama administration has begun a review that could spell the end of the color-coded terrorism advisorie...

2 men and a mediator: Can Arias help Honduras?

Talks to resolve the leadership crisis in Honduras got on track Thursday, with both sides holding closed-do...

COUP IN HONDURAS

Costa Rican president to mediate Honduras crisis

Talks between the ousted and de facto Honduran leaders, mediated by a Nobel Peace Prize-winning president, ...

THE CARIBBEAN

Caribbean islands at odds over alliances with Hugo Chávez

A budding alliance between Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and several small, English-speaking island nation...

COUP IN HONDURAS

Honduras' Manuel Zelaya plots new strategy to get home

Honduras' Manuel Zelaya is expected to meet with U.S. officials in Washington to find another way to reclai...

Andres Oppenheimer: Honduran crisis should serve as hemispheric wake-up call

Once the dust settles from the military coup in Honduras, there's likely to be negotiations between the int...

Mexico's PRI makes comeback, says it has changed

Mexico's long-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party promised Monday it has learned from the past and c...

COUP IN HONDURAS

Honduran troops prevent Manuel Zelaya's return; protester killed

Honduras' military prevented ousted President Manuel Zelaya from landing in the capital, where thousands wa...

THE WASHINGTON POST

For U.S. and OAS, new challenges to Latin American democracy

Bayonet-wielding soldiers are not the biggest threat to democracy in Latin America, where more than a dozen...

CARIBBEAN

Caribbean leaders seek help for their economies

Cash-strapped Caribbean leaders plan to lobby international financial institutions for assistance.

Old ruling party gains in Mexico midterm election

OAS moves to suspend Honduras over president's ouster

WASHINGTON - The Organization of American States voted late Saturday to suspend Honduras from the group ove...