New car buyers have an extra incentive to ink a deal before the stroke of midnight Thursday. ...more

December 30, 2009

Bay area home sales jumped 34 percent in November as buyers took advantage of a federal tax credit incentive. Meanwhile, prices showed more signs of stabilizing, according to Florida Realtors. ...more

December 23, 2009

New York officials say they found no traces of salmonella in a Long Island pistachio processing plant whose sister company sparked a nationwide recall of the nut last week. ...more

April 10, 2009

Unless Bryce Brown makes a decision Wednesday, the nation's top-ranked recruit will play college football somewhere other than Miami. The national letter of intent Brown was offered by Miami expires Wednesday, and a person involved in recruiting the running back from Wichita, Kansas told The Associated Press the Hurricanes will not reissue the scholarship offer. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because neither Brown's representatives nor Miami could authorize him to speak publicly. "Miami will not give him another letter," the person said. Brian Butler, Brown's advisor, told The AP that he was unaware those scholarship offers have an expiration date, but reiterated that the U.S. Army All-American — who was wooed by most of the nation's big-time programs, and still is having discussions with several of them — won't be signing until March 16. "Not until then," said Butler, who handles all of Brown's dealings with media and coaches. "If there's no letter here from Miami on March 16, then I'll get on the phone. So that's up to Miami. Bryce has his timeline set. We're not changing it at all." Citing NCAA rules, which specifically ban coaches from discussing recruits until their paperwork is filed, Miami coach Randy Shannon refused comment. Signing day was Feb. 4, and that's the date on the NLI issued to Brown by Miami, which means that paper would be valid until Wednesday. Brown, of Wichita East (Kan.) High, committed to Miami months ago. The brother of Miami linebacker Arthur Brown rushed for 1,873 yards and 29 touchdowns in nine games this past season, averaging 9.2 yards per carry for a team that finished 6-3. Later Tuesday, the saga turned again, when Brown announced that his final two recruiting visits will be at LSU later this month and Miami in early March. "They'll be in spring ball, so I want to see how the coaches interact with the players at practice and look at how the new offense is coming along," Brown said in a statement posted on his advisor's Web site, his preferred way of making recruiting-related announcements. "And, most importantly, spend some time with my brother." Other schools Brown is still believed to be considering include Auburn, Kansas State, Tennessee, Oregon and Southern California. His father, Arthur Brown Sr., said he wants his son at Miami. "Most definitely," Arthur Brown Sr. said. "That would be my ideal preference, for he and his brother to play together. That's always been my preference." Even without Brown, Miami had one of the nation's highest-ranked recruiting classes this year, a group that included Parade All-American running back Lamar Miller. He rushed for 1,719 yards and 22 touchdowns this past fall for Miami Killian High. ...more

February 17, 2009

War in the Gaza Strip demonstrates yet again that the current governance paradigm for the Palestinian people has failed. Terrorists financed and supplied by Iran control Gaza; the Palestinian Authority is broken, probably irretrievably; and economic development is stalled in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians are suffering the consequences of regional power struggles played out through them as surrogates. ...more

January 7, 2009

It's time to toss some of the stuff that's clogging your medicine cabinet. ...more

December 30, 2008

State agriculture inspectors will check an Orlando dairy this week that was the source of milk that left blackish stains inside containers. ...more

October 8, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - The state-created corporation that's become Florida's largest property insurer says about 350,000 wind-only policyholders will have to reapply for coverage over a yearlong period that begins in February. ...more

August 5, 2008

It's a tempting offer: Free prescription medications for people who need them the most - the poor, the uninsured, the homeless. Families of people who have died from diabetes, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease call the Judeo Christian Health Clinic in Tampa every week hoping to donate leftover medications. Some bottles are full or hardly used and bear price tags in the hundreds of dollars. But the clinic's executive director, Kelly Nelson, must decline. "We can't use them," she says, "Unfortunately." ...more

May 30, 2008

A state senator has filed legislation outlining an airline passenger bill of rights in Florida that would require carriers to provide food and water for passengers delayed more than three hours on an aircraft awaiting takeoff. ...more

February 21, 2008