LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab received the best schooling, from the elite British International School in West Africa to the vaunted University College London, but the education he wanted was of a different sort: Nigerian officials say his interest in extremist Islam prompted his father to warn U.S. authorities. ...more

December 27, 2009

A former Odessa physician was placed on probation Wednesday for three years for illegally prescribing oxycodone. ...more

December 17, 2009

A former Odessa physician was placed on probation today for three years for illegally prescribing Oxycodone. U.S. District Judge James S. Moody imposed the sentence on John Rew, 84, who pleaded guilty to a single felony count Sept. 17. ...more

December 16, 2009

Health department officials aren't sure whether a man who died was from Highlands County, or whether he died from the swine flu, but his death was established this week by FloridasHealth.com. He was one of 167 in the state of Florida. ...more

November 28, 2009

After Hillsborough County produced back-to-back titlists in the girls pole vault at this weekend's Class 3A and 4A state track championships - giving it seven gold medals since the event was introduced to the state series in 1996 - one might wonder what makes the county a hotbed for a niche event. ...more

May 10, 2009

Normally a hotbed for hockey and concerts, the St. Pete Times Forum is undergoing a transformation that will be all about basketball. The 12 men's Southeastern Conference college basketball teams and their fans have started arriving for the SEC tournament, which will begin on Thursday at the facility. Today's practices are closed to the public. Ticket books for all sessions are $300 and available at www.secsports.com. Single-session tickets are $50 each (plus any applicable fees) and can be purchased at the box office or any Ticketmaster outlet by calling 1-800-745-3000 or by logging on to www.secsports.com. Four games will be played Thursday, beginning with Kentucky-Mississippi at 1 p.m. and concluding with Florida-Arkansas at 9:45 p.m. ...more

March 11, 2009

Confidence in the wisdom of the custodians of the economy has taken a big hit this year. The people in charge of our investments and our taxes no longer seem so conservative, so diligent or so smart. ...more

December 20, 2008

Is Tampa a hotbed for swingers? Let me rephrase that. A Canada-based online dating service that encourages extramarital affairs wants to run television commercials in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market. ...more

November 19, 2008

Bombs killed at least eight people Sunday across Iraq and wounded dozens of others, officials said. Syria's president blamed the U.S. military presence for Iraq's instability and called on U.S. troops to leave. ...more

November 10, 2008

As the Republican convention nears its conclusion, we in the news media, having finally grown weary of the endless speculation and gossip about Sarah Palin, are turning our attention, at long last, to additional speculation and gossip about Sarah Palin. ...more

September 5, 2008