First there was the crackling sound. And when he ventured into the living room of his second-story apartment, David Scharaldi knew by the pre-dawn orange glow that his building was on fire. ...more

December 29, 2009

Three men were rescued early Wednesday from a sinking fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico, thanks to the Coast Guard and the latest in safety technology. ...more

December 24, 2009

Black Friday started with a bang across the Bay area as retailers reached out to pre-dawn shoppers, helping them navigate deals even while they stood in line and taking their cue from big-box stores and mall anchors to open earlier than ever. ...more

November 27, 2009

Students at McDonald Elementary School will attend classes today at the regular time despite a fire that damaged part of the school Saturday morning. ...more

November 16, 2009

Authorities were searching Thursday for two men who escaped from a North Florida jail and were suspected of killing the 66-year-old step-grandmother of one of them and ditching her car hundreds of miles away in Kentucky. ...more

April 17, 2009

Joe Balfour of Lutz has spent a lifetime buying collectibles and antiques. Little did he know his love of old-fashioned bread boxes and butter churns would one day help put food on the table. ...more

March 25, 2009

A pre-dawn shooting in a field outside Zephyrhills left one man wounded and another under arrest for attempted murder, and created a puzzle for authorities, who say Thursday's victim is a suspect in a strangely similar incident that occurred Monday. ...more

March 6, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) — Deep discounts on everything from sweaters to TVs drove shoppers out of hibernation for the Thanksgiving weekend, but the buying was tempered and sales for the traditional start of the holiday season appear at best in line with stores' low expectations. ...more

November 30, 2008

Few albums have had the initial impact on me as did R.E.M.'s 1983 debut full-length, "Murmur." By the time the needle had reached the first chorus of "Radio Free Europe," I knew I was hearing music I had waited for most of my life. ...more

November 20, 2008

6:30 a.m.: In the gray of pre-dawn in Lutz, two women stood in line to vote in a presidential election for the first time in their lives -- one because she was finally old enough, the other because she became a U.S. citizen in June. They were separated by about a dozen other voters at the First United Methodist Church. At 6:30 a.m., the line was growing about two to four people a minute. ...more

November 4, 2008