With its international mandate in Iraq set to expire in 11 months, the Bush administration will insist that the government in Baghdad give the United States broad authority to conduct combat operations and guarantee civilian contractors specific legal protections from Iraqi law, according to administration and military officials. ...more

January 25, 2008

CLEARWATER - A man and his wife were arrested this morning at their waterfront home on charges they stole more than $7 million as part of a scheme involving a title company, authorities said. ...more

January 22, 2008

Autism cases in California continued to climb even after a mercury-based vaccine preservative that some people blame for the neurological disorder was removed from routine childhood shots, a new study found. ...more

January 8, 2008

Germany's interior minister called the Church of Scientology "an unconstitutional organization" and said the nation's domestic intelligence agency would move to ban the group, a report said Sunday. ...more

December 10, 2007

The number of foreign children adopted by Americans has dropped for the third year in a row, a consequence of tougher policies in the two countries - China and Russia - that over the past decade have supplied the most children to U.S. families. ...more

December 7, 2007

SEBRING — Assessments of more than $5,000 on customers of the Thunderbird Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant may not be necessary to solve the long-standing problems at the plant. In an effort to eliminate, or at least minimize, the potential assessments, Highlands County commissioners agreed Tuesday to talks on a possible new solution. Next week, county officials will meet with representatives of Highlands Utilities, which runs a wastewater treatment plant serving 1,250 customers, including Lakeshore Mall and many businesses along U.S. 27. There will be one topic: arranging for the Highlands Utilities wastewater plant to treat the sewage from the nearby Thunderbird Hills plant, which has been operating without an operating permit from the state Department of Environmental Services for six years. ...more

December 5, 2007

Brooksville Housing Authority director Ronnie McLean, whose suspended driver's license and ensuing explanation prompted some housing board members to question whether he was right for the job, endured a scare Monday when he thought his license had once again been suspended. ...more

November 27, 2007

The father of a newborn baby boy surrendered by his mother to the Lake Wales Fire Department wants the child back, according to published reports. The father told authorities that he had not known the mother was turning over the child in accordance with Florida's safe haven for newborns law, The Ledger newspaper reported. ...more

November 17, 2007

The county commission and school board will try one more time Tuesday to resolve differences on school concurrency. ...more

November 17, 2007

The State Department is dropping plans to force diplomats to serve in Iraq because volunteers have filled all 48 vacant positions at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and in outlying provinces, The Associated Press has learned. ...more

November 16, 2007