State News

Florida's unemployment rate rose a bit in October to 11.2 percent, with slightly more than 1 million workers without a job.

Gov. Charlie Crist ordered an internal investigation Wednesday into travel by Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman, who has often commuted home to St. Petersburg on weekends.

Gov. Charlie Crist said today his chief inspector general will investigate travel by Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman.

For good food at fair prices, visit some hometown favorites in the Big Easy.

MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) — Sarah Palin on Sunday dined and prayed with the Rev. Billy Graham, who has counseled presidents and other politicians for decades.

"It's good to be home," said Andrew Hall, after he was released from Bayfront Medical Center where he spent seven months after being hit by a man police say was driving drunk.

HEGANG, China (AP) — When gas levels suddenly spiked deep in the Xinxing coal mine, Wang Jiguo grabbed two co-workers and they ran for their lives. Minutes later, there was a huge bang, a torrent of hot air and the earth shuddered.

By DAVID STRINGER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON | Leaked British government documents call into question ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's public statements on the buildup to the Iraq war and show plans for the U.S.-led 2003 invasion were being made more than a year earlier, a newspaper reported Sunday.

By JENNA FRYER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS All Jimmie Johnson ever wanted was a chance to race with the best in NASCAR. Maybe even win a race or two. Never did he expect to be a champion. Especially four times over.

BY SHELLEY ROSSETTER LEDGER CORRESPONDENT In the 1970s, Nilda Soto traveled the country working as a migrant farmworker. Now she is using her experience to help farmworkers in Polk County start new lives.

By Dale White Four men reportedly forced their way into a home in the 800 block of 59th Avenue West this morning and attacked the resident.

By ANNA SCOTT Jennifer Singer, a ritual director at a local Jewish temple, seems like just the kind of person to be upset about new recommendations to delay breast cancer screenings. She was given a diagnosis of cancer about 10 years ago, at age 41, and has since been through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and had both breasts removed.

Jeremy Wallace Former Florida Gov. Bob Graham is dismayed at how fast oil drilling advocates are gaining ground in their push to open the Gulf of Mexico to drilling.

Two young males were being held in a suspected armed robbery and battery to a 61-year-old man in his home on Silver Ridge Road about 10 a.m. Sunday, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

BROMONT, Quebec (AP) — A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.

A Kissimmee man was killed while riding a motorcycle in Osceola County early this morning, and officers say the person who hit him fled the scene.

A 14-year-old girl was in critical condition Sunday night after she was accidentally shot in the chest, police said.<p/> The girl was visiting a friend's house in the 9800 block of Holiday Road in Cutler Bay, said Miami-Dade police Det. Alvaro Zabaleta. An adult accidentally fired his gun -- police were still investigating how late Sunday -- and the bullet struck the girl.

Two West Miami-Dade men were shot and in critical condition Sunday night.<p/> The two had a history of confrontations, neighbors and police said, including a fight early Sunday about one's bass speakers disturbing the tranquility of the neighborhood.

Miami police are looking for ``Big Baby.''<p/> At a news conference Sunday, police said they think a six-foot-seven, 300-pound man who is known on the streets by the ironic moniker can help them learn who is responsible for a Friday shooting that killed two men. Police have not named him as a suspect, but rather as a ``person of interest.''

TALLAHASSEE - Despite efforts at the capitol in recent years to end the practice, property and automobile insurance companies in Florida are allowed to use a customer's credit history in setting premiums, something opponents say could ensnare more Floridians as the economy weakens.read more

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The rumble of Navy patrol aircraft flying overhead will soon be a thing of the past as the remaining P-3 Orions depart from Brunswick Naval Air Station.read more

One person involved in a Saturday morning crash on U.S. 90 in Baker County has died, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.read more