New Florida Senate seal limited to US and Florida flags

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Senate is going to change its official seal one more time. The Senate last year voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from the official seal but did not make a final decision on what the new seal should look like. A temporary version without the battle flag was […]

Florida bill that repeals ban on shacking up moves ahead

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A push by Democratic legislators to repeal Florida’s ban on shacking up together keeps moving forward. A Senate panel on Thursday voted in favor of the bill sponsored by Sen. Eleanor Sobel. This means that the bill (SB 498) will head to the full Senate for a vote. Several legislators have […]

Obama praises Louisiana’s decision to expand Medicaid

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – President Barack Obama on Thursday praised Louisiana’s new Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, for his decision to expand the state’s Medicaid program to provide health care coverage to thousands of residents. “He’s already delivering for the people of Louisiana,” Obama said. Edwards’ predecessor, Republican Bobby Jindal, had refused to expand […]

Florida asks court to deny inmate’s execution-delay request

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Florida asked the state’s high court on Thursday to reject a condemned inmate’s request to delay his execution based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s finding that its procedure for imposing the death penalty is illegal. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office said the U.S. Supreme Court’s finding should not be applied […]

Dangerous strain of dog flu spreads concern across U.S.

(CBS News)- A dangerous new strain of dog flu is spreading concern across the West. A dog in Montana recently tested positive for the highly contagious virus, and the Washington state health department is warning pet owners after possible exposure at a Seattle-area kennel. In Chicago, the dog flu spread so quickly last year that […]

Mr. Food: Barbecue Joes

What You’ll Need: 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey 1 small onion, chopped 1 cup barbecue sauce 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 4 hamburger buns, split (see Notes) What To Do: In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground meat and onion 6 to 8 minutes; drain off any […]

Lower pay for poor is widening US income gap, study finds

WASHINGTON (AP) – The income gap afflicting major U.S. cities goes beyond the problem of rising paychecks for those at the top: Pay has plummeted for those at the bottom. Many of the poorest households still earn just a fraction of what they made before the Great Recession began in late 2007. Even as the […]

Nearly 2,500 pounds of marijuana found in carrot shipment

PHARR, Texas (CNN)- These aren’t the carrots Bugs Bunny was chomping on. U.S. border officers seized more than a ton of marijuana stuffed into fake carrots tossed in with the real thing, officials said. Officers in Pharr, Texas, on Sunday found 2,493 pounds of suspected marijuana concealed within a commercial shipment of fresh carrots entering […]

‘Revenant’ leads Oscar noms with 12

The brutal 1820s frontier saga “The Revenant” landed a leading 12 nominations for the 88th annual Academy Awards, while the acting categories were again filled entirely by white performers. The strong showing Thursday for “The Revenant,” including a best actor nod for Leonardo DiCaprio and best supporting actor for Tom Hardy, follows its win at […]

Fewer than 100 Guantanamo prisoners left as 10 leave to Oman

MIAMI (AP) – Ten prisoners from Yemen who were held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have been released and sent to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman for resettlement, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Thursday. The move puts the prison population below 100 for the first time since it opened in January 2002. There […]