FEATURED STORIES
By Adam C. Smith and Beth Reinhard
Related: What they're saying about Gov. Charlie Crist after 'independent' announcement
Gov. Charlie Crist didn't just walk away from the Republican Party Thursday -- he ran, saying he would abandon his lifelong GOP voter registration as he launches an independent and unprecedented campaign for the U.S. Senate.
The Associated Press
Related: Six lawsuits filed against BP, other companies
Related editorial: What 'risk' really means
Abortion measure halts action in House
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
With the clock ticking Thursday, an explosive bill to require women to get an ultrasound before an abortion gripped the state Senate and led Democrats to halt action in the House.
By Gina Presson
Arizona's tough new immigration law has become both the butt of late-night comedians' jokes and the flashpoint for a new push for immigration reform.
BEST OF THE BLOGS
By Beach Blogger
You couldn't tell it from the on-line version, but the dead tree Pensacola News Journal this morning trumpets the front page news that Jeff Miller, the incumbent Republican congressman from Northwest Florida, is doubling down in favor of Gulf oil drilling.
By Trish Ponder
I might be the only Floridian who will be sad after Gov. Charlie Crist makes public his decision on whether to remain a Republican in his run for the U.S. Senate. As a Democrat, watching his fellow Republicans try to manage Charlie's eventual disclosure is truly gratifying.
By Joy Reid
Update: Rubio comes out against the AZ law. Crist still quiet.
By Gimleteye
Drill, baby, drill! The Exxon Valdez leaked 257,000 barrels of oil off the coast of Alaska. It was the worst oil spill in US history.
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The Associated Press
The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is bringing its 2010 regular session to a close after 60 tumultuous, politically charged days.
The Associated Press
Legislation to revive and fix a law that unconstitutionally limited political speech is going to Gov. Charlie Crist - again.
By Richard Mullins
Gov. Charlie Crist's signature is all that's needed to make a new law requiring children's services councils across Florida to seek direct voter approval for their continuing existence.
The Associated Press
A bill making it illegal to impersonate military veterans when soliciting donations is headed to Gov. Charlie Crist.
By John Frank
A major property insurance bill is mired with time running short in the legislative session.
By Bill Cotterell
The Florida Legislature is set to cut the interest rate on delayed-pension pots by more than half.
By Tonya Alanez
The Florida Senate unanimously voted, 37-0, Thursday afternoon to create penalties specifically for the titillating teen trend of "sexting," which now falls under felony child pornography laws.
Editorial
Leaders in the state Senate may have set a new standard for irresponsibility and hypocrisy this week.
POLITICAL RACES
By David Cantanese and Jonathan Martin
Related: Crist's cash: What will donors do?
Independent Gov. Charlie Crist under fire
Tallahassee Democrat
Crist faces tough odds in independent Senate bid
Orlando Sentinel
Three-Way Race Will Change the Game For Better and Worse, for Candidates
Lakeland Ledger
Breaking Down a 3-Way Race in Florida
New York Times
Tired of 'political fighting,' Crist will run for Senate as independent
Palm Beach Post
Politicians are asked to return Rothstein donations
Miami Herald
BALLOT INITIATIVES
The Associated Press
The Republican-controlled Legislature's response to two citizen initiatives on redistricting may soon be headed for Florida's Nov. 2 ballot.
By Florida Hometown Democracy
The real estate speculators' latest online video against Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 is a dramatic piece of work, courtesy of skilled political spinners, and it is designed to scare people away from getting their right to vote.
Editorial
The battle lines are being drawn in Tallahassee, and it's begun to look like a fight between the people and the politicians.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
By Paul Flemming
Florida emergency responders continued to monitor the massive, growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, ready to join the multistate and federal effort to contain it.
By Maryann Tobin
In an effort to save the lives of thousands of birds, marine life and miles of environmentally sensitive coastline, the US Coast Guard is planning to set the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on fire.
By William Gibson
While the White House promises a full-fledged effort to plug a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Senator Bill Nelson on Thursday urged President Obama to call a halt to exploratory drilling in coastal waters.
By Julia Kumari Drapkin
Oil is spreading across the Gulf of Mexico -- the result of the sinking of an oil rig last week. A spill of this magnitude so close to the wetlands, estuaries and national fisheries of south Louisiana is unprecedented.
By Bruce Ritchie
A springs program launched in 2001 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush would be sharply cut by the Legislature in its proposed 2010-11 state budget even as the Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a bill aimed at protecting springs.
By Mary Ellen Klas
Florida's 2.6 million septic tanks, half of which are more than 30 years old, will have to undergo regular health department inspections for the first time in state history under legislation sent to the governor Thursday.
By Bruce Ritchie
A bill that would ban Burmese pythons and five other snake species along with Nile monitor lizards was approved Wednesday by the House.
By Kimberly Miller
Callery Judge Groves lost out on a bid Thursday to let it bypass rigorous planning requirements in building on the half-century-old orange grove.
Editorial
State Rep. Dean Cannon announced last week that he was tabling a bill that would allow oil drilling between 3 and 10 miles off the coast of Florida.
EDUCATION
By Leslie Postal
When Florida tries again to win hundreds of millions of dollars in the federal Race to the Top competition, it could be holding the golden ticket missing in its first, failed bid: support from teacher unions.
By Robert Samuels
If there's a message that lawmakers are sending to the 184,000 college students receiving the state's most coveted scholarship, it's this: start working harder.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
By Mary Shanklin
Florida real estate has hit bottom and is in the process of stabilizing, according to results of a quarterly survey by the University of Florida.
By Amir Efrati
The Florida attorney general's office is investigating possible misconduct by a large law firm that files foreclosures for banks, according to a posting on its Web site.
By Tom Bayles
Foreclosure actions in the Sarasota-Bradenton area rose nearly 30 percent during the first three months of the year, compared with the same period a year earlier.
By Catherine Whittenburg
Florida Senate leaders agreed on Thursday to take only $19 million - instead of $69 million - from the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, ending a standoff with Bay area Republicans who had threatened to kill the legislation in the House.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
By Brandon Larrabee
The emotional issue of abortion took center stage at the Legislature on the next-to-last day of the session, fueling a sharp debate in the Senate and all but shutting down the House ahead of today's conclusion.
By Scott Hiaasen
For the second straight year, Florida lawmakers have approved strict new rules for pain clinics, this time limiting the number of pills that can be sold to cash-paying patients, curbing advertising and imposing tougher standards for doctors and clinic owners.
By Carol Marbin Miller and Marc Caputo
When a heavily medicated foster child died of an apparent suicide, the response seemed obvious: better oversight of the way doctors prescribe psychiatric drugs to children in state care.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
By Joy-Ann Reid
In the spring of 2008, as Barack Obama was running for president, controversial clips from his then-pastor's sermons touched off a national fit.
By Louis Jacobson and Catharine Richert
When Arizona's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, signed the nation's toughest immigration law on April 23, 2010, it sparked a fierce national debate.
The Progress Report
On Friday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed overreaching and radical anti-immigration legislation into law, attracting national media attention and fierce opposition.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
By Peter Franceschina
Scott Rothstein's business manager gave a sometimes tearful account of his time in the Ponzi schemer's world, providing an insider's view during a lengthy deposition Thursday.
