A giant silvery helium balloon floated away from a yard in Colorado with a 6-year-old boy believed to be aboard and slowly touched down in a field two hours later with the child nowhere in sight, setting off a frantic search. ...more

October 16, 2009

Gasoline prices have dropped below $2 a gallon at many locations in the Tampa Bay area and elsewhere due to fears that the swine flu outbreak could hurt summer travel. ...more

April 29, 2009

Applications to the University of South Florida are in line to break another record this year, said undergraduate admissions director Bob Spatig. ...more

March 27, 2009

The protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are forcing the Obama administration to rethink what for more than two decades has been a central premise of U.S. strategy: that the nation need only prepare to fight two major wars at a time. ...more

March 16, 2009

The Rays expect Matt Joyce back on the field this week, executive vice president Andrew Friedman said Sunday, quelling fears that the Armwood High product might have a serious problem with his right leg. Friedman said the outfielder, who has been sidelined all spring by a mysterious injury which has been alternately described as a calf or ankle problem, is suffering from tendinitis. ...more

March 8, 2009

As a forensic investigator with the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office, Pete Bihorel's job includes identifying remains. To do that, he reaches out to the public for help. ...more

February 25, 2009

The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act would, among other measures helpful to union expansion, allow a shop to unionize before its owner knew a union campaign was being waged. ...more

February 10, 2009

The photo of Candy Darling on her death bed that graced Antony & the Johnson's "I Am a Bird Now" conveyed the sense of quiet despair at the heart of the album. Antony Hegarty's voice conveyed weary sorrow, acceptance and, sometimes, redemption. If there was ever an album to hear in the darkest hours before dawn, it was "I Am a Bird Now." ...more

January 22, 2009

With the exception of a few favorite shows I practically cry if I forget to record, I rarely watch television. ...more

January 21, 2009

GAMBLING: Frustrated by jurisdictional issues, lawmakers look for ways to crack down on businesses that work with the Seminole Indians to offer blackjack and other casino-style games. ...more

January 14, 2009