As 2008 comes to a close, we look back at a year in which the biggest TV star was a senator from Illinois who became the first black man elected president. ...more

December 25, 2008

Tina Fey was selected as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008. ...more

December 24, 2008

As expected, the local Republican Party took an "if it ain't broken" approach to its executive committee elections late Thursday. ...more

December 21, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday defended his choice of a popular evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, rejecting criticism that it slights gays. ...more

December 18, 2008

WASHINGTON - Gay rights advocates are criticizing President-elect Barack Obama's choice of a popular evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, saying it shows disrespect for a constituency that strongly supported his campaign. ...more

December 18, 2008

Enthusiasm among blacks and Democrats for Barack Obama's candidacy pushed voter turnout in this year's elections to the highest level in 40 years. ...more

December 15, 2008

Sarah Palin lost the election, but for a connoisseur of quotations, she's a winner. The Republican vice presidential candidate and her comedic doppelganger, Tina Fey, took the top two spots in this year's list of most memorable quotes compiled by Fred R. Shapiro. ...more

December 14, 2008

Gov. Sarah Palin's home church was badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" from her failed campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee. ...more

December 13, 2008

Zoo Needs Good Cleaning I have been a volunteer docent at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo for over six years, which is why I've kept my mouth shut up to now, but enough is enough. Read the exact words used by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in temporarily revoking the memberships of both zoo President Lex Salisbury and animal Collections Director Larry Killmar: "for intentionally failing to abide" by the association's policies, etc. ...more

December 10, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist took a pricey 12-day trip to Europe this summer, hitting taxpayers with a large bill amid a sagging economy, according to a report Sunday by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Crist flew to London, Paris, St. Petersburg (the one in Russia) and Madrid to drum up business, but the tab came in much higher than planned. Here's a look at how his trip went, moneywise: ...more

December 9, 2008