University program receives $1.4 million federal grant

The Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center received another $1.4 million dollar boost from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The center is the first federally-funded entity focused on developing technology and methods to improve and accelerate the construction of bridges.

Rick Scott’s troubled jobs agency taps former Tampa rep as new leader

There is a new leader for the agency Gov. Rick Scott has most relied on to achieve his job creation campaign promises, but turmoil from the previous leader continues to grow. Enterprise Florida agreed on Wednesday - with Scott in attendance during the entire two-hour meeting - to hire former Tampa state Rep. Chris Hart IV to run the embattled quasi-governmental agency that oversees the recruiting of businesses to relocate to Florida.

Change coming to Florida politics after decades of influence by Fidel Castro

No one had a more important and enduring role in Florida politics in the last half century than the now-deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, whose presence galvanized legions of voters and influenced the outcome of local, state and national elections. His absence could hasten a change that's already evident in South Florida, with younger generations of Cuban-Americans no longer automatically voting Republican because of the party's stand on Cuba and more Floridians showing an interest in doing business and traveling to Cuba under a liberalization of relations implemented by President Barack Obama .

Jeb: GOP Should Build on Trump’s Success

Established Republicans can learn from Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election and should build on his success, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush argues in The Wall Street Journal . Bush, who was part of the crowded field of 17 Republicans vying for the presidential nomination, was often the target of Trump's arguments that Washington was broken - a point Bush makes in his opinion piece.

5 things to know about Betsy DeVos,a Read Story Detroit Free Press

President-elect Donald Trump has picked one of the most well-known women in Michigan for his cabinet -- Betsy DeVos as education secretary. Here are five things to know about Besty DeVos, whom President-elect Donald Trump picked for education secretary on Wednesday, Nov. 23: --As a member of the DeVos clan of west Michigan, she is one of the top Republican fundraisers in the state.

Happy hour: Biden and Buffett swing through St. Pete on the final night of a surreal campaign

Bombers on, shirtsleeves rolled to the elbows, Joe Biden took the stage at happy hour and roared one last invocation to the masses. So it does, doesn't it? Which is why on the final night of this endless, maddening 2016 campaign, the vice president called on the ultimate Florida Man, Jimmy Buffett, for a free voter rally on behalf of Hillary Clinton at Albert Whitted Park.

Hollywood For Hillary Hits the Phone Banks With Rising Optimism

"I think we're going to win, but the main thing is that we trounce him," says one increasingly confident volunteer A loud hum arose from a Santa Monica storefront crammed with folding tables and chairs where actors, producers, lawyers, moms with babies, marketing executives, retirees and teenagers doggedly worked the phones for Hillary Clinton in the waning days of the election. Anxious or optimistic but mostly determined to stop Donald Trump from winning the presidency, the energy in the room on the Sunday before the election was palpable.

Trump and Clinton fight to win Florida

CAMPAIGN kiss: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump kisses his wife Melania as she introduces him at a campaign rally yesterday, in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. - Photo: AP Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton traded barbs as they entered the last three days of campaigning in the US presidential election with competing events on Saturday in Florida, a swing state that could prove decisive in Tuesday's vote.

Trump and Clinton continue to fire away

Donald Trump warned Thursday that a cloud of investigation would follow Hillary Clinton into the White House, evoking the bitter impeachment battle of the 1990s in a closing campaign argument meant to bring wayward Republicans home. Clinton and her allies, led by President Barack Obama, told voters to get serious about the dangers of Trump.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump; Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton

The candidates were slated to take their tussle to Florida and North Carolina on Thursday, two lynchpins in Trump's plan to take the White House. With five days before Election Day, the unconventional Republican candidate was hewing closer to convention, running some upbeat ads, bringing out his wife for a rare campaign appearance and trying, publicly, not to veer off-message.

Will Trump bring Sen. Rubio down in Florida?

In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio gestures as he speaks during a debate against U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, at Broward College in Davie, Fla. The Florida Senate race between Republican incumbent Marco Rubio and Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy is as much about presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as it is about differences between the candidates.

Florida’s I-4 corridor is where the election could be won

The Interstate 4 corridor stretching from the Tampa Bay area through Orlando to Daytona Beach is a bellwether of the nation's largest swing state, where candidates campaigned vigorously last week. North Florida is predictably Republican, and South Florida remains strongly Democratic, leaving a swath around Interstate 4 as the state's primary battleground.

A dozen Canadian women head south on a mission: Help Dems defeat Donald Trump

Mie Larson, left, and Cheryl Conley-Strange, pose for a photo at the provincial legislative building in Winnipeg, Man., on Oct. 20, 2016. They're part of a group of a dozen Manitoba friends, now headed down to help the Democrats in a crucial region of the crucial swing state of Florida.

New Clinton north Florida ad hits Trump for ‘Access Hollywood’ video

Hillary Clinton's campaign, aiming to win over conservative voters in the Florida Panhandle, has recently begun airing an ad referencing Donald Trump talking about his inappropriate behavior with women, according to media monitoring firm Kantar/CMAG. The spot - titled "Last Straw" - features Don McVaugh, a Republican Air Force veteran who decided to vote for Clinton after the 2005 tape of Donald Trump casually talking about sexual assault was made public.

Car explodes in eastern Libya, killing activist, 5 others

A tense protest over the Dakota Access pipeline subsided at least temporarily after some protest leaders urged activists to leave a barricade near a state highway bridge. Protesters trying to block the Dakota Access oil pipeline urged unity on Saturday while gathering near the burned-out construction vehicles that served as a barricade between activists and officers a day earlier.

Hispanics, no-party voters, young people most critical in 2016 Florida election

As Izaiah Mateo cast a ballot for the first time, he personified the demographic changes sweeping Florida that will help decide who wins the White House. Mateo is 18, Hispanic and a Democrat who lives in the state's increasingly diverse I-4 corridor, where a surge in Puerto Rican voters could help deliver a victory for Hillary Clinton.

GOP faces obstacle in motivating Hispanic voters: Trump

Berta Delgado told the Spanish-speaking conservative activists at her door that she is "100 por ciento" Republican, and agreed with their assessment that Democratic Senate candidate Patrick Murphy is too liberal. She said she'd vote for Sen. Marco Rubio.