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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Few gains in FCAT scores

The Florida Department of Education released FCAT 2.0 test scores for four grades Friday that show Charlotte County students largely performing under the state average, and Sarasota County students exceeding it. Third-grade math and reading scores remained largely the same statewide, while writing scores for fourth-, eighth- and 10th-grade students … Find out how to read more online.

LATEST LOCAL NEWS

2 charged in road rage shooting
Sat May 25 2013 01:21AM

NORTH PORT — Now that two men are in custody in connection with a Tuesday road rage shooting incident near North Port, details show the alleged victim was the first … Find out how to read more online.

Class of 2013 earns more than $5M in scholarships
Sat May 25 2013 01:15AM

NORTH PORT — At the annual senior awards night Thursday, members of the North Port High School class of 2013 learned they earned $5,213,352 in scholarships. The amount is so … Find out how to read more online.

Imagine students thank Matthews
Sat May 25 2013 01:15AM

NORTH PORT — Reading from three colorful index cards, ninth-grader Alyssia Small told her peers Friday afternoon that Imagine School at North Port principal Justin Matthews put his job on … Find out how to read more online.

Report: Shooting suspect turned himself in
Fri May 24 2013 03:38PM

NORTH PORT — Authorities didn’t have to look far for the driver of a Geo Tracker suspected in a road rage incident that left two people injured from a shotgun … Find out how to read more online.

State, National and World News

Rare Superman comic found in house insulation
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It’s considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a … read more.

Truck causes I-5 bridge collapse
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The trucker was hauling a load of drilling equipment when his load bumped against the steel framework over an Interstate 5 bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and watched in horror as the span collapsed … read more.

Scouts face more turmoil
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

(AP) — The Boy Scouts of America will get no reprieve from controversy after a contentious vote to accept openly gay boys as Scouts. Dismayed conservatives are already looking at alternative youth groups as they predict a mass exodus from … read more.

Gov. Scott: Will fight tuition hikes
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Rick Scott is strongly warning universities that he will fight against any tuition hikes this year. Scott made the warning in a letter sent out Friday to the heads of the boards that oversee the state’s … read more.

Summer travel forecast: Better, but no blowout
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

NEW YORK — This summer, high rollers are flying to lavish vacation hot spots for their vacations. The rest of us are headed to places like nearby campgrounds. The good news: At some U.S. campgrounds these days you get live … read more.

N. Korea courts nuke talks
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

BEIJING — A top North Korean envoy delivered a letter from leader Kim Jong Un to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and told him Pyongyang would take steps to rejoin stalled nuclear disarmament talks, in an apparent victory for … read more.

Stock market barely budges
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — Major stock indexes closed out their first weekly loss in a month in quiet trading Friday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 0.91 of a point to close at 1,649.60. The Dow Jones industrial average … read more.

Oklahoma gets far more than its share of disasters
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many states get hit frequently with tornadoes and other natural catastrophes, but Oklahoma is Disaster Central. The twister that devastated Moore, Okla., was the 74th presidential disaster declared in the Sooner state in the past 60 years. … read more.

Russia says Syrian regime agrees to peace talks
Sat May 25 2013 01:19AM

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government has agreed to attend a conference proposed by Russia and the United States on ending the country’s civil war, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday, the first sign that President Bashar Assad’s regime would … read more.

Jurors deadlock on Jodi Arias penalty
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

PHOENIX (AP) — Jurors have deadlocked on a verdict of life or death for Jodi Arias in the 2008 killing of her one-time boyfriend. The judge declared a mistrial in the penalty phase. Another panel will be seated and the … read more.

Tea party vs. old guard in GOP Senate rift
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — A long-simmering feud between establishment Republicans and tea partyers broke into full view Thursday, with Sen. John McCain accusing younger colleagues of overplaying their hands and tempting Democrats to change Senate rules that protect the minority party. … read more.

Obama lifts ban on Guantanamo transfers to Yemen
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is lifting his self-imposed ban on transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to Yemen, where a leadership upheaval has improved the country’s security but not eliminated a terrorist organization trying to recruit jihadists. Lifting the ban … read more.

Obama defends drone strikes but says no cure-all
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America’s controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy. But he acknowledged the targeted strikes are no “cure-all” and said he is haunted … read more.

Report: Nation’s kids need to get more physical
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reading, writing, arithmetic — and PE? The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject. The … read more.

Nixon library hosts 40th reunion for Vietnam POWs
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — U.S. Navy Lt. Mike McGrath was just 27 years old, with a wife and two toddler sons in the U.S., when he was shot down and taken prisoner on his 179th bombing mission during the … read more.

Mutant cockroaches learn to avoid sugar to outsmart sticky traps
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

(Bloomberg) — Roaches that have been hard to trap may be a variety that find sugar doesn’t taste quite so sweet as bait anymore, a study suggests. Most cockroach baits cover poison in a layer of glucose, a sugar. Some … read more.

Obama: Policy in leaks investigations under review
Thu May 23 2013 09:26PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday that the Justice Department will review the policy under which it obtains journalists’ records in investigations of the leak of government secrets. Obama acknowledged he is “troubled by the possibility that leaks … read more.

Stocks edge lower as investors reassess Fed fears
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors recovered their poise after a shaky start to trading on Wall Street that sent stocks sharply lower. U.S. markets plummeted immediately after the opening bell Thursday following a global slump prompted in part by an … read more.

Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — In one of their most dramatic choices in a century, local leaders of the Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to ease a divisive ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted into the nation’s … read more.

Birth control coverage up for federal appeal
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health … read more.

26 killed in 2 simultaneous car bombs in Niger
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Suicide bombers in Niger detonated two car bombs simultaneously on Thursday, one inside a military camp in the city of Agadez and another in the remote town of Arlit at a French-operated uranium mine, killing a … read more.

Israel says Iran unaffected by world pressure
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister says a new report by the U.N. atomic agency shows that international pressure is having no effect on halting Iran’s suspect nuclear program. In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said this … read more.

Muslim hardliners ID London terror suspect
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

LONDON (AP) — Two Muslim hardliners say the man seen wielding a bloody butcher’s knife after the killing of a British soldier is a Muslim convert who took part in demonstrations with the banned radical group al-Muhajiroun. Meanwhile, British police … read more.

Clashes in Lebanon feed fear of Syria spillover
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad fired heavy machine guns and lobbed mortar shells at each other Thursday in some of the worst fighting in the port city of Tripoli in years. The battles … read more.

House backs variable rate student loans
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation that links student loan rates to the ups and downs of the financial markets in spite of a veto threat from President Barack Obama. The Republican-backed the bill would allow students … read more.

Thunderstorms slow Oklahoma tornado cleanup
Thu May 23 2013 09:26PM

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — A band of thunderstorms battered the Oklahoma City area Thursday, slowing cleanup operations in the suburb where a tornado killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes this week. The first of the funerals, for a … read more.

8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An eighth person has pleaded guilty to his role in a $30 million fraud and bribery scheme that duped NASA into awarding contracts to companies that falsely claimed eligibility for preferences granted to minority-owned businesses. On … read more.

Man charged with selling African elephant tusks
Fri May 24 2013 01:19AM

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A New Mexico man is facing federal charges in the Florida Panhandle after authorities say he sold two African elephant tusks. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that a grand jury in Pensacola indicted Charles Kokesh … read more.

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More Local News

Rabies alert issued
Fri May 24 2013 07:54PM

PORT CHARLOTTE — Charlotte County Animal Control was notified Thursday that a dog had been exposed to a bat that tested positive for the rabies virus in Charlotte County. In response, Animal Control has declared a rabies alert for the … Find out how to read more online.

New orchestra maestro reaching for baton
Fri May 24 2013 08:04AM

When Raffaele Ponti says he’s excited about the upcoming season of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, his eyes flash and he can hardly contain himself. “I’m very excited,” he said in an interview Thursday. “It will be very different. There will … Find out how to read more online.

Convicted stalker gets prison time
Fri May 24 2013 08:04AM

A man convicted three years ago of stalking of a Charlotte High School student in 2009 was sentenced to 18 months in prison Thursday after he violated his community control/probation for the second time. Ronald Paul Baker, 22, of the … Find out how to read more online.

Physical education on the ropes
Fri May 24 2013 08:04AM

Physical education classes will be eliminated from Charlotte County Public Schools at the elementary level for the 2013-14 school year, according to district officials. All five physical education teaching positions that were serving the district’s 10 elementary schools are part … Find out how to read more online.

North Port teams ready for County Cup
Fri May 24 2013 08:04AM

NORTH PORT — North Port Little League’s teams will be in the spotlight starting Tuesday and Wednesday in Venice. The Sarasota County Cup will begin action those days. The North Port junior division teams begin Tuesday at Well Field. Besides … Find out how to read more online.

Free driver’s training for teens
Wed May 22 2013 12:56PM

NORTH PORT — Free driver’s training for teenagers will take place July 8-July 25 at North Port High School, 6400 W. Price Blvd. A mandatory orientation is scheduled for June 4. Students must either live within Sarasota County limits or … Find out how to read more online.

Wastewater treatment plant tour offered
Wed May 22 2013 12:54PM

NORTH PORT — In honor of Water Reuse Week, held this year from May 19-25, the city of North Port is offering a tour of the local wastewater treatment plant Thursday, May 23. The city of North Port Utilities Department … Find out how to read more online.

City fire crews stay busy during Monday storms
Wed May 22 2013 08:03AM

NORTH PORT — A flurry of thunderstorm activity sent city emergency personnel scurrying all over the city Monday afternoon, according to North Port Fire Marshal Michael Frantz, who called the burst of calls abnormal. Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., … Find out how to read more online.

Dart run to benefit local man
Thu May 23 2013 05:40PM

NORTH PORT — Friday night, the American Legion Riders of Post 254 are holding a Full Moon Dart Run to help raise money for one of their own. All money raised during the dart run will go to help pay … Find out how to read more online.

New collectibles shop to hold yard sale Saturday
Fri May 24 2013 08:04AM

NORTH PORT — If you’re a fan of sports memorabilia, comic books, old coins, autographed photos and more, Treasure Chest Collectibles is the place to be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proprietors Stephanie and Dan Shockroo will hold … Find out how to read more online.

Driver gets 12 years behind bars
Fri May 24 2013 12:59PM

SARASOTA COUNTY — Through her tears, Erin Sechrest told 23-year-old Dennis Shambora that instead of getting her son Josh’s report card in the mail, she receives letters from recipients who received his organs. “I don’t remember the first two weeks … Find out how to read more online.

Sarasota helps bring manufacturing education, jobs to area
Thu May 23 2013 08:04AM

SARASOTA COUNTY — County commissioners helped to link manufacturers in need of local employees with students searching for higher-paying jobs Wednesday after voting unanimously to give $350,000 to the Sarasota County Technical Institute. The county’s contribution is part of a … Find out how to read more online.

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