Miami Herald

miamiherald.com — NEW YORK -- Instead of complaining about clean air rules, maybe utilities should cheer them. Sometimes, the rules lead to big gains. First Energy, a utility based in Ohio, got such a boost Thursday, a week after the company announced it would close six coal-fired plants, blaming new federal rules aimed at slowing emissions of mercury and other toxins.

miamiherald.com — ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Federal authorities say members of a major drug trafficking and money laundering Albuquerque organization recently named in an indictment had connections to the deadly Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Keith Brown said Friday that the 15 men named in a 29-count federal indictment unsealed last week worked as a large marijuana and cocaine distributor for the violent cartel.

miamiherald.com — BRAINTREE, Mass. -- George Esper, the tenacious Associated Press correspondent who refused to leave his post in the last days of the Vietnam War, remaining behind to cover the fall of Saigon, has died. He was 79. Esper died in his sleep on Thursday night, his son, Thomas, told the AP on Friday.

miamiherald.com — TALLAHASSEE -- For the last year, Broward Democratic Rep. Marty Kiar planned to run for the state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Nan Rich of Weston. But when the Senate released its redistricting maps in November, the Davie lawmaker was faced with a choice: run in a district based primarily in Palm Beach County, stay in his safe House district for two more years, or run in an open county commission district.

miamiherald.com — A woman arrested in Jensen Beach for DUI told the cops that her "big boobies" caused her to flunk her sobriety test, NBC 6 reports. A Martin County Sheriff's deputy saw Maureen Jane Raymond, 49, of Port St. Lucie drive more than 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.

miamiherald.com — LAS VEGAS -- With his trademark flair for spectacle, Donald Trump endorsed Mitt Romney for president Thursday on the famed Las Vegas strip - just hours after Newt Gingrich's advisers were spreading the word that The Donald would be anointing him instead.

miamiherald.com — TALLAHASSEE -- A bill that could bring three mega resort casinos to South Florida appeared doomed in the House Thursday, as backers struggled to cobble together a minimum eight-vote majority on the committee that will consider the controversial legislation on Friday. If the bill fails to get out of the committee, it "is dead,'' said Rep.

miamiherald.com — NEW YORK -- Police say a Transportation Security Administration agent stole $5,000 in cash from a passenger's jacket as he was going through security at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the latest in a string of thefts that has embarrassed the agency.

miamiherald.com — Check out multimedia and interactive features including photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

miamiherald.com — BARKupy Miami, the canine version of the "Occupy'' movement, comes to Tropical Park in 10 days. At the event all leashed dogs are welcome, and are asked to wear a red bandana. The Saturday event, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

miamiherald.com — WASHINGTON -- Billionaire casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson seems to be signaling his intention to plow millions more into conservative groups to influence this year's elections, in addition to the $10 million that he and his wife gave a "super" political action committee that backs Newt Gingrich.

miamiherald.com — WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration would cross a "dangerous line" and send a "horrible message" with a plan to encourage peace talks with the Afghan Taliban by transferring five prisoners from U.S. military detention, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Thursday. The U.S.

miamiherald.com — A Florida teacher is in hot water for apparently using hot sauce to discipline her special-needs students. Lillian Gomez, a teacher in Osceola County, is accused of pouring hot sauce over crayons to teach autistic children not to put them in their mouths, according to a report on wftv.com.

miamiherald.com — Lawyers for the accused 9/11 plotters on Thursday sought to delay until this summer filing memos on why the terror tribunal should not go forward as a capital case. If a senior Pentagon official agrees, the soonest the alleged mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his accused four co-conspirators would get initial appearances at Guantánamo's Camp Justice would be around the next Sept.

miamiherald.com — A video released to El Nuevo Herald by Miami-Dade Transit this week shows passengers being thrown to the floor when a Metrobus and a FedEx truck collided in Miami on Jan. 24. The video, which has no sound, contains multiple views of the crash at the corner of Northwest 17th Street and 7th Avenue, captured by cameras inside the Metrobus which carried 25 people that day.

miamiherald.com — NEW YORK -- Andrew Lloyd Webber's much-awaited sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera" is called "Love Never Dies," but the musical defied its title: after a short life in London, it died. Now he hopes it can be resurrected.

miamiherald.com — LOS ANGELES -- The idea was simple - but groundbreaking: Create a live showcase for black music, modeled on "American Bandstand." Don Cornelius pulled $400 from his own pocket to launch the dance show on a local Chicago TV station in 1970.

miamiherald.com — Angelo Dundee, the Hall of Fame trainer who guided Muhammad Ali's career, died of a heart attack Wednesday night in Clearwater. Dundee was 90. Dundee had been admitted to a Clearwater-area hospital after suffering a blood clot following his return trip from Louisville to celebrate Ali's 70th birthday two weeks ago, said his son, Jim Dundee.

miamiherald.com — If there is one lesson for a robber, it's this: Hold on to your towel. Earlier this week, an armed suspect was arrested, accused of robbing a woman at a 7-Eleven. Terrence Jackson, 36, went into the store wearing a white towel over his head, according to the Bradenton Herald.

miamiherald.com — WASHINGTON -- One of the unexpected winners in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary in Florida wasn't even on the ballot: Congressman Connie Mack. The leading Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race, Mack earned national media exposure stumping across the state for Mitt Romney.

miamiherald.com — TACOMA, Wash. -- A federal judge is considering whether Washington state can require pharmacies to stock and sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, even in the face of religious objections by druggists who believe they destroy human life. U.S.

miamiherald.com — Recruiting against rival football coaches and other schools would have been the easy part. Al Golden was recruiting against rumors and lies, too. Against uncertainty and doubt. Against opponents’ negative recruiting he said “at times entered into the realm of vicious.” He was recruiting against all those dirty headlines wrought by disgraced booster Nevin Shapiro.

miamiherald.com — A spokesman for Tim Tebow says he's canceling an appearance at a revival organized by a controversial Ohio preacher. The star Denver Broncos quarterback - and outspoken Christian - was scheduled to speak at a Columbus event in March led by televangelist Rod Parsley. Tebow's brother Robbie said Wednesday he's cancelling the talk.

miamiherald.com — Sarah Charles' life stopped when Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake two years ago. She was possessed by fear and anguish thinking about her son who was in Port-au-Prince at the time of the earthquake. "I was going crazy not knowing where my son was," said Charles of Hallandale.

miamiherald.com — LAN Colombia began service between Miami and Bogota on Wednesday. The airline, an affiliate of South American carrier LAN Airlines, will fly between the two cities seven times a week. The new service follows the announcement that a record number of passengers traveled through the Miami International Airport in 2011: 38.3 million people, a 7.3 percent increase over the previous year.

miamiherald.com — MIAMI -- A combination of tough new laws and a high-profile crackdown is chipping away at Florida's dubious distinction as the nation's leading illicit source of powerful prescription painkillers for drug addicts and dealers, federal and state officials said Wednesday. New U.S.

miamiherald.com — DALLAS -- American Airlines wants to cut labor costs by 20 percent, a move likely to include the loss of thousands of jobs at the nation's third-biggest airline. American is expected to say later Wednesday how many jobs it wants to eliminate, but a 20 percent cut in labor costs at American and sister airline American Eagle could mean 15,000 jobs or more.

miamiherald.com — TALLAHASSEE -- A Miami-Dade middle school has come out on top in the state's new public school rankings. Archimedean Middle Conservatory, a charter school in West Kendall that specializes in mathematics and Greek language, was named the state's best middle school.

miamiherald.com — GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's Erik Murphy has a small scar just above his right eye, a remnant of the eight stitches he needed after a recent collision with teammate Patric Young. It's hardly the only makeover for the 6-foot-10 junior.