Consumer confidence in Florida dropped this month, but retailers were busy over the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend.

The National Retail Federation says more people went shopping on Black Friday this year than ever before.

University of Central Florida Economist Sean Snaith says shoppers may just be more budget conscious and eager to take advantage of big sales.

Local officials around the coast in Florida have already started to deal with the price of sea level rise. Now, another report has put a price tag on the cost of water pollution throughout the state-- the verdict: it's about $10.5 billion a year.

According to the Stockholm Environment Institute, which conducted the study, a lot of the pollution we are dealing with in our water comes from human activities.

Overtown artists have participated in Art Basel with showings and events in the neighborhood in past years. However, this is the second year that the neighborhood participates on a grander scale.

Lots of us would rather steer clear of construction, but Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is actually embracing it. 

The new runway and terminal expansion project will not only allow for more flights, it also creates more space for art.

So, the Broward County Public Art and Design Committee is looking for an artist, or perhaps artists, in residence.

And the art is supposed to be about the airport construction project itself.

A fatal shooting in Jacksonville last week may lead to new scrutiny of Florida's Stand Your Ground self-defense law.

The story is that Michael Dunn, 45, a white software developer from Satellite Beach, went with a gun to the window of an SUV in a parking lot to ask that the black teens inside lower the volume of their music. Reportedly, hot words were exchanged and Dunn fired eight times, killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis.

Investigators said no weapons were found in the SUV.

State pest control officials are renewing the war against a versatile and destructive termite they thought they had defeated a decade ago.

But the tree termites -- mobile, airborne, prolific and voracious -- have gained a new foothold in Broward County. Experts who met Wednesday to develop a termite strategy say the insects have overrun a square mile of Dania Beach.

The usual anti-termite tactics won’t work this time, they say, because:

Miami-Dade officials have begun their investigation into why voting in Florida's largest county was such a mess earlier this month.

Consumer confidence takes a dip in the Sunshine State.  However, economists remain optimistic about Florida's future, and energy is one of the main reasons why.