Arianna Prothero

This Sunday, Nigerian Afro-beat artist Femi Kuti will be performing in Miami. Femi is known for using music to protest against the Nigerian government -- a legacy he inherited from his father, the legendary Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti.

About 150 talented, young artists from across the country are in Miami this week to hone their skills through classes and performances.

They were chosen from a pool of 10,000 applicants to take part in the 32nd annual YoungArts Week. Twenty of the participants are from Florida.

Breeding numbers were down for some bird species for the third straight year in a row in the Everglades.

Nesting numbers for wading birds fell by 38 percent compared to the past decade. That's according to an annual survey compiled by the South Florida Water Management District.

Next time you go to the Everglades you'll have the option to pick up an anti-vulture kit.

The park is offering the kits so people can protect their cars against vultures during the winter months. The black vultures sometimes rip the rubber and vinyl parts--such as windshield wipers and sunroof seals--off of cars.

Florida has successfully dodged a major storm for a while now. But, the state's residents have not been so lucky at dodging rate increases on their property insurance.

Property insurance rates have been rising for millions of Floridians even though the state hasn't been directly hit by a hurricane in seven years.

We all know South Florida can be a pretty weird place, and it's something of a holiday tradition for news organizations around the state to put together lists of the weirdest stories of the year.

We decided to go straight to the people on the front lines, WLRN's anchors, producers, editors and reporters, and ask them what they thought were the most bizarre Florida stories of 2012. 

Some stories were funny, others perplexing and some macabre.

“The Black Lords” installation at Lords Hotel emerged as one of the crowd favorites from Art Basel week.

Artist Desi Santiago was the man behind the epic-sized installation that featured a giant black dog wrapped around the Lords Hotel.

Called Gypsy, she breathed smoke and shot lasers from her eyes.

Gypsy also told fortunes. People wrote their questions on cards, dropped them into a box and then learned the answer as Gypsy boomed a “yes,” “no” or “maybe.”

The street artist Invader first landed in Miami in 2010 and returned in August of this year. You may recognize some of his tiled space invaders that have popped up across the city (like on the side of the new Miami Children's Museum).

One of the great things about Art Basel week in South Florida is you get to see a lot of strange things in the form of both art and people. After a few Basels, you may start to feel like you’ve seen and done it all.

But I’ll bet you’ve never had your fortune told by a gigantic, smoke-breathing dog named Gypsy.

Artist Desi Santigo has created an epic-sized installation at the Lords Hotel on South Beach. Called “The Black Lords,” it is a giant, inflated black dog with glowing red eyes wrapped around the outside of the hotel.

The UNTITLED art fair is the new kid on the Basel block. It's the event’s first year.

The fair itself has a distinctly South Florida feel to it. The large, airy white tent has soft, filtered lighting and looks out over the ocean. Adding to the Miami vibe are the girls wandering around promoting various kinds of alcohol by handing out freebies.

Among them were the Hendricks gin girls, Jacqueline Sanabia and Kezia Linden, who, I thought, were wearing some pretty snazzy little hats.

There is a lot to do in Miami during Art Basel so you may not want another item added to your list of “must sees.” Nevertheless, consider including this fair: Aqua Art Miami at the Aqua Hotel on Collins and 15th  Street in Miami Beach. 

The fair has a laid-back vibe, lots of art and a good-sized crowd that feels happening without being claustrophobic.

Galleries were flooded, artwork destroyed and the New York art word left reeling when Hurricane Sandy hit at the end of October.

A month later, several of those galleries damaged in the historic storm are now in Miami for Art Basel.

Artists won’t be the only ones getting international exposure at Art Basel Miami Beach this year. Some Florida breweries might share the spotlight as well at the first annual Basel Biergarten.

Alongside “The Factory” art show, Wynwood Cigar Factory (101 NW 24th St.) is hosting a pop-up beer garden which will serve Florida brews exclusively.  It’s an example of the many things that have grown up around Art Basel over the past ten years.

Now that the newly elected state lawmakers are sworn in, their agenda for the 2013 session will follow soon afterwards. We have a look at what's being proposed for veterans. 

WLRN-Miami Herald News has more.

Hitting the malls on Thanksgiving night is becoming more common in South Florida. Stores are offering more than sales to entice shoppers away from the dinner table. 

Details from WLRN-Miami Herald News. 

The United States Southern Command has a new boss. 

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport will be a very busy airport this Thanksgiving holiday.

In fact, it's going to be the 10th busiest in the country, according to booking data from the travel company Orbitz.

Every year Orbitz releases lists of the busiest and least busy airports for Thanksgiving.

Robert Kerstein is a government professor at the University of Tampa. But when he's not teaching on the other coast, he likes hanging out in Key West. His frequent trips there have translated into a new book about how the little city at the bottom of the peninsula has managed to maintain its unique character while becoming a major tourist town. The book is called Key West: On The Edge, Inventing the Conch Republic. And this weekend, Kerstein will be appearing at the Miami Book Fair International. 

The votes are not entirely counted, but enough South Floridians have spoken to call a number of county ballot items and local races. Here’s a roundup of some of the outcomes this morning.

Broward County

In Broward County, Democrat Scott Israel beat out incumbent and Republican Al Lamberti for county sheriff.

Democrat Stacey Ritter won a 3rd term as Broward County Commissioner for District 3 against Republican challenger Robert Sutton.

During election season, we tend to hear a lot about the Cuban vote or the Jewish vote. Both are powerful voting blocs that attract the attention—and promises—of politicians.

A young Brazilian community organizer has his eye on what he hopes will become another voting bloc.

Jonathan Rodrigues lives in Pompano Beach and volunteers at the Brazilian Community Center in Deerfield Beach. He got his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago and spent much of his time there thinking about home—studying South Florida's Brazilian population and considering his own role in that communtity .

Rodrigues is a first-generation Brazilian American. “Historically that first generation is the generation that propels the community forward into civic engagement,” he said.

According to the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census, there are an estimated 21,000 Brazilians living in Broward County and another 12,000 in Miami-Dade. Rodrigues suspects that number is actually a lot higher.

“All you have to do is drive down Sample Road or North Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach and Pompano and you’ll see the proliferation of Brazilian small businesses.”

David's Café in Miami Beach is a popular campaign stop for politicians. Now, it's become a site for protest.

A group of former workers claims they are owed about $70,000 in unpaid wages from a satellite location that closed in July.

Carlos Perez was among the protestors outside the main restaurant on Collins Avenue in South Beach Tuesday. He claimed its owners offered to pay a fraction of his original wages.

Even though Hurricane Sandy has moved past South Florida, the region's airports continue to feel the storm's effects.

Director of Operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Mike Monnemacher, said 152 flights have been canceled at his airport.

"One of our larger markets for this airport is to the Northeast," Monnemacher said. " So, when we're not having any operations into the Washington all the up through Boston area, that's a significant number of aircraft. So, right now we have 35 aircraft that really don't have any place to go."

According to the World Health Organization, as of 2010, over half the world’s population lived in cities.

By 2050, that percentage is expected to increase to 70 percent.