News

In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Florida's 29 electoral votes are coveted by both sides. That's why Governor Rick Scott and former Governor Charlie Crist are both busy on the campaign trail in Florida, even though neither one of them will be on the ballot next month.

At least 160 Florida men are on the list of  1,247 former Boy Scout leaders and volunteers accused of sexually abusing young scouts from the years between 19-65 and 19-85.

The information comes out of a lawsuit filed in Oregon by a firm that won an $18 million dollar judgment against the Boy Scouts two years ago.

Oregon Public Radio also pressed for the release of the documents.

Lawyers in that case say the Boy Scouts of America kept careful records of the suspects and allegations by flagging them as "ineligible to volunteer."

The Boy Scouts' "perversion files" have been released and the names of at least 160 Floridians are among the 1,000 former Boy Scout leaders and volunteers accused of sexually abusing Boy Scouts between 1965 and 1985.

Lawyers involved in the case say the Boy Scouts of America kept careful records of the suspects and allegations but never reported them to authorities.  Many were flagged as "ineligible to volunteer." 

After the final vote is cast next month, the country may be in need of some healing and reconciliation.

That's the idea behind Election Day Communion.

Hundreds of churches across the country will be holding services election night and serving communion including one in South Florida.

Reverend Spencer Potter is the rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Palmetto Bay.

He says the service will be a time for the whole congregation to unite.

As the debates and rhetoric continue this election season, more than half a million Floridians have already had their say through absentee voting.

You can hear that story and more in WLRN Miami Herald News.

Florida's US Senate candidates squared off in their one and only debate Wednesday night in Davie.

Hear what was said between Senator Bill Nelson and Congressman Connie Mack in WLRN-Miami Herald News.
 

Debate performances aside, President Barack Obama is already claiming a "ground game" victory in Florida.

His campaign has sent out a memo touting gains made in voter registration and absentee voting numbers compared to four years ago

It also points out that the campaign never left Florida after the 2008 win over John McCain, and has trained 20-thousand people to register voters.

The campaign also says voter registration among black and Hispanic voters has increased substantially since the last election.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed to work with a British company looking to test out genetically-modified mosquitoes in the U.S.

British biotechnology company Oxitec Ltd has been waiting for a U.S. federal agency to sign on as a partner so they could test out these altered mosquitoes in Key West.

In the past few years, Key West has had a problem with mosquitoes in the area spreading Dengue-- but Oxitec thinks they can kill off a large part of this mosquito population with their altered mosquitoes.

The head of the United States Agency for International Development was in South Florida to speak to Florida International University students about possible volunteer service with the government organization.

Rajiv Shah  stopped by the WLRN-Miami Herald studios and spoke at length about his agency’s work in earthquake-devastated Haiti.

“I’m very confident that Haiti will emerge a stronger and more resilient country."