Local News from
Manatee County

Washington state's last governor's race ended in controversy with three counts, a court challenge and an astonishingly close margin of victory for the current governor.

When reports circulated over the weekend of a last-minute deal to keep Coney Island's historic Astroland amusement park open for another year, owner Carol Hill Albert was not amused.

Hurricane Ike roared across low-lying islands and bore down on Cuba, destroying homes, sweeping away boats and bringing more rain to waterlogged communities in Haiti, where it killed 48 more people.

Slamming into the southern Bahamas, Ike bore down on Cuba on a path that could hit Havana head-on, and hundreds of thousands evacuated to shelters or higher ground. To the north, residents of the Florida Keys fled up a narrow highway, fearful that the "extremely dangerous" hurricane could hit them Tuesday.

"America's Hidden History," by Kenneth C. Davis; Smithsonian Books, $26.95

National Hurricane Center says Ike weakens to Category 3 hurricane with winds near 120 mph approaching eastern Cuba.

Canada's prime minister on Sunday triggered an early election, dissolving Parliament in a bid to bolster his party's grip on power in a vote next month that will be the country's third national ballot in four years.

The stars descended on New York Fashion Week on Sunday, with Olympian Dara Torres hitting the catwalk, Justin Timberlake putting on a runway show and the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Uma Thurman lining the front rows.

National Hurricane Center says Ike weakens to Category 3 hurricane with winds near 120 mph approaching eastern Cuba.

Brees' scoring passes went for 39 yards to David Patten, 84 yards to Devery Henderson and 42 yards to Reggie Bush. Bush's score put the Saints in the lead for good in the fourth quarter.

Rays' right-hander Matt Garza (11-9) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

Q. Do you think that a year from now you and your family [in South Florida] will be better off financially, about the same financially or worse off financially, than you are now?

A longtime power broker in Pennsylvania politics earned nearly $100,000 a year as a state senator, up to $1 million a year as a rainmaking lawyer and millions more from the sale of a family bank.

A Kennedy aide said Sunday that the Democratic lawmaker's doctors are pleased with his progress, but want him to keep working from home through the fall.

A month after the Aug. 7 outbreak of war in the region and weeks after a cease-fire was approved, Russian troops remain entrenched deep inside Georgian territory.

The accident, which emergency personnel said involved a pedestrian, happened just before 5 p.m.

Spurred by an historic telethon Friday night, viewers stood up to cancer and pushed total donations for research to battle the disease past the $100 million mark.

Bush: Takeover of housing giants 'critical'

The move aimed to bolster the complex workings of mortgage finance. Here are some answers to what the plan does and how it affects American homeowners.