At the peak of the housing boom, an unemployed Tampa day trader managed to get two mortgages worth more than $300,000, despite having no income, authorities say. ...more

November 4, 2009

When an indoor public smoking ban took effect in the Netherlands in summer 2008, the worry wasn't so much for the one-third of Dutch adults who smoke cigarettes. Bars and restaurants went smoke-free without much problem. ...more

November 1, 2009

A former chief of staff and longtime friend of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich pleaded guilty to wire fraud Tuesday and promised to cooperate with federal prosecutors in their corruption case against the former governor. ...more

October 21, 2009

Authorities say the winner of reality TV show "Big Brother" has confessed to using his $500,000 prize to buy thousands of oxycodone pills and resell them. ...more

October 20, 2009

The House voted Thursday to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation, significantly expanding the hate crimes law enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968. ...more

October 8, 2009

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't allowed to appear in a network television reality show in Costa Rica, but his wife will. ...more

May 21, 2009

Mallory Horne, 84, the only person to serve as Florida's Senate president and House speaker since Reconstruction who later become the target of a federal money-laundering probe, died Thursday after a battle with lung cancer. ...more

May 1, 2009

Jury deliberations are expected to begin Tuesday in the federal explosives trial of former University of South Florida student Youssef Megahed. ...more

March 30, 2009

Medical marijuana users and dispensary owners in California have held their breath for years — fearful they would be targeted for prosecution by the federal government. ...more

March 21, 2009

Bernard Madoff's wife could theoretically claim more than $100 million in assets - and should forfeit it all, according to federal prosecutors. ...more

March 16, 2009