TRAVIS REED

Associated Press Writer
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Florida's jobless rate improves 2nd month straight

More than 32,000 new U.S. Census jobs helped Florida's unemployment rate improve for the second consecutive month — and just for the second time since 2006.

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Sneak peek: Harry Potter park in Orlando

Until now, Harry Potter fans could merely imagine the sensation of quaffing a butterbeer, finding a magic wand at Ollivander's or escaping the steam from a snarling dragon's snout.

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Haiti cruise stops: 'Without this, we don't eat'

With the Celebrity Solstice cruise ship anchored just offshore this beautiful expanse of white sand Friday, vacationers stretched out on beach chairs in the sun, sipped cold beer and pina coladas with pineapple slices on the rim and listened to Haitian folk music.

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Is Miami dumping tricky wildcat? Maybe, for now

The wildcat formation got an unexpected bye week in Miami.

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Hotel owners, like home owners, behind on payments

Like many home owners, hotels are starting to drown in debt.

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New Disney World coaster lets kids design the ride

Kids tired of experiencing the same old roller coasters have a new ride to tackle.

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Plastic bags are only onboard bathroom, pilots say

Flying a Boeing 727 around the world might sound like a dream. But pilots for a Florida air cargo company claim their job is a nightmare that includes no sick pay, shrinking wages and no place to use the bathroom on flights but a plastic bag.

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Report: Cruises slide in US as total rises in '08

Fewer Americans took cruises in 2008 than 2007, according to new industry data, showing that cruising's core constituency may be weakening despite continued growth in the pastime worldwide.

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Swine flu is windfall for some top tourism spots

The cruise Zenaiva Cervantes booked was to stop in sun-drenched beach cities on the Mexican Riviera. The cruise she took? That landed her in Seattle, where she pulled her arms tightly to her chest as she debarked on a damp, 50-degree morning.

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Fla. county declares emergency over economy

A South Florida county that rode high through the housing boom earlier this decade, then crashed hard when the foreclosure crisis struck, declared a state of economic emergency on Tuesday.

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Hotel chain sells cars, electronics by machine

In the market for a Bentley sports car, a Jean Paul Gaultier dress or a cell phone, but don't feel like dealing with a pesky salesperson?

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Sex, beer meet employee resistance at Spirit

Flight attendants and pilots for Spirit Airlines Inc. want the company to pull a series of sexually suggestive advertisements, along with a new requirement they wear a Bud Light patch on service aprons.

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Blackjack fight latest front in Fla. gambling saga

Visitors to Florida might have a tough time telling whether it's an anything-goes playground or the tip of the Bible Belt.

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Bucs fans could again be subject to pat-downs soon

After a three-year legal battle, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might finally be able to resume pat-down searches of fans at home games.

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Orlando, Fla., homes built atop WWII bombing range

When residents of several neighborhoods near Orlando International Airport go to bed, they wonder what most homeowners don't: Is there a bomb under my house?

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Growers want FDA to clear Fla.'s whole tomato crop

Florida tomato growers have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to declare there is no salmonella in the state's tomato crops.

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Shuttle retirement will hurt Florida's Space Coast

In the shadow of the Kennedy Space Center, the countdown has begun in the towns that run on the space program's clock.

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Boy band creator Pearlman sentenced to 25 years' prison

Lou Pearlman, the man made famous for creating the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in federal prison for engineering a decades-long scam that bilked thousands of investors out of their life savings.

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Federal marriage-for-citizenship sting nets 83 Fla. arrests

A federal sting of four companies accused of arranging fraudulent marriages for U.S. citizenships, complete with wedding photos of brides in gowns and elaborate fake cakes, has netted more than 80 arrests, authorities said Friday.

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Magic need to execute flawlessly to tie series with Pistons

The Orlando Magic know what it takes to beat the Detroit Pistons.

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Snipes gets 3 years, apologizes for `costly mistakes'

After haggling with revenue agents, criminal investigators and eventually U.S. prosecutors for almost a decade, Wesley Snipes finally caught them by surprise.

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Study: Top NCAA Seeds Lag Academically

North Carolina was the only school among the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men's tournament to graduate at least 50 percent of its players. A report released Monday found 86 percent of Tar Heels men's players earned diplomas during a six-year period. The other top seeds were far worse: 45 percent at Kansas and 40 percent at UCLA and Memphis.

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Pro Golfer Defensive About Killing Hawk

Tripp Isenhour has never gotten this much attention for a single golf shot. Really, he's never gotten this much attention, period. Isenhour said it was a "one-in-a-million" golf shot that killed a protected hawk and that he was only trying to scare the bird he now faces misdemeanor criminal charges for killing.

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