Tampa International Airport was the scene of a warm homecoming this morning, as soldiers sent overseas seven months ago returned home to emotional wives and some infants and toddlers who weren't sure who they were. ...more

March 12, 2009

Tampa police charged Bryant Walker, of Tampa, with felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor resisting arrest without violence at about 1:15 a.m. after a fight at Club Prana. ...more

February 28, 2009

The Obama administration is reversing an 18-year ban on news coverage of the return of war dead, allowing photographs of flag-covered caskets when families of the fallen troops agree, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. ...more

February 27, 2009

Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries, a restaurant chain that's expanding in the Bay area, has set its sights on South Tampa. Robert Dorfman, the Hillsborough County Five Guys franchisee, has signed a lease to put a new restaurant inside Sunshine Plaza, 4304 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., now wholly occupied by Sunshine Thrift store. ...more

February 10, 2009

Senior Airman Ashley Tubbs is the Air Force Outstanding Security Forces Airman of the Year for the period of Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008. Tubbs, a Tampa native, graduated from Plant High School in 2001 and attended Hillsborough Community College before joining the Air Force in 2004. During the Airman's recent 12-month deployment to Iraq, she was part of the Air Force Police Transition Team and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for her efforts. She instructed Iraqi police on law enforcement operations, and trained and mentored more than 3,000 recruits toward independent operations. Tubbs also received the Combat Action Medal after engaging the enemy on three IED strikes resulting in no squadron or battalion casualties. On Jan. 9, she received a commander's coin from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz during his visit to Eglin Air Force Base. ...more

February 4, 2009

Air Force Staff Sgt. Juanita Kinsey was thrilled to see the big men around her. ...more

January 27, 2009

A 22-year-old senior airman assigned to MacDill Air Force Base has died in what the defense department says was a "non-hostile" incident in Iraq. Omar J. McKnight of Marrero, La., died Saturday, the Department of Defense said in a news release. ...more

January 19, 2009

Bomb technicians, first responders and investigators watched instructors explode cans of paint, ammunition, a watermelon and a tire at MacDill Air Force Base today, all using common household chemicals. ...more

January 14, 2009

Heavy fog is draping good portions of coastal counties and has prompted the weather service to put out a dense fog advisory. It doesn't include Polk or Sumter. ...more

January 11, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG -- A former Air Force sergeant was arrested this morning in Putnam County on charges he killed his girlfriend and their baby in St. Petersburg in 2007 while he was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base. Ralph Daniel Wright Jr., 40, of 1701 Wetherbee Road, was indicted this month and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Paula O'Conner, 37, and their 15-month-old infant son, Alijah O'Conner. ...more

December 31, 2008