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A day after hailing the Civil Rights Act as a lasting legacy of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, President Barack Obama is using another civil rights forum to issue an election-year warning against erosion of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark 1965 law that helped pave Obama’s path in politics. On Friday, Obama was to address Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference in New York where, the White House says, the president will take issue with Republican measures in some states…

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A super PAC urging Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for president says it raised $1.7 million in the first three months of the year, almost all of it from small-dollar donors. Ready for Hillary on Thursday said more than 22,000 new donors gave money to the self-designated Clinton support network between Jan. 1 and March 31. The average contribution was $53, and 98 percent of it was $100 or less. Ready for Hillary has been collecting names of those who…

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his year’s Florida orange crop is approaching the fruit’s lowest harvest in decades, and experts say a deadly bacteria that’s infecting the trees is to blame. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday released its citrus production forecast and the news isn’t good. The 2013-2014 orange forecast is 110 million boxes, down 4 percent from last month, and 18 percent less than last season’s final production figure. Orange harvesting ends in June, and if the crop doesn’t decline further, it…

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About the only thing former President Ronald Reagan doesn’t have named after him is a mountain, not one recognized by the federal government anyway. Now, Republican Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada is pushing a bill that would name a part of Frenchman Mountain, located just east of Las Vegas, after the nation’s 40th president. The House Natural Resources Committee approved Heck’s bill by voice vote Wednesday, but not before some Democrats on the committee had fun with the issue. Democratic…

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As Twitter looks to broaden its appeal beyond its 241 million users, the company is introducing a redesign of profile pages that includes bigger photos, more user controls and a distinct resemblance to Facebook. “Moment by moment, your Twitter profile shows the world who you are,” the company wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “Starting today, it will be even easier (and, we think, more fun) to express yourself through a new and improved Web profile.” As part of changes…

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Some Florida legislators are making a push again this year to end a requirement that greyhound dog-tracks have on-site races if they want to keep card games and other betting options. But despite the support of top lawmakers and the wife of Senate President Don Gaetz, the proposal stalled in a Senate committee on Tuesday. Instead, the panel passed a stripped down bill that requires dog tracks around the state to report all injuries to racing greyhounds. Sen. Maria Sachs,…

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The group that pushed Florida’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is intervening in lawsuits filed by gay couples that raise challenges. Florida Family Policy Council officials said Wednesday they would seek to preserve the constitutional amendment approved by more than 62 percent of voters defining marriage as between one man and one woman. A lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court claims the amendment violates equal protection guarantees. A coalition of black and Hispanic civil rights groups and pastors is also…

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