AP-8th NewsMinute,256

 No deliberate flooding of Vermont's capital to save dam...Obama

loses ground among key groups

     NEW YORK (AP) - Vermont's capital has gotten a reprieve from a

plan to deliberately flood it. A Vermont utility has decided

against flooding the state's capital to save a dam amid heavy rain

from Tropical Storm Irene. Vermont has widespread flooding today,

along with other New England States, New York and New Jersey.

     WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has lost support from

key groups that elected him, and who he needs to get re-elected. An

analysis of Associated Press-GfK polls suggests support for Obama

has waned with whites and women, and to a lesser extent, younger

voters and liberals.

     TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - The brother of the Libyan man convicted in

the Lockerbie bombing says the man is "between life and death" in

a coma. The Scottish government released the man in 2009, believing

he would soon die of cancer. He was greeted as a hero in Libya and

met with Moammar Gadhafi.

     SANAA, Yemen (AP) - Fierce fighting in southern Yemen has killed

26 al-Qaida militants and 10 soldiers. Officials say 38 militants

and 30 soldiers also were injured. Yemen's militants have taken

advantage of the country's political turmoil to seize several towns

in the nearly lawless south.

     YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Authorities say a suspected reckless

motorcycle rider in Washington state didn't count on cyberspace

being his undoing. The Yakima County Sheriff's office says they

tracked the man down via Facebook when he bragged about eluding

police. The boast contained a photo of a motorcycle like the one

police were looking for.

AP-FL--1st NewsMinute,209

 Here is the latest Florida news from The Associated Press

     SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Michele

Bachmann says she would consider drilling for oil and natural gas

in the Everglades if experts tell her it can be done responsibly.

Bachmann says the United States needs to access all the energy

resources it can, including Florida's Everglades and the eastern

Gulf of Mexico.

     MIAMI (AP) - A new tropical depression has formed in the

Atlantic south of the Cape Verde Islands and could soon become a

tropical storm. The depression has maximum sustained winds early

Monday near 35 mph (55 kph). But the U.S. National Hurricane Center

in Miami says it's expected to strengthen and could become a

tropical storm later in the day.

     BALM, Fla. (AP) - A Hillsborough County man has been charged

with stealing $30,000 worth of his landlord's belongings and then

selling them at a yard sale on the victim's property. Police say

the 54-year-old suspect lived in a trailer on the property.

     ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - One of the prosecutors in the Casey Anthony

murder trial is writing a book about the case. Jeff Ashton has

confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that he is finishing a book

entitled "Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony." It is

scheduled for release in November.

        APOLLO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Pilots from the Hillsborough County

Sheriff's Office have found the body of a missing fisherman.

     Authorities say 39-year-old Sean Parrott and a friend waded into

the water at Apollo Beach Nature Park to fish Sunday afternoon. The

friend told detectives he turned around and no longer saw Parrott

standing. He called 911.

     His body was spotting floating in the water early Monday

morning.

     Detectives say they believe strong currents pulled Parrott

underwater and he drowned. They do not suspect foul play but the

Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an

investigation to see if other factors were involved.