NEW YORK -- The recent rape conviction of two teenagers, one of whom also distributed a photo and sent cruel text messages about their victim, has captured the "bystander effect" in graphic and nauseating detail.

Too soon old, too late schmart -- a German saying I just bastardized, but it fits the cagey customers negotiating in Miami for Genting.

State Rep. Clay Ford, who in November won his fourth term to the Florida House, has died, House Speaker Will Weatherford said today.

Ford, a Republican who represented Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, lost his battle with cancer Monday night. He was 74.

The consummate gentleman of the House, Clay Ford was a friend, a mentor, and a tender conscience to all those who served with him," Weatherford said in a written statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Carol, his three sons David, Doug, and Clay, and his nine grandchildren.

An effort to protect the privacy of information contained within portable electronic devices made its first committee stop look more like a court of law than a legislative panel.

HB 797, sponsored by Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, would require a search warrant before law enforcement could search through the contents of a cell phone.It also prohibits using a devices tracking or location technology without prior court approval.

The Florida Senate on Tuesday voted to pass a bill that requires state and local governments to allow members of the public to speak at public meetings. Several other bills, including a funeral protest ban, tort immunity for design professionals, and repeal of the international drivers permit law were put in place for a final vote at a later date.