Government and politics

After weeks of speculation about who is going to run against President Obama in the 2012 presidential elections, the field of prospective Republican challengers finally began to take shape over the past couple weeks with big names like Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul officially announcing their candidacies and big names …

This week, republicans and democrats continued negotiations about raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Negotiations are becoming particularly heated Republicans demand more cuts to the budget as their price for agreeing to raise the ceiling. But would they really make good on their threat? Chris Peralta talked with University of Central …

Top executives of the big five oil companies – Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil – are at Capitol Hill today, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee. They come as gas prices are at about $4 a gallon, and discussions take place over whether or not to end tax …

The Florida Legislature passed it’s austere 70 Billion dollar budget this past weekend. Among the many cuts included in this year’s budget, lawmakers agreed to cut funding for the state’s higher education system. WUFT’FM’s Trent Kelly reports on how these budget cuts could affect students and employees at the University …

National Guard training starts up again at Camp Blanding this weekend and Florida National Guard Spokesman Ron Tittle says it may mean more noise in to the night. He says the drills will also illuminate the sky, but there is no risk to the community. An Alabama batallion will be …

Republican State Representative from Ocala, Dennis Baxley says he’s pleased with the budget process in Tallahassee, though he admits the economy has taken a toll on a wide variety of workers in the state. Baxley talked with WUFT-FM’s Lisa Stengel. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/FPBAXLEYshort.mp3]

Elections officials from 6 African countries came to Gainesville today to kick off their tour of the American voting system. The Trans-Saharan Elections project is funded through a State Department grant, and University of Florida Political Science Professor Daniel Smith says there is a high interest in proper voting procedure, …

The Florida Legislature is considering a bill to cut down early voting time. As Florida’s 89.1 WUFT FM’s Lysette Portales reports, the measure would also affect primary elections. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/EarlyVotingWrap.mp3]

A new House bill will require recipients of a certain welfare program to submit to drug screening. As Florida’s 89.1 WUFT-FM Diana Arellano reports, the bill aims to make sure recipients are using the money they receive for the right reasons. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/WelfareDrugTestingWrap.mp3]

With summer nearing, the Florida legislature is re-evaluating laws placed on summer camps. As Florida’s 89.1 WUFT-FM Kamryn Deegan reports, new Florida laws place stricter background check requirements on summer camp workers. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/BackgroundCheckwrap.mp3]