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Online predators are lying about their age in hopes of meeting kids. Attorneys General across the country have made an agreement with social networking site Facebook to try and make the site safer. As Whitney Ray tells us, the plan is to catch people who lie about their age.

Hear it Here: Hunt For Online Predator Hits Facebook

High School senior Sally Hunt checks her Facebook profile everyday.

“I’m going to college next and I’ve been speaking with my roommate that I’m going to live with next year through it,” said Hunt.

Hunt chooses only to network with people she knows, but that doesn’t keep strangers from trying to meet her.

“I’ve had people ask to me to be their friend when I didn’t know who they were.”

Online predators use social networking sites, like Facebook and Myspace to meet victims. They’re able to lie about their age and use different picture to hide their identity. That is until now. Attorney General Bill McCollum has entered into an agreement with other AG’s across the country to help Facebook hunt online predators.

“If you have somebody’s that already said they’re 50 years old and they all of a sudden want to registrar their age at 19 or 15 or whatever, they’re going to question that,” said McCollum.

Facebook will also send alerts to anyone whose been talking to the potential predator. Sally says even though she’s never encountered an online predator, she knows they’re out there.

“It does happen, so it’s definitely a precaution we need to take even though we don’t see it everyday,” said Hunt.

While the plan won’t catch all the predators, it does provide some comfort to teens like Sally who hope what they see is what they get. Earlier this year Attorneys General from across the country entered into a similar agreement with Myspace.

Florida students tested better in writing than they did a year ago. Results of the writing portion of the Florida Comprehension Assessment Test or FCAT were released today. More students in 4th, 8th, and 10th grade are writing above their grade level than were a year ago. Leon High School Principal Rocky Hanna says students were supposed to pass the writing test in order to graduate, but plans changed.

“I can tell our kids, oh, by the way, you didn’t have to pass that test like I told you two weeks ago and teachers oh by the way all that work you did preparing for the writing plus part we can just throw all that away,” said Hanna.

FCAT results are used to grade schools. This year lawmakers passed a bill that will make FCAT results only half of a school overall grade.

A California man who made a life changing decision on prom night shared his story with Florida students today. When Brandon Silveria was seventeen he had a too much to drink at a pre-prom party. Silveria wrecked his car. He suffered broken bones and brain damage and spent the next three months in a coma. When he woke up, he couldn’t walk, talk or even swallow food. Silveria told teens not to make the same mistake he did.

“Think about making the right choice. Know that you are going to be faced with drinking alcohol. You do not need to do that until you are 21. It’s very important. You don’t need to do that until you are of age,” said Silveria.

Silveria is 37 now. He still has to rely on his parents for his basic needs.

Opponents of an amendment to ban gay marriage say the ban would deny some heterosexual couples rights. Yesterday a Michigan court ruled that a 2004 ban on gay marriage also deprived domestic heterosexual couples of their rights. Supporters of a state ban on gay marriage that will be on the November ballot say the proposed amendment is narrowly tailored and wouldn’t affect domestic partners. Democratic Super-Delegate Allan Katz says the amendment would have the same affect in Florida as it had in Michigan.

“In Michigan today, there are 600 couples that are not eligible for state benefits that were eligible for them yesterday. And they had nothing to do with the issue of gay marriage,” said Katz.

Florida already has a ban on gay marriage. The proposed amendment would just strengthen the measure.

More than half of Americans in the Southeast are considering cancelling summer vacations, because of gas prices, according to a recent report. As Whitney Ray tells us, the soaring price of gas could worsen the state’s economy which relies heavily on travel.

Mike Johnson stops short of filling up his gas tank.

“I haven’t filled up in a while but its a hundred bucks,” said Johnson.

Like Johnson many Floridians are finding it harder to fill up. Florida State University researcher Wayne Hochwarter surveyed eight hundred people in the southeast and found the recent spike in gas prices is changing habits.

“On the extremes it’s causing people to choose between gas and medicine and gas and food.”

The price of a gallon is also causing people more stress at work as more of their money goes into their tanks. One in three people surveyed say they would consider taking a job closer to home, so they wouldn’t have to fill up as often.

People are also cancelling vacations. More than half the people polled say they don’t know if they can afford to get away. Visit Florida spokeswoman Dia Kuykendall recognizes that gas prices will hurt tourism in the state, but she doesn’t believe the situation in dire.

“People will probably pare down maybe how many nights they are away or take shorter trips or stay closer to home, but we do believe people will still travel,” said Kuykendall.

For an industry that’s survived hurricanes, the rising gas prices could be a harder storm to weather, as analysts predict gas will pass the four dollar mark this summer. About 40 percent of people polled say increased gas prices have lowered their standard of living.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement wants businesses to help them prevent terrorism. Wednesday, FDLE launched a new website called Business-safe. The website will enable businesses to log-on and get updated terror alerts, specific to their industry. The site would also let businesses report any suspicious activity. FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said the website will also cut down on the amount of calls emergency workers receive during disasters.

“This will allow a one step, one click notification to any business that signed up to see that: Yes, this is what we see the problem is with your utilities. Yes, Florida Power & Light says it’s going to be up in another 45 minutes, or tomorrow, or whenever. It’ll be very effective should we have another statewide disaster,” said Bailey.

The site cost 6,000 dollars to build, but Florida business owners can use it for free.

The Florida Supreme Court is intervening in a battle between the state and Sarasota County, over voting procedures. A charter amendment to the County election code calls for stricter election auditing. The Secretary of State’s office said the amendment interferes with state election codes. In Wednesday’s hearing, attorney Tom Shults represented Sarasota voters, who in 2006 decided to impose audit provisions higher than those required by the state.

“The simple result of the audit is to give the commissioners and the public the opportunity to find out whether these machines, which are very expensive, are operating properly, so that’s really the purpose of the audit,” said Shults.

Peter Antonacci defended the Secretary of State’s office and said if the court rules in favor of Sarasota County, then elections would get harder to verify.

“If this ordinance were to take affect there would be chaos and confusion. Multiply that 67 times and you have a situation that’s not healthy for democracy,” said Antonacci.

The State Supreme Court took the case under advisement. There is no timetable for a decision.

David Ward, the President of CSX, wrote the governor and others today, saying they will honor their contract to sell the 61 miles of track the state wants for a commuter line. According the the letter, the contract is valid till June 2009. So the battle continues.

The Governor’s health care plan to provide coverage to the state’s uninsured is waiting on his signature. The plan cuts premiums by offering scaled down coverage, but as Whitney Ray tells us, many Floridians say it doesn’t go far enough.

Rafael Marte owns La Tiendita, a Hispanic grocery store in Tallahassee. Marte can’t afford insurance coverage for his employees who also happen to be his family.

“There’s no way La Tiendita can pay insurance for the rest of the family. We have to get somebody working in another job,” said Marte.

Governor Charlie Crist wants to offer the Marte family a plan just approved by lawmakers. His plan offers coverage to the state’s uninsured for about a hundred and 50 bucks a month. The Governor isn’t sure when his plan will go into effect, but he is working out the details with insurance companies.”

The plan would cover preventative care and emergency room visits. The state would lift some mandated coverage to lower the price.

The whole purpose is to make sure the 3.8 million people in Florida who do not have health insurance may now have an opportunity to get it at a price that they might be able to afford,” said Crist.

But many can’t afford a hundred and 50 dollars a month.

“That’s a little steep. The Governor needs to better. That’s not good enough. That’s not good enough,” said Carolyn Young.

While the Governor’s plan maybe a step in the right direction, when it comes to covering the state’s uninsured, the path is a long one. Governor Crist is working with eight insurance companies to offer the plan.

Three plans to offer Floridians a tax break this summer, failed. This is the first time in nearly a decade the state won’t offer a back-to-school tax holiday. In the past Floridians enjoyed cheaper prices on items to harden their homes. This year a plan for a hurricane preparedness tax break was blown away. The state will also continue to tax gas this summer. A plan to cut the gas tax by ten cents this summer ran out of fuel. Representative Marti Coley sponsored the back-to-school tax break.

“We will feel it and I think we will feel it immediately. There is definitely a crunch and we all know that and the need and the necessity to give all families a tax break, I think is extremely important. It’s a big disappointment,” said Coley.

Lawmaker cited a four billion dollar shortfall as the reason for not passing the relieve plans.

The system failed one 9 year-old Florida girl and today, the state began to make it up to her. When Marissa Amora was still a baby, social workers at a Miami hospital reported signs of abuse. Despite the reports, Marissa was released to her biological mother. The Department of Children and Families didn’t take action. A month later, Marissa was readmitted to the hospital suffering from broken bones and head injuries. Marissa was adopted by Dawn Amora. Tuesday, after a long battle with the state, Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill to pay the family 1.2 million dollars. Dawn Amora says the money will help meet Marissa’s medical needs.

“Now I can breath. I can breathe now. I don’t have to worry about no nurses or no medication or no diapers. It’s my role as a parent to be a mother,” said Amora.

The family is eligible for 18 million dollars. The bill makes provisions for lawmakers to take up the claims bill every year, until the family is totally compensated.

An innocent man locked up for 24 years met with the state’s Chief Financial Officer today to finalize his compensation payment. Alan Crotzer was imprisoned for a rape he didn’t commit. In 2006, DNA evidence proved his innocence. CFO Alex Sink signed the state’s settlement papers. The state will pay Crotzer 250,000 dollars in June. Then for the next 20 year Crotzer will receive a monthly check for 6,700 dollars. Crotzer says his freedom is more valuable than any money the state can give him.

“Freedom is priceless. Money can never ever replace freedom, anywhere in the world. So my freedom is everything. The money’s just to help me get on with my life.” Said Crotzer.

Crotzer plans to buy a house in Tallahassee and get a job working with the State Department of Juvenile Justice.

The Florida Supreme Court is debating what responsibility laboratories that make hazardous materials have to the public. Shortly after 911, a Florida photo editor died after receiving anthrax through the mail. As Whitney Ray tells us, the family of the victim believes the anthrax that killed their loved one came from a lab that does work for the government.

It was the scare felt round the world. Anthrax mailed to a tabloid in Boca Raton. It’s been seven years since Maureen Stevens lost her husband in the anthrax attack, and she’s still fighting for justice. Maureen’s lawyers spoke on behalf of the family.

“It was a very cruel death. A horrible death and to have to witness that and to have to lose a father and a husband, as you can imagine is very difficult for the family,” said attorney Richard Schuler.

Robert Stevens worked as a photo editor for a tabloid and was the first victim to die from anthrax following 911. Besides Stevens four other people died after receiving anthrax laced letters through the mail. Attorneys for the Stevens’ family were at the Florida Supreme Court trying to determine who is liable for the deaths. They believe the anthrax that killed the 63 year-old came from a Government contractor. A lawyer for the company told the justices there’s no evidence the anthrax came from their lab. Outside, their lawyer wouldn’t talk, but the Stevens’ attorney did.

“The security at that facility is abysmal and there’s evidence of that and they need to take responsibility for the deaths that occurred solely as a result of their fault,” said attorney Philip Burlington

The State Supreme Court is debating if the lab has a duty to do all it can to keep dangerous materials from the public. The State Supreme Court took the case under advisement. There is no time table for a decision.

The Governor’s plan for a statewide gas tax holiday ran out of fuel. Governor Charlie Crist urged the legislature to reduce the state’s gas tax by 10 cents for two weeks in July. Many lawmakers opposed the plan because of the budget shortfall and the millions the state would lose. Crist says he hasn’t given up hope for a gas tax break just because the state legislative session ended.

“I wish they could have done that, but maybe they’ll do it on the national level,” said Crist.

Presidential Candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton both support suspending the federal gas tax this summer.

Police officers in Florida died in the line of duty at the rate of more than one a month last year. This morning, the 16 officers who perished in 2007 were enshrined on a memorial at the State Capitol. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the good news so far this year, is that the trend of increasing deaths has been reversed. :

They come once a year in full regalia to pay tribute to their fallen brothers and sisters.

The officers bring their tears, their children, and they bring dedication. Florida lost 16 officers in the line of duty during 2007. It was one of the deadliest years in recent history.

“This alarming trend of assaults and deaths upon the guardians of public safety must be reversed,” James Preston, President of the Fraternal Order of Police said.

Governor Charlie Crist says each of them heroes.

“Public safety is the most important reason government exists,” Crist said. “The founding fathers placed it in our constitution that we should ensure domestic tranquility. Those that we honor today did that more than anyone.”

Tighter budgets in the coming year will mean doing more with less for these officers.

If there is good news, it is that last year’s deadly trend has so far been reversed, with only one officer dying in the line of duty this year.

Since record keeping began, 688 officers in Florida have been killed in the line of duty.

During the ceremony today, Governor Charlie Crist signed an executive order allowing state agencies to use the Amber Alert system in the state to broadcast pictures and descriptions of  criminals.  The hope is the public will respond by telling police when they see someone who is wanted.