Police Seek Clues in Slaying of Florida Family - AOL News

(Nov. 21) – Police are "putting all the pieces of the puzzle together," as they investigate the brutal slayings of young mother and three small children, found in a violent scene at their home in a normally peaceful subdivision in north Florida.

Autopsies were being performed today on the victims, Tallahassee police spokesman David McCranie said.

The victims' names were not released, but neighbors and relatives identified them as a 28-year-old single mother, her 6-year-old twin daughters and her 3-year-old son.

"Right now I'm still kind of distraught," neighbor David Mount told Tallahassee television station WCTV.

"I really don't believe it, that I'm not going to see those little girls running around, up and down the street anymore," he said.

Mount, who has lived in his home just a few doors down from the victims for the past five years, said the neighborhood has been hit recently by break-ins and other crime, but nothing violent.

The single-story home is located in a relatively new subdivision a few miles from the state Capitol. It is surrounded by dense woods, and McCranie said the neighborhood is made up largely of young families.

"This is a very shocking and unusual case for us," he told The Associated Press.

The bodies were found after police received a suspicious call at 10:15 a.m. Saturday. Authorities had never been called to the home before then, McCranie said.

Police described the scene inside the home.

"There's obvious violence in the home," McCranie told CNN. "How that violence transpired, we're not sure."

He added that authorities hope to release more information about the investigation soon.

"Right now, it's putting all the pieces of the puzzle together," he said.

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Rick Scott Wins Tight Florida Governor Race - CBS News

November 3, 2010 6:13 PM Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott, center, and his wife Ann, right, wave to supporters before Scott's victory speech, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

(Credit: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

After a long, bitter, and exceedingly close race, Republican Rick Scott took the Florida Governor contest on Wednesday morning, beating out Democratic rival Alex Scott by a margin of less than 70,000 votes of the 5.3 million cast.

"Today is the end of politics as usual in Tallahassee," Scott told a crowd of several hundred supporters in a victory speech on Wednesday, according to the Palm Beach Post.

"Starting today, I work for every Floridian," Scott said, adding "Florida is open for business."

Sink, who conceded this morning, attributed the loss to a strong anti-Democratic sentiment among voters, and a significant financial disadvantage against her opponent, who spent more than $78 million in personal wealth on the campaign, according to Bloomberg news.

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Scott is the former CEO of the for-profit hospital chain Columbia/HCA, which was raided by the FBI in 1997 for widespread Medicare fraud. Scott resigned four months after the FBI's investigation became public, but some have wondered about his potential involvement in the affair. According to the Miami Herald, Scott said he was never indicted for or questioned about the case.

The hospital chain, Columbia/HCA, pleaded guilty to at least 14 felony charges, and was ultimately fined $1.7 billion for the fraud, according to the Miami Herald. Among those charges were three counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

According to CBS News' election night results, Scott won by about one point, with 49 percent of the votes to Sink's 48 percent.

Lucy Madison is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter. Tags:Rick Scott ,Florida Governor ,Election 2010 ,Alex Sink Topics:Republicans ,Campaign 2010

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The Caucus: Bill Clinton Urged Florida Democrat to Quit Senate Bid - New York Times

Former President Bill Clinton last week tried to convince Kendrick Meek, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Florida, to drop out of the race – but Mr. Meek changed his mind at the last minute, a spokesman for Mr. Clinton said Thursday evening.

Matt McKenna, Mr. Clinton’s spokesman, said the former president believed that Mr. Meek would not win on Tuesday and was urging him to drop out and endorse Charlie Crist, the state’s governor, who is running for the Senate as an independent.

The back-channel efforts by Mr. Clinton, which were first reported by Politico, were apparently an effort to prevent the state’s Senate seat from falling into the hands of Marco Rubio, the Republican who is leading both of his rivals in the polls.

There had been reports that for several weeks that Mr. Meek was being urged to consider dropping out of the contest. But the Democrat said repeatedly that he was staying in until the end.

“I will not drop out of this race for any reason,” Mr. Meek said at the time.

Mr. Clinton, who is a close friend of Mr. Meek, had come close to convincing him to drop out last week while they were campaigning together across the state, Mr. McKenna said. The pair even came close to setting a date – Oct. 26 — at which Mr. Meek would endorse Mr. Crist and hold a rally.

But the idea fell apart after Mr. Meek changed his mind, Mr. McKenna confirmed.

The negotiations recalled similar efforts by Mr. Clinton to act as a go-between for the White House in trying to convince Joe Sestak to drop out of his primary challenge against Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democratic senator from Pennsylvania.

Politico reported that the White House was aware of Mr. Clinton’s talks with Mr. Meek but did not initiate the discussions.

A Crist campaign spokesman, Danny Kanner, issued the following statement about the report.

“While this story is accurate, the Governor’s focus is on uniting common-sense Democrats, independents, and Republicans behind his campaign because he is the one candidate who can defeat Tea Party extremist Marco Rubio and deliver bipartisan results for Florida in Washington,” the statement said.

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