Venus Williams is the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the daughter of a 78-year-old Florida man who died a couple of weeks after a car crash involving the five-time Wimbledon champion.

At least 20 people have died after violent storms and tornadoes tore through south-eastern US states.

It was obvious that Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney was earnest when he promised the support of Government for Reaching New Heights, says John Tynan.

Former tennis star Jennifer Capriati has been charged after police said she punched her ex-boyfriend on Valentine’s Day while he was working out at a gym.

A man accused of killing four relatives at a Thanksgiving holiday dinner was captured at a motel in the Florida Keys where police said he had eluded authorities for about a month by checking in under a fake name and address, and hiding his car with a cover.

IVANA Trump was escorted off a plane in Florida after she became belligerent because children were running and screaming in the aisles.

Ivana Trump was escorted off a plane in Florida after she became belligerent because children were running and screaming in the aisles.

A man massacred his family after a Thanksgiving dinner, gunning down his pregnant sister, six-year-old cousin and two other relatives before speeding off and sparking a state-wide manhunt.

Vets were today trying to find out why 14 polo horses died suddenly before their match at a Florida tournament.

US authorities seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff’s Palm Beach mansion, his vintage yacht and a smaller boat, in a bid to recoup assets to compensate the investors he swindled.

IRISH Nationwide chief executive Michael Fingleton bowed to the inevitable yesterday and announced that he will, after considerable pressure from Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, retire at the end of the month.

The voting machines at the centre of George Bush’s controversial first presidential election victory are now being sold as collectors’ items.

Donald Trump’s property for sale in Palm Beach, Florida, has all the big-time extras one might expect. Pricey marble and 24-carat gold fixtures decorate bathrooms.

TIGER WOODS is close to sealing a deal on a very large birthday present on Jupiter Island in Florida.

Hurricane Wilma crashed ashore early today as a strong Category 3 storm, battering south-west Florida with 125 mph winds and pounding waves as it began a dash across the state.

For a growing number of US students, the easiest way to make a couple of hundred dollars has nothing to do with chores or after-school jobs, and everything to do with informing on classmates.

The 17-month-old grandson of golf multi-millionaire Jack Nicklaus died after falling into a hot tub at the family’s Florida home last night.

PRESIDENT BUSH won a convincing victory in Florida, erasing the trauma of four years ago when the outcome of the presidential election remained in limbo for 36 days while election officials scrambled to recount ballots.

Broward County officials in Florida are questioning how many of the 58,000 absentee ballots they sent out actually reached voters.

FLORIDIANS began casting votes yesterday and within an hour problems cropped up.

Problems were already being reported with Florida’s new voting system today as the state opened early polling.

US presidential election day is still two weeks away, but voters across Florida have the option today of casting their ballots early in the pivotal battleground state.

Jeanne, Florida’s fourth hurricane in six weeks, piled on destruction in already ravaged areas, slicing across the state with howling wind that rocketed debris from earlier storms and torrents of rain that turned streets into rivers.

AT least three people died and more than a million were left without power yesterday after Hurricane Jeanne hit Florida’s east coast.

Thousands of residents desperate to return home after fleeing Hurricane Frances have ignored Florida’s plea to stay put, jamming main roads, delaying emergency workers and causing tempers to flare in the sticky heat.

Hurricane Frances weakened to a tropical storm today and crawled inland with heavy rain after leaving two people dead and more than five million without power.

Hurricane Frances swept across Florida today submerging entire roads, tearing off rooftops and leaving more than four million people without power.

Hurricane Frances ripped apart roofs, shattered windows and toppled trees as it raged through the Bahamas yesterday with violent winds that sparked panic and drove thousands to flee. At least one man was electrocuted in the storm.

Hurricane Frances churned its way toward the Bahamas today after forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in the nearby British territory of Turks and Caicos as the Caribbean faced one of its strongest storms in years.

Nearly half a million people were ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Frances swirled toward Florida today just three weeks after Charley’s devastating visit, threatening to deliver the most powerful double punch to hit a state in at least a century.

A woman who offered to use her five-month-old pig as bait to lure a tiger that escaped from the home of actor Steve Sipek will be reported for animal cruelty, police said in Florida.

About 500 homes have been damaged or destroyed by a tornado in Palm Beach County, Florida, but no one was seriously hurt.

An official in a Florida resort has requested a resolution that would change the name of the American food staple known as french fries.

A 63-year-old man was in hospital in the United States tonight with pulmonary anthrax - but officials in Florida sought to calm fears of a bio-terrorism attack.

Legendary crooner Perry Como has died after a lengthy illness, it was announced today.

A new analysis has shown that rejected Florida ballots for the US presidential election heavily favoured Al Gore.