The Florida Panthers’ fire sale rages on.

The Panthers sent defenceman Dennis Wideman to the Washington Capitals and forward Radek Dvorak to the Atlanta Thrashers in a pair of deals ahead of the NHL trade deadline on Monday.

Florida general manager Dale Tallon had dealt away veterans Bryan McCabe, Cory Stillman and Michael Frolik earlier this month.

Wideman went to the Capitals for forward prospect Jake Hauswirth and a third-round draft pick. He sent Dvorak and a fifth rounder to Atlanta for 23-year-old Niclas Bergfors and 32-year-old journeyman Patrick Rissmiller.

The Gators only had one game in the past eight days, a win at LSU, but that was enough to jump them to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and the USA Today coaches’ poll.

Florida was No. 14 in the AP poll last week. After beating LSU, the Gators are 21-5, including 10-2 in the SEC.

They host Georgia on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2), then visit Kentucky on Saturday (4 p.m., CBS).

The AP voters slotted the rest of the SEC this way: No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 22 Kentucky, ARV Alabama (29th).

A nephew of the Dalai Lama was killed on a road in Florida during a trek to raise awareness of the Tibetan struggle for independence from China.

Jigme Norbu, 45, was struck by a sport utility vehicle on state road A1A along Florida’s eastern coast on Monday evening, the highway patrol reported.

Norbu was on a 300-mile “Walk for Tibet” from St Augustine to West Palm Beach. He had done similar walks several times before, including one of 900 miles in 2009 from Indiana to New York.

That walk marked the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule that resulted in the exile of his uncle, who is Tibet’s spiritual leader. Norbu, of Bloomington, Indiana, is the son of the Dalai Lama’s late brother, Taktser Rinpoche.

Gov. Rick Scott called Monday for overhauling Florida’s Medicaid program, curbing its pension system and trimming government services as he detailed a budget proposal he had promised would be full of big cuts.

The plan “makes the hard decisions,” Mr. Scott said as he unveiled the $65.9 billion budget for fiscal 2012 before a packed gathering of tea-party groups in the rural town of Eustis, Fla. “But it makes the right decisions for Florida’s future.”

Police opened, and then dropped, an investigation of physical abuse involving a Florida mother against her teen daughter, closing the case weeks before the woman admitted killing the girl and her brother because they were “mouthy.”

Julie K. Schenecker, 50, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her 13-year-old son, Beau Powers Schenecker, and her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx Powers Schenecker.

She was denied bond at a court appearance Monday, a court spokesman said.

Two Florida police officers were killed during a shootout in St. Petersburg today. The deaths come after a weeklong rash of unrelated police shootings throughout the U.S., in which four officers have been killed and several others wounded in the line of duty.

“Our community has suffered a loss today,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon said during a news conference late this morning outside of Bayfront Medical Center.

The merger of Progress Energy and Duke Energy will result in stronger financial footing for the joint company, with a continued emphasis on shaping and implementing energy policy.

This was the response of Vincent Dolan, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy Florida, to Monday’s announcement of a definitive merger agreement between the companies.

Both Progress and Duke received $200 million from the federal government for Smart Grid technology investments through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Now the companies can pool resources.

How far would you go to raise money for a cause? A Florida man, James Jablon, has decided to walk in to a lion’s den – literally — for a month!

Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando (WROH) started out providing medical care for wild animals with the goal of releasing back to the wild. It is a noble cause. The problem is, Jablon has a hard time saying ‘no’ when people ask him to keep exotic pets that are no longer welcome in their home.

Florida International University baseball star Garrett Wittels has been charged with raping two 17-year-old girls in the Bahamas.

Wittels, who holds the second longest hitting streak in NCAA Division I history, has been released on a $10,000 bond following a court hearing on Thursday.

The incident allegedly took place at the Atlantic Resort and Casino in Nassau on Dec. 20. Wittels and another man have each been charged with two counts of raping the two American girls.

Wittels’ father told the Miami Herald that when all the facts come out, his son will be vindicated.

More than 10,000 businesses and individuals in South Florida have filed claims or federal lawsuits against BP for the damage done following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20.

Claims have come from all types of South Florida businesses and residents. They include commercial fishermen, marinas, restaurants, hotels, real estate agents, waterfront property owners, lobster trap makers, municipalities, and even Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Key West, according to the Miami Herald.