The Cooler

NBC Miami unveils a new look to their website. That and more in this morning's Cooler.

A- Herald: We live in a State of Fools.

TALLAHASSEE An intense last-ditch effort to save high-speed rail in Florida collapsed Thursday with Gov. Rick Scott rejecting the plan, and then angry lawmakers accused him of overstepping authority and threatened legal action.

“I remain convinced that the construction cost overruns, the operating cost risk, the risk that we would give the money back if it’s ever shut down, is too much for the taxpayers of the state,” Scott told the Times/Herald.

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Asked Thursday if he had contacted federal transportation officials, Scott said no and reiterated his opposition.

“I’ve said that all along, so there’s nothing new,” Scott said. The governor also seemed unmoved by talk of a lawsuit, again stating his reasons for rejecting the project.

He added a feature to his Facebook page allowing supporters to add a badge to their own profile saying, “I stand with Governor Scott against high-speed rail.” In a few hours, more than 500 people had clicked on button indicating they “like this.” “Thanks for having the guts to stand up for us!!” wrote one woman.

Information was also stripped off a state high-speed rail website.

B- Herald: Giving up.

Saying she’s ready to hit the campaign trail to keep her job, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natacha Seijas abandoned a lawsuit Thursday that sought to block her March 15 recall election.

The unexpected move came two days after a hearing at which Circuit Judge Amy Steele Donner signaled skepticism that the claims laid out in the suit were sufficient grounds to halt a recall election.

In a terse notice filed with the court Thursday before any ruling by the judge, Seijas and her political action committee, Abre Los Brazos, voluntarily dismissed the suit, the commissioner’s second legal try at derailing the recall vote based on alleged flaws in the petitions gathered against her.

C- Herald: Morin.

D- Sun-Sentinel: I hear this is supposed to be a big deal.

Iconic Swedish retailer Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) is set to open its first Miami store in 2012 along Lincoln Road's open-air pedestrian shopping and dining district.

The new 22,000 –square-foot store will move into renovated space formerly occupied by the New World Symphony orchestra, said Lyle Stern Thursday of Miami Beach-based Koniver Stern Group, a retail real estate and brokerage firm.

E- Palm Beach Post: Video, future Darwin Award winners.

"Car Surfing," or "Ghost Riding" as it is also known, has taken roads by storm, turning dangerous highways into deadly ones.

F- CBS4: Video, Burger Bash.

G- CBS4: Video, March in Little Havana.

H- NBC Miami has a new look.

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