On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott showcased PortMiamis dredging project as Florida continues to prepare for the Panama Canal expansion which is expected to be finished in 2015. When the canal expansion is complete, larger vessels will be able to dock at PortMiami once the dredging is finished. Scott toured the site on Friday and said the dredging will lead to economic growth and tens of thousands of jobs.

On Friday, the Florida Lottery announced it had generated $26 billion for education since being launched back in 1988.

The national unemployment rate fell to 7 percent in November, the Labor Department said Friday. November's unemployment rate is the lowest the U.S. has seen in five years. U.S. payrolls rose by 203,000 last month, with the unemployment rate dropping three-tenths of a percentage point to 7 percent.

Former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, the Libertarian Partys presidential candidate in 2012, ripped into President Barack Obamas health-care law on Thursday.

Conservative leader Ken Connor, former head of the Family Research Council and a candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary back in 1994, announced on Friday that the Center for a Just Society, which he has led in recent years, will be enfolded into the John Jay Institute, a religious and social conservative group.

Floridas political leaders are weighing in after news broke on Thursday of the death of Nelson Mandela.

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Rich brought her campaign to Tallahassee Thursday, specifically to participate in two holiday Democratic Executive Committee parties, one in Leon and the other in Jefferson County. "Things are going well," Rich said. "We had our first grassroots conference call for supporters Tuesday night, and it was such an enthusiastic event. Certainly, I was heartened."

State Attorney Willie Meggs announced on Thursday that star quarterback Jameis Winston from Florida State University will not be facing charges resulting from an investigation of a sexual assault accusation. Winston has been a key player in leading the FSU Seminoles to the ACC title game on Saturday. If FSU wins, they will be playing for the national title. Had Meggs decided to prosecute Winston, the star football player would not play on Saturday and any games during the case. Winston is a front-runner for the Heisman Award.

United For Care, a campaign run by People United For Medical Marijuana, released the following statement after the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments from the attorney general's office and People United:

Former state Rep. Carl Domino is running for the Republican nomination to challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, R-Fla., in 2014. Domino came out swinging against Murphy, hammering the Democrat as part of the problems plaguing the Beltway. Washington is broken and Patrick Murphy is part of the problem, Domino insisted on Thursday. We need new leadership in Washington before it's too late. That's why I'm challenging Murphy.

Governor Rick Scott announced on Thursday that Brinks Regional Services will locate itsLatin American headquarters in Florida, bringing 105 jobs and more than $2.5 million in Miami-Dade over the next three years.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., ripped into State Department expenses in an email sent out to supporters on Wednesday night. The government is having a party ... and the drinks are on you, West wrote. While the government was preparing to shut down and furlough workers across the country, the State Department was enjoying a drinking binge!

On Thursday morning, Gov. Rick Scott said around 1,600 Floridians, up from around 750, will be leaving the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid waiver waiting list. Scott highlighted $36 million from the 2013 budget played a large part in getting Floridians off the waiting list.

With President Barack Obama demanding on Wednesday that Republicans provide their economic plans, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., took him up on his offer. Santorum, who offered a surprisingly strong challenge to Mitt Romney in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, is looking at running again for the GOP nod in 2016.

On Thursday, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) continued to pile on former Gov. Charlie Crist, looking to connect him with President Barack Obamas federal health-care law. Despite spending most of his political career as a Republican and joining the Democrats last December, Crist is the front-runner for his new partys nomination to challenge Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.