Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has taken the lead in Rick Santorums home state of Pennsylvania according to a poll released Thursday from Public Policy Polling, a firm with connections to many prominent Democrats. Romney leads the poll of likely Pennsylvania Republican primary voters with 42 percent, followed by Santorum with 37 percent. Ron Paul takes third with 9 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich with 6 percent.

Florida will receive $54 million as part of a federal and eight-state settlement of lawsuits alleging fraud with WellCare Health Plans Inc., Attorney General Pam Bondi announced. This settlement results from collaboration among states and the federal government to ensure that Medicaid funds go only toward payments for legitimate services, Bondi stated in a release.

With 94 delegates to the Republican convention in Tampa, New York is the biggest prize on the table on April 24 when five Northeastern states have their say in the latest round of presidential primaries -- and Empire State Republicans appear to be solidly behind Mitt Romney.

In the run-up to the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Arizona's immigration law, two Florida Democrats are weighing in. Reps. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, and Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, signed an amicus brief with 65 other members of Congress -- all Democrats -- to support the Justice Department's opposition to the law. They joined 11 state attorneys general -- also all Democrats -- in contending that Arizona's SB 1070 will "have the primary effect of redirecting undocumented immigrants to other states."

St. Johns County School Board Chairwoman Bev Slough jumped into the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District on Wednesday, "Congress is in desperate need of true conservatives and common-sense leadership," Slough said. "Over the past decade, as a school board member, Ive helped balance a nearly half-billion-dollar budget, manage 3,600 employees and reduce spending, all while maintaining Floridas top-rated school district."

About 200 activists, headed by local officials from Leon County and Tallahassee, gathered in the Capitol courtyard Wednesday to announce they are planning for a larger march and rally urging "justice" in the Feb. 26 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the White House and Congress applauded each other for enactment of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. "The STOCK Act makes it clear that if members of Congress use nonpublic information to gain an unfair advantage in the market, then they are breaking the law," President Obama said today. "It creates new disclosure requirements and new measures of accountability and transparency for thousands of federal employees.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney should not face much of a challenge for the Republican nomination, though Joe Arnold --a teacher who has served on the Okeechobee County School Board --is taking him on in the primary. Rooney unveiled the support of some of the leading Republicans in the state on Wednesday -- U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Allen West and state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now running in the Republican primary to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, announced Wednesday that he has won the endorsements of state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, and four Republican state representatives -- Larry Ahern of Seminole, Jim Boyd of Bradenton, Steve Crisafulli of Merritt Island and Erik Fresen of Miami. The latest endorsements mean LeMieux has the backing of 31 of the almost 110 Republicans in the Florida Legislature.

Former Clay County Commissioner Rob Bradley got a big boost for his bid for a Florida state Senate seat on Wednesday when he won the support of two First Coast Republicans who serve in that chamber -- Sen. Steve Wise of Jacksonville and Sen. John Thrasher of St. Augustine.

Gov. Rick Scott maintained his stance Wednesday that the investigation into the Feb. 26 death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford should be completed before a task force gets underway to determine if changes are needed to the states Stand Your Ground law or any other public safety laws.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is the favorite to be Mitt Romneys running mate according to Paddy Power, the largest bookmaker in Europe, which released odds on the veepstakes on Wednesday morning. After Romneys sweep of three primary contests in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin on Tuesday, Paddy Power is ready to concede the nomination to the former governor of Massachusetts and look to the general election against President Barack Obama.

After sweeping primaries in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin on Tuesday night, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney ignored his GOP primary rivals to attack President Barack Obama.

Rep. Connie Mack's voting record is becoming a campaign issue in the U.S. Senate primary campaign -- not necessarily for his votes, but for his lack of them. This week, the Naples Republican was quoted as saying, Id like every member of Congress to be up in Washington thinking about what bills we could repeal that will shrink the size of government ... instead of going to Washington with the next idea of how to grow government.

With Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney expected to win primaries in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin on Tuesday, he tried to focus his fire on President Barack Obama, insisting the Democrat incumbent is looking to reassign blame on energy and fiscal issues. Appearing on Fox News on Monday night, Romney slammed Obama on energy. The former Massachusetts governor insisted that Obama was looking to duck responsibility for high gas prices.