More than 200 Caribbean shipping executives will be heading to Northeast Florida in May for their annual conference, the Jacksonville Port Authority, JaxPort, announced. The 11th annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference will take place May 21-23 at the Omni Plantation in Amelia Island.

An organization campaigning to repeal Obamacare announced Tuesday it would deliver to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid more than 1 million petition signatures demanding repeal of the law. Ken Hoagland, chairman of Restore America's Voice Foundation, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act "an assault on the Constitution and on the consent of the governed."

MindTree Limited, a global information technology company based out of Bangalore, India, and Warren, N.J., has announced plans to open its first U.S. development center in Gainesville. The move is expected to bring the first of 400 jobs starting this summer.

The two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination -- Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum -- continue to fight over conservative credentials. On Tuesday, the Romney camp took aim at Santorums record, insisting that conservatives cannot trust the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has endorsed state Rep. Paige Kreegel in southwest Florida's 19th Congressional District. In a statement, Carroll applauded the state representative for his "leadership, cool temperament, out-of-the-box thinking and strong conservative principles." "The citizens will be well-served having you in higher office to work and look out for their well-being and for this reason, I fully support your campaign, Carroll said to the Punta Gorda Republican.

The attorneys for convicted serial murder David Alan Gore filed paperwork Monday with the Florida Supreme Court to block his April 12 execution. His attorneys want the states top court to overturn the order by Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn because they claim Gore was denied a requested hearing on the pending execution. Gov. Rick Scott signed the warrant for Gore to be put to death for the 1983 rape and murder of a teenage girl on the Treasure Coast on Feb. 28.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and officials with Enterprise Florida will be on hand for economic development announcements in Gainesville and Northern Palm Beach County on Tuesday. At 8 a.m., Project Arbor, expected to be IT-related, will be announced at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville.

House Redistricting Committee Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said Monday the Senates latest redistricting map has significant improvements over the earlier, rejected effort. The Senate also went through a process of better documenting for the court how they analyzed compactness and the use of political and geographic boundary lines, Weatherford told members of the Redistricting Committee.

Most heart transplant patients are inundated with warmth and fuzziness and wishes for a full recovery. Not Dick Cheney. While the former vice president was recovering from his heart transplant in the intensive care unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., Saturday, Twitter exploded with hate and ill wishes. "Also, bummed Cheney didnt die. Might go celebrate Bulls win / mourn Cheneys survival with beers, offered @mybandowen.

Florida ranks first among the states in "government and fiscal policy," according to a national survey by the Beacon Hill Institute. BHI's 11th annual "State Competitiveness Report" compiled a policy index that rates states on their bond rating; workers' compensation premium rates; budget deficit as a percentage of gross state product; average weekly payment to insured unemployed and full-time equivalent staffing in state and local government per 100 residents.

Veteran Florida Republican leader Al Cardenas, formerly with the Republican Party of Florida and now the chairman of the American Conservative Union, announced on Monday that he is backing Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

Mike Lee became a favorite of the tea party movement back in the 2010 cycle when he defeated longtime incumbent U.S. Bob Bennett for the Republican nomination in Utah. On Monday, Lee announced that he was backing Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

After his poor showing on Saturday in the Louisiana primary, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is looking to get back on track in Wisconsin. Gingrich is going all out in the Badger State which holds its primary next Tuesday -- the same day as Maryland and the District of Columbia. Callista Gingrich is hitting Hudson and Eau Clare on Monday while the candidate himself makes a blitz of national media appearances and campaigns in Delaware.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, weighed in on Monday on Pope Benedict XVI visiting communist Cuba.

The lobbyist for the Florida Baptist Convention viewed the state Legislatures recently completed regular session as offering "mixed success." Florida Baptist Convention lobbyist Bill Bunkley, president of the Florida Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, listed stopping casinos and passing religious liberty legislation as highlights, while being disappointed in legislation failing to ban Internet gambling cafes and to pass pro-life legislation, according to the Florida Baptist Witness.