According to the Associated Press, a poll released Monday shows Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is the top-mentioned name among voters when it comes to choosing a vice presidential nominee among Republicans. In a report in the Miami Herald, the AP says a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind Poll puts former Pennsylvania senator and current presidential candidate Rick Santorum in second place and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in third.

Prohibiting those on federal assistance from using their state-issued debit-style assistance cards at ATMs located in strip clubs, Internet cafes and liquor stores moved forward in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.

It's always interesting to see what USA Today picks for its top story from each state for its daily roundup. Today, in Florida's case, it's an item about St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara announcing his office had arrested "more than 50" drug dealers, using undercover officers. No offense to USA Today or Sheriff Mascara, but from what I remember about St. Lucie County, "more than 50" drug dealers being arrested was basically a slow Saturday morning in Fort Pierce.

A bill that would allow public-private partnerships to seek oil or natural gas on state lands may be dead for this session. Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, chairman of the Environmental Preservation Committee, said he postponed the Senate version of the bill, SB 1158, because there were too many concerns over the impact on the environment through the lease agreements. He would not declare the bill dead for the session, but noted his committee is not scheduled to meet again.

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul took aim at GOP rival Rick Santorum in a new ad. The ad attacks Santorums record on a host of economic issues, even hammering the former senator from Pennsylvania on abortion, insisting that he helped send taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. Its a bit of a different take for Paul whose battles with Santorum in the past have been mostly over foreign policy.

With Mitt Romney having caught their candidate in Michigan, the team behind Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum hammered the former Massachusetts governor on Tuesday for his record on environmental issues.

Naples-based Ave Maria University announced Tuesday that it is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the Obama administration's controversial requirement to provide contraception coverage.

A Mitchell/Rosetta Stone poll of Republican presidential primary voters in Michigan released on Tuesday finds Mitt Romney has passed Rick Santorum in the Great Lakes State, which holds its primary on Feb. 28. Romney takes 32 percent followed by Santorum with 30 percent, Newt Gingrich with 9 percent and Ron Paul trailing with 7 percent. Twenty-two percent say they are undecided. Mitchell/Rosetta Stone polls released earlier in the month found Santorum leading by as much as 15 percent.

A former Orange-Osceola circuit judge, N. James Turner, removed from the bench by the Florida Supreme Court due to accusations of inappropriate behavior with female co-workers, has accepted a 90-day suspension of his right to practice law. Terms of the agreement -- reached last month -- were made public Monday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Monday backed a bill to replace how the student representative to the state Board of Governors is selected. The bill, SB 1508, by Sen. Bill Montford, D-Apalachicola, would allow Gov. Rick Scott to appoint the student representative, rather than the Florida Student Association selecting a student body president from among the state universities.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement Monday in the wake of a federal court decision invalidating portions of the Environmental Protection Agency's rules governing water standards in the state's river and streams. This ruling will give Florida an opportunity to enact rules to protect our streams without crippling our economy. Yet another instance of federal government overreach has been prevented," Bondi said. Bondi had challenged the EPA's numeric nutrient criteria, which pre-empted Florida standards.

This is a question I wish I'd thought of myself. In response to a USA Today article last week regarding how some colleges are developing courses on the Occupy faux movement -- with tentative titles like "How to Change the World by Sleeping in a Park and Not Showering," and "Why Your Parents Are Racists Because They Don't Like People Who Look Like You" -- a letter-writer named Karen Hamers from Fort Pierce poses a question: Will they teach about the tea party, too?

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered the flags outside the Palm Beach County Courthouse, West Palm Beach City Hall and the 4th District Court of Appeal Courthouse to be lowered to half-staff on Tuesday for former Judge John W. Dell.

A poll from We Ask America released on Monday finds the two leading Republican candidates for the GOP presidential nomination dead even in Michigan heading into the state's Feb. 28 primary. The poll of likely primary voters finds Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney each taking 29 percent. The rest of the field is far back, with Ron Paul in third with 12 percent and Newt Gingrich taking 10 percent. Twenty percent of those surveyed are undecided.

Ron Paul has his own billionaire now. True, the Texas congressman built a reputation on his army of small donors, but in this day and age, a presidential candidate needs a mountain of cash to keep on trucking -- especially when he's not on top of the pack.