Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Amy R. Hawthorne of Cape Coral to the 20th Judicial Circuit Court. Amys handling of cases as a civil magistrate has shown a clear understanding of the application of the law in a consistent and predictable manner, Scott stated in a release. Her experience has given her the skills necessary to serve on the bench. According to a release from the governors office:

Gov. Rick Scotts Facebook page had the following question posted Monday night: If you could use one word to describe Florida's 2012 legislative session, it would be ___________. COMMENT below! The answers are what one would expect when one casually tosses out a question to the worldwide online community:

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul places second behind Mitt Romney in a Reuters/Ipsos national poll unveiled on Tuesday. Romney leads with 29 percent, followed by Paul with 21 percent. Newt Gingrich edges Rick Santorum for third, taking 19 percent, with Santorum right on his heels at 18 percent. The poll of 405 Republicans was taken Feb. 2-6 and had a margin of error of 4.9 percent. Almost every other national poll shows Romney in first, followed by Gingrich and Santorum while Paul places fourth.

Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, denounced a decision made by the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down Proposition 8, the law supported by the voters of California, that ensured that only traditional marriage would be recognized in the Golden State.

While his team is trying to temper expectations for Tuesdays primaries in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, Mitt Romney leads the field of candidates battling it out for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national poll of likely GOP primary voters.

A panel of the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the most overturned court in the country, has ruled 2-1 that a voter-approved law banning gay marriage in California is unconstitutional, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.

Two years after setting a goal of doubling Florida exports in five years, Florida Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Mark Wilson said Florida is on pace to meet the goal.

Highlighting the need to expand Floridas port system, Gov. Rick Scott said Florida should be the shipping capital of the East Coast," at the opening of the Florida Chamber of Commerces International Days, Tuesday.

What do Corrine Brown, Bill Young, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have in common? Hint: They're not all Democrats. Hint II: They're not all from Florida. Hint III: They're not all women. The Final Jeopardy answer: They're named in a Washington Post story as major earmarkers of federal funds that will have the added benefit of improving the value of personal properties, or benefiting loved ones.

On Tuesday, less than 48 hours after the Super Bowl, veteran NFL coach Dan Reeves -- who coached three teams and lost all four Super Bowls his teams reached -- backed GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. He is the most experienced candidate and the one who can take out Obama, Reeves, who coached the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, said of Gingrich.

While it is an officially nonpartisan organization, Common Cause, a group that fights for campaign finance reform, has some connections to leading Democrats -- including its chairman former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, its president Bob Edgar, who served as a congressman from Pennsylvania, Pat Schroder who served as a congresswoman from Colorado and made a spectacularly unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination during the 1988 election cycle, and liberal actor Richard Dreyfuss.

With the GOP presidential primary now in the rearview mirror, Florida Republicans can expect more focus on the contest to see who will emerge with the partys nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November.

Republican presidential hopeful Buddy Roemer, the former congressman and governor of Louisiana, has not exactly been focused on foreign policy during his dark-horse bid for the GOP nomination -- but he ripped into Egypts leadership late on Monday. Roemer, who is also running for the Americans Elect nomination, weighed in on 19 Americans who might be facing trial in Egypt.

Republican presidential hopeful former House Speaker Newt Gingrich released his draft of an executive order that he vows to enact, if elected, on the first day of his presidency, allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to be built. President Barack Obama opposes the pipeline which would send oil into the U.S. from Canada. Gingrichs draft of the order is below: By the authority vested in me as president by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

While their fire has been directed against Rick Santorum in recent days, the team behind Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has not forgotten about GOP rival Newt Gingrich. On Tuesday, the Romney camp ripped into Gingrich, reminding voters about the former House speakers career after stepping down from Congress.