Senate legislation that would earmark federal fines for Gulf of Mexico restoration was applauded by the Ocean Conservancy Thursday. The RESTORE Act directs that 80 percent of the Clear Water Act fines paid by BP and other companies responsibile for the Gulf oil spill be spent on restoration projects there. U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Marco Rubio R-Fla., were among the senators who introduced the measure Thursday.

Florida had the seventh-highest rate of long-term unemployment in the nation last year, according to a Wall Street Journal chart.

The Washington Post is reporting that First Coast Republican strategist Susie Wiles has resigned as campaign manager for former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsmans bid to be the Republican presidential nominee.

While all eyes are focused on the last space shuttle flight that concluded in the morning, Thursday marks the anniversary of the second American in space.

With the space shuttle Atlantis touching down on Thursday, a chapter of space exploration ended -- and a new poll found that Americans are not happy about it.

Freshman U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio received some major national exposure on Thursday morning when he was the subject of a profile on NBCs morning Today show. Rubio stressed in the profile that he is not a presidential or a vice presidential hopeful in 2012 -- but the NBC profile did play up that the new senator was starting to turn away from the tea party movement which helped propel him into office.

Businessman Craig Miller, who last week entered the Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, announced on Thursday that he is taking a page out of the old Bob Graham playbook and will be holding Miller on Main Street events. The first one is scheduled at a pizza place in Winter Park next week.

On Wednesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Posey teamed up with U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., to introduce a measure looking to prevent the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) from forcing companies to reveal how climate change affects their organizations. The SEC enacted that requirement in January 2010. Arguing that the SEC needs to focus on other priorities, Posey and Barrasso hammered that point when they named the bill -- the Maintaining Agency Direction on Financial Fraud Act, or MADOFF Act --after the disgraced investor.

Republican Senate candidate George LeMieux said Thursday he will participate in a tea party debate this fall, completing the field of GOP contenders. The Tea Party Network will host the Senate debate Nov. 5 in Daytona Beach as part of its convention. The group announced Wednesday that four other GOP candidates had confirmed their attendance: Adam Hasner, Mike McCalister, Craig Miller and Ron McNeil. LeMieux spokesman Brian Seitchik told Sunshine State News on Thursday that a "mix-up in the mail" had delayed LeMieux's RSVP.

With the Atlantis back on Earth, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams, who represents parts of the Space Coast in Congress, offered some reflections on the space shuttle program on Thursday morning. The concluded Atlantis mission marked the end of the program which NASA has been running for more than three decades.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is turning to ice hockey to salvage his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. His campaign notes that Pawlenty will join Iowans for a pick-up game of hockey this Friday, July 22nd at noon in Urbandale (doesnt a pick-up game imply that it is not scheduled?) andhas a new commercial featuring Pawlenty speaking at a hockey rink. The ad also has glimpses of the iconic 1980 American Olympic hockey team which was coached by the late Herb Brooks, a favorite son of Minnesota.

Former South Florida lawmaker Mandy Dawson, 55, was arrested by the FBI in Daytona Beach shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday on federal tax evasion charges The charges allege she failed to pay nearly $25,000 to the IRS over two years, and failed to file returns for three years after that. And it all happened while she served in office.

U.S. Rep. Allen West still thinks Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is "vile." Contrary to late afternoon reports from Roll Call and the Huffington Post, West, R-Plantation, has not apologized for his remarks directed at the Democratic congresswoman, who also heads the Democratic National Committee. "Absolutely false," West spokeswoman Angela Satchitano said of stories and tweets about an apology. Instead, Roll Call and HuffPo were said to be working on retractions and apologies of their own.

Statewide sales of existing homes fell 4 percent last month compared to June 2010, and the median sale price fell to $138,000, a drop of 2 percent, according to a report from the Florida Association of Realtors released Wednesday. Condo sales in Florida rose slightly in June, up 8 percent in the year-over-year comparison, with median sales prices ticking up 2 percent to $93,900. A National Association of Realtors economist tied the dismal housing market to the sluggish economy and slow job creation.

Poor Debbie Wasserman Schultz just can't get her talking points straight. Still obsessed with Rep. Allen West and his "vile" characterization of her, the hyper-partisan Florida Democrat offered two different and not totally coherent responses to a question about Medicare today. First, DWS told MSNBC: