From what was described as an "ink-black launchpad at the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan," a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft with an international crew blasted off Tuesday afternoon, heading for the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, and Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), traveled at speeds of up to 13,500 mph, looking to orbit the space station on Thursday. The launch went off as scheduled and without incident at 4:12 p.m. EDT.

The state Department of Health on Tuesday announced the suspension of licenses of six Florida practitioners, including a massage therapist who went over the line. Emergency suspension orders were filed on: Joseph Brown, R.P.H., Lake Worth. Brown admittedly violated Florida Statute 8913.13(6) (a) by possessing a controlled substance without a prescription. Shelby N. Dickens, C.N.A., St. Petersburg. Dickens entered pleas of guilty to multiple counts of sale or possession of controlled substances, including oxycodone and marijuana.

A Christian minister on Tuesday called for state and federal authorities to "shut down all the activities" of a South Florida mosque, citing its leader's alleged connection to terrorist activity.

Bad as public records delays are in the Florida governor's office, imagine if you were looking for an e-mail in the Alaska governor's office of Sarah Palin back in 2008. You could have died waiting. On Friday morning, when the office of the Alaska chief executive releases the 24,199 pages of Palin records requested by msnbc.com, 997 days will have passed. That's one day longer than Mama Grizzly was governor.

With clearance from the Legislature, two more Florida cities are installing intersection cameras that issue $158 tickets to motorists caught blowing through red lights. By the end of the year, Sarasota expects to have 10 or more cameras at busy intersections. Boca Raton plans to install a half-dozen cameras.

While there were problems between the two chambers in the dying moments of the 2011 legislative session, state House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, backed his Senate counterpart, President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. Earlier in the year, Cannon offered strong words of support for Haridopolos and officially endorsed him on Tuesday.

Jon Ausman, still reeling from his recent suspension as a state committee member of the Florida Democratic Party, called on state party leaders to institute a statewide code of ethics, which he says is missing from the party. Ausman, who was suspended by Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith last week for his actions during the 2010 election cycle, which allegedly included taking money to endorse U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene, said the ethics rules cited against him were "selectively enforced."

With hurricane season upon the Sunshine State, Florida Republican U.S. House Rep. Gus Bilirakis, from his perch as chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications, will hold a field hearing on Friday in Clearwater to kick over emergency management.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta is poised to hear oral arguments Wednesday in Florida's constitutional challenge against the Affordable Care Act, the signature federal health-care overhaul President Barack Obama pushed for and signed into law in 2010. Florida is joined by 25 other states in the suit, and has already won the first round at a lower court in Pensacola earlier this year, when a judge deemed the law's "individual mandate," of imposing penalties and fines on those who do not obtain health insurance, asunconstitutional.

At a press conference Monday, Rep. Anthony Weiner, the New York Democrat who almost got to celebrate his first anniversary unhassled by Twitterworld, admitted he lied about claiming his Twitter account was hacked and acknowledged he sent lewd photos. He also said he will not resign. Have a look at the video of Weiner's statement below. Later, expect a host of late-show comedians to light up the night with the odd joke or two at Weiner's further expense.

On Monday, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania formally launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Speaking in Somerset, Pa., Santorum, who won a conservative following during his two terms in the Senate, hammered President Barack Obama on both economic and social issues. "He's devalued our dollars and now he's devalued our other currency, our moral currency,'' Santorum said about Obama. The former senator from the Keystone State attempted to contrast himself with Obama.

Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a favorite of conservatives despite his failed bid to become governor of the Buckeye State, announced on Monday that he was endorsing former state House Speaker Adam Hasners bid for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. Blackwell currently chairs Pass The Balanced Budget Amendment -- an organization that Hasner was affiliated with before embarking on his campaign.

Gov. Rick Scott is in Canada this week, hitting Montreal and Toronto, promoting trade with America's neighbor to the north and investment in Florida. He is joined by Enterprise Florida President Gray Swoope and a delegation of Florida business leaders, and promises an "important economic development announcement" coming on Wednesday from Montreal.