As April 15 usually marks tax day in the United States, the tea party is once again marking the date by holding rallies across the country, in nine cities, Friday and Saturday.The events are drawing top leaders, including tea party darling Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The freshman U.S. senator drew an estimated 3,000 people as the keynote speaker at Orlandos tea event.

Tea party folks have gathered in larger-than-expected numbers near the bandshell in Orlando's Lake Eoloa Park. The celebration is an annual one -- Tax Day rally and protest.

Gov. Rick Scott has repeatedly said that business and property tax cuts included in his budget proposal are essential to getting Florida's economy back on track, but he went a step further Friday in his weekly radio address, saying he won't compromise with the Legislature, which doesn't include those tax cuts in the House and Senate budgets. Here is the governor's complete statement:

After two hours of contentious debate, the Florida House voted on Friday to approve forwarding a proposed constructional amendment to the voters. The proposal passed on a vote that mirrored party lines, with 79 Republicans backing the measure and 38 Democrats voting against it.

A bill prohibiting the automatic deduction of public-sector union dues for political purposes will head to the floor of the Senate after clearing its final hurdle in the Rules Committee Friday, but not before it received some changes allowing public-worker unions to receive automatic deductions for nonpolitical purposes. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said the amendment clears up the issue he claims was being muddied by union members during a previous committee hearing earlier this week.

A bill that would put a constitutional amendment before voters, banning state and federal tax dollars being used to pay for abortions, is closer to becoming reality after it passed its final Senate committee Friday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, includes exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or to protect the life or physical well-being of the mother. "This in no way takes away the right of a woman to have an abortion. It simply says state money cannot be used to get an abortion," Flores said.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation announced on Friday that, in March 2011, the state unemployment rate dropped to 11.1 percent, the lowest it had been since November 2009. The rate had stood at 11.5 percent in February. The continued decline in the unemployment rate paired with very positive job growth provides a strong signal that Floridas economy has turned the corner, said Cynthia Lorenzo, the director of the agency. While there are still too many Floridians out of work, our economy is clearly heading in the right

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio released a video statement late on Thursday explaining why he could not back the budget deal.

Gov. Rick Scott today announced an agreement with the House and Senate that will provide an infusion of cash to prevent the Agency for Persons with Disabilities from discontinuing services.

Turning up the heat on Florida Atlantic University and a controversial faculty member, a Boca Raton pastor expanded allegations against the professor and demanded his dismissal. Speaking to a group of 40 protesters and a gaggle of reporters outside the campus Thursday, Pastor Mark Boykin said Bessem Alhalabi listed future terrorist Sami Al-Arian as a reference when he applied for an FAU faculty position in 1996.

Gov. Rick Scott met Thursday withRaila Amollo Odinga, the prime minister of Kenya, highlighting increased trade between Florida and the East African nation. Scott said he was fond of the country, having travelled extensively through Kenya.

Executive Director Carol Wehle spoke before a full house at Thursday morning's South Florida Water Management District meeting, explaining why she announced her retirement the day before -- insisting she wasn't leaving because the governor wanted her to go. She said the decision wasn't that sudden, that she has been considering retirement "for several weeks." At the end of her address she clarified that she will retire from SFWMD, not from work altogether, and after a few weeks of recuperation she will look for work in the private sector.

To put a greater emphasis on the Florida Panhandle's status as a first-class tourist destination -- and to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill -- Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet will take state government on the road -- including a tour bus -- traveling throughout Northwest Florida April 19-20. "The idea is to showcase all the great things about the Panhandle -- the seafood, the fishing, the beaches, all of it," said Lane Wright, press secretary for the governor.

So much for that $38.5 billion budget cut. The Congressional Budget Office says the net reduction is a wimpy $352 million. As the Washington Post reported: "The Congressional Budget Offices analysis shows that the compromise does cut nearly $38 billion in whats called 'budget authority.' That means that, in all, government agencies would have that much less permission to spend federal money.

On Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott cheered the news that the Kennedy Space Center would house the Atlantis. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced that the Space Coast beat out a number of rivals, including Houston, Wright Air Force Base in Ohio and Seattle, to house the space shuttle orbiter.