This could be a good omen for former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux who kicked off his bid to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson on Tuesday. A headline reads Rubio ready for Lemieux. While the headline would indicate that Marco Rubio isready to welcome LeMieux as his colleague representing Florida in the U.S. Senate, the article is from Fightnews.com and is on the upcoming showdown between Mexican middleweight boxer Marco Antonio Rubio and undefeated Canadian David Lemieux on Friday up in Quebec.

Senate Bill 408, which eliminates requirements for private insurance companies to carry sinkhole insurance, cleared its final committee hurdle in the Senate Tuesday, and will now head to the floor. An amendment was also tacked on in the Rules Committee preventing Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run homeowners' insurer, from paying sinkhole claims for anything other than repairs of the related damages.

A national study reported Tuesday that immigrants use welfare programs at a higher rate than native households. What's more, illegals are tapping into the programs more often than legal immigrants. The Center for Immigration Studies found that 57 percent of households headed by immigrants collect at least one welfare check, compared to 39 percent for native households. Full story upcoming in Sunshine State News.

While most eyes focused on the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Florida were focused on Tuesday on the announcement from former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux that he was entering the race, his fellow Republican candidate, former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, garnered some national conservative attention.

On Monday, social and religious conservative activist Gary Bauer, best known for his leadership of the Family Research Council and his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, offered his thoughts on Terry Jones, the Gainesville preacher who has been leading Quran burnings.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux announced on Tuesday that he was going to run for the Republican nomination to take on incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.

Senate Republicans hailed the Judiciary Committee for passing "the first significant step in stopping illegal immigration in Florida," but others begged to differ after the panel's hurried vote on Monday. Late amendments to Senate Bill 2040 created a loophole in the E-Verify legislation -- a move that dilutes the original measure, and could sink it altogether. Full coverage.

A bill requiring women getting an abortion to undergo an ultrasound and listen to a description of the fetus passed its first committee hurdle in the Senate Monday. The bill received opposition from just one Republican, Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater, who said he couldn't support what he said was the government's intrusion into health care decisions.

A bill allowing electric utilities to increase bills as much as 2 percent each year in order to invest in creating renewable, alternative sources of energy, passed the Senate Energy and Public Utilities. An amendment offered by Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, would have required 20 percent of the renewable energy created to be bought from smaller producers, but it failed in an 11-3 vote.

Viewpoint Florida released a poll on Monday showing that Floridians generally gave both of their two U.S. senators solid marks. Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who was elected to the position back in November,won the approval of 61 percent of those surveyed and the disapproval of 30 percent. Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who is up for a third term next year, did worse with 45 percent approval and 38 percent disapproval. The survey of 838 likely voters took place on March 29 and March 30 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.

A late amendment to immigration legislation opens a loophole for Florida employers to avoid use of the E-Verify screening database. Hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on SB 2040 Monday, an amendment was submitted to grant a driver's license alternative. The amendment confirmed the suspicions of immigration-control groups that blasted Judiciary chair Anitere Flores' earlier efforts to strike the E-Verify provision altogether.

Look for Tuesday to be a big day in The Great Florida Presidential Primary Standoff. Florida Repubs have leaked that Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Jeff Larson will show up in Tally in the morning to meet with officials about the 2012 primary calendar.

Florida GOP leaders are eyeing a primary date after Jan. 31, but ahead of Super Tuesday. Will that fly with the Republican National Committee, which has threatened sanctions if the state jumps ahead of Super Tuesday? Senate President Mike Haridopolos tells Sunshine State News he's optimistic about a compromise date that would make Florida the first big state to hold a presidential primary in 2012.

From FOXBusiness comes the news that McDonald's is poised to hire 50,000 people on April 19. That's right, 50,000. In other words, that's more than 25 percent of all the jobs that were created in the U.S. in March. By one company. In a single day. From the report:

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw received the Spirit of Enterprise award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to his record on economic issues. The Chamber is honored to recognize Congressman Crenshaw for helping create an environment in which businesses can grow and create jobs, said Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the organization. He has shown great conviction by standing on the side of business, at a time when it matters most.