Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan introduced a bill on Friday that could have a deep impact in Florida as he looked to stop Cuba from launching oil rigs only 50 miles from the Sunshine States coast. Cubas plan to drill for oil in its sovereign waters off the Florida Keys poses a serious threat to our tourism industry and our environment, said Buchanan, adding that Cuba was not prepared to deal with a spill like the one that impacted the Gulf last year.

Florida's unemployment rate didn't budge in December 2010, remaining at 12 percent, the same as the previous month, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers released Friday by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. There were 1.1 million people out of work out of a total labor force of 9.2 million in Florida, representing a nonagricultural employment drop of 17,900 jobs from November, but an increase of 43,500 jobs from December 2009. That means December 2010 was the sixth month in a row the state witnessed a year-over-year increase in jobs.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. John L. Mica, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, made subcommittee assignments sending freshman and fellow Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland to the Aviation and Highways and Transit subcommittees.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 221,744 Medicare beneficiaries in Florida have received prescription-drug cost relief through the Affordable Care Act. Nationally, 3 million eligible beneficiaries who fell into the drug coverage gap known as the donut hole during 2010 have been mailed a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate check.

A study by the Texas Transportation Institute found that South Floridians spent an average of 39 hours in rush-hour traffic jams in 2009. Florida Trend notes that the 2008 figure was 35 hours and just 10 hours in 1982. A typical 30-minute off-peak trip took a little more than 37 minutes at rush hour. The study estimated that congestion cost the typical commuter in South Florida about $892 in wasted fuel and time -- figures that are likely higher today, thanks to rising gas prices.

Gov. Rick Scott released a statement Thursday night on the shooting death of two Miami policemen. Said the governor:

Travel and Leisure magazine has ranked America's favorite cities, and Florida's premier municipalities -- Orlando and Miami -- did very well, with Orlando being ranked the No. 1 city for a family vacation.

Two Miami-Dade police officers were killed Thursday morning while trying to serve an arrest warrant for homicide. One of the suspects accused of shooting the officers was killed by return fire. The other was taken into custody. Later in the afternoon, Congressman Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, briefly expressed condolences to "all those affected by the tragic and senseless deaths of two Miami-Dade officers this morning."

Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, wants the U.S. Senate to take up the repeal of the federal health care law signed by President Barack Obama last year. Representatives in the House passed repeal legislation Wednesday.

Noted political pundit Larry Sabato weighed in on the Republican field for 2012 -- and put U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in the second tier of presidential possibilities. While Rubio was behind the front-runners, he was included at the same level of more established candidates, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.

Existing home sales in Florida rose slightly in 2010, bucking the national trend, but rampant foreclosures supressed sales prices, according to data released Thursday by the Florida Association of Realtors. Home sales jumped 5 percent last year over 2009, but the median sales price was $136,500, a 4 percent drop. Still, sales trends in the Sunshine State reversed those across the rest of the nation, which experienced a 4.8 percent decline in 2010, the weakest year for home sales since 1997.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki, who has been pushing for repeal of President Barack Obamas federal health care law, thanked U.S. House Speaker John Boehner for the repeal vote that passed the House on Wednesday. Pataki, who leads the Revere America PAC, is contemplating running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis was tapped as vice chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday, and will serve under a fellow Floridian, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who chairs the committee. It is an honor to continue to serve, not only the veterans in my district, but also those throughout the nation. As our men and women in uniform continue returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, this committee has an important role in ensuring that their needs are met.

Gov. Rick Scott takes to Twitter from 7-7:30 p.m. Thursday, when he will hold a virtual town hall meeting. The governor invites questions @FLGovScott. "I will answer as many as I can," he tweeted. With nearly 5,000 followers on Scott's Twitter account, expect a lot of traffic.

Jon Bussey, who headed Gov. Rick Scott's Florida Lottery transition team, is joining Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm National Strategies LLC (NSI) as the vice president of its Florida practice. Bussey was also the chief of staff for the Department of Lottery and the Department of Transportation under former Gov. Charlie Crist, and served under former Gov. Jeb Bush in the Department of Community Affairs.