Results of the 2010 U.S. Census released Tuesday reveal Florida will pick up two more seats in the House of Representatives. Population growth in the West and South vastly outpaced growth in the rest of the country, with states like Arizona, Texas and Georgia picking up seats at the expense of Northeastern states. The 2010 Census showed there were 308,745,538 residents in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., as of April 1.

Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with ties to Democrats at the national level, released a poll on Tuesday on the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Florida. While the poll had former Gov. Jeb Bush beating Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, it also had Nelson ahead of the rest of the potential Republican candidates. While he may have been ahead, the poll showed Nelson is vulnerable in 2012 -- he did not get 50 percent against any of the Republicans who are mostly an unknown bunch.

The committee in charge of organizing Gov.-elect Rick Scott's inaugural events announced Monday more than 70 entries from all over the state. The lineup includes newly elected Cabinet members: Pam Bondi, Jeff Atwater and Adam Putnam. Jennifer Carroll has her own entry, as does the governor-elect. There are also a number of high school bands, judges, law enforcement and military organizations. Participants from each county were selected, and told they needed to be self-funded. Inauguration day is Jan. 4, 2011.

The Republican Party of Florida, along with FOX News, will be hosting a presidential debate in Orlando in October 2011. The event is expected to draw the top 2012 contenders to the Sunshine State next fall, but the details of exactly when and where in Orlando have yet to be determined.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis announced on Monday that he will chair the Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee -- meaning Bilirakis will lead congressional oversight of FEMA and emergency responses.

For the last seven weeks, members of Rick Scott's transition team have been on a fact-finding mission, and they are now presenting their findings to the governor-elect. Scott spokesperson Brian Burgess says the team is meeting with Scott at his Fort Lauderdale base Monday and for the next three days they'll be giving the governor-elect input on things like job creation ideas, places to cut spending in the budget and other items that will help Scott bring his 7-7-7 plan to fruition.

In her last days as chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, Karen Thurman called for the U.S. Senate to pass the DREAM Act -- which it failed to do -- and praised Congress for repealing the dont ask, dont tell policy on gays serving openly in the military.

As he enters the final days of his tenure in Washington, the buzz continues to grow that Republican U.S. Sen. George LeMieux is looking at making a return -- and will take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. It looks like LeMieux could be getting some support from Beltway Republicans if he runs in 2012: On Friday, Republican U.S. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky took to the floor of the Senate, praising LeMieux and saying they had not seen the last of him.

Social conservativesare weighing in on the U.S. Senate ending the dont ask, dont tell policy on gays serving in the military over the weekend.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, invited South Florida Congressman Tom Rooney, to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The Intelligence Committee helps make decisions on issues of national security and provides oversight, policy and funding for the country's intelligence organizations. I am honored to serve on the Intelligence Committee, and I appreciate the faith and trust that Speaker Boehner has placed in me by appointing me to this post, Rooney said in a released statement Friday afternoon.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum issued a notice Friday urging victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to carefully review their payments before agreeing to a settlement with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

Incoming Gov. Rick Scott weighed in on Friday on the states continuing high unemployment. On Friday morning, it was announced the unemployment rate in Florida rose to 12 percent in November.

CNN and the Tea Party express will host a debate among Republican presidential candidates in Tampa during Labor Day week in 2011, CNN revealed Friday. The exact venue has not been revealed. The 24-hour news network is touting the debate at the site of the 2012 Republican national convention as "first-of-its-kind."

Arguing that letting them expire would constitute a serious tax increase, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., voted to back the extension of tax cuts for all Americans.

Florida's unemployment outlook only got worse in November. The state's unemployment rate increased to 12 percent last month, up slightly from October's 11.9 percent rate, according to a report released Friday by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation.