FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has named Qatar, the small Middle Eastern nation, as its site to host the 2022 World Cup. The U.S. was one of three other bids to host the tournament, but misses out despite the lobbying of former President Bill Clinton and American star of the 2010 World Cup, Landon Donovan.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is burning up the campaign trail as he gets ready for the 2012 elections. With each passing day, it appears the conservative Santorum is increasingly likely to enter the potentially crowded Republican presidential field.

Incoming Gov. Rick Scott came out swinging at the Obama administrations announcement of continuing the ban on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, weighed in on the announcement from the Obama administration that they were continuing to ban oil drilling in federal waters off the coast of Florida -- and took aim at Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. Haridopolos is considering running against Nelson in 2012.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and may do so again in 2012, offered his thoughts on Wednesday on a ban on congressional earmarks being defeated in the U.S. Senate.

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, chaired by former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, issued a report on Wednesday on the national debt federal spending. Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan said he would read the report but insisted that the best way to get Americas financial house in order was by passing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

The U.S. Senate failed to extend unemployment benefits Tuesday, meaning many unemployed workers will stop receiving benefits ahead of the holiday season. About 160,000 Floridians will stop receiving benefits as of Friday, and about 40,845 workers will lose their benefits each subsequent week, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, the ranking Republican of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, ripped into the White Houses policy regarding Venezuela in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday morning. Theres no question that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is in violation of the Iran Sanctions Act, insisted Mack who has his eyes on the U.S. Senate in 2012. So why hasnt the Obama administration sanctioned Chavez under this act yet?

While the Pentagon's Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) released a study showing that large segments of the military were not adverse to gays serving openly in the military, the battle seems to be far from over.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is cheering the news that the White House plans to pull the plug on new drilling in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico. The White House obviously learned lessons from the BP oil disaster, said Castor. Drilling for oil off of Floridas coast poses a threat to Floridas economy, jobs and environment. Our small businesses and hotel owners are still suffering from the devastation left behind by the BP blowout.

With numerous sources reporting that the White House has decided to freeze new oil drilling in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico for the next seven years, Floridas politicians are starting to weigh in. Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson praised the White House for the decision. Its good the president is listening to the people of Florida, said Nelson on Wednesday morning.

Former House Speaker Larry Cretul will be heading to the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Having just made his seventh visit to New Hampshire --home of the first presidential primary --in 2010, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania continues to stump through New England as speculation grows that he intends to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is calling for an extension of tax cuts backed by President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003.

Incoming Gov. Rick Scott will be meeting with the Florida congressional delegation on Wednesday afternoon in the U.S. Capitol. I look forward to welcoming Governor-elect Scott to the Capitol and introducing him to the delegation, said U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, the Republican congressman who will lead the states delegation in January.We share a common commitment to helping our state and serving the people we represent.We will discuss our agenda with the governor-elect and we will hear about his priorities and how we can assist him.