Florida's jobless rate for October remained unchanged from the previous month, with 11.9 percent of the work force unemployed, according to a report from the Agency for Workforce Innovation released Friday. Even though the unemployment rate didn't budge, AWI Director Cynthia Lorenzo saw cause for optimism in the report. "In addition to showing improved over-the-year job creation, Florida posted the largest decrease in the country last week in the number of people who filed for first-time unemployment benefits," Lorenzo said.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania shows no signs of slowing down as he gears up for a run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. The conservative Santorum will be heading to the Old Dominion on Saturday night where he will be keynoting an event for the Republican Party of Virginia. Perhaps more telling of Santorums presidential ambitions, he is heading to New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary, after Thanksgiving. This marks the second time Santorum visited the Granite State since the elections and the seventh time this year.

Even as Attorney General Bill McCollum and incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi asked 13 other states to join the constitutional challenge to new federal health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama, 32 Republicans in the U.S. Senate filed a brief in support of the lawsuit. If this law is held constitutional, there will be no limit on what activities Congress can require its citizens to do, said outgoing U.S. Sen. George LeMieux. It is that serious.

On Thursday, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that the high school graduation rate increased for the fifth year in a row in Florida -- rising more than 2.5 percent from the 2008-09 school year to 79 percent for the 2009-10 school year. Floridas improved graduation rate clearly shows that our reform efforts are making a difference in our schools, and most importantly for our students, insisted Crist. I applaud our students, parents, teachers and school leaders for their hard work and significant improvement.

Orlando-Sanford International Airport struck a small blow for harried travelers this week when it announced it plans to fire its TSA security screeners. Responding to rising passenger complaints about those invasive "enhanced pat-downs," Sanford airport officials want to replace groping TSA crews with approved private contractors. That switch doesn't amount to much, TSA says, because replacement workers still must abide by TSA rules.

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision to allow the South Florida Water Management District to use certificates of participation to purchase land from U.S. Sugar Corp., but the high court overturned part of the ruling that would have allowed the district to also finance land in the option with bonds.

Gov. Charlie Crist has appointed Orange County Judge Mike Murphy to fill a vacancy on the Orange/Osceola Circuit Court, sources tell Sunshine State News. Murphy comes highly qualified -- at least by defense attorneys. In 2008, he scored No. 1 in a survey of 75 local judges rated by the Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Hoping to redesign the state's budget-busting Medicaid system, state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, dismissed any notion that Florida would opt out of the program. A Sunshine State News story on Thursday quoted Heritage Foundation research estimating that Tallahassee would save $28 billion over five years if the state left Medicaid and routed recipients into subsdized insurance exchanges with the introduction of Obamacare in 2014.

On Thursday, incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi joined outgoing Attorney General Bill McCollum in sending a letter encouraging incoming attorneys general and governors across the nation to join the suit McCollum launched against new federal health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, revealed his vice chair appointments Thursday, and was keen to point out his efforts to put Democrats in their favored positions, where possible.

Florida could gain some legal allies if newly red states follow the Wall Street Journal's advice. The Journal on Thursday called on states with new Republican majorities to sign on to Florida's lawsuit against the federal health-care law. So far, 20 states are in the suit against Obamacare. That number could grow by a dozen if states with newly elected GOP governors, attorneys generals and/or legislatures join.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee, called the acquittal of terror suspect Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani on 280 counts of murder and conspiracy a "disaster." The Obama administrations decision to give a foreign terrorist the same rights and privileges as American citizens has proven to be disastrous, and this verdict sets a terrible precedent," said Rooney, R-Tequesta.

The staff at Roll Call put together an impressive article on the U.S. Senate races in 2012, looking at the various elections. They rank Florida as a tossup. Heres their take on U.S. Sen. Bill Nelsons situation as he seeks a third term: FloridaSen. Bill Nelson (D)

Speaking at Altamonte Springs on Wednesday, Gov. Charlie Crist praised the Seminole Tribe of Florida for donating $1.75 million to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. I am grateful for Floridians like the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling who give their time and resources to support and educate their fellow Floridians, said Crist. My administration has worked closely with the Seminole Tribe of Florida for three years and they have remained steadfastly committed to the betterment of our state.

Michael Steele's chances of returning as Republican National Committee chairman looked grim Thursday, after some of the nation's top GOP governors gave his first-term performance a bad review. In fact, they indicated that they would prefer new party leadership. According to Politico, some of the 34 governors and governors-elect at the Republican Governors Association (RGA) meeting in San Diego Wednesday, when asked flat-out if there should be a new party chairman, had this to say: