An hour or so after Rick Scott hailed today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Second Amendment rights, Attorney General Bill McCollum weighed in, and took credit for siding with the majority decision. "The MacDonald vs. City of Chicago ruling, which sides with the amicus brief I filed with 37 states some months ago, guarantees that the Second Amendment is treated as a fundamental right for Americans just as other rights enumerated by the U.S. Constitution," McCollum said in a statement.

Rick Scott turned up the heat on Bill McCollum this afternoon, blasting his GOP gubernatorial rival for appearing soft on guns and immigration. Scott quickly applauded today's U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Second Amendment case, saying, "I join with the my fellow conservatives in Florida and across the country in applauding the Supreme Court ruling that blocks the government from infringing on the rights of citizens to own handguns.Today is truly historic for those of us who cherish our constitutional right to own guns.

As health-care executive Rick Scott and Attorney General Bill McCollum continue to battle for the Republican nomination, the Florida Democratic Party fired away at both of them. "Rick Scott tries to avoid taking responsibility for his dirty deeds, while Bill McCollum spends his time sweeping other people's dirt under the rug," said Democratic spokesman Eric Jotkoff. "Whether it's shady business practices or efforts to keep Republican scandals in the shadows, Rick Scott and Bill McCollum couldn't be more ethically challenged."

The Obama administration today unveiled a new National Space Policy, which leans heavily on commercial competition and unprecedented international cooperation. Sunshine State News explores what this may mean for Florida in the years ahead. Watch for our upcoming story.

For an annual meeting focusing on job creation and economic development, who better to serve as your keynoter than billionaire entrepreneur Steve Forbes? The Florida Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that Forbes -- libertarian-leaning conservative and two-time presidential candidate -- will kick off its 2010 Future of Florida Forum Oct. 11-13 at Walt Disney World's Yacht and Beach Club in Orlando.

Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker, just won a big endorsement in his bid to win a seat in the Senate -- the backing of the man who currently holds the job, Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, who cannot run again due to term limits.

While the Democratic establishment has remained wary of Jeff Greenes bid for the U.S. Senate, officeholders and former occupants of political office are slowly coming around to back the billionaire investors bid. Earlier in the month, Rep. Joe Abruzzo, D-Wellington, announced he was backing Greene. On Monday, former Wilton Manors Mayor Jim Stork, who ran for Congress in 2004 before pulling out due to health concerns, endorsed Greene. Stork has publicly come out of the closet and has worked on various gay rights issues and initiatives.

BP has promised $500,000 to protect Destin Pass and Okaloosa County waters from the tide of oil. The oil giant is giving Okaloosa County $200,000 for an underwater "air curtain" that uses air bubbles to separate oil from water and $300,000 for as many as nine barges to fortify the Destin Pass. The barge operation will initially include three boats that could be used to funnel the oil away from the area, but the fleet can be expanded.

Attorney General Bill McCollums gubernatorial bid got the backing of his old boss on Monday when former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced his endorsement of McCollum over Rick Scott for the Republican nomination. Gingrich and McCollum served in the U.S. House together for almost two decades.

Largehunks of thick crude from the BP oil spill washed ashore on a Mississippi beach for the first time Sunday. The town victimized was Ocean Springs, a quaint,tree-canopied, artists'-village-of-a-placejust east across the bridge from Biloxi. More than 100 Ocean Springs residents showed up with rubber gloves, pails and shovels along two tourist beaches, hoping to clean up the gooey tar.

To no one's surprise, the Florida Medical Association on Saturday endorsed Bill McCollum for governor. An FMA endorsement of Rick Scott would have been as strange as Barack Obama tapping Tony Hayward to be secretary of energy. There's been tension -- if not outright bad blood -- between physicians and Scott since he was the boss at Columbia/HCA. The health-care endorsement to watch will be the upcoming choice of the Florida Hospital Association. McCollum can really claim bragging rights if he grabs that, too.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio commented Friday afternoon on the possibility that lost wage claims from the oil spill could be taxed.

The Florida Medical Association (FMA) backed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing Floridians to opt out of new federal health-care laws backed by President Barack Obama. The FMA joins the Yes on 9 campaign -- backing the amendment originally sponsored by Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustace, and Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate failed to break a threatened Republican filibuster on extending unemployment benefits on Thursday. Needing 60 votes to break the filibuster, Democrats were able to round up 57 votes with 41 votes against. Two members of the Senate did not vote. The vote followed party lines and Floridas two senators followed suit -- with Democrat Bill Nelson backing the extension and Republican George LeMieux opposing it.

CNNMoney had an article this week listing Americas most recession-proof cities. The article quoted a list from MetroMonitor -- sent out by the Brookings Institute's Metropolitan Policy Program -- of 21 cities which were still thriving in the rough economy. Not one of them is in Florida.