The Sun Sentinel reports that three Florida counties rank among the top 12 turnarounds in the nation's housing market.

Palm Beach County leads the nation, with home values rising 35 percent from where they were in December 2011, with Broward's and Miami-Dade's rising 21 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

President Obama's office issued an official response Friday evening to a petition signed by over 37,000 citizens requesting his administration to "peacefully grant [sic] the state of Florida to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government."

The response, issued at 7:51 p.m. by Jon Carson, Obama'sdirector of the Office of Public Engagement, is as follows:

"Thank you for using the White House's online petitions platform to participate in your government.

In a press release Friday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi reminded eligible borrowers that the Jan. 18, 2013, deadline to file a claim for payment under the national settlement is fast approaching.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, has penned a letter to President Barack Obama "strenuously urging" him to cease American foreign aid -- in particular, the shipment ofF-16 fighter jets -- to the country which is fast degenerating into an Islamist theocracy.

Here is Buchanan's letter, dated Jan. 10:

"Dear Mr. President:

AP reports that Broward County, Florida's second most-populated and one of the most populated in the nation, is considering renaming itself after its county seat: Fort Lauderdale.

Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, the Democratic Ranking Member on the Florida House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement Thursday:

The Sun Sentinel reports that Judge David Crow of the15th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida recommended Wednesday that former Broward Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner receive a one-year suspension from the practice of law for misconduct she engaged in during her judicial tenure.

The Sun-Sentinel reports today on the latest victims of federal social engineering via the tax system -- almost 70,000 families in South Florida, and presumably tens of thousands more throughout the Sunshine State, perhaps amounting to hundreds of thousands -- facing new tax increases:

"As tax season starts, Plantation accountant Sheri Schultz has started crunching numbers --and she doesn't like what she sees. Her family is facing tax hikes to the tune of thousands of dollars this year.

Florida's government is not doing enough to prevent tooth decay, thereby driving up health care costs for families and taxpayers. This according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States reveals that the Sunshine State joined 17 others in earning a D grade when it comes to providing children with dental sealants, clear plastic coatings applied to the surfaces of molars that are considered helpful in preventing tooth decay.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports thatSen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, one of the architects of the controversial 2011 electoral reform law that greatly reduced Florida's early voting period, has submitted a new piece of legislation reversing course, at least partially.

The proposed legislation would expand the maximum possible number of early voting hours each day from 12 to 14, and would allow early voting to take place the Sunday before Election Day.