With areas still rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy, and before the blizzard named Nemo arose, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Punta Gorda, picked up some bipartisan support from the Northeast for his continued efforts to pool resources and spread the risk of paying for future disasters.

U.S. Reps. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., and Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., along with Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, have joined Rooney in sponsoring the Homeowner Catastrophe Protection Act of 2013, a bill which provides tax incentives for homeowners and insurance companies to brace against future disasters.

The Florida Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision Thursday in a high-profile foreclosure fraud case, ruling that a trial court cannot reinstate a voluntarily dismissed civil action just because the plaintiff is alleged to have lied to the court.

WASHINGTON -- For the first time since Election Day, President Obama is on the defensive.

A proposal to start shifting state and county workers from the Florida Retirement System into a 401(k)-style retirement plan got the backing of House Government Operations Subcommittee on Thursday.

Subcommittee Chairman Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, called the proposal the first steps to enact meaningful reforms to Floridas public employee pension system.