While Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is not on the ballot in 2012, he remains politically active this election cycle backing candidates in competitive Republican primaries.

In courthouses across Florida, shelves are lined with bulging files of legal documents.

But changes released Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court may lead to paper court files going the way of phone books and faxes in the increasingly e-world.

Justices unanimously approved rule changes that will require almost all court documents to be filed electronically. The changes, which have been extensively studied by Florida Bar rules committees and other groups, will gradually take effect by the end of 2013.

In introducing his new book, "Leo Strauss and the Conservative Movement in America," Paul Gottfried identifies a fundamental divide between neoconservatives and the traditional right. The divide is over the question: What is this nation, America?

Gov. Rick Scott must have gotten a surprise Thursday. Though he didn't say if he would step in tounilaterally take corrective action, he at least let it be known that hes disappointed.

A day after Scott said he would be surprised if the 17-member state Board of Governors, of which the governor appoints 14, would approve significant tuition hikes for the states 11 universities, four were given the maximum increase allowed.

The four are Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, University of Central Florida and New College.

Looking to cut into President Barack Obamas lead with Hispanic voters, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, spoke in Orlando to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) -- and he ripped into the Democrat incumbent.

This country we love is in peril," Romney insisted. That is why I am running for president.

The cost to drive Floridas Turnpike, from Interstate 75 to Homestead, will jump by more than $3 Sunday morning for most SunPass users.

Those paying cash should expect to dole out nearly $4 morethan they currently pay.

Crossing the Sunshine Skyway will require an additional quarter, or for someone driving to and from work five days a week, with four weeks of vacation time, that could mean an additional $120 a year.

With Republican leaders and donors converging on Park City, Utah, this weekend for a retreat with presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, two of the leading figures from the Florida GOP will be on hand -- former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Rep. Connie Mack.

With his name bandied about as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney and a new autobiography just released, a new poll shows that U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is flying high at the national level -- even as some pundits lower his chances of ending up as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

A national poll of likely voters unveiled on Thursday finds thatRubio is growing increasingly popular at the national level as he enjoys the spotlight from the new book and the buzz his name is generating as a possible running mate for Romney.

Gov. Rick Scott says his position on E-Verify hasnt changed.

Hes just not pursuing the business regulation that has been opposed by business and agricultural interests because he said he doesnt want to put Florida companies at a competitive disadvantage with rival firms in other states and countries.

Scott went on the airwaves in Jacksonville on Thursday to defend his call for a federal immigration policy that includes the requirement that businesses nationwide use the federal visa verifying system to check the legal status of new employees.