Now Florida is the aggressor, having turned the waiting-game tables on the Department of Justice.

Having imposed their own deadline for the DOJ, Florida officials are watching the clock.

With court battles anticipated, the state continues to wait for answers to questions on the legality of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security having for months kept the state from accessing a database requested to help check the voter rolls for noncitizens.

Florida's implementation of "Common Core standards" for math and English Language Arts could cost taxpayers as much as $780 million -- could, but shouldn't, says a national education think tank.

As a follow-on to No Child Left Behind, the "Common Core" is the latest effort to lift educational standards by aligning K-12 curricula across America. A total of 45 states, including Florida, have signed on.

While other polls have shown that U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, the front-runner in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, is running close with Bill Nelson, a poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, shows the Democrat incumbent with a solid lead.

While Barack Obama had ten times as much in the bank as Mitt Romney did at the end of March, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate outraised the Democrat incumbent in May as the money chase -- like the presidential race in general -- continues to heat up.

On Thursday, the two major parties and their presidential candidates unveiled what they raised in May -- and Romney and the Republicans did better than Obama and the Democrats in the month.

House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has named a pair of popular insider appointments: Kathy Mears as his chief of staff, andhe will move Ryan Duffy from press secretary for leadership in the House to be his communications director.

Kathy is a true professional with invaluable experience in the highest levels of state government and the private sector, Weatherford stated in a release.

They are at it again. Following what can only be described as a butt-kicking win for Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin's recall election, many media pundits were trying to "split the baby" by acknowledging Walker's win, but pointing to exit polls that show President Obama with a 7-point lead against Mitt Romney in that state.

The state will not end efforts to keep ineligible voters from having a chance to cast a ballot, even though the U.S. Department of Justice deadline to stop the voter-list purge came and went Wednesday.

Instead, state officials want to know if the DOJ supports the possibly illegal attempt by the Obama administration-backed Department of Homeland Security to keep Florida for months from accessing a database to assist its efforts.

Buying in bulk, renegotiating leases and using proven private market companies to provide services from desktop computers to cell phones could save the state millions and increase productivity, the governor's efficiency czar told a task force Wednesday.

Speaking to members of the Government Efficiency Task Force, Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins named earlier this year to also be Gov. Rick Scott's chief operating officer for government operations -- said savings from such efforts would allow the state to spend those funds on critical services.

Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and former Rep. Aaron Bean of Fernandina Beach made it official Wednesday, filing their qualifying paperwork to run for the Florida Senate.

Their entries expanded the number of Republican congressional and legislative primary contests that will occur across the state in August as the qualifying week enters its final two days.

So far there are 31 Republican primaries lined across Florida, including the statewide U.S. Senate contest and 10 congressional races.