AHCA GAUGES INTEREST IN LONG-TERM CARE PROGRAM

As I listened to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan describe his latest budget plan in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute this week, I couldn't help thinking how different things will be in Britain when Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne steps out of No. 11 Downing St. with a battered red briefcase holding his budget for the forthcoming year.

Pope Benedict XVIs trip to Cuba later this month had the potential to greatly advance the cause of human freedom --which is, after all, the continuation of Jesus Christs work on this earth.

The Senates first and only attempt to fix its redistricting map may come down to how balls were randomly drawn from a pair of cages on Wednesday.

The balls, drawn bingo-style, were used to determine which Senate seats would be up for two-year or four-year terms this fall.

The decision to use a game of chance resulted from the states top court's ruling that the Senate had failed to follow the intent of the voter-approved Fair District Amendments that ban intentionally favoring incumbents and political parties.

U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, a funeral home director by trade, buried one blue dog Democrat in 2010. Depending on who emerges from a four-way Democratic primary, he aims to take down another this fall.

The freshman congressman ousted longtime Democratic Rep. Alan Boyd in the North Florida district as Republicans swept House seats across the country in the midterm election.

Southerland could face somewhat stiffer headwinds this year, as his 2nd Congressional District has been redrawn to include all of Tallahassee, and therefore more Democratic voters.

Two South Florida senators had a brief war of words Wednesday over plans to add more Hispanics to a Senate district and the language abilities of those in the district as the Senate moves closer to finalizing its redistricting efforts.

Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, said he will continue to push for a fourth Hispanic seat in Southeast Florida -- a seat now held by Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Miami, that de la Portilla's brother has eyed for a return to the Legislature.

Saying he believes a plantation-like atmosphere exists in Sanford, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, plans to head a bipartisan legislative fact-finding mission to the Central Florida community that sits just outside his district.

Siplin, along with Sens. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, and Sen. Chris Smith, D-Oakland Park, also called on Gov. Rick Scott to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee a Seminole County grand jury investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin.

With a big win in the Illinois primary Tuesday, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney built momentum on Wednesday to be the GOP challenger to Barack Obama in November, winning the key endorsement of former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida -- and drawing fire from the Democrats.

Romney won Illinois with 47 percent, while Rick Santorum was in second with 35 percent. Ron Paul took third with 9 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich with 8 percent.

Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Cuba this weekend, the first papal visit since Pope John Paul II visited in 1998. Many fear that while the popes visit will generate fervor among the Catholic faithful, it may actually be harmful to the prospects for greater freedom on the island.