President Barack Obama's re-election hopes took a hit Tuesday from an economic index that showed continued unease by America's small-business owners.

Along with the latest unemployment rate, which declined slightly in December, the "Optimism Index" of the National Federation of Independent Business bumped up 1.8 points. But the outlook for growth remains cloudy at best.

Pundits and his opponents in both the Democratic and Republican ranks continue to pummel Mitt Romney as one of the weakest GOP front-runners in recent memory.

Calling for a new era of cooperation and a $1 billion boost in school spending, Gov. Rick Scott told legislators Tuesday that better times are ahead for Florida.

My fellow Floridians, Im here today to tell you that promise and opportunity will return, in fact are returning even as we meet here today," Scott said in his State of the State address at the Capitol.

Sounding the theme, "Let's Get to Work ... Together," the first-term governor recounted, Last session, together we made the changes necessary to improve the opportunities for the citizens of our state.

New maps for the Legislature and the state's congressional delegation passed three House panels on party-line votes Monday as the Senate Democratic leader unveiled her proposal for the once-a-decade redistricting process.

The House subcommittees tasked with drawing lines for the House and Congress each approved three alternatives for those plans, set to be considered by the House Redistricting Committee later this month. The subcommittee set up to address the Senate maps approved the upper chamber's working version of the plan.

A proposal to create a statewide gaming commission and allow voters to approve up to three mega casinos cleared its first hurdle Monday in the Florida Senate. However, the odds appear to have grown longer against the success of the bill.

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee voted 7-3 on Monday in support of the Destination Gaming bill.