Advocates of Everglades restoration might have felt as if they won the Florida lottery Thursday.

First, they wake up to $100 million from the USDA to help with wetlands restoration in the northern Everglades watershed.

"You've damaged your own race," said Mayor Michael Nutter to the black youths of Philadelphia whose flash mobs have been beating and robbing shoppers in the fashionable district of downtown.

Indiana toppled Florida as the leading education-reform state in 2011, according to a competition conducted by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on Thursday.

In a vote by "Ed Reform Idol" judges as well as in-studio and online audiences, Indiana finished first among five finalists. The other states were Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin.

With the Iowa Republicans hosting a straw poll in Ames on Saturday as a prelude to the first presidential caucus in February, some Republican hopefuls have a lot riding on the event.

Millions of dollars in "work force" contracts in Florida are under federal investigation amid allegations that funds were disbursed illegally.

The U.S. Department of Labor is reportedly probing 24 regional work force agencies for alleged irregularities that include conflicts of interest by members of the governing boards.

The investigation follows an April 2010 memo by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation, which found that in 37 percent of contracts:

Florida consumers picking up clothing and gearing up for the new school year wont be paying a sales tax this weekend.

The sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and runs through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, and applies to most clothing items under $75 and school items under $15. Click here for a list of tax-exempt items.

As the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination ready for a debate in Iowa Thursday night and a straw poll in Ames on Saturday, two new national polls show former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts ahead of the pack. But the polls differ on how large a lead he has.

Romney will take part in the debate on Thursday night, but focus is increasingly turning to three possible candidates who have yet to enter the race. Buzz is increasingly growing that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas will enter the race in coming days.