Needing federal approval to overhaul the Medicaid program, Florida health officials have less than three months to develop a detailed plan to sell to the Obama administration.

The state Agency for Health Care Administration faces an Aug. 1 deadline for submitting proposals to the federal government to try to transform Medicaid into a managed-care system.

Also, before the proposal is submitted, AHCA will have to hold public meetings in 11 regions of the state and allow additional time for public comments to be submitted.

We could definitely use another Abraham Lincoln to emancipate us all from being slaves to words. In the midst of a historic financial crisis of unprecedented government spending, and a national debt that outstrips even the debt accumulated by the reckless government spending of the previous administration, we are still enthralled by words and ignoring realities.

Dogged by rising negative poll numbers and a mocking press, real-estate mogul Donald Trump announced Monday that he would not be a candidate for president in 2012.

Florida's $2.4 billion of rejected high-speed rail money won't move America closer to a national, or even regional, HSR network. Instead, critics say it amounts to little more than a bailout Band-Aid to money-losing Amtrak.

By distributing $2 billion of Florida's earmarked funds to 22 other jurisdictions, the Obama administration has spread money so thin that negligible results are almost guaranteed.

While many pundits believe that U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan has no interest in jumping into the Republican primary field to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, the congressman has left the door open -- and has taken to the airwaves to opine on the leading issues of the day.

Charlie Crist is gone but his no labels movement is alive and well and flourishing at the Capitol like a clump of mushrooms in a ditch after the storm. We can thank Jack Latvala for that.

The House of Representatives adjourned Friday, May 13, for a week's recess. Before it did, members passed the Intelligence Authorization Bill by a vote of 392-15.