If anyone has a chance of surviving a Mexican gang kidnapping, it might be Felix Batista. Then, again, if anyone should have been able to avoid getting kidnapped in the first place, he was at the top of the list.

A supporter of Gov.-elect Rick Scott, who is so on the outs with legislative leaders that speculation has mounted she might end up in his administration, may hold the key to the future ofa high-speed rail connecting Tampa and Orlando.

Big Chill II hit Florida in a big way Monday, with more subfreezing temperatures expected to descend Tuesday morning.

The Florida Public Service Commission Tuesday reached a settlement with Florida Power & Light Co. that will allow the electric company to charge its ratepayers more -- though not as much as the company originally had sought. The increase will bring in an additional $75.5 million, but FPL's base rates will be frozen for the next two years.

House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders of Key West and Democratic Whip Evan Jenne of Fort Lauderdale named four deputy whips Monday to oversee their caucus.

Looking to rein-in state spending, Floridas governor, a man with little political experience who was elected by the skin of his teeth, looked to lower taxes and rein-in education spending, even advocating privatizing the penal system.

Florida's lowest-performing schools are staying open, and they're not turning around, a new study reports.

Florida's Republican leaders applauded Monday's federal court decision knocking down a key part of the Obama health-care law, and vowed to aggressively press the state's broader legal battle against Washington.

With a host of much-better-known Republicans considering running for president in 2012, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota has been raising his profile in recent days as he reflects on launching his own bid for the White House.

"The single most important jobs program we can put in place is a growing economy." So said Barack Obama at his surly press conference last week defending the tax deal he made with Republicans.