After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on Monday that he is backing former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for the Republican presidential nomination. A veteran of Missouri politics, Ashcroft served as state auditor and attorney general of the Show Me State before two terms as governor and one as a U.S. senator. Ashcroft considered running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 but decided to run for another term as a senator. After losing that contest, Ashcroft served as attorney general under George W. Bush.

The Senate has placed a bill to reform the states low-cost personal injury protection auto insurance on the special-order calendar for Tuesday. The House and Senate are advancing vastly different bills to meet Gov. Rick Scotts goal to reform the fraud that has become a major part of the cost of the personal injury protection insurance.

A poll from Rasmussen Reports released on Monday finds that Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are in a close battle in Ohio, which holds its primary -- with 66 delegates on the line -- on Tuesday. Santorum takes 32 percent of the poll of likely primary voters while Romney is right behind him with 31 percent. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are knotted together in a tie for distant third with 13 percent each. While 6 percent remain undecided, 3 percent say they will back other candidates in the race.

Gas prices in Florida jumped another 5 cents, on average, as tensions with Iran continue. The average gallon of gas in the Sunshine State stood at $3.80 as the week began, 4 cents higher than the national mark, according to AAA. The issues affecting oil and gas prices are relatively the same as the past few weeks, with Iranian tensions dominating energy market headlines, Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, stated in a release. As long as conflict surrounds Iran with the threat of blocking the Strait of Hormuz, were going to see elevated prices at the pump.