Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, on CNNs State of the Union, called the recall election of Wisconsins governor a test run for the presidential race.

Its given the 'Obama for America' operation an opportunity to do the dry run we need of our massive, significant, dynamic grassroots presidential campaign, Wasserman Schultz said last Sunday before heading off to campaign with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Florida leaders are firm that they are doing the right thing in asking supervisors of elections to clear noncitizens from the list of registered voters, even as the U.S. Department of Justice is questioning the legality of the process.

"With a single phone call, President Obama could have the data from (a Department of Homeland Security database) immediately released to the states," bristled RPOF Chairman Lenny Curry in a written statement Thursday.

Florida continues to push for the Obama administration to release citizenship information, as elections supervisors from two Democratic-leaning counties have decided not to check for suspected noncitizens on the roll of voters.

Secretary of State Ken Detzner wrote again to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday in an attempt to obtain what would be more updated citizenship information than the state currently has. Detzner is trying to remove noncitizens from the list of registered voters.

Invoking the work of President George H.W. Bushs 1991 Gulf War alliance, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, called on the United States to create a coalition of the willing to tackle Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A Florida Department of Environmental Protection wetlands expert wasnt suspended for refusing to issue a wetlands credit permit as a newspaper contends, the state agency announced Thursday.

In fact, the DEP states, the permit application has yet to be completed.

However, the reason wetlands expert Connie Bersok has been put on paid leave, with an internal investigation under way, wasnt revealed.

It is not the departments policy to discuss employee personnel matters in the newspaper or with the general public, the two-page release from the DEP stated.

A bipartisan effort to slow the number of drug shortages in recent years, that have often left federal officials scrambling for last-minute solutions, was approved in the House.

The bill, part of the Food and Drug Administration Reform Act, sponsored by Reps. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., would establish an early warning system for patients and physicians by requiring drug companies to notify the FDA of impending shortages.

Gov. Rick Scott defended his top natural resources watchdogover the suspension of a wetlands expert who refused to issue a permit to a North Florida company that wanted to use its land to offer businesses wetlands credits.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard has done a great job, Scott responded Wednesday, when asked if he is satisfied in how the matter was handled.

A report on how the state can revamp Floridas higher education, expected to closely follow many of the proposals brought forward by state legislators earlier this year, should be ready for the governor in mid-November.

The report, the work of a task force created by Gov. Rick Scott, is expected to help craft the governors agenda prior to the 2013 legislative session.

With copper approaching $4 a pound, law enforcement officials thanked Gov. Rick Scott as they attended a semi-private bill-signing ceremony Wednesday that increases the penalties for thieves cashing in on stolen metal.

The bill, HB 885, was one of four bills that Scott signed Wednesday during a brief meeting with law enforcement officials in his Capitol office.

We all had a good session, Scott told the officers. We got a lot of things done for law enforcement.

The event, initially closed to the media, was opened with only a few media questions allowed.

After the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, business quickly fell nearly 30 percent to 50 percent said Joseph Costanzo, owner of Wharf Express in Tallahassee.

The negative public perception about seafood harvested from the Gulf of Mexico, particularly at businesses located near the Gulf of Mexico, lasted for months, said Costanzo.

During that time, staff had to be let go, but claims for federal assistance through a fund set up by BP were repeatedly denied.