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.

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:

Fort Lauderdale has emerged as a bright spot in Florida's otherwise lackluster real-estate landscape, and an industry analyst said he sees signs that sales momentum is building across the state.

Second-quarter statistics by Florida Realtors showed sales and prices of single-family homes climbing in Fort Lauderdale. While 10 of the state's 19 markets enjoyed higher sales volumes, the Broward County city was the only market to register gains in both sales and price.

For an energy source once touted as too cheap to meter, nuclear power bills sure are piling up. U.S. taxpayers are on the hook for a growing, multibillion-dollar tab to dispose of tons of radioactive waste and Florida's two biggest utilities are seeking another round of rate increases to help pay for new reactors.

The cost of nuclear power takes center stage Wednesday when the state's Public Service Commission opens a series of rate hearings.

State and regional water officials poured criticism on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday, calling the EPA's proposed pollution standards heavy-handed, overly expensive and indefensibly "poor science."

Appearing at a congressional hearing conducted by U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, a cavalcade of water experts disputed the EPA's tactics and questioned its motives.

Paul Steinbrecher, president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, said the EPA's numeric nutrient criteria are "rooted in poor science."

Antitrust concerns may have moved to the back burner with news that Energy Transfer Equity is moving closer to a purchase of the natural-gas pipeline company serving Florida.

The Texas-based ETE said it expects to acquire Southern Union Co. in the first quarter of 2012, pending shareholder approval and certain other regulatory approvals.

ETE last week announced that a federally required waiting period had cleared, thereby satisfying a key regulatory condition to the consummation of the proposed merger.

U.S. Rep. John Mica is defending his efforts to ground an airport subsidy program whose costs have ballooned 300 percent in the past decade.

The Orlando Republican who chairs the House Transportation Committee was blamed by Democrats and the media for holding up approval of the Federal Aviation Administration budget.

But Mica says he was simply trying to chip away at a program that pays government subsidies of up to $3,700 per airline ticket at rural airports.

Florida might still have a wet weekend, but the stormy predictions have dried up ... for now.

After stalling in the Caribbean and dumping boatloads of rain on the Dominican Republic, Tropical Storm Emily lost her punch Thursday. Once on track to graze Florida, she was downgraded to a tropical disturbance that appeared to be going nowhere Thursday night.

But the situation could change again over the next 48 hours as the National Hurricane Center in Miami cautioned that the "trough" still has some potential to regenerate on Friday or Saturday.