A report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed four Florida cities in the list of top 20 metropolitan areas with the highest unemployment rates for the month of August.

The EPA has given the state of Florida a month's reprieve to implement new water regulations. Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is claiming some credit, having sent a letter to EPA chief Lisa Jackson on Sept. 16 asking for more time. I support new water standards but many Florida residents, municipalities, businesses and farmers have expressed concern about the potential cost of these standards and the validity of the science, said Nelson. He added that the EPA will have more time for public input with the new deadline.

Republican U.S. Sen. George LeMieux pushed back against the EPA on Wednesday, looking to strike water regulations from that agency impacting the Sunshine State.

This rule will hurt Floridas families, insisted LeMieux. It will cost our state billions of dollars, thousands of jobs, and drive up water bills. This is lawsuit-driven regulation without a sound scientific basis and the result will be unnecessarily catastrophic for Florida. The EPAs actions threaten Floridas economy and are unlikely to provide little, if any, biological benefit.