Gov. Rick Scott formally revoked the suspension of Osceola County Clerk of the Court Malcom Thompson on Friday afternoon.

The lifting of the suspension was anticipated as Kim Hennecy, the chief deputy clerk who had been acting as Thompson’s replacement, sent an email Thursday to employees notifying them of Thompson’s pending return.

Thompson had been suspended after being charged with battery and assault of an office employee. He was acquitted of the charges last month.

Gov. Rick Scott named Daliah Weiss, of Wellington, to the Palm Beach County Court.

“During Daliah’s 17 years as a prosecutor, she has gained extensive trial experience in some of the most difficult cases,” Scott stated in a release. “Daliah has also demonstrated leadership skills as the chief of multiple units, and I am confident she will be a great addition to the bench in Palm Beach County.”

Weiss, 41, has been an assistant state attorney with the state attorney’s office in Palm Beach since 1996.

High school students will compete in the first-ever State of Florida Astronaut Challenge on Saturday at the Challenger Learning Center in Tallahassee, the state Department of Education announced.

High school students from across the state will participate in the STEM-focused competition designed to test their knowledge of space shuttle operations, engineering, launch, orbit and landing of the space shuttle Enterprise flight simulator.

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered flags lowered to half-staff at the City Hall of Fort Myers on Saturday for Oscar M. Corbin Jr., the former mayor of Fort Myers. Corbin, 94, died May 8.

Corbin served as mayor from 1967-'76. The city hall has been named after him.

“Corbin also fought for civil rights of all residents during the 1960s and 1970s -- a time when it was unpopular to do so,” according to the Fort Myers News-Press. 

Twenty people in South Florida have been charged as part of a criminal ring accused of making false insurance claims after torching rental homes, declared the state fire marshal’s office, state attorney’s office in Miami-Dade County and the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater (the fire marshal’s office is under Atwater) announced the arrests as part of his weekly roundup on Friday.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, will host a federal contracting conference at the Women’s Business Center at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday.

Posey’s office advises business leaders currently doing business with the federal government to register for Monday’s discussion, while those not engaged in business with the federal government, but hoping to do so, to register to attend on Tuesday.

The state’s unemployment numbers continued to decline, falling to 8.7 percent, the lowest mark since January 2009, according to figures released Friday.

The latest figures estimate that 804,000 Floridians were listed as jobless last month, down from 836,000 in March, when the statewide unemployment mark was 9 percent, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity.

The monthly total is 1.9 percent lower than where the state was a year ago.

Florida still lags behind the nation, which has an 8.1 percent unemployment rate.

Amid a group of Florida’s pro sports mascots, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam will launch ‘Summer BreakSpot’ on Tuesday, a summer nutrition program for needy kids.

The summer program, which will be offered at about 3,000 locations across the state, is a continuation of the nutrition program the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began managing in January.

The announcement will be held at Nap Ford Community School in Orlando.

Gov. Rick Scott is expected to lift the suspension of Osceola County Clerk Malcom Thompson today.

Kim Hennecy, the chief deputy clerk who had been acting as Thompson’s replacement, sent an email Thursday to employees notifying them of Thompson’s pending return.

"An executive order will be issued tomorrow reinstating Mr. Thompson to his position as clerk of court,” Hennecy emailed employees on Thursday. “I am not sure when the order will be issued or whether Mr. Thompson will be returning to work tomorrow or Monday."

The U.S. House on Thursday unanimously approved a bill by Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, to allow the Department of Defense to work with nonfederal entities when investing in space-related infrastructure, such as launch pads and support facilities.

The proposal must still find its way through the Senate.

The amendment to House Resolution 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act, enables the Department of Defense to work with Space Florida and commercial firms to jointly work on ventures at Cape Canaveral and other space ports.