Marco Rubio has no scheduled meeting with Palin, who will be in Jacksonville, Orlando and The Villages retirement community on Tuesday, but the former Florida House speaker's spokesman said the campaign would fully appreciate support from the former Alaska governor and best-selling author.

"There are a lot of things that Marco admires of her, There are a lot of things that they agree on."Campaign communications director Alex Burgos said in an interview with Fox News on Saturday. "He'd be honored to have her support of him."

Burgos said both Palin and Rubio have comparable ideological positions and both had similar philosophies in their respective elected carreers. Palin as Governor of Alaska, and Rubio as Speaker of the Florida House.

"They have both been reformers in their political career," Burgos said. "They both opposed the stimulus. They are both strongly pro-life."

As of now, Palin has side-stepped endorsing either Rubio or front-runner Gov. Charlie Crist, who has seen his lead narrow in recent weeks. Crist still holds a double digit lead, and has a sizable advantage in fund-raising dollars and state-wide name recognition than Rubio's upstart campaign.

But some Republican analysts say a Palin endorsement could be a double-edge sword in the crucially important, yet mercurial, swing state of Florida.

"A Palin endorsement of Rubio gives a boost in the short term because of attention it brings," said Doug Heye a top GOP campaign analyst and campaign veteran. "It helps Charlie Crist in the long term. To win a primary in a state as large as Florida, a candidate needs a broad base of support within the party. The people who support Palin already support Marco Rubio, and many of the primary voters up for grabs are not Palin supporters.""

Of course, either candidate would welcome the endorsement", Heye noted.

The entire prisoner exchange deal involves releasing a total of 1000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli Jails.  The hang up has always been 450 prisoners, specifically named by Hamas.  Last week, we reported that Israel rejected 70 of those names. Israel sent the names back to Hamas through German mediators.  Negotiators also sent criteria that a new list of names must meet in order for Israel to OK the release of those individuals.

We now can report that Israel received the new list of 70 names and indeed the individuals meet the criteria.

Hamas has already publicly expressed a desire to finalize the prisoner exchange by Friday, in time for the Muslim feast of Eid Al Adha.  That way the video of prisoners reuniting with their families amid great celebrations will play on Arab news channels and bolster the popularity of Hamas.

That explains why today Hamas announced an agreement on the part of all Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to halt the rocket fire.  The prisoner exchange deal is close but still very fragile. One rocket strike could cause it to fall apart.

"I think Charlie Crist is desperate; he has a serious credibility crisis. He is a desperate candidate, and desperate people do desperate things, but for us it is not a problem,"Rubio told Fox News, in a sit-down interview, when asked about the new aggressive Crist strategy,that some local media have described as negative." This campaign is about the issues, whether he likes it or not, we are going to win."

Wednesday, when a reporter in Tallahassee asked Crist why he was now "taking the gloves off" against Rubio, he responded: "No reason, no reason,(but) people deserve to know the facts."

The facts, according to the newly-upgraded campaign, are that  Rubio has weaknesses on two significant conservative fronts: his Gun Rights,  and Illegal Immigration stances as speaker. The Crist campaign charges that Rubio did not do enough on either position during his tenure as head of the Florida legislature.  The Rubio campaign fired back that their opponent is misleading the voting public with distortions of their candidate's record, and the reasons for the new attacks are because Crist, who was essentially ignoring their candidacy, is finally acknowledging that he is a formidable threat to what was considered an easy primary bout for the once immensely-popular governor of the 4th most populous state.

Rubio's rise as more than a speed-bump opponent to an actual threat, took the initial skeletal Crist organization(mostly focused on fund-raising, and the general election) by surprise, and flushed him out earlier than expected into primary mode. Florida GOP insiders say Crist's vulnerability rose when, the Republican, fully embraced the stimulus package in February 2009.  Governor Crist appeared  on stage with President Barack Obama at a large, pro-stimulus package rally in Florida. The image of the two embracing during the event has left an indelible imprint for conservative critics who were vehemently against what they saw an seismic increase in a ballooning federal debt.  To compound matters, his critics say, Crist has muddled his position in recent weeks, on whether he did, or did not endorse the stimulus package, after what they say was his initial obvious support of the plan.  The Crist campaign has countered  the accusations by saying the stimulus package has helped a beleaguered state that's been one of the hardest hit in the current recession.

Yet Crist's early support of the stimulus package, when other Republican governors, at the time, like Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, and Alaska's Sarah Palin, opposed it, have fired up many grassroots GOPers, and anti-Washington Tea Party-ists, in, and outside, of the state, against him. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, who is backing Crist believe he has proven his worth on the national stage as a very successful campaigner, and fundraiser for their party.

Some Republican observers now see this fueled battle in Florida, as a  collision between establishment party leaders, and grassroots party activists for the direction of not only the Republican party in Florida-an important swing state in 2012-but for the soul of the national party.

Despite Rubio's momentum, Crist still holds a massive war chest that is four times the size of his opponent, and continues to retain a double digit lead in most polls with more than 9 months to go until the August GOP primary, a lifetime in election politics.

GM claims so far 222,000 customers have opted for the 60-day money back guarantee, in lieu of a $500 discount on the purchase.  Most kept the cars they bought, but not everyone was happy.  Close to 200 people have returned the cars.  Disgruntled customers are apparently given exit interviews by one of the company's engineering staff, to find out why the customer wasn't satisfied.   GM leaders call it the "best unfiltered feedback" they can get.  If sales numbers are any indication, the promotion seems to be working.   In October GM posted its first year-over-year monthly sales gain in 21 months.   Its been a much-needed boost for dealerships.   At Phillips Chevrolet in Frankfort, Illinois, sales last month we were up 76% over October of 2008.  "I think the economy is on an uprise and the 60 day guarantee definitely helps us.  I say keep it rolling, keep it rolling all next year" says sales manager Mike Maheras.   The promotion got the attention of suburban Chicagoan Karen Boeck, who bought a Chevy Malibu, specifically because of the return policy.  "I was unhappy with the previous car I bought and I figured that if I was not happy with this one after 60 days I certainly wouldn't be stuck with it like I was the last car and I had nothing to lose".   While Boeck did have to bring in her brand new Chevy to get the airbag light fixed, it wasn't enough to make her want to shuck the whole thing.  She's keeping the Malibu.

 The promotion was supposed to end in November, but GM is extending it through the holidays, maybe with the hope that shoppers will want to put a shiny new GM vehicle under the Christmas tree.

According to the human resources director at Denver Health hospital, they may get 6,700 applications in a month. Mark Gengkinger says, "it's very exhausting. it's like an endless pile that never ends."  A generic curriculum vitae doesn't cut it.  Gengkinger tells Fox, the key to standing out is a very targeted resumé.  It's also about networking: who you know can get you over the first hurdle.

Whole Foods Market takes pride in its lengthy, selective hiring process.  The Fortune 500 business employs 51,100 team members worldwide, the bulk of them, 87% are full time.  Just the initial online job application can take 30 or more minutes and includes screen after screen of questions delving into personality.

The idea is to see if someone is a good fit for the job and company culture.  If you make the first cut, you may be interviewed by a team or panel.

Schuchat was leery of saying the H1N1 disease had "peaked" warning, "even when a peak has occurred half of the people who are going to become ill haven't gotten ill yet."

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner  warns  "Flu is very unpredictable. While 2009 H1N1 activity is declining in a number of areas around the country, we are still seeing unprecedented levels --- levels well above what we would expect for this time of year.”

While there has been a dip, and the trend may continue as we enter the holiday season, Skinner says  Americans should not become complaisant.  “Activity might go down during the holiday season as schools break and then re-surge when schools start back up after the first of year.  In addition, we expect to see a surge of activity due to seasonal viruses as well."

Each year season flu kills more than 36,000 people in the United States.  Typically Seasonal does not reach its peak until January or February according to the CDC website.   

Vaccines

Nearly 54.1 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine were available to the states, Shuchat reported. 11 million more than a week ago.  Government officials still expressed concern and Schuchat appologized  for the delays and the frustrations felt by people trying to get the vaccine.  "I wish that things had been and that they will go smoother."

Schuchat added she was glad to see vaccine becoming more available.  "The H1N1 vaccine supply continues to increase. We are not where we want to be but we are in better shape today than we were a couple of weeks ago." 

It was reported that half of all vaccine administered has been to children.

Stats

The CDC reports 15 confirmed H1N1 pediatric deaths in the last reporting week.  That is a reduction from the 25 reported last week.  The total number of pediatric H1N1 deaths since March 2009 is 113.

Travel

The CDC has launched a new travel campaign in order to reduce the chances of spreading H1N1 and seasonal flu. 

FOX News Poll

A FOX News poll conducted in October 2009 indicated only 44% of Americans were planning on getting the H1N1 vaccine.

We are in the process of giving all of our field personal iPhones with an app that allows them to upload pictures and video directly from any news story in the world right onto a Foxnews LiveShots page.

Click over there and check out the new video player.

FoxNews.com users will see breaking news pictures and video here - just as quickly as our internal control rooms, assignment desks and overall newsroom staff will see it.

The content is completely unmoderated and directly from Fox News staff that has been pre-approved for breaking news and most often in the thick of the world's biggest stories.

This is just another way Fox News is staying ahead of the technological game and keeping our viewers and media consumers a step ahead of everyone else.

News at the speed of LIVE - check it out on these pages, comment and let us know what you think.

That's led those firms to cut the new associate's salaries in half and loan them out for free to nonprofits who can no longer afford all their own attorneys.

Albinas Prizgintas is a deferred associate for Wilmer Hale Law Firm making half-salary for the year of $75,000. Instead of working on corporate law research, he's handling everything from domestic abuse to denied food stamps at the Legal Aid Society of DC.

"You get to ideally help people with problems that can really affect where they're living the next day or whether they're getting their next check for food -- all things that are really critical in their lives."

Jonathan Smith, Prizgintas' boss at the Legal Aid Society, says because of the ailing economy, the need at non-profits is huge. "We've seen a shrinkage of the legal services network, and a decreased ability of government services to meet the need and a decreased ability of charitable services to meet the need. It's a perfect storm."

Smith also predicts that 2010 will be even tougher for legal aid services and possibly for new law school grads.

Egypt recalled its ambassador to Algeria on Thursday, accusing Algerian fans of attacking Egyptians during the soccer match in Khartoum on Wednesday. Egypt has threatened to quit the league for two years over the incident, according to some reports. The league is also looking into complaints that Egyptian fans pelted the Algerian team's bus with stones.

Algeria won the game 1-0, making it the only Arab country to qualify for the World Cup.

The first of three matches was won by Algeria. On Saturday a second match between the countries took place in Cairo. Egypt won that one, 2-0. That win meant the two countries were actually tied overall, since they had the same number of goals scored. So the two rivals met again for a tie-breaker match on Wednesday on the neutral ground of Sudan.

It's not the first time  World  Cup  rivalries have gotten out of hand. Forty years ago the games sparked a conflict known as the Soccer War, a four-day battle fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Tension between the two countries--originally caused by immigration and demographic problems--erupted during the second North America qualifying round for the 1970 World Cup.‬‪ ‬‪ ‬‪

League officials hope history won't repeat itself. Still, tension continued to rise as demonstrators gathered to protest on Friday for a second day near the Algerian embassy in Cairo.

As “The Oprah Winfrey Show” goes off the air, who will be most affected?  Of course, Winfrey’s estimated 42 million viewers per week will feel the void.  But what about Winfrey’s employees?  I asked Dan Halcombe, a spokesperson for Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, if show staffers would lose their jobs.  He indicated that there may be available positions for them elsewhere in Oprah’s empire, saying, “We’re ending the show, we’re not shutting our doors.  We have multiple divisions, Harpo radio, Oprah.com and more.”

Media watcher and Syracuse University professor Dr. Robert Thompson tells me affiliate TV stations that get a ratings boost during – and after – Oprah each afternoon will be hurt.  He says, “Stations that are used to having the #1 show in daytime deliver an audience to their local news programs will feel the impact.  Another impacted group is the guests that are usually on.  Relationship experts, authors and others who have used her show as a platform.  Oprah was the holy grail for promoting your latest project.”

Winfrey is leaving her talk show to launch a new cable network, The Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN.

“The biggest variable that we don’t know yet,” says Dr. Thompson, “Is how well is this OWN network going to do?  If Oprah moves over there and gets a lineup of shows that everybody is talking about and people subscribe to the network, this could be big growth industry for Oprah.”

Thompson says some of Winfrey’s current viewers may not have access to her new network. “This will certainly affect her hardcore fans.  Many people don’t know a world where Oprah’s not on TV five days a week.  For a lot of her real fans, that hour with Oprah is actually an important part of their day.  This will have a huge impact on them, especially those who don’t get digital cable or aren’t in a market where the OWN network will be shown.”

Also impacted, a division of CBS which distributes Winfrey’s show to affiliates.  In a statement to FOX News, CBS Television Distribution said, “We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.”

Halcombe confirms for me that the show’s last episode will air September 9^th, 2011.  Winfrey will make the announcement on her talk show today.