The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world. Click on the headlines for more.

BREAKING OVERNIGHT:

URGENT – Syria Party Headquarters Blast

- (CNN) - An explosion rocked central Damascus on Thursday, causing an unspecified number of casualties, Syrian government TV reported. A car bomb targeted the headquarters of the ruling Baath Socialist Party, said the opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

NATIONAL STORIES:

CNNMoney: Crunched consumers are cutting back

Smarting from smaller paychecks, consumers are tightening their budgets and looking for other ways to save money, according to a survey released Thursday. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they were cutting back to cope with tax changes this year - including dining out less, limiting travel plans and skipping everyday indulgences, according to the National Retail Federation, which sponsored the survey.

CNN: Florida's GOP governor agrees to key Obamacare provision

Florida Gov. Rick Scott reversed course on Wednesday and said his state would temporarily accept the provision expanding Medicaid coverage included in the new healthcare law spearheaded by President Barack Obama. Scott becomes the seventh GOP governor to sign on to the plan, rejected by some high-profile state chief executives still at odds with the politically charged law considered by many Republicans as a government overreach and widely known as Obamacare.

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