Is there a way to pass data from a swf back to flex?

I have a flex app with an embeded swf that is a map of the USA. When a user
clicks a state, I want to pass the state to flex. I don't have a clue how to
start doing that, or if it is even possible. Any help would be greatly
appreciated

From a loaded swf (AS3 that is) with some limitations. You can dispatch events
from the loaded swf using code on the timeline of the loaded swf. In Flex, use
a complete handler on the SWFLoader and retrieve a reference to the loaded swf.
Then register event listeners on the swf.

private function onLoadCompleted():void
{
var clip:MovieClip = mySWFLoader.content as MovieClip; //gets a reference to
the root timeline
clip.addEventListener("clicked", clickHandler);
}

<mx:SWFLoader id="mySWFLoader" source="my.swf" complete="onLoadCompleted()"/>