A congresswoman and congressman from Florida met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, weighing in on the recent murders of three Israeli teens and other Middle Eastern matters. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the ranking Democrat on the committee, met with Netanyahu on Thursday and weighed in afterward with a joint statement:

Gov. Rick Scott will be showcasing his record on crime this week in his Lets Keep Florida Safe tour of the Sunshine State and he unveiled an endorsement to help his crime-fighting credentials on Monday. The Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) announced it was backing Scott for another term. Police chiefs across the state of Florida are thankful for the support of Gov. Scott regarding law enforcement and public safety, said Jupiter Police Chief Frank Kitzerow, the president of the FPCA.

Charlie Crist's name will no longer be seen speeding by at the Coke Zero 400 race Saturday evening, since Phil Parsons Racing officials have decided to pull the "Charlie Crist for Florida" stickers featured on a NASCAR car.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued the following statement for Independence Day:

Opening arguments began this week at a state courthouse in Miami as a judge ponders a challenge to the Florida Constitutions recognition of only traditional marriage in the Sunshine State -- and a leading conservative is not happy with the judges performance.

America's 43rd president, George W. Bush, will be celebrating his 68th birthday this weekend. The Republican Party will be sending Bush a birthday card complete with signatures from people all across the country. Bush's birthday is Sunday. Click here to sign the card.

On Thursday. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., pointed to a study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) which shows deaths due to narcotic painkillers dropped in Florida by 26 percent from 2010 to 2012. I applaud Attorney General Bondi and the Florida Legislature for making great strides on such a critical issue, said Buchanan. It is truly a remarkable success. We are one step closer to curbing an epidemic that wreaks havoc on countless families and communities across our state.

Florida-based Republican Dr. Ben Carson, while making a pitch for the Washington Times where he writes a weekly column, contrasted todays culture with when he grew up and offered a stark view of what young people currently face.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to sponsor a NASCAR vehicle in the Coke Zero 400 has resulted in an official complaint with the Florida Elections Commission. According to the complaint filed by Juston Johnson of the Republican Party of Florida, the sponsorship violates Florida campaign law, which limits individual campaign contributions to $3,000 per person, per election. The average cost to sponsor a car in the race is around $55,000 to $60,000.

Florida House candidate Blaise Ingoglia announced on Wednesday that his campaign to replace term-limited Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, had won the endorsement of House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera wrote to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), insisting it was targeting the Tampa-based J.C. Newman Cigar Co. The letter reads as follows: During the early 1900s, Tampa (later to be known as Cigar City), boasted more than 150 cigar factories and produced more than half a billion cigars each year. Now the only remaining cigar factory in Tampa, the J.C. Newman Cigar Company, is threatened for extinction because of rules being promulgated by your agency.

Bad news for Barack Obama: a plurality of voters think he's the worst president since World War II. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found 33 percent believe Obama is the worst president since WWII, followed closely by former president George W. Bush, who 28 percent said was the worst president.

Mayor Alvin Brown of Jacksonville hasnt exactly been waving the flag for his fellow Democrats, raising eyebrows when he did not attend an event with President Barack Obama on the First Coast during the 2012 campaign. But, as Brown starts off the 2015 election as the favorite, hes been reaching out to secure the Democratic base.

The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida (DPCF) came out swinging on Wednesday on behalf of former Florida Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich who continues her Democratic gubernatorial primary against former Gov. Charlie Crist. The DPCF released a report on Wednesday on education, insisting the primary involved a sharp contrast on education with Crist, who had been a Republican for most of his political life, following policies back by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

From his perch on the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on Tuesday on the murder of three Israeli teens and called for President Barack Obama to suspend aid to the Palestinian government.