Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, continues to push her bill to create a poet laureate for Florida. On Wednesday, Hukills bill unanimously passed the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy's family went all in for gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist in November, shelling out $24,000 to the Republican-turned Independent-turned Democrat's campaign. According to campaign finance records, the family's construction company donated a whopping $18,000 to Crist's campaign. Murphy's parents, Tom and Leslie Murphy, capped off the donation with $3,000 apiece.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is backing the federal budget deal crafted by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., but he is offering some words of concern. The deal was announced late on Tuesday. We now have what amounts to be a major bipartisan budget deal, considering the gridlock that has gripped Congress in recent years, Nelson said. No one will love everything in this agreement. But we all should be able to compromise to get something done for the good of the country.

Missionary Waters, a nonprofit organization just west of Stuart in Palm City, is preparing to send 3,000 portable water filtration kits to the Philippines to aid in the production of safe drinking water for the remote areas and islands hit by Typhoon Haiyan. It is seeking donations to do even more.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testified before the U.S. House on Tuesday and drew heat from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, after President Barack Obama shook the hand of communist Cuban tyrant Raul Castro. Mr. Secretary, sometimes a handshake is just a handshake, Ros-Lehtinen said. But when the leader of the free world shakes the bloody hand of a ruthless dictator like Raul Castro, it becomes a propaganda coup for the tyrant.

John Phillip Sousa IV, great-grandson and namesake of the famed patriotic composer, continues to pitch Dr. Ben Carson as a possible presidential candidate in 2016. Sousa, the national chairman of the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee, made the case for why conservatives should back his candidate. Insisting Carson is a stalwart conservative, Sousa maintained he has the right beliefs.

Conservatives are starting to stand against the federal budget deal crafted by Senate Democrats led by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Republicans led by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Late Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., like Ryan a possible Republican presidential hopeful in 2016, said he opposed the deal.

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) continues to pile onto former Gov. Charlie Crist, the favorite for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2014 despite spending most of his career in the GOP, by linking him to President Barack Obamas federal health-care law.

It's official: Gov. Rick Scott will be making a bid for his second term in 2014. On Tuesday, Scott opened his official campaign account and turned in paperwork to seek a second term in office.

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott cheered the news that Office Depot and OfficeMax, which are murging, will base their operations in Boca Ration. We worked hard to win this new headquarters for Florida and todays victory will no doubt be a game changer for Florida and Boca Raton, Scott insisted. With the assets of OfficeMax and Office Depot, this newly formed Fortune 300 company will add more jobs and capital investment, retain 2,000 existing jobs, and create new opportunities for Florida families.

If Floridians thought John Morgan had enough on his plate with a medical marijuana petition and Charlie Crist's gubernatorial campaign, they could be very, very wrong, as the uber lawyer announced Tuesday that his son, Mike Morgan, is considering running for attorney general.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., came out swinging against President Barack Obama on Tuesday, encouraging conservatives to vote for the presidents biggest flub in 2013.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) clearly thinks that former state CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate in the special election for the congressional seat left vacant by the death of longtime U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., is vulnerable when it comes to Obamacare. On Tuesday, the NRCC unleashed its latest attack on Sink on the issue. The NRCC also tried to link Sink to U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Gray Swoope, secretary of commerce and president and CEO of Enterprise Florida,struck back at the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald on Tuesday over their recent articles profiling Rick Scott's economic record in the Sunshine State.

Lenny Curry, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), came out swinging against the mainstream media on Tuesday. Curry painted the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald as in the corner of former Gov. Charlie Crist, the front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination despite spending most of his political career as a Republican.