Higher education leaders from across the state have signed off on a letter urging members of the Florida congressional delegation to support immigration reform. The U.S. Senate passed an immigration reform bill at the end of June but the bill has made little progress in the U.S. House

The State Board of Education will meet in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, and one of the items on their agenda is approving the next steps to appoint a new commissioner of education. Pam Stewart has been filling in as interim commissioner of education since Tony Bennett resigned from the position in August after reports surfaced that he had changed the grades of a charter school in Indiana.

Enterprise Florida (EFI) announced on Monday that Gov. Rick Scott will lead a trade mission to the Dominican Republic in late February. The Dominican Republic is Floridas ninth-leading trade partner with more than $5.5 billion in exports.

On Monday afternoon, disgruntled Jacksonville Jaguars fans will be rallying at EverBank Fields parking lot demanding the team -- increasingly appearing to be the worst in the National Football League -- sign former Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow. After winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Gators to the national title, Tebow was drafted by the Denver Broncos and led that team to a playoff run before garnering mixed results since then. Tebow was cut by the New England Patriots at the end of preseason last month after stints with the Broncos and the New York Jets.

With news breaking that Russia and America reached a diplomatic agreement on Syria, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said on Sunday that the American people should get the credit as they stood against attacking that Middle Eastern nation. "Democracy worked," Buchanan insisted. "The people's voice was heard by the politicians in Washington and we avoided a unilateral American military assault that could have had dangerous consequences."

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West weighed in over the weekend on the one-year anniversary of a Taliban attack on a Marine base in Afghanistan. As he has in his various statements on the Benghazi attack, West accused the Obama administration of ignoring the real danger of Islamic terrorism and doing nothing.

The United Nations is expected to be releasing an investigators' report addressing the chemical weapons attack on Aug. 31 in Damascus, Syria. Two diplomats told CNN that the report will likely be released to the public after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefs the U.N. Security Council Monday morning.

Still reeling from a year of bad publicity, Carnival Cruise Lines is offering a new money-back guarantee in order to win back the trust of its customers.

When outlining the major legislative priorities for its 2014 agenda, the Sarasota City Commission voted to support a repeal of Florida's Stand Your Ground laws. The repeal was listed in the City Commission's document titled Revised Final 2014 Legislative Priorities.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West continued to pound President Barack Obama on Friday, comparing him to former President Jimmy Carter. West, a favorite of the tea party who lost his congressional seat in 2012, has opened the door to a political comeback in 2016.

Republicans across the nation have made it a habit to rip into Massachusetts over the years. The liberal leaning Bay State is an easy target for conservatives as it went for George McGovern in 1972 and produced the likes of Ted Kennedy, Elizabeth Warren, Barney Frank, John Kerry and Mike Dukakis (somehow Republicans ignore that it also led to the rise of GOP politicians like the Lodge dynasty, conservative icon Calvin Coolidge, Scott Brown and Mitt Romney).

After a recall election promoted by grassroots activists and gun-rights lobbying groups, two Democratic lawmakers in Colorado who backed tighter gun control restrictions have been voted out of office. The two recall election campaigns were the first ever against Colorado state lawmakers. Colorado Senate president John Morse lost by 343 votes on Tuesday in Colorado Springs and fellow Sen. Angela Giron lost by a larger number in a district that typically favors Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., railed against the Obama administrations decision not to verify the eligibility of applicants hoping to get insurance subsidies and pointed to The No Subsidies without Verification Act which passed the House. Yoho co-sponsored the measure.

Gov. Rick Scott will be making the final stop on his tax cut tour on Friday, ending the four-city tour in Orlando in the afternoon. The governor will be heading to Valencia College's east campus at 3 p.m. to speak about a proposed $500 million cut in taxes and fees from Florida's budget for his "It's Your Money" tour. He has already visited West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa.

Area Development Magazineranked Florida No. 1 for the category Renewed Consideration Post-Recession.