U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., weighed in on health care on Thursday, ripping President Barack Obamas signature law and noting he and his staff will also be impacted by it.

Pam Stewart has been called as interim commissioner of education, taking over after Tony Bennett resigned from the position on Thursday. This will be Stewart's second time as interim commissioner. She served in that role from Sept. 1, 2012, to Jan. 14, 2013, following Gerard Robinson, who resigned in August 2012 after just one year. Robinson cited family reasons for his resignation, though his tenure was wrought with controversy over the state's test-based school accountability system and failing scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford says he'll be asking the chairman of the House Criminal Justice Committee to hold a hearing to review the controversial Stand Your Ground law in the fall. Weatherford said the law's value and effectiveness should be reviewed in an op-ed piece published Friday in the Tampa Tribune.

The State Board of Education will meet Friday to appoint an interim commissioner of education after Tony Bennett officially resigned from his position Thursday morning. Bennett suggested appointing public school chancellor Pam Stewart to take his place. Stewart served as interim commissioner before Bennett took the position last year.

A national poll unveiled on Friday shows a majority of American voters support Stand Your Ground laws. Quinnipiac University released a poll which shows 53 percent of voters favor Stand Your Ground laws while 40 percent oppose them. The poll shows major divisions on race. While 57 percent of white voters favor Stand Your Ground, the same percentage of black voters oppose it. Only 37 percent of black voters support Stand Your Ground and the same percentage of white voters oppose it.

The Campaign for Liberty, which is chaired by former Congressman Ron Paul, will be holding political training sessions in Florida next month. They will be hosting an event at The Villages on Sept. 7 before heading to Jacksonville the next day. John Tate, the president of the Campaign for Liberty, sent out an email to supporters late Thursday promising the sessions would provide proven methods for forcing change in the Legislature. He also wrote that the events would cover politics at the federal level.

The Florida Council of 100 released the following statement Thursday evening from Chairman Marshall Criser III, regarding the resignation of Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett. Here is the statement in full: "The Florida Council of 100 would like to offer our sincere thanks to Tony Bennett for the time he shared with us in Florida. Though far too brief, our students and our education system are better for his leadership, and we wish Tony and his family all the best in the future.

Gov. Rick Scott released a statement on Thursday following Jesse Jacksons refusal to apologize to Floridians after Jackson visited the state earlier in the week to participate in a protest at the Florida Capitol and called Florida the Selma of our time.

Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum from Russian officials and left the airport Thursday, according to his lawyer. Attorney Anatoly Kucherena made an appearance on Russian television and said Russia had granted Snowden asylum for one year and provided a scanned copy of an official document approving his request. Snowden thanked Russia for the asylum and criticized the Obama administration, saying it showed "no respect" for the law, according to a statement released by nonprofit secret-spilling website WikiLeaks.

Florida Republicans continue to demand Jesse Jackson apologize for calling Florida an apartheid state. On Thursday, new Florida House Majority Leader Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, demanded Jackson apologize. Crisafulli is expected to become House speaker after the 2014 elections.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant sank her teeth into Gov. Rick Scott after Tony Bennett resigned as commissioner of education on Thursday.

Jeb Bush weighed in on Tony Bennett's accomplishments after Bennett resigned from his position as the commissioner of education on Thursday, giving him high praise for his work on the education system in Indiana.

Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett officially resigned from his position on Thursday after reports this week broke that he changed the grade of a charter school in Indiana as a result of political influence. Bennett called the reports from the media "malicious" and "unfounded" and said they were politically motivated. He also said he believed there should be no distractions to Gov. Rick Scott, Florida's teachers and students, which is why he decided to resign.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., to introduce an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. DeSantis and Salmons proposed 28th amendment would stop Congress from making any law that exempts members of Congress from its operation and both congressmen argued on Thursday about why it was needed.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, a favorite of the tea party movement, ripped into Congress on Thursday, attacking the Democratic Senate and the Republican House for going into recess in August. West has opened the door to a political comeback in 2016.