Attorney General Eric Holder told Russian authorities the U.S. would not be seeking the death penalty for National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Just weeks after Tom Lee proclaimed he was making a race for Florida Senate president, state Senate sources have confirmed with near-certainty that Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, has put this race to bed in short order and is in line to assume one of the highest positions in state government in 2018.

The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced Friday that it is investigating Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., according to reports from the Associated Press. Bachmann is being investigated for alleged misuse of campaign funds.

School grades for the 2012-2013 academic year will be released Friday, but not after the grading formula had been tweaked. At a State Board of Education meeting in June, superintendents from Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties expressed concerns that schools in their districts would suffer huge grade drops due to a change in the grading formula. Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett then formed a task force to take a deeper look at the grading formula. Bennett then recommended extending a safety net so that schools wouldn't drop more than one letter grade in a year.

The Obama administration is set to tell lawmakers that the ousting of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was no military coup, according to the Associated Press. This determination would allow the U.S. to keep open a $1.5 billion-a-year aid spigot to Egypt. U.S. law currently prohibits giving direct aid to countries where democratically elected leaders are overthrown by the military.

Speaking in Jacksonville on Thursday, President Barack Obama had warm words for the immigration reform bill that passed the Senate last month. Calling it a strong immigration bill, Obama insisted the Gang of Eights bill will help the economy, but played down its chances in the Republican-controlled House. Obama said House Republicans would not give it a vote. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was one of the leading champions of the bill drawing the fire from some conservatives. Rubio is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

With President Barack Obama speaking in Jacksonville on Thursday, some eyes were on Mayor Alvin Brown. In 2011, Brown became the first Democrat to win a Jacksonville mayoral election since Ed Austin was elected back in 1991.

Gov. Rick Scott spoke out in anticipation of President Barack Obama's arrival on Thursday to Jacksonville to discuss economic policies, urging the president to implement similar corporate tax cuts to help manufacturers.

Sunshine State News is hitting the radio airwaves on Thursday from 2:00-2:30 p.m. Your humble blogger will be on the Ed Dean radio show, which is hosted by one of the most feisty, informative and entertaining conservatives in Florida. It can be heard onlinehereand on two stations in Central Florida -- 89.3 on the west coast and 90.3 on the Atlantic coast.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continues to take aim at the federal health care law backed by President Barack Obama. Rubio penned an op-ed which appeared at Fox News website on Thursday. In his essay, Rubio cites how the law hurts small businesses in Florida. This September, Congress will have to pass another short-term spending bill to fund the federal government," Rubio wrote. We should pass one that keeps the government open, but doesnt waste any more money on Obamacare.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is one of the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. On Thursday, in an email sent out by the Campaign for Liberty which is chaired by his father former Congressman Ron Paul, Rand Paul came out swinging at President Barack Obama on a host of issues. President Obama's NSA was recently caught spying, collecting, and storing data on virtually every American citizen, Paul wrote. And some are now saying the Obamacare database may end up being even worse.

With President Barack Obama visiting the First Coast on Thursday to give a speech on the economy on Thursday, Republicans have been launching volleys against the president which have mostly been unanswered by the Democrats. The Duval County Democratic Party fired back on Thursday insisting Obama should get credit for the economic turnaround in Florida and blaming the economic downturn on President George W. Bush.

Aaron who? He lost his freedom, lost his job and his jersey with the NFL's New England Patriots, and now maybe the unkindest, hurtingest cut of all -- at least for any University of Florida alum -- Aaron Hernandez has lost his standing as a Florida Gator.

Nan Rich is joining the protest against Stand Your Ground laws at the Florida Capitol. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate is the first political candidate in Florida to join in on the protest, which entered its 10th day Thursday. The lack of equality in this state and how our laws are administered are important issues, said Rich. Stand Your Ground and the juvenile justice concerns these young people have raised are worth talking about. Rich actually voted for the law in 2005 when it was approved by the Florida Senate 39-0.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday that air emissions from Florida's industrial facilities hit the lowest levels ever in 2012. The FDEP began tracking emissions in 1985 in order to curb pollutants. Annual air emissions have declined nearly 22 percent since 2010, bringing the emissions to 412,628 tons. A decade ago, Florida's industrial facilities were emitting nearly 1.1 million tons of pollutants each year. The decreased air emissions mean Florida's air quality has improved as a result.