Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, who represents parts of North Central Florida, doubled down on his support of the Keystone XL Pipeline this week, comparing it to one of the great infrastructureinvestmentsin American history. Explaining his vote on Wednesday in favor of HR 3, which removes the need for presidential approval to build the pipeline, Yoho argued that Keystone XL would create jobs and help the economy. Yoho also took aim at President Barack Obama for opposing it.

Gov. Rick Scotts trade mission to Chile is already paying off for Florida. On Thursday, Gov. Scott announced that Crystal Lagoons Corp., a company headquartered in Chile which develops man-made lagoons for swimming and other activities, will soon be based in Miami. Scott met with staff from Crystal Lagoons, which has operations in more than 50 countries, while in Chile.

Scott Brown 2.0? Roll Call is reporting that the National Republican Senate Committee is dispatching staff to Massachusetts to help GOP hopeful Gabriel Gomezs efforts to upset U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a special election next month for the seat John Kerry vacated when he became secretary of state. Polls have shown Gomez is within strikingdistanceof Markey and eyes are increasingly turning toward this contest.

In a 5-2 decision, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that public defender's offices can seek permission from trial courts to stop taking on new cases, if they can demonstrate that their offices are overloaded with clients and cannot provide effective representation to new ones. The high court's opinion was authored by Justice Peggy Quince. Chief Justice Ricky Polston and Justice Charles T. Canady dissented. More to come ...

With Memorial Day around the corner, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis teamed up this week with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to support a bill creating a congressional Select Committee on POW/MIA affairs to examine all outstanding POW/MIA cases -- which currently exceed 83,000 -- and to search for and return the remains of fallen American military members.

Jacksonville's Mayor Alvin Brown is being hailed in many quarters, even conservative ones, as one of the Democratic Party's rising stars, drawing praise even from many Republicans for the way he has governed Florida's largest city -- and a traditional GOP stronghold -- since his upset election in May 2011.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law the Florida Legislature's2013-2014 Florida Families First Budget, vetoing nearly $370 million of what had been a $74.5 billion budget. Among the vetoes was a 3 percent tuition increase for state colleges and universities. The following is the letter Scott sent to Secretary of State Ken Detzner: Dear Secretary Detzner:

As SSN reported Wednesday ("Meet Florida Conservatives Targeted by Obama's IRS"), the Sunshine State apparently hasn't been spared the harassment and obstruction to which the Obama administration's IRS has subjected countless conservative organizations that have applied for tax-exempt status.

Although Mike Hill still faces Democrat Jeremy Lau in the June 11 general election, Capitol pundits are already speculating whether the Panhandle Republican is the next red shirt freshman in line to become speaker of the Florida House.

Northwest Florida Tea Party leader and small business owner Mike Hill has won the Republican primary for the Florida House District 2 seat formerly held by the late Rep. Clay Ford. Hill is expected to cruise to an easy June 11 general electoral victory. According to the Florida Division of Elections, Hill received 42 percent of the votes, followed by Ed Gray at 34 percent. The remaining candidates trailed far behind, with Mark Taylor at 9 percent, Jack Nobles at 8 percent, Scott Miller at 5 percent, and David Radcliffe at 2 percent.

Among the half-dozen candidates to replace the late Rep. Clay Ford for House District 2, perhaps none has been the object of more attacks than Ed Gray, a former mayor of Gulf Breeze. Gray's been accused of everything from shady financial dealings, to soliciting Obama stimulus dollars, to working to raise taxes on Floridians. Now he's being accused of an ethics violation. And there seems to be something to it.

In an exclusive interview with Sunshine State News, the de facto head of the Santa Rosa County Tea Party has endorsed Mike Hill to replace the late Rep. Clay Ford of Florida House District 2:

AP reports thatLois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt organizations, "isapologizing for inappropriately flagging conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election." The practice was allegedly instituted by "low-level workers" inCincinnati. {Source}

In a major setback to the rising libertarian wing of the Miami-Dade County Republican Executive Committee, lifelong conservative Republican Byran Avila has just been elected vice chairman of the local party. Avila, 28, an English Professor at Miami-Dade College, beat financial manager Manny Roman (a grassroots libertarian activist and GOP newcomer) by a vote of 61 to 49. The race was seen in some quarters as a proxy battle for the future direction of the Miami-Dade GOP, which is one of the Republican Party of Florida's largest county affiliates.

In an exclusive interview with Sunshine State News, multibillionaire Norman Braman -- owner of Braman Honda car dealerships, former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, and lead public opponent of "corporate welfare" for the Miami Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium -- has issued a strongly-worded endorsement of liberty-activist Manny Roman for the No. 2 position at the Miami-Dade GOP. Braman tells SSN: