As President Barack Obama is slated to visit a military community in Virginia Tuesday, House Republican leaders are blasting the president for his campaign tactics. Answering questions from the media Monday, House Speaker John Boehner and other top GOP members said it was time for Obama to "stop campaigning" and work with Congress to avert the $85 billion in cuts that will begin Friday.

The Florida lottery experienced another record-breaking week of sales in scratch-off tickets. Sales of scratch-off ticketstotaledmore than $65.3 million for the week ending Feb. 24, 2013, which exceeded the previous weeks record of $64.7 million, according to the Florida lottery. The sales totals in both weeks were the largest recorded in a single week in the lotterys 25-year span.

Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, will hold a four-meeting pre-session listening tour in his district next week.Pasco County Feb. 26 10 a.m. -- 11 a.m. Copperstone Executive Suites 3632 Land OLakes Blvd., Suite 100

Ron Davis, Ph.D., of the Scripps Research Institute in Florida has been granted $3.5 million from the Jacob K. Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award to research complex memory disorders. The four-year award comes from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), an arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

David Thomas, the retired CEO and chairman of IMS Health Inc., was named by the Florida Board of Governors to the University of Florida board of trustees. We are fortunate to have boards of trustees across the state made up of well-qualified and dedicated individuals, with broad ranges of experience and expertise, Mori Hosseini, chair of the Board of Governors' trustee nominating committee, stated in a release.

Good news for Floridas real-estate market as prices are on the rise statewide. The median price for an existing single-family home across the state rose 12.4 percent to $145,000 in January, year-over-year, with an 11.7 percent rise in sales. Meanwhile, the median price for condos jumped 18 percent to $112,000, according to Florida Realtors.

President Barack Obama called Republican congressional leaders on Thursday to discuss the sequestration cuts that both sides have jockeyed to pin on the opposing party. Obamas conversations with House Speaker John Boehner, of Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, weregenerallydescribed as good by the White House, but lips remained sealed about details.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Florida has moved up two slots, to No. 4, nationwide for percentage of high school graduates in 2012 who had passed at least one Advanced Placement (AP) course during their four years of study.

Rep. Bryan Nelson, R-Apopka, is working with a seniors coalition to ward off what they expect will be predatory legislation that will be pushed before legislators as the 60-day regular session draws to a close. The STANDUP for Seniors Coalition, a group of senior advocates, veterans and concerned Floridians, announced Wednesday at the Capitol that they will be advising members to lobby legislators against proposals promoted as bolstering the Stranger-originated Life Insurance (STOLI) market.

Florida House Majority Leader Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, and Majority Whip Dana Young, R-Tampa, have named four new deputy whips in advance of the start of the 60-day regular session. The new House whips are: Reps. Travis Cummings, R-Orange Park; MaryLynn Magar, R-Tequesta; Dan Raulerson, R-Plant City; and David Santiago, R-Deltona. It has been a privilege getting to know these new representatives over the last several months and I look forward to working more closely with them this year in their new role, Precourt stated in a release.

The Florida House Democratic Caucus will propose a series of revisions to the Republican-backed sweeping election reform effort, House Bill, 569, that is to go before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The caucus announced in a release that members object to portions of the bill by Rep. Robert "Rob" Schenck, R-Spring Hill, that: -- Increase maximum contributions to $10,000. The caucus prefers the cap to remain at $500.

Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, has filed the House version of the Parent Empowerment in Education, better known as the parent trigger, that was narrowly defeated in the Senate last year.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that her office has entered a multimillion-dollar settlement with CCH Inc., a law book publisher, over allegations of automatic subscription renewals, a practice referred to as a negative option plan, without adequate disclosures. CCH will mail approximately 5,000 consumers refund notices and provide a total refund amount up to $5 million to the consumers. The attorney generals office will receive $1.4 million for investigative costs, attorney fees and future enforcement efforts.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is welcoming today's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court inFlorida v. Clayton Harris, which ruled that a police dog's sniff constituted probable cause for Liberty County K-9 Officer William Wheetley to search one Claytons Harris vehicle for illegal drugs.

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will take up a campaign-finance case challenging limits on how much individual donors may give in political donations. The high court will take up McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission to decide whether restrictions on total contributions are constitutional, according to Politico.