Gov. Rick Scott has ordered state and national flags lowered to half-staff at the Tallahassee City Hall, Leon County Courthouse and Floridas Capitol on Friday, July 13, for Private First Class Steven P. Stevens II. Stevens II, 23, of Tallahassee, died on June 22 while conducting operations in the Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

As he gears up to seek a third term in the U.S. Senate, Democrat incumbent Bill Nelson raised $1.8 million in the second quarter of 2012.

In a prime national television segment this morning, Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll told CNN's Solidad O'Brien that she is proud of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Speaking before the NAACP convention in Houston on Wednesday, Romney withstood the delegates' boos gracefully, she said, spoke from the heart, and made his case "about as well as it was possible to."

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is among a handful of state attorneys general trying to determine if they have jurisdiction over banks found manipulating lending benchmarks following British-based Barclays settlement with both U.S. and U.K. authorities, according to Reuters.

The attorney general and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation have filed a lawsuit against Florida-based Prime Capital Services Inc., and Poughkeepsie, New York-based Asset & Financial Planning Ltd., seeking restitution for not fully informing investors of their management fees. The paperwork, filed in the circuit court for Sarasota County, declares that Prime Capital and AFP failed to fully inform investors that management fees had been withdrawn from variable annuities, which negatively impacted benefit riders.

State Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, released the following statement on the resignation of FAMU President James Ammons. As a state lawmaker and graduate of Florida A&M University, I am saddened by the announcement of President Ammons resignation. From the outset of his tenure, President Ammons has shown strong leadership and has worked to ensure that FAMU remains a beacon of academic excellence.

Dean Colson, chairman of the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System, released the following statement upon the announcement that embattled Florida A&M University President James Ammons has offered his resignation: I was just made aware of todays announcement and have read President Ammons resignation letter. I realize that this must have been a very difficult decision for President Ammons and his family. As the president candidly and correctly noted in his letter, there are challenges remaining at FAMU that must be met head on.

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke to the national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Houston on Wednesday and Republican leaders are looking to lure some African-American voters away from the president. In Florida, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll went to bat for Romney, noting that African-Americans remain lagging behind the rest of the nation in terms of employment under Obamas watch.

A poll released by Rasmussen Reports on Wednesday has good news for Republicans in Florida as it shows that U.S. Rep. Connie Mack has a solid lead over Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. It also showed Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama by 1 percent in the Sunshine State.

A poll released by Rasmussen Reports on Wednesday finds U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, the heavy favorite to win the Republican nomination, has a solid lead over Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in Florida. The poll of likely voters finds 46 percent backing Mack while Nelson lags behind with 37 percent. While 10 percent are undecided, 7 percent say they support other candidates in the race. Other polls have shown a closer contest, however; a Rasmussen poll in April had the numbers reversed with Nelson taking 47 percent and Mack trailing with 36 percent.

The gloves came off on Wednesday as U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams ripped into fellow Florida Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica. The two square off in a primary contest on Aug. 14 in a rare battle between two congressional incumbents. Adams took aim at Mica on earmarks on Wednesday, insisting that he was a strong supporter of them.

Holy wrongful gotcha, Batman! Seems the story of Jacksonville's tuberculosis outbreak was Gov. Charlie Crist's problem before it was Rick Scott's. Check out this video. Stacey Singer, the reporter who broke the TB story for The Palm Beach Post, talks with Current TV's Cenk Uyger on The Young Turks.

Former Broward Teachers Union President Patrick Santeramo was arrested Tuesday and charged with 20 counts of racketeering, theft and money-laundering between October 2007 and September 2010.

Gov. Rick Scott and Florida officials in England on a trade mission with Enterprise Florida will meet with officials from insurance giant Lloyds of London on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House Ethics Committee vote unanimously -- by a 9-0 vote -- to dismiss allegations raised against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., on personal finance ethics violations. While the committee did find that Buchanan had committed errors on financial disclosure statements, it ruled that these were not major enough to punish the Florida congressman. Buchanan lateramendedthe financial statement to correct the errors.