The next three speakers of the Florida House announced on Wednesday that they were backing former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Incoming Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, backed Pawlenty and was named a co-chair of the state Pawlenty team, while Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Heathrow, and Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-New Port Richey, will serve as regional chairmen of the campaign.

One of the big endorsements the various Republican presidential candidates will be looking to reel in during the months to come will be that of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who won the Iowa caucus back in 2008. Its no surprise, then, that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlentys camp is going all out to highlight the fact that they added Huckabees daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to their team on Tuesday.

Casey Anthony, accused of killing her toddler daughter, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges in Orange County Circuit Court Tuesday. She was convicted of three counts of providing false information to law-enforcement officers during the investigation of 2-year-old Caylee's death, Sentencing was set for 9 a.m. Thursday. Jurors, who were selected from Pinellas County and were sequestered during the six-week trail, deliberated just 10 hours.

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott focused on veterans' issues during an appearance at the Armed Forces Military Museum in Largo. Scott praised the Legislature for passing property tax cuts for active duty military in Florida, discounted park fees for wounded veterans and families of fallen servicemen and the creation of the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame which will be in the Capitol.

A new Gallup poll released Tuesday shows President Barack Obama's approval rating declining among Jewish Americans. He dropped to 60 percent in June, down from 68 percent in May. Gallup notes that the decline from May reflects a downward shift among the country as a whole in Obama's approval rating, chiefly due to the brief bounce in numbers he received from the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 1.

SunRail financing is already going off the tracks. Bloomberg News reports that the House of Representatives has adopted a budget blueprint to eliminate New Starts, the federal transit program providing funds to the SunRail project. "The Federal Transit Administration said [last] week that it would provide $40 million to the project in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2011. It had previously allocated $66.6 million. That leaves $72 million of FTA funding in future fiscal years that could be at risk if the program is cut," Bloomberg said.

Gov. Rick Scott issued this Fourth of July message on Sunday: This Independence Day, Ann and I join families across Florida in celebrating the birth of our nation.As Americans, we are truly blessed with a rich history, freedoms, and opportunity unlike any other nation in the world.

Tallahassee resident, corporate attorney, media consultant and sometimes-contributor to Sunshine State News Florence Snyder has a don't-miss entertainment feature in Sunday's Miami Herald. Have a look.

Now that it's summer, the Obama administration is trying to get in on the Arab Spring. Their latest brainstorm: Invite the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in U.S. taxpayer-funded political training seminars. This comes as President Obama, renewing his demand for more taxes on "millionaires and billionaires," berates U.S. executives for using corporate jets. Appeasement abroad. Class-warfare at home. Another day at the Obama White House.

From his perch as chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack weighed in on Friday over the news that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez had cancer. Mack slammed Chavez -- and took aim at President Barack Obamas policies in regard to Venezuela.

Marist released a poll on Friday that showed that many Americans are in the dark on their own history. The poll found 58 percent of Americans knew that the United States declared its independence in 1776 while 26 percent had no idea and 16 percent said other years. Not surprisingly, younger Americans are the most ignorant group with only 31 percent of those surveyed under 30 knowing the correct year was 1776. We can take some comfort as a nation in the fact that 76 percent of those surveyed at least knew the United States declared independence from Great Britain.

July 1-3 this year marks the 148th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, the pivotal conflict in the Civil War. While the story has been told over and over again -- from the stand of the 20th Maine under Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Little Round Top, to Picketts Charge -- its easy to overlook the role of the Florida Brigade, nominally under the command of Gen. Edward Perry, who went on to serve as governor in the 1880s.

Brushing off criticism from taxpayer and tea party groups, Gov. Rick Scott gave the go-ahead to the controversial SunRail commuter train on Friday, sources told the Orlando Sentinel. Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad made the announcement in Tallahassee. Scott, who is set to address a Florida Press Association annual conference in St. Petersburg at lunchtime, likely will comment on the SunRail decision afterward. Full story upcoming in Sunshine State News.

All signals show "go" for SunRail on Friday, as Gov. Rick Scott is a no-show. Scott's long-awaited decision on the controversial commuter train won't even be announced by the governor. Instead, Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad will do the job. Prasad is scheduled to meet the press at 11 a.m. at FDOT headquarters in Tallahassee. Scott reportedly will conduct a media availability in St. Petersburg two hours later.

Applicants seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in Florida are now required to take drug tests, and the state Department of Children and Families, which administers the TANF program, has posted a list of approved labs on its website. On a semi-related note, the sale of Gov. Rick Scott's Solantic urgent-care clinics, which perform drug tests, was completed this week.