The state unemployment rate dropped in June to 6.2 percent, down from 6.3 percent in May, as almost 37,000 private-sector jobs were added to the economy.

Florida experienced a record-setting month for private-sector job creation in June with 36,900 new jobs over the month and a total of 620,700 private-sector jobs added since December 2010, Gov. Rick Scott said on Friday. This news is great for Florida families, and Florida continues to have great success in our states economic recovery. Lets keep working so that every person who wants a job can get one here in Florida.

Pointing to reports that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) found 20 rockets in a school it runs in Gaza which were stored there by terrorists, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., doubled down on calling Congress to pass his Palestinian Accountability Act. DeSantis' bill would withhold funding to the UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority until it recognizes Israel, removes Hamas from authority and takes a stand against terrorism.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, took to the Senate floor on Thursday and called for President Barack Obama to stand behind Israel during the latest crisis in the Middle East.

Excerpts from the speech are below:

Social conservatives are pushing back against Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia allowing same-sex marriage in the Keys. Under Garcias ruling, same- sex couples can marry in Monroe County starting on Tuesday. After 62 percent of voters passed an amendment in 2008, the Florida Constitution allows only traditional marriage to be recognized in the Sunshine State.

Miami-Dade County School Board member Carlos Curbelo launched two new TV ads, one in English and one in Spanish, as he heads into the Republican primary to challenge U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla. Curbelo is the favorite over the Republican field which has shrunk since former U.S. Rep. David Rivera, R-Fla., announced earlier this month he was abandoning his congressional bid but would look to return to Tallahassee in 2016 by running for the Florida House.

The Florida congressman and congresswoman leading their parties on the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee -- U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who serves as chairwoman, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. -- introduced a resolution condemning Hamas and other terrorist groups for using human shields.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., to unveil the Dynamic Student Loan Repayment Act" on Wednesday. The proposal would adjust federal student loan payments based on income.

The senators released a joint statement on their proposal:

The U.S House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously passed U.S. Rep. Steve Southerlands, R-Fla., Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act on Wednesday. Southerlands bill prevents the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers from regulating most waters, leaving the task mostly to the states as has been the case for more than four decades under the Clean Water Act.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, managed $1.1 billion in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cuts into the Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill (HR 5016). The bill passed the full House on Wednesday.

The Florida State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police announced on Wednesday that it was backing Miami-Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo in his bid to defeat U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., in November.