U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who has taken the lead in Congress on taking on pill mills, praised the Legislature for passing a law on Friday taking aim at prescription drug abuse in the Sunshine State.

I applaud the members of the Florida House and Senate for taking action on such a critical issue, said Buchanan on Sunday. Now, more than ever, we need to shut down these pill mills that bring untold misery to our children, our families, and our communities.

Is former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, one of the front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, prepared to shake up the nomination process?

Former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner unveiled a new web ad over the weekend, linking Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to President Barack Obama and calling for more fiscal restraint from the federal government. Hasner is not the only candidate in the Republican primary field looking to take Nelson on that is hammering Washington for out-of-control fiscal priorities -- former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux and state Senate President Mike Haridopolos have also been calling for a balanced budget.

The Florida Legislature has adjourned the 2011 regular legislative session after the Senate reconvened in an early morning session to pass a tax relief bill after a rift with the House.

Personal rivalries and Republican factional fights have sent the 2011 regular legislative session boiling over into extra time, House Minority Leader Ron Saunders, D-Key West, said.

The 2011 regular legislative session has been extended to 6 p.m. Saturday, as a rift between the House and the Senate over budget conforming bills has sent the session into overtime.

The Senate voted down three budget conforming bills earlier Friday evening, which were panned in turn by the House. The Senate has subsequently passed the final budget and overturned their vote on some of the conforming bills.

A plan to reform the state's unemployment compensation benefits is back on track after looking dead earlier in the week. On the final day of the legislative session, an apparent deal has been struck between the House and Senate, who had previously been unable to agree on the reform package.

As the Florida Senate prepared to debate the 2011-2012 budget, its leader, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, waltzed into the press gallery for an exchange with reporters.

He defended the current budget proposal, which came in at $69.7 billion, an $850 million cut from the current budget and a $4 billion increase from the proposal released by Gov. Rick Scott in February. Haridopolos has consistently stated his focus on cutting spending without raising taxes, and he noted that the budget includes $308 million in business and property tax cuts.

NASA announced on Friday that the last flight of the space shuttle Endeavour would be pushed back yet again as they continue to face technical problems. While the Endeavor had been scheduled to launch on April 29, problems have kept it on the ground. On Friday, NASA said the earliest the shuttle would blast off would be Monday, May 16. In the meantime, technicians will begin working on circuitry this weekend. NASA will reveal more details at a media event on Monday.